I hear it all the time…

“CLARK, there is nothing in the ELA curriculum that tells us what to teach?”

OH yes there is…

Where?

In the illustrative outcomes!

the what??????

OK! Let me make this easier….

Here!

So, over the last few days I made this guide to support planning in Alberta English Language Arts classrooms, grades K to 6.  In my past work as an ELA consultant, teacher’s have said, there is no tangible content in the curriculum.  My intention of this guide to pull out those tangibles. By tangibles I mean direct references to literature (topics), writing tools, forms of writing and expression, self assessment/feedback and presentation possibilities.  

Link to the resource is at the bottom.

FIRST UP!

Inspired by Bonnie Raitt – LET’S GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT!

CHAPTER 1: Where do ideas come from?

I’m serious!

Students need to have exposure to literature, discussion, found objects, guest speakers. They need something to talk about. Something to talk about, leads to…something to write about.

Next!

Inspired by NKOTB- STEP BY STEP

CHAPTER 2: How can students organize information?

Students need to tools to record information like graphic organizers, how to sketch and how to take jot notes. The need to know…”Step by Step”!

NEXT!

Inspired by Elvis Costello  –  Everyday I Write the Book!

CHAPTER 3: How can students represent information?

Students need to be able to express information in a variety of ways and forms.  Yes, books are great but students can make many, many things!

NEXT!

Inspired by Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better

NEXT!

CHAPTER 4: How can students self assess and provide feedback?

Students need to know how they are doing by seeking feedback and self assessing.  They need to be like Shawn, reflecting and thinking about their work.

FINALLY!

Inspired by INSYNC – Bye! Bye! Bye

CHAPTER  5: How can students present information to other audiences?

Students need to be able to present to peers in a variety of ways!  The puppet show, whatever happened to the puppet show?

THE RESOURCE

Here is the link to the guide on my companion website!

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Coach Clark

 

True confession: I love reorganizing outcomes into charts and lists.

NERD! I know…sigh.

When I dove deep into the grade 4 outcomes and illustrative outcomes, I discovered some interesting possibilities for teaching and learning.

I can’t tell a lie. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and cranky trying to create new ways of looking at outcomes. All the cutting and pasting and honestly thinking…is this a colossal waste of time?

Why can’t I relax in the summer like a normal person?

Yet, I find myself pursuing these ideas to the end.

Can we all agree?

Teaching is getting harder.

How can I make planning EASIER? For YOU? For ME?

Easier means that outcomes are in a form that matches what you have set up in your classroom.  For this reorganization marathon, I wanted to make lists to support – the writer’s notebook, the reader response notebook, fiction/nonfiction reading and writing workshops, word study, spelling and revision.

But guess what?

I found some unexpected things.

I found outcomes that have amazing connections to technology, student interests and socio-emotional learning.

Presenting! There are a ton of presentation outcomes. We don’t spend enough time teaching kids how to present. These outcomes can support the content areas. In LA, poetry cafe, book talks and reader’s theatre are big possibilities.

Visuals! Many outcomes are about using visuals effectively in presentations and student work. Visual literacy is a term you can look up to support this area of learning. Technology has many apps to support these outcomes.

Author’s Craft! This outcome below, implies author studies, illustrator stories, storytelling studies and film studies.

• Discuss a variety of oral, print or other media texts by the same author, illustrator, storyteller or filmmaker (2.2)

and this…

• identify how specific techniques are used to affect viewer perceptions in media texts (2.3) Terms: long shot (setting),close-up (dialogue),cut/fade (change of setting),voice-over  (narration)

Film studies! That’s fun! Not only can students learn film techniques but they can create their own examples. Connected to these outcomes are comic book/cartoon studies and grade 4 ART outcomes.

Feedback!  Noticeable were several outcomes that addressed self-assessment, feedback, critique and group work. This is an area we all need to do a better job with. These outcomes have strong ties to socio-emotional learning.

Nonfiction! Yes, we need to teach story writing but nonfiction (reading/writing) needs, in some ways, more attention in the grade 4 classroom.

I will share with you the messy doc. This one includes all the outcomes with illustrative examples. This was the step before the checklists but might be helpful for you.

This is the tidy one – checklist format.

Let me know what you think!

Until Next Time,

Coach Clark