The updated Alberta French and science curriculum is ready for K-6 classrooms this fall.
All K-3 students will learn from new French First Language and Literature, French Immersion Language Arts and Literature and Science curriculums this September. School authorities may choose to implement the new curriculum for the same subjects in grades 4-6.
“Curriculum renewal is essential to help prepare our students for a rapidly changing labour market, which is placing an ever-increasing premium on adaptability and transferable skills,” said Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange in a press release.
“To ensure successful implementation, we are making significant investments to provide teachers with the resources they need to support students in transitioning to the new curriculum.”
Changes have been made to these subjects based on feedback of the original draft. This includes addressing areas of concern with content load, age appropriateness and wording clarity.
Specific changes include:
- Strengthening French First Language and Literature content by adding spelling rules and specifying which types of texts are studied in each grade.
- Enhancing French Immersion Language Arts and Literature content to align with the principles of learning an additional language and developing students’ creative writing skills.
- Strengthening Science content to promote understanding of agricultural practices in Alberta and align with previously implemented subjects. In the new K-6 Science curriculum, students in Grade 3 will examine how layers of Earth’s surface, including the discovery and location of dinosaur fossils, hold information about the past. In Grade 6, students will examine abstractions, coding structures and the impact of computers and technology.
In the 2022-23 school year, 47 school boards across the province piloted the draft curriculum, including 941 teachers and 22,000 students.
The updated curriculums align with top-performing jurisdictions in Canada and globally and with new curriculum previously implemented across the province.
“For this school year, we had 60 teachers from K-6 participate in the French Immersion Language Arts and Literature (FILAL) pilot. Teachers are impressed with how condensed and clearly laid out the curriculum is as well as the consideration that has been given to age-appropriate sequencing of learning outcomes,” said Cathie Williams, board chair of the Calgary Catholic School Board.
“Teachers are looking forward to implementing this curriculum next school year and to receiving a list of curated Alberta Education resources to support with implementation.”
Successful French and Science curriculum implementation
To aid with the implementation, Alberta’s government is investing approximately $47 million in professional learning for teachers, as well as learning and teaching resources to make sure both teachers and students are equipped for the updated curriculum in the classroom.
This includes $45 on a per-student basis to purchase additional resources to support implementation , $800 on a per-teacher basis for professional learning, and further funding retained by Alberta Education to purchase, licence and develop high quality learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculum.
“Professional development and timely access to resources are essential to ensure educators and the system are fully prepared to implement new curriculum. The Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) looks forward to continuing to engage with our member boards, and to collaborate with the government and education partners on required supports to ensure the success of all students,” said Marilyn Dennis, president of ASBA.
Alberta Education is working with the province’s four largest school authorities to develop science resources and ensure they are accessible to all school authorities to support student learning.
To help teachers across the province prepare for the upcoming school year, Alberta’s government is providing a variety of supports and resources online, including:
- the final K-6 French First Language and Literature, French Immersion Language Arts and Literature and Science curriculums
- the Provincial Resource Review Guide, with guidelines for selecting learning and teaching resources aligned with the new curriculums
- bridging resources to assist with transitioning from the current curriculums to the new curriculums
- videos and support documents with an overview and orientation to the new curriculums
- tools that support teacher planning, collaborating and sharing
- information about flexible professional learning opportunities
Alberta Education will provide school authorities with additional details to facilitate planning and implementation for September. School authorities will also continue to have flexibility to select resources to support curriculum implementation in their classrooms.
School authorities will also implement grades 4-6 English Language Arts and Literature and Mathematics curriculums this fall.
Between March 2021 and February 2023, Alberta’s government provided multiple opportunities to share feedback on the curriculum:
- More than 34,000 online surveys were completed.
- More than 1,100 attendees participated in virtual information sessions hosted by Alberta Education.
- Nearly 600 Albertans shared diverse viewpoints on each subject area at 31 virtual engagement sessions.
- Twelve partner organizations were provided $800,000 in grants to help them engage with their communities and report their unique perspectives.
- In the 2021-22 school year, about 360 teachers piloted draft K-6 Mathematics, English Language Arts and Literature, Science, Physical Education and Wellness, Social Studies and Fine Arts curriculums with about 7,800 students.
- In the 2022-23 school year, 941 teachers are piloting draft K-6 French First Language and Literature, French Immersion Language Arts and Literature and Science curriculums with 22,000 students in 47 school authorities across the province.
The 12-member Curriculum Implementation Advisory Group had representation from across the education system to help ensure the best interests of the entire education system inform the group’s advice and recommendations.
The updated curriculum can be read on the LearnAlberta site here.
Red Deer-North constituents with questions, concerns or comments can reach out to the local constituency office via the form on the contact page or by phoning (403) 342–2263.
Anyone looking to send comments directly to the Minister of Education is asked to contact the Office of the Minister of Education at education.minister@gov.ab.ca or (780)427-5010.