Language/Reading Curriculum in the Fourth Grade
Reading Policy
During the primary stage, students are given general instruction of the communicative practices necessary to live in 21st century society. The goal of instruction in the language and literature area is to achieve competence in the linguistic skills of speaking, listening, taking part in conversations, reading, and writing. The main purpose of the language and literacy curriculum is to introduce students to reading and understanding literary texts. The starting point for linguistic education is the use of language that students have acquired at the beginning of the primary stage, and the role of primary education is to broaden this linguistic and communicative competence so students are able to participate in the different social spheres they will become involved in.
Article 19 of the Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality (known by its Spanish acronym, LOMCE), which applies not only to Andalusia but to all of Spain, mandates a period of time to be devoted to reading instruction each day to enforce positive reading habits.8 Article 19 also states that although reading comprehension is specifically included in the language and literature area, teachers of other subjects also must cover reading. Finally, Article 113 of the Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality states that every school must have a school library.9
Summary of the Autonomous Curriculum
Reading is included in the language and literature section of the curriculum. The Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality defines “curriculum” as the set of objectives, key competencies, content, pedagogical methods, and assessment criteria for each type of education.
Reading, as an interactive process between reader and text, always implies an active reader reading with a specific purpose, whether in a mother tongue or a foreign language. The initiation and development of learning reading requires a continuous functional approach to any reading—students should live with reading as a pleasant experience and an important tool for the transmission of values and language. Hence, texts selected for children must have a practical function and be connected to the nearest environment of the students. Additionally, the school library is a resource center to create reading experiences that lead to reading habits.
Content
Reading should be a process of understanding the world. Hence, it requires the collaboration of studentsʼ families with school and progressive skills regarding the processing of verbal and nonverbal languages (e.g., Braille, sign language).
Reading should involve enjoying ideas, stories, and experiences in different space and time contexts. Children must read in a variety of formats (e.g., paper and digital, individual and shared) and know of the existence of nonverbal languages (e.g., Braille, sign language). Reading must imply understanding different types of texts and their purpose, intention (implicit or explicit), and mode of production (e.g., personal, official, journalistic, political, religious). Reading in school, finally, also must be a privileged means of discovering the unknown.
The curriculum in Andalusia specifically deals with the following topics:
- Reading and comprehension of near-life experience, local, and regional texts
- Knowledge and reading of newspaper articles related to our region (e.g., society, culture, science)
- Knowledge of literature about Andalusian themes (written by Andalusian and non Andalusian authors) as a way of understanding the historical and cultural reality of the region:
- Narratives (e.g., oral tradition, short stories)
- Poetry (e.g., oral tradition, proverbs, riddles)
- Theater (read or dramatized)
- Short films (view and analyze Andalusian films)
Methodology and Resources
Initially, students must achieve a basic reading level on simple texts, progressing gradually toward more complex and varied ones. This progression should be based on functional and expressive reading, allowing an understanding of the purposes and contexts in which texts are produced. Later, analysis and reflection on the texts will follow. This also applies to the progressive mastery of foreign languages, with particular emphasis on the cultural knowledge of other areas and societies.
In the methodological treatment of this ability, the following activities may arise for students:
- The importance of reading in the understanding of other perspectives, cultures, and ages
- Reading comprehension as a vehicle to express ideas, feelings, and needs about the world in which we live
- Critical reading
- Improving reading comprehension skills
- The freedom to express themselves through messages in various formats
- Appreciation of the usefulness and pleasure that reading entails
- Resources such as books, papers, other texts, films, songs, and the Internet are used in the classroom