Comprehensive Curriculum Examples for Every Age Level

Returning to school is stressful. You’re trying to put away your supply order, create seating charts, and figure out how that new grading system is going to work. Then, you find out you also need to map out your entire curriculum. What!? Overwhelmed would be an understatement.

You are not alone.

Last month, AOE writer, Matt Christenson, shared the entire curriculum for his Visual Arts course. He outlined all the materials, scaffolding exercises, and summative assessments he uses with his students for the entire year. Readers appreciated seeing this big picture view, but some wanted more information. What would it look like to highlight art history and vocabulary? How might the units connect to the National Art Standards?

So, we took things a step further and organized Matt’s curriculum into a helpful, comprehensive chart. It would be a great resource to use when thinking about building or redesigning your own art curriculum.

Sample High School Curriculum

Download the sample high school curriculum below!

Download High School Sample Now

If you don’t teach at the high school level, we’ve got you covered! Check out the middle school and elementary versions below.

Sample Middle School Curriculum

Download the sample middle school curriculum below!

Sample Elementary School Curriculum

Download the sample elementary school curriculum, designed by Abby Schukei, below!

For those of you who would like to use this as a starting point for your own curriculum writing, we are providing a blank, printable version for you to fill in when the time comes. Use this as a personal planning guide, a brainstorming draft document in your PLCs, or even a template for your district curriculum planning.

Blank Template

Download the blank template below!

Finally, if you’d like all of the samples and the blank template in one download, please click here. 

If you’re looking for more in-depth work on your curriculum, join our ever popular curriculum course, Designing Your Art Curriculum. This rigorous, hands-on course encourages you to research and observe art curricula in the best districts in the nation, as well as different styles and types of art curricula currently on the market. You can find more information here.

How do you map or document your curriculum plan?

What tips do you have for planning and organizing units or long-term curriculum?