January 26, 2011
 Refine
our understanding of ELA and how
the new curriculum imagines learning for
students
 Review additional support materials for
unit and year planning
 Explore formative assessment, feedback,
summative assessment and reporting
 Provide time to plan and design
assessments
ELA
is unique in many ways.
We have so much to cover in such a
short time so a Learning Project Day
#2 will be offered on April 6.
At that time, we will put all the
pieces together (curriculum,
planning supports, assessment,
learning plan) and work together to
advance our planning.
9:00 – 9:10
Welcome and introduction
9:10 – 9:40
Activating prior knowledge
9:40 – 10:00
ELA key points
10:00 – 10:20
Planning supports review
10:20 – 10:30
Destination partners and coffee
10:30 – 10:45
Assessment introduction
10:45 – 11:30
Rubric inquiry
11:30 – 12:00
Rubric design
12:00 – 12:45
Lunch
12:45 – 1:20
Making rubrics
1:20 – 1:50
Formative assessment, feedback and learning plans
1:50 – 2:00
Curriculum Corner
2:00 – 2:10
Coffee
2:10 – 3:00
Work, Parking Lot and “Final go round”
In
groups of four, consider the
questions on your table and
record your thoughts (15 minutes)
Whole group de-brief (10 minutes)
Transfer unanswered questions
to the Parking Lot (5 minutes)
What is this subject all about?
Compose
and create - expressive
strand and includes speaking,
representing and writing
Comprehend and respond – receptive
strand and includes listening,
viewing and reading
Assess and reflect – reflecting on
self and others and setting goals for
language learning
In
the C and C goal area, the
greatest emphasis rests on the
work students do before
producing a product
In C and R, this emphasis shifts
to the work students do during
their interaction with texts
 Children
demonstrate their learning and
understanding in the receptive strands
(comprehend and respond) through
expressive means (compose and create).
 Example: I show I can comprehend what I
read by talking about it, writing down my
thoughts and representing myself through
drawings, charts, diagrams, videos and so on.
 Therefore: You cannot teach each goal area
in isolation.
 EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
Broaden
and deepen students’
understanding of themselves,
others, life and the world
Language learning happens
within a context…we
communicate and think about
things -not as isolated skills
Five Contexts:
1. Personal and Philosophical
2. Social, cultural and historical
3. Imaginative and literary
4. Communicative
5. Environmental and technological
TYPE OF UNIT
NUMBER OF UNITS per YEAR
Multi-genre thematic
3 (minimum)
Multi-genre inquiry and/or
interdisciplinary
1 (minimum)
Author or genre study
1 (maximum)
Learn
to use language
Learn about language
Learn through language
What
we do with
students before, during
and after engaging in a
text will determine
their growth,
engagement and
success.

Learning strategies are the thoughts and actions
we engage in, consciously or not, to learn new
information.

The goal of explicitly teaching learning
strategies is to help students consciously and
metacognitively focus on how they learn so they
apply strategies before, during, and after
engaging with texts across all subject areas.
Students, over time, will develop skill in using
multiple strategies which they can then
independently apply to new and different
situations.
Learning strategy
Instructional strategy
Activating prior knowledge
K-W-L
Anticipating author’s message
Think-pair-share
Pausing, thinking and making
notes
T-chart
Consider illustrations
Picture walk
We must continually ask
ourselves if our students are
thinking and learning, and
what we need to do
differently in order to help
them.
Key elements
Unit
planner – 6 strands
BDA charts – focus on learning
strategies, essential questions,
enduring understandings and
knowledge
Sorting documents – menu for
tracking learning; tasks, strategies
and criteria
Find
your destination
partner sheet
Sign up four different
people for your four
different pairings
How do we define assessment
and what tools should we use?
Find
your Argentina partner.
Consider:
 What
is authentic assessment?
 Why do we assess?
 What do we assess?


Authentic assessment clearly assesses the
outcomes in a context that reflects the
actual learning experience. In other words,
we assess in the exact same way we have
invited students to learn.
Authentic assessment also invites us to ask
how students may come to apply the
knowledge and skills they have gained and
assess them based on that information.
An assessment plan clarifies the learning
destinations through establishing criteria.
 It clarifies how evidence of learning will be
collected – through products, observations and
conversations.
 An assessment plan is realized over the course of
an entire unit and, ultimately, over the course of a
year.
 It aims to provide multiple opportunities for
students to demonstrate their learning.
 It clarifies how students will be assessed
formatively and summatively, how they will be
offered feedback and how their progress will be
reported.


that effective instruction depends on high quality assessment.
Therefore, we expect all assessments to provide accurate and timely information
about student achievement. Each assessment must adhere to standards of quality
that all staff know and follow.

the primary purpose of assessment is to improve student learning. It is
the expectation of the NESD that all assessments will be directly linked to specific
student learning outcomes, use assessment methodology appropriate for the
subject/grade level, and will allow for the effective communication of results.

that assessment can serve as a powerful form of instruction. By involving
students in the assessment and evaluation of their own achievement under direct
supervision, teachers can use assessment and feedback to help students progress
towards meeting the expected learning outcomes for each subject, at each grade
level.

that a variety of assessment tools are considered appropriate for use
within the NESD. Any ‘grade’ should include varied forms of assessment.

that a differentiated approach allows all students to be assessed on student
learner outcomes in a manner that is appropriate to each individual.

that achievement and behavior should be assessed and reported
separately.
When thinking like an
assessor, we ask…




What would be sufficient
and revealing evidence of
understanding?
What are the different types
of evidence I can use to
assess student learning?
Against what criteria will I
consider work and assess
quality?
Did the assessments reveal
and distinguish those who
really understood from those
who only seemed to? Do I
know why mistakes were
made?
When thinking like an activity
(only) designer, we ask…






What would be fun and
interesting activities on this
topic?
What projects might students
want to do?
What tests should I give based
on the content I taught?
How will I give students a
mark and justify it to their
parents?
How well did the activities
work?
How did students do on the
test?
Wiggins and McTighe (2005)
 Remain
with your Argentina partner and
look at the four rubric samples provided.
 All four rubrics were designed to assess the
same task.
 Consider:
What task are these rubrics assessing?
 What values do these rubrics communicate?
What do they say is most important about this
task?

Using
the same rubrics,
write down your
observations, comments or
questions about the rubrics
provided.
Put one idea/ sticky note.
Join
with another pair.
Share your sticky notes
with each other.
Sort sticky notes into
general categories of
commentary/ questions.
Choose
three and use the following
prompts to reflect:
1) Here’s what we notice…
2) So what does this say
about rubrics/assessment/
learning, etc.?
3) Now what we propose is…
Be prepared to share 5 minutes
 Ask
yourself:
What will students need to do
in order to demonstrate the
knowledge and skills required
in this outcome?
 How
will I know how far and deep they need
to travel in their understanding?
 What
is the continuum of learning for this
outcome? What will it look like?
 How
can I help myself and others come to
understand how learning progresses?
Holistic
rubric – Provides an overall
impression of a student’s work.
These rubrics yield a single score or
rating for a product or performance.
Analytic rubric – Divides a product
or performance into distinct traits
or dimensions and judges each
separately.
Message
– clear and specific
Organization – coherent and clear
Ideas and information (grade four
only) – complete and support
message
Language and conventions –
appropriate for audience and
purpose
Grade four:
Ideas and information – retell and
explain
Text structures and features –
recognize and understand role in
message
Respond to and interpret texts –
using support and evidence
Grade five:
Ideas and information – understand,
retell and explain
Text structures and features –
analyze
Respond to and analyze texts –
support from text, personal
experience and research
Sorting
sheet
Process/ Product
connection
Holistic and analytical
Example - Narrative
 By
what criteria should performance be
judged and discriminated?
 Where should we look and what should
we look for to judge performance
success?
 How should the different levels of
quality, proficiency, or understanding be
described and distinguished from one
another?
 How can learning continue?
Understanding
is not yes or
no; it is a matter of degree.
It is a continuum!
 If
possible, gather samples (written, video,
photos, etc.) of student work
 Brainstorm criteria based on outcomes
 Use samples to begin writing performance
indicators
 Start with the level you want all students to
reach (ex. a 3 on a 4 point rubric)
 Avoid numbers in performance indicators (ex.
Is able to list three out of four…)
 Test-drive the rubric on more student samples
 Field test the rubric with students (make sure
the language is student-friendly)




Keep descriptors positive - For example “Needs
editing” instead of “Many mistakes.” The first
descriptor tells a student how to improve.
Formative rubrics should contain no numbers,
just descriptors. Summative rubrics would
contain numbers, and this may be the only
difference between them.
Numbers are challenging because some students
track for “just enough” instead of for success.
Avoid including criteria that measure adherence
to directions of a task instead of mastery of the
outcome (ex. Included title).
Message/Meaning
Great work! This is going extra
well for you!
You did it and you did it on
your own!
Good start. You are beginning
to make sense of this on your
own.
You can do it. Spend some
extra time with the criteria
and ask for help.
Focus on
central idea or
topic
The topic for the narrative was
established early on, was
immediately engaging, and was
developed skillfully throughout.
The topic for the narrative
was established early on and
developed clearly
throughout.
The topic for the narrative was
established but, at times, was
lost in the story. More time
should be spent in the ‘before’
stage, clarifying the intent of the
narrative.
Develops a
point of view
First person point of view was
developed and maintained
throughout the essay. The
point of view added compelling
relevance to the story.
The topic, language and
organization are extremely
well-suit to the intended
audience and purpose. There is
clear understanding of the
reason for the narrative.
First person point of view
was developed and
maintained throughout the
essay. The point of view was
convincing and relevant.
The topic and language and
are appropriate for the
audience and purpose.
Some help is needed to develop
a first person point of view
which is maintained throughout
the essay.
Despite assistance, the
narrative’s topic was never
fully developed and
therefore, the message was
lost. Much more time needs
to be spent in the ‘before’
stage.
Much more attention needs
to be given to considering
and developing a point of
view.
A Awareness of
audience and
purpose
There are aspects of the topic,
language and/or organization
that do not suit the audience
and purpose. More time should
be spent considering who will
be reading the narrative and
why the story is being told.
Despite assistance, there is
clear difficulty with writing
to match the audience and
purpose. More clarification
of criteria would help.
Ideas and Information
Text
structures
and
features
Great work! This is going
extra well for you!
You did it and you did it
on your own!
Discuss purpose,
point of view
and biases
You had a deep
understanding of how the
purpose, point of view and
biases have impacted the
representation and can
elaborate on your thinking.
You can clearly identify
the purpose, point of
view and any biases
within the
representation.
Identify
underlying
values
You showed a deep
understanding of how
values impacted the
representation and were
able to expand on your
thinking.
You have a clear
understanding of fact and
opinion and how the
creator used them to
convey a specific message.
You were able to see
what values the creator
might hold and how their
values might impact their
work.
You have an in depth
understanding of text
structures and features
used and how they
impacted the viewers and
the message.
You have a good
understanding of the text
structures and features
used in the
representation.
Distinguish
between fact
and opinion
Identify text
structures and
features
You can clearly identify
which aspects of the
representation are fact
and which are opinion.
Good start. You are beginning to
make sense of this on your own.
You can do it. Spend some
extra time with the criteria
and ask for help.
With some help, you were able to Why was this representation
identify the purpose, point of
made?
view and any biases of the
What was the point of view
representation. Think a little
presented?
more about how the reason for
Were there any biases in this
making the representation might representation? What is a
have impacted the
bias and how might it look?
representation itself.
With some help, you could see
What do you know about the
how the creator’s values might
person who created this
have impacted the
representation?
representation. Spend a little
Can you see how what they
more time learning about the
value and may have affected
creator and his/her beliefs.
their work?
With some help, you can tell
What is a fact and what is an
which parts might be fact and
opinion?
which might be opinion. Make
How can you tell which is
sure you know what fact and
which in a representation?
opinion are and how they might Which did this creator use
look in a representation.
and why?
With some help, you were able to What are the parts of a
identify some structures and
representation?
features used by the creator.
What helps to organize the
Where can you learn more about message?
text structures and features used What was used in this
in representations?
representation?
Great work! This is going
extra well for you!
You did it and you did it on
your own!
Establish criteria
Has an in depth understanding Is able to state the criteria
of the criteria and how they
for the work they are doing
link to the work they are doing independently
Identify
successes
Has a specific understanding
of own strengths and how
they relate to the goals of the
work they are doing
Goals are appropriate and
specific and display an ability
to reflect deeply on own
strengths and challenges
Set goals
Take steps
toward goals by
applying
strategies
Has a clear and deep
understanding of how to
progress toward goals and
enthusiastically does so
Respond to
feedback
Seeks feedback willingly and
applies new information to
the work they are doing;
shows strong reflective
practices and good listening
skills
Good start. You are beginning
to make sense of this on your
own.
Needs a little help
remembering some of the
criteria. Make sure you know
what is most important.
Is able to describe the things Needs a little help identifying
that went well
some strengths. What went
well for you? What did you
find easy?
Is able to set goals that link
Needs a little help setting
to strengths and challenges goals that relate to the work
independently
they are doing; has trouble
linking future work to current
work
Is able identify steps needed Needs help imagining how to
to address goals and then
address goals and showing
take those steps
movement toward goals.
What areas need work?
Approaches feedback with
an open mind and a
reflective manner; makes
decisions about how to
respond to feedback and
apply it to the work they are
doing
Is showing some skill in
responding to feedback
through reflection and good
listening; needs a little help
deciding how to apply
feedback to work
You can do it. Spend some
extra time with the criteria
and ask for help.
Is unable to state the
criteria for this project on
own. What is unique about
this text form? What is the
same as other text forms?
Is unable to recognize
strengths on own
Is unable to set goals that
are appropriate and
specific; needs to spent
much more time practicing
reflection
Is unable to independently
move toward goals. Think
about the rubric for your
work. Where do you need
to improve and how can
you do it?
Much help is needed in
active listening and
deciding how to apply
feedback to work they are
doing. What did you hear?
How can you apply it?
 Find
your Hawaii partner.
 Together, construct the criteria for
reading a narrative text rubric at your
grade level.
 Consider:
 How can our sorting documents help us?
 How can our rubric supports help us?
 Be prepared to share and discuss
What
criteria are part of this
task?
Where did you fit it on your
rubric?
Does it matter if it is in the
wrong spot?
With
your partner,
choose one criterion and
fill in the four levels
(review if necessary)
Compare your new rubrics to the samples you
looked at in the beginning.
 How do we know what the criteria are for a
given task?
 Where do we get clarification about the
degree to which levels of understanding or
skill are required (descriptors or performance
standards on a rubric, for example)?
 Were there aspects of the online rubrics that
were appropriate according to our curriculum?
 Look
at the task sheet for reading a narrative.
 Highlight in one colour those aspects that
made it onto the rubric.
 Somewhere on the sheet, list those things that
appear on the rubric that do not appear in
some form on the task sheet.
With
your Hawaii partner,
reflect:
 What is the link between
criteria and the task sheet?
 Does everything on the rubric
belong on the task sheet?
 Does everything on the task
sheet belong on the rubric?
Find
your France partner and
consider:
 How does determining the criteria
assist in developing formative
assessments and in giving students
feedback?
 What makes feedback most and
least effective?
Timely
and specific
feedback is the greatest
contributing factor to
growth in learning and
skills.
With
your Thailand
partner, consider:
How does determining
the criteria clarify the
Learning Plan?
 If
we determine the destination before
embarking on the journey, we must ask
ourselves how we can ensure every child
makes the connecting flights. What skills do
they need to do so (strategies)?
 It is our job to explicitly TEACH the
understanding embedded in the criteria and
invite children to reflect on how they are
learning in addition to what they are
learning.
Task #2
Goal: Comprehend & Respond: READING, listening
Compose & Create:
WRITING
Assess & Reflect
Essential Questions: What makes poetry fun to read?
What are some of the features of poetry?
Why is poetry a unique way to express you?
1. BEFORE: Use following questions as prompt for journal writing
entry: a) How many times have you been asked, “What do you want to
be when you grow up?” Make a list of ten possible answers-real or
funny.
b) Think of a poem or a rhyme that you can say off by heart.
Write it down and explain why you remember it.
c) What do you think about poetry? Explain why you feel the way
you do.
2. DURING: Read, “When I Grow Up” for enjoyment. On second
reading, identify message. (Reader response: Personal/Critical
thinking) Read a third time and listen for rhyme scheme to identify
pattern of rhyme (couplets).
3. AFTER: Discuss how rhyme pattern adds to the enjoyment of text
and distinguishes the writing form. Consider how rhyme links to
memory. Think of nursery rhymes you can say off by heart.
Identify other features of poetry (expresses strong
feelings/emotions; figurative language; concise, takes grammatical
liberties to reflect message, can be humorous, etc.)
4. AFTER: Experiment with rhyming words.
5. AFTER: Brainstorm some of the challenges of growing up. What
changes and challenges are you facing? What are some of the pros
and cons of getting older? What are some of the challenges you will
face in the future? Experiment with rhyming couplets, to express
some of the issues that come with growing up. Develop these ideas
into a poem. Self reflect on poetry writing. (see attachment)
Other Poetry/Song Selections
“Yesterday” (Cornerstone)
“Moths and Moons” (Collections: Looking for Answers)
“I Want to Be” (Collections: Looking for Answers)
“Sunrise, Sunset” (Fiddler on the Roof)
“Cats in the Cradle” (Harry Chapin)
“I Will Take Care of You” (Amy Skye)
“Butterfly Kisses” (Bob Carlisle)
Where
can I find
things?
Model units?
Develop
and link tasks
Sort “Whats” into Unit/Year
plans and identify contexts, unit
types, and Big Ideas
Develop assessments with
criteria
Develop Learning Plans for units
Parking
lot
Burning questions
Sharing our work –
here and now and
later on…
I
now have a deeper
understanding of…
I am pleased that I…
From here, I can…