Stories for Community: Curriculum Planning

Stories nurture the forming of community (Vryhof xiii). Listening to stories about our school places students in a narrative, creating a sense of belonging. How did our school begin and for what reasons? How do these stories affect our present practices? What vision do we have for the future in light of these stories? For staff, too, stories can be a powerful way to connect and reflect. For example, the following stories of curriculum planning could be an opportunity to place ourselves within a larger narrative of Christian education, to reflect on curriculum practices in the present, and perhaps to adjust our actions in the future.

A Curriculum Story from the Past

Thirty years ago, I opened the cupboards of my first classroom and saw a sea of plastic buckets. It was a second grade classroom, and the curriculum I inherited was organized by monthly themes. Each bucket was labeled with a marker in that cheerful printing of primary teachers. The buckets contained picture books, bulletin board pieces, homemade worksheets, and photos and articles cut from magazines. 

At the top of each bucket, well worn, was a large piece of paper describing the important details of the unit. Those 11 x 17 pieces of paper were especially valuable. They held the plan. Main goals, faith foundations, objectives, and assessments were handwritten in detail. I studied those plans carefully that first year! We taught in big, integrated units, so the theme of our buckets directed our days. I remember how satisfying it was to put one topic away and how exciting to dive into a new one.

In our June meeting at the end of my first year, we gathered as a staff to catch up on curriculum planning. We each brought to the meeting our papers that summarized each unit and reflected on the year. When it was time to consider scope and sequence, we moved the furniture to the edge of the room and spread our papers on the floor. The Kindergarten papers formed the top row, showing September to June’s themes from left to right: Names, Apples, Fairy Tales. First grade topics were placed in a row below it, and so on. We could see the whole year at once, easily visualizing our students’ experiences from K to 8. I clearly remember our petite curriculum leader climbing up on a chair for a good view. She peered over her glasses at the sea of papers and helped us draw conclusions. 

One of the decisions made during that session was that we needed an ecosystem study, and I was asked to create a unit on the rainforest. The curriculum coordinator brought me a bucket and a blank 11 x 17 piece of paper. She explained that we first consider the biblical context: how worship, awe, and an understanding of God’s character would be woven throughout the unit. She guided me through the big binders of curriculum standards that lived in her office. We studied the main objectives and decided what assessment would reflect those goals. And then came the hardest part—finding resources. 

  Over the summer, I went to the public library and fingered through the card catalog to find books I could use for lessons. I drew (by hand!) a variety of worksheets and wrote out passages for the kids to read at their own level. I noticed an old calendar with rainforest pictures at my aunt’s house and she happily donated to the cause. Slowly the bucket contents grew. It became a favorite topic to teach! Over the years, I continued to add to the bucket, and eventually it was passed on to the next teacher who stepped into that classroom and eagerly opened the cupboards.

A Curriculum Reflection for the Present

Stories like the one above remind us that we are planning and implementing curriculum in a long line of curriculum planners. This sense of belonging is a gift. Reflecting on past stories also brings me to consider four realities of the present.

Resource Availability: First of all, what a rich ocean of resources we have available to us now! Finding the resources to teach about the rainforest was a struggle. We couldn’t then imagine tapping a button on a teacher sharing site and instantly printing a class set of colorful activities! Curriculum now often comes with materials for multiple reading levels so all students can engage the lesson successfully. AI can instantly produce similar materials on any topic. Videos are available at the click of a finger; we no longer have to order a VHS cassette over the phone, send a check in the mail, and wait six weeks for delivery before eventually rolling the TV cart into the classroom! The curriculum guides we purchase now are so complete, a teacher can open the book and begin with very little prep. Sometimes even the words to say are scripted!

Perhaps in this drastic shift of resource availability, a different struggle emerges—we can drown in options. Decision fatigue can affect us, as can the temptation to do too much.

Intentionality: Because resources were limited, we had to prepare in advance. It took time to find the books and make the handouts and assessments. As a result of this time and effort, we were intentional. What was important? How was our faith going to be foundational and woven within the unit? We wanted to teach only what was worth the effort of finding the materials, so the 11 x 17 paper held more information about the essential questions of faith and overarching objectives than details on the actual lesson plan activities. It seems our current curriculum sometimes flips this emphasis, offering many details about how to teach specific activities and giving little content about the big picture. When one is rich in resources, it might be tempting to teach from activity to activity, skipping over the intentionality of a thoughtful plan.

Ownership: I felt ownership for the contents of that rainforest bucket. I planned and researched, added books that I found at garage sales, wrote the assessments, and found my own collection of random poems, magazine photos, and newspaper articles that applied to the unit. I was proud of that bucket! The curriculum programs available to us today might be a book or box handed to us, ready to go. Often they come online, with videos, slides, and sometimes a student portal for their activities and assessments. The school pays a monthly subscription for access. The difference between this format and the rainforest bucket is striking. A curricular subscription offers a wealth of resources and little sense of ownership. If the school doesn’t continue to pay, it’s all gone. 

 

 

This is an abridged version of this article from CEJ, December 2025. To read more, subscribe to Christian Educators Journal.

Work Cited

Vryhof, Steven C. Between Memory and Vision: The Case for Faith-Based Schooling. Eerdmans, 2004

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