National Curr English Feb 2011 QSA Strategic Directions Workshop
1. F-10 Australian CurriculumQSA Strategic Directions Workshop English 10 February, 2011 Pamela Murphy Senior Project Officer: English
2. Overview of Session Principles for the development of Australian Curriculum (AC) Research Comparison of AC with Queensland Curriculum Organisation and content of AC General capabilities and cross curriculum priorities Inclusivity Achievement standards Implementation 1
3. Challenges and positives What are the positives for you in supporting teachers implement the Australian Curriculum? What are the challenges for you in supporting teachers to implement the Australian Curriculum? 2
4. Key Principles for Development The Australian Curriculum will make clear what we want all young Australians to learn Classroom teachers are best placed to organise learning for students; they will make decisions about the pedagogical approach intended to achieve the best learning outcomes The Melbourne Declaration (Dec 2008) The Shape of the Australian Curriculum (V2) guides the development of national curriculum and is available at http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum.pdf The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: English is available at http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Australian_Curriculum_-_English.pdf
5. Research and Evidence Base A list of references used in the development of the curriculum will be available online Data from NAPLAN, performance and entry data from across jurisdictions were used to inform the placement of content descriptions in particular year levels 4
6. International Benchmarking The Australian Curriculum: English F‒10 has been referenced to and compares favourably with: California England Finland New Zealand Ontario Singapore 5
7. National mapping All state and territory curriculum have been mapped against the Australian Curriculum: English A small common set of topic groups in English form the core of the curricula in all states and territories Findings in English indicate high to very high level of alignment between AC and Queensland Curriculum but with differences in intensity of coverage and breadth of cognitive demand 6
9. Organisation of Australian Curriculum: English Rationale Aims of the learning area Organisation of the learning area Content descriptions (and elaborations) Achievement standards (with work samples) Glossary
10. Rationale The Australian Curriculum: English involves learning about English language, literature and literacy The Australian Curriculum: English contributes to both nation-building and internationalisation Students learn to listen, read and view, speak, write and create increasingly complex and sophisticated texts Helps students to extend and deepen their relationships, understand their identities and their place in a changing world
11. Aims The Australian Curriculum: English aims to ensure that students: listen to, read, view, speak, write, create and reflect on increasingly complex and sophisticated spoken, written and multimodal texts appreciate, enjoy and use the English language in all its variations understand how Standard Australian English works in its spoken and written forms and in combination with non-linguistic forms of communication develop an informed appreciation of literature 10
12. Strands TheAustralian Curriculum: English F–10 is organised into three interrelated strands: Language: knowing about the English language Literature:understanding, appreciating, responding to, analysing and creating literature Literacy: expanding the repertoire of English usage 11
14. Year Level Descriptions Describe: the interrelated nature of the three strands and the expectation that planning an English program will involve integration of content from across the strands learning contexts that are appropriate at each year for learning across the strands a description of the types of texts to be studied and created (includes wider reading texts) they appear at every year for F, 1 and 2 and then 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, 9 and 10 13
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16. Addressing student diversity - EAL/D EAL/D learners enter Australian schools at different ages and with various educational backgrounds They require additional time and support and informed teaching that explicitly addresses their language needs A national EAL/D document will be published online It is a reference for teachers that will allow them to identify the language levels of EAL/D learners and address their specific learning requirements 16
17. Addressing student diversity Most students with special education needs can engage with the curriculum provided adjustments are made to learning activities and assessment key terms have been included in the glossary that describe different approaches that can be used an explanation of the approach taken is described in the Organisation of the learning area additional curriculum content and advice is being prepared
18. Curriculum Content: Early Reading and Writing Explicit content is provided for early reading and writing acquisition, supported by detailed content elaborations. The Language strand includes the fundamental skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, sound-letter correspondences as well as development in using semantic and syntactic clues to make meaning. The Literacy strand focuses on application of these skills. These skills are progressively developed across the years of schooling. 18
19. Curriculum Content: Grammar Students learn about the use of grammar, understand why it is used, develop a shared language to discuss their understanding, and apply that understanding in their comprehension of spoken and written material, their own speech and their written work. The curriculum mainly uses standard grammatical terminology. The selection of terminology is based on an analysis of contemporary reference grammars and chosen in terms of usefulness for school-aged students. The glossary and content elaborations support teacher understanding. 19
20. Type of Grammar To avoid grammatical items being taught as ends in themselves and out of context, most items have been accompanied by a reference to their ‘everyday function’ For example, from year 5 Language, Expressing and developing ideas: Understand the difference between main and subordinate clauses and how these can be combined to create complex sentences through subordinating conjunctions to develop and expand ideas (ACELA1507) The accompanying elaboration provides further information 20
21. Curriculum Content: An Alternative View In addition to the view of the content by strand, the curriculum can also be viewed using the organising headings of reading, writing, listening and speaking The content descriptions are the same whether they are viewed by mode or strand
23. Handwriting The English curriculum specifies that students will be taught to handwrite fluently and legibly using correct letter formation. It does not recommend a specific style of handwriting. State and territory education authorities will identify the style of writing to be taught in schools. A feasibility study for a project to develop a nationally consistent handwriting style may be undertaken.
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25. feedback was very positive and a range of samples of student work have been collected and annotated
29. Using the curriculum Can view the curriculum in different ways (eg by strand; by year level or across year levels; with particular capabilities or cross curriculum dimensions highlighted) Content descriptions can also be viewed by reading, writing, listening, speaking Can download or print in preferred view/s Chart of content sequenced for each substrand will be available Resources linked to elaborations Links to websites containing texts to support teachers in the selection of Asian and Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander texts 28
30. Using the curriculum Enables a flexible approach; not lock step and prescribed Acknowledge where students are Use appropriate teaching strategies and methods Assess appropriately using the standards as a reference point
31. A range of useful information sheets are available at: www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/resourceswww.australiancurriculum.edu.auThank you 30
33. 32 Cross curriculum priorities (CCPs) and General capabilities (GCs) nature and strength of representation identified by icons (with rollovers) may be evident in content descriptions and/or elaborations opportunities for addressing additional CCPs and GCs potential for deep, rich learning where CCPs , GCs and learning area content intersect in content descriptions synergies between various CCPs and GCs
34. GC and CCP icons General capabilities Literacy Numeracy Information and communication technology competence Critical and creative thinking Ethical behaviour Personal and social competence Intercultural understanding Cross curriculum priorities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability
38. English and Literacy In English, literacy knowledge and skills are developed and applied through all three strands: Language, Literature and Literacy. To inform curriculum development across the curriculum a literacy continuum has been developed, based on the Language and Literacy strands of English, plus language and literacy demands specific to learning areas other than English.
40. Examining literature Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT1605) 39
42. Challenges for implementation The three strands introduce a new way of organising content from Reading and viewing, Writing and Designing and Speaking and Listening Grammar is an important component of the Language strand. Some teachers may never have taught it or the terminology may be different Primary teachers approach to teaching Literature Secondary teachers accepting the responsibility of Literacy 41
43. Challenge Ensuring the integration of the strands and maintaining the intent of the Literature strand 42
44. Challenges ahead List major challenges ahead in supporting schools implementing the Australian Curriculum 43
Guided by the Melbourne DeclarationCurriculum for the 21st centuryOutlines entitlement of learning for each studentPresented as a continuum of learningIncludes all studentsAligns with the EYLSMaximises pathwaysWritten in plain English
Elaborationknowing that the function of complex sentences is to make connections between ideas, such as: to provide a reason (for example 'He jumped up because the bell rang.'); to state a purpose (for example 'She raced home in order to confront her brother.'); to express a condition (for example 'It will break if you push it.'); to make a concession (for example 'She went to work even though she was not feeling well.'); to link two ideas in terms of various time relations (for example 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned.')
