This project intends to develop a complete curriculum for grades 5-8. The materials to be produced are: instructional materials, staff development materials, and assessment materials. The instructional materials will consist of 40 units each of about 3-4 weeks duration. They will be developed in the spirit of the Standards grades 5-8. There will be a "Teacher's Guide" to provide information on activities, video clips, and technological tools related to each unit. The staff development material will consist of two pieces: an inservice program and a teacher network model. The latter component is to lend support to the teachers. It will include such things as electronic bulletin boards and collaborative organizations. The third part of the project will be the assessment materials which will consist of instructional assessment materials and a "core" curriculum readiness examination to assess the students' readiness for the "core" curriculum as described in the 9-12 section of the Standards.
