I bridge the gap between standards and lesson plans by building a map.  Being a relatively new teacher, I had to pour over the standards for teaching high school mathematics with a fine tooth comb.  My principal my first year of teaching was very strict about all departments showing that all standards were addressed somewhere in the curricula of Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry, and what week of the year it was taught.  We were supposed to design a curriculum map as a guide and show what we were teaching daily.  Having never done a map and not finding anything relevant on the Internet (and did I ever try), I came up with my own system.  I took the Core Content 3.0 and carefully mapped all the lessons in the textbooks of each of the three math classes to it.  It took a lot of time, but it was positive proof that we were trying to address the standards.  Then, Core Content 4.0 and the new Program of Studies comes out the next year, and all my work begins again because of the massive overall of the core content “content”.  I have attached my massive body of work to this post so that you can see what I did. 

But getting to the question at hand, by rebuilding my curriculum map, it is much easier to create lesson plans because I know what needs to be addressed for each lesson and each standard.  A simple checklist of each section taught during the year lets me know that each core content statement and each program of studies is taught and when it is taught.  Yet, there is always a catch–and here it is–I never get as far in the curriculum as I plan, and there are standards that get left out, that don’t get taught.  Do I believe the list is too broad?  YES.  Do I believe it all is relevant?  NO.  So I do the best I can do with the time I have and the lack of motivation of students to always learn the content.