The Blueprint for Learning is a companion document for the Tennessee Curriculum Standards which are located at www.tennessee.gov/education. Although the curriculum adopted by the State Board of Education in its entirety remains on the web for additional reference, this reformatted version makes the curriculum more accessible to classroom teachers.
Key features of the reformatted version are:
All grades for each content area
are provided in the same printed manual.
The skills within each grade are identified as to whether they are introduced, developed, or have been mastered and are now being maintained at that level.
The skills correlating with the state criterion referenced test (CRT) are also identified for classroom instruction.
In the Language Arts section,
the assessed skills (performance
indicators) are identified not only
for the state’s CRT in grades
3-8 but also for the writing assessment
in grades 5 and 8.
This guide makes the planning of instruction for students with varying abilities easier to accomplish.
Teachers can plan and work together to improve school wide student achievement through curriculum integration across content areas and grade levels.
Teachers can identify current grade level skills as well as those needed to prepare students for the next year.
Skills are coded and identified as Introduced (I), Developing (D), State CRT and Writing Assessed (A), and Mastered and Maintained (M).
Introduced (I) skills are new skills presented at that grade level. Even though a skill is considered introduced at a grade level, some development would also occur.
Developing (D) skills are skills that have been introduced at a previous grade level. At this stage of development the skills are being refined and expanded.
Assessed (A) skills are those skills
that are correlated to the state performance
indicators for the CRT portion of the
achievement test (grades 3-8) and the
writing assessment (grades 5 and 8).
The identified skills are formally
assessed through the CRT; however,
all skills are informally assessed
in the classroom.
For the purpose of data reporting,
assessed (A) skills are grouped
into categories indicating related
skills and knowledge. For example,
grammar, mechanics, and usage are
grouped together under the grammar
(G) category. Each state assessed
indicator included on the Blueprint
carries a legend showing that it
is assessed and indicating the
category in which it will be reported
(e.g., Assessed/Grammar=A/G).
Mastered and Maintained (M) indicates
a skill that has been introduced,
developed, and assessed. Even though
a skill may be formally assessed,
the development and expansion of
the skill still continues.
