busy teachers, the citations listed in the district curriculum should include the title of the material and pinpoint the portion of the page where the standard is aligned. While teachers likely will use other parts of the page or surrounding pages in their lessons, as well, it is important for them to know precisely where alignment exists so that they do not inadvertently skip the aligned portion of the lesson, activity, quiz, etc. (8) Consult external resources when struggling with an alignment decision. When reviewers disagree about a citation’s alignment or alignment within the context of the particular curriculum unit , consult external resources, such as district or state vertical alignment documents, released assessment items, and other explanatory resources. Seeing a different explanation of the standard often helps reviewers reach a consensus. (9) Avoid reusing text-dependent citations. This tip is particularly relevant when mapping English Language Arts and Reading materials but may also have cross-curricular applicability. Identify whether the citation you are reviewing requires students to read or refer to a particular text. If so, the citation is text-dependent and should only be cited in a single curriculum unit. Otherwise, students will have to re-read the same text multiple times throughout the year. While text-dependent citations should only be mapped to one curriculum unit, non-text-dependent citations or skill-based citations (e.g., “paraphrase the text” citations or writing process exercises) can be cited in multiple curriculum units, because teachers can use these types of citations with a different text each time. (10) Expect Gaps . Once you have mapped your materials to each of the district curriculum units, determine whether you have an adequate number of citations (in number and quality) to support each unit of instruction. Expect gaps. Your materials may have been written to align to the state’s standards, but they were not written to align to your district curriculum. The district curriculum may repeat certain standards more often than the
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