INTRODUCTION

This document is considered a living document, subject to on-going review and revision as deemed necessary.  Many factors were considered throughout the development of the curriculum; including the Chicopee School District academic expectations, student needs, the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks, and the Guiding Principles set forth in the frameworks that underlie the philosophy and goals of the Chicopee Public Schools English Language Arts Curricula for grades 6-12.

The following principles are the philosophical statements that underlie every strand and standard of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework and guided the construction of the Chicopee Public Schools English Language Arts Curricula for Grades 6-12.

Guiding Principle 1     An effective English language arts curriculum develops thinking and language together through interactive learning.

Guiding Principle 2     An effective English language arts curriculum develops students’ oral language and literacy through appropriately challenging learning.

Guiding Principle 3     An effective English language arts curriculum draws on literature from many genres, time periods, and cultures, featuring works that reflect our common literary heritage.

Guiding Principle 4     An effective English language arts curriculum emphasizes writing as an essential way to develop, clarify, and communicate ideas in persuasive, expository, narrative, and expressive discourse.

Guiding Principle 5     An effective English language arts curriculum provides for literacy in all forms of media.

Guiding Principle 6     An effective English language arts curriculum provides explicit skill instruction in reading and writing.

Guiding Principle 7     An effective English language arts curriculum teaches the strategies necessary for acquiring academic knowledge, achieving common academic standards, and attaining independence in learning.

Guiding Principle 8     An effective English language arts curriculum builds on the language, experiences, and interests that students bring to school.

Guiding Principle 9     An effective English language arts curriculum develops each student’s distinctive writing or speaking voice.

Guiding Principle 10   While encouraging respect for differences in home backgrounds, an effective English language arts curriculum nurtures students’ sense of their common ground as present or future American citizens in order to prepare them for responsible participation in our schools and in civic life.

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