English department implements new curriculum changes
January 8, 2020
After over 20 years, Fenton High has implemented new literature resources into their english curriculums, hoping to increase productivity, learning, and SAT scores. With the new resources are the Springboard series, higher focus on rhetorical analysis and more current pieces of literature for students.
“The district leadership decided to adopt a new Language Arts curricular resources, so we wanted to make sure that was first on the list to accomplish because you have to read and write no matter what you do. Springboard allowed us to bring in some contemporary material and it was more updated and current for students as well.”
Adopting a new Language Arts resource not only updates the literature used in class, but it also helps prepare students for the SAT taken junior year, which is one of the reasons why Springboard was chosen to be implemented into the K-12 Language Arts curriculum.
“I think Literature and Composition three benefited from the curriculum changes,” English teacher Vera Hazlett said. “We have a lot of support for the Reading and Writing portion of the SAT in the new activities without making the students take lots of practice tests to experience that kind of thinking. I like everything that the students encounter, however, there are some things on the professional side that I find limited and feel could be done better.”
With the new changes made, students are growing accustomed to the new materials and teachers are adapting their units to best implement what they have been given.
“Change is always hard to get used to,” International Baccalaureate Literature teacher Heather Mulligan said. “It was great that the Board of Education could find money to invest in our K-12 ELA and help us update it. There are parts of it I believe students like, for example, their ability to write in their books. At the same time, they might find some of it to be more challenging because it’s at a higher level of rhetorical analysis or because the focus is sometimes on smaller pieces.”
With it being the second year of implementation, the changes made are proving to be effective.
“I think it has improved student learning so far because if you look at our evidence-based writing SAT scores, they are really good,” Ciesielski said.
Students and teachers continue to adapt to the new resources with a bright future ahead.
