About Crafting Learning: A Curriculum Design Podcast
Hosted by Lacey Ramsey, Andy Tyson, and Reshan Richards. This podcast features interviews with early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school educators describing recent curriculum design work.
We were joined by our Middle and Upper School Counselor who also leads our Life Skills curriculum for Human Growth and Development.
16 Jul 2026
Revising the Fifth Grade Social Studies Curriculum
We chatted with members of the 5th grade team and learned about how they redesigned some of the topics in their curriculum to better align with the entire Beg-9 scope and sequence.
16 Jul 2026
Connecting History and Literature in Upper School English
We sit down and chat with Danielle Service, Upper School English Teacher and G5-9 English Program Coordinator about her explorations into the connections of history and literature.
23 Mar 2026
Implementation Preparation for UFLI and IMSE Morphology
Joined by Learning Resources teachers Cindy Thom, Lacey Ramsey, and Shannon Faella. We are adopting a new phonics program (UFLI) from Kindergarten through 2nd grade. As a result, materials needed to be set up, scope and sequences created to bridge the gap from FUNdations, and instructional decisions needed to be made. Additionally, 4th grade is adopting a new morphology program (IMSE) and logistics for when to teach, how to teach, and what to teach needed to be determined for the first year of implementation.
23 May 2025
Beginners 3/4 Outdoor Curriculum
Early childhood educators Liz Unger and Kristin Keneally discuss designing outdoor curricula to foster connection with nature, sensory experiences, motor skills, and social-emotional growth for young learners.
22 May 2025
Beginners - Grade 9 Spanish
A conversation with World Language teachers Catherine Mendoza, Sean Robb, Abby Cali, and Loren Chavez who are all currently teaching Spanish from Beginners through Grade 9 at NCCS. The entire WL team had attended a conference recently and we got to learn about those experiences as well as other elements that are experienced by students throughout our program.
21 May 2025
Upper Level Latin Redesign
Two of our Upper School World Languages teachers collaborated over the summer to make sure the Latin 2 program at NCCS allows a student to move to any Latin 3 program and be successful in any Latin 3 classroom. This can be challenging considering Latin programs can really vary school to school. Since students are now getting farther in Latin curriculum, we can cover more topics with students that should prepare them for Latin 3 including Participles, Comparatives, Superlatives, and the Subjunctive while also experiencing updated topics around culture.
5 Dec 2024
Physical Education & Athletics: Beginners Motor and G5-9 Interscholastic Sports
NCCS' Physical Education and Athletics team shares innovative curricular design work in beginners motor and coaching, promoting physical, motor, and emotional development for young students and empowering coaches with accessible practice plans.
12 Jun 2024
Social-Emotional Curriculum in Beginners Program
Madeleine Ker, Claire DeLaurentis, and Daley Avery shared about their summer work. The focus of their work was to review the Beginners Social and Emotional Learning curriculum by looking closely at the history of what they have included.
They took a closer look at “The Color Monster” unit and differentiated lessons to provide students with a more scaffolded experience.
31 May 2024
Beginners 3/4 Curriculum
Beginners 3/4 Teachers Liz Unger and Kristin Keneally share about their work documenting early childhood curriculum
23 Apr 2024
Special Episode: Job Search Tips Panel
In this special episode you will hear from a panel of our school's division leaders and the head of school who shared perspectives on job search processes. This panel happened live for our Apprentice Teacher Training Program cohort and is being made available on the podcast. Thanks for tuning in and please enjoy!
1 Mar 2024
K-4 Social Emotional Practices
In this episode (recorded on Leap Day - February 29, 2024) we learn from Kelly Siegrist and Cindy Thom about the Social Emotional resources they developed for K-4 teachers.
They created a guidebook for teachers around SEL/Responsive Classroom strategies and practices with targeted goals based on recent classroom observations. Supplemental materials were provided around specific tools to increase classroom autonomy and self-regulation. These experiences and goals are being presented in divisional meetings with corresponding paper copies of the guidebook added throughout the year.
Please contact the Crafting Learning hosts for access to the guidebook.
12 Jan 2024
Music and Movement in Early Childhood and Lower School
Lindy Bourque and Jennifer Thiemann join us to share about their curriculum design work for Music and Movement in the lower grades (Beginners - 4th grade) at NCCS.
Summary from the Guests
In the 2021-2022 school year, we combined what had previously been a Lower school “Creative Dramatics” class and a Lower School “Music” class into one course called “Music and Movement”. In the 2023-2024 school year, we made that same
intentional shift to “Music and Movement” in EC. We reviewed and made adjustments to the curriculum based on a year of living the program. Then we worked backwards to create the new EC “Music and Movement” curriculum:
Skill development, from B3/4 to Grade 4, was defined.
Learning objectives and grade-level summaries were written.
Connections to external learning standards were identified and recorded.
Basic pacing guides were created.
15 Dec 2023
9th Grade Capstone Project
Upper School faculty members Elizabeth Carroll, Lauren Romeo, Marshall Johnson, and Lacey Ramsey share about their newly designed Capstone project for the oldest students in our school.
Curriculum Description
9th Grade Capstone Project
This curriculum design project was centered around brainstorming and developing a culminating, interdisciplinary experience for departing ninth-grade students. In recent years, the 9 Capstone has consisted of a public presentation on current events run through the 9 Modern World History course. This new iteration of the 9 Capstone, however, looks to shift the focus back towards the personal interests and experiences of graduating ninth graders, centering on the basic question: “How can you [the student] make a positive impact on the greater world, and/or the NCCS community?”
This design project team outlined the various project steps, determined scheduling, and created a basic project outline for students. Using an inquiry-based approach, students will brainstorm an issue about which they feel personally passionate; develop a guiding question around which they will research, collect, and analyze data; create a plan of action; and implement it within the community at large and/or NCCS. All ninth graders will then present their research to the school and their families in a special capstone showcase event in the spring. Finally, students will reflect on their capstone experience and how it relates to their time at NCCS in the final days before graduation.
Examples & Resources
Project Overview
Ninth-Grade Community Action Project (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VvANylRni-rffjBezg0cwih7s8JbM5n8sxG0cEblc7U/edit?usp=sharing)
21 Nov 2023
Executive Functioning with 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students
Learning Resource Teachers Hali Dorfman and Lacey Ramsey share about their design work focused on executive functioning curriculum.
Curriculum Description
Executive Functioning: Tools, Strategies and Methods
This curriculum is designed to develop the self-awareness skills students need
to appreciate their strengths, recognize when to ask for help, and to grow comfortable learning
how to learn for life. In Learning Lab, students learn effective study (and learning) strategies that will help them in school and beyond. By modifying and creating our own curriculum that is inspired by MindPrint, this project addresses both the self-awareness skills and study skills that students need to be successful. It includes mini units that can be facilitated either as part of a larger unit or as stand-alone lessons for students both in and out of Learning Lab. While students will vary in openness to change, just as they vary in every other academic or social skill, the expectation is that after completing this work, all students will have a better understanding of who they are as learners and an appreciation and acceptance of the fact that there are tools available to them when they are faced with challenges.
Examples & Resources
Overview of Course:
EF: Tools, Strategies, and Methods: Scope and Sequence (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rcke7rtRHst30rXl-oLgeH2ElgEq0hY9Y_o1Y8ILDpA/edit?usp=sharing)
EF: Tools, Strategies, and Methods: Lesson Slides (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ioJ6Vv5kM-mr1zJ0bO-ndSWqZ9pKfN6giS_9kKau6xs/edit?usp=sharing)
EF: Tools, Strategies, and Methods: Student Reflection Journal (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vvNMxfN26aGTwdFW42cpMboXlggVxvXqC3mOapznu5o/edit?usp=sharing)
Resources:
MindPrint Learning (https://www.mindprintlearning.com/)
LearningScientists.org (https://www.learningscientists.org/downloadable-materials)
Life Skills (https://sites.google.com/scred.k12.mn.us/scredsel/educators/be-good-people-curriculum/6-8-core-edition?authuser=0)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
10
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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