Curriculum design questions.

79 curriculum design questions from the bank, ready to practice out loud.

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Backward design: objective, evidence, then activities Checking for understanding — and acting on it Openings that earn attention STAR and CARL: structuring your story One lesson, many levels Sequencing, spiraling, and pacing Teaching when every student has AI Unpacking standards and proving alignment

All 79 questions

Designing a four-week ecosystems unitWalk me through designing a four-week unit on ecosystems for 6th graders. What's the through-line that holds it together?Unit objectivesMid–senior

Sequencing a year-long writing curriculumWalk me through how you'd sequence a writing curriculum across a year — what comes first and why.SequencingMid–senior

Building assessments that drive learningWalk me through how you'd build assessments into a unit so they actually drive learning, not just measure it.Formative and summative assessmentMid–senior

Designing for three grade-level spreadWalk me through how you'd design a unit where the strongest and weakest students are three grade levels apart.Accommodating learner varianceSenior–leadership

Handling poorly written standardsWalk me through how you'd handle a standard you think is poorly written but still need to address.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Designing for critical thinkingWalk me through a unit where the objective is critical thinking, not content mastery.Unit objectivesSenior–leadership

Skills first or content firstWalk me through whether to build skills first then content, or content first then skills.SequencingSenior–leadership

Culminating project for multiple standardsWalk me through how you'd design a culminating project that lets students demonstrate three different standards in one artifact.Formative and summative assessmentSenior–leadership

Self-differentiation without labelingWalk me through how you'd build a unit's choices so students can self-differentiate without being labeled.Accommodating learner varianceSenior–leadership

Mapping beloved unit to standardsWalk me through how you'd map a unit you love to standards that don't quite cover it.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Unit for failed studentsWalk me through a unit you designed for students who'd previously failed the subject.Unit objectivesSenior–leadership

Revising mid-unit pacingWalk me through how you'd revise a unit halfway through when pacing data shows you're behind.SequencingMid–senior

Designing meaningful summative assessmentsWalk me through how you'd build a summative assessment that students would actually find meaningful, not just hoop-jumping.Formative and summative assessmentSenior–leadership

Unit with multiple IEPsWalk me through designing a unit for a class where several students have IEPs for very different needs.Accommodating learner varianceSenior–leadership

Prioritizing standards by depthWalk me through how you decide which standards to teach deeply and which to teach lightly.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Unit to change student attitudesWalk me through a unit you'd design specifically to change student attitudes toward the subject.Unit objectivesSenior–leadership

Teaching with uneven prerequisite knowledgeWalk me through how you'd structure a unit where the prerequisite knowledge is uneven across the class.SequencingMid–senior

Grading design for risk-takingWalk me through how you'd design a unit's grading to encourage risk-taking instead of perfectionism.Formative and summative assessmentSenior–leadership

Helping mid-year arrivals catch upWalk me through how you'd build a unit so a student who joined mid-year can catch up.Accommodating learner varianceMid–senior

Working around misaligned district materialsWalk me through how you'd handle a curriculum where district-mandated materials don't match how you'd teach the subject.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Building interdisciplinary connectionsWalk me through a unit where the goal is to help students see connections to subjects outside your discipline.Unit objectivesSenior–leadership

Structuring the final two weeksWalk me through how you'd structure the last two weeks of a year-long course.SequencingSenior–leadership

Integrating self-assessment meaningfullyWalk me through how you'd integrate self-assessment into a unit without making it busywork.Formative and summative assessmentSenior–leadership

Structuring group work equitablyWalk me through how you'd structure a unit's group work to avoid the strongest students carrying others.Accommodating learner varianceMid–senior

Documenting curriculum for portabilityWalk me through how you'd document your curriculum so it's portable to another teacher.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Unit revised after failureWalk me through a unit you've revised based on what didn't work the first time.Unit objectivesMid–senior

Planning for extended block periodsWalk me through how you'd plan a 90-minute block lesson, when you're used to 50-minute periods.SequencingMid–senior

Giving actionable feedback on unitsWalk me through how you'd give students feedback on a unit so they could actually act on it.Formative and summative assessmentMid–senior

Unit during student absenceWalk me through how you'd build a unit when half the class is on a trip for part of it.Accommodating learner varianceMid–senior

Advocating for curriculum changesWalk me through how you'd advocate for curriculum changes to a department head who's skeptical of your approach.Tying to standardsSenior–leadership

Writing clear learning objectivesWalk me through how you'd write a learning objective for a single lesson that's clear enough for students to understand what they'll be able to do by the end.Unit objectivesEntry–mid

Designing an engaging unit launchWalk me through how you'd decide what to teach on Day 1 of a brand-new unit to hook students and set the foundation.SequencingEntry–mid

Exit tickets and next-day actionWalk me through how you'd use an exit ticket to check if students understood today's lesson and what you'd do with that data tomorrow.Formative and summative assessmentEntry–mid

Creating differentiated entry pointsWalk me through how you'd provide two different entry points for the same lesson so students at different readiness levels can access the content.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–mid

Breaking down standards into skillsWalk me through how you'd read a grade-level standard and break it down into the smaller skills students need to master it.Tying to standardsEntry–mid

Scoping a unit objective appropriatelyWalk me through how you'd know if your unit objective is too broad or too narrow for three weeks of instruction.Unit objectivesEntry–mid

Sequencing related concepts logicallyWalk me through how you'd order three related concepts within a unit so each builds logically on the previous one.SequencingEntry–mid

Designing quick formative checksWalk me through how you'd design a quick formative check that takes less than five minutes but tells you who needs help.Formative and summative assessmentEntry–mid

Differentiating for below-level readersWalk me through how you'd adjust a homework assignment for a student who reads two years below grade level without watering down the learning goal.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–mid

Showing lesson-to-standard alignmentWalk me through how you'd show alignment between your lesson plan and the standard you're targeting if an administrator asked to see it.Tying to standardsEntry–mid

Writing student-action objectivesWalk me through how you'd write an objective that focuses on what students will do, not what you'll teach or what topics you'll cover.Unit objectivesEntry–mid

Timing vocabulary instructionWalk me through how you'd decide whether to teach vocabulary before or after students encounter it in a text or activity.SequencingEntry–mid

Redesigning compromised assessmentsYour unit's summative was a take-home essay. Students can now generate a competent draft in thirty seconds. Walk me through how you redesign the assessment — what you assess instead, in class, or differently.Formative and summative assessmentMid–senior

Teaching source evaluation with AIDesign a two-week unit on evaluating sources, knowing some of what students find is AI-generated and looks credible. What can students actually do at the end that they couldn't before?Unit objectivesMid–senior

Integrating AI tutoring platformsHere's the setup — your district bought an AI tutoring platform and wants it embedded in every unit. Talk me through where adaptive practice genuinely serves your struggling and advanced students, and where you'd keep it out.Accommodating learner varianceSenior–leadership

Triaging standards misalignmentNew state standards land in January and your spring units no longer align. Walk me through your triage — what you rebuild, what you patch, and what you defend as-is.Tying to standardsMid–senior

Auditing vertical alignmentWhat would you look for in auditing whether your course actually prepares students for what the next grade level assumes on day one? Walk me through the vertical-alignment check.SequencingSenior–leadership

Building spaced retrieval practiceWalk me through building spaced retrieval of earlier units into a new unit — where it lives in the week, and how you keep it from feeling like endless review.SequencingMid–senior

Co-teaching unit planningYou're co-teaching a unit with a special-education co-teacher for the first time. Walk me through what you plan together, what you each own, and how the unit changes because there are two of you.Accommodating learner varianceMid–senior

Using AI in planning workflowWalk me through how AI tools fit into your own planning workflow for a new unit — what you'd let them draft, what you'd never delegate, and how you'd catch their mistakes.Unit objectivesMid–senior

Homework design with AIStudents have AI at home. Walk me through your homework design for a unit — what's still worth assigning, and what does homework prove now?Formative and summative assessmentEntry–mid

Negotiating pacing constraintsThe district pacing guide gives you five days for a topic you think needs eight. Walk me through how you decide what to compress, what to cut, and what to fight for.SequencingEntry–mid

Adapting textbook chaptersYou're building your first unit from a textbook chapter. What would you look for to decide what to keep, what to cut, and what to supplement?Unit objectivesEntry–mid

Designing for students without internetSeveral students in your class have no reliable internet or device at home. Walk me through how you plan a unit's materials and assignments so those students aren't designed out of it.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–mid

Building daily concept applicationWalk me through how you'd design a unit where students need to apply yesterday's concept to understand today's lesson every single day.SequencingMid–senior

Backward-designing from fixed taskWalk me through how you'd backward-design a unit when the only constraint is a performance task you can't change.Unit objectivesMid–senior

Designing varied formative dataWalk me through designing formative assessments that give you different data than what you'd get from exit tickets or quizzes.Formative and summative assessmentMid–staff+

Diagnosing prerequisites on day oneWalk me through how you'd design a unit introduction that diagnoses prerequisite gaps without making students feel tested on day one.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–senior

Spiraling back to prior contentWalk me through how you'd design a two-week unit that intentionally spirals back to content from three months ago.SequencingMid–senior

Differentiating mastery within standardsWalk me through how you'd design a unit where mastery looks different for different students but the core standard stays the same.Accommodating learner varianceMid–staff+

Five standards, three weeksWalk me through building a unit scope and sequence when you have five standards to cover but only three weeks.SequencingEntry–senior

Check-for-understanding during instructionWalk me through how you'd design check-for-understanding moments that happen during instruction, not after it.Formative and summative assessmentEntry–mid

Writing assessable yet flexible objectivesWalk me through designing a unit objective that's concrete enough to assess but broad enough to allow creative teaching.Unit objectivesMid–staff+

Below-level readers, no pulloutWalk me through how you'd adapt a grade-level unit for students who read three years below level but can't be pulled out.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–senior

Clarifying vague standard languageWalk me through how you'd design a unit when the standard uses vague language like 'demonstrate understanding' or 'explore concepts.'Tying to standardsMid–senior

Summative assessment with revision optionWalk me through building a summative assessment that students can revise and resubmit without losing accountability.Formative and summative assessmentMid–staff+

Sequencing hardest concepts mid-unitWalk me through how you'd sequence a unit so the hardest concept comes in the middle, not at the end.SequencingMid–senior

Designing adaptive unit objectivesWalk me through designing a unit where the learning objective shifts halfway through based on what students produce early on.Unit objectivesSenior–staff+

Integrating standards across subjectsWalk me through how you'd design a unit that addresses three standards from different subject areas in an integrated way.Tying to standardsMid–staff+

Pacing for early finishersWalk me through how you'd build a unit pacing guide that accounts for the fact that some students will finish early every day.Accommodating learner varianceEntry–mid

Making progress visible to studentsWalk me through designing assessments that help students see their own progress across a unit, not just give you data.Formative and summative assessmentMid–senior

Brand-new course designWalk me through how you'd design a unit for a brand-new course where no curriculum exists and you're writing the standards yourself.Unit objectivesSenior–leadership

Content and skill sequencingWalk me through how you'd sequence a unit when students need both content knowledge and a complex skill, and neither can wait.SequencingMid–staff+

Differentiating for early finishersWalk me through building a unit where students who master content early move to application, not just more of the same.Accommodating learner varianceMid–senior

Aligning existing projects to standardsWalk me through how you'd align a project-based unit to standards when the project was designed before you saw the standards.Tying to standardsEntry–senior

Mid-unit assessment decisionWalk me through designing a mid-unit assessment that tells you whether to reteach, move on, or split the class into groups.Formative and summative assessmentEntry–mid

Throughline across disconnected standardsWalk me through how you'd design a unit with a clear throughline when you're required to teach five disconnected standards.Unit objectivesMid–staff+

Designing flexible period structuresWalk me through how you'd design a unit that works whether you have 45-minute periods or 90-minute blocks.SequencingMid–senior

Teaching one standard multiple waysWalk me through how you'd design a unit for students who need the same standard taught three completely different ways.Accommodating learner varianceMid–staff+