Curriculum Alignment - Language Arts
Seattle Public Schools’ Strategic Plan, Excellence for All, commits the District to ensuring high expectations and a high quality school for every student. As part of a system-wide effort to increase the number of Seattle Public School students that graduate from high school prepared for college and the 21st century work force, Seattle Public High Schools (SPS) has committed to a curriculum alignment in core academic subjects across all Schools. Durin g the school year 2010-2011 all 9th and 10th grade Language Arts coures will implement the new college and career readiness standards and instructional materials that support them.
Language Arts courses have been realigned to the following :
- Essential content knowledge and skills necessary to being successful in the next course in the sequence and/or college and work. the following resources were used to identify the essential standards for High School students.
- College Board Standards for College Success
- Common Core Standards
Textual materials and supporting instructional documents selected and/or designed by Seattle Public Schools.The High School Language Arts Adoption Committee worked in collaboration with building teachers to develop a list of titles to that were approved by the SPS board February 2010. Book lists for each grade level will provide flexibility to teachers, but still makes it possible for the District to offer curricular support in teaching to the college and career ready standards, using the texts as a tool to meet the standards. The texts on the managed choice lists have been carefully selected to meet the Language Arts Adoption Criteria set forth by the adoption committee. See below for list of approved instructional materials list.
Resources
- Language Arts 9-12 Course Descriptons
- Essential Reading Standards for Language Arts 9-12
- Essential Oral Language Essential Standards LA 9-12
- Essential Writing Standards LA 9-12
- Approves Instructional Materials for LA 9-11
Middle School Language Arts Instructional Materials Adoption
| The following materials and information are provided in order for you, whether a parent, SPS staff, student or community member, to have all of the pertinent and relevant information needed in order to complete the survey. This table represents the components that the curriculum adoption was designed to support and enhance. We have provided links to variety of resources that will support each components. Thanks for your time and attention. |
| Every Student a Proficient & Critical Reader & Writer | ||
| Trade Book Collections/Classroom Libraries (supports independent practice) It is clear from the research of Richard Allington and others that when students are reading in books with 99% word accuracy, good phrasing, and 90% comprehension, they become more successful readers. This component of the adoption will mean that students have easy access to a vast number of books representing different authors, genres, and levels of complexity. A good portion of every Language Arts class is dedicated to independent reading. This provides structured time for students to practice, independently, in their own reading, the reading strategies they are expected to master. For this adoption, a selection of Trade Books will be set aside for whole class study in second semester of 8th grade and in APP/Spectrum classes. |
Grammar and Vocabulary Resources (supports individualized and small-group instruction) Because Language Arts includes a writing component, teachers must have a resource that will allow them to meet the needs of their students in the areas of grammar and vocabulary. These resources are CD-based and, thus, are easily adapted to the particulars of a given classroom and student needs. |
Mentor Texts (supports explicit instruction) Books or parts of books used during the mini-lesson to support the teaching point. These texts are exemplars of quality writing that the teacher shares and discusses with the students. The mentor text may be used to teach a style of writing or to demonstrate for students such things as plot or character development. Mentor texts also allow teachers to model how strong readers utilize the different reading strategies that are explicitly taught. |
Overview
Seattle Public Schools will adopt appropriate instructional materials for all required middle school Language Arts courses. To do this we will be forming an Adoption Committee that will take input from educators and community members in order to determine the types of instructional materials to be reviewed. The committee will then select the materials for each grade level and proceed to get Board approval for the materials.
Community Engagement
Seattle Public Schools is undertaking an adoption of instructional materials for middle school Language Arts. This adoption, along with the aligned curriculum, will provide consistency in instruction at our middle schools, targeted support for teachers and schools, and allow us to better focus our professional development offerings.
All adopted instructional materials will be designed to meet cultural relevance and accessibility standards, and will incorporate methods for teaching all students, including those receiving Special Education, bilingual, or advanced learning services.
Happening Now
- Timeline
- Criteria for Individual Trade Book
- Criteria for Grammar Resources
- Criteria for Mentor Text APP Class Novel
- Collections of Trade Books
- LA Adoption Committee
- MS LA Instructional Adoption Chart
- LA Adoption
Middle School Language Arts Adoption Process
The first step is to establish a middle school Language Arts Adoption Committee. The committee will be made up of twelve Seattle Public Schools educators (10-11 Language Arts teachers and 1-2 middle school administrators) and two family/community representatives.*
Committee members, who will bring valuable insights and perspectives, will be selected by Monday, January 10th, 2011. The goal is to appoint a committee representing a diverse group of individuals with a variety of skills, knowledge, experience and working style. Our team will reflect diversity in race/ethnicity, gender, school/student population representation, and perspectives.
We are asking that prospective applicants bring an open mind, with passion about student learning in Language Arts, and avoiding approaching the process with a specific textbook or set of materials in mind. Time commitment will be approximately 60 hours between January and April, 2011. We expect to hold five day-time meetings (8:00 AM – 3:00 PM), and four after-school or evening meetings. The committee will determine its schedule at the first session on Thursday, January 20th, 2011. (3 PM – 6 PM).
We are reaching out to potential family/community volunteers through established family
and community partnerships, including the School Family Partnerships Advisory
Committee, the Source, and PTSA. Applications will be made available to teachers, administrators, and the community, beginning Wednesday, December 8th, 2010, and must be submitted to Dan Coles, Literacy Program Manager, by Thursday, January 6th, 2011.
Tentative timeline for the adoption process:
It is our hope to move the process as quickly as possible, while ensuring a thorough process is followed. The goal will be to get Board approval for the adopted materials and purchase these before the summer break. We will also develop a professional development plan for teachers so we are ready to roll out the adoption for the 2011-2012 school year.
* Family and community members can provide feedback about the materials the committee considers once public displays are set up in the community.