NOTES

Alex Kathol ED 3501 October 1. 2013

The Alberta English Language Arts Program of Studies Guide. How to Read the Program of Studies
The Alberta English Language Arts (ELA) Programs of Studies provides five General Learning Outcomes (GLOs) for all grades K-12. These broad GLOs (1,2,3, etc.) are concentrated into semi-set (K-9 are the same and 10-12 are the same) themes known as clusters or subheadings (1.1, 1.2, etc.) . From the clusters, set heading are established. It is here that grade-based Specific Learning Outcomes (SLOs) take form (only further concentrated by the GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES (GLO) teacher into lesson specific Learning SUBHEADING (CLUSTER) Outcomes).
*The English Language Program of Studies is laid out in a manner that can prove confusing if the organization method is not properly understood. See the quick reference chart below to help you better understand the layout:
HEADINGS SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLO) LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO)

To help further understand how the Program of Studies works for English Language Arts, here are two diagrams from the Program of Studies showing GLO 2 (for elementary):

TAKE A MOMENT AND REFLECT ON HOW GLAD YOU ARE TO NOT BEAN ENGLISH MAJOR!

 Grades K-9 (2000) Statement of Philosophy: The ability to use language effectively enhances student opportunities to experience personal satisfaction and to become responsible, contributing citizens and lifelong learners. -ELA Program of Studies (pg. 4) Rationale: All language arts are interrelated and interdependent; facility in one strengthens and supports the others.-ELA Program of Studies (pg. 4) Here are the General Learning Outcomes for K-9:

Here are some examples of lessons in two elementary grades and one middle school grade: Division I (K-3): Grade 1
GLO Students will speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral. print and other media Use strategies and cues Use comprehension strategies Use language prediction skills to identify unknown words within the context of a sentence Students willunderstand unknown words meaning based on sentence

Heading Sub-Heading SLO LO

Division II (4-6): Grade 5

GLO Heading Sub-Heading SLO LO Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to respect, support and collaborate with others Work within a group Cooperate with others Accept and take responsibility for fulfilling own roles as a group member Students willassume a role of responsibility in a group setting.

Division III (7-9) :Grade 7

GLO Heading Sub-Heading SLO Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to manage ideas and information Plan and focus Focus attention Use note-taking, outlining, or representing to summarize important ideas and information in oral, print and other media text Students willsummarize a chapter in text form

The K-9 ELA Program of Studies has a very uniform and constant structure in terms of its GLOs, Heading and Subheadings. This means that the same themes of concepts are to be applied through ALL grade levels. -SLOs and LOs are grade and lesson specific, in order to apply to different learning levels as well as learning styles. NOTE: Teacher Wendy Knapman created a unique and useful tool to help ELA teachers better understand the structure of the K-9 Program of Studies. Here is the link to the website (it also contains many other resources for teaching ELA!):
http://elac.teachers.ab.ca/Curriculum%20Corner/ELA%20General%20Outcom es/Pages/ELA%20General%20Outcomes.aspx

LO

Grades 10-12 (2003) Statement of Philosophy: The aim is to encourage an understanding and appreciation of the significance and artistry of literature, while also enable each student to understand and appreciate language and o us it confidently and competently for a variety of purposes. (Program of Studies) Rationale: The ability to use language effectively enhances student opportunities to experience personal satisfaction and to become responsible, contributing citizens and lifelong learners. Requirement Minimum Text Study Description Specific text types are required to be studied and may be presented in various media (in all program levels). In high school ELA classes, 1/3 of texts studies are required to be Canadian content. Students will create a variety of responses (personal and critical/analytical), using a variety of print and non-print forms (prose, poetry, script, etc.)

Differences between High School Course Sequences (i.e. 10-1 and 10-2) General Outcomes 1,3 and 5 are exactly the same for students in [dash 1 or dash 2] (Program of Studies), English 10-30 programs. General Outcomes 2 and 4 are different for dash 2 programs, which include: minimum text requirements in text study and text creation. General differences between the two course sequences [are]student needs, interests, and aspirations (Program of Studies) Both degrees of courses maintain high standards to meet graduation requirements(Program of Studies), including writing a diploma examination at the end of a 30 level course

Division IV (10-12): Grade 10

GLO Sub-Heading Heading SLO Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences Discover Possibilities Experiment with language, image and structure Experiment with a variety of strategies, activities, activities, and resources to explore ideas, observations, opinions, experiences and emotions Students will explore emotion and/or experiences through free-verse poetry

Canadian Literature Requirement

Minimum Text Creation

LO

* Schools and jurisdictions are able to specify additional requirements for text studies and creations to fit the needs and interests of their students and their communities.

Specific Grade Focus Example: Grade 2- Alphabetical Order Lesson

Grade/Subject: Grade 2 Unit:_N/A Lesson Duration:_30mins
GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1. (#2): Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts. 2. (#5): Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to respect, support and collaborate with others.

Overview Content Scope and Sequence The ELA Program does not outline specific units and concepts to be taught at certain grade levels. Rather, ELA concepts span all grades, in all divisions from pre-K to graduation (scope). Learning this core subject is a constant project under construction; building on and refining prior knowledge (sequence). This style allows teachers to be creative in their lessons, units, and over all teaching styles, and also allows for student learning styles and interests to be more easily accommodated. Like many other courses Each grade is a prerequisite for the preceding grade and English 10 is a prerequisite for English 20 and then English 30 (sequence).

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1. (2.1): Use strategies and cues; use references 2. (5.2): Work within a group; Cooperate with others Learning Objectives Students will: 1. Organize words and names in alphabetical order by first letter 2. Collaborate with classmates in a group setting 3. Contribute relevant information to group understanding of topic and task Assessment Observations: I will observe the students during group interaction to confirm they are using the alphabetical order organization technique. (L.O #1), (L.O #2) I will observe the students during group collaboration to make sure each partner is contributing (L.O #3) Written /Performance: Matching flashcards (L.O #1) Alphabetical class names journal reflection (L.0 #1) ACTUVUTIES INTRODUCTION (4mins MINS): Hook: -ask students to provide words, then as a class organize the words in alphabetical order -ask questions on why we got the answers and how; student oral response Assessment of Prior Knowledge: - which letters in the alphabet come first -Names of classmates and animals Activity #1: students will work in groups to alphabetize animal cards. Activity #2: students will work independently on worksheet containing names and previously learned spelling words. Activity #3: class will work together to alphabetize names of classmates on a smart board. Conclusion: discuss strategies learned, write them down on a poster and leave up in the classroom.

Similarities and Differences There are six language arts: listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing. These are uniform in ALL Divisions. GLO`s are uniform for grades K-9 (including knowledge and employability programs), GLO`s for grades 10-12 are uniform as well (including knowledge and employability programs), but differ from the K-9 GLOs because they expand further on comprehension of abstract ideas. The clusters follow the same notions as the GLOs of being standardized within divisions; Division IV varying slight due to further comprehension.

References http://elac.teachers.ab.ca/Curriculum%20Corner/ELA%20 General%20Outcomes/Pages/ELA%20General%20Outcom es.aspx http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/english/programs.aspx