DOCUMENT RESUME ED 074 487 CS 200 357 TITLE The English Language Arts and Basic Skills Program of the Bellevue Public Schools. Elementary Level. INSTITUTION Bellevue Public Schools, Wash, PUB CATE Oct 72 NOTE 418p.; Draft 2 AVAILABLE FROMBellevue Public Schools, District 405, 310 102nd Avenue, NE, Bellevue, Washington 98004 ($5.00) EDRS PRICE ME-$0.65 HC-$16.45 DESCRIPTORS Affective Objectives, Cognitive Objectives; *Composition Skills (Literary); Creative Writing; *Curriculum Guides; Elementary Education; *Elementary School Curriculum; English; *Language Arts; Language Skills; *Literature; Literature Appreciation; Speech; Values; Vocabulary ABSTRACT This curriculum guide discusses an English language arts and basic skills Program for the elementary school grades. The program is designed to reflect the learner's point of yiew. The authors argue that education is not so mucha matter of objectives or subject content as it is a matter of what happens to the student. Accordingly, this guide discusses teaching methods and activities that reflect what happens to studentS when they use language. The guide begins by discussing assumptions and expectations of the program. It then describes activities that reflect stages of a language cycle beginning when we become aware that a speakeror writer has said something to us. These stages, the major divisions of the guide, are identified as (I)"the way others say things are," (2) "the way I say things are," (3)"the way I say things might be," (4) "the way I say things should be," and (5)"the way I say I am." The guide also includes a discussion of basic skills for the writing program and supplementary material (teaching suggestions for "Magic Moments," notes On improvisation, creative writing--newspaper) that may be used with the guide. (see related documents CS 200 358, CS 200 3 59-j (Author/DI) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS DEER REPRO DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG- INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN- IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU- CATION POSITION OR POLICY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND BASIC SKILLSPROGRAM of the Bellevue Public Schools Draft Two October, 1972 Elementary Level In Production by Teachers of Bellevue Public Schools Bellevue, Washington -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPY- RIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED James W. Sabol BY Belleuue Public Coordinator for English Language Sccolt,, Wash. TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S. OFFICE Copyright AS1017E1/871:950 OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PER- Bellevue Public Schools MISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER 1972 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION Draft Two of the Bellevue English Languagp Arts and Skills Program is a. remarkable document. Draft One was a considerable achievement in that district-wide committees of teachers and parents could agree, even in a tentative way, upon a single set of Expectations for all students .in the Bellevue schools. Having arrived at a first draft of these experiences in English, the amount of work that followed in writing sample activities, producing EEE kits, -and correlating pages of New Directions in English, was truly prodigious. In the light of this great amount of work, I find it remarkable that the Curriculum Department and contributing teachers would at the end of the first year, take the trouble to interview every teacher of English Language Arts in every building of the district, invite criticism, then go back to the drawing board to produce the kind of program that even more nearly represents the wishes of the majority. This is a responsive and responsible process. In a democracy there can be no other way, and I consider it a tribute to Bellevue teachers that they should embrace such .a process in searching for better ways to teach children. Clearly, each of us has an obligation to help carry out this program. Teachers will need to work with it and contribute to it, department leaders and principals will need to help introduce and implement it, curriculum representatives will need to provide in- service training for it And none of us should be surprised if it is necessary to revise the-program again, and yet again, until we are satisfied thatit reOeSents'the finest educa- tional experience possible for the students entrusted toour care. William H. Morton . Superintendent of Schools THINGS WE HOPE YOU WILL LIKE ABOUT DRAFTTWO Last mar wehave it a and said tell us what you think: j. Some teachers saidthat the Expectations are not cleer.enough,so we tried to rewrite them in theclearest possible language. Other teachers saidthat they sound too much likeobjectives, so we tried to rewrite them to be experiencesas clearly as possible. eachers and practice teachers saidthanks for giving us at least something to goon. Parents said thankyou for telling us what our childrenare supposed to learn. We hope we've done that again. The board of educationsaid show us the basic skills,so we put all the basic skills inone handy section behind its own divider tab. Principals saidmore in-service is needed, so we h.jive createda format that -lends itselfmore readily to swapping Was. People who care about people saidthat the program uses "his" and "he" when people of bothsexes are meant. So the Expectations have been purged of chauvinist expressions,but not all of the activities have yet been edited. Everybody said you have too many activities for the first sectionsbut not enough in later sections. So we tried to get more activities in all sections. Most people said it's an entertaining if not proven idea thatthere can be just a single set ofexpectations K-12, so we kept justone list hoping that English reallyis the same subject K-12. Nearly everybody said it'sa good idea to have publisheda program based on the exchange of ideas aroundcommon Expectations and not try to tell us how to teach,so we kept that feature. R things- e still haven't solve We-still don't know thebest order the Expectationsso you'll have to makeyour on -sequence. We still need many more act ":ties, so wee7courage you tribute them. We still are very far behEnd on the productionof kits. After publication of this notebook, in-service and kit production are our next priorities. Pe le Who Planned It All English Coordinating Council Members from 1969to 1972 and Junior High School Department Representatives John Abrams Ringdall Junior High School Ralph Allen Ashwood Elementary School Sharon Bailey Parent, North Zone Sandra Clark Sammamish High School Richard Curdy Bellevue High School Mary Ann Eschbach Parent, West Zone Peg Foltz Lake -Hills Elementary School James Hall Interlake High School Walter Hopkins Sammamish High School Taubie Keller Tyee Junior High School -Mickey Main Parent, East Zone, Steven Meredith Odle Junior High School Rick Moulden Bellevue Junior High School Beverly POO Chinook Junior High School Elwood Rice Highland Junior High School Maxine Singletary Tillicum Junior High School William Spieth Tillicum Junior High School Janet Sutherland Interlake High School Richard Ward Off Campus High School David Weld Hyak Junior High School Derek Whitmarsh Tillicum Junior High School Space does not afford mention byname of all the individual parents, consultants, teachers, and students who havecon- tributed their thinkingto this program through coffee hours, faculty meetings, departmentmeetings, and committee meetings. The district's debt, however,would.be incompletely recorded, without grateful acknowledgementto the following groups: Central Vashington State College Consortium of Washington EducationCenters Curriculum Through Community PlanningGroup District Englikh Language AdvisoryCommittee Direction for the Seventies EnglishLanguage Study Group English Instructional MaterialsCommittee National Council of Teachers ofEnglish Presidents Gro4o and IndividualChapters of PTA and PP) Regional Composition Project Washington State Council ofTeachers of English Washington State Supervisorof English Language Arts and Reading CONTRIBUTORS AND PARTICIPANTS People Who Offered Contributions Lynda Anthony Newportjligh School Tom Bentler Enatai Elementary School Ray Bergman Ringdall Junior High School James Creevy Tinicum Junior High School Fran Drake Newport High School Mike Duffy Newport High School Peg Foltz Lake Hills Elementary Nancy Jones Interlake High School Tia McClure Newport High School Kathy McKee Hillaire Elementary School Rick Moulden Bellevue Junior High School _Judy Munger Newpo-t High School Ron Munson Lake Heights Elementary School Linda Oman Lake Hills Elementary School Evelyn Smith Enatai Elementary School Rita Smith Newport High School Janet Sutherland Interlake. High School David Weld Hyak Junior High School .John Wilson Ringdall Junior High School Bob Wood Enatai Elementary School Peo Who Served General Editors and Donna Dent EducationalServicesCenter Jeanne Olson EducationalServicesCenter Elizabeth Parks EducationalServicesCenter C. May Shesily EducationalServicesCenter Peo Who Drafted and Redrafted the Expectations James Creevy Tillicum Junior High School Sandra Clark Sammamish High School James Hall Interlake High School= Elissa Hendrey Newport High School Nancy Jones Interlake High School Margery Kohn Ardmore Elementary School Janice McColaugh Lake Heights Elementary School Kathy McKee Hiliaire-Elementary School Rick Moulden Bellevue Junior.: High School Judy Munger Newport High Schooi Cyndy Rakdal Lake-Hills Elementary. School Elwood Rice Highland Junior High School Christina Volkmann Eastgate Elementary School David Weld Hyak Junior High School Derek Whitmarsh Tillicum Junior _KO School A FEW WORDS ABOUT THOSE RED INDEX TABS The organization of this year's edition of the program is an attempt to reflect the learner's point of view. For the learner, school is not so much a matter of objectives or subject content, as it is a matter of what happens to us. "Today, the teacher read to us." "Yesterday, she took us for a walk." "Tomorrow, she's going to put us into groups." The index tabs represent what hamens to us when we use language. In a common instance, a language cycle begins when we become aware that a speaker or a writer has said something to us.