Language arts new curriculumn for K-6th

[Anonymous]

My now 7th and 9th graders, who were both in AAP at the same school, never learned grammar, and my 9th grader has struggled in Spanish because he doesn't know English grammar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am thrilled to learn that there will be a basal in elementary school. I hope its inclusion in the curricula will both standardize and strengthen ELA instruction across classrooms and schools..

I teach primarily honors and AA English 7, so I see the results of inconsistent, and occasionally inaccurate, reading and writing instruction.
1. The majority of my students do not have even a basic grasp of verb tense, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, paragraph structure, topic sentences, transitions, or use of evidence to support an argument/claim.
2. Their inferential reading skills, even in honors and AA, are weak. They have usually been taught to read test questions or end-of-chapter questions before reading the text, which is incredibly bad advice because it limits a reader's ability to make inferences.
3. Definitions of types of conflict and organizational patterns often have been taught incorrectly (Students have shown me their notes from elementary school. The definitions they've been given are incorrect).
4. Numerous students have not adequately been exposed to various forms of poetry and/or narrative nonfiction other than biography. It seems that they primarily read novels and biographies in elementary school, and unless their teacher(s) hold them accountable for their reading, a number of students never actually read the texts.

I am optimistic that the basal curriculum will help reduce or eliminate the gaps and inconsistencies among classrooms and schools!

I wish there was some way the middle schools could communicate to the elementary schools so they can work on how best to prepare the kids for middle school!

Honestly as a sixth grade teacher, most of us are working our tails off. But you also need to understand our classes are completely inclusive. ESOL students get like 15 mins of ESL a day and there is very little self contained SPED due to staffing. So in a 6th grade classroom you can gave kids with no English all the way to kids reading above grade level. I have stated many times that we are not doing enough for ESL learners between 3-6 grades. The structure is not working.

Yeah the gen ed classes have it rough with the huge range. It’s tough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am all for it. While there are a lot of negatives such of lack of choice and teacher autonomy there are many pluses. The main one is that it will equalize the quality of teaching across the county. Your student will get the same reading instruction if they are being taught by a 30 year veteran teacher in a rich area or are be being taught by a teacher trainee or long term sub in a title one, the book literally tells you what to say. Right now there is reading “curriculum” but it is strongly suggested and many schools don’t even use the phonics lessons and use something else and the writing plans are minimal . The new curriculum is all inclusive and had reading comprehension , writing, grammar, and small group instruction.

T

That sounds kind of awful for teachers. But I will admit that my older DC was taught to read with "Good readers look at the pictures" three-cueing, while my younger DC has gotten a decent amount of phonics. And neither of them have a strong grasp of grammar and sentence structure, or have any grasp at all of formal writing. Lucy Calkins has a lot to answer for.

Unless there is an older teacher sneaking those methods in three cueing is unheard of now. Most new teachers wouldn’t even be able to tell you what that is because colleges don’t teach it anymore.

It was only 3 years ago. I know that FCPS has really changed their reading curriculum, for the better. If they change their writing curriculum, I'll be happy. I 'm not sure an entirely scripted all-inclusive reading and writing program is needed - I guess we'll see how it is. What our teachers need more of is autonomy, not more scripts.

Not anymore. The current crop of inexperienced or burned out teachers don’t make good use of autonomy. Those days are over.

Most teachers at my school are happy about it because it cuts way down on planning. The workload has to come down to keep teachers. I would argue that work load is the bigger problem than the pay. If this basal goes successfully, I think a Math curriculum won’t be far behind.

We’re happy to give it a try, too. There is currently no curriculum. Don’t know when there last was anything. I’ve been here 8 years, and there is nothing. We have UFLI for phonics instruction now and that’s great.

Teachers create absolutely everything themselves in reading and writing. The county puts out some mentor writing from time to time - which is years beyond the capacity of our kids. Beyond that - nothing. It’s thousands of individual teachers creating everything they need to teach.

Technically UFLI is only for intervention. I’m not sure we were allowed to use it as our main phonics program but I was tempted to do so!

I’m happy about the change. What teachers are saying above is true and I’m glad to have a laid out phonics program that we will all do the same.

My 5th grader's teacher said they are being told to use UFLI now for a normal general education class. Not intervention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

+1 this is true! The teacher will mention on one day how to use quotation marks with dialogue and then there are no follow up, practice worksheets on it. On a different day, they may talk about contractions briefly and then again there are no follow up activities for a week or two to drill the concept and the wide range of contractions into the minds of the young children. This is for most topics —-only brief exposure. Then the teachers say that they taught it, but it wasn’t practiced and practiced and built upon. It’s not effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

+1 this is true! The teacher will mention on one day how to use quotation marks with dialogue and then there are no follow up, practice worksheets on it. On a different day, they may talk about contractions briefly and then again there are no follow up activities for a week or two to drill the concept and the wide range of contractions into the minds of the young children. This is for most topics —-only brief exposure. Then the teachers say that they taught it, but it wasn’t practiced and practiced and built upon. It’s not effective.

Lazy students incentivize lazy teachers. And also lazy administrators; less homework means less work for everyone. Since this is the now the norm, it's more important than ever to not be a lazy parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

I will add, not saying all teachers do this. Some truly don’t teach certain concepts. But many do and revisit and practice certain things throughout the year are some kids are still not getting it.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a mix of both. Less practice. More things to cover spreading each item thin. And technology distracting us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am thrilled to learn that there will be a basal in elementary school. I hope its inclusion in the curricula will both standardize and strengthen ELA instruction across classrooms and schools..

I teach primarily honors and AA English 7, so I see the results of inconsistent, and occasionally inaccurate, reading and writing instruction.
1. The majority of my students do not have even a basic grasp of verb tense, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, paragraph structure, topic sentences, transitions, or use of evidence to support an argument/claim.
2. Their inferential reading skills, even in honors and AA, are weak. They have usually been taught to read test questions or end-of-chapter questions before reading the text, which is incredibly bad advice because it limits a reader's ability to make inferences.
3. Definitions of types of conflict and organizational patterns often have been taught incorrectly (Students have shown me their notes from elementary school. The definitions they've been given are incorrect).
4. Numerous students have not adequately been exposed to various forms of poetry and/or narrative nonfiction other than biography. It seems that they primarily read novels and biographies in elementary school, and unless their teacher(s) hold them accountable for their reading, a number of students never actually read the texts.

I am optimistic that the basal curriculum will help reduce or eliminate the gaps and inconsistencies among classrooms and schools!

I wish there was some way the middle schools could communicate to the elementary schools so they can work on how best to prepare the kids for middle school!

Honestly as a sixth grade teacher, most of us are working our tails off. But you also need to understand our classes are completely inclusive. ESOL students get like 15 mins of ESL a day and there is very little self contained SPED due to staffing. So in a 6th grade classroom you can gave kids with no English all the way to kids reading above grade level. I have stated many times that we are not doing enough for ESL learners between 3-6 grades. The structure is not working.

We parents feel for teachers like you, really we do. You guys and the kids who get left behind get the brunt. I don't know how one would change laws and policies so all kids could get their needs met. It's a thorny problem for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

+1 this is true! The teacher will mention on one day how to use quotation marks with dialogue and then there are no follow up, practice worksheets on it. On a different day, they may talk about contractions briefly and then again there are no follow up activities for a week or two to drill the concept and the wide range of contractions into the minds of the young children. This is for most topics —-only brief exposure. Then the teachers say that they taught it, but it wasn’t practiced and practiced and built upon. It’s not effective.

Lazy students incentivize lazy teachers. And also lazy administrators; less homework means less work for everyone. Since this is the now the norm, it's more important than ever to not be a lazy parent.

+1 to the past two quotes. We're a low tech family and my kids have great attention spans and retention. But they only got homework in 1st through 3rd grade (kid who was in those grades during Covid barely has ever had homework) and many years their Tuesday folders come home nearly empty and there's very little on Schoology. I have no concept of what they are doing for the 4 or so academic hours of the day those years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

Ok, but why would this be? Are we saying kids are regressing in terms of mental development? I'd find that pretty hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

Ok, but why would this be? Are we saying kids are regressing in terms of mental development? I'd find that pretty hard to believe.

Been documented for over a decade now that the tech we have is changing our brains: https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

Ok, but why would this be? Are we saying kids are regressing in terms of mental development? I'd find that pretty hard to believe.

Technology is a huge part. Lack of parental involvement in kids education. Kids need for instant gratification. All of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here in 6th. I can tell you many of these things are being taught but kids are not retaining information. I have kids who struggle with many math things they were previously taught in younger grades. I have been teaching and assessing grammar all year. 80 percent can identify every part of speech in a sentence and 20 percent still can’t after a full year of direct instruction and review. There were things I know was taught previously and they looked at me like I was crazy.

I do think many things are being taught as a whole but kids are just not retaining information. I do think technology is a part of it.

It's actually because of the way you are teaching it. When I was a kid, things were drilled into us over and over and over again. Now you go over something for one week, move on to the next thing, the next thing, and maybe come back to it 6 months later for another week before you move on again. I don't know who decided this was a good way to teach, but the reason kids aren't retaining things is because you're not giving them enough exposure or time for it to sink in.

I am previous teacher poster. I can assure you I revisit parts of speech daily in my word study block. I spiral back previous concepts in HW and Number talks. The kids are not retaining the way they should. I see this with previous students I tutor. They completely forget something that was taught by myself and revisited throughout the year.

Ok, but why would this be? Are we saying kids are regressing in terms of mental development? I'd find that pretty hard to believe.

Believe it.