After more than a year of review, the Arlington Public Schools have adopted new English Language Arts instructional materials for grades K-11.
The new materials will be replacing those adopted in 1999 (grades 7-11), 2001 (2nd-5th) and 2005 (K-1st). The state approved new standards for ELA in 2011 that teachers have been working hard to address with a variety of resources. The new materials will provide all teachers with a common foundation of high-quality, updated resources.
Two committees took part in the review process: a K-5 team and a 6-12 team. Both had representatives from all schools and grade levels. Each team reviewed the Washington State Learning Standards, the current materials and survey results from teachers. The teams also looked at what other districts had
recently adopted as well as reviews of materials by outside organizations. Each committee heard presentations from a variety of publishers and then rated the materials, went on site visits when possible, and tried lessons/units in their classrooms.
For K-2, Pearson’s “ReadyGEN” and McGraw Hill’s “Open Court” were selected. “ReadyGEN” will be used for quality literature, informational text, writing, language and comprehension. “Open Court” will be used for foundational skills—phonics, letter recognition and fluency. For more go to pearsonschool.com or mheducation.com.
For grades (3-6), Read Side by Side’s “C.I.A.” (Collect, Interpret, Apply) was chosen. This program is novel-based, and many of our teachers used it this year—Pioneer teachers used it extensively. Also, Read Side by Side will be adding a writing program that Arlington will be piloting this year. The company will be working closely with our teachers to fine-tune the program, and we are excited to be part of this unique opportunity. Visit readsidebyside.com for more.
Grades 7-11 will be using Pearson’s “myPerspectives”. This comprehensive literacy program’s units are based on “Essential Questions” such as “What does it mean to be American?”, and “Do we determine our own destinies?” Each highly interactive unit has a range of resources, including informational articles, associated novels and digital content.
Writing is integrated so that students are challenged with meaningful activities and performance tasks. Language and speaking and listening standards are also embedded in each unit. New materials were not adopted for 12th grade due to the variety of courses available to those students, making it difficult for any one program to meet all needs. Access Pearsonschool.com for more on myPerspectives. Each program provides professional development for teachers. This cohesive adoption will open up an increased opportunity for professional dialogue between grade levels.
We thank the community that provides funding for these materials through the Programs and Operations Levy.
Eric DeJong, is the executive director of Teaching and Learning for Arlington Public Schools, which has a monthly column.
