As an elementary school teacher, planning is a key component to providing effective and efficient instruction. When it comes to developing daily lesson plans in English Language Arts (ELA), creating learning objectives, and understanding state standards can make the task even more intimidating. With that being said, having a scope and sequence or pacing guide is essential for navigating these tricky waters. In this post, we will be discussing why you should create —or use a pre-made—scope and sequence as well as how it can help support your students’ learning journey through ELA. Let us dive into exploring the importance of this vital resource!
What is a Scope & Sequence
Firstly, what is a scope and sequence and why is it important for ELA planning in elementary school classrooms?
As a teacher, you know how tirelessly you work to ensure your students become proficient readers and writers. However, this isn’t all that ELA entails. There are six domains covered in ELA Common Core standards, including Reading Literature, Reading Informational, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening, as well as Reading Foundations.
To help achieve this goal, educators commonly rely on a scope and sequence or pacing guide, which is essentially a tool that outlines what will be taught and when. This guide ensures that teachers cover all of the essential components of the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum in the appropriate order. It also aids in organizing lesson plans and maximizing instructional time, ultimately leading to student success.
Without a scope and sequence/pacing guide, it would be challenging to provide a cohesive ELA education while ensuring that students are meeting key benchmarks throughout the year.
1st Grade Complete All-Year ELA Pacing Guide seen in the photo above.
Benefits of Using a Scope & Sequence
Using a scope and sequence or pacing guide when planning ELA instruction offers several valuable benefits:
- Clear Progression: A scope/guide provides a clear and logical progression of skills & concepts to be taught throughout the year. It ensures that essential ELA standards are covered in a sequential manner, allowing for a cohesive and comprehensive curriculum.
- Curriculum Alignment: These tools help ensure alignment with grade-level or standards-based expectations. By following an s&s or pacing guide, teachers can ensure that they are covering the necessary content. This includes standards and skills required by their curriculum, district, or educational standards.
- Time Management: A pacing guide helps teachers allocate appropriate time for each topic or skill. Thus, teachers are ensuring that there is adequate time for instruction, practice, and assessment. It assists in effectively managing instructional time throughout the year, preventing rushed or incomplete coverage of important concepts.
- Consistency and Continuity: These guides promote consistency in instruction across classrooms. Then, all students have equitable access to the same content and skills. It also facilitates a smooth transition for students who may change classrooms or schools within a district.
- Differentiation: While a guide offers a general framework, educators can adapt it to meet the needs of diverse learners. Teachers can use these tools to identify opportunities for differentiation. Subsequently, offering opportunities to provide additional support or enrichment activities based on individual student needs.
- Long-term Planning: These guides enable teachers to plan ahead. Thus, teachers can consider the overall flow of instruction and identify opportunities for cross-curricular connections or thematic units. It helps teachers maintain a big-picture perspective while focusing on the day-to-day implementation of ELA instruction.
- Accountability and Assessment: These also support assessment alignment, allowing teachers to develop assessments that align with the skills and concepts covered within the guide. It also assists in tracking student progress and identifying any gaps or areas for re-teaching.
2nd Grade Complete All-Year ELA Pacing Guide seen in the photo above.
Types of Scopes & Sequences
These tools may be essential for outlining topics, ensuring student progression, and providing a roadmap for instruction. However, with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to determine which type of guide will work best for your curriculum and students.
Here are some common types:
- Linear Scope and Sequence: A linear scope and sequence follows a straightforward, sequential progression of skills and concepts throughout the academic year. It presents the curriculum in a linear fashion, with each skill or concept building upon the previous one. This type of guide provides a step-by-step roadmap for teachers to follow. This will be a logical and structured approach to ELA instruction. A linear scope and sequence allows for a clear progression of content, where new skills are introduced and practiced before moving on to more advanced concepts. It ensures that students develop a strong foundation before moving on to more complex topics. This type of guide is especially useful for teachers who prefer a systematic and structured approach to curriculum planning, as it provides a clear outline of the skills and concepts to be covered in a sequential manner. It supports students’ learning by providing a well-organized and scaffolded pathway to mastery of ELA skills.
- Spiral Scope and Sequence: A spiral scope and sequence takes a unique approach to curriculum planning. This is done by revisiting and building upon previously taught skills and concepts throughout the academic year. Rather than covering topics in a linear manner, it incorporates a spiral structure. Key skills and concepts are reintroduced periodically throughout the year for reinforcement and deeper understanding. This type of guide recognizes that learning is an ongoing process. It emphasizes the importance of revisiting and reinforcing foundational knowledge and skills over time. A spiral scope and sequence encourages students to make connections between different units or topics, promoting a more comprehensive and interconnected understanding of ELA. It allows for continuous skill development and provides opportunities for students to apply and expand their knowledge in various contexts. By revisiting and expanding upon previously covered content, a spiral scope and sequence fosters retention, critical thinking, and mastery of essential ELA skills.
3rd & 4th Grade Complete All-Year ELA Pacing Guides are seen in the photos above. These pacing guides have a linear progression with spiraled review content throughout the year.
Furthermore, these linear or spiral guides can be the following:
1. Yearly Scope and Sequence:
This type of guide outlines the major units or topics to be covered throughout the entire academic year. It provides an overview of the skills, concepts, and content that will be addressed at each grade level or within a specific ELA course. A yearly scope and sequence often follows a logical progression, building upon previously taught knowledge and skills.
2. Monthly or Unit Pacing Guides:
These guides break down the yearly scope and sequence into smaller units or months. They provide a detailed outline of the specific skills, concepts, and content to be covered within each unit or month of instruction. Pacing guides at this level often include specific learning objectives, suggested instructional strategies, and assessments for each unit.
3. Skill-Based Scope and Sequence:
This type of guide focuses on the progression of specific skills or competencies within the ELA curriculum. It outlines the development of skills such as reading comprehension, writing, grammar, vocabulary, or oral communication across grade levels. A skill-based scope and sequence helps teachers ensure that students acquire and reinforce essential skills throughout their academic journey.
4. Standards-Aligned Scope and Sequence:
This guide aligns with specific educational standards or learning objectives. It maps out the standards to be addressed within each unit or month of instruction, ensuring that all required standards are covered. A standards-aligned scope and sequence allows for a systematic and comprehensive approach to ELA instruction. Additionally, it ensures you meet the expectations of the educational framework or curriculum standards.
5. Customized or Teacher-Created Guides:
Some teachers or schools may create their own scope and sequences. Educators tailor these guides to their specific needs, instructional approaches, or curriculum frameworks. They can create customized guides that incorporate a combination of the above types and adapt them to meet the unique requirements and preferences of the educators and students involved.
Remember, the choice of guide depends on factors such as grade level, curriculum standards, instructional goals, and the teaching context. It is essential to select a guide that aligns with your teaching practice. It needs to meet educational objectives, promote effective planning, and support the needs of both teachers and students.
The pacing guides seen in the photos are complete- they have every single Common Core ELA skill and standard planned for ALL six domains. Each standard has a direct hyperlink to a complete unit for the CCSS skill. These units are fully complete with lesson plans, interactive activities, graphic organizers, reading passages, writing prompts, language printables, speaking and listening centers, reading foundational skills practice, assessments and so much more! This means no planning, no prep, no stress for the ENTIRE YEAR.
Creating a Successful Guide
If you’d like to create your own S&S or Pacing Guide, I have tips for that, too. Creating a successful scope and sequence or pacing guide can seem like a daunting task, but with the right approach, it can be a valuable tool for educators. A strong s&s identifies the standards/skills that students will need to master throughout the school year. A pacing guide ensures that teachers deliver instruction in a timely and coherent manner.
Steps to Creating Your Own S&S or Pacing Guide:
1. Gather resources such as textbooks, programs, curriculum guides, state standards, and a district calendar.
2. Using a blank calendar, mark any days students will be out of school. Additionally, mark known field trips, assemblies, school programs, etc.
3. Look at your list of standards and skills/program requirements.
I recommend starting with one domain. For example, Reading Literature.
- Prioritize the most critical skills and concepts that need to be covered and determine the amount of time you will devote to each. Remember to leave room for flexibility and to adjust the guide as needed.
- I recommend listing the skills in order from: Most time required to Least time required.
- If you teach specific themed units throughout the year, mark when you’d like to implement those.
- Add skills/standards that coincide with those units to their timeline.
- Now, start plugging standards/skills into days/weeks/months (depending on how you’re planning your year).
- Then, move on to the next domain and do the same thing.
- If it is Reading Informational, be sure to incorporate these throughout the year. Don’t simply teach all RL first, then, all RI.
- If it is Writing, see where the types of writing correlate to your RL/RI units or match your themed units.
- For Speaking & Listening & Reading Foundations, be sure to include opportunities for differentiation and practice.
- Allow for opportunities to revisit skills. Especially consider spiraling writing content.
4. Once you have distributed all the skills and standards throughout your year, you can begin planning lessons and units.(You can plan lessons and units one week, month, or quarter at a time).
Above all, involve other educators in the planning process. This can ensure that the scope and sequence is thorough and aligns with the goals and values of the school.
By following these steps, teachers can create a scope and sequence/pacing guide that supports student achievement and promotes effective instruction.
For a more comprehensive step-by-step guide to planning your ELA year, check out my ELA Planning YouTube video with a *free* 30-page planning guide!
One Common Mistake To Avoid
Creating a scope and sequence for a curriculum can be difficult. It’s important to make sure you’re not making this common mistake that can hinder student learning.
This mistake is not being open to adjusting your guide. Every classroom and student is different, so it’s crucial to be flexible and make changes when necessary. Another mistake is not involving other teachers in the creation process. Collaborating with others can lead to a more effective guide. While it’s important to keep students on track, it’s equally important to not rush through the material. By avoiding this common mistake, creating and using a scope and sequence/pacing guide can be a valuable tool in ensuring student success.
Resources That Are Ready to Go!
If you’d like to lighten your load, grab a set of my free pacing guides! The pacing guides seen in the photos above have every Common Core skill and standard planned for ALL six ELA domains for your grade-level. Each standard has a direct hyperlink to a complete unit for the CCSS skill. These units are fully complete with lesson plans, interactive activities, graphic organizers, reading passages, writing prompts, language printables, speaking and listening centers, reading foundational skills practice, assessments and so much more! This means no planning, no prep, no stress for the ENTIRE YEAR.
Meanwhile, would you like to read more blog posts about ELA Standards?
