Key points:
Classroom teachers are handed a curriculum they must use when teaching. That specific curriculum is designed to bring uniformity, equity, and accountability into classrooms. It is meant to ensure that every child has access to instruction that is aligned with state standards. The specific curriculum provides a roadmap for instruction, but anyone who has spent time in a classroom knows that no single curriculum can fully meet the needs of every student.
In other words, even the most carefully designed curriculum cannot anticipate the individual needs of every learner or the nuances of every classroom. This is why supplementing curriculum is a vital action that skilled educators engage in. Supplementing curriculum does not mean that teachers are not teaching the required curriculum. In fact, it means they are doing even more to ensure student success.
Students arrive with different strengths, challenges, and interests. Supplementing curriculum allows teachers to bridge inevitable gaps within their students. For example, a math unit may assume fluency with multiplying and dividing fractions, but some students may not recall that skill, while others are ready to compute with mixed numbers. With supplementary resources, a teacher can provide both targeted remediation and enrichment opportunities. Without supplementing the curriculum, one group may fall behind or the other may become disengaged.
Supplementing curriculum can help make learning relevant. Many curricula are written to be broad and standardized. Students are more likely to connect with lessons when they see themselves reflected in the content, so switching a novel based on the population of students can assist in mastering the standard at hand.
Inclusion is another critical reason to supplement. No classroom is made up of one single type of learner. Students with disabilities may need graphic organizers or audio versions of texts. English learners may benefit from bilingual presentations of material or visual aids. A curriculum may hit all the standards of a grade, but cannot anticipate the varying needs of students. When a teacher intentionally supplements the curriculum, every child has a pathway to success.
Lastly, supplementing empowers teachers. Teaching is not about delivering a script; it is a profession built on expertise and creativity. When teachers supplement the prescribed curriculum, they demonstrate professional judgment and enhance the mandated framework. This leads to a classroom where learning is accessible, engaging, and responsive.
A provided curriculum is the structure of a car, but supplementary resources are the wheels that let the students move. When done intentionally, supplementing curriculum enables every student to be reached. In the end, the most successful classrooms are not those that follow a book, but those where teachers skillfully use supplementary curriculum to benefit all learners. Supplementing curriculum does not mean that a teacher is not using the curriculum–it simply means they are doing more to benefit their students even more.
Dr. Yuvraj Verma, Bessemer City Middle School and William Howard Taft University
Dr. Yuvraj Verma has been a teacher in Alabama since 2022 presently teaching TEAMS Math at Bessemer City Middle School after previously teaching Martha Gaskins Elementary School (of Birmingham City Schools) his first year and at Chalkville Elementary School (of Jefferson County Schools) his second year. He began his teaching career in New York from 2017-21 at PS446 Riverdale Avenue Community School (of the New York City Department of Education), Our World Neighborhood Charter School II, and Growing Up Green Charter School II. Verma is also an Adjunct Professor of Graduate and Doctoral Education at William Howard Taft University, and an Education Fellow with Black Alabamians for Education. Verma holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree in Technology and Leadership, an Education Specialist (EdS) degree in Education Administration, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Healthcare Administration from William Howard Taft University, a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree in Elementary and Special Education from the Relay Graduate School of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Sociology from Iona University. He was named an Outstanding Graduate by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) in 2025, a National LifeChanger Teacher of the Year Finalist in 2024, received the 2023 Torchbearer Award from the Birmingham City Council in Alabama, was a winner of the Extra Yard for Teachers Initiative hosted by the SEC of the NCAA in 2022, and was the recipient of the Back to School Build Your Classroom Award for Excellence from the Brooklyn Education Center in 2017.
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