Year-Long Curriculum Map

Map your entire course across 36 weeks, organizing units, standards coverage, and major assessments so you can see the full year at a glance and spot gaps before the school year begins.

All SubjectsElementary (K–5)Middle School (6–8)High School (9–12)

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  • Structured PDF with guiding questions per section
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When to use this template

  • Planning a new course or taking over an existing one
  • At the beginning of the school year, before writing unit plans
  • When you need to ensure all required standards are covered before a high-stakes exam
  • Department or grade-level curriculum alignment planning
  • After teaching a course for the first time, to revise the map based on what actually happened

Template sections

Name the course, identify the standards framework, and state the overarching goals for the year.

Course name and grade:

Subject area:

Standards framework (CCSS, NGSS, C3, state standards):

Overarching goals for the year:

Number of instructional weeks available:

List all units in order, with estimated week allocations.

Unit 1 (name, weeks 1–N, brief rationale for this position in the sequence):

Unit 2:

Unit 3:

...

Total weeks used vs. available:

Buffer time for review, testing, unexpected disruptions:

Map each standard to the unit(s) in which it receives primary and supporting treatment.

Standard 1: Primary unit(s): ___ Supporting unit(s): ___

Standard 2: ...

...

Standards with insufficient coverage:

Standards receiving too much repetition:

Map major assessments and projects across the year.

Unit 1 major assessment (type and approximate date):

Unit 2:

...

Standardized testing windows:

Avoid heavy assessment clustering in: ___

Semester or cumulative assessments:

Document your pacing assumptions and identify where flexibility is needed.

Units with tight pacing that need monitoring:

Units with intentional buffer time:

School events that affect instructional time:

Planned reteaching windows:

End-of-year topics that can be cut if time runs short:

Note opportunities for cross-curricular or vertical alignment.

Connections to other subjects at this grade level:

Vertical connections to prior grade content:

Vertical connections to next grade content:

Potential collaborative units with other teachers:

The Flip Perspective

Year-long planning works when it is honest about time. Most curriculum maps are too optimistic: they show what a teacher hopes to cover, not what is actually possible in 180 school days with all the disruptions that real school involves. This map template includes built-in prompts for pacing reality checks and revision planning.

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Adapting this Template

For All Subjects

Apply Year-Long Map by adapting the phase timings and prompts to fit All Subjects's unique content demands.

About the Year-Long Map framework

A year-long curriculum map is the 30,000-foot view of your course. It does not replace unit plans or lesson plans; it informs them. A well-designed year-long map shows you: which units come in which order, which standards are covered when, where major assessments fall, and whether the pacing gives you enough time for everything you intend to teach.

Why map the full year before you start: Most teachers know their first two units well and improvise the rest. Year-long mapping prevents the familiar situation of discovering in March that you will not cover three major standards before the state exam. It also helps you make deliberate decisions about sequencing rather than just following the textbook's chapter order.

Coherent sequencing: The most important question in year-long planning is not "what do I cover?" but "in what order does understanding build?" Some units create the foundation for later ones. Some standards should be introduced early and revisited throughout the year. A year-long map makes these relationships visible.

Pacing reality: Teachers routinely underestimate how long units take. A year-long map with realistic week allocations (accounting for standardized testing days, school holidays, assemblies, and schedule disruptions) reveals where pacing pressure will be highest and allows you to make deliberate decisions about what to trim or deepen.

Assessment rhythm: A year-long map should show major assessment dates, not just unit content. Looking at the year's assessment calendar helps you avoid clustering three major projects in the same two-week window, a common problem that serves neither learning nor student wellbeing.

Flexibility and revision: A year-long map is a working document, not a contract. Plan to update it at the end of each unit, noting how long things actually took versus what you planned. The revised map becomes a more accurate planning tool for the following year.

Semester Map

Map a single semester of instruction with realistic pacing, organizing 18 weeks of units, standards, and assessments so you start the term with a clear plan and finish with everything covered.

Scope & Sequence

Document the breadth and order of your curriculum: what you will teach (scope) and in what sequence, to ensure coherent vertical alignment and consistent coverage across classrooms or grade levels.

Pacing Guide

Create a realistic week-by-week pacing guide that maps instruction to the school calendar, accounting for testing, holidays, and built-in review time so you know in advance where pacing will be tight.

Standards-Aligned Unit

Map a unit against your required standards explicitly, ensuring every lesson connects to clear learning targets, assessments align to specific standards, and coverage gaps are visible before you start teaching.

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Frequently asked questions

A year-long map should be higher-level than a unit plan or lesson plan. Unit titles, week allocations, key standards, and major assessments are appropriate level of detail. Individual lessons, daily activities, and specific texts belong in unit plans, not the year-long map.
If your district or school mandates a textbook or pacing guide, use the year-long map to document what you are required to teach, note where you have flexibility, and identify gaps or problems with the mandated sequence. The map becomes a communication tool with administrators as much as a planning tool for yourself.
Update it at least once a quarter. Note which units took longer or shorter than planned, which standards need more instructional time, and which assessments need redesign. A revised map is more valuable than a perfect initial plan.
Allocate 2–3 buffer weeks distributed across the year for reteaching, assessment makeups, and unexpected disruptions. Identify 1–2 units or topics that could be shortened or dropped if pacing requires it. Know which content is essential and which is enrichment.
A student-facing version of the year-long map (unit titles, essential questions, and major project dates) is a powerful tool for student planning and motivation. Students who can see the whole year are better able to manage their time and understand where they are in the larger arc of the course.
A year-long curriculum map gives you the bird's-eye view of where every standard, unit, and assessment falls across the school year. When you build active learning into this map, you're not just scheduling content delivery; you're planning when students will debate, investigate, build, and present. Use this map to see the full arc of the year and Flip to generate the hands-on lessons that fill each unit.
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