1

GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO

Curriculum Design

A teacher knows the teacher’s content area and how to teach it (Design of curriculum and

instruction.) Candidates demonstrate their ability to plan and design instruction that

supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of

content areas, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and

the community context. The Candidate demonstrates the understanding and use of a

variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of

content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful

ways.

Most school districts and schools have set curricula that teachers are required to use, but

educators still need to know how to make sure that these curricula are reaching the standards set

out by state and federal regulations, as well as finding ways to have new and exciting lessons to

help engage students. In my Understanding by Design (UBD) unit made for ED 621 curriculum

development C class, I designed a unit that incorporated many state standards, and used

technology, hands-on exploration and differentiated instruction to appeal to students on many

different levels and get them excited for learning about our solar system and the way the

planetary bodies affect life on earth.

State standards should inform instruction. The standards are the end goal: what we want

students to know. But teachers are the ones who work to get the children there.

When we plan with the end in mind, we set our goals for children first. We ask ourselves,
‘What do I want to children to know, understand, and be able to do at the end of a study,
and remember 10 years from now? What guiding questions will foster inquiry,
understanding, and transfer of learning? What books and resources are rich in content,
provoke discussion, offer a variety of perspectives, and focus on big ideas?’ (Miller,
2013, pp.70-71)
2
GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO
This technique, of planning with the end goal in mind, and then working our way backwards to

the minutiae, the details of the lesson, is called backwards design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

This is where I started with my lesson. I knew I wanted to do a unit around the sun and earth, and

I had some ideas in mind, but as I looked at the standards, it changed what activities and lessons

I chose based on what the “big picture” I wanted the students to walk away with. “[C]learly

written standards provide a focus for curriculum, assessment, and instruction” (Wiggins &

McTighe, 2005 p.60). We know the students we work with, and what will get them excited

enough to connect with the material. No premade curriculum or even state standards can do the

work of connecting individually with students and helping each child reach their learning goal.

By starting with the end goal in mind, I was able to cut out some unnecessary parts of

what I originally thought would be part of the lesson. Educators who use backwards design are

able to dig deeper into their subject areas. My unit not only was designed with the standards in

mind, but also utilized previous knowledge and personal interest throughout the unit to tie each

individual child to every part of the lesson.

Content classrooms that make a difference spur curiosity and spark exploration.
Magazines, big books, globes, aquariums, maps, and charts fill the room…Whether it’s
literacy block, science, or social studies, kids are reading, writing, drawing, talking,
listening, and investigating. They observe, discuss, debate, inquire, and generate new
questions about their learning. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007, p.206)

The true goal of backwards design is to create lessons and curricula that focuses the student to

deeper learning. Children learn more authentically when given situations and problems that

mimic real life, just like adults learn. Because of this, good curriculum design can’t just be

focused on one subject at a time.

No content stands alone. Cross curriculum integration in lessons is important. Life is not

divided into neat categories of learning opportunities, so neither should school be. The standards
3
GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO
inform what we teach, but we can make the lessons and experiences in our classroom richer and

more efficient when we find ways to teach more than one standard at a time. Because my UBD

unit would be such a large effort and undertaking, just focusing on the science would be a waste.

The nature of backwards design and the “big picture” focus of lessons is already built to be

cross-curricular. “[E]ssential questions often jump curricular boundaries, even when cross-

disciplinary design is not the aim…This is one of the great virtues of framing curriculum around

questions as opposed to content. Good questions make it more likely that the work will yield

interesting and fruitful connections and meanings” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005 p.281).

One of the big pictures of my lesson is to learn about the way the tilt of the earth’s axis

causes the seasons. This goal involves a lot of scaffolding. Children have to understand fractions,

to see the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres. To really embody the

knowledge of the differences between the hemispheres, a research project about different places

on earth is assigned. Already this is addressing three different areas of learning – math, science,

and language arts. This is especially important for emergent bilingual students, whose learning

will always be helped by a focus on the language arts aspects of lessons, “Teaching to high

academic standards…presents challenges for English learners who are learning rigorous content

in their second language… making grade-level content, such as science, social studies, and math,

more accessible for English learners (Els) while also promoting English development [is

important]” (Echevaria & Graves, 2015 p.50).

When dealing with new and complicated language, all students can be helped with focus

on word study and special attention and time given to instruction around new language. This

kind of focus and tailored instruction makes sure that each child in the classroom is given the
4
GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO
attention they need. Making sure the lessons are differentiated for each student’s success is

paramount to curriculum design.

Content needs to be designed for all kinds of learners. There are many different ways to

do this, and that’s a whole different framing statement, but if we are not focusing on

differentiation during our curriculum design, it makes it much more difficult to pivot and support

students in a different way once we’re mid lesson or unit. Building in these supports within a

lesson by using technology, hands-on learning, reading, writing, physical activities and more,

allows students numerous ways to build connection with the materials and find something that

fits within their schema. “In order to design and deliver your content, you have to be able to

think critically to determine the most critical knowledge in your subject area, you have to

communicate that information using methods that meet the needs of all learners, and you have to

use creative and innovative practices… to deliver that information.” (Novak, 2016, p.86)

In my unit I have a lot of focus on models, physical activity (dance) and vocabulary

instruction. The unit template provided for us specifically has a spot for differentiation, so that

when I was designing my unit, it was front and center in importance. I use video, discussion, and

much more to try to deliver the same information in many different ways. But once the lessons

are complete, how do we as educators know what has worked? What information has stuck with

the child? That’s where assessment comes in.

Assessment is how we determine what is working. Assessing children before a lesson

begins, in my case with an informal discussion of what we think we know about the solar system

and questions we have, helps us form a starting point of what children already know. From there

we can use formative assessment throughout a unit. In the case of my unit I use discussion, a

research paper, and watching the way the children recreate the two movements of the earth as
5
GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO
ways of checking in on what is being understood, or what needs to be revisited. We need to let

the children show us in multiple ways what they know.

Differentiation in instruction is important, but I believe that differentiation in assessment

is the most important. We need allow students numerous and flexible ways of showing us what

they know. My unit uses many kinds of assessment throughout and has built in differentiation for

how those assessments can be completed. The final performance of the unit is an example of

both an authentic and a performance assessment (Taylor & Nolan, 2008). By thinking of how

and what we want to assess from the beginning, we have more room for these built in

differentiations for different students. “Thinking about assessment upfront – before designing

specific lessons and activities – get us away from “covering the curriculum” with a bunch of set

lessons and activities, and moves us towards more thoughtful, intentional teaching and moves

children towards more thoughtful, focused learning” (Miller, 2013, p. 71). Assessment is a great

way to make sure that what we are teaching students is working.

Backwards design is curriculum design with the end goals or standards informing what

activities, lessons and assessments are used. By using the standards to inform our practices, we

make sure that all students are being equally prepared for their lives. Teachers needs to be able to

differentiate curricula for learners of different abilities. In order to teach to as many standards as

possible, we also need to be able to incorporate cross curriculum instruction. Building in

differentiation into our lesson plans also helps to ensure that all students will be successful

learners in our classrooms.

6
GAGUINE MASTER’S PORTFOLIO
References:

Echevaria, J. & Graves, A. (2015) Sheltered content instruction: Teaching English learners with
diverse abilities. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007) Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for
understanding and engagement. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publications.

Miller, D. (2013) Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades.
Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Taylor, C. and S. B. Nolan (2008) Classroom assessment: Supporting teaching and learning in
real classrooms. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe J. (2005) Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.