DOCUMENT RESUME CS 214 426 ED 372 401 Commended English Language Arts Curriculum Guides, TITLE K-12, 1993-94. National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, INSTITUTION PUB DATE 94 42p.; Prepared by the NCTE Committee to Evaluate NOTE Curriculum Guides and Competency Requirements. For a previous edition, see ED 322 522. Bibliographies (131) Reference Materials PUB TYPE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Curriculum Development; Curriculum Evaluation; DESCRIPTORS *Curriculum Guides; *Demonstration Programs; Elementary Secondary Education; *English Curriculum; *Language Arts; *Program Development; Student Centered Curriculum ABSTRACT This booklet presents exemplary curriculum guides from the years 1988-89 to 1993-94. The guides discussed in the booklet illustrate student-centered, performance-based approaches which can serve as models for other schools and school districts. Entries in the booklet include a description of each curriculum guide, a commentary about its applicability, and information about its availability (cost, a contact person or office, and the appropriate address). Following an introduction, the booklet presents a curriculum guide commended in 1993-94, a curriculum guide commended in 1992-93, three commended in 1991-92, six curriculum guides commended in 1990-91, and 19 guides commended in 1988-89. The booklet concludes with the criteria for planning and evaluating English language arts curriculum guides. 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BEST COPY AVAILABLE MaN 2 Commended English Language Arts Curriculum Guides, K-12 1993-94 NCTE Committee Requirements to Evaluate Curriculum Guides and Competency Jacqueline Bryant-Turner, Chair COMMENDED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM GUIDES, K-12 1993-94 EDITION Evaluation, Abstracts, and Commentaries submitted by the NCIE Committee to Evaluate English Language Arts Curriculum Guides, 1(42, and Competency Requirements, 1990-1993. Jacqueline Bryant-Turner, Chair, Dallas Independent School District, Dallas, Texas Member Advisors, Workshop Leaders, Consultants Carol Aulbach, Heritage College, Toppenish, Washington Mary Ann Ei ler, American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois Joanne Fahey, West High School, Torrance, California Richazd Halle, Marshfield Junior High School, Marshfield, Wisconsin Paula Mia Rollins, New York State Education Department, Albany, New York Elizabeth Stroble, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky Betty Swiggett, Hampton City Schools, Hampton, Virginia Greg Venne, Wausau West High School, Wausau, Wisconsin Member Reviewers John B. Airse, Santa Catalina School, Monterey, California Robert A. Becker, Santapogue Elementary School, West Babylon, New York T. Clifford Bibb, Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama Margaret Smith Bristow, Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia Lorraine T. Burns, Spring Branch Independent :School District, Houston, Texas Joan M. Caton, Reavis High Soho( I, Burbank, Illinois Gary Coston, Giddings State Home and School, Giddings, Texas Raymond D. Crisp, State University College at Buffalo, Buffalo; New York Cora Lee Five, Edgewood School, Scarsdale, New York Ruben Friedman, Plainedge High School, North Massapequa, New York Christy Hammer, Mick le Junior High School, Lincoln, Nebraska Robert L. Harrison, Jr., West Virginia Department of Education, Charleston, West Virginia Sandra Ludeman, Lake Mills School District, Lake Mills, Wisconsin Sally Hudson-Ross, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia Robert Hunt, Maine Township High School South, Park Ridge, Illinois Hazel Jessee, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Beach, Virginia Rosalie B. Kiah, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia Salvatore Luzio, Sr., Northeastern Education Intermediate Unit, Mayfield, Pennsylvania Mahasin H. Majied, Darton College, Albany, Georgia Kathleen Jordan Mallory, Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, Arkansas Barbara S. O'Breza, Cherry Hill High School West, Cherry Hill, New Jersey Lorie B. Owens, Cambridge, Ohio Richard S. Phelps, Cambridge Rindyet Latin School, Cambridge, Massachusetts Edward A. Robimon, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois (C) 1994 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning tbe content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. CONTENTS Introduction 1 2 Curriculum Guide Commended in 1993-94 3 Curriculum Guide Commended in 1992-93 4 Curriculum Guides Commended in 1991-92 7 Curriculum Guides Commended in 1990-91 13 Curriculum Guides Commended in 1988-89 Criteria for Planning and Evaluating English 32 Language Arts Curriculum Guides Committee to Evaluate Curriculum Guides Function: To evaluate curriculum guides, K-12, including curriculum documents that do not fit into usual categories (e.g., a middle school vocabulary program, a course catalog for an elective program); to produce a document on how to develop good English programs in response to inadequately conceived and narrowly stated objectives, using existing state and local competency- based objectives to show how to create humanized curricula from dehumanizing objectives; and to critique guidelines, lists of objectives, and other statements related to competency testing produced by state departments of education and local districts. INTRODUCTION The 1993-94 edition of Commended English Language Arts Curriculum Guides, K-12 heralds the culmination of this Committee to Evaluate Curriculum Guides' work, but also it will be the last of its kind. Since the Standards Project will assume the focus of this committee, NCTE has decided to channel the energies of curriculum development and ptocess into it. The Standards Project has emerged as the future, as we are learning what is best for our students and communities along with the rest of the nation. Commended English Language Arts Curriculum Guides, K-12 is more than a directory of curriculum It has become a record of four years of documents that may serve as models for years to come. service, of what the Committee learned about curriculum development as we reviewed the documents and discussed the guidelines yearly. The most recent guides to receive commendation are few but exemplary in many ways. It is fitting that they should appear in this edition because of their unique qualities and what they bring to the curriculum development process. The guides illustrate student-centered, performance-based It is with pride and approaches which can serve as models for other schools and school districts. honor that we acknowledge the accomplishments of our colleagues in these pages. It has been a pleasure to serve the constituents of NCTE in this capacity. On behalf of the members of the Committee to Evaluate Curriculum Guides and Competency Requirements, K-12, please accept my gratitude for your participation, your cooperation, and your outstanding performance. Jacqueline Bryant-Turner Chair 7 1 CURRICULUM GUIDE COMMENDED IN 1993-94 ELEMEN'i'ARY Curriculum Document: Glenbard K-9 Language Arts Curriculum Guide School or School District: Lombard Elementary District #44 Lombard, Illinois Contact Person: Roberta Berglund, Ed.D. Reading/Language Arts Administrator Lombard Elementary District #44 150 West Madison Lombard, Illinois 60148 Available for examination. Cost to be determined. Abstract: Working within a traditional grade-level goal smicture, the writers have still produced a creative, up- to-date curriculum guide. A clear consistent philosophy based on current research and governing all parts ser.tes as a unifying force. All exemplary lessons reflect the integration of speaking, listening, reading, and writing so strongly emphasized in the philosophical statement. In the third-grade activities, for example, students explore a theme through brainstorming, reading, creating charts, writing paragraphs, and explaining their illustrations for original poetry. Then, following current research on assessment, the document encourages teachers to grade on a wide variety of process activities, not just on tests and final products. In fact, there is a whole section devoted to general assessment and to portfolios in particular. This section is excellent and will prove helpful to teachers. The approach to language teaching further shows an awareness of current trends. The document states that grammar will only be taught in a meaningful context and the activities set forth reinforce that idea. Students learn correct usage as they revise and edit their own writing. They work with sentence structures and vocabulary for a purpose. Composing itself is always done with an audience and a clear purpose in mind. In several grade-level exemplary lessons, Nancie Atwell's Writing Workshop is used, Students are encouraged to choose their own topics and to confer with peers and teacher throughout their writing process. Besides showing a consistent philosophy, the lessons are creative and finely crafted with practical, flexible components that teachers can adapt to their own settings and styles. Several teachers will pilot these lessons and evaluate them for revisions. CURRICULUM GUIDE COMMENDED IN 1992-93 ELEMENTARY Curriculum Document: Pets and Me School or School District: (Other) American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc. Scarsdale, New York Contact Person: Clare De Nicola Director of Public Relations American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc. 511 Harwood Building Scarsdale, New York 10583 Available for examination. For samples and order forms, call 1-800-452-1225. Cost: $29.95 plus $4.50 shipping and handling. Abstract: Using a very creative and engaging theme, Pets and Me, this clear, convenient guide sets forth a flexible elementary grade-level unit that teachers may adapt to their own classrooms and time frames. It begins with a clearly stated philosophy that reflects current educational research in the most effective language-learning practices, along with a justification for the theme. Most activities, such as role-playing, creative group games, newspaper and art projects, put students at the center of learning and make learning enjoyable. In addition, although the guide is divided by grade levels, there are opportunities for the merging of different age groups in ffie same activity. Another excellent feature of the guide is the integration of several content areas. The theme lends itself to this integration. Further, a unique component is the inclusion of the parents and community in the learning process. Teachers are encouraged to invite pet caregivers to visit classrooms. Field trips to museums, animal hospitals, and zoos come as natural corollaries to parts of the unit. Assignments calling for parent/child cooperation help connect nicely to the children's own experiences. Teachers will find the resource materials, including titles of books, poems, cassettes, and actual master sheets for copying, quite helpful. Detailed descriptions of two teachers' classrooms and those teachers' adaptations of the materials to fit their situations show the flexibility of the theme and activities. Blank papers for alterations, along with evaluation forms, lend themselves to a living document. 9 3 CURRICULUM GUIDES COMMENDM IN 1991-92 SECONDARY Curriculum Document: North Pole High School of Studies Language Arts Curriculum Guide School or School District: North Pole High School North Pole, Alaska Contact Person: Patricia Sheehan English Department Chair North Pole High School 601 W. 8th Avenue North Pole, Alaska 99705 Available for examination. Cost: $5.00 Abstract: Organized into thematic units, this curriculum guide serves as a menu for the individual teachers of North Pole High School to select activities from all language arts strands that will lead their students to achieve the following goals: (1) Communicate effectively; (2) Think logically and critically; (3) Discover and nurture creative talents; (4) Understand and use essential technological systems; (5) Become an ethical participant in all communities of which he or she is a member; (6) Read, reflect on, and respond to a shared body of classic literature; (7) Develop personal responsibility and communication skills for economic independence; and (8) Acquire a positive self-image. The guide represents a site-based curriculum decision that reflects district policies and the support of the local school board. The guide is well researched and incorporates a marvelous blend of multi- cultural works, including native Alaskan works, classical and recent literature, and fiction and nonfiction. The document makes the assumption that both teachers and students can make valid decisions about what is studied in the language arts classroom. 4