English Language Arts 10: Implementation Considerations

Implementation Considerations

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Credit Requirements

English language arts is a Required Area of Study. Each of the courses in the Secondary Level English Language Arts program is a 100-hour credit course.

To meet the new credit requirements for graduation, students entering grade ten in the fall of 1997 will be required to take five compulsory English language arts courses at the Secondary Level. These compulsory courses will include three language-based courses in a Grade 10, 11, and 12 sequence (ELA A10, ELA 20, ELA A30). In addition, two issues-oriented courses will be required at the Grade 10 and 12 levels respectively (ELA B10 and ELA B30).

Compulsory ELA Courses

Grade 10

Grade 11

Grade 12

ELA A10

ELA 20

ELA A30

ELA B10

ELA B30

ELA A10, 20, and A30 are a prerequisite series and must be taken sequentially.
Students need ELA A10, B10, and ELA 20 for Grade 11 completion.
ELA B10 is a prerequisite for ELA B30.
Students may also choose to enrol in an elective course. Four provincially developed 20 level courses will be available and may be used to fulfil an elective option.
Larger schools could offer two or more optional courses each semester while smaller schools could offer one or more optional courses on a rotating cycle (e.g., year one--Journalism Studies 20, year two--Communication 20, year three--Media Studies 20).
If a school offers French Immersion or Fransaskois programs, administrators should review carefully the new credit requirements for graduation in Credit Policy for Secondary Schools: An Administrator's Guide (Saskatchewan Education, September 1996, pp. 14-20) and consult the Francais Immersion 10 Information Bulletin for Administrators.

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Implementation Schedule

The ELA A10 and B10 courses will be available for implementation in the 1997-98 school year. The compulsory ELA 20 and the elective 20 level courses will be available for implementation in the 1998-99 year. The new ELA A30 and B30 courses will be available for implementation in the 1999-2000 school year.

Schools have three years to implement new curricula. Saskatchewan Education provides implementation inservice during this period. Contact your Regional Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction for details of workshops.

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Staff Development

The new curriculum challenges teachers to:

pay careful attention to unit planning to ensure there is an integral connection and interaction between objectives and teaching/learning, and assessment/evaluation strategies
integrate appropriately the processes of speaking, listening, writing, reading, representing, and viewing
consider speaking and listening (oracy) as important components of the curriculum; students must be able to discuss, debate, defend, and explain their ideas and beliefs and they must have the necessary critical listening skills to comprehend an ever-increasing flow of information
place an emphasis on language and its use for specific purposes. Students learn to use language, learn about language, and learn through language
provide language skills and concepts within the context of the language processes and students' own work
use continuous assessment and evaluation not only to determine individual student needs and progress but to determine objectives and to devise appropriate teaching/learning approaches
practise the behaviours of reflective practitioners
select and use resources according to objectives and students' needs and interests.

Teachers need to prepare for the implementation of the new curriculum. Change and implementation of new curricula do not happen "all at once". It is important to provide time and opportunities for teachers to develop an awareness, and to explore, refine, and become adept with new philosophies and practices. While individual teachers will be at different stages in their change processes, they may experience growth in stages similar to the following:

Awareness and Exploration

Initially, teachers might:

become aware of the aim, principles, foundational and learning objectives of the curriculum

gain familiarity with new teaching, assessment, and evaluation strategies

attend professional development activities and read professional resources

try the sample unit(s)

examine and review new resources

increase opportunities for oral activities in their classrooms.

Refinement

As teachers work with the curriculum, they might:

increase their awareness and emphasis on students and their language development

integrate speaking, listening, writing, reading, representing and viewing skills

plan new units which clearly reflect the foundational and learning objectives

observe students and self to determine instructional decisions

personalize sample units to meet individual needs

extend teaching strategies and use a range of new resources.

Full implementation

As teachers fully implement the curriculum, they should:

present students with purposeful language practice and application

plan for the balanced integration of the language processes

use a range of teaching and evaluation strategies effectively

use a multitude of resources comfortably

develop new units in collaboration with colleagues

help students share what they are learning and how they are learning

encourage risk taking, collaboration, and co-operation in the classroom.

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Resource Selection

A list of professional references is included in Appendix A. Teachers and administrators may find it helpful to become familiar with several of these resources as they prepare for implementation of the English Language Arts 10, 20, and 30 courses. The Learning Objectives provide the framework for all activities and, therefore, the resources should be selected to support the objectives.

During implementation, teachers should select resources which are useful in addressing the objectives of the curriculum and their students' needs. A resource-based curriculum encourages students and teachers to use a variety of resources, including multimedia, in their learning and teaching. Teachers are encouraged to select and adapt their resources to meet the abilities, needs, and interests of their students.

English Language Arts is more than personal and critical response to literature. It is also language. When choosing resources, attention must be given to the language processes that students are to experience and to the language resources (e.g., language handbooks, dictionaries, thesauri) that play an important role in an English Language Arts classroom.

Schools will need to review their present resources and plan carefully for the implementation of the new courses. Provisions should be made for a variety of classroom and resource centre materials. Attention should be given to traditional and contemporary Canadian, Indian and Métis, and Saskatchewan content and viewpoints. Some of the selections may be found in resources already in schools.

Balance should be reflected in the language resources and literary selections chosen. Students should have access to a variety of handbooks and language models. They should hear, read, and view a range of literary selections from different periods--contemporary and traditional--in different genres. Minimum guidelines are provided for each level. For example, an ELA A10 or B10 course would require:

language handbooks, dictionaries, thesauri
literary selections related to the theme or issue, including short stories (minimum of five per course), essays (minimum of five per course), poems (minimum of ten per course), plays (minimum of two per course; plus, in the B10 course, a Shakespearean play), a full-length nonfiction and a novel (which could be studied by the whole class) or several different novels (which could be used for small group study)
appropriate audio, video, and technological resources to support the theme or issue.

Suggestions for language and literature resources will be found in English Language Arts 10: A Bibliography (scheduled for release in 1997). Short stories, essays, poems, and short plays are often found in anthologies.

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Role of Administrators

Implementation of the English Language Arts courses will be enhanced if school administrators:

create an environment of trust and support to facilitate the risk taking that is necessary for change to occur
develop an understanding of the curriculum by reading and reflecting upon this bulletin
develop a plan for implementation
ensure that teachers have the opportunity to attend implementation inservice
attend, when possible, inservice and awareness sessions related to this initiative
ensure that the school division resource selection policy reflects Saskatchewan Education initiatives and guidelines and recognizes the resource needs of an English language arts classroom
consider how assessment and evaluation suggestions in the curriculum affect the school's evaluation policy and reporting of student progress
support teachers who wish to expand their repertoire of teaching strategies and methods, of assessment and evaluation strategies, and of professional and student resources
recognize that change and implementation of new curricula do not happen all at once and that teachers will progress through various stages in the implementation process
inform students, parents, and community of the philosophy, goals, and methods of the English language arts curriculum
review and discuss with teachers the latest Highlights of the Provincial Learning Assessment in Language Arts.

[Credit Requirements] [Implementation Schedule] [Staff Development] [Resource Selection] [Role of Administrators] [Curriculum Documents]

Curriculum Documents

The following documents will be available to support the implementation of the Secondary Level English Language Arts curriculum.

Fall 1997

English Language Arts 10: A Curriculum Guide for the Secondary Level

English Language Arts 10: A Bibliography

Fall 1998

English Language Arts 20: A Curriculum Guide for the Secondary Level

Creative Writing 20

Communication 20

Journalism Studies 20

Media Studies 20

English Language Arts 20: A Bibliography

Fall 1999

English Language Arts 30: A Curriculum Guide for the Secondary Level

English Language Arts 30: A Bibliography

Guidelines for modified courses will also be prepared.

Grade 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
ELA A10	ELA 20	ELA A30
ELA B10		ELA B30