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Lindsay Adams
ArtiIact E
Program Competency: Content Knowledge (Standard Based Instruction)
Rationale
In order to eIIectively plan curriculum, one must set out to have an ending goal in mind.
This concept is known as backward design. Through understanding the state Standards oI
Learning, a teacher can implement this concept into their curriculum design process.
Comprehending what the student must know, understand, and do also aids in this process. I
choose the lesson plan I created entitled, 'Earth Movements: Rocks and Fossils, in order to
demonstrate how I use content knowledge to design curriculum.
Reflection
During my curriculum design process, I had the state Standards oI Learning as well as the
Curriculum Framework on the particular content I was teaching in Iront oI me. I Iirst came up
with an overall purpose Ior my lesson. I wanted the students to better understand what rocks and
Iossils provide evidence oI in order to tie it into our current thematic unit which was Earth
Movements.
AIter deciding on my goal Ior teaching the lesson, I wrote my 'Big Ideas, also known as
my enduring understandings and essential questions. These two components illustrate a
complete understanding oI subject content and are usually ideas which help connect several areas
oI a unit theme together.
Following my completion oI my enduring understandings and essential questions, I began
writing out my plan Ior teaching my lesson. This includes the ways I planned to motivate,
explain/demonstrate, supervise instruction, have the students work independently, and evaluate
to check Ior student understanding. I also added in an area in which the instruction could be
diIIerentiated to aid students who may have trouble comprehending the lesson.

Lindsay Adams
ArtiIact E
While teaching my unit, I noticed that the students were engaged and seemed eager to
learn more about the subject. AIter evaluating their Earth Movement Packet, I was able to notice
that the students seemed to have a complete understanding oI what I set out to teach making my
lesson successIul. My Iaith also impacted my curriculum design. It says in Proverbs 16: 1-3,
'Without counsel plans Iail, but with many advisors they succeed. My cooperating teacher, as
well as what I had previously learned in my course work at Regent University, deIinitely helped
me write an eIIective lesson plan which also attributed to the success conveying the content to
the students.