C. Connection to the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks and District Instructional Programs
1.
While the Reading, MD tutoring curriculum is designed to be
individualized to each student’s needs, it consistently addresses eleven of the
twenty-seven learning standards from the Massachusetts
English Language Arts Curriculum Framework as published in June 2001. The bulk of the standards addressed by Reading, MD’s methods fall within the Reading and Literature Strand of the Framework, but
the program also provides instruction related to the Language and Composition
Strands.
Reading, MD concurs with the Framework’s statement
that “the most effective way for students to learn words they need for adult
life is through reading a variety of materials”; this is one of the reasons the
Reading, MD lesson plan devotes so much time to
active student reading (MDOE 11).
Furthermore, in providing individualized vocabulary instruction to
students who require it to advance their reading level, Reading, MD is designed
to emphasize all twenty-seven of the learning standards listed under the
Framework’s fourth general standard, Vocabulary and Concept Development. Reading, MD uses standards 4.1 – 4.19 to help
students in need of remedial instruction acquire a vocabulary level more
suitable to their grade (MDOE 19-20).
Standards 4.20 – 4.27 are then applied to lessons meant to help students
gain momentum in their vocabulary development so that the appearance of new
words in a text no longer hinders their understanding of the text’s general
meaning.
The general Reading, MD lesson plan also includes twenty fifteen minutes for students to work on their
own writing. This part of the lesson
addresses three general standards of the Composition Strand: standards
nineteen, twenty, and twenty-three. The
main purpose of this writing exercise coincides with standard twenty-three,
which focuses on the organization of ideas in writing. The writing part of the lesson plan is
intended to help students understand the concept of paragraph structure by
putting their own thoughts into this framework.
Writing topics vary depending on the books being read by students at a
given time, so as they read different types of books students should receive
instruction covering all of the standards listed under general standard
twenty-three (MDOE 84-86). The ultimate
goal of Reading, MD’s writing instruction is for students to fulfill standard
19.30 and tutors will use as stepping stones to this goal standards 19.12,
19.13, 19.22, 19.23 and 19.26 (MDOE 72-74).
To get students to think about their audience and purpose in writing,
they will be given a variety of essay prompts – including but not limited to
those on the MCAS exam – and will therefore fulfill standard 20.6 (MDOE 78).
In basing individualized lesson plans on students’ different
reading levels, Reading, MD focuses on specific standards of the Reading and Literature Strand for each
student. Lessons for students struggling
with word recognition and comprehension will cover topics from standards seven
(Beginning Reading) and eight (Understanding a Text). Instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics
will give students in need of remedial assistance the ability to recognize
spelling and speech patterns listed as prerequisites for reading development in
standard seven of the Framework.
Additionally, all students will spend significant portions of each
lesson discussing a text with their tutors.
These discussions could cover any sub-standard of general standard eight
since, once again, the lesson will vary by student. For instance, tutors whose students struggle
with retention of material will base their discussions on standards 8.2-8.10,
while tutors with more advanced students will work on progressing through
8.11-8.22, and the final goal of all students will be to fulfill the standards
through 8.34 (MDOE 35-37). Tutors will
guide their student’s progress by forming discussion questions to address the
sub-standard that requires the most attention for the student to advance his or
her reading level.
The aforementioned writing and discussion exercises will
also address several other standards of the Massachusetts English Language Arts
Curriculum Framework, including standards nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and
eighteen. As stated above, the individualized
lesson plan is based on the books that the student is currently reading – for
pleasure and for assigned reading – so a given lesson will address either
standard twelve (Fiction), thirteen (Nonfiction), or both. These two standards
will relate mainly to students who comprehend adequately and are ready to
develop their analytical ability.
Students will first learn to express their reactions to and thoughts
about a given passage orally in discussions with their tutors, then refine
these thoughts and develop their use of textual evidence in their essays.
A similar
process will help students think about the concept of theme (standard
eleven). Tutors will explain the idea of
theme to students during discussions of a text, first pointing out themes to students,
and then decreasing the amount of assistance given to students until they can
recognize and discuss themes on their own.
In writing exercises students will use evidence from a text to verify
the presence of a given theme and eventually fulfill standard 11.7 by drawing
examples from several texts that reflect a common theme (MDOE 45).
Although Reading,
MD does not explicitly provide instruction
in history, the program does use standard nine to help students understand
texts more thoroughly by thinking about the periods in which they take place
and were written. Wherever possible tutors will utilize standards 9.3 - 9.7 in
discussing a text to help students understand events or situations that might
confuse the modern reader and to more fully appreciate the importance of the
work in its historical context (MDOE 41).
Finally, in
focusing on students’ oral reading ability, Reading,
MD aims to fulfill standard 18.2 (MDOE
65). Students will advance from simply
pronouncing written words to developing intonation and eventually to performing
a text with appropriate inflection, emphasis, and feeling.
2.
The various
parts of the Reading, MD program will help students develop all of the learning
strategies cited as essential for all Boston Public School students by the Citywide Learning Standards: Subject Area
Summary for English/Language Arts
9-12. Thus, Reading,
MD students will improve their ability to
do the following:
1.
Read, write, and think a lot about topics and
ideas of importance to them.
2.
Set goals or purposes for their learning.
3.
Make personal connections between the content
and other knowledge, experiences, text, or media.
4.
Ask questions as they read, listen, or view.
5.
Clarify the meaning of words or content they
don’t understand.
6.
Listen or watch for important elements, themes,
or issues.
7.
Create sensory images.
8.
Make predictions, inferences and judgments.
9.
Get “in the shoes” of characters or
participants.
10.
Create ongoing summaries or syntheses.
11.
Build on their understandings by sharing and
discussing them with others.
12.
Assess their learning and make mid-course
corrections (BPS 2-3)
Furthermore, Reading,
MD will help its students reach many of the
goals required of all Boston Public
School students before graduation in the areas of
Oral Presentation and Discussion, Language, Reading
and Literature, and Composition. These
goals are listed in the Citywide Learning
Standards: Subject Area Summary for English/Language Arts 9-12 under the
heading “English Language Arts: Grade 12” and, although not specifically enumerated
there, are here numbered based on the order in which they appear.
The discussion and writing parts
of the Reading, MD lesson plan will help students develop the following goals
for Oral Presentation and Discussion: numbers three through eight and number
ten (BPS 19). In general, students will
learn to articulate their ideas, support these ideas by drawing evidence from
the text, and respond to the comments of others.
Of the five goals under the
heading Language, Reading, MD focuses on the first two by instructing students
in the use of reference materials and providing background information
regarding different historical uses of grammar and diction as they appear in a
text (BPS 19).
Reading,
MD instruction will help students achieve
all twenty-five goals listed under the category of Reading
and Literature (BPS 19-20). More
specifically, students will address the following goals in developing their
comprehension ability through discussion and individualized comprehension
instruction: one, five, eight, nine, ten, and thirteen. In writing and discussion exercises students
will work toward the following analytical goals: four, six, eleven, twelve, and
fifteen through twenty-five. And through
assessing their progress with their tutor they will improve the following
skills: two, three, seven, and fourteen.
Regarding Composition, Reading,
MD students will develop the following
pre-writing abilities by learning to articulate, organize, and develop ideas
during discussions and writing exercises: one, two, three, six, and seven (BPS
20-21). Goals four, five, nine, twelve,
thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, twenty, and twenty-one deal with the
actual writing and analysis process and will be addressed during writing
exercises. And lastly, goals ten, eight,
and four deal with revising and analyzing one’s own writing and will be
addressed in discussions between student and tutor regarding completed writing
exercises.
Question C
1.
Boston Public Schools. Citywide Learning Standards Subject Area Summary: English/Language Arts
9-12. September, 2003.
< http://boston.k12.ma.us/teach/curriculum.asp>.
Date viewed: March 28, 2005.
2.
Massachusetts Department of Education. Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework,
June, 2001.
< http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf>.
Date viewed: March 28, 2005.