The Planning Binder

Additional FAQs

STANDARDS & ASSESSMENTS

  • Yes!

    Every concept plan contains a National Core Arts Standards table naming the anchor standards addressed under Create, Perform, Respond, and Connect.

    These National Core Arts Standards are the basis for many other state-level standards, including California.

  • Yes!

    Each concept plan names a pre-assessment and a post-assessment. Formative assessment questions appear throughout, with written guidance on using them for qualitative notes or building quantitative rubrics, and on using the results to make decisions about future instruction and pacing. Summative evaluations are labeled directly in the activity sequence. Each monthly plan lesson carries an Assessment Questions block tied to that lesson's stated objectives, with a built-in notes table for recording results class by class.

    I also offer an entire course on active embedded assessment practices. You can find it in the bonus section.

  • Yes! You can find it here.

CURRICULUM

  • Sequential. This curriculum is constructed with a backward-design model. Each grade has a published Scope and Sequence that sets the year's concept order. Each concept plan moves through three phases in a sound-to-sight progression: Making Music, Communicating Music, then Making Music Consciously. Each one opens with the prior knowledge students need and a written teaching progression. Monthly plans place that sequence into dated weeks with numbered lessons.

  • Written out. Every activity includes the full teaching process, as well as a transition into the next activity.

    Importantly, this curriculum is constructed through backward design. Therefore, users are encouraged to back up and think about learning through concept plans first, before moving to individual lesson plans.

  • The teaching processes in The Planning Binder are conceptualized through the lens of Universal Design for Learning.

    Lessons engage students through singing, speech, movement and dance, games, pitched and unpitched percussion, notation reading and writing, improvisation, arranging, and partner discussion. Plans include scaffolds, adaptations, and game variations, and tell teachers to repeat, extend, or omit activities based on students' pacing. Open Teacher Choice sections let teachers bring in their own repertoire and songs students suggest.

  • The collection includes songs and singing games from a range of cultures and languages, with translations, cultural background, and a cultural context guide. Sheet music, recordings, translations, and cultural notes are included in the Repertoire section.

    Learning activities also utilize pop materials, specifically for upper grades.

IT & Security

  • No. There are no student accounts, no student logins, and no student-facing interface. Students never access the platform. No student names, work, grades, or assessment results are submitted to, stored on, or transmitted through Victoria Boler LLC systems. Teachers record assessment notes in their own copy of a Google Doc, which stays in their own or their district's Google Drive.

  • Name, email address, and billing information for the subscription, plus contact form submissions and standard web analytics.

  • The site is hosted on Squarespace. Materials are housed in Squarespace and Google Drive.

  • 1. Acceptance of Terms

    By accessing or using "The Planning Binder," a digital subscription curriculum provided by Victoria Boler LLC (“Company”), you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this curriculum.

    2. Intellectual Property Rights

    All content, including but not limited to curriculum materials, lesson plans, audio files, videos, and downloadable resources (collectively, the “Content”), provided by the Company is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial, educational purposes. You may not modify, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, or create derivative works from any Content outside your teaching situation without prior written permission.

    3. User Responsibilities

    As a user of our Content, you agree to:

    - Use the Content solely for your personal, educational purposes in teaching elementary general music.

    - Not share, sell, rent, or otherwise distribute the Content to any third parties.

    4. Payment and Subscription

    "The Planning Binder" is offered as a digital subscription service. By subscribing, you agree to pay the fee. All payments are non-refundable, and subscriptions will automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless canceled prior to the renewal date. Users may cancel any plan at any point.

    5. Cancellation and Refund Policy

    You may cancel your subscription at any time. However, no refunds will be issued for any unused portion of your subscription term. Access to the Content will cease immediately upon cancellation.

    6. Contact Information

    If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact: victoria@victoriaboler.com

OTHER

  • Hi there, I’m Victoria!

    My full-time work is writing curriculum for elementary general music programs.

    I am a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction with a music concentration. My research area is the intersection between active music-making and classroom management in elementary music classrooms.

    I also teach K-5 elementary general music here in coastal North Carolina.

    I’m glad you’re here!