Your Summer Curriculum Revamp

posted by: Cindy Omlin | June 05, 2013, 08:38 PM

Summer is quickly approaching and for some teachers it's already here. While many will be spending some well-deserved time at the beach, summer also provides us with a chance to reflect on the year past and prepare for the year to come.

All too often, we let our curriculum sit from year to year with only minor changes. Summer provides us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on what works and what doesn't. Here are some ideas of things you can do over the summer to update your curriculum and make it more engaging for the year to come:

Compare your curriculum to the standards, especially if you’re transitioning to Common Core, or have standards that have been newly updated, and check for any weak areas.
Get together with a colleague to have them critique some of the lessons you struggled with last year (Painful, yes, but it will be worth it!).
Look for areas of the curriculum that can overlap and plan a new interdisciplinary unit. Bring in other teachers in the school where possible.
Visit OER Commons and browse their open-source materials to replace your old or out-dated materials.
Transfer your unit and lesson plans to LiveBinders, Planbook, or another online organizational tool that will alleviate the amount of papers you have and help you to track digital resources better.
Research new trends like flipped classrooms, digital badges, and personalized learning and look for ways to integrate elements into your classroom.
Become better at integrating the technology you have by looking on the web for how other teachers are using the same technology.