As you read through this chart and consider the benefits and costs of each choice, highlight those benefits or costs that are pertinent to your district, or erase those that don't apply to you. Add other costs and benefits as needed in each cell. Record decisions you make about how you will use instructional materials in your journal. Start at the beginning and try to get through as much of it as possible. Modifications may improve teachers' focus on important concepts, may increase the inquiry component of the curriculum.
Development is a powerful form of professional development.
Multimedia encyclopedias might also serve this purpose. Development of units and the search for instructional resources is a powerful form of professional development. Creating your own units requires considerable time and extensive feedback from field testing. However, if all teachers at a single grade teach the same units, they can cooperatively plan and field test the units, saving some time. Many districts attempt to add only one new unit per year per grade, so they can take their time to do it right.