Literacy Design Collaborative
Session Two, Two Day Training
WELCOME TO THE COLORADO
LITERACY DESIGN
COLLABORATIVE
Session Two, Two Day Training
Sharing Successes & Challenges
• In your table group, select a recorder and reporter
• Make a T-Chart of Successes and Challenges
• Be prepared to report out
LDC and PARCC
• Colorado has decided to be a PARCC state
• PARCC will assess student achievement of the Common
Core
• LDC will help students learn the literacy skills required by
the Common Core
The PARCC Assessments
• Read the released sample item from the PARCC
Assessment
• Review of each section – what did you notice?
• In pairs, discuss the three guiding questions at the back
of the handout
• Be prepared to report out from pairs to whole group
Other Examples
• Examples of what assessments might look like in ELA
and other content areas can be found at:
www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf
Deconstructing the LDC Rubric
Form groups of 4
• Identify who is going to “teach” each chunk of scoring
elements
For your scoring element(s)
• Identify vocabulary that will need direct instruction to
support student comprehension
• Identify the key differences between each rating level (1-4)
Share your analysis with your other group members
Deconstruction Worksheet
• Use the worksheet, “Literacy Design Collaborative Rubric
Deconstruction Worksheet
• Follow the instructions, paraphrasing each of the
elements as you would explain them to your students
LDC and PARCC Rubric Comparison
• Read the draft PARCC rubric
• How do the LDC rubrics compare with the PARCC
rubric?
• How are they alike?
• How are they different?
• Share your comparison with a partner
Practice Scoring Student Work Samples
• Form groups of 4
• Pick one of the student work samples to score
• Use the Anchor Paper Annotation Form to record your
notes as you determine the score for each element
• Once you are done, raise your hand to get the “official
scoring” for your paper
• Discuss any differences
Scoring Student Work from First Modules
• Insights from our Teacher Trainers
• Score student work in trios
Reflecting on Practice
• What do I need to consider changing or revising when
writing my second module?
• What am I going to change in my instructional practice
based on what I have learned? (Relate to Educator
Effectiveness)
• Do a quick-write of your answers to these questions and
any reflections or questions you have
Review of Example Module
• Look at the Teaching Task Section: Overview, Student
Background, Task, and Text Selection
• Look at the Skills Section: Notice the Grade Level
Expectations
• Look at the mini-tasks
Review of the Module
• Using the Module Review Sheet, review 3 Modes of
Academic Writing and write one or two comments in
each category
• Share with a partner when finished
• Identify three things you would do differently in your
module
Beginning Your Second Module: Teaching
Task
• Select a curriculum focus for second semester where
you will use your module
• Write your Teaching Task for this module
• Have the consultant or one of the Teacher Trainers
review your task
Text Selection
Ask yourself….Will the texts and/or multimedia I’ve chosen
provide the students with the information they need to
completely respond to the prompt?
Check….
the ‘do-ability’ of the task by using the
readings to complete the task yourself
Choose Texts and Multi-Media
•Text selection is critical!
•Look for the perfect balance:
• reading level of students
• complexity of text (demands on skills and stamina of reader)
• background knowledge required for comprehension
• sufficiency of content for writing task
•Keep “Gradual Release” in mind:
• whole group
• small group
• independent
•Be sure text provides students with information needed to respond
completely to the teaching task
Special Note
If you are constructing an argumentation task, be sure the quantity and content of
texts are not biased.
The Dimensions of Text Complexity
Why Text Complexity Matters
ACT Reading Between the Lines, 2006
Change in text complexity in textbooks
over the last century
Source: Metametrics
Text Complexity
It is critical that all students develop the skill,
concentration, and stamina to read complex texts
for success in college and the workplace.
CCSS emphasizes regular practice with complex
text and academic language.
Why Practice with Complex Text?
• Gap exists between college and high school texts
• Reading complex text is a predictor for success in
college and the workplace
• Reading levels of students and adults has declined (50
% graduates proficient)
• CCSS challenge teachers to provide scaffolded
instruction for every learner and to use complex text
Features of Complex Text
Structure
• Simple/Complex
• Conventional/Unconventional
• Subtle and/or frequent transitions
• Length of paragraphs or mixed structures
Language
• Literal/Figurative
• Contemporary/Archaic
• Vocabulary load
Features of Complex Text
Knowledge Demands (cultural/literary)
• Simple/complex themes
• Single/multiple themes
• Experiences and perspectives same or different from
one’s own
Knowledge Demands (content/discipline)
• Familiar/specific discipline
• Low interference to high intertextuality (many
references to citations of other texts)
Scaffolding Complex Text
Support Student Learning to Meet Standard 10
Students read complex text at
each grade level independently
•
•
•
•
Multiple readings
Read Aloud
Chunking text
Provide support while reading
What strategies do you currently
use that support students using
more complex or difficult text?
Exit Ticket
1. I used to think_____________________________
2. Now, I think_______________________________
3. One idea I learned about LDC today was________
4. One question I have is_______________________
5. I want to learn more about____________________
Day 2
• Review of Agenda
• Summary of Feedback
Reminder of LDC Module
Skills and Instruction Guided by Grade Level
Expectations from CCSS
• The Skills section needs to be refined to reflect the
grade-level expectations of the selected skills
• An exemplary mini-task needs to reflect the grade-level
expectations for the skill being taught
Finding the Connection
• Look at grade-level standards 7.1, 7.2, and 7.4 on p. 5 of
3 Academic Modes of Writing
• How are these standards addressed in the Reading
Skills Cluster on p. 7?
• Which mini-tasks teach these skills? (pp. 10-12)
• Discuss in pairs
Individual Exploration of the CCSS Grade
Level Expectations
• Select the appropriate grade-level handout
• Select one reading and one writing grade level
expectation that you are most comfortable teaching
• Select one reading and one writing grade level
expectation that you are least comfortable teaching
• Connections: Connect with two people, one at a time,
and share your answers (5 minutes per round)
The Teaching Task
• Revise if needed
• Complete all sections of the Teaching Task tab in
Module Creator
• Use the learning from the review of the Exemplar
Module
Advice from Teacher Trainers
• Lessons Learned
Top Ten: Do NOT
• Do all of the built-in mini-tasks in one module; mini-tasks
are selected based on skills to be taught. You can also
add them if needed.
• Underestimate what your kids are capable of doing
• Select all digital texts
• Think of a module as necessarily a whole unit
• Make assumptions about what kids have learned about
writing in English class
More Do NOTs
• Cut the time too short
• Stress-out…this is a pilot
• Work in isolation
• Make a module huge, check every standard and select
15,000 resources
• Underestimate the power of making mistakes
Top Ten: To DOs
• Talk to other teachers: collaborate and create crossdisciplinary modules
• Give intentional directions for developing parts of the
writing process
• Incorporate lab experiences and authentic writing to hook
students
• Share and clone modules with colleagues
• Make the module your own
More To DOs
• Remember that mini-tasks are the most important part of
the modules
• Use media, not only texts for resources
• Incorporate Socratic Seminars
• Add lessons you love into your module mini-tasks
• Go for depth, not broad coverage of material
Completing Your Module
• Will do this section by section
• Teacher Trainers will help vet a section before you move
on
• Remember: Focus on Grade Level Expectations!
Resources for Module Development
Skills Selection
• Use Module Creator to select your skills
• Add at least ONE grade-level expectation to each skill in
the reading cluster and ONE to each in the writing cluster
• Eventually all skills should be refined to be grade-level
specific
• Have your skills section vetted
Constructing Mini-Tasks
• Text-Dependent Questions
• Close Reading
Tools for Teachers
Close Reading & Text-Dependent Questions
Implementing Key Shifts in the CCSS—Part Two
Key Shifts in the Standards
Reading Complex Texts In-Depth
Students can build
knowledge through
close reading of
materials facilitated by
text-dependent
questions that require
evidence drawn from
what they have read.
“Close Reading” and Anchor Reading
Standards
The CCSS Anchor Reading Standards:
•
Prioritize the “close reading” skills of extracting
evidence and making inferences (Standard 1)
when reading complex text (Standard 10)
•
Frame the performance of the intervening
Anchor Standards 2-9 as relying on the central
“close reading” skill of citing specific textual
evidence from complex text
•
Create a ladder that students must climb to
demonstrate college and career readiness
Why focus on “close reading”?
“One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards
for Reading is that all students… must be able to read and
comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex
texts commonly found in college and careers.”
--CCSS Appendix A, pg. 2
In the context of an “effective, comprehensive reading program
designed to develop proficient readers with the capacity to
comprehend texts across a range of types and disciplines (CCSS
ELA & Literacy, pg. 15),” “close reading” instruction facilitated by a
skilled teacher is one of many research-based strategies that can
help students become independent and proficient readers of
increasingly complex texts.
Why Depth Through “Close Reading”
Matters
Close reading instruction:
•
Motivates students by rewarding
them for reading inquisitively
•
Requires careful attention to how
the text unfolds through asking
text-dependent questions
•
Focuses on building knowledge
through the strategic use of textdependent questions
•
Can prepare students for the kinds
of reading tasks they will encounter
after graduation
Time to Reflect
Educators must become
deeply familiar with “close
reading” as readers in
order to design and
deliver effective “close
reading” instruction.
Encouraging Close Reading
One strategy for encouraging Close Reading is the
use of Text-Dependent Questions.
Writing Text Dependent Questions
What are Text-Dependent Questions?
•
Draw the reader back to the text
to discover what it says
•
Have concrete and explicit
answers rooted in the text
•
Frame inquiries in ways that do
not rely on a mix of personal
opinion, background
information, and imaginative
speculation
Creating Text-Dependent Questions
• An effective text dependent question delves into a text to
guide students in extracting the key meanings or ideas
and events found there
• To achieve this end, text dependent questions begin by
exploring specific words, details, explanations and
arguments
• They then investigate the text by utilizing the Anchor
and/or Grade-level Reading Standards to generate the
question
Review and Revise
• Read the Handout, Text-Dependent Questions and the
CCSS
• Revise your questions as needed to be effective textdependent questions
Tools for Creating
Text-Dependent Questions:
Text-Dependent Question Worksheet
A systematic
approach to
creating textdependent
questions for
complex texts
while aligning
them with the
demands of
the CCSS.
USING TEXT
DEPENDENT
QUESTIONS TO
SUPPORT CLOSE
READING
Creating Text-Dependent
Questions for Informational Text
From Martin Luther King’s note to
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”:
Begun on the margins of the
newspaper in which the statement
appeared while I was in jail, the
letter was continued on scraps of
writing paper supplied by a friendly
Negro trusty, and concluded on a
pad my attorneys were eventually
permitted to leave me.
Creating Text-Dependent
Questions for Informational Text
From Martin Luther King’s note to
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”:
Begun on the margins of the
newspaper in which the statement
appeared while I was in jail, the letter
was continued on scraps of writing
paper supplied by a friendly Negro
trusty, and concluded on a pad my
attorneys were eventually permitted to
leave me.
Creating Text-Dependent
Questions for Informational Text
From Martin Luther King’s note to
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”:
Begun on the margins of the
newspaper in which the statement
appeared while I was in jail, the
letter was continued on scraps of
writing paper supplied by a friendly
Negro trusty, and concluded on a
pad my attorneys were eventually
permitted to leave me.
Creating Text-Dependent
Questions for Informational Text
From Martin Luther King’s note to “Letter from Birmingham Jail”:
Begun on the margins of the newspaper in which the statement
appeared while I was in jail, the letter was continued on scraps of
writing paper supplied by a friendly Negro trusty, and concluded
on a pad my attorneys were eventually permitted to leave me.
Work on Mini-Tasks
• Begin designing mini-tasks for your selected skills
• Make sure at least one mini-task for reading and one for
writing reflect grade-level expectations
• Have vetted
In Closing
• Instructions for next session
• Available Support (PDS Units)
• Debrief
• Evaluation
Participant Expectations
• Finish and implement second module
• Collect student work to use in Session III
• Focus on grade-level expectations for CCSS Literacy
Standards
• Teach reading and writing skills directly through the minitasks
Add contact information for LDC trainer