Full-year plans

Pacing Guides

A complete scope and sequence for every grade and subject we have mapped: Grade 8 English Language Arts · Grade 8 Math · Grade 7 English Language Arts · Grade 7 Math · Grade 6 English Language Arts · Grade 6 Math. Similarity before slope, evidence before argument — every unit lands after what it builds on.

Grade 8 English Language Arts Pacing Guide

8 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 41 Common Core standards. Reading builds toward the argument unit; each writing mode lands after students have read strong models of it.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
41 of 41 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–4

    Unit 1: Evidence and Theme in Literature

    3/3 ready

    Cite the evidence that MOST strongly supports an analysis; determine a theme and trace its development; write objective summaries.

  2. Weeks 5–8

    Unit 2: Character, Craft and Structure

    4/4 ready

    How dialogue and incidents propel a story; word choice, tone, and figurative language; comparing the structure of two texts.

  3. Weeks 9–11

    Unit 3: Point of View and Story Across Mediums

    3/3 ready

    Dramatic irony and points of view; evaluating film and stage choices against the text; how modern fiction draws on myth and tradition.

  4. Weeks 12–15

    Unit 4: Informational Ideas and Evidence

    4/4 ready

    Central ideas and their development in nonfiction; strongest textual evidence; how texts connect and distinguish ideas, individuals, and events.

  5. Weeks 16–19

    Unit 5: Informational Craft and Perspective

    5/5 ready

    Technical and connotative word meanings; paragraph-level structure; author's point of view and conflicting evidence; choosing the right medium.

  6. Weeks 20–23

    Unit 6: Argument: Reading It, Writing It

    3/3 ready

    Evaluate the soundness of reasoning and sufficiency of evidence; analyze two texts that disagree on the facts; write arguments with claims, counterclaims, and evidence.

  7. Weeks 24–28

    Unit 7: Writing Modes, Process and Research

    9/9 ready

    Informative and narrative writing; planning, revising, and publishing with technology; short research projects with credible sources and correct citation.

  8. Weeks 29–32

    Unit 8: Speaking, Listening and Language Study

    10/10 ready

    Collegial discussion and formal presentation; verbals, voice, and mood; punctuation for effect. Conventions taught here are reinforced all year.

Grade 8 Math Pacing Guide

11 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 28 Common Core standards. Every standard is scheduled after the standards it depends on.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
28 of 28 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–3

    Unit 1: Transformations & Congruence

    3/3 ready

    Establish rigid motions and what they preserve, then define congruence as a sequence of those motions.

  2. Weeks 4–6

    Unit 2: Dilations, Similarity & Angles

    2/2 ready

    Add dilations to build similarity, and establish the angle facts that make the angle-angle criterion work.

  3. Weeks 7–9

    Unit 3: Proportional Relationships & Slope

    2/2 ready

    Use similar triangles to show slope is constant, and derive y = mx and y = mx + b.

  4. Weeks 10–12

    Unit 4: Linear Equations

    1/1 ready

    Solve linear equations in one variable, including the cases with no solution or infinitely many.

  5. Weeks 13–16

    Unit 5: Functions

    5/5 ready

    Define functions, compare them across representations, and model real situations with rate of change and initial value.

  6. Weeks 17–19

    Unit 6: Systems of Equations

    1/1 ready

    Read intersections as simultaneous solutions, solve systems algebraically and graphically, and apply them.

  7. Weeks 20–22

    Unit 7: Exponents & Scientific Notation

    3/3 ready

    Build the integer exponent properties from patterns, then use powers of ten to handle very large and very small quantities.

  8. Weeks 23–24

    Unit 8: Roots & Irrational Numbers

    3/3 ready

    Introduce square and cube roots as inverse operations, and place irrational numbers on the number line.

  9. Weeks 25–27

    Unit 9: Pythagorean Theorem

    3/3 ready

    Prove the theorem and its converse, then apply it to lengths in two and three dimensions and to coordinate distance.

  10. Weeks 28–29

    Unit 10: Volume

    1/1 ready

    Apply the cone, cylinder and sphere volume formulas to real design problems.

  11. Weeks 30–32

    Unit 11: Bivariate Data

    4/4 ready

    Build scatter plots, fit and interpret linear models, and read association in two-way tables.

Grade 7 English Language Arts Pacing Guide

8 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 41 Common Core standards. Reading builds toward the argument unit; each writing mode lands after students have read strong models of it.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
41 of 41 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–4

    Unit 1: Evidence Webs and Theme

    3/3 ready

    Cite several pieces of evidence that work together; determine a theme and trace its development; analyze how story elements interact.

  2. Weeks 5–8

    Unit 2: Sound, Form, and Figurative Craft

    3/3 ready

    Analyze the impact of rhymes and sound repetitions on a stanza; how a drama's or poem's form contributes to meaning; figurative language and nuance.

  3. Weeks 9–12

    Unit 3: Perspectives, Mediums, and History in Fiction

    4/4 ready

    Contrast the points of view of different narrators; compare a written story to its filmed version's techniques; audit historical fiction against the record.

  4. Weeks 13–16

    Unit 4: Central Ideas and Interactions in Nonfiction

    4/4 ready

    Determine two or more central ideas and their development; analyze interactions between individuals, events, and ideas; write objective summaries.

  5. Weeks 17–20

    Unit 5: Word Choice, Structure, and the Author's Position

    4/4 ready

    Analyze word-choice impact on meaning and tone; how major sections organize a text; how an author distinguishes their position from others'.

  6. Weeks 21–24

    Unit 6: Arguments and Their Deliveries

    3/3 ready

    Trace and evaluate arguments for sound reasoning and sufficient evidence; compare a text to its delivered version; analyze how two authors shape the same facts.

  7. Weeks 25–29

    Unit 7: The Writing Workshops

    10/10 ready

    Argument letters that acknowledge the other side; explainers organized by strategy; narratives with managed time; audience-focused revision; the research sprint.

  8. Weeks 30–32

    Unit 8: Discussion, Presentation, and Conventions

    10/10 ready

    Decision-focused collaborative discussion; presenting salient findings with visuals; modifier repair, concision, and the coordinate-adjective comma. Conventions reinforced all year.

Grade 7 Math Pacing Guide

11 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 24 Common Core standards. Every standard is scheduled after the standards it depends on.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
24 of 24 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–3

    Unit 1: Adding & Subtracting Rational Numbers

    1/1 ready

    Extend addition and subtraction to negative numbers on the number line: opposites make zero, and subtracting is adding the inverse.

  2. Weeks 4–6

    Unit 2: Multiplying & Dividing Rational Numbers

    2/2 ready

    Extend multiplication and division to signed numbers, convert rationals to decimals, and put all four operations to work on real problems.

  3. Weeks 7–9

    Unit 3: Equivalent Expressions

    2/2 ready

    Add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions — and see how rewriting an expression can reveal what a problem is really saying.

  4. Weeks 10–12

    Unit 4: Equations & Inequalities

    2/2 ready

    Turn word problems into px + q = r equations and px + q > r inequalities, solve them fluently, and interpret solution sets in context.

  5. Weeks 13–15

    Unit 5: Unit Rates & Proportional Relationships

    2/2 ready

    Compute unit rates from ratios of fractions, then recognize and represent proportional relationships in tables, graphs, and equations.

  6. Weeks 16–18

    Unit 6: Percent & Proportional Applications

    1/1 ready

    Apply proportional reasoning to the money problems of real life: tax, tips, markups, discounts, interest, and percent change.

  7. Weeks 19–21

    Unit 7: Scale Drawings & Constructions

    3/3 ready

    Use proportional reasoning on scale drawings, construct triangles from given conditions, and slice solids to discover their cross-sections.

  8. Weeks 22–24

    Unit 8: Angles & Circles

    2/2 ready

    Write equations from angle relationships, and establish the circle formulas with an informal derivation connecting circumference to area.

  9. Weeks 25–26

    Unit 9: Area, Surface Area & Volume

    1/1 ready

    Solve real problems about composed two- and three-dimensional figures built from triangles, quadrilaterals, and right prisms.

  10. Weeks 27–29

    Unit 10: Sampling & Statistical Inference

    4/4 ready

    Draw inferences about populations from random samples, and compare two populations using centers measured against variability.

  11. Weeks 30–32

    Unit 11: Probability

    4/4 ready

    Quantify chance from 0 to 1, build uniform and observed-frequency models, and find compound probabilities with lists, tables, trees, and simulation.

Grade 6 English Language Arts Pacing Guide

8 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 41 Common Core standards. Reading builds toward the argument unit; each writing mode lands after students have read strong models of it.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
41 of 41 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–4

    Unit 1: Evidence and Theme

    3/3 ready

    Cite textual evidence for explicit and inferred meaning; determine a theme through its particular details, distinct from personal opinion; trace how characters respond and change as a plot moves toward resolution.

  2. Weeks 5–8

    Unit 2: Craft: Word, Structure, and Voice

    4/4 ready

    Analyze word choices, figurative and connotative meanings, and figures of speech; how a sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits a text's structure and builds theme; how an author develops a narrator's point of view.

  3. Weeks 9–11

    Unit 3: Versions, Genres, and the Reading Range

    3/3 ready

    Compare reading a text to listening to or watching its audio or video version; compare texts in different genres approaching similar themes; read and comprehend grade-band literature independently.

  4. Weeks 12–15

    Unit 4: Central Ideas in Nonfiction

    4/4 ready

    Cite evidence in informational text; determine a central idea and how details convey it; analyze how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated; summarize without opinion.

  5. Weeks 16–20

    Unit 5: Nonfiction Craft, Argument, and Sources

    7/7 ready

    Technical and connotative word meanings with vocabulary strategies; how a part fits a text's structure; author's purpose and point of view; integrating information across formats; evaluating whether claims are backed by reasons and evidence; comparing two authors' presentations of the same events.

  6. Weeks 21–25

    Unit 6: Writing: Argument, Information, Narrative

    5/5 ready

    Write arguments with clear claims, credible evidence, and formal style; informative pieces that examine a topic through well-chosen facts and details; narratives with effective technique, descriptive details, and structured event sequences — all with development and organization matched to task and audience, across extended and shorter time frames.

  7. Weeks 26–29

    Unit 7: Revision, Research, and Publication

    5/5 ready

    Strengthen writing by planned revision passes; use technology to produce and publish with keyboarding fluency; conduct short research projects drawing on several sources; assess credibility, paraphrase without plagiarism, and cite; draw evidence from texts to support analysis.

  8. Weeks 30–32

    Unit 8: Speaking, Listening, and Conventions

    10/10 ready

    Collaborative discussions with preparation and talk moves; interpreting information across media; delineating a speaker's claims; presentations with logical sequence, clear delivery, and visuals that clarify; pronoun conventions and sentence variety; punctuation for nonrestrictive elements; academic vocabulary.

Grade 6 Math Pacing Guide

11 units across 32 instructional weeks, covering all 29 Common Core standards. Every standard is scheduled after the standards it depends on.

Download the printable guide (PDF)See the curriculum map
29 of 29 standards in this plan have a complete kit ready to download
  1. Weeks 1–3

    Unit 1: Ratios & Rates

    2/2 ready

    Build ratio language and the unit rate a/b — the for-every reasoning the whole middle school arc stands on.

  2. Weeks 4–6

    Unit 2: Ratio Problem Solving & Percent

    1/1 ready

    Put ratio reasoning to work: equivalent-ratio tables, double number lines, unit pricing, percent as a rate per 100, and unit conversion.

  3. Weeks 7–8

    Unit 3: Dividing Fractions by Fractions

    1/1 ready

    Interpret and compute fraction-by-fraction quotients with models and the how-many-fit question.

  4. Weeks 9–11

    Unit 4: Decimals, Factors & Multiples

    3/3 ready

    Fluency with multi-digit division and decimal operations, plus GCF, LCM, and the distributive property on numbers.

  5. Weeks 12–14

    Unit 5: Rational Numbers & the Number Line

    3/3 ready

    Extend the number system below zero: opposites, ordering, absolute value, and what 0 means in each context.

  6. Weeks 15–16

    Unit 6: The Coordinate Plane

    1/1 ready

    All four quadrants: plotting, reflections across axes, and distances along gridlines with absolute value.

  7. Weeks 17–20

    Unit 7: Expressions

    4/4 ready

    Exponents, variables, and the properties of operations — writing, reading, evaluating, and proving expressions equivalent.

  8. Weeks 21–23

    Unit 8: Equations & Inequalities

    4/4 ready

    Solutions as truth-makers, variables as unknowns, solving x + p = q and px = q, and inequalities with infinitely many solutions.

  9. Weeks 24–25

    Unit 9: Two Variables Together

    1/1 ready

    Dependent and independent variables linked by equations, tables, and graphs — d = 65t and its relatives.

  10. Weeks 26–29

    Unit 10: Area, Volume & Nets

    4/4 ready

    Areas by composing and decomposing, prisms with fractional edges, polygons on the coordinate plane, and surface area from nets.

  11. Weeks 30–32

    Unit 11: Statistics

    5/5 ready

    Statistical questions anticipate variability: distributions, dot plots, histograms and box plots, and summaries chosen by shape.

Unit order and week allocations are our editorial sequencing, not part of the Common Core. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.