DecisionPoint Education

DECISIONPOINT CURRICULUM PLANNING TOOLS

Map the year.
Protect room to respond.

Create a realistic yearlong framework that prioritizes standards, units, evidence, interruptions, and the flexibility real teaching requires.

STEP 1

Name the year

Known instructional and non-instructional disruptions
STEP 2

Protect what matters

What must shape the calendar?
Which pacing principles should the plan use?
STEP 3

Your yearlong framework

180 days · 4 periodsPrioritize → pace → adjust
DECISIONPOINT EDUCATIONYearlong pacing
YEARLONG PACING FRAMEWORK

COURSE
6th Grade ELA
Calendar: 180 instructional days across 4 planning periods
Protected flex, review, and interruption allowance: approximately 18 days
Initial instructional allocation: approximately 162 days

PLANNING PRIORITIES
• Power or priority standards
• State testing window
• Benchmark assessments
• Review, reteaching, and flex time

KNOWN CONSTRAINTS
State testing in April; winter break; two conference weeks; quarterly benchmark windows.

KNOWN INSTRUCTIONAL DISRUPTIONS
• Thanksgiving or another short holiday week
• Schoolwide assemblies or pep rallies
• State or district testing days
• End-of-quarter grading and reporting

IMPORTED DISTRICT CALENDAR
[Upload a text, CSV, or iCalendar file, or paste the key dates.]


PROPOSED UNIT SEQUENCE
1. Narrative and identity — 4 weeks
2. Informational reading and research — 6 weeks
3. Argument and evidence — 6 weeks
4. Literature circles and analysis — 5 weeks
5. Community issue performance task — 4 weeks

PACING PRINCIPLES
• Spiral priority skills across units
• Protect flex days in every quarter
• Schedule common formative checks
• Reserve time for revision and performance tasks

YEAR STRUCTURE
PERIOD 1
• Launch or continue the next priority unit from the sequence.
• Schedule at least one common formative checkpoint.
• Reserve 2–3 days for response to evidence, interruption, or unfinished learning.
• End with a decision point: advance, reteach, spiral, or adjust the next unit.

PERIOD 2
• Launch or continue the next priority unit from the sequence.
• Schedule at least one common formative checkpoint.
• Reserve 2–3 days for response to evidence, interruption, or unfinished learning.
• End with a decision point: advance, reteach, spiral, or adjust the next unit.

PERIOD 3
• Launch or continue the next priority unit from the sequence.
• Schedule at least one common formative checkpoint.
• Reserve 2–3 days for response to evidence, interruption, or unfinished learning.
• End with a decision point: advance, reteach, spiral, or adjust the next unit.

PERIOD 4
• Launch or continue the next priority unit from the sequence.
• Schedule at least one common formative checkpoint.
• Reserve 2–3 days for response to evidence, interruption, or unfinished learning.
• End with a decision point: advance, reteach, spiral, or adjust the next unit.

NONNEGOTIABLE FLEX
• Do not assign every available day before the year begins.
• Recalculate pacing after each reporting period from actual evidence and lost days.
• Preserve priority learning before preserving every activity.
• Shorten, combine, or remove lower-value tasks when time changes.

QUARTERLY TEAM REVIEW
1. Which priority standards received enough time and evidence?
2. Where is unfinished learning likely to affect the next unit?
3. Which dates or interruptions changed the plan?
4. What should move, combine, shorten, or receive more time?
5. Which standards need intentional spiraling later in the year?

PACING QUALITY CHECK
• The calendar includes breathing room.
• Unit length reflects learning demand—not equal blocks by default.
• Assessment windows do not replace instructional priorities.
• The plan is a living decision tool, not a promise that every date will remain fixed.