Mobile/Tablet Menu

Desktop Menu

Search Container

Middle School Literature Selection Committee

The Literature Committee is reconvening this year and will be continuing to review new texts for possible inclusion in the middle school English Language Arts curriculum, work that was interrupted by the school closures last year. The first meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, September 23, from 4:00-6:00 pm.

For a complete schedule of meetings and information about how to join, please see the district calendar.

The Middle School Literature Selection Advisory Committee is a community-based committee consisting of teachers, administrators, parents, and students, working in alignment with Board Policy 6161.1.

PAUSD last adopted middle school literature in 2003. The intervening years have seen the adoption of the California Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010 and the release of the new California ELA/ELD Framework in 2014. Together, the Common Core State Standards and the Framework represent a significant shift in English Language Arts/Literacy. Notably, the Common Core emphasizes the importance of students engaging in regular practice with complex texts and academic language, grounding their reading, writing, and speaking in textual evidence, and building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction in addition to literature.

The California Department of Education is scheduled to update its Recommended Literature List, a collection of literature for children and adolescents in PK - 12, beginning in the 2019-20 school year. PAUSD will form a Literature Selection Advisory Committee in the fall to begin reading and reviewing literature. The PAUSD Committee anticipates recommending two CDE-approved core literature texts as required reading for each grade level, 6, 7, and 8, to the Board of Education in the Spring of 2021. In addition, the committee also plans to recommend a menu of CDE-approved supplemental literature for use in each grade level. The expectation is that the core literature texts will be implemented beginning in the 2021-2022 school year.

Meetings

  • Teacher input about the pilot is collected by Spring Break
  • Committee reviews pilot reports
  • Committee makes recommendation:
    • Option 1:Recommend texts for adoption:
      • Two core literature texts at each grade level
      • Menu of supplemental literature at each grade level
    • Option 2:Recommend further reading and/or new pilots; plan reading and/or pilots
  • Reading groups decide which new titles to add to their (revised) PAUSD literature lists. They create an updated list for their grade level, composed of vetted PAUSD literature and new titles
  • Reading groups create a short list of possible core lit titles and a longer list of definitely supplemental titles. List is shared with facilitator
  • Panel discussion: PAUSD high schoolers

Zoom link: https://pausd.zoom.us/j/94766097557