The Common Curriculum

Originally published in 1978. This book presents how the potential of the comprehensive school could be realized by bringing unity and coherence to its curriculum and organization. Among the subjects considered are value judgments and curriculum design; faculties and the organization of learning; subjects and options; the sixth form; and the timetable as an enabling device. This book goes beyond the prevalent considerations of the time to examine the relationship between educational theory and practice, and the underlying issues of how a rationale of curriculum may be determined and the involvement of teachers in school-focused curriculum development. An appendix considers the curriculum and timetable structure of Sheredes School in Hertfordshire, a new comprehensive school set up in 1969.

Avoid “analysis paralysis” and just get started! The Milken Award-winning educator and author of Using Power Standards to Build an Aligned Curriculum shows how to implement the new Common Core State Standards. This book outlines his proven process for building a guaranteed and viable local curriculum based on the CCSS, and includes: A system for creating local standards from the CCSS Methods for connecting the common, formative assessments to quarterly instructional objectives Ways to scaffold learning expectations Readers will find helpful charts and graphs plus access to Internet-based software for mapping the CCSS to classroom instruction.

Common Core's English resources empower educators to meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) and build essential content knowledge for students in grades 9-12. Each grade in The Wheatley Portfolio features a comprehensive, coherent sequence of thematic units that engage students in deep study of worthwhile texts and topics. Features of this book include: Six thematic units for each grade, each centered on a curated collection of literary and informational texts Focus standards for each unit that complement the topic and promote student mastery of essential literacy skills Suggested texts and activities to incorporate science, art, and history into English instruction This revised second edition includes a sample text study that guides students through a close read of an exemplary text, updated web resources, and refreshed suggested works. Educators who create their curriculum based on Common Core's Wheatley Portfolioguarantee that students are exposed to content-rich instruction and have ample opportunity to master the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills articulated in the CCSS for ELA.

The first books to present specific guidance for teaching the Common Core State Standards Forty-three states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands have signed on to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The need for curriculum guides to assist teachers in helping students meet these standards has become imperative. Created by teachers, for teachers, the research-based curriculum maps in this book present a comprehensive, coherent sequence of thematic units for teaching the skills outlined in the CCSS for English language arts in Grades K-5. The maps address every standard in the CCSS, yet are flexible and adaptable to accommodate diverse teaching styles. Each grade is broken down into six units that include focus standards, suggested works, sample activities and assessments, lesson plans, and more Teachers can use the maps to plan their year and craft their own more detailed lesson plans Any teacher, school, or district that chooses to follow the Common Core maps can be confident that they are adhering to the standards.

In this completely revised and updated edition of Susan Drake's classic text on integrated curriculum, the author provides a new approach to standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

The world of academic credentials is going through a rapid change that has seen the emergence of alternate digital credentials. Among these are micro-certificates, digital diplomas, and open digital badges, which provide a digital record of learning and have the possibility of not only altering the landscape of academic credentials but also transforming the relationship between institutions of higher education, their learners, and society. As institutions turn their attention to alternate digital credentials, it is important to learn from what others have experienced. Innovations in the Design and Application of Alternative Digital Credentials identifies innovative examples of the use of alternate digital credentials to validate specific skills within an existing academic program or on their own. Alternate digital credentials may be how specific skills (hard or soft) are validated with an emphasis on their relationship to enhance employability and recognition within an industry. Covering a wide range of topics such as micro-credentials, badge-driven learning, and traditional credentials, this handbook is ideal for researchers, students, academicians, and administrative decision makers, as well as those who support and finance learning systems and theories and those already involved in the design and application of alternate digital credentials at the post-secondary level.

In Why Knowledge Matters, influential scholar E. D. Hirsch, Jr., addresses critical issues in contemporary education reform and shows how cherished truisms about education and child development have led to unintended and negative consequences. Hirsch, author of The Knowledge Deficit, draws on recent findings in neuroscience and data from France to provide new evidence for the argument that a carefully planned, knowledge-based elementary curriculum is essential to providing the foundations for children’s life success and ensuring equal opportunity for students of all backgrounds. In the absence of a clear, common curriculum, Hirsch contends that tests are reduced to measuring skills rather than content, and that students from disadvantaged backgrounds cannot develop the knowledge base to support high achievement. Hirsch advocates for updated policies based on a set of ideas that are consistent with current cognitive science, developmental psychology, and social science. The book focuses on six persistent problems of recent US education: the over-testing of students; the scapegoating of teachers; the fadeout of preschool gains; the narrowing of the curriculum; the continued achievement gap between demographic groups; and the reliance on standards that are not linked to a rigorous curriculum. Hirsch examines evidence from the United States and other nations that a coherent, knowledge-based approach to schooling has improved both achievement and equity wherever it has been instituted, supporting the argument that the most significant education reform and force for equality of opportunity and greater social cohesion is the reform of fundamental educational ideas. Why Knowledge Matters introduces a new generation of American educators to Hirsch’s astute and passionate analysis.

Teaching students to make connections across related texts promotes engagement and improves reading comprehension and content learning. This practical guide explains how to select and teach a wide range of picture books as paired text--two books related by topic, theme, or genre--in grades K-8. The author provides mini-lessons across the content areas, along with hundreds of recommendations for paired text, each linked to specific Common Core standards for reading literature and informational texts. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 22 reproducible graphic organizers and other useful tools. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

Comprehensive Common Core curriculum for World History, Grades K-2 The Alexandria Plan is Common Core's curriculum tool for the teaching of United States and World History. It is a strategic framework for identifying and using high quality informational texts and narrative nonfiction to meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) while also sharing essential historical knowledge drawn from the very best state history and civics standards from around the country. The curriculum is presented in this four volume series: Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades K-2; Common Core Curriculum: World History, Grades K-2; Common Core Curriculum: United States History, Grades 3-5; and Common Core Curriculum: World History, Grades 3-5. Features of each book include: Learning Expectations, which articulate the key ideas, events, facts, and figures to be understood by students in a particular grade span. Suggested anchor texts for each topic. In depth text studies, comprised of text-dependent questions, student responses, and assessments based on a featured anchor text. Select additional resources. Concise Era Summaries that orient both teachers and students to the historical background. The curriculum helps teachers pose questions about texts covering a wide range of topics. This volume, Common Core Curriculum: World History, Grades K-2, introduces lower elementary students to 18 key eras in world history, from the discovery of fire to modern globalization, through stories that they will treasure forever.

Common Core's English resources empower educators to meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) and build essential content knowledge for students in grades 6-8. Each grade in The Wheatley Portfolio features a comprehensive, coherent sequence of thematic units that engage students in deep study of worthwhile texts and topics. Features of this book include: Six thematic units for each grade, each centered on a curated collection of literary and informational texts Focus standards for each unit that complement the topic and promote student mastery of essential literacy skills Suggested texts and activities to incorporate science, art, and history into English instruction This revised second edition includes a sample text study that guides students through a close read of an exemplary text, updated web resources, and refreshed suggested works. Educators who create their curriculum based on Common Core's Wheatley Portfolioguarantee that students are exposed to content-rich instruction and have ample opportunity to master the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills articulated in the CCSS for ELA.