1. Follow up on Curriculum Map and Overview on UBD
Information adapted from “Curriculum Map Overview.ppt” and “Refining-Maps-Essential-Questions.pdf”. Both are found at the LAUSD District 6 Curriculum Website on

2. Essential Questions (more later)
Sample Curriculum Map
Essential Questions (more later)
Content
(noun)
Skills
(verb)
Assessment
Activities
August
September
October
November
December

3. Content
Content is the essential concepts and topics covered during a month.  
Content is written beginning with a noun.

4. Content Examples Cultural diversity Water cycle Bridge to Terabithia
Local Government Systems
Fire Safety

5. Skills
Skills are key abilities and processes students will develop related to specific content.
 Skills are written beginning with a verb.

6. Skills Examples Reading a map Writing a play
Analyzing non-fiction text
Writing persuasive essays
Matching words and pictures

7. Assessment
Assessments are the products or performances that demonstrate student learning.
Assessments are what the student does (the actual product or performance), not the evaluation tool used to assess the product.

8. Assessment Examples Group presentation Brochure Research Paper
Essay exam
Puppet show
Debate

9. Activities
Key activities that lead to acquisition of knowledge and skills.
Describe the "how" for the knowledge and skills.

10. Activities Examples Writing persuasive letters to local government
Water analysis of local river
Critique a work of art
Create a 50 states quilt

11. Essential Questions
Focus on a broad topic of study (think “concept-based big ideas”).
Set direction for curriculum mapping and unit planning.
Have multiple answers and perspectives. They address “why” or “how”.
Are the “enduring understandings” or “mental Velcro” that helps ideas stick in students’ minds.
Create depth rather than breadth.

12. Our Essential Questions go here

14. Essential Questions Examples
Which is more important – water or air?
What is change?
What if Shakespeare were a woman?

15. An Exercise to Illustrate Essential Questions
What are the simple tools found in the kitchen?
We’ll do an exercise to illustrate essential questions. Think about this question and call out some answers when you’re ready..

16. An Exercise to Illustrate Essential Questions
What are the simple tools used to solve problems?
Now look at the right. Consider the question and when you’re ready should out some possible answers for this question.

17. An Exercise to Illustrate Essential Questions
Fact/Topic Based Questions
What are the simple tools found in the kitchen?
Did you notice that the answers you gave on this side were concrete, items you can see and touch? This is what fact/topic based questions are like…

18. An Exercise to Illustrate Essential Questions
Fact/Topic Based Questions
Concept-Based Questions
What are the simple tools found in the kitchen?
What are the simple tools used to solve problems?
But on the right many of your answers here may seem intangible. They also seem broader than the kitchen question. These broader type questions are essential characteristic to essential questions.

19. If we take the previous illustration and compare it with the different myriad of questions we use for our teaching, they can be simplified into this pyramid. Notice that the largest layer on the bottom serves as the foundation, that’s where the essential questions are at. All the other, more detailed questions go on top, are based on the fundamental essential questions.

20. Formula for Designing Essential Questions
Think of the following sentence structure…
Why do…
How do…
Conceptual Noun/Phrase
__________
Relational Verb
__________?
So we’re going to finish this overview on practicing some possible essential questions when designing our units and lesson plans. Here’s a “Sentence” that can help us write out the right essential questions. Analyze a unit’s intra-aligned content, skills, assessments, and standard statements to look for potential “conceptual lens” connections. Although not always, “How do” and “Why do” are good starters as they address “Why” and/or “How”
Brainstorm possible conceptual noun or noun phrases related to the unit’s theme, topic, and/or facts learning. Do this for beginning and end of this “Sentence”
Now brainstorm possible relational verbs. This process is best done using sticky notes that can be move around—one noun or verb word/phrase per sticky.

21. Here’s an example taken from Refining-Maps-Essential-Questions on the LAUSD Curriculum Map Website. Notice that the Concept nouns and relational verbs are words used in this Earth Science Weather Unit. So sentence structure (turn to previous slide) would be
How do conditions change outcomes? Or
Why do conditions change outcomes?

22. In-Class Group Activity
Go into same subject area groups.
As a group, make a poster that lists (a) Establish Goals, (b) Essential Questions, and if time, (c) Understandings.
To help you get started, there is a list of sample Establish Goals are listed on the next slide .
Work in your groups for about 20 minutes (I may let you know if we need more time) before sharing your posters with the class.

23. Excerpts from Common Core Standards http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/
MTH (7th Grade): “Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.” (p. 29)
ELA-Lit (8th Grade): “Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text…” (p.27)
HSS (10th Grade): “Students relate the moral and ethical principles in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, in Judaism, and in Christianity to the development of Western political thought. “ (p. 43)
SCI (6th Grade): “Plate tectonics accounts for important features of Earth’s surface and major geologic events.” (p. 27)
PE (High School, Course 1): “Combine and apply movement patterns, simple to complex, in aquatic, rhythms/dance, and individual and dual activities.” (p. 36)