English Language Arts
Foundational Services
Peoria Regional Office of Education
Cindy Dollman
Assistant Regional Superintendent
Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS/RtI)
Statewide System of Support
Priority
Focus
Foundational
Focus Areas:
- Continuous Improvement
Process (Rising Star)
- Common Core ELA
- Common Core Math
- Teacher Evaluation
- Balanced Assessment
The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College
and Career Readiness for All Students
3
What Are the Shifts at the Heart of
PARCC Design (and the Standards)?
1. Complexity: Regular practice with
complex text and its academic language.
4
What Are the Shifts at the Heart of
PARCC Design (and the Standards)?
2. Evidence: Reading and writing grounded in
evidence from text, literary and
informational.
What Are the Shifts at the Heart of
PARCC Design (and the Standards)?
3. Knowledge: Building knowledge
through content rich nonfiction.
Nine Specific Advances in
the PARCC ELA/Literacy
Assessment Demanded by
the Three Core Shifts. . .
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The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College and
Career Readiness for All Students
Text Complexity
Close Reading
Academic
Vocabulary
8
Shift 2: Reading and writing grounded in evidence
from text, literary and informational
4. PARCC focuses on students rigorously citing evidence from texts
throughout the assessment (including selected-response items).
5. PARCC includes questions with more than one right answer to
allow students to generate a range of rich insights that are
substantiated by evidence from text(s).
6. PARCC requires writing to sources rather than writing to decontextualized expository prompts.
7. PARCC also includes rigorous expectations for narrative writing,
including accuracy and precision in writing in later grades.

Increased emphasis on
 Analysis of individual texts
 Argument and evidence
 Informative/explanatory writing
 Frequent short, focused research projects
 Comparison and synthesis of multiple sources

Decreased emphasis on
 Narrative, especially personal narrative
 Writing in response to decontextualized prompts
The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College and
Career Readiness for All Students
Text Dependent
Questions
Writing to
Sources
Narrative
Writing
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Defining:
Research
Claims for ELA/Literacy
ELA/Literacy for Grades 3–11
Master Claim
Major Claim: Reading Complex Text
SC: Vocabulary
Interpretation
and Use
SC: Reading
Literature
SC: Reading
Informational
Text
SC: Research
Major Claim: Writing
SC: Written
Expression
SC: Conventions and
Knowledge of Language

Grades 6 – 8 ELA & Literacy in content areas:
 “Conduct short research projects to answer a question…
 … drawing on several sources ….”

Grades 9 – 12 ELA & Literacy in content areas:
 “Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to
answer a question … or solve a problem… synthesize multiple
sources….”
Citing Textual Evidence
Text-Dependent Questions

A coherent sequence of text dependent questions
will scaffold students toward successfully
completing the culminating task.
 Should
ideas.
relate to core understanding and key
A Culminating Task
“The title of this selection is ‘Because of Winn-Dixie.' Using your answers from the
questions above and class discussion, explain why this is an appropriate title for the
selection. Be sure to clearly cite evidence from the text for each part of your
answer.”
“Officer Buckle’s final safety tip is 'ALWAYS STICK WITH YOUR BUDDY.' How did
he and Gloria each learn this lesson for themselves throughout the story?”
Bands
Standard One
11-CCR
Increased Ability to Use Text Evidence
6-8
4-5
2-3
K-1
www.achievethecore.org
Bands
11-CCR
Standards Two through Nine
Increasing Range and Complexity
9-10
Standard Ten
9-10
6-8
4-5
2-3
K-1
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Reading Anchor Standard 1
 Read
closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual
evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the text.
Writing Anchor Standard 9
 Draw
evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
 2.
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze
their development….
 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas
develop and interact over the course of the text.
 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific
sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text … relate
to each other and the whole.
 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in
a text, including the validity of the reasoning….
 Writing Anchor Standard 1
◦ Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
 Speaking & Listening Anchor Standard 3
◦ Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of evidence
and rhetoric.
 Speaking & Listening Anchor Standard 5
◦ Present information, findings, and supporting evidence….

Model close reading

Texts worth teaching in depth


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Draw students into the texts
thru interesting sequences

Pre-teach vocabulary or
background

DO NOT pre-teach content

Design questions so students
make their own judgments
Allow the readers space and
time to experience the texts
Designate time for rich &
rigorous conversations
ARE NOT
Low-level, literal, or recall questions
Focused on comprehension
strategies
 Just questions…
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ARE
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Can only be answered with evidence
from the text
Can be literal (checking for
understanding) but must also involve
analysis, synthesis, evaluation
Focus on word, sentence, and
paragraph, as well as larger ideas,
themes, or events.
Focus on difficult portions of text in
order to enhance reading proficiency
Can also include prompts for writing
and discussion questions
Group Activity
Evaluating Question Quality:
1)
Using the checklist provides,
evaluate the following
questions about Charlotte’s
web. (individually)
2)
In discussion, share your
evaluation and support your
thinking. (large group)
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In the beginning of the story, John Arable was going to
kill a baby pig that was a runt. What is a runt?
Explain why Mr. and Mrs. Arable believed having a runt
was a problem.
What did Fern name her pig.
Describe what Fern did to take care of a newborn pig.
Describe the barn.
Explain how Wilbur escaped from his pen. Did he enjoy
his freedom?
List five words that describe Templeton.
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Why did Mr. Arable have an ax?
What was Fern’s motive?
Why did Wilbur have to leave Fern?
Why was chapter three called “Escape?”
How does the sheep frighten Wilbur in chapter 7?
What did Mr. Zuckerman believe and why?
What did Mrs. Zuckerman believe and why?
EXAMPLES
NON-EXAMPLES
Scaffolding supports the text.
Pre-reading activities allow the text
to unfold itself to the reader,
preserving the reading experience.
 Questions lead students deeper into
the text and cause them to pay
closer attention to it.
 The classroom experiences stay
deeply connected to the text.
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
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Scaffolding supplants the text.
Pre-reading activities
pre-empt or deflate the reading
experience
“Connection” questions and
discussions lead away from the text.
Activities are not text-based.

What are the main points in each paragraph, and what
evidence did you draw upon in the text to determine
these main points?

What is the main overall idea of the passage, and what
does each paragraph contribute?

What is the narrator’s attitude toward the subject? What
details made you think this?
Step One: Identify the core understandings and key ideas of the text.
Step Two: Start small to build confidence.
Step Three: Target vocabulary and text structure.
Step Four: Tackle tough sections head-on.
Step Five: Create coherent sequences of text-dependent questions.
Step Six: Identify the standards that are being addressed.
Step Seven: Create the culminating assessment.
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When you're writing or reviewing a set of questions,
consider the following three categories:



Questions that assess themes and central idea
Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary
Questions that assess syntax and structure
Team Work Activity
Developing Text-Based Questions:
1)
Read the assigned passage.
2)
As a team, develop 2-3 textbased questions that include
rigor, higher-level thinking skills,
and critical thinking.
3)
Read the second passage.
4)
As a team, develop 2-3 textbased questions that require
students to either integrate ideas
from the two passages or identify
conflicting information between
the two.
5)
Record your work on chart paper
to share with the large group.
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
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No one right way to work with text dependent questions
Scaffolding Supports: not asking easier questions or
substituting simpler text
Listening and speaking should be built into any sequence
of activities along with reading and writing
CCSS require ALL students to read and engage with grade
appropriate complex text regularly.
Writing in the Common Core
An Overview
“Writing is the primary basis upon which your work, your
learning, and your intellect will be judged – in college, in
the workplace, and in the community.”
Marquette University
Expresses who you are
Make thinking visible
Promotes ability to pose worthwhile questions
Fosters ability to explain complex positions
Refine ideas with feedback
Anticipate readers’ needs
Preserves ideas
Builds understanding of how truth is developed
Equips you with the communication and thinking skills needed
to participate effectively in democracy.
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Writing
• 1. Write arguments
• 2. Write informative/ explanatory texts
• 3. Write narratives
• 4. Produce coherent writing
• 5. Develop & strengthen writing
• 6. Use technology
• 7. Conduct research projects
• 8. Gather & integrate information
• 9. Draw evidence
• 10. Write routinely
Narrative
• Narrative
writing tells a
story on a real
or imagined
event
Informational/
Explanatory
Opinion/
Argumentative
• Explanatory
writing gives
information or
explains what
is difficult to
understand
• Argumentative
writing gives
an opinion on
a topic and
uses support
to convinces
the reader to
agree with it
Narrative
Opinion/
Argumentative
Elementary
35%
Explain/
Inform
35%
Middle School
30%
35%
35%
High School
20%
40%
40%
30%
Narrative: conveys experience,
real or imagines, uses time as
its deep structure
Purpose
Inform
Instruct
Persuade
Entertain
Beginning
Middle
End
Narrative lead
(Engage reader with conflict by using a description or an image)
Context
(Go back in time to described origins of conflict)
Body
(Retell the experience)
Turn
(Present a highpoint, the strongest conflict)
Closing
(Return to initial image and add an insight)
Informational/explanatory
writing: conveys information
accurately
Purpose
To increase readers’
knowledge of a subject
To help reader better
understand a procedure
or process
To provide readers with
enhanced comprehension
of a concept
All About ___________________
Two things I know about ____________
1.
2.
This is a picture of ____________________
First
Next
Last
a short statement that covers the main points in a text or selection
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Use a topic sentence and a closing sentence
Keep summary short (2 – 5 sentences)
Write about the main ideas in the text, and leave out the
small details
Use key words from the text, and leave out repeated
words and phrases
Use synonyms and your own words to restate important
points

Students must be able to determine importance of
information in a text,

Note-taking Guides provide a structure for finding and
recording the most important information presented.
What I learned:
What I already
knew:
Questions I
have:
Anything extra:
Opinions in K – 5
Arguments in 6 - 12
Argument: reasoned, logical
way of demonstrating writer’s
position, belief, or conclusion
is valid
To change reader’s
point of view
To bring about some
action on the reader’s
part
To ask the reader to
accept the writer’s
explanation or
evaluation of a concept,
issue, or problem
Opinion Writing
How you feel
about something
K – state an opinion or preference
1 – state an opinion and supply a reason
2 – state an opinion, supply reasons, and use linking words to
connect them (e.g., because)
 3 – state an opinion, provide reasons, and use linking words and
phrases to connect them (e.g., since, for example)
 4 – state an opinion, provide reasons that are supported by facts
and details, and use words and phrases to link them (e.g., in order
to, in addition)
 5 – state an opinion, provide logically ordered reasons supported
by facts and details, and use words, phrases, and clauses to link
them (e.g., consequently, specifically)



55
How you feel about something
Reason 1
Reason 2
Reason 3
Restate Opinion
Introduce your claim
(Make your point)
Support claim with Evidence
(Use facts from credible sources)
Explain how evidence supports the claim
(Creates cohesion between point & evidence)
Create a link between each point
(Creates cohesion throughout the piece)
Human Line Graphs

Solicit reasons from both sides of room

Brainstorm reasons
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I like, adore, love, enjoy
I dislike, despise, detest
I think
I agree
I disagree
I feel
I believe
Like/Dislike
• Adore
• Love
• Enjoy
• Hate
• Detest
• Despise
• Want
Good/Bad
• Great
• Wonderful
• Nice
• Terrific
• Best
• Delicious
• Terrible
• Horrible
• Disgusting
Pretty/Ugly
• Cute
• Beautiful
• Handsome
• Gorgeous
• Attractive
• Unattractive
• Plain
• Unsightly
• Horrid
• Hideous
Important
• Not
important
• Necessary
• Not
necessary
• Should
• Must
• Have to
• Need
• Ought to
Thinking
Words
• Hard
• Easy
• Think
• Too + _____
• Thought
• Know
• Believe
• Feel
• Very
• Extremely
• Boring
• Interesting
• Strange
• Exciting
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I disagree with _____ because _____.
I agree with _____ because _____.
I think _____ because _____.
My theory is _____ because _____.
My claim is _____ because _____.
I predict _____ because _____.
I question _____ because _____.
I infer _____ because _____.

Students must create a balanced response.
Integrating
Interpretation
of Text
Text-based
Support
Prompt Statement
Key Idea
Explanation
Support
from Text
Closing Statement
Restate the question
Answer the question
Citing from the stimulus x2
End your Response
Restate the question with key
word(s)
Answer the question (thesis
statement)
Citing Evidence x2 and Clarify
Ending the Response
RACE Strategy
R
Restate the
question.
A
Answer the
question.
C
Connection (textto-text, text-toself, text-toworld)
For example…
E
Ending sentence
restating your
main idea.
That is why…
Constructed
Response
(routinely)
Narratives
4th & 5th: two to three
Analyses
4th : three to four
5th: three to five
Research
Project
(one)
Cite Evidence
Analyze Content
Study and Apply
Grammar
Study and Apply
Vocabulary
Conduct Discussions & Report Findings
CCR.W.10 Write routinely over
extended time frames (time for
research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day
or two) for a range of tasks,
purposes, and audiences.

Writing to learn tasks

Response to short text
selections

Open ended questions

Informal writing projects
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Notes
Summaries
Learning Logs
Response to short selections
Open ended questions
Dual Entry Journals
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Research projects
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Multimedia products

Formal compositions with multiple revisions
Modeled
Shared
Guided
Independent
INTRODUCES
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Teacher demonstrates writing strategies
Teacher provides a proficient model
Teacher models the writing process
OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL TO SUCCEED
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Writing task is shared by teacher and students
Writing comes from students’ thoughts and ideas
Teachers identify and discuss conventions, structures, and
language
WORKING WITH GROUPS
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Develops independence
Students work on specific skills and strategies (teacher
observation)
Context of authentic writing tasks
Students develop self-monitoring skills
PRACTICE
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Write for authentic purposes
Write with a variety of styles
Teacher conferencing
“Published”works
Notebooks in which students record their thoughts about a text.
Write one word that was important to your reading today.
Write one sentence that shows what was important in your reading today.
Write a fact or piece of information about one part that would be interesting to
discuss with a partner or group.
• Sketch one part you found to be interesting. Use captions or labels to show what
is happening.
• Write your opinion about this book or section. Use ideas from the text to
support your thinking.
• Write down what you think are the main ideas.
• Write about a connection you made to the book.
• Write about a connection between this book and another book.
•
•
•
Provide opportunities for students to share their journals with you or with a partner.
LITERATURE
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Title:
Author:
Characters and Traits:
Setting:
Problem:
Solution:
I made a connection, prediction,
inference, questions, visualization
(select one) and describe:
INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Title:
Author:
Main Idea:
Detail:
 Detail:
 Detail:
 Summary:
 New words I learned:
 New information that I learned
from the text:
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Interactive journals are notebooks in which students participate in short
written conversations about what they are reading.

To introduce the process, provide each student with a notebook,
showing where to write or draw, and where to leave room for a peer
to respond.
Let students know that the journals will be a place for sharing ideas about their reading.
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1. Instruct student-teams to decide on a selected amount of text to read
closely and to then be prepared to exchange their thoughts in writing.
To get the written conversations started, the students can brainstorm
some generic prompts or you can offer your own.
2. At the agreed-upon stopping point, students write their responses and
then trade journals to respond to the partner.
They may exchange journals two or three times during a reading session, deciding on new prompts and
stopping points as they go.
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Writing to Sources

Analytical writing tied to literary and informational texts;
writing in response to texts; writing about texts
 Students analyze the text, make valid claims about the text, and
support those claims with evidence from the text.
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Writing arguments and informational reports from sources
Using evidence from texts to present careful analyses,
well-defended claims, and clear information
Generating reports from research; writing from multiple
sources

Grades K – 2:
 “Participate in shared research and writing project ….”

Grades 3 – 5:
 “Conduct short research projects … that build knowledge
 … of a topic

Grades K – 2
 “… Recall information from experiences or gather information
from provided sources … .”

Grades 3 – 5
 “Recall information from experiences or gather information from
print and digital sources … .”

4th grade (literature)
◦ 4.RL.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text.

4th grade (informational text)
◦ 4.RI.6. Compare and contrast a firsthand and second hand account of the same
event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

5th grade (literature)
◦ 5.RL.3. Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a
story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters
interact).

5th grade (informational text)
◦ 5.RI. 6. Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important
similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

6th grade ELA (literary nonfiction)
◦ 6.RI.8. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text,

distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims
that are not.
8th grade ELA (literature)
◦ 6.RL.3. Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama

propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
9-10th grade Literacy (informational text)
◦ 9-10.RH. 9. Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several
primary and secondary sources.
◦ 9-10.RST.8. Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text
support the author’s claim or recommendation for solving a scientific or technical
problem.
Extensive practice on short,
focused research projects
 More
typical of the workplace
 Allows students to repeat the research process many times
and develop the expertise needed to conduct research
independently
 A progression of shorter research projects also encourages
students to develop expertise in one area by confronting
and analyzing different aspects of the same topic as well as
other texts and source materials on that topic
 More sustained research efforts at higher grades
Team Discussion
Writing Prompts ‘before’ an ‘after’
the Common Core
1)
Read ‘before’ and ‘after’
writing prompts for each grade
level.
2)
Identify the differences
between the ‘before’ and
‘after.’
3)
As a team, discuss:
1)
2)
How differences reflect the intent
of the Common Core
How this will impact your
instructional practices
 Mentor
Texts
 Graphic
Organizers
 Engaging
21st century learners

Step 1. Study the photograph for 2 minutes. Form an overall
impression of the photograph and then examine individual
items. List people, objects, and activities in the photograph.

Step 2. Inference
Based on what you have observed above, list three things you
might infer from this photograph.

Step 3. Questions
What questions do these photographs raise in your mind?
Now choose one and use that question to formulate a short
analysis.
If a picture says a thousand words…
Photos as Springboards to Writing
Taken from www.timeforkids.com
What does a video say?
31 secs
Start at 1:12
3:28
4:17
1:12
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Focus: writing types rather than writing process
Writing is strongly connected to the reading standards
Language standards should be incorporated into writing
Writing standards includes a research component
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Students must write every day
Establishing a 45 minute writing block allows for students
to work through the writing process
Give students choices
Students are motivated by their own experiences and
interests
Establish routines
Set high expectations and build stamina
PARCC

Model Content Frameworks

Types of Writing
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Evidence Tables
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Rubrics
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Illinois Writing Matters
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Rubrics
Exemplars
Mentor Texts
On-Demand Writing
Talking comes 1st
Write 3 new things you
learned…
Write 2 questions you have….
Write 1 thing you will
implement in your
classroom….
Thank You
Peoria Regional Office of Education
Cindy Dollman, Assistant Reg. Supt.
cdollman@peoriaroe48.net