Background: Teaching creative writing in the early grades provides learners with the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas which contributes to their holistic development. Curriculum documents have been neatly laid out, yet in practice, it is challenging, and teachers struggle to find effective ways of teaching and assessing creative…

Previous papers in this issue of "JCS" have presented case studies of the state-based curriculum commissions that developed the "Illinois Learning Standards" of 1997 and Norway's "Laereplanverket 1997" ("L97") (1997). The studies were developed using as a framework a body of German research that sees…

This case study of the development of the "Illinois Learning Standards" of 1997 parallels a study of the development of the Norwegian compulsory school curriculum of 1997, "Laereplanverket 1997." The pair of case studies is designed to explore the administration of state-based curriculum-making and, in particular, the use of…

This paper introduces the questions and approaches of a five-nation cross-cultural study of state-based curriculum-making discussed in this issue of "JCS." The paper reviews the two decade-long interest of many nations in state-based curriculum-making and presents a framework for thinking about state-based curriculum-making as a tool of…

The paper identifies three tools that support the administrative instrument of a state-based curriculum commission: compartmentalization, licensing, and segmentation. These tools channel the state's curriculum-making towards forms of symbolic rather than regulatory action. The state curriculum becomes a framework for the ideological governance of…

When the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards project began, there really was nowhere else to go but up. The project was up against great odds--a dearth of funding, a history of incivility amongst the disciplines within social studies, a knack for ending up in media battles over what should be taught in…

State policies to encourage elementary teachers to teach for understanding and thinking are more comprehensive in California than in any other state. Based on in-depth interviews with eight curriculum and policy experts and an analysis of over 100 documents, this report describes efforts being advanced across six policy fronts: (1) curriculum…

This guide is primarily designed to help those who are concerned with improving mathematics education in Georgia schools. The format is intended to make planning a new mathematics curriculum easier at the local level and still leave designers free to develop courses which are best suited for their students. In addition to presenting an outline…

This guide is intended as a source of ideas, procedures and suggestions for curriculum committees and developers wrestling with the planning, implementation, evaluation, and/or revision of kindergarten through grade 12 mathematics programs. It attempts to provide answers to questions which arise during the curriculum development process, and is…

Curriculum rules for the state of Texas, grades K-12, were mandated by the 67th Texas legislature (legal reference: Texas Education Code Par. 21.101; 19 Texas Administrative Code 75 (Curriculum)). The rules are organized under seven headings: (A) general provisions; (B) essential elements, grades K-6; (C) essential elements and list of approved…

This module explicates the concept of curriculum articulation, one of the instructional characteristics of effective schools set forth in the Minnesota School Effectiveness Program. Curriculum articulation and organization describe the scope and sequence of a curriculum, as it relates to the goals that a school district has for its students.…

The Utah 1991 revised social studies core curriculum guide specifies standards that must be completed by all students in grades 7-12 in order to meet Utah graduation standards. A review of the K-6 social studies curriculum also is included. The core curriculum is intended to represent ideas, concepts, and skills that provide a basic social studies…

This proficiency guide was designed to serve as a resource for local school corporations in developing, reviewing, and revising curriculum documents. It was assembled in response to an Indiana State Board of Education directive to produce a guide to aid school systems in establishing proficiencies in English language arts, mathematics, social…

This elementary curriculum handbook's basic premise is that the responsibility for curriculum determination is fundamentally the responsibility of the local school district. The contents are intended to assist local district personnel working on the social studies curriculum of the elementary school with suggestions, guidelines, resources, and…

Only in the last several years have state curriculum guides become prominent in education reform discourse and policy. This paper focuses on the organization and content of curriculum guides in four states regarded as leaders in education reform--Florida, Texas, California, and New York--in an effort to develop a way of comparing and contrasting…