[LIT] building background knowledge...and Caroline

[Bill IVEY]

"A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades."
<lit at literacyworkshop.org> on Thursday, July 05, 2007 at 7:26 AM -0500
wrote:
>i like the idea of not having a curriculum; there's so much freedom
>because we dont' have big money tied up in a package program. then, of
>course, you could argue that our standards are the curriculum, and this
>is pretty much true. the single most important thing for my students is
>for them to read. using trade books makes them real world readers, and
>they know it. all year long, students hear brief lessons about reading,
>and then they read. 
>
>i'm wondering this: do most of the school systems you all work for use a
>specific program, or are you makiing up your own curriculum like we are
>at dps? 

Hi!

My class uses standards for the curriculum, with students determining the
content used to to help develop the required skills (reading, writing,
research, oral communication, self-evaluation, intrapersonal knowledge).
We have annual units in historical fiction, poetry, and theatre; I require
student-designed units in aesthetics, psychology, world cultures and
history each year; the rest is up to them!

On the other hand, the 8th graders in my school have more of a pre-set
curriculum, with alternating historical and fiction-based units on the
theme of "community" during different time periods and in different areas
of the world.

Take care,