George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

Curriculum Planning

Looking for ways to develop dynamic, compelling, and standards-based course content and activities? This is the place to start.

  • Podcasting Creates an Audience for Student Storytellers

    A six-phase process for podcast design guides students to an engaging final product in an interdisciplinary project-based learning unit.
    Suzie Boss

  • One School's Uncompromising Take on Student Choice

    At this Reggio Emilia-inspired elementary school, children take the lead in structuring their schooling.
    Suzie Boss

  • Sparking Curiosity With Self-Directed Learning

    Teacher-designed stations linked to core skills prompt students to learn while exploring their interests.

  • Evidence-Based Scheduling With Daniel Pink

    The best-selling author explains why the order of the school day should look different for elementary and high school students.
    Laura Lee

  • Curriculum Mapping Tips for New Teachers

    How to go about developing a curriculum that takes into account both your students’ abilities and the initiatives of your building and district.
    Daniel Bailey

  • The Benefits of a High School Psychology Class

    Students gain not just social and emotional learning skills but academic ones like how to conduct and analyze research.
    Heather Tracy

  • Using Scientific Pedagogy to Teach History

    Employing the scientific method in history instruction can improve comprehension and engagement.
    Shana Barnett

  • 6 Techniques for Building Reading Skills—in Any Subject

    Students need good reading skills not just in English but in all classes. Here are some ways you can help them develop those skills.
    Susan Barber

  • Creating a Student-Run Museum in Your Classroom

    Letting students establish a museum exhibit with everyday items offers an opportunity to sharpen their storytelling skills.
    Laura Lee

  • 5 Highly Effective Teaching Practices

    We teachers are always looking to innovate, so, yes, it's essential that we try new things to add to our pedagogical bag of tricks. But it's important to focus on purpose and intentionality -- and not on quantity. So what really matters more than "always trying something new" is the reason behind why we do what we do.
    Rebecca Alber

  • Finding High-Quality Math Tasks Online

    A guide to finding math work at every level of cognitive demand for elementary students, including problems that push their thinking.
    Emily Shapiro

  • Computational Thinking is Critical Thinking—and Belongs in Every Subject

    Identifying patterns and groupings is a useful way of thinking not just for computer scientists but for students in all fields.
    Laura Lee

  • From Concrete to Abstract—The Montessori Math Approach

    At an elementary school in South Carolina, tactile materials, color coding, and vocabulary changes help students grasp high-level math concepts.

  • What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

    Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.
    Youki Terada

  • Blended Learning Built on Teacher Expertise

    An inside look at a teacher-designed instructional model that combines blended learning, student self-pacing, and mastery-based grading.
    Kareem Farah