Language/Reading Curriculum in the Fourth Grade
Reading Policy
The curriculum promotes the inclusion of the four language skills (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in the Maltese and English programs. Language specialists have designed the curriculum to ensure that learners are given every opportunity to develop skills in the two official languages of Malta. The curriculum is cumulative in that skills are further developed and extended during each year of schooling. Thus, for example, while participation in shared reading experiences is encouraged in Grade 2, it also is featured in Grade 5.
Summary of National Curriculum
The English syllabus for Grade 5 (equivalent to Grade 4 in PIRLS) stipulates that students should use “a range of strategies automatically when encountering difficult text” and, “with support use a wide range of monitoring and adjusting strategies to aid comprehension,” thus promoting reading for learning and pleasure.5 To reach the main aim of the syllabus of ensuring that all learners become fluent and confident readers, teachers are provided with a set of learning outcomes that guide them as to how to reach the expected targets. For example, reading of both fiction and nonfiction books is encouraged, as is awareness of descriptive and technical words. Learners in Grade 5 also are expected to be able to skim texts to “gain a general impression of the main idea of text, to scan and locate specific information and also to infer and read between the lines.”6
The syllabus for Maltese similarly demands that learners be exposed to reading both fiction and nonfiction. Teachers are encouraged to expose learners to a variety of genres, initially focusing on what is of interest to individual children. As for English reading, learners also are expected to be able to locate important information in texts, follow storylines and arguments, comment on the material read, and give their informed opinion about the author’s ability to produce interesting material. The syllabus encourages teachers to ensure that learners develop the confidence to read whenever possible and the required skills to read aloud in the presence of an audience.
The National Minimum Curriculum, published in 1999, focused on the holistic development of all children. In 2011, a review was undertaken to reflect on achievement and evaluate enhanced successful achievements. Following consultation with various stakeholders, The National Curriculum Framework 2012 was launched. The framework focuses on six general principles: entitlement, diversity, continuum of achievement, learner centered learning, quality assurance, and teacher professional support. The National Curriculum Framework promotes a shift from a “prescriptive curriculum” toward a framework that allows for flexibility. It also promotes “diverse pathways to learning so that all learners are equipped with the necessary skills to experience success at school and beyond.”7