Charlotte Mecklenburg County uses EL Education. I am extremely glad they are using whole books.
I substitute teach in elementary and middle schools (I was a former social studies teacher). The teachers, and I, find the curriculum soooooo boring and repetitive. It’s truly hard to discuss a non fiction paragraph about frogs for an hour. It’s even harder to return to that hour discussion and workbook page from I-Ready on their devices (also boring - but on the IPad).
The kids like the American Revolution section the best (4th grade).
“I am Malala” in 3rd grade, where the kids learn about bad vs good Muslims seems a bit deep and unnecessary for 3rd grade in the US. So yes, curriculum is better and evolving, but also has morals - environmental and political.
My district is theoretically using EL but functionally only half the teachers are really doing it. It’s a very hard one to get started on if your district didn’t offer (and mandate) solid PD. Teachers are overwhelmed and resentful. I worry bad implementation is going to stall progress.
"The Reading Wars are over. No serious person disagrees about the need for systematic phonics to teach children how to read and the ‘whole language’ camp is more or less relegated to a dying breed in academia." This is a complex issue. I hope you can find time to read Maryanne Wolf's new paper, which I wrote about in Maryanne Wolf Knows Her Proust and Her P.O.S.S.U.M. (https://harriettjanetos.substack.com/p/maryanne-wolf-knows-her-proust-and?r=5spuf)
This article is talking about Mississippi and Louisiana as the only southern states to make gains. Florida made the same gains as Mississippi and more gains than Louisiana. On an another note: My question about UFLI are you saying it is not a quality foundations curriculum? We use UFLI with Benchmark Advanced and are seeing great results.
I think UFLI is wonderful! Also, I appreciate that Florida was gaining pre-pandemic but its gains have faltered. Many point to its increased focus on cultural issues since 2020. You can’t focus on everything.
Thank you for this research and article.
Charlotte Mecklenburg County uses EL Education. I am extremely glad they are using whole books.
I substitute teach in elementary and middle schools (I was a former social studies teacher). The teachers, and I, find the curriculum soooooo boring and repetitive. It’s truly hard to discuss a non fiction paragraph about frogs for an hour. It’s even harder to return to that hour discussion and workbook page from I-Ready on their devices (also boring - but on the IPad).
The kids like the American Revolution section the best (4th grade).
“I am Malala” in 3rd grade, where the kids learn about bad vs good Muslims seems a bit deep and unnecessary for 3rd grade in the US. So yes, curriculum is better and evolving, but also has morals - environmental and political.
Couldn't agree more. It's amazing to see how much of a difference a truly knowledge-rich curriclum can make. How do we scale this impact?
We’re using Into Literature at my high school. I’m supplementing, but I’ll be lucky to get in one whole class novel this year.
Love this! ❤️
My district is theoretically using EL but functionally only half the teachers are really doing it. It’s a very hard one to get started on if your district didn’t offer (and mandate) solid PD. Teachers are overwhelmed and resentful. I worry bad implementation is going to stall progress.
"The Reading Wars are over. No serious person disagrees about the need for systematic phonics to teach children how to read and the ‘whole language’ camp is more or less relegated to a dying breed in academia." This is a complex issue. I hope you can find time to read Maryanne Wolf's new paper, which I wrote about in Maryanne Wolf Knows Her Proust and Her P.O.S.S.U.M. (https://harriettjanetos.substack.com/p/maryanne-wolf-knows-her-proust-and?r=5spuf)
Thanks for sharing!
This article is talking about Mississippi and Louisiana as the only southern states to make gains. Florida made the same gains as Mississippi and more gains than Louisiana. On an another note: My question about UFLI are you saying it is not a quality foundations curriculum? We use UFLI with Benchmark Advanced and are seeing great results.
I think UFLI is wonderful! Also, I appreciate that Florida was gaining pre-pandemic but its gains have faltered. Many point to its increased focus on cultural issues since 2020. You can’t focus on everything.
+1