INTEGRATED LANGUAGE CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION FOR THE MIDDLE GRADES

This article presents a case for redesigning curriculum and instructio n in the middle grades with an emphasis on language development. We po sit that traditional school curriculum may be aiding and abetting adol escents in a curriculum rebellion that may be a symptom of adolescents ' impatience with curriculum that is insensitive to their development. We recommend that curriculum and instruction be designed to engage st udents actively and purposely in using the tools of speaking, listenin g, reading, and writing. These ideas are explored by explicating the n ature of adolescents' language, by describing a curriculum framework t hat takes into account these language developments and uses language t o integrate various academic subjects, by identifying potential barrie rs to the enactment of this curriculum, and by positing possible means of overcoming these barriers.