Reply to Basis changes language curriculum; less Latin, no world language until 8th

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[quote=Anonymous]Personally, I think this is great, but I assume the angry foreign language parents in DCUMland  will get even more angry.

"Foreign Language Sequence 5-8
Next year, we will begin to permanently phase out Latin 5 and 6. We are not, however, saying goodbye to Latin. Our new Linguistics courses in grades 6 and 7 will bring a heavy dose of Latin, as well as our other world languages. We will work to introduce our students to the scientific study of language itself, focusing on the underlying structure of language and the similarities and differences among and between the world’s languages. Furthermore, schools will continue to offer Latin in grades 8 and above.

In summary,

In grade 5, schools will adopt a Writing Mastery course, which will replace Latin 5.
In grades 6 & 7, schools will adopt a two-year linguistics sequence.
Students will choose their foreign language in grade 8.
So, for next year:

Grades
2022-23
5 Writing Mastery
6 Linguistics 
7 Linguistics 
8 Foreign Language Choice Year 2 (French, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish)

Grades
2023-24
5 Writing Mastery
6 Linguistics 
7 Linguistics 
8 Foreign Language Choice Year 1 (French, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish)

A bit more on the details of the curriculum:

Writing Mastery: In this course, students will learn skills that are essential to being excellent writers. They will practice rhetorical skills that will help them develop clear and reasoned arguments in their writing. Students will learn grammar in the context of sentence writing through activities such as sentence imitating, sentence combining, and sentence expanding. Students will also learn and review Greek and Latin affixes, which will support a strong vocabulary for both writing and reading comprehension. Throughout the course, students will complete several writing projects in different disciplines, such as literary analysis, scientific writing, and historical analysis.

Linguistics 6 & 7: Over the course of two years, students will investigate the structure of several world languages; however, the course will give particular emphasis to Mandarin, Latin, Spanish, and French with the goal of preparing students to choose a foreign language in 8th grade. In each unit, students will use data from these languages to investigate the structure of language from individual sounds and syllables, to roots and affixes, to complex sentences. In addition, students will improve their understanding of English grammar, broaden their understanding of science to include social and behavioral sciences, practice historical thinking skills, and engage critical thinking and computational skills."[/quote]

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