Germantown committee outlines social studies curriculum review using "Understanding by Design"

The Germantown School District Teaching and Learning Committee received an informational update May 5 on the district's social studies curriculum review and the use of Understanding by Design (UbD) to prioritize standards and guide instruction.

District staff presented the purpose and early-stage work of a multi‑phase review that focuses first on analyzing state and district standards, prioritizing learning targets, and producing UbD stage‑1 documents that translate standards into classroom expectations. "When we talk about standards, we're defining what students should know and be able to do at each grade level," said Jake Nazir, a staff member who led the presentation. He described UbD as a "backwards design" process that starts with desired student understandings and then shapes assessments and…