EdReports has given a partial thumbs-up to the ELA curriculum materials used in my district.

EdReports claims to be the trustworthy experts. They hire teachers to work in small groups for the purpose of examining every bit of a curriculum with a fine toothed comb. Evaluations are based on how closely the curriculum follows the Common Core Standards, text quality, building knowledge, and usability.

But here is the problem. EdReports first focuses on the written curriculum and puts Usability last. A program can get a high score in following the standards and text quality, and not be rated at all in Usability. It seems to me that usability should come first, because if you don’t have that, what’s the point?

Here’s a writing lesson from an ELA program that my school adopted. It is for Unit 1 Week 3 of first grade. Put on your rater’s “hat” and decide how Usable it is.

Arrow 1

CCSS means Common Core standard. But wait, this is a lesson objective, right? Are an objective and a standard the same thing? Hardly. A standard is an end of the year goal. An objective is a focus for a particular day or week. A lesson objective is a small stepping stone on the way to meeting a standard. Should EdReports even agree to look at programs without lesson objectives? (There is not a single real objective to be found in the entire curriculum.) You will see as you continue that this whole lesson is completely skewed, in part because it’s based on an end of year standard.

Arrow 2

The entire lesson on this page, which is quite extensive, is supposed to take five minutes. If you are looking at Usability first, you would probably say to yourself, “Why does it even matter if this is Common Core aligned? No one will teach it.” (Which actually turns out to be the case in my district) After you read through the entire page, decide if you think five minutes is a reasonable amount of time.

Before discussing arrows 3 and 4, I’m going to introduce you to some writing samples from beginning first graders. Remember, this lesson is designed for Week 3 of ELA , which would be September or October of first grade (depending when you start school). This is what first grade writing looks like around then.

Arrow 3

Students should “take notes about what they like most, questions they have for the author, and details they think the author could include.” Given these writing samples, which include typical developing 6 year old writers at the beginning of first grade, what do you think? Do the writers of this curriculum know or care that many beginning first graders cannot yet read? And even if they could read normal words, who could begin to decipher Student 3’s writing? As a teacher, I would put careful thought into what kind of feedback to give Student 3. And they are expecting a first grader to be capable of that?

Arrow 4

The CCSS begins “With guidance and support from adults…” So why, next to arrow 4, is there now an expectation that children will independently edit each other’s work? You can already see from their writing samples how that will go. In my mind it’s a crime to be making a profit off this lesson. Most early childhood teachers would take one piece of student work to display to the class and first compliment the student for what was well done, then ask for compliments from classmates. All of us, from age 2 to 92, deserve to hear what we did well before receiving suggestions. Then, this knowledgeable teacher would offer (or ask for) one or two suggestions about something the student could fix. That’s what guided and supported looks like.

I would argue that if anyone actually did try to teach this, they would be doing more harm than good, and at the very least, wasting a lot of time.

Why would EdReports post only part of a report? Why not look at the whole thing before even putting it online? Why was the usability left out? Are they trying to protect the big publishing companies that publish these crazy things?

It worries me that EdReports may be gaining a reputation as the go-to place for districts to get advice on what curriculum to adopt. If so, they have a major responsibility to report the whole truth. What I have given you is one small example. I could also point out major usability issues with the math curriculum I’m using, which is rated highly by EdReports. It looks good on paper, and aligns with Common Core, but it has major flaws relating to a certain thing called reality.

Come on, EdReports, give us the whole picture. Look at the whole truth, and report it.

I love it when I go internet traveling and land in a delightful garden.

I spent an afternoon recently exploring The Second Principle, a site kept by retired University of Wisconsin professor Leslie Owen Wilson. I learned new information about the brain, lots about curriculum design, and she had a very moving tribute to Fred Rogers (whose biography I had just finished).

Leslie’s specialty area is curriculum design. In one of her blog posts, she answers a burning question for me, which is, What do teachers want in a curriculum document? She draws from a large database: 18 years of student surveys at the end of her course titled Fundamentals of Curriculum.

So… what did she find out? I’m going to distill it down for you since the original piece is beyond most folks’ attention span on this topic.

1.User-friendly formats

• Print copies, preferably in binders and with room to write notes
• Clearly numbered, coded or sequenced sections
• Readable fonts, bold headings, and italics
• A general overview schema

2. Components

• Title page with date of publication, authors and contact info
• Mission statement and philosophy of intent
• Table of contents with section sequences
• Scope and sequence chart
• Standards, aims, goals, and objectives that are correctly termed, clearly marked and sequenced
• Congruence between the mission and philosophy and the internal components
• Clear indications of desired outcomes and benchmarks
• Assessment devices or samples of progress
• Appendices with references to related resources, materials, organizations, suggestions for time allotments and scheduling

3. Other suggestions

• Materials should be revised and updated every 2-3 years
• Materials should provide direction for novice teachers and latitude for experienced teachers
• An overview of three years’ progress (what is expected the year before the grade level and the year after)
• Educational goals should be prioritized into categories of expectation (i.e. what should be introduced, developed, or mastered in the lessons)
• Curriculum should be logically arranged
• Every teacher should have a personal copy
• If materials change significantly, an in-service should be provided
• Teachers should be given time to exchange ideas and suggestions as they implement the curriculum
• There should be examples of current best practice

What is not helpful to teachers? Outdated curriculum, materials written to “teach to the test”, permanently bound or overly large volumes, lofty or inspirational mission statements which do not match the instructional components, not knowing who is responsible for making the materials or adopting them at the district level, curriculum that is overly directive or too vague.

I think Growing Writers does really well on most of these points. There will probably be teachers who feel at first glance that it is too restrictive because it has a tight design and some “Teacher Talk” scripts (which are merely suggestions). Because children’s writing is full of surprises, no year will ever be the same even if you are using the same lessons!

If you want the whole document on teachers’ opinions, here is direct access to that: https://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/writing-good-curriculum/

Just for fun, here’s her tribute to Mr. Rogers. Read about the high school track star who stopped short when he saw Leslie’s t-shirt with Mr. Rogers on it. https://thesecondprinciple.com/2018/08/25/remembering-mr-rogers-lessons-that-remind-us-to-return-to-civility-and-caring/

Do you turn to Pinterest or Teachers pay Teachers because you need an idea for a supplemental activity? Or do you turn to these sites because you don’t have an effective curriculum?

I have turned to the internet for teaching materials for both reasons.

I totally agree with this article (see link below) which laments the lack of good curriculum. When we patch things together from various websites we are missing that mystical thing called “instructional design”. To find a real definition I turned to – yep, Google.

Instructional Design is the systematic development of instructional specifications using learning and instructional theory to ensure the quality of instruction. It is the entire process of analysis of learning needs and goals and the development of a delivery system to meet those needs.         (from Instructional Design Central website)

https://edexcellence.net/articles/failing-by-design-how-we-make-teaching-too-hard-for-mere-mortals

I am personally fascinated with instructional design and feel that good design is crucial to the success of students, especially those at risk. I appreciate good lesson design the way I appreciate good architecture – there is a beauty and flow to it that is uplifting. Walking into a building like the state capitol rotunda in my hometown of Olympia, Washington, and looking up 80 feet into the dome, gives my mind a spaciousness that I don’t find in my own house. There is nothing I can think of that could be done better in that building. I just stand there in awe. Teachers know that pretty much everything out there in the form of curriculum is more like our houses – comfortable perhaps but mediocre in design. There are things we’re not completely happy with, which is why we turn to Pinterest and Google for help.

As the author states, most of us teachers are not trained in curriculum design. But if there are a lot of well-trained experts out there, why are we not getting solid curriculum that we don’t have to fix? I am curious what math curriculum the article is talking about. I’m not expecting Capitol Dome curriculum design any time soon, but I’d welcome a math curriculum needing a few less renovations than my house.

Many of us care so much about our students that we search the internet for that “just right” idea, or maybe something new to try when nothing is working. It isn’t bad, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could do it occasionally just for fun, and not out of desperation?

I could say more, but no time now – I gotta hit the internet for lesson plans!

Related post about good curriculum: Thanks to ReadWell

If you were following my Second Grade pilot this past school year, you will notice a long silence starting in January.  That’s when my dad had his first stroke and parts of my life went on hold.  He had another stroke in January and then a third at the end of February, and died on March 30.  

April, May, and June were for healing myself, being there for my mom, and doing the best I could to end the school year on a strong and positive note.  I was very close to my dad and watching what he went through was hell.  Plus, his first stroke was on the very day that I had a fantastic meeting with a school principal in Tenino, Washington, and was feeling great about Growing Writers.  Part of me was terrified about another bad thing happening if I experienced more success.  The unconscious mind was saying, “Yeah, be careful how much good you allow in your life because every time something good happens, something bad will follow.” 

Then one day my sister asked me to clarify “good” and “bad”.  I realized that my dad passing away was not necessarily bad.  It was hard, but it was also having an effect on our family in some positive ways.  My mom was learning new skills like how to put gas in the car and handle finances, and making some new friends.  My dad’s illness and death showed us how many true friends he had and how wonderful and generous people can be.  It was forcing me to look at how I want to live the rest of my life and things I wanted to change.

Also, putting the meeting that made me feel good in the “good” box could be untrue as well.  Maybe it created false hope.  Maybe it would lead to nothing.  

By the time I had let go of this good/bad mindset and was ready to start blogging, marketing, and improving Growing Writers again, it was time for report cards and wrapping up the year.

If you are planning to do the 2018-19 Second Grade pilot, it will be available at the end of August.  Second grade teachers, please try it out and read my posts about using it starting in October!  I’m already looking forward to Year 5 of work on second grade.  You will love how it is coming together.