Three tools critical to the annual planning process
Each year, HISD teachers are tasked with developing annual plans that divide the district’s curriculum into smaller, more manageable chunks—and HISD has three tools for educators that have proven invaluable in this process: the Vertical Alignment Matrix, Scope & Sequence documents, and the Pacing Calendar. All are designed to help teachers determine what their students should be learning at any given time, so that they can plan how to deliver instruction more effectively on a day-to-day basis.
“The one finite thing you have in a classroom is time,” observed Secondary Curriculum Manager Angela Miller. “So maximizing the use of that time is…the goal.”
“We have to look at what we’re going to teach,” added HISD Curriculum Manager Dana Enriquez-Vontoure. “Is it new? Is it old? How many days am I expected to stay on this content? And then, how do I break up those individual days?”
HISD’s Professional Support and Development department explores these questions and more in the third installment of its planning video series.
To learn more about the planning video series, please see this related article from the Nov. 22 edition of eNews. To see all planning videos, visit the PSD website. A downloadable flyer (.pdf) containing step-by-step instructions on this topic is also available.
Also see this related article from Nov. 2012 on how parents are using these resources.
