Curriculum Models Are Systematic Ways to Deliver Content, Skills, and Processes to Learners

Science: Electricity City, Grade 4-6

Center for Gifted Education, College of William and Mary

Curriculum models are systematic ways to deliver content, skills, and processes to learners. In addition, these models generally have an organizational plan for differentiating instruction for students (Croft, 2003). The three features of the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) from the Center for Gifted Education, College of William and Mary: advanced content, process-product, and concepts-issues-themes dimensions are addressed in the Electricity City, the science unit reviewed.

Electricity City, from the Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, introduces the unit as problem-based for grades 4 through 6. In the scenario, students are newly hired employees for a local power company. They are part of a team that will be responsible for assuring that electricity requirements are met for a new recreation complex for the community.

The first 21 pages include matrices showing the alignment between the three features, advanced content, process-product, and concepts-issues-themes dimensions. Alignment is also shown between the National Science Education Standards, curriculum goals, student outcomes, lessons, and the three features of the ICM. Content background knowledge is provided for seven content areas, such as atoms and electrons, current, a complete circuit, etc. Additional supporting materials include laboratory safety precautions, letter to the student’s family, materials list, and descriptions of handouts.

There are four curriculum goals: understanding systems, understanding the nature and properties of electricity, understanding and applying the principles of experimental design, and developing reasoning skills. These goals encompass the three features of ICM.

There are 20 lessons in the unit. Each lesson states the instructional purpose, alignment to the curriculum goals, vocabulary, materials/resources needed, lesson length, activities, teacher notes, extending student learning/homework suggestions, assessment, and technology integration. In addition, copies of the student materials, teacher answer keys, and scoring rubrics are included.

After the lessons, there are sections for implementation guidelines, appendices, and print/non-print references and resources for both students and teachers. The guidelines include considerations for the teacher, learning center ideas, descriptions and blackline masters for teaching models (concept development, persuasive writing, and reasoning), and data table construction. The appendices address the concepts of systems, scale, and models, as well as suggestions for mini-lessons, interdisciplinary connections, supplemental readings for students, and suggested scoring rubrics.

Eight kindergarten through eighth grade units are available from Kendall/Hunt Publishing ( and eight kindergarten through third grade units are available from Prufrock Press (

References

Croft, L. J. (2003). Teachers of the gifted: Gifted teachers. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 558-571). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

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