Teachers at Grandview Elementary in the Bellevue Independent School District are experiencing firsthand the benefits of engaging in unit and lesson internalization to increase their effectiveness as they implement a new high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) for reading and writing this school year.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning developed the Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document to support districts in effective implementation of a strong local curriculum anchored in HQIR. Starting with the Reading and Writing Unit Internalization Protocol allows teachers to understand how each lesson coherently fits into the unit’s overall design. The steps and questions included in the protocol support “intellectual preparation” for teaching a unit/module from a HQIR and provide a structure for developing understanding of how the standards, tasks and assessments operate within the arc of learning. The Reading and Writing Lesson Internalization Protocol guides teachers in preparing to teach individual lessons from a HQIR. Here’s what Grandview teachers are saying:

“Internalizing the unit/lesson removes the cognitive load, so I can focus on the students and meeting their needs.”

– Katie Phillips, 2nd-grade teacher

“While internalizing, I realized I needed to rehearse a phonics lesson I had never taught before and needed to think about it from the student perspective.”

– Brooke Doughtery, 3rd-grade teacher

“When looking at the unit assessment, I realized I had spent too much time on a portion of the learning. This made me aware of my pacing and lesson focus.”

– Ashton Pitzer, 2nd-grade teacher

“Internalizing the lesson allows me to see where students will have to show understanding, and I can see where those opportunities circle back around multiple times for formative assessment opportunities.”

– Lisa Taylor, 3rd-grade teacher