These enduring understandings are large-scale mental organizers that help students learn what we want them to “get inside of” and retain after they have forgotten many details about the curriculum. Think of big ideas as the “Aha!” realizations, discoveries, or conclusions that students reach on their own either during or after instruction.  They bring into focus the unifying characteristics of a broad topic, theme, or interest and represent in-depth understanding of the “unwrapped” concepts under investigation versus the tedious memorization of those concepts as isolated facts merely to be recalled.

The organizing outline of specific topics that form the basis of lessons and activities that classroom educators will use to teach their students the concepts and skills. The units of study are manageable in number/scope based on the allotted instructional time, and linked to the primary instructional resources (textbook, etc.) used in the course.

Refers to the specific information students need to know in a given standard, its related indicators (the grade-specific learning outcomes), or in an entire course of study. To simplify the definition, think of concepts or content as being the important nouns or noun phrases embedded in the standards and indicators.

Refers to the specific actions students need to be able to do in a given standard, its related indicators (the grade-specific learning outcomes), or in an entire course of study. To simplify the definition, think of skills as being the important verbs or verb phrases embedded in the standards and indicators that form the basis of the processes students will engage in to demonstrate their understanding of concepts. The skills contained within the guides can be associated with Bloom’s Taxonomy according to the hierarchy of thinking skills.

These questions set the purpose for learning that requires students to think, make connections, draw conclusions, and justify their responses with supporting details. The oral and written responses students give through assessments provide the evidence as to whether or not the students understand the Big Ideas and have met the particular standard(s) and indicator(s). Bloom’s Taxonomy can be used to support teachers with instructional questioning strategies and in developing assessment activities that ask students to not only recall, but to apply and extend their learning relative to a standard.

Process skills developed through ODE that are foundational for learning and designed to equip students with what they need to be successful in college, the workplace, and their communities. To ensure that students have multiple and varied opportunities to learn and demonstrate the essential skills, the content standards and essential skills should be aligned to courses across the curriculum. Teachers need to continue to use local performance assessments (work samples or comparable assessments) in grades 3-8 and high school to prepare students to meet the essential skills proficiency graduation requirement in high school.