My research revolves around the English Language Arts standards created by the National Council of Teachers of English and the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for English Language Arts. For the purpose of this project and course, my research focuses on the eighth grade standards, as these are the standards that should be met by a student's completion of middle school. The question I'm researching specifically is to determine the appropriate scope and sequence and state/national standards for Language Arts.
I am quite familiar with these standards and encounter them daily in my UWM classes as well as my fieldwork/student teaching classroom, and I know how I feel about them (the standards). However, I am encountering a few problems in my research. Primarily, the scope of curriculum used in eighth grade classrooms is HUGE—hundreds of lesson plans shared by teachers online prove that there's a lot that can be taught to eighth graders. Many plans meet/include national standards, but it's interesting to notice how Wisconsin Model Academic Standards expect more of teachers and students than many other state standards do. (We have our work cut out for us!)
Finally, determining the sequence of curriculum and in which order to apply the standards is somewhat difficult. I'm currently in the process of researching NCTE and the Wisconsin standards websites to conclude whether the order of the standards is meant to affect the order of organizing curriculum.
3 comments:
Ha. Yeah it is funny how much Wisconsin has our eighth graders learn by the end of middle school. It can actually be very overwhelming~as I'm sure we're all finding out in our field placements! I have reading and English classes in my placement, and the English curriculum is by far more detailed and has much more expected material to cover. I found this strange because in my school they split reading and writing into two separate classes. It's amazing how much content the English teachers have to cover in my school with writing skills alone! Concentrating on the eighth grade standards is a great approach to really focus your research!
I had no idea that the standards were higher for 8th graders in WI than other states - I guess that's probably a good thing, but as you said - we will have our work cut out for us.
Anyway, in relation to the comment about both reading and writing classes, I'm just wondering if that is a common practice or if it is just in your school. I'm curious as to whether they're trying to improve test scores or something to get more funding, or if English is just that much of a priority.
It's cool that you are focusing on scope and sequence. The social studies Academic standards are similarly steep. For instance, 8th grade history students must be able to "analyze important political values such as freedom, democracy, equality, and justice embodied in documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights." This along with other standards such as, "analyze examples of conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among groups, societies, or nations," are quite broad and may be difficult to fulfill. Not to mention, it is interesting that students must be able to understand political values in 8th grade, when they will not have civics until 9th grade or government until 12th grade.
Looking forward to your presentation.
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