What is a Curriculum Map?

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If you are searching for information on a curriculum map, chances are you are a first time teacher or are a teacher looking to plan a new year with organization. It is always sad when summer comes to an end and that time to plan the entire year ahead of you with a blank curriculum map template can seem daunting. So, what is a curriculum map? Don’t let the scary term intimidate you. A curriculum map is a more complex word for your content outline for the whole year. Using one will help you break down the parts of your year into sections and plan a little bit at a time. Some other districts decide to call it by other names like “pacing plans” or “content outline.” This will be something that will definitely need to be flexible and does not need to be followed with precision, because each year your students will be different and different sizes which can affect your pacing. 

Curriculum Map Template

The first part of curriculum mapping is to find a template. You can create your own, but there are often blank curriculum map templates online to help guide you. You can even find ones with fun pictures or designs on them. There are some components that are important for your curriculum map that you should make sure are included when you create it. Those points are listed below. 

District Standards 

This is the most important part to consider. What are the benchmarks that your students need to meet? What are the most important things that they need to learn in order to move forward to the next grade? These are non-negotiables. Make sure these standards are included in your curriculum map so that you do not forget. 

Materials and Textbooks

What materials will your students need? Which textbooks will you be using? This will help you to be prepared for the physical tools to gather for your class. Make sure you are using the updated textbook versions and that you have a sufficient amount of books for your students to use. If your students will be going experiments or projects, make sure you include all the materials that you will need to gather. 

Abilities and Accomodations

Although all students will be in the same grade, this does not mean that they will all have the same abilities. It will be a good idea to go over your class roster and note any accommodations that your students might have and figure out how you can adjust your teaching to their needs. 

Pacing

Pacing is difficult because it will have to be flexible. However, you should be able to figure out a good time frame for how long each unit should take. If you are too flexible, you might not be able to fit everything in. Make sure you stick to your schedule once you have created it. If you deviate too much, make sure you adjust your schedule around and cut some of the work out where you can so that the district standards can still be met. If you think about your goals for each unit, this will help you to figure out how much time you have to fit material in between each unit. 

Classroom Expectations and Procedures

If you set up your expectations about behavior right at the beginning, it will make your year go more smoothly. Let your class know that you are serious about classroom behavior. Set up procedures for everything and practice them so that your students know how to do simple things like submit work online or where to turn papers in.

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