It was one thing for Karl Remsen to adapt to the idea of new state standards this year, but quite another to translate those into actual classroom lessons for his math students at Lake County High School in Leadville.
That's why he got involved with a statewide, teacher-fueled effort to dig deeper into the standards and brainstorm ways to approach every subject area with ideas that could be tweaked to reflect individual district needs.
"As a math teacher," said Remsen, "it's great to spend time thinking about how I make my classroom address not just a list of skills, but the ability to problem-solve, communicate mathematically and recognize patterns. How do I focus on those bigger-picture things?"
As Colorado has moved into an era of new state standards in 10 content areas — including the Common Core standards in math and literacy — the District Sample Curriculum Project has responded to teachers seeking concrete ways to address them.
Guided by the Colorado Department of Education, the project provides a starting point teachers