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Boyle County – Rural county in South Central
Kentucky
County Seat – Danville
Boyle County Schools – 3 Elementary
Schools, 1 Middle School, and 1 High School
Enrollment – 2650 Students
Boyle County High School – 850 + Students
Boyle County Middle School – 650 + Students
Top 20 District in Kentucky (Based on KCCT Data)
11th Ranked District in Kentucky (Based on 8th grade
EXPLORE Data)
 Focus on College Readiness:
- Early College Program
- 61% Pass Rate on AP Exams
 Heavy focus on high-quality teaching (Boyle County
Blueprint for Success)
 Selected as one of only 6 districts in Kentucky to
participate in CCSSO and Stupski Foundation’s
Partnership for Next Generation Learning (PNxGL)
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Chosen as one of only 4 districts initially to send
representatives to Santa Monica, CA
 Now in Year 2, Phase 2 of LDC implementation
 25 high school and middle school teachers
participating, including:
 ELA teachers
 Social Studies teachers
 Science teachers
 Business/Tech teachers
 Agriculture teachers
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Template Tasks/Teaching Tasks – prompts with
scoring rubrics
 Instructional Ladder - outlines the skills to be
built around the teaching task
 Instructional Modules – small segments of study
that focus on skills and information needed in
order for students to complete the teaching
tasks
 Common Core Literacy Standards built into
templates
 All tasks tied to primary and secondary text
sources (reading connection)
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* Task = The Bulls Eye inside the Module
* Module is inside the Unit
UNIT
MODULE
TASK
Question: When do I use LDC
teaching tasks in my
classroom?
Answer: When it is the best
way to assess the content I
am teaching
“Hammers do not build, needles do not sew, and LDC
resources do not generate richer levels of student
learning on their own. In the hands of skilled
practitioners, though, good tools can speed the work,
whether the craft in question is building, quilting, or
equipping the next generation with the literacy skills
they need for adult success.”
LDC design team,
The LDC Guidebook for Teachers
LDC Introduction to Construction
8
LDC template tasks are “shells” of assignments
that ask students to read, write, and think about
important academic content in science, social
studies, English, or another subject.
Teachers fill in those shells, deciding the texts
students will read, the writing students will
produce, and the content students will engage.
Template tasks come with rubrics for scoring
students’ work and specifications of the
Common Core State Standards the resulting
tasks will address.
Some template tasks provide optional additions
(levers) to the basic assignment, allowing
teachers an additional way to vary the level of
work students will create.
LDC Introduction to Construction
10
[Insert essential question] After reading ___________
(literature or informational texts), write an ________
(essay or substitute) that addresses the question and
support your position with evidence from the text(s).
L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views. L3 Give
examples from past or current events or issues to
illustrate and clarify your position.
LDC design team,
Template Task Bank
LDC Introduction to Construction
11
LDC: Teaching Task Design
12
LDC: Module Completion
13
Maggie Brewer
Boyle County High School
September 27, 2011
College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standards for Writing:
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
 Model good reading and writing strategies
 Tasks helped students to connect what they
read to what they needed to write
Students needed help with each step of the
writing process
 The rubric made scoring more clear
 Not all students turned in their papers…but
those who did had much stronger
outcomes than submitted in previous
years.
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Creating a common writing vocabulary
 Finding primary
and secondary
sources for all reading levels
 Creating tasks and modules
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Sharing with other content
teachers
Why does prejudice exist in the world?
After reading excerpts from The Nature of Prejudice,
the essay “I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent”,
and one or more other article/s/essays of your choice,
write an argumentative essay that addresses the
question and support your position with evidence
from the text.
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Would Odysseus be considered a hero in
the 21st century? After reading the Odyssey
and texts about heroism, write an
argumentative essay that addresses the
question and support your position with
evidence from the texts.
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After reading about the Indian Removal Act in
the text book and the article, “Whitey, Go
Home”, write an editorial that argues your
position, pro or con, on whether or not nonnatives should be forced to move from a
reservation. Support your position with
evidence from the reading.
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After researching articles on religious
discrimination, write an essay (write a
speech) that defines religious discrimination
and explain how it still exists today. Support
your discussion with evidence from your
research.
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Should the Amazon rainforest be used for
human benefit or be preserved in its natural
state? After reading “Last of the Amazon”
and excerpts from the chapter “Land Use
Conflict in the Amazon Rainforest”, write an
essay that addresses the question and
support your position with evidence from the
text. (6th grade science)
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Does race affect the way we view different
cultures and people? After reading the
excerpt of “Cry the Beloved Country” and the
short story “After You, my Dear Alphonse”
write an essay that addresses the question of
race and stereotypes and support your
position with evidence from the text. (High
School Social Studies)
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Should we invest resources into producing
bio-fuels in sufficient quantities to replace
petroleum-based fuels? After reading “The
Case Against Biofuels: Probing Ethanol’s
Hidden Cost” and the website
www.biofuel.org , write an editorial that
addresses the question and support your
position with evidence from the text. (High
School Agriculture)
Many students were not accustomed for this
level of thinking or writing. They also lacked
fundamental skills.
 With the introduction of the task, they
panicked….but only for a moment!
 They needed a good amount of scaffolding to
decrease their anxiety and increase their
knowledge.
 Teachers are an integral part of the process.
(They must work extremely hard to facilitate the
learning that must take place.)
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Argumentative essays can be fun for
students; teenagers like to argue!
Overall, the template tasks allowed my
students to produce the BEST writing I have
ever received.
Finding good sources of text is sometimes
very difficult
LDC can create a common vocabulary among
teachers and students
It was a difficult, but rewarding, process.
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Graphic Organizers
Notes (argumentation vs. persuasion, MLA
format, etc.)
PowerPoints (thesis statements, paragraphs)
Outlines
Scaffolding = One of the “keys” to success for
students
Contact Information:
David Young
Assistant Superintendent
Boyle County Schools
David.young@boyle.kyschools.us
(859) 236-6634