What I’ve Learned About Unpacking Standards and Backward Planning

I am extremely grateful for the TEACH-NOW teacher certification program.  In just a few months I have learned more than I dreamed I would.  Each week is a new adventure.  This week I learned about unpacking a standard and backward mapping.  Wow!

I teach at a private school whose curriculum is not aligned with Common Core standards.  Before I began the TEACH-NOW program, I became familiar with the Georgia Department of Education State Standards for Middle School Math. Honestly, I read them but they didn’t mean much to me.  However, now that TEACH-NOW has explained it to me, unpacking the meaning of a standard is quite easy.  A standard states something a student is expected to be able to do.

This standard has the following verbs: add, subtract, multiply, and divide.  The object of all this action is the noun phrase “multi-digit decimals.”  I now understand this standard. It needs at least four main lessons (one for each verb) designed to impart the four skills that will be assessed. For a fuller example of unpacking standards, see my video.

A standard is an example of backward planning.  The standard is the goal that the teacher is pursuing for the students.  Exams or projects will be used to demonstrate that the appropriate skills have been developed.  The lessons and activities will help the students master the skills delineated by the standard.  Standards are simple and powerful.  For a fuller example of the Backward Planning process, see my previous blog.

What was I doing before I learned about unpacking standards and backward planning?  I was lesson-focused.  What lesson does the textbook say to teach next?  What kind of problems does the textbook use?  Based on the answers to these questions, I would teach the next lesson and make quizzes and tests like the textbook problems.

This approach isn’t bad, but it has a potential downside.  The teacher may be unaware of the bigger picture (of sixth-grade math, for example) and may be teaching disjointed, seemingly unrelated lessons.  State standards offer the teacher a map of concepts that a teacher can build lessons around. Yet, as far as I can tell, the state of Georgia has established a sixth-grade math curriculum that has planned every aspect of every lesson for every standard.  Potentially, a teacher could be once again lesson-focused.  However, the lessons always start with a list of state standards to which the wise teacher would do well to pay attention.  With the goal (standard) firmly in mind, the teacher is more likely to help the student reach it.

Now that I understand unpacking standards and backward planning, I feel less like a glorified substitute teacher and more like a professional teacher.  I have a long way to go, but I’m on my way!