How to Plan a Curriculum for an Effective School Year

Education should be focussing on the all-round development of a child. It is not only about textbook learning, but also life lessons. It is important to encourage the creative passions and extra-curricular activities of children. The Global Classroom curriculum views education as an integral whole. It seeks to transform on all levels: child, home, and school. Emphasis is put on the progress of each child.

Here are some tricks to make preparing a curriculum easier.

Determine your goals and expectations

What are your teaching goals for the year? It is always good to know the answer to this when setting up a curriculum for the class. Do you want your students to achieve better grades? Do you want to focus on children who enjoy the process of learning? Do you want a shift from traditional practices to a more interactive teaching style? Determining your goals will help you find purpose and steer you forward in the planning.

Research the content and use premade lesson plans

Look back at what was done in the previous year. If you’re taking over a new subject, find out more information about the curriculum been used in the last few years. Spend time in the library or go through online resources to find out which are the topics that are essential and which ones can you skip. You can also ask other teachers for their suggestion. Use all of this information and using them as a framework, come up with a plan of your own. Adapt them to your own teaching style.

Make a list of 3–5 resources for each concept

While doing your research, keep a record of the most helpful resources and links you find. As you prepare your curriculum, break down the whole year into several topics or areas of study. For each topic, list out some of these references which you can use in the future. This will come in handy while making lesson plans or for suggesting extra reading to students. The Global Classroom curriculum provides study materials that are student-centric rather than teacher-centric. You can make up a list of references that help you students to understand the concept better.

Start with a few reusable activities

When planning activities for the class, it is generally advisable to go with the old ones. To teach them a new activity will take time. By reusing activities that your students are already familiar with, teachers end up saving time in the classroom and also eliminate the extra effort it might take to find and plan new activities. These activities could refer to audio-visual presentations, group projects, or weekly assignments. Since the students already know the rules, they are likely to abide by them.

Don’t expect it to be perfect

Like the teaching method changes with every class, similarly a curriculum also changes with every class. It is an always evolving process. You will only learn what’s best by trial and error. Be prepared to make changes to your carefully prepared curriculum if and when need arises.

The curriculum prepared by Global Classroom is grounded in research and evidence. It encourages self-learning methods for children, pushing them to become critical thinkers.