# Free Direct Instruction Curriculum and Training
## Curriculum in Development

* Science K
* Science 1
* Science 2
* Reading K
* Reading 1
* Math K
* Math 1
* Math Facts

## What is Free Direct Instruction Curriculum and Training (Free DICT)

Free Direct Instruction Curriculum and Training is an electronic form of curriculum for parents and teachers in Science, Reading, and Math based on the teaching principles of Direct Instruction (DI). It is a scripted curriculum that ensures an efficient teaching of skills and knowledge to mastery. Don't let the scripted nature of the curriculum give you a sense of simplicity. There is much research and history in the principles of DI.
Currently there are no finished curriculum products. Hopefully Science K (Kindergarten Science) will be finished by the end of 2007. If there is help from the DI community then it could be finished much sooner.
Math will likely be next because there is a great need for quality math instruction at low cost (what better than free!). It will likely take 2–4 years and has not yet begun. Again, with help from the DI community, it could be done quicker.
To truly understand and participate in this community, it would be best to review the following sites:
* Definition of curriculum
* Definition of Direct Instruction or DI
* Definition of Free Curriculum - read and extrapolate from Free Software Foundation (FSF). I realize that FSF is for software but you can use your imagination to extrapolate.
* Definition of GNU Free Documentation Licence (GFDL)
* How do I know what makes a DI program really based on DI? The DI Approach and Specifications

## Direct Instruction Documentation

* Instructional Design and Criteria
* Direct Instruction Approach Specifications

## Benefits of wikibooks

By placing curriculum into an electronic media you gain the following benefits:
* Adaptable - if a set of instructions is weak, a teacher using the curriculum or a field testing teacher might login and either add to the discussion for the module (see tabs) or make a change in the module for the section. Furthermore, a teacher can make their own copy and customize it for his or her own use.
* Portable - curriculum and scripted teacher instruction can be placed on a laptop and/or printed out. No more lugging books around. Student booklets can be easily printed in black and white or color and easily replaced.
* Reduced costs - Student books can currently cost $50–$80 each. Workbooks can currently cost $10 to $20 each. Printed teacher editions can cost $80 on up.
* Durable - electronic media can often be put into various types of formats such as a database, web page, or even printed in sections. Currently, teacher editions are spiral bound which can compress and become difficult to turn pages.
* Expandable - the use of hyperlinks to get more information on an idea or item can assist teachers in learning the curriculum more completely and quickly.
* Format/media - using electronic media allows curriculum to be developed in a way that is quicker for the teacher to learn to efficacy, thereby, allowing the teacher more time to work on student errors or more time to "punch up" the curriculum to make more fun. The use of small icons as cues can assist teachers in learning the curriculum more quickly.
* Multimedia - the ability for a teacher to use pictures and short videos to make a point. Also allows the multimedia to include current events thus making the lessons more timely and linked to the students point of view.
* Helpful for parents - parents of students with disabilities can help pre-teach or firm areas for students with disabilities that need extra practice. A teacher can print the information/workbooks or direct the parent to the wikibook website.
* Transformable - can translate the curriculum to different languages and even communication style (i.e. from written to sign language).

## Who Should Contribute

Anyone interested in Direct Instruction curriculum development and the idea of GNU Free Documentation License
The idea of providing schools with free, effective, field tested curriculum will save money and give us a more educated, competitive populace.

## How to Prepare in order to Contribute

Please ensure you have read up on Direct Instruction and the wikibook model.

### DI links

* Direct Instruction Rubric - large PDF file
* Zig Site
* Association for Direct Instruction
* National Institute for Direct Instruction
* Jeff Lindsay's DI Site
* Martin Kozloff's DI Site
* SRA Direct Instruction website

### DI books

* Introduction to Direct Instruction
* Direct Instruction Reading, Fourth Edition
* Teaching Struggling and At-Risk Readers: A Direct Instruction Approach
* Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction: A Direct Instruction Approach (4th Ed)

### Wikibook links

* Newcomers
* Contributing FAQ

### Copyright links

* Copyright Basics
* US Copyright
* US Internet Law/Copyright
* What is Not Protected by Copyright
* Merger doctrine
* Idea-expression divide
* Limitations and exceptions to copyright

## How to Contribute

* If you wish to contribute you should read Contributing and join us at the Contributors lounge.
OR
* Contribute to the discussion of this page by clicking on the discussion tab at the top or click Talk:Free Direct Instruction Curriculum and Training
A copyright attorney is needed. Any takers?
* DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK even with permission! We can most certainly reinvent this wheel with enough time and energy. Might as well get started now - the sooner we get started the sooner schools can use this curriculum.

## Authors and contributors

This Wikibook has been written by (please add your name here if you want to contribute):
* Harriska2 (Contributions)