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Adult and Community Learning Services

The Basics of Curriculum for ABE / ESOL Programs

Curriculum is a long-term, written plan that guides the content and skills specific for each class in a program. The curriculum also:

• Aligns the class levels to ensure clear transitions from one class to another.
• Aligns with the Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Frameworks, students' assessment levels, students' goals, and reflects the individual program's mission (e.g., job readiness, EL Civics, working with youth).
• Includes recommended texts and other proven resources that are used in the program.
• Is presented in a format that is accessible to all practitioners in the program.

The goal is for programs to have their curriculum, instruction and assessment aligned with the Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Framework strands, standards and benchmarks.

If a program has met all of the above, the program has met the ACLS minimum requirement for a curriculum.

Beyond the Basic, a curriculum is comprised of the following components:

• The program's teaching philosophy.
• The methodologies and strategies that teachers as a group support (e.g., the ABE Frameworks' Guiding Principles, Habits of Mind, theme or project-based learning, managing multiple levels, regular use of authentic materials, Multiple Intelligences).
• A scope and sequence for class levels (e.g., how the content and skills are introduced to students in a logical, sequential, and meaningful manner).
• How varied classroom assessments are used to determine progress from level to level.
• Curriculum (thematic) units that align with student goals and interests (e.g., tenant rights, parent-teacher conference).
• Current and archived lesson plans from the different class levels (e.g., stored on a computer shared drive).
• Connections to technology (e.g., a sample lesson plan for an integrated technology lesson).
• A resource list describing proven applications, with brief annotations on relevance/usefulness.
• To the extent possible, curriculum components are based on research (cite sources) and verified by practitioners.