NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                                    Douglas D. Christensen, Commissioner
                                                        Polly Feis, Deputy Commissioner
                                        301 Centennial Mall South  ° PO Box 94987 ° Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
                                                                    Telephone 402-471-2295 (Voice/TDD) ° Fax 402-471-0117

 

Dear Nebraska Educator:

The Nebraska Department of Education is pleased to present Links to L.E.A.R.N.S. This
document shows how the content areas of agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences,
foreign language, marketing and the visual and performing arts help students meet the standards,
Specifically, Links to L.E.A.R.N.S. identifies the "Essential Learnings" of those six content
areas and aligns them with Nebraska’s reading, writing, math, science and social studies/history
standards.

In 1998, the State Board of Education approved standards in four core areas. Those standards
were published and distributed in a document called Nebraska L.E.A.R.N.S. That document
started the conversation in Nebraska about standards and what students should know and be able
to do. The new Links to L.E.A.R.N.S. complements Nebraska L.E.A.R.N.S. and expands the
conversation by showing how teachers throughout a school support and teach to the standards.

Standards in only reading, writing, math, science and social studies/history are not enough to
provide a full educational experience for our youth. We must also consider the Essential
Learnings in areas not addressed by the standards. As with the standards, Essential Learnings
are the most enduring concepts, ideas and information in each subject or discipline. We’ve all
heard the expression: "It takes a village to raise a child." We also know that it takes an entire
school to educate a child. Every teacher in every class has a role to play in helping students
achieve the standards.

As we move toward assessment of our standards, it is important to recognize that just as a
standard can be taught outside the four core areas it can also be assessed in other classes in
various ways. This, however, is a decision that should be made at the local level. These
decisions should be made collectively be everyone responsible for teaching to the standards .not
just teachers who teach grades 4 and 11 or those who teach reading/writing, math, science and
social studies/history.

We want to Links to L.E.A.R.N.S. to serve as a resource for you and as a tool to begin the
discussion in your school and community. We hope you find this document useful in helping
each child achieve Nebraska’s standards.

Commissioner of Education                         Administrator of Curriculum and Instruction

Doug Christensen                                         Donlynn Rice

Questions and comments regarding this guide may be addressed to:
Nebraska Department of Education
301 Centennial Mall South
P.O. Box 94987
Lincoln, NE 68509-4987
December 1999

LINKS TO L.E.A.R.N.S. 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreign Language (FL) Visual and Performing Arts (VPA)
Agricultural Education (AE) Business Education (BE)
Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Guidance and Counseling (G)
Health and Wellness (H/W) Industrial Technology Education (IT)
Marketing Education (ME)  
Appendix—Academic Standards
   Reading/Writing (R/W).......................................1 Mathematics (M).............................................29
    Science (S) .........................................................48 Social Studies/History (SS/H)..........................62

     Code Explanation: The essential learning content areas listed above were based on curriculum
frameworks designed by practicing teachers. The essential learnings have been coded to facilitate use
within databases.
•The two- or three-letter abbreviation represents a specific discipline, i.e. FL, VPA, AE.
•The first number indicates the grade level or range, i.e. K12, 1, 4, 8, 12.
•The second number represents the order of the essential learning within a specific framework.
•The third number represents a specific demonstration, learning experience or activity.

Example = FL K12.3.2
FL K12. 3. 2
Discipline Grade Level (s) Essential Learning Demonstration

LINKS TO L.E.A.R.N.S. 1999

Hit Counter