“Much unfinished learning from earlier grades can be managed best inside grade-level work when the progressions are used to understand student thinking.”
– Daro, McCallum, & Zimba, 2012, The Structure is the Standards
Addressing unfinished instruction inside grade-level work involves providing just-in-time support to students. These supports allow access to grade-level content by strategically inserting necessary prerequisite standards (coherent content) connected to grade-level standards (context). This instructional strategy, which UnboundEd calls Coherent Content in Context, creates on-ramps to grade-level learning. To address unfinished instruction, follow our four-step process during instructional planning.
Overview of the Four-Step Process
Step 1: Do the Work
Do the work of the lesson.
Step 2: Prioritize Prerequisites
Prioritize the prerequisite standards.
Step 3: Assess
Formatively assess for unfinished instruction.
Step 4: Support Students
Make informed decisions about student supports.
Step 1: Do the Work
Where do I start?
- Summarize the grade-level expectation by analyzing the standard(s), learning target(s), and any formative assessments included within the lesson.
- Do the work of the lesson by completing all associated tasks, activities, and exercises.
- Annotate how each activity in the lesson supports what students need to know and do by the end of the lesson.
Questions to consider:
- What aspect of rigor is indicated by the language of the standard?
- What do students need to know by the end of the lesson?
- How do the activities in the lesson support what students need to know and do by the end of the lesson?
Step 2: Prioritize Prerequisites
How do I prioritize prerequisite standards?
- Identify prerequisite standards that are essential to accessing the grade-level standard(s) within the lesson.
- Select one or two prerequisite standards that will likely be the most useful on-ramps to grade-level learning in this lesson.
- Note the prioritized prerequisite standards connection to the grade-level learning in the lesson.
Questions to consider:
- What is the critical connection between the selected prerequisite standards and the grade-level learning in the lesson?
Step 3: Assess
How do I formatively assess for unfinished instruction?
- Identify tasks outside the lesson that align with the prioritized prerequisites.
- Select a task that best reveals what students know about the prerequisite skills and knowledge.
- Determine when students will complete this assessment task in the learning process before the lesson delivery day so there is time to consider and complete assessment-informed supports (step 4).
- Use the task to determine if students need instruction in the identified prerequisites.
Questions to consider:
- Is the task you selected strategic and efficient?
- How will students work on this task to reveal what they know and can do?
- When should students complete this task so that there is ample time to analyze the work and design curricular supports?
Step 4: Support Students
How do I make informed decisions about the support my students need to access the grade-level content?
- Select an additional task or activity that targets the assessed prerequisite skill(s) and knowledge.
- Determine where to integrate the support task:
- Unit level if most students need support with the prerequisite skill or if the depth of the missing prerequisite requires an entire lesson.
- Lesson level if a smaller group of students needs support or if the skill can be addressed quickly (e.g., with a mini-lesson or warm-up).
- Task level if the prerequisite skill can be a step inserted into the grade-level task.
Questions to consider:
- How will you integrate the support in a task or a lesson?
- What aspect of rigor does this curricular support attend to, and does this match the aspect of rigor of the grade-level and prerequisite standards?