Step 3

Assign Priority Standards and Supporting Standards

"If the unit structure can be thought of as the solid "chassis" upon which to assemble all of the curriculum vehicle's working parts, then the Priority Standards and supporting standards are the engine that powers the unit vehicle."

~ Larry Ainsworth

Purpose

Determine the learning progression
Identify the building blocks of concepts and skills
Confirm that every Priority Standard is assigned to one or more units of study

Guidelines

Make the initial assignments of the Priority Standards to each of the units -- whether topical, skills-based, and/or thematic.
Select supporting standards that connect to and enhance the selected Priority Standards.
Distribute the Priority Standards across more than one unit of study to provide multiple exposures to the Priority Standards.
No required minimum or maximum number of Priority Standards to assign to each unit. The average seems to be three or four, but it depends on how cognitively challenging.
Be careful not to overload the unit with too many standards.
Ensure that both breadth and depth of the standards can be successfully accomplished within the time frame of the unit.
Ultimate goal for any given unit of study is that students will be able to demonstrate proficient attainment of the targeted Priority Standards at the end of the unit and on subsequent assessments.

What does it look like?

Resources

All information in the Curriculum Design Process is based on the The Leadership and Learning Center Training Manual: Planning for Rigorous Curriculum Design (2010) and from the text from Larry Ainsworth - Ainsworth, L. (2010). Rigorous curriculum design. Englewood, Colo.: Lead Learn Press.

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