Use the standards to determine what areas to teach first and which may be skipped if time becomes a concern. Courses driven by textbooks often have more information than can be taught in one or two class sessions. You can prioritize the information in the text. First, make a photocopy of your textbook's table of contents. Then check off the items in the photocopy as they appear in the academic standards for your subject and grade level. Use your background knowledge to determine if any of the unchecked items in the table of contents may be skipped and possibly taught at the end of the semester if time permits. Be sure to consider carefully the repercussions of skipping any items. For example, if the standards do not include a review of fractions, but your experience tells you that students may have trouble with ratios or algebra without such a review, keep the fractions as part of the curriculum.