Scope and Sequence, in Curriculum Development

The design of a curriculum has an organizational dimension to it that accounts for what content [Page 771]and skills should be taught and for how they should be instructionally presented over time. Among curriculum developers, the overarching organization of the curriculum is embodied in a concept known as scope and sequence. Scope specifically refers to the breadth of the curriculum the organizing threads that constitute the skills and content that teachers are expected to include in their instruction. Sequence refers to how these skills and subject matter should be ordered. The two concepts work in synchronization because decisions related to scope have implications for sequencing and decisions related to sequencing have implications for scope. In each case, wider concerns about the coherence and continuity of ...