Developed within a Literacy Context

Because of our current determined and widespread focus on the development of language arts skills, we created the Arkansas Studies Curriculum within a dedicated literacy context.  This orientation was chosen precisely because we understand the importance of this orientation for the long term success of our educational institutions.  We realize full well that if Arkansas History continues to be thought of as something “else” to be done after the real business of learning to read and write are completed, that it will never claim its rightful place in the education of Arkansas’s next generation of leaders.  In the course of our work on this curriculum we often had people tell us that there’s no reason why the study of Arkansas History can’t be part and parcel of our literacy focus.  It’s not a case of either/or.  It’s a case of both/and - increasing competence in literacy leads to a better understanding of Arkansas History and learning about our home state with the Arkansas Studies Curriculum will support, enhance, and encourage our literacy efforts.

For this reason we have taken great pains to construct the major pieces of the Arkansas Studies Curriculum at grade appropriate reading levels from the pre-literate students in Kindergarten to the proficient readers at the 5th and 6th grade levels.  The Teacher’s Guides provided for each grade level provide guidance on using the materials to provide support to support this emphasis.   Unit and Lesson Plans provide explicit links to the ADE English Frameworks as well as to both the Arkansas History and other Social Studies strands.

Each grade level concentrates on providing support to the teaching of literacy through beginning in Kindergarten, First, and second grade with illustration-driven pieces that provide Shared Reading exercises, emphasis on letter and sound recognition, and story prompts.  Third and fourth grade materials move to the popular Chapter Book formats with text driven narratives supported by illustration. All materials lend themselves to both individual and group reading sessions, including use in Reading Theater sessions, and every lesson plan contains vocabulary exercises and writing prompts.  The text for the fifth/sixth grade provides all sorts of age appropriate literary conventions and a wealth of new illustrations.  Activities and assessments at this level call for both the mastery of ‘basic facts’ as well as imaginative and creative individual and class projects. 

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