How to Use the Curriculum to Plan Effective Lessons

Many Nigerian teachers treat the NERDC curriculum as a document they consult at the beginning of the term and then set aside. This underutilizes its value. The curriculum contains information that can improve every lesson. What the Curriculum Tells You For every topic, the NERDC curriculum provides learning objectives, content scope, suggested activities, assessment criteria, and reference materials. Most teachers use only the learning objectives. The other four elements are equally valuable. Using Learning Objectives Start with the curriculum learning objectives for that topic. This ensures alignment with examination expectations. Using Content Scope The curriculum content notes tell you what to include and exclude. This prevents both under-teaching and over-teaching. Using Suggested Activities The curriculum suggests activities for each topic based on educational research. Review them for ideas you might not have considered. Using Assessment Criteria The curriculum specifies how mastery should be evaluated. Design your assessment to match these criteria. The Planning Process Check the scheme of work. Look up the topic in the curriculum. Read objectives, content, and activities. Select objectives for today lesson. Choose activities. Design assessment. Identify resources. This adds 5 to 10 minutes but ensures curriculum alignment.