How do you address unfunded mandates in your K5 school? For example, I am required to have a 90 minute “uninterrupted” reading block.




In Indiana, we are also required to have a 90 minute literacy block. See photo below. We have to adopt curricular materials as vetted by the state to meet this requirement. The mandate below shows what we have to include in that 90 minutes, so we cover each of the areas using the curriculum materials that are adopted.
Adoption for new materials will happen before May this year for next school year and due to cuts in textbook funding (long story!), we are working to cobble items together that are both affordable and meet the state requirements. It’s a rock and a hard place.
Similar to Kristin’s response…even our babies are required to have 90 minutes uninterrupted for ELA. Developmentally, I think all classroom teachers would agree that that isn’t possible without A LOT of built in movement. Finding ways to incorporate motion and a variety of learning opportunities is key.
Additionally, sometimes these types of mandates can also force districts to cut minutes in other subjects like science and social studies, so finding cross-curricular opportunities is important. Using social studies as an extension of ELA has helped me break it up for my 5th graders. So many ELA standards can be covered with the writing and reading skills used during social studies. In fact, a recent Harvard University Graduate School of Education study has shown that classes who use science content as the basis for their ELA skills develop better comprehension skills!! https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/23/03/building-background-knowledge-science-improves-reading-comprehension
We try hard to schedule the day to make sure it is a solid block of time. Finding creative ways to address all subject matter takes planning. Unfortunately, some of the content ( mainly social studies) is put aside because it is not test. I am trying to convince my colleagues that the text on the standardized tests contains such passages. L
Integrate as much as you can. I agree with Brian, it does take so much planning but if you can make it work, it will benefit your kids so much. I used to mix science and social studies texts into ELA daily when we tackled the nonfiction standards. I also would start science with a math question using science information—usually charts, graphs, etc.