Ms. Begay has just been hired as a first-year fourth-grade teacher at Silverado Elementary School. At the school orientation for new
staff, the principal discussed the most recent state assessment results and informed the new teachers that they would be required to
incorporate state standards and curricular goals into their instructional lesson planning. As Ms. Begay begins to develop her
units and lessons for the upcoming year, she focuses on one semester at a time. She recognizes that she needs to address the state
standards in her lessons and begins to reflect on how to make that work for her group of students. She knows that she will have
students of varying backgrounds and abilities, and wants to make sure the curriculum meets the needs of all of her students, since
she is not sure if all students are even at grade level. She also wants to ensure that her students are actively engaged in learning
and find the lessons exciting. She is concerned that teaching to the standards will be boring and will just be "teaching to the test."