Assessment & Standards:
OPS English Language Arts Program
The New York
State Department of Education has recently (March 15, 2005) revised
and approved its standards for Mathematics and English. An Introduction
to the New Mathematics and English programs (pdf) has been
provided to help educators and parents get acquainted with the
expectations and requirements of the examinations. The New York
State curriculum for Science, Social Studies and other subject
areas can be found af the NYS
Standards Website . The North American Divison K-12 Curriculum
Guides & Resources are listed to the left. Oakview Preparatory
School's curriculum is an integration of both curricula.
ENGLISH Program
Oakview Preparatory School's 2005-2006 English
program is closely aligned with the 2005 revision of the New
York State English Standards and presented in the table
below. The New
York State Examination Schedule specifies
that the 2005-2006 English Exams will be administered in the month
of January. There is a deliberate effort to align all english testing
during the school year with the prescribed standards of both the
North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists Department of
Education and the New York State standards for English. Oakview
will continue to develope its Standards-based Assessment Program.
Understanding
the NYS English Language Arts (ELA) Standard
The
NYS learning standards for ELA focus on the skills of reading,
writing, listening, and speaking. Students are expected to read
and experience a wide range of genre as part of the learning
process. The standards are as follows:
- Standard
1 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information
and understanding.
- Standard
2 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary
response and expression.
- Standard
3 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical
analysis and evaluation.
- Standard
4 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
The shift from
a focus on course content, as provided for through traditional
syllabi, to student performance, in the form of content and performance
standards, allowed for greater flexibility in instruction while
keeping instructional uniformity.
Seventh-day
Adventists Approah to the Teaching English Language Arts
It is important
to note the Seventh-day
Adventist educator's approach (pdf) when pursuing these goals.
"The
primary goal of the K—8 Integrated Language Arts Curriculum
Guide for the Seventh-day Adventist school system is to help
students incorporate a Christ-centered perspective in all areas
of communication. A secondary goal is to assist students in
developing critical thinking skills as they view, listen, read,
speak, visually represent, and write." NAD
Integrated Language Arts Curriculum Guide 2004
The goals of
the K—8 Integrated Language Arts Curriculum are
to:
- Process
all aspects of communication through a Christ-centered perspective
and Christian principles.
- Assist students
in becoming literate and able to successfully engage in creative
and higher-level
- Develop
and demonstrate spiritual values, civic responsibilities, and
respect for cultural diversity.
- Address
needs of students throughout the language arts curriculum spectrum.
- Foster the
use of appropriate communication in worship, learning, and
leisure interactions.
- Promote
communication skills and competencies with an attitude of mission
and service.
- Vary delivery
of information for enhanced learning potential.
- Use a communication
style compatible with a high-tech, information-based world.
- Advocate
and demonstrate legal and ethical principles in the use of
technological information.
Overview:
NAD Integrated Language Arts Standards
The NAD Integrated
Language Arts Standards are as follows:
- Students
read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding
of texts, of themselves, and of
the cultures of
the United States and the world; to acquire new information;
to respond to the needs and demands of society and
the workplace;
and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction
and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- Students
read a wide range of literature from many periods in many
genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions
(e.g.,
philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
- Students
apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret,
evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on
their prior experience,
their interactions with other readers and writers,
their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word
identification strategies,
and their understanding of textual features (e.g.,
sound-letter
correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
- Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual
language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary)
to communicate
effectively
with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write
and use different writing process elements appropriately
to communicate
with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- Students apply knowledge of language structure, language
conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation),
media techniques,
figurative
language, and genre to create, critique, and
discuss print and nonprint texts.
- Students
conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas
and questions, and
by posing
problems. They gather,
evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety
of sources (e.g., print and
nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate
their discoveries in ways that suit their
purpose and audience.
- Students
use a variety of technological and informational resources
(e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks,
video) to gather
and synthesize information and to create
and communicate knowledge.
- Students
develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in
language use, patterns,
and
dialects across
cultures,
ethnic groups, geographic regions, and
social roles.
- . Students
whose first language is not English make use of their first
language to develop
competency in
the English
language arts
and to develop understanding of content
across
the curriculum.
- Students
participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical
members
of a variety of
literacy communities.
- Students
use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their
own
purposes
(e.g. for learning,
enjoyment,
persuasion, and
the exchange of information).
For more
details please see the 2004 North American Division of Seventh-day
Adventist
Integrated Language Arts
Curriculum Guide.
New
York State ELA Curriculum
Below is an
outline of the core
curriculum of the NYS ELA standard by grade level.
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