Language/Reading Curricula in the Fourth and Fifth Grades

Target Grades in Norway

Grades 4 and 5 are the PIRLS 2016 target grades for Norway. In previous PIRLS studies, the target population in Norway has been Grade 4. The average age of fourth grade students in 2011 was 9.7, and in 2016 it was 9.8; for the fifth grade in 2016 it was 10.8. At the beginning of the PIRLS 2016 cycle, Norway asked IEA to accept and acknowledge a shift of target populations, to Grade 5 from Grade 4, while continuing to assess Grade 4 as a subpopulation. The main argument was that Grade 1 in Norway resembles the preschool year in many other countries, particularly the other Nordic countries. In addition, the average ages of the target populations in the other Nordic countries were approximately one year higher than in Norway. These large age differences reduced the validity of the comparisons between Norway and the other Nordic countries. IEA accepted the request; however, for trend reasons Grades 4 also is tested in this cycle.

The Norwegian curriculum is organized by grade ranges, and curriculum goals specify competencies to be attained by the end of Grades 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The competency goals for Grade 4 can easily be compared to the PIRLS 2016 Assessment Framework⁴ for the fourth grade. For Grades 5, 8, and 9, however, there are no grade-specific curricular goals; at these stages, goals are combined for Grades 5 to 7 and Grades 8 to 10, respectively.

Reading Policy

Schools are expected to cultivate five basic skills: oral communication, written communication, language, literature, and culture. In 2008, these skills were incorporated into the syllabi for all school subjects with clear aims for what students should attain at annual or biannual intervals. All teachers are responsible for enabling students and apprentices to develop these skills through their work in various subjects.

Summary of National Curriculum

In 2006, the National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion was introduced, replacing the 1997 curriculum.⁵ This curriculum retains the basic educational vision of previous curricula while providing a comprehensive curriculum for the entire school system for the first time.⁶ Fully implemented by 2008, the curriculum includes goals expressed as competencies to be attained by students and introduces five basic areas of skill (literacies) that permeate the curriculum across all subjects. All of the Norwegian participants in PIRLS 2016 received their education in accordance with the 2006 curriculum, which outlines the collective objectives and principles for teaching in primary and lower secondary schools.⁷ It includes:

A core curriculum for primary and lower secondary, upper secondary, and adult education
Principles and guidelines for primary and lower secondary education
Curricula for individual subject areas

Subject curricula provide students with common learning content that increases in scope as they progress through the grade levels. Schools expand upon and supplement this common learning content, adapting it to local conditions and to the needs of individual students, which is a prerogative in Norwegian education.

The 2006 curriculum contains clear aims of competence describing what goals students should attain in the different grades. It is expected that all students reach these aims, to varying degrees, through adapted, individualized instruction. If a student is not benefiting from regular education, he or she is entitled to special or remedial instruction.

Similarly, individual subject curricula include competence aims for students at the end of certain grades. All subjects have competence aims after Grades 4, 7, and 10, and after each level in upper secondary education and training. Some subjects also have competence aims after Grade 2. The subject curricula integrate five basic skills—reading, oral expression, writing, numeracy, and using digital tools—that serve as the foundation for learning in all subject areas.⁸

Norwegian Language Subject

The Norwegian language subject is a core subject, organized into main subject areas with associated competence aims.⁹ The subject areas complement each other and should be interpreted in context with each other. Norwegian as a core subject means that it is taught throughout schooling, also on all study programs in upper secondary education and training. The tuition is adapted to a certain degree to the various study programs (e.g., in the diverse vocational programs).

There are competence aims in Norwegian after Grades 2, 4, 7, and 10 at the primary and lower secondary stages, and after Levels Vg1, Vg2, and Vg3 on upper secondary general study programs. In vocational study programs, there are competence aims after Level Vg2 and after completing supplementary studies to qualify for higher education.

There are three main areas for the Norwegian language subject throughout schooling: Oral Communication; Written Communication; and Language, Literature, and Culture:¹⁰

Oral Communication—The main subject area of oral communication covers listening and speaking in various settings. Listening is a proactive endeavor during which the pupils should learn and understand by comprehending, interpreting, and evaluating statements made by others. By giving prepared oral presentations and engaging in both planned and spontaneous verbal interaction, the pupils should develop their ability to communicate with each other and to express knowledge, thoughts, and ideas using a varied vocabulary within different genres. Oral communication also involves adapting language, forms of expression, and presentation to different communication situations.
Written Communication—The main subject area of written communication covers reading and writing the Norwegian language. It ranges from the studentsʼ first introduction to reading and writing, to the systematic advancement of their literacy skills for the duration of their course of study. Reading training should stimulate the studentsʼ desire to read, and their ability to read and write. This means that they should read a variety of texts, both in order to learn, for enjoyment, and for the experience itself. The tuition also should help make the pupils conscious about their own development as readers and writers. Writing involves expressing, processing, and communicating thoughts and opinions in different types of texts and genres. Multimodal texts form a natural part of the texts that the pupils should read and re-create. Good written communication requires good vocabulary, an ability to structure text, knowledge of written language conventions, and an ability to adapt text for a given purpose and recipient.
Language, Literature, and Culture—The main subject area of language, literature, and culture covers Norwegian and Nordic oral and written culture, and incorporates international perspectives. The pupils should develop an independent understanding of the Norwegian language and literature, and gain insight into how language and text have evolved and continue to evolve over time. The pupils should acquire knowledge of the language as a system and of the language in use. They should read and reflect on a large and varied selection of old and new texts in different genres and from different media. They also should be familiar with the traditions of Norwegian writing in a comparative perspective between past and present, and in light of external impulses.

Literacy in the Early School Years

The competence aims of the second grade constitute the earliest learning goals for Norwegian students. The competence aims for the Norwegian subject in particular form the foundation for reading literacy development in the grades above. Competence aims after second grade include:¹¹

Oral Communication—Enable students to:

Listen, take turns to speak, and respond to others during conversations
Listen to texts in both Bokmaal and Nynorsk and discuss them
Listen out for, comprehend, retell, and combine information
Play, improvise, and experiment with rhymes, rhythm, speech sounds, syllables, meaningful elements, and words
Discuss how the choice of words, use of voice, and intonation create meaning
Talk fluently about events and experiences
Put own feelings and opinions into words
Describe own experiences of texts using words, drawings, song, and other aesthetic forms of expression

Written Communication—Enable students to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between speech sound and letter, and between spoken language and written language
Connect sounds to form words
Read uppercase and lowercase printed letters
Read simple texts with fluency and comprehension on paper and screen
Use one’s knowledge and experience to understand and comment on the content of texts one reads
Write sentences with uppercase and lowercase letters and full stops in own handwriting and on a keyboard
Write simple descriptive and narrative texts
Work creatively on drawing and writing in the context of reading
Reproduce patterns from simple sample texts and other writing sources

Language, Literature, and Culture—Enable students to:

Discuss the origin and meaning of a selection of well known proverbs, terms, and idioms
Discuss the concepts of dialect, Bokmaal, and Nynorsk
Discuss how words and images work together in picture books and other visual media
Discuss the content and form of old and new songs, rhymes, and poems
Discuss characters and plot in fairy tales and stories
Find fiction and nonfiction in the library for own reading

Norwegian Language/Reading Curriculum and Competence Aims in the Fourth and Fifth Grades

The Norwegian curriculum includes competence aims at certain intervals during compulsory education. The competence aims stipulated for the fourth grade also apply to the fifth grade:¹²

Oral Communication—Enable students to:

Listen for, retell, explain, and reflect on the content of spoken language
Understand some Swedish and Danish speech
Use appropriate vocabulary to discuss specialized topics, talk about their own experiences, and express their thoughts and opinions
Interact with others through play, dramatizations, conversations, and discussions
Follow up on input from others during academic discussions and ask clarifying and enlightening questions
Vary tone of voice and intonation when presenting texts

Written Communication—Enable students to:

Read different types of texts in Bokmaal and Nynorsk with fluency and comprehension
Find information by combining words and illustrations in texts on screen and on paper
Recognize and use linguistic devices such as repetition, contrast, and simple figurative language
Read, reflect on, and discuss their own texts and those created by others
Use a variety of notes and sample texts as a basis for their own writing
Write simple narrative, descriptive, and persuasive texts
Write in fluent and functional handwriting and on a keyboard
Structure texts with a heading, introduction, main section, and conclusion
Vary the choice of words and syntax in their own writing
Create texts that combine words, sounds, and images with and without digital tools
Search for information and create, store, and retrieve texts using digital tools
Use the library and the Internet to find material for their own writing

Language, Literature, and Culture—Enable students to:

Describe word classes and their functions
Explain how the use of language may hurt or offend others
Describe their own vernacular and compare it with that of others
Discuss content and form in multimodal texts
Express their own thoughts about and experience with children’s literature, theater, film, computer games, and television programs
Discuss songs, rhymes, poems, stories, and fairy tales from the past and the present written in Bokmaal and Nynorsk and translated from Sami and other languages
Express their own ideas about language, characters, and plots in texts from different periods and cultures