6

Republic of the Philippines

ABUYOG COMMUNITY COLLEGE

ABUYOG, LEYTE

“The Road to Mastery: A Critical Analysis of the Grade 7 Curriculum Guide”

BSED-ENGLISH -3E

Domer Regis Ph.D

Instructor
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Essence of Writing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Body. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Purposes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Curriculum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Recommendation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Insights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19
INTRODUCTION

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills,

values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next

through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and or research. Education may also

include informal transmission of such information from one human being to another.

Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but learners may also educate

themselves (autodidactic learning). Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one

thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.

Education is commonly and formally divided into stages such as preschool, primary

school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship. The science and art

of how best to teach is called pedagogy.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global level,

Article 13 of the United Nations' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education.[2] Although education is

compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often isn't, and a minority

of parents choose home-schooling, sometimes with the assistance of modern electronic

educational technology (also called e-learning).

Education in the Philippines is managed and regulated by the Department of

Education, commonly referred to as the DepEd in the country. The Department of Education

controls the Philippine education system, including the curriculum used in schools and the
allocation of funds. It also regulates the construction of schools and other educational

facilities and the recruitment of teachers and staff.

Before Philippine Independence in 1946, the country's education system was

patterned on the system of its colonial powers, Spain and the United States. However, after

Philippine independence, its educational system changed radically.

Until 2011, the basic education system was composed of six years of elementary

education starting at the age of 6, and four years of high school education starting at the age

of 12. Further education was provided by technical or vocational schools, or in higher

education institutions such as universities. Although the 1987 Constitution stated that

elementary education was compulsory, this was never enforced.

In 2011, the country started to transition from its old 10-year basic educational system

to a K-12 educational system, as mandated by the Department of Education. The new 12-year

system is now compulsory, along with the adoption of new curriculum for all schools

(see 2010s and the K-12 program). The transition period will end with the 2017-2018 school

year, which is the graduation date for the first group of students who entered the new

educational system.

All public schools in the Philippines must start classes on the date mandated by the

Department of Education (usually the first Monday of June), and must end after each school

completes the mandated 200-day school calendar organized by the Department of Education

(usually around the third week of March to the second week of April). Private schools are not

obliged to abide by a specific date, but must open classes no later than the last week of

August.
 What is K to 12? Essentially, K to 12 Program deals with the aim in improving the

quality of basic education in the country. It stands for Kindergarten to Grade 12. Unlike

before, basic education in the Philippines will commence at the Kindergarten level and

follows by a 12- years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior

High School, and two years of Senior High School) to provide sufficient time for mastery of

concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education,

middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Recently, President Aquino signed a law adding three extra years to the country’s 10-

year basic education curriculum in a bid to make Filipino students at par with their peers in

other countries. He quoted that, “This lays the foundations for a better future for every

Filipino child.” With the signed law, it makes enrolment in kindergarten compulsory before

children can begin the traditional six years of primary school and adds two more years to high

school. The R.A. 10533, also known as Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or the K-to-

12 Act, establishes a “universal kindergarten” and introduces “Grades 11 and 12” to high

school education in public and private schools. Moreover, K to 12 was crafted to plug the

shortcomings of the 10-year basic education cycle in which students had less time to

understand their lessons, and had to compete with better-prepared graduates from other

countries. Competing with the international standards challenges the Philippine government

to innovate the former curriculum.

K to 12 seems not to be new in the educational sector. USA has it several decades

ago. Philippines patterned it with the set-up in US, while the latter took only the concept in

United Kingdom. Other countries have also changed their schooling to 12 years of basic

education, where only 3 countries in the world have less than 12 year basic education cycle

Philippines, along with Angola and Djibouti, are identified among the last three.

Comprehensively discuss its component (curriculum content) and its implementation process.
Figure 1 The K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Cycle Distribution of Years Figure 1 shows

the distribution of 12 years in the Enhanced Basic Education Cycle of the country. Schooling

will commence at Kindergarten (K), then the primary education (Grades 1-6), then the junior

high school (Grades 7-10), and senior high school (Grades 11 & 12). K to 12 has also its

salient feature which is strategically developed to achieve the success of its implementation.

The infographics on the next page shows the Six Salient Features of K to 12.

Strengthen Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten) Making the

Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and Enhancement) Ensuring Integrated

and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression) Building Proficiency through Language (Mother

Tongue-Based Multilingual Education) Gearing Up for the Future (Senior High School)

Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, 21st

Century Skills) SALIENT FEATURES.

Under Republic Act No. 10157, also known as the Kindergarten Act of 2012, every

Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal Kindergarten.

At 5 years old, children start studying and are given the ways to gradually adjust to the

primary schooling. Study reveals that children who underwent Kindergarten have better

completion rates than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based

Kindergarten program are better prepared, for primary education. Education for children in

the early years lays the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a

child. As described in Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, kindergarten years are the so-

called “teachable moments”.

The early years of a human being, from 0 to 6 years, are the most critical period when

the brain grows to at least 60- 70% of adult size. Hence, this period must be filled up with the

essential knowledge required for learning. Maximizing concrete experiences will pave way to
a more learning experience. Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are

based on local culture, history, Strengthen Early Childhood Education (Universal

Kindergarten) Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and

Enhancement) and reality.

This makes the lessons contextualized which are relevant to the learners and easy to

understand. Hence, meaningful learning will be experienced. Moreover, students acquire in-

depth knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes through continuity and consistency across all

levels and subjects. Discussions on issues such as Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate

Change Adaptation, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) are given

importance in the said curriculum. Like the idea of Spiral Curriculum by Jerome Brunner,

subjects will be taught from the simplest concepts to more complicated concepts through

grade levels in a progression.

As early as elementary, pupils are expected to acquire knowledge in areas such as

Biology, Geometry, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Algebra through their elementary

subjects. Basic foundations will be ensured to be mastered before going to study the complex

ones. This also certifies mastery of knowledge and skills after each level. For example,

currently in High School, Biology is taught in 2nd Year, Chemistry in 3rd Year and Physics

in 4th Year. In the enhanced basic education program, these subjects are connected and

integrated from Grades 7 to 10. This same method will be applied also in other subjects.

Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression).

Different studies were made in relation with the use of the mother tongue as the mode

of instruction in the everyday learning endeavor. Results show significant evidences that

using student’s mother tongue promotes better learning. In K to 12, students are able to learn

best through their first language, their Mother Tongue (MT).

Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao,

Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray. Other local languages will be added in succeeding school

years. Aside from the Mother Tongue, English and Filipino are taught as subjects starting

Grade 1, with a focus on oral fluency. From Grades 4 to 6, English and Filipino are gradually

introduced as languages of instruction. Both will become primary mode of instruction in

Junior and Senior High School. After Grade 1, every student can read in his or her Mother

Tongue. Furthermore, learning in Mother Tongue also serves as an essential foundation for

students to learn Filipino and English easily. Building Proficiency through Language (Mother

Tongue-Based Multilingual Education).

What’s new with K to 12? This one is the added feature in the basic education

curriculum – the introduction of Senior High School. Senior High School is two years of

specialized upper secondary education; students may choose a specialization based on

aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career track will define the content of

the subjects a student will take in Grades 11 and 12. Figure 2 below shows the learning areas

to be offered in Senior High and its target track. Figure 2 Subjects Offered and the Track

Direction of Senior High There are 7 Learning Areas under the Core Curriculum. These are

Languages, Literature, Communication, Mathematics, Philosophy, Natural Science, and

Social Sciences. Current content from some General Education subjects are embedded in the

SHS curriculum. Gearing Up for the Future (Senior High School) Students who will pursue

Academic Track will be taking the following subjects: Business, Accountancy, Management

(BAM); Humanities, Education, Social Sciences (HESS); and Science, Technology,

Engineering, Mathematics (STEM).

Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track will be taking up courses on TVET

(Technical Vocational Education & Training) which could obtain National Certificates, Level
I or II, in Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), provided that the

student will pass the competency-based examination. NC I and NC II improves employability

of graduates in fields like Agriculture, Electronics, and Trade. The Filipino student after

going to the K to 12 education (Kindergarten, the enhanced Elementary and Junior High

curriculum, and a specialized Senior High program), are expected to be a holistically

developed citizen pursuing their different paths – may it be further education, employment, or

entrepreneurship. In general, they will acquire the necessary knowledge for living. The

inforgraph below will explain what a K to 12 graduates is. Figure 3 21st Century Skills in a K

to 12 Graduate Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood

Readiness, 21st Century Skills).

The Curriculum (List of Subjects) Elementary Education Subjects 1. Languages a.

Filipino (1-6) b. Mother Tongue (1-3) c. English (4-6) 2. Mathematics 3. Edukasyon sa

Pagpapakatao (EsP) 4. Araling Panlipunan (AP) 5. Music, Arts, Physical Education & Health

(MAPEH) Junior High School Subjects 1. English 2. Filipino 3. Science 4. Mathematics 5.

Araling Panlipunan (AP) 6. Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP) 7. Music, Arts, Physical

Education & Health (MAPEH) 8. Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) Senior High

School Track.

In learning, there are five macro skills that we must deal with in order to

communicate effectively. Macro skills refer to the primary, key, main, and largest

skillset relative to a particular context. It is commonly referred to in English language.

The five macro skills are reading, listening, writing, speaking and viewing. Each skill

has its reasons of why we should be knowledgeable on how to communicate using the

five macro skills. These skills are essential for communicating. It is tough to study a

balance of the five macro skills which are writing, reading, writing, and listening. Being
good at only one of these communicative skills will not help us smooth away the

difficulties in communicating. With these four macro skills, it can make a big difference

in your workplace in social situations and personal achievements.

Learning and consistently seeking to improve these macro skills are important

for effective communication and to be successful in many different perspectives. Ideas,

emotions, opinions and feelings need to be conveyed in different manners and in a

variety of ways. To know when to use which macro skill to acquire, access, encounter,

and evaluate information and ideas is a higher order of thinking skill that can be learned

over time with much practice and strategies. In each skill, it is equally vital as each is

related. These can be divided into receptive; reading and listening, and productive skills

which are speaking and writing. Within each skill, there are sub skills, for example, in

writing there are specific information, there is reading for the main or essential part of a

matter. In listening, one must be attentive and active to follow instructions. People with

good communication skills are better to use them creatively and responsibly and to

evaluate its worth. Without having communication, we would never be done as far as

what we have today. Every day is a learning opportunity. The five macro skills is in our

everyday life.
THE ESSENCE OF WRITING

Writing is vital for success in most careers and disciplines today, so students must

begin to acquire good writing skills early to prepare for adult life. Sometimes a writing tutor

is just what students need to help them develop these skills. This is true for both

mainstreamed and home schooled children. In the classroom, the teacher doesn’t always have

the time to work one-on-one with students. At home, parents who may well excel at teaching

(and grading) math and other more straightforward subjects, are often uncomfortable

critiquing their children’s writing. Not to mention that writing is a process, requiring much

“re-doing” which can lead to tensions at home.

During the schooling years, writing is important in that it is an integral component of

all academic subjects — even math (think “word problems”). Additionally, writing (in the

form of essays) is a graded section unto itself in many standardized tests, including the all-

important SAT. As adults, students will use writing in countless ways as they apply for and

obtain jobs as well as manage their own households. Still, learning good paragraph and essay

writing skills has a deeper value than that. It also helps students develop skills of reasoning

and logic.

Any time in the future that students need to argue their case on a particular subject,

they will be using skills they learned while training to write essays. So all the grounding they

can get, to help them perfect their writing and their reasoning, is an investment in their future.

Schools and colleges offer many learning opportunities for young writers. Most

students learn about composition and literature in English courses. They may also take
creative writing and journalism courses to sharpen their writing abilities. Many students

work on literary magazines, newspapers and yearbooks published by their school or

college. These young people may write stories, edit articles and gain other valuable

experience.

BODY

Specifically, this term paper consists of the analysis of the curriculum for Grade 7.

This study is interested on what is K to 12 curriculum all about. This study would also like to

know what the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum are.

Furthermore, it focuses on the writing skills of Grade 7 students. This study would

like to know if the following activities/tasks of Grade 7 students are relevant to learning.

According to Curriculum Guide of Grade 7 they are expecting that the

students will:

Purposes

 Write a variety of clear, focussed personal writing for a range of purposes and

audiences that demonstrates connections to personal experiences, ideas and opinions.

 Write a variety of effective informational writing for a range of purposes and

audiences that communicates ideas to inform or persuade

 Write a variety of imaginative writing for a range of purposes and audiences,

including short stories, passages and poems modelled from literature

 Select and use various strategies before writing and representing, including

- Setting a purpose

- Identifying an audience, genre and form

- Analysing examples of successful writing and representing in different forms and

genres to identify key criteria

- Developing class-generated criteria

- Generating, selecting, developing and organizing ideas from personal interest,

prompts, texts and/or research

 Select and use various strategies during writing and representing to express and refine

thoughts, including

- Referring to class-generated criteria

- Analysing models of literature

- Accessing multiple sources of information

- Consulting reference materials

- Considering and applying feedback from conferences to revise ideas, organization,

voice, word choice and sentence fluency

- Ongoing revising and editing

 Select and use various strategies after writing and representing to improve their work,

including

- Checking their work against established criteria

- Revising to enhance writing traits (e.g., ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, voice

and organization)

- Editing for conversations (e.g., grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation and

spelling)

 Use writing and representing to critique, express personal responses and relevant

opinions and respond to experiences and texts

 Use writing and representing to extend thinking by

- Developing explanations

- Analysing the relationships in ideas and information

- Exploring new ideas (e.g., making generalizations, speculating about alternative

viewpoints)

 Reflect on and assess their writing and representing, by

- Relating their work to criteria

- Setting goals and creating a plan for improvement

- Taking steps toward achieving goals

Features

 Use the features and conventions of language to express meaning in their writing and

representing, including

- Complete simple, compound, and complex sentences

- Subordinate and independent clauses

- Correct subject-verb and pronoun agreement in sentences with compound subjects

- Correct and effective use of punctuation

common spelling patterns, dictionaries and thesaurus)

- Information taken from secondary sources with source citation

- Legible writing appropriate to context and purpose.

In this section, the researcher would like to look at what is expected to Grade 7 students.

This will vary among individuals. Among the fast learners, the tendency is that they will

learn more than the slow learners so, the teacher should apply equal teaching approach to

these kinds of learner in order for them to learn equally and efficiently.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE CURRICULUM

The positive feature of the Curriculum Guide for Grade 7 is it aims to provide quality

education through the different learning activities given to the students. It also aims to meet

the standards for learning to be acquired by the students more effectively. Most importantly,

it focuses to the activities that will help students to develop their macro skills adequately.

The Curriculum Guide also supports the teaching-learning process that usually takes

place inside the classroom, and it paves the way through excellence.

However, its flaws are very noticeable. We all know that a Curriculum Guide is made

only for the teachers to organize the sequence of the lessons/topics to be discussed. The

consideration of the learners’ needs were set a side. What the author points out is that the

Curriculum Guide is very objective. It looks far to the end. There’s nothing wrong with

beginning in the ending but there are so many things to consider, especially upon creating or

revising a curriculum.
 There is a story entitled, “A Boy and His Dog” by Martha Brooks is about a 14-year-

old boy and his old, sick dog. It is a first-person narrative: the boy himself jumps from

memory to memory of his childhood growing up together with his precious dog. At the

beginning of the narrative we learn that the dog, called Alphonse, has many problems. He is

going blind and cannot walk properly. Buddy is sad that he can do nothing to help Alphonse,

and he knows that Alphonse does not understand why. But the vet gives Alphonse some pills

which make both boy and dog feel better for a while.

The story will help the Grade 7 students to think critically and it will also enhance

their reading comprehension because it teaches values like loyalty or faithfulness. Using that

story, the students may also come up with mapping out of ideas by asking them to write the

different characteristics of Buddy and Alphonse and their similarities. Through this, they are

able to distinguish the two using adjectives and it also develops their writing and thinking

skills.

CONCLUSION

According to the study, the following conclusions are proven:

1. The most important contribution of the program to the students is to improve their abilities

and revolutionized the Philippines in terms of educational attainment.

2. The implementation of the K12 program is a must, because the primary objective of the

program is to improve the quality of education so that, when the students finished the basic

education they will be more productive.

and Expository Writing.

4. The significance of acquiring writing skills is that it will help the students to develop their

selves as an individual and it will prepare them for global challenges.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing the conclusion, the researcher suggests:

1. There should be a researcher having the comparison between the curriculum with K+12

rule and the other traditional 6 years in Elementary 4 years in High School.

2. After some time, 2018 to be exact, a researcher conducts a study the effectiveness of the

program.

3. The curriculum should also consider grammar as an essential aspect of English Language the

reason is that some Grade 7 students are having difficulties understanding literary pieces

because of poor comprehension.

4. To be more effective in acquiring writing skills, there should be alternative activities if ever

students were not able to achieve the expected outcome at the end of the school year.

INSIGHTS

During the research, I felt quite exhausted about the K to 12 curriculums because if I

will be in a classroom situation for example in a public school that lacks resources and

facilities, teaching the students will be very difficult and challenging on my part the reason is
that the curriculum itself, needs materials, resources, and facilities. So, it is not favorable to

those public schools that is located on remote areas. Many of us know that most public

schools don’t have these materials/facilities that will support the curriculum.

I also noticed that if I will be teaching literature, it is very hard also on the part of the

students if they don’t have books. What I’m trying to say is there should be enough budget

before implementing such curriculum to prevent problems which are results of insufficiency.

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Discussion paper on the enhanced K+12 basic education program. (2010). Retrieved from

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Maramag, S. K. (2010). Proposed k 12 basic education system in the philippines.

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