Language/Reading Curriculum in the Fourth Grade

Reading Policy

In Georgia, the national curriculum describes national standards consisting of learning outcomes and grade level indicators for each subject taught in school. In primary education (Grades 1 to 6), the reading curriculum is part of the language curriculum. Exhibit 1 presents the national standards in Georgian language for Grades 1 to 4.

Exhibit 1: National Standards for the Language/Reading Curriculum, Grades 1 through 4⁵

Learning Outcomes for Grades 1 to 4	Evidence of Achieving Target
Understand, Analyze, and Evaluate Information	Retell various types of texts after having listened to them Construct sentences and texts after reading Read and understand various types of texts Identify and interpret various grammatical constructs Write about familiar topics Adequately apply punctuation, orthographic, and grammar rules
Understand and Apply Communication Aspects of Language	Adequately react to various conversational situations Use argument, discussion, and reasoning strategies Use communicaton skills according to communication norms Master basic reading skills Develop written texts of various characters, purposes, and objectives
Understand and Express Literary Texts	Read literary texts of various genres; express own emotions and ideas after reading or listening to literary texts of various genres Relate the information in literary texts to own experience Link various parts of the text to each other and identify the main theme Evaluate charactersʼ actions Identify literary forms and strategies and explain their function Develop literary texts Select reading literature according to own preferences

Learning outcomes in reading at the end of Grade 4 are defined as follows:

Student can read and understand nonliterary texts on familiar topics
Student can independently read literary texts on various topics
Student can identify main language and grammar notations of various literary and nonliterary texts
Student can express his/her attitude toward a text after reading; demonstrates desire for aesthetic and ethical evaluation
Student can adequately analyze age relevant texts and identify nonverbal parts; demonstrates nonverbal interpretation of the text
Student can use various strategies to locate information about a specific topic and process it

Summary of National Curriculum

Within the scope of ongoing education reforms, the curriculum has changed several times, with the most recent revision effective for 2017–2021. All schools in Georgia must meet the national curriculum guidelines. According to the Law on General Education, the national curriculum determines the distribution of teaching hours for each educational level, conditions for organizing the school environment, mandatory subjects and subject groups at each education level, and the competencies and skills students should attain at each level. The national curriculum emphasizes student centered teaching and learning approaches and includes a modified curriculum for students with special needs. The curriculum has been translated and adjusted to meet the needs of minority groups.

The Georgian language occupies a central role in the national curriculum, and Georgian language and literature is taught from Grades 1 to 12. However, Georgian language and literature is not considered one curricular subject. It is seen as a tool for teaching and learning all subjects. In primary education, teaching Georgian language facilitates the formation of all necessary linguistic skills for self-expression—listening, speaking, reading, and writing.⁶