SMART Board Utilization Big Part of New District 68 Language Arts Curriculum

Language arts instruction is becoming a bit more techy in Woodridge School District 68.

As part of the district’s new language arts curriculum, students can play games in class to recognize homophones, practice proofreading and sort words based on their spelling themes (short i, long e, etc.) -- all on their classroom SMART Boards.

To practice handwriting, the program will guide a student with an animation, shaping a letter with step-by-step instructions. A student can then pick up one of the SMART Board markers and practice writing the letter himself. 

Those components are part of the curriculum approved at Monday night’s school board meeting.

The school board adopted the district’s new language arts curriculum after spending two years deciding which materials to incorporate. The curriculum will go into affect in August for the 2011-2012 school year. 

The curriculum, which was presented to the board at its March 21 meeting, addresses handwriting, spelling, writing and other components of language arts.

The cost of the new curriculum is close to $150,000, according to Kevin Wegner, assistant superintendent of business for District 68. An adoption usually comes in around $200,000 to $250,000. “It’s a very economical adoption,” said Kevin Wegner at the board’s March meeting. 

Rebecca Surber, assistant superintendent for curriculum for District 68, said the last time language arts curriculum was adopted in the district was 2003.

The district chose Zaner-Bloser for its handwriting and spelling curriculum. The program incorporates several tech-savvy elements, including games for interactive white boards, like SMART Boards. The program also provides materials for different learning levels of students.

District officials said they chose to go with Zaner-Bloser because of its technology components. “Zaner-Bloser really nailed it in the technology department,” said Jodi Innes, principal of Meadowview Elementary School, at the March 21 meeting.

The program also has leveled lists for students at different learning levels. An English Language Learners class with students learning English as a second language would have a list with fewer words. A group of gifted students would be given a longer list, including more complicated words that fit into that week’s spelling theme. 

Activities for the students on the SMART Boards can also be changed to work with different levels of spelling lists. 

The program’s activities are off of a CD, and some of the activities are available online. 

To aid students in writing, the district is purchasing Write Trait Classroom Kits. The kits are based on the six writing traits: conventions, ideas, organization, sentence fluency, voice and word choice.

The kits include trait-centered guides for teachers, including mini-lessons to teach in the classroom. The student traitbooks include lessons and activities. There are also others tools, such as six-trait note pads and posters with revision checklists, trait summary and writing rubrics.

Finally, the language arts teachers will all read and discuss, “Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide," for professional development. 

The teachers will also receive two days of training for the curriculum before the start of school and will receive ongoing professional development throughout the school year. 

Phase one for the language arts curriculum cost $45,453.62. The following is a breakdown of the costs for phase two. 

The total from phase one and phase two of the curriculum adoption is $143,427.08.