Language Arts Curriculum Review Lower Moreland Township School District Board of School Directors February 24, 2015

Committees Site Visits o Susan Grugan o Natalie McMinn o Judy Lamb o Jessica Brown o Tim Moxey o Laurie Stehli o Donna Blakeman o Dr. Kimberly McGlonn-Nelson Research o Julie Antoni o Jen Devine o Michael Bourdreau o Anne Boagni o Susan Barnhart o Rebecca Elias o Gerry Guiliana o Mary Huckin o Jamie Catanese Surveys o Eve Mont o Trish Brokenshire o Sharon O’Shea o Amy Titus o Michelle Butler o Tim Stevenson

Middle School Site Visits Souderton School District o Indian Crest Middle School Adjustments made to address PA Core: o New curriculum written based on the standards o Revisions to grammar instruction and editing o More argumentative writing Recommendations for our curriculum and instruction: o Thematic units combined with independent reading and literature circles o Poetry and non-fiction addressed through the literature textbook o Technology access for students to increase engagement

Middle School Site Visits North Penn School District o Pennbrook Middle School Adjustments made to address PA Core: o Evaluation of anchor texts with poetry, non-fiction, and music surrounding those texts o Text-dependent analysis built into the curriculum Recommendations for our curriculum and instruction: o Supplementing anchor texts or shared reading with thematically related non-fiction and poetry o Assessments centered on writing and text-dependent analysis

Middle School Site Visits Rose Tree Media School District o Springton Lake Middle School Adjustments made to address PA Core: o More writing added throughout grades 6, 7, and 8 in Language Arts classrooms as well as other content areas o Professional development for incorporating more reading and writing based on higher-level thinking, such as open-ended responses, in all content areas o Professional development for grading and teaching writing in all content areas o A focus on text structure in non-fiction texts Recommendations for our curriculum and instruction: o Thematic units based on essential questions o Balance shared reading with independent reading

Middle School Site Visits Owen J. Roberts School District o Owen J. Roberts Middle School Adjustments made to address PA Core: o Using texts to ask deeper questions aligned with the standards o Emphasis on close reading and text-dependent questions o Emphasis on argumentative writing and the use of textual evidence Recommendations for our curriculum and instruction: o Thematic units have worked well by “pulling everything together.” Assessments ask students to respond to the unit’s essential question in a writing piece. o Technology access for students to increase engagement

Surveys

Research

Pine Road

Murray Avenue

High School

Recommendations

Budget

Thank you!