Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #curriculummattersma

Most recents (6)

The most important repost of @DanaGoldstein’s piece that you’ll see.

It’s from @TNedu Commissioner. She has led the effort to get high-quality ELA curriculum in nearly every districts, and her schools are reaping the benefit.

“I appreciate the changes, but go all the way.”
Folks, we have a tie.

From the head of @NCTQ, and until recently, a leader in @MASchoolsK12:

💯
I’m here for these calls for curriculum improvement from state leaders, especially the ones who have taken clear, strong action to get their districts to stop using Balanced Literacy curricula and start using high-quality curriculum.

True of @SchwinnTeach and @HeatherPeske.
Read 6 tweets
“It was just a happy accident — in the last 2 weeks, the 2 most popular curricula in the US received the 2 lowest ratings for quality.”

… just as we arrived in @SalemSchoolsk12, where they’d dropped one.

Appreciated chance to share with @DustinLucaSN.

salemnews.com/news/salem-cur…
.@katecarbone2 on the teacher feedback that drove the change…

And the “curriculum renaissance” that has yielded better choices for districts:
If you don’t know how and why background knowledge matters to reading comprehension, it’s Must-Know Info.

Learn more here:

eduvaites.org/2018/11/14/ess…
Read 6 tweets
When our #KnowledgeMatters Tour visited @SalemSchoolsk12, we heard about the district’s shift from Teachers College Reading Workshop to stronger curriculum.

Teachers @staceyvail523, Erica Cabral, and Samantha Lear shared their experiences.

#CurriculumMattersMA #tcrwp ImageImageImage
“We were pulling from 125 different places.

There was so much cross checking between making sure that we were covering things that Lucy might not spell out so easily,” like teaching nouns and verbs.

@staceyvail523, a seventeen year veteran teacher in grades K and 2
“It meant a lot of Teachers Pay Teachers, which is not the best stuff.”

The time and $ cost driven by the need to supplement Reading Workshop was a theme across our conversations in @SalemSchoolsk12.

#CurriculumMattersMA #TCRWP Image
Read 15 tweets
Let’s hear from teachers in UP Academy Holland about the shift from @FountasPinnell / balanced literacy to research-aligned curriculum, @ELeducation.

You don’t want to miss this… 🔥

#CurriculumMattersMA Image
Tiana Wallace says that before, “everything was bucketed.”

“In writers workshop, you might be focused on animals. In read aloud, you might be focused on family.”

@ELeducation, which is designed for deep study in content areas, is supporting stronger vocab acquisition for Ss.
Wallace teaches ESL, and vocabulary development is esp. critical for English Learners!

We also heard about this lack of coherence from 1st grade teacher Alexa Reynolds.

Writers workshop was not connected to the read aloud, which was not connected to the reading tip.
Read 18 tweets
I spent my week in Massachusetts, which is Balanced Literacy Territory, meeting amazing educators shifting away from BL.

LOTS to say about that…

But let’s start with a look at the market share of the lowest-rated curricula for elementary ELA.

#CurriculumMattersMA Image
First, a fun fact:

Massachusetts is the only state to publish info on the curriculum used in each district. Find it here: google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie…

HT @MASchoolsK12. 👏

It’s such valuable info that you’d think every state would do this! The other 49 do not. Image
I spent time with the map, which shows the curricula used in 177 of 404 districts in MA. So, it’s a partial sample.

I found 55 districts that use Reading Workshop / Units of Study, including “top” districts like Brookline.

Summary:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
#CurriculumMattersMA Image
Read 17 tweets
THREAD - 1/7: New @EdReports rates @FountasPinnell as "does not meet expectations" across the board from K-5. This is one of the most popular programs used in Mass. Elementary Schools, along w/ Lucy Caulkins @TeachersCollege (which received a similar rating) #CurriculumMattersMA
Simultaneously, this comment on Facebook by @FountasPinnell has been circulating, in which they make a disturbing & offensive comment that sheds light on some of the beliefs that are held by the company itself, among recent claims that it does not serve all students 2/7
Let's break this down. 1st of all, we are failing MANY more than 20% of our kids...the number is closer to 65%. 65% of American fourth graders are not reading at grade level, according to the 2019 NAEP data (this has been consistent yr after yr) 3/7
nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation…
Read 7 tweets

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