The California ELA and Literacy Standards are organized around a number of key design considerations. The College and Career Readiness anchor standards constitute the backbone of the ELA standards and define the general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations for students in preparation for college and the workforce. The standards are divided into strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. Connected to these design considerations is the interdisciplinary expectation that the development of each student’s literacy skills is a shared responsibility—English language arts teachers collaborating with teachers of other academic content subjects for an integrated model of literacy across the curriculum.
The standards establish what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century. Students learn to closely read and analyze critical works of literature and an array of nonfiction text in an exploding print and digital world. They use research and technology to sift through the staggering amount of information available and engage in collaborative conversations, sharing and reforming viewpoints through a variety of written and speaking applications. Teachers, schools, districts, and county offices of education are encouraged to use these standards to design specific curricular and instructional strategies that best deliver the content to their students.
The California Standards for ELA and Literacy help build creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, and communication. The standards develop the foundation for creative and purposeful expression in language-fulfilling California’s vision is that all students graduate from our public school system as lifelong learners and have the skills and knowledge necessary to be ready to assume their position in our global economy (CDE, 2013).
California Department of Education Resources
California English Language Arts (ELA) and Literacy Standards
Executive Summary: CA English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development Framework
Instructional Materials Selection Process
Standards for Evaluation of Instructional Materials with Respect to Social Content, 2013
MBUSD ELA Textbook/Instructional Materials Adoptions
BP 6161.1 Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials
The Governing Board desires that District instructional materials, as a whole, present a broad spectrum of knowledge and viewpoints, reflect and value society’s diversity, and enhance instructors’ ability to educate all students through the use of multiple teaching strategies and technologies. The Board shall adopt instructional materials based on a determination that such materials are an effective learning resource to help students achieve grade-level competency and that the material meet criteria specified in law. Textbooks, technology-based materials, and other educational materials shall be aligned with State of California and District content standards and the District's curriculum in order to ensure that they effectively support the District's adopted courses of study.
The Board shall select instructional materials for use in grades K-8 that have been approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) or that have, during the District’s review process, been determined to be aligned with the State of California academic content standards adopted by State Board of Education (SBE). (Education Code 60200, 60210).
MBUSD Core and Extended Text Adoption Form
Elementary
The Board of Trustees approved the following English Language Arts instructional materials for elementary to support teaching the CA English Language Arts Standards within a balanced literacy framework of instruction.
Click Here for Summer 2022 Reading Lists
Manhattan Beach Middle School
The Board of Trustees approved the selection of the following English Language Arts instructional materials for middle school to support teaching the CA English Language Arts Standards within a balanced literacy framework of instruction.
Mira Costa High School
The Board shall adopt instructional materials for grades 9-12 upon determining that the materials meet the criteria specified in law and the accompanying administrative regulation. (Education Code 60400). In selecting or adopting instructional materials, the Board shall consider the recommendation of the Superintendent or designee and/or an advisory committee established to review the materials (BP 6161.1).
AP English Literature and Composition: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (the 2014 version) and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Board Presentation: Mira Costa English Department: Core Diversification Update and Book Adoption (May 19, 2021)
MCHS English Department considerations: