Massachusetts Model Curriculum Units and the Middleborough Public Schools Secondary Humanities Curriculum Redesign

“As part of a Race to the Top Grant, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) developed over 100 Model Curriculum Units (MCUs.) These units are intended to help educators with implementation of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.  These MCUs were created by teams of teachers from across the Commonwealth with guidance and support from ESE curriculum and content specialist. All MCUs use the Understanding by Design process developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.  Massachusetts’ educators are encouraged to adopt the units as they are, adapt the units to meet their curriculum needs, and/or use the units as models for developing their own curriculum units.”  (Source: http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/model/)

All of the Model Curriculum Units that have been developed through Race to the Top Grant funds are currently available for viewing and download as a Word document or PDF from the MA DESE website at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/model/download_form.aspx Eventually the MCUs will no longer be available on the website, so it is recommended that you save any that you might want to reference or use in the future. 

The Middleborough Public Schools Secondary Humanities teachers began working to design units of study using the Understanding by Design curriculum unit template.  The work began in 2012-2013 when ELA and Social Studies teachers worked with Mary Ellen Caesar and Fine Arts teachers worked with Lurline Bennett-Munoz to become familiar with the MA Model Curriculum units that were available at the time.  Throughout the 2013-2014 school year, ELA and HSS teachers worked to design Stage 1 of UbD curriculum units that are aligned with the 2011 Massachusetts ELA Curriculum Framework, the Common Core State Standard for Literacy, and the PARCC ELA/Literacy Framework.  Fine Arts teachers worked to incorporate the MA Literacy Standards into their curriculum.  All teachers referenced the Model Curriculum Units that were available, but there were limited numbers at that time.  

The MPS Humanities teachers are currently working with the Massachusetts MCUs in their own classrooms.  Middleborough High School English Teachers are piloting four of the Model Curriculum Units: Nostalgia, Hamlet & Psychological Criticism, Satire: The Nose, and The Art of Persuasion and the Craft of Argument.  Nichols Middle School was awarded the Building Aligned Curriculum Grant.  English Language Arts and History Social Studies teachers in grades 6, 7, and 8 will use one of the Model Curriculum Units and provide feedback for the ESE about what refinements they made, which parts of the unit worked well, which parts were not useful, and suggest changes to the MCUs based on their own classroom data.  Teachers-Leaders will attend three workshops that center on the Model Curriculum Units and the work their districts are doing with them.  The Teacher-Leaders will share their work and expertise with the NMS Humanities teachers during department and Professional Learning Community Time.  The proposed MCUs that will be implemented at Nichols Middle School include Travels with Charley (refined), Starting Complex Text Mini-Unit, Research to Make a Point, Geography: The Countries of South America, and Ancient Roman Technology: Footsteps to the Future.

For more information visit the Massachusetts DESE Curriculum and Instruction page at http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/model/ the page includes Testimonials, access to the Model Curriculum Units, MCU Videos, an interactive guide to creating MCUs, MCU resources from past presentations and workshops, MCU Quality Review Rubrics, MCU Templates, FAQs, Massachusetts Transfer Goals, and Model Curriculum Maps.  The page is comprehensive and the resources are easy to access and useful.  It is always helpful to have examples and samples as we are working on the redesign of our curriculum.  Although the Model Curriculum Units were not designed to be a school district’s curriculum, the units are comprehensive and offer a lot of options that can be refined to meet our needs as part of the Middleborough School district and preparing our students for college and career in the 21^st Century.