Kuwait National Curriculum and Standards Development Project State of Kuwait Ministry of Education ELT General supervision Standards Kuwait National Curriculum and Standards Development Project

What is new in the curriculum for English ? to Moving from Competency and standard based 1.Content /skill/ based curriculum Skills/performance focus 2. Knowledge / skills /performance focus Student’s centered class ( PPP) 3. Teacher’s/student centered class ( PPP ) Formative & summative evaluation ) Ps and teachers) 4. Summative / evaluation

To Moving from Parents are involved and know the standards 5.Parents are not much involved and are not aware of standards A range of language realities 6. Proficiency domain Range of attitudes 7. Affective domain A ranges of connection 8. Integration of school subjects Progression of skills is clearer , organized , and a good guide for teachers 9.Progression of skills from one grade to another was not among teachers priorities Activities designed made standards more applicable 10.Some standards were ambitious

What are standards? “Standards describe the goals of schooling, the destinations at which students should arrive at the end of the unit or term. Standards should describe observable and measurable behavior on the student's part so that we can assess it. Standards indicate what students should know and should be able to do not what the teacher will do. So, standards typically begin, "Students will ...."

Types of Standards by which the level of achievement of the competences is measured Curriculum Standards: the curriculum standards refer to the quality level to be achieved by students in attaining the specific competences. Curriculum standards describe to what extent the specific competences should be achieved by the end of each grade. In the Kuwait Curriculum, curriculum standards are defined at the level of each grade and relate to specific competences defined in the subject curriculum. As they are relevant for the students’ progress in learning, curriculum standards are matter of school- and class-based formative and summative assessment. Performance Standards: the performance standards refer to the quality level to be achieved by students’ in performing their general competences by the end of each of the school stages – i.e. grades 5, 9 and 12. Performance standards describe to what extent the general competences are achieved by the end of each stage of education – Performance standards are matter of different forms of national summative assessment or examination.  

What are competences ? Competences are integrated set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, values, and beliefs developed through (formal and non-formal) education that allow individuals to perform – at the quality level expressed by the standards - required activities in their every day life.

Key Competences General Competences Specific Competences All Subjects Subject Specific Gr. 1 -12 General Competences Grade specific Gr. 1 ,2,1….. Specific Competences

Key competences are cross-curricular (i. e Key competences are cross-curricular (i.e. non-subject specific), transferable and multifunctional competences. All subjects contribute to their development. They are supposed to be achieved by the end of grade 12 General competences are subject-specific. They define the most general subject-based integrated knowledge, skills and attitudes/values concerning students’ expected outcomes by the end of grade 12. Specific competences are sub-divisions of the general competences representing stages in their acquisitions. The specific competences are structured and developed in students during school year

General competences to be developed through Grades 1. Listening to oral messages in a variety of contexts. 2. Speaking in a variety of concrete situations (through individual or interactive speech) 3. Reading and viewing a range of written texts 4. Writing in a variety of contexts for different purposes

Examples of learning activities Example of specific competence, corresponding learning activities and curriculum standard Specific competence Examples of learning activities Curriculum standard 1.1.Asking and answering simple questions about self and family , colours of objects “with teacher's support” Perform mini dialogues properly with teacher’s assistance A :Hello, how are you? B : Fine , thank you. A : Who is he ? B : He’s my friend , Salem. 1.1. perform simple mini dialogues with peers / teacher, about self/ everyday activities , people/ objects 2. Speaking in a variety of concrete situations (through individual or interactive speech)

Correlation of English with other subjects: examples Religion: Speaking about Islam using simple language Math : Using numbers when dealing with familiar topics ( age , number of objects in the classroom .etc) Science : Naming parts of the body when dealing with familiar topics Social Studies: Engaging in a conversation about Kuwait in simple sentences Music : Engaging in rhyming , games and songs that emphasize the patterns of sounds listening to identify words related to shapes and colours Art : Range of connections

Types of Classroom Assessment Summative Formative

Some Formative Assessment Approaches The following are examples of possible ways a teacher can be engaged in formative assessment of student progress within the new Kuwait National Curriculum and the specific subject curriculum. Teacher assessment may be undertaken: on written work, in class/homework as part of a project); on the work of a group, assessing the group or individuals; related to specific skills – cognitive, affective, social or process skills, if appropriate; related to specific learning within a lesson or series of lessons; using particular approaches, for example, by means of oral interaction, individual, group or class, with the teacher asking specific questions or teacher observation, with the teacher viewing the engagement of the whole class, or specific groups, or even the performance of an individual student.

Levels of Achievement Sample III.STANDARDS STANDARDIZING MEASURING Achievement standards by the end of grade 5 Levels of achievement 1 2 3 4 5 ENGLISH S1.3.1 read information texts (e.g.observation reports explanation, instructions, and process narrative) (a) about 7 lines (b) about a certain topic from the text book (c) using reading strategies learned in grades 1-5 ( d) in not more than 3 minutes D1 The student reads with great difficulty a simple text ; about a)about 7 lines b) about certain topic from the text book c)not using any reading stretgies learned in previous grades , with no concentration d)in more than 6 Minutes D2 The student reads with difficulty an information text(e.g.simple text (a) about 7 lines (b) about a certain topic from the text book (c) unable to use reading strategies learned from grades 1-5 ( d) in more than 5 minutes D3 The student reads with some difficulty an information text(e.g.explanation, instructions, ) (a)about 7 lines (b) about a certain topic from the text book (c) using some of the reading strategies learned from grades 1-5 ( d) in about 5 minutes D4 The student reads accurately to some extent an information text(e.g.explanation, instructions, and process narrative) (a)about 7 lines (c) using reading strategies learned from grades 1-5 ( d) in not more than 4 minutes D5: The student fluently and accurately reads an information text(e.g.explanation, nsitructions, and process narrative) (a)about 7 lines (b) about a certain topic from the text book and other texts (c) using reading strategies learned from grades 1-5 ( d) in less than 3 minutes

Overview and progression of Skills General competences   Specific competences for grade 1 Specific competences for grade 2 Specific competences for grade 3 Specific competences for grade 4 Specific competences for grade 5 Dominant Topics for Grades 1 to 5   GC 2. Speaking in a variety of concrete situations (through individual or interactive speech) A range of language realities 2.1. Using simple words and drawings to express themselves about self, family, colours, food and other items 2.1. Participating in short and simple interactions, in everyday situations, with support from the partner (peer or adults, teacher or others) 2.1.Talking about grade level topics using simple language with the help of visual clues 2.1. Presenting and exchanging information, and ideas about grade level topics through simple dialogues 2.1. Communicating with others using language learned in grades 1 to5 A range of operations 2.2.2. Responding to a variety of simple communicative situations in mini dialogues. 2.2. Responding to simple communicative situations in mini dialogues. 2.2. Using simple conversational strategies: questions, role play greeting, dialogues 2.2. Participating effectively in simple short conversations and collaborations with peers. 2.2. Communicating actively and responding verbally to others. A range of attitudes 2.3. Building up positive personal motivation to speak with peers and adults using simple phrases and sentences 2.3. Showing confidence and respect when speaking in simple sentences with the teacher and peers 2.3.Speaking respectfully and confidently to others in simple situations 2.3. Expressing their own ideas, needs, wishes and feelings clearly 2.3. Sharing information, opinions and questions while speaking in public A range of connections  2.4.Producing sounds of English which are similar/ different from sounds in Arabic (Arabic); counting numbers from 1-20 in English (Math) ;Naming parts of the body in English ( Science ); Speaking about Islam in simple sentences ( Islamic Studies );Engaging in rhyming , games and songs that emphasize the patterns of sounds ( Music ) 2.4. Using English words and phrases to express their Islamic identity ( Islamic Studies) ; Talking about themselves as Kuwaiti Citizens in English( Social studies); Singing songs about Kuwait in English ( Music ) 2.4. Using words and phrases to say correct sentences in English about places in Kuwait ( Social Studies); naming Islamic occasions in English ( Islamic Studies) ;singing songs about months of the year (Music ) 2.4. Using English to talk about Kuwait and other Arab countries (Social Studies ); to talk about health, Kuwaiti planetarium ,the sun & the moon ( Science); Talking about football and car race in English ( PE ) 2.4. Participating in short conversations when giving instructions related to traffic rules in English ( Life Skills ); Asking and answering questions in English about old and new schools in Kuwait ( Social Studies)

New Distribution of the Syllabus (New Fun With English –Gr.1) Period Unit Teacher’s Guide Pupil’s Book 1 A Activity Book 1A Standards to be achieved By the end of the First Evaluation period pupils are able to …… First   1 - 3 + Rev 1 1 - 28 1 - 23 1 – 14 LISTENING recognize sounds and words heard from natural sources (e.g. different persons’ speech) or electronic ones (recorded material) identify initial sounds in simple words (a - s – h – l – t – m – n ). identify numbers and count from 1-10 react to simple instructions related to ( daily routine- actions-body parts) identify and sing 3 simple English songs about (greetings-body parts -family ) in groups and individually. identify 10 of the most common high frequency words that consist of two or three letters listen and distinguish between different simple oral messages in areas of (body parts-family members)

HODs Role Heads of departments have a major role in supporting teachers to organize the teaching and learning activity for each subject in such a way that students can progress to their highest level of achievement. Their job is to: Plan, together with all subject teachers, the teaching and learning process towards general and specific competences of each subject; Clarify, together with all subject teachers, priorities for student learning achievement in reaching the curriculum standards, the ways in which those priorities will be addressed and how students’ progress will be measured through school-based formative and summative assessment and, last but not least, how the quality of teaching and learning of the teachers will be appraised; Monitor the implementation of the agreed plans and offer professional support to teachers in properly organizing the teaching and learning process; Make recommendations for, and partly conduct teachers’ school-based professional development starting from teachers’ concrete and specific needs.

Teachers’ Role Teachers are expected to acquire certain skills and they should be able to: Use modern communication technology in teaching. Acquire a high level of professionalism and expertise to demonstrate educational leadership and good planning and thinking. Sustain an environment of challenging and collaborative learning, notably through a small-group tutorial system. Be engaged in on-going professional development in respect of both teaching and research. Participate frequently in national and international conferences. Improve instructional and self –evaluation skills. Be able to use different assessment techniques and tools. Use necessary information for effective communication. Assist with skills oriented problems and serve as a resource for both the school and teachers. Understand the characteristics of learners and dealing with individual differences. Develop the skills of critical, creative and innovative thinking in the teaching of English language domain. Develop the skills of time management /classroom management. Reach out to community, parents and groups to provide essential support for teaching. Collect extra enrichment material that may help to fulfill standards and arouse students imagination and creativity. Be innovative and experimental rather than confirming. Show awareness of strategies and techniques necessary for the application of a competency based curriculum. Have clear knowledge of the types of assessment applied in a competency curriculum. Be well informed about the standards of the stage.

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