Especially for Teachers - Teaching English

Scope and Sequence in English K-12

What is Scope and Sequence?

A ‘scope and sequence’ document -

A school’s scope and sequence document is best developed through a process of negotiation, reflection and consensus. It is an invaluable and practical tool for ensuring continuity across the grades and bands of schooling when it:

Additionally, in integrated programs , a school’s English scope and sequence document provides a reminder that English as a learning area has its own distinctive content - text and language - and is more than just process and skill, and more than a service curriculum to other learning areas. The content of English requires explicit and intentional teaching, and often needs to be programmed as a stand-alone activity or set of activities. A scope and sequence document helps teachers to balance the content of English with that of the other learning areas in the context of the learning intentions and intended outcomes.

A range of defining characteristics associated with each of the bands or stages of schooling, in conjunction with local environmental factors, means that the English programs operating in any particular school or at any particular year level will have distinct flavours which may not be not evident in other locations. Each school’s scope and sequence document will account for these differences. For example, Ogilvie High School’s English Curriculum Statements reflect the distinct flavour of the school.

The Role of the English Statement and Profile

A statement on English for Australian schools and English - a curriculum profile for Australian schools are the core documents for curriculum review and development in Tasmanian Department of Education schools. The English statement provides a view of English as a learning area with its own essential elements and distinctive content in the interrelated strands of text and language in relation to the bands of schooling. The Bands at a Glance charts provide a band-by-band, dot-point summary of the content of English as described in the statement.

The English profile details eight levels of learning outcomes for English which may be demonstrated by students engaged in a rich English course as described in The English statement.

Band A at a Glance (early childhood)
Band B at a Glance (Years 4-7)
Band C at a Glance (Years 7-10)
Band D at a Glance (Years 10-12)
Abbreviating the Bands: A Quick Reference Guide

Other important factors in developing a Scope and Sequence document

In the Tasmanian context there are a range of other factors or components which contribute to a complete, rich and balanced English program. These include notions and practices associated with

Pathways for Planning and Programming in Schools (the South Australian model)

Pathways for planning and programming in schools is a very useful scope and sequence matrix based on the English statement and profile. The matrix was developed by the South Australian Department of Education, Training and Employment which, like Tasmania, has used the statement and profile as core documents for curriculum review and development.

Snapshots of the English Classroom

Snapshots of the English Classroom provide a lively description of English classrooms at four bands of schooling: early childhood, primary school, high school, and secondary college. The snapshots do not attempt to describe a complete English curriculum; rather, they focus on certain aspects of it through focussing upon the experiences of an individual student working in a class context. The snapshots show progression in student development across the bands of schooling.

Go to Snapshots (260k pdf document - click on the icon to get the Acrobat reader for your browser)
About the Snapshots Wayne – Band A (Prep/1) Kym- Band A (Grade 3) Leigh – Band B (Grade 5) Susan – Band C (Grade 9) Jeffrey – Band D (Grade 11) Workshop Activities using the snapshots

Working collaboratively to develop an English scope and sequence document is one of the most powerful teambuilding and professional development activities that the English learning area team can undertake. Such a project might be a major focus for the year and a collaborative process would lead to significant ownership and increased accountability for the use of the document.

A team of teachers might undertake the following steps:

1. Conduct an audit of the current program at each grade or band using proformas developed from the English Statement .
2. From the combined responses to the audit, identify those text types, topics and activities that feature strongly, those not being undertaken and those about which teachers are less familiar. Design or locate professional development activities or materials to meet needs.
3. Identify aspects of texts and language not specified in the English statement which are a feature of local cultural and environmental factors. Decide whether or not they will be a component of the English program, and at which grade or band level they will be explicitly taught.
4. For each grade or band level, use a proforma to record the range of texts and language identified .
5. Organise the proformas to show the relationships between the text and language strands of the English statement and the language modes or strand organisers of the English profile. Record the details.
6. Compare with appropriate band level descriptions in the English statement and other relevant progress maps
7. Match resources available in the school to text types and strand organisers considering developmental appropriateness, relevance and usefulness. Identify gaps and build purchasing of new resources into English budget.
8. At each grade or band level, link to the range of English profile outcomes, TASSAB English syllabus criteria, TLOs and Key Competencies to be used for assessment.
9. Proofread, edit, revise, and seek feedback from appropriate stakeholders.
10. Publish as a ready- reference poster suitable for teachers to display in their work area or to stick into their planning folder.

Maintaining and Monitoring a Scope and Sequence Document

A school’s scope and sequence document should be occasionally revisited to ensure that it

• is meeting the practical requirements of the students, the teachers and the school
• includes new resources
• accommodates developments in the teaching of English.

At the conclusion of each unit of work or each term teachers should conduct an audit to determine which aspects of the texts and language strands they have focussed on, and to plan the emphasis for the next unit or term.

Continuity and Cumulative Literacy Learning

Some Useful Proformas

literature texts
everyday texts
mass media texts
texts and language

Open a copy of the proforma as a pdf (17k). Print for a hard copy. If you need the Acrobat reader or plug-in to view pdfs then click on the icon below to download it.

 

Literature Texts included in the English Program for ................................ School

Everyday Texts included in the English Program for ................................. School

Mass Media Texts included in the English Program for ................. School

Texts and Language