Introduction

Introduction to Language Arts Curriculum

The ability of every child to read at grade level or better and to write clearly, competently and creatively are the primary goals of every school within the Fairfield, Roseland, Essex Fells, and North Caldwell districts. In order to accomplish these purposes the school systems jointly designed a ten-month curriculum map to guide instructional content from kindergarten to grade 6. The recently revised New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in Language Arts, various textbook sources and teachers’ experiences have informed the creation of this document.

Throughout the summer of 2002 and the months following, representatives from the region’s districts assembled to select, refine and revise the map. The committee charged with mapping the curriculum wrestled with such problems as the choice of objectives, the timing of their introduction during the school year, the treatment of objectives that were ongoing and the inclusion of various genres. The document in hand reflects the committee’s conclusions, particularly two decisions: that ongoing objectives would appear in the document only when they were introduced and that genres, although assigned to particular months, could be taught at the teacher’s discretion.

The committee has written a document that is portable and that each teacher can tuck into his/her lesson plan book. In this way teachers can align instruction more closely to the formal curriculum which reflects New Jersey’s standards and good teaching practices.

Kindergarten Reading Map

Kindergarten Writing Map

First Grade Reading Map 1

First Grade Reading Map 2

First Grade Writing Map

Second Grade Reading Map

Second Grade Writing Map

Third Grade Reading Map

Third Grade Writing Map

Fourth Grade Reading Map

Fourth Grade Writing Map

Fifth Grade Reading Map