term-map

# Term Map

A topic list is not a course. Name 4-8 units by the questions worth a year. Count real teaching days. Tag I/D/M. Climb Bloom. Flag gaps.

Inspired by SkillMedev educators-toolkit curriculum-mapper (MIT). Original Grok remake. Complements unit-arc (2-6 week unit), lesson-block (one period), pulse-check (tiny CFU), score-grid (rubrics), quiz-bank (assessment items), tier-lesson (tiers on an existing lesson). Education only.

Read `references/map-rails.md` before you write. Fill the three templates under `templates/`.

## When to use

- Year plan, term map, scope and sequence, course outline across months
- 4-8 units named by essential questions, not a chapter table of contents
- Instructional-day math (calendar minus testing and assemblies) with ~10% flex
- I/D/M tags on standards, Bloom climb, gap and redundancy flags
- Horizontal (other subjects same window) and vertical (prior/next year) notes

## When NOT to use

- A 2-6 week unit with one essential question and a performance task → use unit-arc
- One tomorrow-period packet → use lesson-block
- Tiny 1-3 item formative CFU → use pulse-check
- Analytic rubric for a project or essay → use score-grid
- Quiz / item bank with distractors → use quiz-bank
- Below / at / above tiers on an already-written lesson → use tier-lesson
- Live high-stakes exam keys, LMS logins, or a dump of a published curriculum

## Inputs

- Grade band or course name (required)
- Term vs full year, plus start and end dates if known
- Raw calendar days, then real instructional days (subtract testing, assemblies, early-release, snow buffer). Label estimates. A 180-day calendar often yields ~150-160 teachable days. Planners often overestimate 10-15%.
- Standards set the teacher actually uses (they supply codes when they have them)
- High-stakes testing windows, concerts, field days, or other immovable calendar facts
- Prior-year and next-year course names if they want vertical notes
- Sister-subject windows if they want horizontal notes (same grade, other rooms)

## Procedure

1. Read `references/map-rails.md`. If they asked for one unit or one period, stop and hand off to unit-arc or lesson-block. Do not pad a week into a fake year.
2. Fill `templates/params.md`. Lock real instructional days, not the brochure calendar. State the estimate. Hold ~10% of weeks as flex (reteach, snow, slippage).
3. Draft 4-8 units. Fewer than 4 is too coarse. More than 8 is fragile. Name each unit by an essential question, not a topic label ("fractions" is a topic; "how do we split things fairly when the pieces are not obvious?" is a unit).
4. Sequence by learning logic, not textbook chapter order. Prerequisites first. Seasonal hooks only if they help. Do not park the hardest unit the week before high-stakes testing or in the last two weeks.
5. Mark one or two movable units as flex reserves (can slide without breaking prerequisites).
6. Tag primary standards I / D / M across the whole map. One appearance is exposure, not mastery. Never-appears is a gap. Appears-everywhere is over-reliance. Every M needs a prior I and a prior D.
7. Check Bloom trajectory. The year should climb. Early units may live in Remember / Understand / Apply. The final third should hit Analyze / Evaluate / Create. Even early units need one task above Understand.
8. Add horizontal and vertical connection notes (one line each where they exist). Do not invent a district crosswalk.
9. Fill `templates/unit-table.md` (one-page overview) and write a short unit-by-unit view under the same card. Fill `templates/gap-flags.md`.
10. Standard codes: use teacher-supplied codes first. Best-effort codes must be labeled as such. Do not invent official codes as if from a knowledge graph.

## Output format

- Parameter block (days, flex, anchors, standards set)
- Unit table: Unit, Essential Question, Weeks, Primary Standards with I/D/M, Bloom of key assessments, Key assessments, Connections
- Two views: one-page overview and unit-by-unit
- Gap / redundancy / Bloom-climb / movable-unit list
- One line: generated without a standards knowledge graph; codes are best-effort unless the teacher supplied them

## Safety

- Follow `references/map-rails.md` with no exceptions.
- Original student and teacher text only. No copyrighted curriculum dumps. No published pacing-guide paste.
- No student PII. No LMS passwords. No live exam keys.
- Age-appropriate. No sexual content involving minors. No self-harm examples.

## Stop conditions

- Three templates delivered, or refused for wrong skill (unit-arc / lesson-block / quiz-bank) / copyright dump / live exam key / missing grade or course