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map is an important tool for keeping you and your family on
track when taking a long road trip. Likewise, on the long road to a high
school diploma, "curriculum maps" are an
equally important tool, helping teachers navigate the twists and turns of
curriculum, covering the appropriate content while making smooth connections
from one grade level to the next.
Throughout the Mohonasen
School District, teachers and administrators have developed logical and efficient "maps" of what will be taught in
core subject areas, at each grade level, at generally consistent times in
each school year.
This strategic and purposeful
analysis of curriculum is helping to highlight gaps in instruction as well
as unnecessary redundancies. It is also helping to improve communication
and consistency from one teacher to the next, both within and between
grade levels.
As teachers and
administrators analyze data on student achievement, curriculum maps
also help pinpoint areas of weakness. For example, recent standardized
tests show that math computation skills among students are not as strong
as they should be. With this kind of performance data, teachers -- as a
group -- can go back and look at where and when these skills are currently
being taught and decide where and when it makes sense to spend more time
on these skills.
Curriculum maps will also be
a useful tool for parents. Maps will allow them to see -- at a glance --
precisely what their child will be taught at each grade level. Eventually,
these maps
will also point out what assessments will be used to measure knowledge and
skills and show how the curriculum connects from one grade to the next.
All maps will evolve over time, reflecting continuous efforts to
refine and improve the curriculum throughout the district.
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