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The Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework

November 2000

The following lists should help to familiarize you with the authors, illustrators, or works reflecting our common literacy and cultural heritage, and contemporary American and World Literature.

A complete explanation of the framework is available at the website: www.doe.mass.edu

Appendix A is an explanation of the suggested authors, illustrators, or works reflecting our common literacy and cultural heritage.The lists are separated by grade level.

Grades PreK-2
Grades 3-4
Grades 5-8

 

Appendix B is an explanation of suggested contemporary American Literature and World Literature.The lists are separated by grade level.

Grades PreK-2
Grades 3-4
Grades 5-8

 

Also, books should be selected from awards lists.

 

Appendix A: A List of Suggested Authors, Illustrators, or Works Reflecting

Our Common Literary and Cultural Heritage

All American students should acquire knowledge of a range of literary works reflecting our common literary heritage. It is a heritage that goes back thousands of years to the ancient world. In addition, all students should become familiar with some of the outstanding works in the rich body of literature that is their particular heritage in the English-speaking world. This includes a literature that was created just for children because its authors saw childhood as a special period in life. It was also the first literature in the world created for them.

The suggestions below constitute a core list of those authors and illustrators or works that comprise the literary and intellectual capital drawn on by those who write in English, whether for novels, poems, nonfiction, newspapers, or public speeches, in this country or elsewhere. Knowledge of these authors, illustrators, and works in their original, adapted, or revised editions will contribute significantly to a student's ability to understand literary allusions and participate effectively in our common civic culture. Many more suggested contemporary authors, illustrators, and works from around the world are included in Appendix B. This list includes the many excellent writers and illustrators of children’s books of recent years.

In planning a curriculum, it is important to balance depth with breadth. As teachers in schools and districts work with this curriculum framework to develop literature units, they will often combine works from the two lists into thematic units. Exemplary curriculum is always evolving - we urge districts to take initiative to create programs meeting the needs of their students.

The suggested lists of Appendices A and B are organized by the gradespan levels of PreK-2, 3-4, 5-8. Certain key works or authors are repeated in adjoining grade clusters, giving teachers the option to match individual students with the books that suit their interests and developmental levels.

 

Grades PreK-2:

For reading, listening, and viewing*

The Bible as literature:

Tales including Jonah and the whale, Daniel and lion's den, Noah and the Ark, Moses and the burning bush, the story of Ruth, David and Goliath

Picture book authors and illustrators:

Poets:

Grades 3-4:

In addition to the PreK-2 list, for reading, listening, and viewing*

Traditional literature:

The Bible as literature:

Tales listed above and: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, David and Jonathan, the Prodigal Son, the visit of the Magi, well-known psalms (e.g., 23, 24, 46, 92, 121, and 150)

British authors:

American authors and illustrators:

Poets:

 

Grades 5-8*

In addition to the PreK-4 Selections:

Traditional literature:

The Bible as literature:

Old Testament: Genesis, Ten Commandments, Psalms and Proverbs

New Testament: Sermon on the Mount; Parables

British and European authors or illustrators:

American authors or illustrators:

Poets:

Appendix B: List of Suggested Contemporary American Literature and World Literature

All students should be familiar with American authors and illustrators of the present and those who established their reputations after the end of World War II, as well as important writers from around the world, both historical and contemporary. During the last half of the twentieth century, the publishing industry in the United States has devoted increasing resources to children’s and young adult literature created by writers and illustrators from a variety of backgrounds. Many newer anthologies and textbooks offer excellent selections of contemporary and world literature.

As they choose works for class reading or suggest books for independent reading, teachers should ensure that their students are both engaged and appropriately challenged by their selections. The lists below are organized by grade clusters PreK-2, 3-4, 5-8, and 9-12, but these divisions are far from rigid, particularly for the elementary and middle grades. Many contemporary authors write stories, poetry, and non-fiction for very young children, for those in the middle grades, and for adults as well. As children become independent readers, they often are eager and ready to read authors that may be listed at a higher level. As suggested earlier in the Reading and Literature Strand of this framework, teachers and librarians need to be good matchmakers, capable of getting the right books into a child’s hands at the right time.

The suggested lists below are provided as a starting point; they are necessarily incomplete, because excellent new writers appear every year. As all English teachers know, some authors have written many works, not all of which are of equally high quality. We expect teachers to use their literary judgment in selecting any particular work. It is hoped that teachers will find here many authors with whose works they are already familiar, and will be introduced to yet others. A comprehensive literature curriculum balances these authors and illustrators with those found in the suggested list of Appendix A.

Contemporary Literature of the United States: PreK-8

(Note: The lists for PreK-8 include writers and illustrators from other countries whose works are available in the United States.)

PreK-2*:

Grades 3-4*

In addition to those listed for PreK-2:

Grades 5-8*:

In addition to those listed for PreK-4:

* Selections for Grades PreK-8 have been reviewed by the editors of The Horn Book

Teachers are also encouraged to select books from following awards lists:

 

Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework

November, 2000

 

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