Curriculum Guides: A Helpful Educational Tool
Curriculum Planning
Math Curriculum Guide-A Practical Lesson
GENERAL GOALS/TARGET GROUP
Middle-High School Math
To teach students how to manage their money and track their expenditures
Objectives
A. Students will be able to understand the value of money and account for their earnings and expenditures.
Activities
A. Prior to the activity a system will be set in place for the potential for students to earn money for good grades, meeting certain behavioral goals, and completing work. Each student will be assigned a pre-made savings ledger with dates established for the school year. Students will be instructed on the fact that they will only earn points when they are present in school.
B. Students will be prompted for previous exposure to earnings, savings, and checking accounts.
C. The teacher will initiate a discussion on their experiences with savings accounts and earning money. They will given their pre-made sheet and the class will discuss it.
D. Each day students will track their earnings from a point sheet that had been previously assigned.
E. Prior to dismissal students will record their earnings on their savings ledger.
F. Upon use of their money, students will be instructed to keep track of expenditures if money had been used.
G. Students will graph their expenditures for each month they use and save money.
Assessment
A. Students will be assessed on their ability to properly record their earnings and deductions from their savings ledger. This will be tracked through math calculations.
B. Students will also be assessed on their ability to create a graph using their savings ledger.
Social Studies Cultural Curriculum Guide
Middle-High School Social Studies
To teach students how our own culture compares and contrasts to other cultures.
To encourage students to critically think about cultural influences on our way of life.
Objectives
A. Students will be able to differentiate between cultures around the world and our own culture (differences and similarities)
B. Students will analyze contributions of other cultures in comparison to how our own culture operates
Activities
A. Students will be introduced to cultures in various continents by using internet resources, classroom discussion, individual handouts, internet field trips, and peer group collaboration.
B. They will use what they have learned to create a project that encompasses the major themes of culture: lifestyle, government, education, geography, healthcare, foods and cultural traditions/holidays relevant to the area of study.
C. Each unit will be dedicated to a study of a specific culture whereby students will collect information and organize it into a chart that lists each area/theme. Each chart will be placed in a portfolio for future use.
D. Students will then develop a project based on what they learned form each culture and will use this information to compare the cultures.
Assessment Students will be assessed in various ways:
A. Quizzes
B. Unit Tests
C. Evaluated on their discussions using a rubric
D. A final group project (visual, kinesthetic, auditory)
Science Curriculum Guide
Middle-High School Science
To teach students how biological processes are the backbone of all life.
Objectives
A. Students will learn the various parts of an animal cell and the responsibility of each function.
B. Students will learn the various parts of a human cell and the responsibility of each function.
C. Students will compare the two cells and determine similarities and differences between an animal and human cell.
Activities
A. Students will be prompted on prior knowledge of what a cell is.
B. Teacher will break students into groups with each group being responsible for finding out the functions of an animal cell and a human cell.
C. When completed the groups will report back to the class what they found.
D. Their answers will be recorded on the board and subsequently discussed.
E. Teacher will assign each student a part in identifying parts of a cell on a pre-made transparency/poster. They will label the part they are responsible for.
F. At the completion of the activity students will be broken into groups and given the following materials: jello, beads of different sizes, beans, and other relevant materials.
G. Students will then be instructed that they will construct an animal cell and human cell using the materials assigned. Each material should represent a part of the cell.
Assessment
A. Students will be assessed on their ability to work collaboratively as a group by using a rubric.
B. Students will be assessed on their ability to identify each part as assigned individually by using a rubric.
C. Students will then be assessed on their ability to create cell models using the materials given, as well as work collaboratively in groups. A rubric for projects, group work, and individual work will be used.
