The Value of Long-Term Curriculum Planning
Planning is very important to learners’ developing and growing in the knowledge and skills they need. An effective teacher thoughtfully plans lessons ahead of instruction, defining goals and objectives, and developing engaging learning activities. Yet lesson plans only are one type of planning.
They look at the short-term. Let’s not forget about the long-term view for curriculum over a whole school year or term. Is there a way to plan for how all your daily and weekly plans fit together?
A long-term curriculum plan is a tool to help us plan school terms with the end in mind and set the route for how learning will take place.
A long-term plan is a general outline of how to accomplish major curriculum goals of the school year. It gives a big picture view, with the beginning of the school year or term as the “starting location” and the end of the school year or term as your “destination.”
A long-term plan, with major curriculum goals placed along the path. This allows us to know where we are going and how we will get there.
[Adapted from TeachBeyond.org.uk]