Teaching Creatively Within Boxed Curriculum

I once met a teacher whose principal expects that when he observes her classroom, she should essentially be finishing the same sentence as the teacher he observed just moments before. Basically, their lessons are so scripted and standardized that there should not be any variation between the two teachers’ classes. This is called “Boxed Curriculum,” also sometimes called scripted or packaged curriculum. And while this teacher’s example might be a more extreme case, this highly prescribed form of teaching is becoming more and more popular in modern classrooms. From the introduction of policies like No Child Left Behind to the prevalence of the Science of Reading and the packaged curriculum that has followed, teachers are having to follow scripted learning units more than ever. 

This Article is Not to Discuss the Merits of Boxed Curriculum

I have my own thoughts as to why this scripted approach to teaching should not be the dominant one in classrooms around the country— from lack of personalization, to equity issues, to lack of teacher autonomy, reduced engagement from formulaic instruction, to outdated curriculum— one could argue that the boxed approach is not ideal. But let’s save that for another time. 

Because there are two truths when it comes to boxed curriculum: 

      1. Boxed curriculum can actually be helpful at times.

From new teachers who are still learning how to develop lessons from their content, to teachers using boxed curriculum more as a guide, having a detailed plan has its benefits.

       2. Teachers unfortunately have little say whether they have to use boxed curriculum or not. 

These decisions are often at the hands of administration, district leaders, and school boards. So if you’re a teacher reading this, there might not be a choice whether you use it or not. We can advocate for more flexibility and creative control (and believe me, I do often), but sometimes creativity has to happen within constraints. 

So let’s discuss ways to still exercise creativity in the classroom even if you teach from a boxed curriculum.

Frame Curriculum with Authentic Projects 

A meaningful project is one that has an authentic problem for students to solve, and in order to solve that problem, students need to develop certain skills and learn specific content. This is where the boxed curriculum comes in. Teachers introduce a problem to students, and then students engage in the curriculum to solve that problem. Essentially the same learning is taking place as if the project were not present, but now the project frames the unit. It gives purpose for the learning. 

For instance, students could be given the challenge to read persuasive speeches to the school board to advocate for a change they want to see in their school. Then the teacher uses the curriculum to teach persuasive writing in preparation for the big presentation. Now students aren’t just engaging in persuasive writing because that’s what’s next on the scope and sequence; they are learning writing skills to solve a meaningful problem. Giving purpose to a learning unit inspires deeper learning. 

Make Relevant Connections with the Curriculum

One issue with boxed curriculum is that it’s standardized for a large, diverse group of students, assuming they all think, act, and learn in the same way. It can overlook the unique needs, interests, and learning styles of individual students. This is why it can be so valuable to make relevant connections in the curriculum to personalize it for your students. Relevance is a key ingredient in successful learning. 

For instance, let’s say you are a 2nd grade teacher in Detroit. If the boxed curriculum includes a story about a town or neighborhood, you could ask students to describe places in their own city that remind them of the story’s setting. You could give a “Detroit Connection” activity where students compare characters or events in the story to their own lives—like visiting a local market, taking the bus, watching the Lions, or enjoying a city park.

You could also bring in short reading materials that spotlight Detroit landmarks, culture, or local heroes, allowing students to make real-world connections to their reading skills. Maybe the text in your curriculum is about a singer and students have to write a character profile about them. Have them write a character profile about Eminem first, then hop into the prescribed example. Your students are getting to connect deeper to the lesson because of the relevance, and you are getting to exercise your creativity in the classroom.

Personalize Your Delivery

You may have to follow a script at times, but how you “perform” that script is up to you. Share your enthusiasm. Start discussions. Inject personal anecdotes. The best teachers are storytellers, and just because your curriculum is planned out, doesn’t mean you can’t still engage students with stories. Even if it’s just a 30-second anecdote from your own life, stories have the power to engage students and gain their interest, which will carry over to the work they are engaged in. 

Swap in Discussion to Achieve the Same Objective

There is a whole body of research that shows the correlation between deeper learning and class discussion. When done well, students learn more when they process information with their peers. However, the lesson plans might not always have discussion activities built in. This is where you can choose to swap out one activity and replace it with discussion (If, of course, the discussion can meet the same objective.) 

For example, if at the end of a lesson students must complete a worksheet to demonstrate comprehension, you could have them discuss instead. Take the key concepts covered by the worksheet and build them into discussion questions. This is where AI can be extremely useful. Paste the worksheet or textbook activity into a chatbot like ChatGPT, and ask it to generate discussion questions for your grade level students. You can even have it generate a discussion rubric for you so you can assess their learning, both discussion skills as well as the content. 

Now your students get to engage with the material in an authentic and interactive way. They are processing the information at a deeper level in order to communicate it. This article provides some of my favorite strategies for leading effective class discussions. 

Gamify Learning

Naturally, review and practice will be built into your curriculum. Switch out some of the formative assessment and review activities with ones that are fun and engaging for students. Kahoot is an incredible website where students compete against each other while reviewing material. Any time I’ve ever started class with Kahoot already pulled up on the screen, students enter class excited and with a little more energy. Even though they get to play, they’re still learning the content. Only now, it’s more fun. 

Teaching is a Creative Profession

Teaching is inherently creative work. From discovering new ways to connect with students, to how you orient your classroom, to managing students, to designing learning experiences—  teaching is an art form. Sometimes it can feel stifled by the boundaries and constraints of the curriculum. However, packaged / boxed / scripted / standardized / prescripted (whatever you want to call it) curriculum does not have to rob all creativity from teaching. 

In fact, even within a tightly structured curriculum, there’s room for teachers to bring their unique voice, style, and innovation to the classroom. Small adjustments—like adapting examples to fit students’ interests, framing units with authentic projects, or transforming routine activities into interactive discussions—can make all the difference. By approaching each lesson with a mindset of flexibility and personalization, teachers can find ways to make the content resonate more deeply with students, sparking engagement and deeper learning. In this way, creativity isn’t something separate from teaching; it’s the very tool that brings curriculum to life.