New Jersey Department of Education

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Instructional Units

Introduction

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), in collaboration with the Partnership for Collaborative Professional Learning1, proudly presents K-12 instructional units based on the 2016 New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. The instructional units maintain the rigor of the standards and provide school districts and professional learning communities with a meaningful resource from which to build standards-aligned curriculum, instruction and assessment. In this version, the student learning objectives (SLOs) identify the skills and conceptual understandings that students must master to meet the expectations of the NJSLS in ELA and mathematics.

In 2019, NJDOE assembled and led teams of educators (teachers, coaches, supervisors, principals and higher education faculty) from across New Jersey to unpack the 2016 NJSLS in ELA and mathematics. The teams utilized the Connected Action Roadmap (CAR) process to guide the work of unpacking the standards. The CAR process is endorsed by the Partnership for Collaborative Professional Learning and helps drive a process of continuous school improvement by building and leveraging the capacity of educators. CAR helps educators to connect standards-aligned curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional learning to a school culture that promotes ongoing reflection on, and growth in, student learning.

The NJDOE supports schools, educators and districts to ensure all of New Jersey's 1.4 million students have equitable access to high-quality education and achieve academic excellence. In pursuit of this shared mission, we would like to thank each of the educators who contributed to this project, as well as the districts who allowed them to lend their time and talent. Their expertise made it possible to develop this valuable tool to improve teaching and learning.

The units with standards and SLOs can be accessed by clicking the English Language Arts/Mathematics Instructional Units on the left. For districts interested in using the CAR process, the standards and SLOs are also posted in the CAR template on the left.

[1] The Partnership for Collaborative Professional Learning includes the American Federation of Teachers, Garden State Coalition of Schools, Learning Forward New Jersey, New Jersey Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, New Jersey Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, New Jersey Association of School Administrators, New Jersey Department of Education, New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey Parent Teacher Association, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, New Jersey School Boards Association, New Jersey State Professional Learning Committee and The Madison Institute.

These instructional units were developed using the CAR  framework, a tool for instructional improvement. Both are part of a larger toolkit the Department is developing, in collaboration with partner associations and organizations, to assist all districts to deliver high-quality, standards-based curriculum, instruction and assessment. Although the tools are available free of charge, school districts are not mandated to use them. Instead, school districts are free to choose, and use, the tools that they feel are best suited for the success of the students they serve.