Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2

MODULE 2: MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES (MELCs)

LESSON 1: BACKGROUND, RATIONALE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF MELCS
ACTIVITY 1

Answer the following reflective questions.

1. The closure of schools around the world due to the global pandemic posed serious challenges on the delivery
of quality basic education. As a teacher, what do you think are the fundamental concerns in terms of
curriculum standards that need to be addressed in order to ensure learning continuity? Cite a specific example.
Do you think these concerns could be solved by teachers alone? Why or why not?

Answer:
As we face the new normal in education due to the global pandemic, students’ educational achievement is
getting difficult to be accomplished. It poses a big challenge to the Department of education in terms of
delivering quality education. To address the problem, we adapt to this new normal learning by utilizing
distance or modular learning to secure learning continuity. With the collaboration with DepEd, LGU’s,
teaching and non-teaching staff and of course the parents, learners and stake holders, we can face and resolve
the challenges in the new normal way of teaching and learning.

2. Even prior to the spread of COVID-19 that eventually led to the closure of schools nationwide, the congested
curriculum has been a perennial problem of teachers (Andaya, 2018). This is perceived to be one of the
hindering factors on the poor performance of Filipino learners. Do you agree with this observation? Why or
why not?

Answer:

The Department of Education has presented and adapted several curriculums in the past to achieve higher
standard of education produce a globally competitive learner. Due to the global pandemic, face-to-face
schooling was prohibited. The learning modality was shifted to distance learning and the curriculum was
revised and compressed to fit the situation. With the congested curriculum we have today, it has been difficult
to achieve our goals. Students find it hard to adjust with the content standard as it takes time to finish a full
quarter subject with a limited time allotment.

ACTIVITY 2

Familiarize yourself with the course reading on the Development and Design of the MELCs. After going
through the document, provide a brief and concise response to the following guide questions.

1. What are the general and specific purposes of them development of MELCs?

STUDY NOTEBOOK
ELENA C. MARTILLANA
Teacher I
Malanday National High School
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2

Answer:
The Department of Education's Bureau of Curriculum Development developed MELCs to deal with the
shift in the educational environment due to Covid-19 pandemic. The focus of instruction was simplified
to the most essential learning competencies.
MELCs is also developed in response to UNESCO's fourth sustainable development goal to develop
resilient education systems, most especially during emergencies. It is used as a mechanism to ensure
education continuity. Lastly, MELCs intend to assist schools in navigating the limited number of school
days as they employ multiple delivery schemes by providing them ample instructional space.

2. How does curriculum review aid in the identification of essential learning competencies?

Answer:
Curriculum review intends to plot the essential and desirable learning competencies within the
curriculum which can lead to the identification of gaps, issues, and concerns within and across learning
areas and grade levels. It can help to point out areas for improvement to maximize learning
engagement, experience, and outcomes .

3. What is the difference between essential learning competencies and desirable learning competencies?

Answer:
Essential learning competencies are the competencies which students need and is indispensable in the
teaching – learning process. It aims to build skills to equip learners for lifelong learning.
On the other hand, desirable learning competencies enhance education but may not be necessary in
building foundational skills.

4. How were the most essential learning competencies identified? What were the decisions made in order
to trim down the number of the essential learning competencies further?

Answer:
Learning competencies are identified by knowing the following characteristics.
 It is applicable to real-life situations.
 It would be important for students to acquire the competency after s/he left that grade level.
 It is aligned with national, state, and/or local standards/ frameworks (e.g., scientifically literate
Filipinos)
 It would not be expected that most students would learn this through their parents/communities if
not taught at school.
 It connects the content to higher concepts across content areas.

5. What is the importance of the MELCs in ensuring the delivery of quality instruction?

STUDY NOTEBOOK
FREDERICK S. NIETO
School Focal Person
Malanday National High School
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2

Answer:
MELCS serves as a teacher’s guide in preparing lessons and instructional materials. It
ensures delivery of quality instruction by being the primary reference in determining and
implementing learning delivery approaches that are suited to the local context and diversity of
learners while adapting to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

ACTIVITY 3

Prepare a copy of your learning area’s original K-12 Curriculum Guide and corresponding list of MELCs. Go
to the sections of the curriculum guide and MELCs that are relevant to your instructional needs. Copy and
accomplish the following table and compare the two documents to determine which learning competencies were
retained, dropped, or merged.

K to 12 Learning Competencies MELCs

 EN4LC-Ia-17  EN4RC-Ia-2.2
Merged/ Note details in a literary text listened to Note significant details in a literary text
 EN4LC-Ib.1.1
Clustered Note details in a selection listened to
 EN4LC-Ic.18
Note details by asking or answering questions
about a story / poem listened to
 EN7VC-IV-f-16  EN7VC-IV-f-16
Retained Express one’s beliefs/convictions based on a Express one’s beliefs/convictions based
material viewed on a material viewed

Dropped EN7LC-I-d-5.1: Listen for important points n-a

signalled by volume, projection, pitch,
stress, intonation, juncture, and rate of
speech

ACTIVITY 4

Instruction: 

STUDY NOTEBOOK
ELENA C. MARTILLANA
Teacher I
Malanday National High School
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2

In your LAC Session, discuss and share your answers to Activities 1-3 in this lesson. Discuss any questions
about the MELCs that need clarification as well. Share your thoughts and let your co-teachers articulate their insights
regarding your questions. Jot down all the insights shared in the discussion, including your own, in your Study
Notebook.

Answer:

Development of MELCS is relevant in fitting in the curriculum for the new normal of education. Although the K-12
Curriculum trimmed down the Desirable Learning Competencies, the curriculum developers follow a thorough
process of picking out the Most Essential Learning Competencies by deciding on what competencies should be
merged, retained or dropped.

LESSON 2: UNPACKING AND COMBINING MELCS INTO LEARNING OBJECTIVES

ACTIVITY 1

Instruction: 

Familiarize yourself with the course reading on Unpacking and Combining the MELCs. After reading the
document, provide a brief and concise response to the following guide questions in your Study Notebook: 

1. What is the importance of unpacking and combining the MELCs? 

Answer:
Unpacking MELCS helps us to standardize learning activities and effectively address the varying needs of
learners and the challenges of instructional deliveries.

2. What considerations must be taken in unpacking and combining the MELCs? Explain each. 

Answer:
In unpacking MELCs, the following should be put into consideration:
 Alignment on the Content and Performance Standards- The MELCS are not a shortcut-counterpart of
the standard-based design. Competencies should be aligned with the Content and Performance
Standards to achieve a quality teaching output.
STUDY NOTEBOOK
FREDERICK S. NIETO
School Focal Person
Malanday National High School
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2
 Prerequisite knowledge and skills - Curriculum objective must be hierarchy. Mastering fundamental
knowledge Is a must before going to the other level of learning.
 Logical sequence of learning objectives - We can’t give a better learning idea to our students if our
objective is not logically sequenced. Planning the logical sequence should be done to ensure better
understanding of our learners.

3. Do all the MELCs need to be unpacked or combined? Why or why not?

Answer:

The teacher can do the unpacking and combining of the MELCS in adherence to the lesson sequence and in
consideration with the progress and needs of learners given that the content and standard will be achieved.

ACTIVITY 2

Instruction: 

1. Form a group of four members within your LAC, preferably with fellow teachers in your respective learning
area. 

2. Using the curriculum guide and a list of the MELCs, choose MELCs in the first quarter and unpack these into
learning objectives. 

3. Each team will present their unpacked learning objectives. Discussion and processing will follow each
presentation. Suggestions and insights from each group will be considered in enhancing the learning objectives. 

4. Repeat the above process but instead of unpacking, each team will now combine at least two MELCs of their
choice. Group deliberation will be observed in order to arrive at a consensus. Discuss and jot down the synthesis
of the presentations in your Study Notebook. 

Unpacking of MELCs in ENGLISH 10

SAMPLE MELCs Learning Objectives

EN10G-lle-28: Use words and expressions that affirm or

negate
Formulate a statement of opinion or assertion
EN10WC-llc-13.3: Use patterns and techniques of
developing an argumentative claim

EN10WC-llb-13.2: Formulate claims of fact, policy and

STUDY NOTEBOOK
ELENA C. MARTILLANA
Teacher I
Malanday National High School
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
National Capital Region
Division of City Schools - Valenzuela
LEARNING DELIVERY MODALITY COURSE 2
LIGHT GROUP – CLUSTER 2

value

EN10F-lli-1.15: Make and deliver impromptu and

extemporaneous with ease and confidence
Deliver a prepared impromptu talk on an issue
employing the techniques in public speaking EN10G-lli-28: Use words and expressions that affirm or
negate

EN10WC-lli-13: Compose an argumentative essay

ACTIVITY 3

Instruction: 

Submit your Activity 2 Outputs to your LAC Leader. Make sure to keep a copy of your outputs.

REFLECTION:

The Unpacking of MELCS is an important task in addressing learners’ needs and providing an ample
solution to the challenges of instructional deliveries. In doing so, considerations should be done in some
matters such as alignment on the content and performance standards, prerequisite knowledge and skills and
logical sequence of learning objectives. As a teacher, in unpacking and combining MELCS, it is important
to abide by the progressive lesson sequences while also considering the learners’ progress and needs.

STUDY NOTEBOOK
FREDERICK S. NIETO
School Focal Person
Malanday National High School