How to Become a Curriculum Writer

You have a lot of teaching experience and now you'd like to share your understanding of the curriculum with other people. You also love to write. If this describes you, curriculum writing might be your calling. Teachers always need new interesting material. Become a curriculum writer and create educational material for teachers and students.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Resume and cover letter
• Portfolio
• Computer with Internet access

1. Check with your local school board. Find out if they hire writers. Ask who writes their material. Some school boards might hire freelance writers with teaching experience.

2. Join a local writing group. You can find a lot of contacts when you meet with other writers. Writers also help each other edit the information so you can present your information to editors in its best form.

3. Network with teachers and others working in the field of education. School boards often create curriculum material within their own schools. Network with those who are in the field and make sure everyone knows you're the writer to call when a project comes up.

4. Create a writing portfolio with all your writing experience. Make sure you include all relevant teaching material you have created for your classes. Show your portfolio to fellow writers and teachers. Your portfolio shows your ability to write professionally.

5. Write a resume and cover letter outlining your writing and teaching skills. Include your knowledge of the curriculum. Tailor your cover letter to include your teaching specialty and your in-depth knowledge of your field.

6. Visit an online writers' website (see Resources below). Search the site for jobs in your field and chat in the forum about curriculum writing. You can get a lot of advice and job leads from writers' websites.

7. Take writing and computer courses. Technical writing courses teach you how to outline your work, create documents and present your information. Computer courses help you input your information on the computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Search for jobs in the fields of education and writing. Present yourself as a Curriculum Writer but also search for work in each area separately.
• Make sure you are familiar with the curriculum in various school districts if you want to write outside of your immediate region.

Resources

• This is a workshop about writing.
• This is about taking a writing workshop.
• This site informs you about curriculum writers.