New elementary language arts curricula

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm super late to listening to "Sold a Story," but MCPS was mentioned in it and specifically the Benchmark curriculum that Lucy Calkins pushed.

Having listened to the podcast, and knowing MCPS used this flawed reading curriculum, who in MCPS is being held accountable for the harm caused by this failed instruction? Black and brown literacy rates are significantly down and have been even pre-pandemic, and I'm wondering how much of that is attributable to Calkins/Benchmark's flawed reading methodology?

No one is being held accountable. Benchmark is awful, but The Benchmark is sold a story is a different Benchmark.

Thankfully the curriculum they are moving to next year follows the science of reading.

It’s the retooled Benchmark that Calkins went back to and added phonics instruction to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm super late to listening to "Sold a Story," but MCPS was mentioned in it and specifically the Benchmark curriculum that Lucy Calkins pushed.

Having listened to the podcast, and knowing MCPS used this flawed reading curriculum, who in MCPS is being held accountable for the harm caused by this failed instruction? Black and brown literacy rates are significantly down and have been even pre-pandemic, and I'm wondering how much of that is attributable to Calkins/Benchmark's flawed reading methodology?

No one is being held accountable. Benchmark is awful, but The Benchmark is sold a story is a different Benchmark.

Thankfully the curriculum they are moving to next year follows the science of reading.

It’s the retooled Benchmark that Calkins went back to and added phonics instruction to?

No - Sold a Story was referring to the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, not the Benchmark Curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm super late to listening to "Sold a Story," but MCPS was mentioned in it and specifically the Benchmark curriculum that Lucy Calkins pushed.

Having listened to the podcast, and knowing MCPS used this flawed reading curriculum, who in MCPS is being held accountable for the harm caused by this failed instruction? Black and brown literacy rates are significantly down and have been even pre-pandemic, and I'm wondering how much of that is attributable to Calkins/Benchmark's flawed reading methodology?

No one is being held accountable. Benchmark is awful, but The Benchmark is sold a story is a different Benchmark.

Thankfully the curriculum they are moving to next year follows the science of reading.

It’s the retooled Benchmark that Calkins went back to and added phonics instruction to?

No - Sold a Story was referring to the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, not the Benchmark Curriculum.

Ah ok. Thanks for the clarification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D3ASBR71CEAB/$file/English%20Language%20Arts%20Curriculum%20Adoption%20240319.pdf

On the board's agenda for Tuesday March 19th: the adoption of Amplify: Core Knowledge Language Arts for elementary ELA and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ¡Arriba la lectura! for elementary Spanish immersion programs.

Anyone have opinions about these?

So good! MCPS never disaapoints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D3ASBR71CEAB/$file/English%20Language%20Arts%20Curriculum%20Adoption%20240319.pdf

On the board's agenda for Tuesday March 19th: the adoption of Amplify: Core Knowledge Language Arts for elementary ELA and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ¡Arriba la lectura! for elementary Spanish immersion programs.

Anyone have opinions about these?

So good! MCPS never disaapoints.

Core Knowledge is research based and focused on building content knowledge in addition to reading skills. It’s a good choice. Go to coreknowledge.org to see the free version.

[Anonymous]

What will your ES have next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What will your ES have next year?

As described above, schools will have Amplify: Core Knowledge Language Arts for elementary ELA and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ¡Arriba la lectura! for elementary Spanish immersion programs

[Anonymous]

So is Really Great Reading ("RGR") also going away along with Benchmark and be completely replaced by CKLA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is Really Great Reading ("RGR") also going away along with Benchmark and be completely replaced by CKLA?

Benchmark is gone (hooray!). RGR is available as an intervention (which is actually what is is designed for). Amplify CKLA is the new base phonics/ELA program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm super late to listening to "Sold a Story," but MCPS was mentioned in it and specifically the Benchmark curriculum that Lucy Calkins pushed.

Having listened to the podcast, and knowing MCPS used this flawed reading curriculum, who in MCPS is being held accountable for the harm caused by this failed instruction? Black and brown literacy rates are significantly down and have been even pre-pandemic, and I'm wondering how much of that is attributable to Calkins/Benchmark's flawed reading methodology?

Mcps was using A very good phonics program (really great reading) in conjunction with benchmark because the benchmark phonics program was so anemic. Anecdotally, I know a lot of teachers who are really sad that really great reading is going away because it was a very popular

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is Really Great Reading ("RGR") also going away along with Benchmark and be completely replaced by CKLA?

Yes. Ckla has a phonics program that is built into the curriculum. I have used it before for interventions and it was very good for incorporating a lot of movement and activity into learning phonics which is good for young learners. There was a lot of having kids use claps and jumps and arm movements to break down the sounds in words.