Parent Leadership Academy
Workshop
How to Help Your Child Succeed in the
Common Core
English-Language Arts Standards
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Presented by:
Dr. Beth Bray, Supervisor
Diana Munoz, Elementary Coach
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
What we hope you will learn
today:
● Key ideas regarding the Common Core
Standards in English-language arts (ELA)
● ABCUSD ELA focus areas
● Strategies to help your child in each focus
area
● Other resources available in each focus
area
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
A Quick
English-language arts Review
The standards were written by planning
backwards from college to kindergarten.
The English-language arts anchor standards
are the same for all grades.
The anchor standards build in complexity to
prepare students to be college and career
ready.
Reading includes literature and informational
text.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Top three things you should know
about Common Core
This is not a federal mandate or curriculum.
● Standards are adopted by the state board of education.
● They were created by teachers, college professors and
researchers based on what students will need to be successful
in college and career.
Common Core is not taking away local control.
● Each state and/or district decides how they will meet the
standards.
You will feel some shifts and that is a good thing!
● Students are being asked to do more than finding answers and
completing tasks. They are now being asked to reason, work
through complex problems and reading both fiction and nonfiction books.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Common Core State StandardsEnglish-language arts
English-language arts standards are based
on anchor standards which build upon each
other from Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Anchor Standards
#
Reading Informational
10
Reading Literature
10
Writing
10
Listening and Speaking
6
Language
6
Foundational Skills (K-5th)
4
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
Three types of text-dependent
questions
1. Questions that assess themes or
central ideas
2. Questions that assess knowledge of
vocabulary
3. Questions that assess syntax and
structure
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
1. Questions that assess themes or
central ideas
These questions focus on theme,
interaction of characters, changes in the
story over time, or important events in
the story.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
1. Questions that assess themes or central
ideas
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other
animals. "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put
forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with
me."
The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge.”
"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance
round you all the way."
"Keep your boasting till you've won," answered the
Tortoise. "Shall we race?"
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare
darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to
show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap.
The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare
awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the
winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.
Then the Tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the
race."
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Sample Questions
1. What lesson is taught in this story?
a. Being fast helps you win.
b. Tortoises are faster than hares.
c. It is better to keep going and not give up.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
2. Which sentence from “The Tortoise and the
Hare” tells the lesson?
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
2. Questions that assess knowledge of
vocabulary
These questions focus use word
knowledge to answer questions about
the text.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
2. Questions that knowledge of
vocabulary
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
3. Questions that assess syntax and
structure
These questions are crafted to point
students’ attention to features in the
text that enhance understanding.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
3. Questions that assess syntax and
structure
What words or phrases grab
your attention?
How does the author help you
learn about the setting?
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
3. Questions that assess syntax and
structure
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Text Dependent vs. Non TextDependent Questions
3rd Grade Comparison
’97 California
Standards
Common Core
Standards
Why do you think
puffins come ashore on
inhabited islands as
well as uninhabited
one?
Puffins spend most of
their lives on ocean
water. They rarely
come to land. Why are
they flying to the island
at the beginning of the
story? Provide textual
evidence.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Asking your Child
Text Dependent Questions
Read the passage from the story, “Nights
of the Pufflings”
●
Working in groups at your tables, create
a text-dependent question to ask other
groups
How do the _____ feel about the
________? (pg. ___)
How does the picture on page __,
help the reader understand
_______________?
What details does the author
What phrases did the author use
include that shows ___________? to describe__________? Explain
(pg.___)
in your own words what the
phrase means.
What does the word ______
mean on page ____?
Cite evidence from the text that
__________________. (pg. ___)
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #1
Text- Dependent Questions
What can parents do?
● Talk about the books or stories your child is
reading.
● Ask your child to explain their thinking.
● What did you read to support your thinking?
● What did you learn after reading this
sentence or paragraph?
● What supporting details does the author use?
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Text-Dependent Question
Resources
www.readwritethink.org
www.learninga-z.com
www.achievethecore.org
www.bookadventure.com
www.learnzillion.com
www.pbs.org
www.funbrain.com
www.playkidsgames.com
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #2
Academic Vocabulary
● They are critical to understanding
academic texts.
● They appear in all sorts of texts.
● They require deliberate effort to learn.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
● They are far more likely to appear in
written texts than in speech.
Elementary
Division
● They often represent subtle or precise
ways to say otherwise relatively simple
things.
● They are seldom heavily scaffolded by
authors or teachers.
Three ELA Focus Areas
Academic Vocabulary
Vocabulary in Context
Reading Standard 4
Interpret words and phrases as they are
used in a text and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Vocabulary Matrix
Text: Nights of the Pufflings
Word
Word
uninhabited
pg. 21
stranded
pg. 27
roaming
pg. 27
Definition
Definition
Related Words
Related Words
Sentence
Sentence
They are coming
back to Halla’s
island and the
nearby
uninhabited
islands to lay
eggs and raise
puffin chicks.
Halla and her
friends will spend
each night
searching for
stranded
pufflings that
don’t make it to
the water.
By ten o’clock the
streets of
Heimaey are
alive with
roaming
children.
Visual
Visual
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #2
Academic Vocabulary
Critical Vocabulary
Questions to Consider:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/improving-student-vocabulary
❖ How does Ms. Kim make vocabulary a
natural part of the classroom?
❖ How does the students' response to this
strategy change over time?
❖ Is this something you could do with your
child?
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Critical Vocabulary you can use with children
Instead of saying
Use critical vocabulary
What are the differences
between these two?
How would you
DISTINGUISH these two?
How can you put these into
groups?
How can you
CLASSIFY……?
Let’s work this problem.
Let’s ANALYZE this
problem.
What do you think would have What do you SPECULATE
happened if…?
would have happened if….?
How do you know that’s true? What EVIDENCE do you
have to support your claim?
How else could you use
this?
How could you APPLY
this?
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #2
Academic Vocabulary
What can parents do?
● Become familiar with their student’s assigned
vocabulary words and provide opportunities
for them to practice using these words in daily
interactions.
● Read multiple books about the same topic.
● Talk to your children.
● Read to your children.
● Listen to your children.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Vocabulary Resources
www.englishcompanion.com
www.vocabulary.com/
www.visualthesaurus.com/
www.vocabgrabber.com
www.learninga-z.com
www.achievethecore.org
www.learnzillion.com
www.learninggamesforkids.com
www.pbs.org
www.funbrain.com
www.playkidsgames.com
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #3
Writing from sources
● Students can read a text closely to
determine meaning both literally and
inferentially.
● Students speak and write using
evidence from the text to inform or
make an argument.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Informational Narrative Prompt
GRADE 3
Nights of the Pufflings
In Nights of the Pufflings, the children take care of pufflings and
release them back into the wild. Imagine you visited Heimaey
Island during the nights of the pufflings. What would you do to
help the pufflings get to safety?
Write an essay about your time on Heimaey Island. Describe
the animals and the habitat of the island. Use facts from the
story to tell about your activities. Use dialogue and descriptions
of actions, thoughts, and feelings to show what happens in the
story. Give your story an ending.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Three ELA Focus Areas
Focus #3
Writing from sources
What can parents do?
● Provide opportunity for your student to read a
wide variety of genre, which exposes students to
different types of writing.
● Cultivate a home environment that inspires
students to write:
○ Video journal of their vacation
○ Neighborhood Newsletter
○ Letters to Congress with evidence to support
their claim/position
● Encourage students to use technology to publish
their work.
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Writing Resources
www.writingfix.com
www.theteacherscorner.net
www,thestorystarter.com
www.readwritethink.org
www.learninga-z.com
www.kids.usa.gov
www.netrover.com
www.funenglishgames.com
www.learnzillion.com
www.pbs.org
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Links to the Common
Core Standards
ELA CCSS
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelac
cssstandards.pdf
Math CCSS
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssma
thstandardaug2013.pdf
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division
Questions
Please feel free to contact us if you have
any other questions.
Dr. Beth Bray- beth.bray@abcusd.us
(562) 926-5566 ext. 21075
Diana Munoz- diana.munoz@abcusd.us
(562) 926-5566 ext. 21078
Office of
Curriculum
and
Professional
Learning
Elementary
Division