Analysis and Mapping of 'Bridge to Success' English Curriculum

This report delves into curriculum mapping, specifically focusing on the 'Bridge to Success' English curriculum for grade two students. It begins by defining curriculum and curriculum mapping, then justifies the selection of 'Bridge to Success' based on its alignment with student needs and cultural integration. The report identifies critical gaps within the curriculum, such as an over-emphasis on listening skills, a lack of group activities, and a curriculum that doesn't align with the academic year's timeframe. Suggestions for improvement include balancing skill activities, increasing group work to foster social skills, and aligning coursework with the academic calendar. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of curriculum mapping for balancing content and identifying areas for curriculum enhancement.

Introduction
In education, curriculum can be defined as the subjects which are studied in a school, college, and
other educational institutions and the topics which each subject includes (Dictionary, 2018). It is
the foundation of the educational system, which provides a systematic framework of how skills,
knowledge and values are being taught and the manner in which it is based on rational researches. A
curriculum can also be defined as a “comprehensive overview of what students should learn, how
they will learn it, what role the instructor is playing, and the framework in which learning and
teaching will take place (Curriculum, 2018). However, the concept of curriculum mapping, on the
other hand, is the process of indexing or diagramming a curriculum to identify and address
academic gaps, redundancies, and misalignments for the purposes of improving the overall
coherence of a course of study and, by extension, its effectiveness (Partnership, 2018). In this paper,
I selected the curriculum which will be used to generate the Mind Map for grade two students, next,
I identified the content and the sequence of the curriculum as well as the period required for the
completion of this particular curriculum .After that, I analyzed the data, in order to map out the
curriculum. Finally, I figured out some gaps which influences the curriculum quality and as a result
I came up with some solution.
Select the curriculum
The new version of the English book called “The Bridge to success for grade two” has recently
been introduced into the course framework to met the student’s needs and fit in with the
rapid changes taking place in the world. It provides the learner with a background of different
cultures. It is to be that several factors were taken into consideration before the selection of
this particular book for the students of the grade two.
Justify the creation
“Bridge to success” is an English book, which is available in all the levels from the primary
until the secondary level specifically (ESL) learners. This particular book consists of nine units
which are divided into three semesters. In each particular unit, there are twenty one lesson .It
covers all the aspect required for teaching English to students, for whom English forms the
second language. The main focus of this book is to maintain the Emirati identity in the
students. The book, at the same time, introduces the students to the wider western world. The
book also helps the students to develop their critical thinking skills by participating in a wide
variety of activities which the book is particularly enriched with. The materials help the young

learners to acquire skills and strategies, which will not add to the knowledge of the students
but will also make them feel more confident. Moreover, “Bridge to success”, addresses both
the conversational as well as the academic English, which forms an important stage for the
students learning the language. The student’s learning process would consist of listening,
reading text, writing tasks and projects, just like the model followed in the international
schools. Finally, there is also an activity which accompanies this particular book,, which will
help the students to practice the lessons which they have learnt from “Bridges to Success” in a
much better manner.
Critical gaps and Suggestions
A critical analysis of the book “Bridge to success” would reveal that there are some gaps,
which needs to be fixed for the sake of the students. The first gap is the intensive use of the
listening skill activities, which out-weigh the other skills, so the teacher will have to play the
CD many times during the class. It is seen that often this causes a considerable waste of time
and at the same time, chances are high that the students would feel less enthusiastic. I suggest
the moderation is always good. The second gap, which might cause a problem, is that there
are more pair activities and individual activities. Working in groups can help the students to
develop their social skills, see other people’s viewpoints and get to know each other. I would
suggest to increase the group activities, which will improve the learning process and it gives
the students the opportunity to develop communication and teamwork skills. And the last gap
is the long curriculum, which is not in vogue with the timeframe of the academic year. My
suggestion would be to align the course work as per the academic year schedules
Conclusion
I believe that Curriculum mapping is important because it allows teachers and administrators
to focus on the balance between the content and curriculum. It also helps the teachers to
identify any gaps in the curriculum and fine a solution.
References
Curriculum. (2018). Retrieved 10 February 2018, from
https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/curriculum/6468
Dictionary, c. (2018). curriculum Meaning in the Cambridge English
Dictionary. Dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/curriculum
Partnership, G. (2018). Curriculum Mapping Definition. The Glossary of Education Reform.
Retrieved 10 February 2018, from https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum-mapping/
Why is Curriculum Mapping Important (Focus on Curriculum Part 5). (2018). So, You Think
You Can Teach ESL?. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from

https://soyouthinkyoucanteachesl.com/2015/03/20/why-is-curriculum-mapping-
important-focus-on-curriculum-part-5/