[eMINTS] Comm Arts Program

[Betsy Lewis]

Our district adopted Macmillan McGraw Hill this year and I can only
speak from the 4th grade perspective and my own experiences.  I like the
Treasures series.  As with any "adoption" of curriculum, one must
consider the dynamics of your district.  In ours, it was time to pull
K-4 all together again with a new core reading series, with supporting
assessments and diagnostic tools.  
 
I like the basal readers. My students are enjoy reading them, we are
able to do leveled reading groups, I like the website support, we are
able to the same assessments across grade levels-we're able to diagnose
early and get in to help those struggling readers.   For us it has been
a good thing, it is perfect?   You all know the answer to that.  Has it
been overwhelming?  Yes, but it is getting better as I see how I can use
this tool to enhance learning, just like I have learned how to use
technology to enhance learning. A curriculum is a resource for
instruction, not a recipe.  
 
When using text as a resource tool to support instruction in any subject
area, it doesn't have to interfere with inquiry based learning, in fact
many of the topics introduced in the series have given my students a
springboard into some inquiry based lessons of which I wouldn't have
thought.