Printing Frameworks and other documents

[SusanK]

Is it "safe" to print the Frameworks from my year 4 LOOM that I recently received? We have the Redesign for all 4 years. There are so many pages, I would prefer to only print it one time but want to make sure it will work with all the other year plans as we cycle through again.

Blessings,
Susan

[cjsomerville]

Hi Susan. :-) The Y4 Frameworks and Poetics are definitely the most complete and up-to-date versions of those documents. However, they are not compatible with Year 1 (which doesn't use them at all), and if you try to use them with Y2 or Y3, you will find that titles of sections, some definitions, and some explanations of literary concepts, have changed over the years as we continued to improve them.

It is my hope that we will be able to reconcile differences in the year plans and make each of them match the current version of Poetics/Frameworks within the next twelve to twenty-four months... however, that will only really help you if you have DE and can receive those upgrades for free. If you have print only and don't want to have to deal with the changes I mentioned from year to year, then it might really be best for you to print the version of Poetics/Frameworks that goes with each year in Years 2-4.

I hope this won't seem like an unacceptable solution, since (I'm told by other customers) the cost of printing them is pretty low... I heard it was about $7 for each at a local Kinkos. So, $14 per year seems to me like a pretty good deal to have them in print, especially since you received these essential supplements for free with the curriculum.

Alternatively, many people are able to get along without printing them at all. My own class of twelve students has used them online without any real problems for the past two years. I know this solution doesn't work for everybody... for instance, in some households computer use is limited, or students are inclined to abuse it by getting distracted with video games, facebook, etc. However, the reading to be done on the computer each week is fairly minimal (usually no more than five or ten pages, and often much less), so I haven't found that it causes students harm (eyestrain, fatigue from reading on a screen, etc.) as long as there is enough computer time available to them and they make good use of it.

Anyway, just some thoughts. :-) Please let me know if you have any other questions, or if this helps at all!

Christy Somerville