EDUC 872
CURRICULUM PLAN CRITIQUE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this assignment is for you to critique a curriculum plan based upon what you
have learned in this course by describing the strengths or weaknesses of the curriculum plan.
You will evaluate and critique one curriculum plan three separate times using three different
articles or e-chapters provided during the assigned module. Each article or e-chapter focuses on a
single topic or portion of a lesson. You will only need to critique that topic or portion of the
lesson through the assigned article or e-chapter.
INSTRUCTIONS
The paper will include a title page and be divided into two main sections. The first section shall
have a 200-250 word summary of the assigned article or e-chapter. The second section, the
critique, shall have 100-125 words comparing the article/e-chapter to the curriculum plan and
100-125 words contrasting the article/e-chapter to the curriculum plan. In your critique, you
should provide suggestions to improve the curriculum plan based upon what’s been learned in
this course. This assignment must include a title page, have a 400–500-word limit, and adhere to
current APA format. Title page and citations are not included in the word limit. Articles or e-
chapters must each be summarized and analyzed individually, followed by a comparison and
contrasting between the article/e-chapter and the curriculum plan. A Curriculum Plan Critique
Template has been provided to assist you with this assignment.
For each Curriculum Plan Critique Assignment, please use the following curriculum plan
provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education. (You are welcome to use your own
lesson plan or unit to critique for these assignments instead of the one provided. If you decide to
use your own lesson or unit to critique, please upload it with your assignment in Canvas).
• Sample Curriculum Plan: Plants Make Their Own Food: Life Science, Earth Science,
and Physical Science, Grade 5
You will notice in the above sample plan that the Massachusetts Department of Education
utilizes the Understanding by Design template which you will also use for your Curriculum
Design Project in Module 7: Week 7.
Below you will find the critique topic and the corresponding article or e-chapter assigned for
each module that a Curriculum Plan Critique is due. You will only need to critique the portion of
the sample curriculum plan based upon the assigned topic:
• Module 2: Week 2 – Topic: Standards
o Chapter 2: Alignment to Standards (Lalor, 2016)
• Module 3: Week 3 – Topic: Educational Objectives
o The Tyler Rationale (Kliebard, 1970)
• Module 5: Week 5 – Topic: Differentiation
o Good Curriculum as a Basis for Differentiation (Tomlinson, 2014)
