I know how I felt.

And I know how a few hundred teachers in Erie County felt as well.

Just a teensy bit overwhelmed. And kind of in need of a drink. Despite any happy rumors we heard, the new Core was not more specific, and it was certainly not easier to understand. Most perplexing was the realization that performance indicators DID seem to spiral across grade levels, but the way in which the curriculum was articulated made it very difficult to see where the indicators were first introduced, where they were expected to be mastered, and where new and more rigorous indicators made their first appearance.

And none of them were numbered! Staff developers and curriculum coordinators…can I get a collect groan please? If anyone out there is mapping against this curriculum, you know the pain I speak of.

Faced with the task of understanding and helping teachers to appreciate this daunting new curriculum, I did the only thing I knew how to do at that moment in time: I made lemonade out of a whole lot of lemons. I placed the Core curriculum into a new framework. I didn’t change a thing….other than how it looks. And my work clearly demonstrates where performance indicators are first introduced, where they need to be mastered, and how they evolve (or dissolve) across grade levels. You can see the scope and sequence. You can witness the spiral, despite how broken it may appear to be. I’m in the process of renumbering the indicators, so that they are consistent with the coding used by TechPaths.

I’m happy to share, too. Just go here….and drag and drop the files to your computer.

Angela Stockman