With 63% of curriculum directors identifying mapping, sequencing, and vertical alignment as a top priority, and nearly half only somewhat confident that their curriculum truly aligns with their school’s mission and values (SAIS Curriculum Professionals Pulse Survey 2025), it is clear that traditional approaches to curriculum design may be falling short. When students repeatedly ask, “Why do we have to learn this?”, a fundamental disconnect between curriculum intention and student engagement signals a need for a new approach, one that transforms learning from isolated tasks into meaningful journeys. When curriculum content exists in silos without clear connections or purpose, students become passive recipients rather than invested participants, missing opportunities to see the relevance of their learning.
Curriculum Storyboarding, developed by Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Allison Zmuda, provides a 30,000-foot view of a course framed as a compelling narrative that deliberately invites students and families into a year-long learning journey. Integral to effective storyboarding, streamlining the curriculum requires educators to make deliberate choices about what to cut out, cut back, consolidate, and create to ensure the curriculum narrative flows seamlessly and purposefully engages learners. Rather than presenting curriculum as disconnected units, a storyboard reveals the throughlines and essential questions that connect past learning to new concepts, showing students not just what they will learn, but where they are going next and why it matters. This narrative approach transforms the learning experience by helping students anticipate challenges, recognize learning as a journey rather than a series of tasks, and naturally make connections to their existing knowledge.
To support educators in moving from theory to practice, this resource provides tools and templates designed to help teachers streamline their existing curriculum and create compelling storyboards. These practical resources will scaffold the process of identifying what content truly serves the narrative arc, eliminating redundancies and consolidating related concepts. Whether at the division or department level or in an individual classroom, these templates will guide the systematic process of transforming the curriculum from a collection of isolated units into a cohesive, engaging story that students want to be part of, with clear connections that make learning relevant and meaningful.
2026 TransformEd: Teaching & Learning ConferenceChattanooga Marriott & Convention Center
Explore cutting-edge pedagogical ideas, innovative instructional strategies, and game-changing educational tools designed to drive meaningful impact in the classroom. Formerly known as Curriculum Symposium, through TransformEd, you’ll gain the tools and insights to create transformative learning experiences that inspire student success and a passion for lifelong learning.
