What is it?

Curriculum mapping is a process for collecting and recording curriculum-related data that identifies
core skills and content taught, processes employed, and assessments used for each subject area
and grade level. The completed curriculum map then becomes a tool that helps teachers keep track
of what has been taught and plan what will be taught.
Creating and working with curriculum maps is a 7-step process involving:

Phase 1: Data collection.

Phase 2: A review of all maps by all teachers.

Phase 3: Small mixed group reviews, in which groups of five to eight diverse faculty
members share individual findings

Phase 4: Large group comparisons, in which all faculty members gather to examine the
findings of the smaller groups.

Phase 5: Identification of immediate revision points and creation of a timetable for resolution.

Phase 6: Identification of points requiring additional research and planning, and a timetable
for resolution of those points.

Phase 7: Planning for the next review cycle.

The purpose of a curriculum map is to document the relationship between every component of the
curriculum. Used as an analysis, communication, and planning tool, a curriculum map

allows educators to review the curriculum to check for unnecessary redundancies,

inconsistencies, misalignments, weaknesses, and gaps;

documents the relationships between the required components of the curriculum and the
intended student learning outcomes;

helps identify opportunities for integration among disciplines;

provides a review of assessment methods; and

identifies what students have learned, allowing educators to focus on building on previous
knowledge.

Bear in mind that curriculum maps are records of implemented instruction -- of what has been
taught during the current school year. Projection maps, or pacing guides, on the other hand, project
what will be covered in the future.
Explore it
To learn more about curriculum mapping, explore this website:

Curriculum Mapping

Learn more about it

To extend your understanding of curriculum mapping, visit this website:

Curriculum Map Review Guidelines

Sample curriculum map

To see an example of a curriculum map, visit the Utah Education Network.
For more information, see Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12, by
Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs (Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12,
ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1997).

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