Monty Wilson : Presenter
6-12 Supervisor, Wilson County Schools
CTE
Competencies
After today …

Why did Tennessee Adopt CCSS?

Why We Need Common Core: A Parody
Comparison of Student Progress
What is Literacy?

The Literacy Challenge

Unlike mathematics, social
studies, agriculture, or
any other class, secondary
literacy is not a discipline.
It is “homeless” in that it
belongs to everyone and
no one. Literacy is used in
secondary classrooms, but
it is not taught in a
systematic way in a single
class.
Shared Responsibility for Students’
Literacy Development

CCSS insists that
literacy
instruction be a
shared
responsibility in
the school.
In addition, districts can
add Literacy Development
in all other classes in order
to further support
Common Core and Student
Literacy.
“Because the ELA classroom must
focus on literature (stories, drama,
and poetry) and literary nonfiction,
a great deal of informational
reading in grades 6–12 must take
place in other classes. “ - PARCC
Common Core
identifies the role
History, Science,
and Technical
Subjects (CTE)
teach Literacy.
Different Types of Reading

Huh?!?!
Monty can read, analyze, and critically review
Moby Dick, but he can’t read this!

TNCORE Instructional Shifts
1) Build knowledge
through content-rich
nonfiction
2) Reading, writing, and
speaking grounded in
evidence from the text
3) Regular practice with
complex text and its
academic language
PARCC

 The PARCC assessment will be implemented in the 2014-15
school year. All students enrolled in English 1, English 2, and
English 3 will take the PARCC assessments.
 All PARCC assessment questions will require students to refer
back to a text (or multiple texts).
 Writing assignments will require students to write the
following types of responses:
1. Narrative
2. Informative / Explanatory
3. Opinion / Argument
Textual Evidence

Teachers must shift away from free response writing
assignments and replace with writing activities where
students are required to reference the text.
How can I start to meet the demands of
Common Core and the TNCORE
Instructional Shifts for Literacy as a CTE
teacher?
The Five Step Process

Step 1 – Identify rich, complex Informational Text in your subject
area (Identify Lexile Level if possible)
Step 2 – Read article for content and identify academic vocabulary,
words with multiple meanings, etc.
Step 3 – Design “PARCC-Like” Vocabulary Question(s)
Step 4 – Use LDC Template Tasks to design a Common Core
inspired Literacy Writing Task
Step 5 – Assign Tasks to students and grade them focusing on
providing appropriate feedback
LDC Template Tasks

 Template Tasks are a result of the Literacy Design Collaborative
(Gates Foundation)
 Currently Kentucky (the only state who has already taught
Common Core Standards) uses Template Tasks.
 Each of the 25 tasks require students to:
1. Write products as specified by the common core (focusing on
argumentation, narrative, or informational/explanatory)
2. Apply common core literacy standards to all classes, for all
students
LDC Template Task Shell
(Informational/Explanatory Strand – Task 12)

[Insert question] After reading ________ (literature or
informational texts), write a/an ________ (essay,
report, or substitute) that defines ________ (term or
concept) and explains ________ (content). Support
your discussion with evidence from the text(s). What
________ (conclusions or implications) can you draw?
(Informational or Explanatory/Definition)
Social Studies Literacy Task
(Explanatory/Description – Task 12)

What did the authors of
the American Constitution mean
by “rights”? After reading the
Bill of Rights, write an essay that
defines ”rights” and explains
“rights” as the authors use it in
this foundational document.
Support your discussion with
evidence from the text. (Honors
Students Extension = What
implications can you draw?)
English Literacy Task
(Explanatory/Description – Task 12)

What is a “metaphor”? After
reading The Great Gatsby and
drawing from other works
you’ve read this year, write an
essay that defines “metaphor”
and explains how authors use it
to enhance their writing.
Support your discussion with
evidence from the text.
Science Literacy Task
(Explanatory/Description – Task 11)

After researching scientific articles
on magnetism, write a report that
defines “magnetism” and explains
its role in the planetary system.
Support your discussion with
evidence from your research.
Wellness Literacy Task
(Argumentation – Task 9)

After reading “New Guidelines
Planned on School Vending
Machines,” write a report that
examines why school vending
machine laws were modified
and the effects of the legislative
change. What conclusions or
implications can you draw?
Support your discussion with
evidence from your research.
Agricultural Science Literacy Task
(Argumentation – Task 1)

After researching technical and academic articles
on the use of pesticides in agriculture, write a speech
that argues your position on the use of pesticides in
managing crop production. Support your position
with evidence from your research.
Culinary Arts Literacy Task
(Explanatory/Description – Task 13)
After researching cooking
guides and articles on “kitchen
chemistry,” write a manual for the
general public that describes in
detail how to use common products
to solve an everyday problem such
as cleaning fresh produce. Support
your discussion with evidence from
your research.
Teacher Created Prompt

The prompt on the right was
created by a teacher in Wilson
County after this simple
training.
The article the teacher had
students read had a Lexile
Level of 1420 (College Level Reading
via Quantitative Measure)
.
After reading “Computer Interfaces:
Tech’s Next Great Frontier”, write an
essay that defines Computer Interfaces
and explains the difference between
the design and capabilities of today’s
computers and where computers are
expected to go in the future. What are
some benefits and challenges that we
will experience with computers in the
future? Support your discussion with
evidence from the text.
Literacy Project

Read the article “Ranchers Find Hope in Flightless Bird’s Fat” and circle any
academic vocabulary terms you might find.
(1080 Lexile = 9th/10th Grade Reading Level Appropriateness).
Create a “PARCC-Like” Vocabulary Question using the following …
 What does the word ___________ mean in the text “Ranchers Find Hope in
Flightless Bird’s Fat” ?
 Which word from the lines of this text best helps the reader understand the
meaning of _______?
Part A
What does the word mobs mean in the text “Ranchers Find
Hope in Flightless Bird’s Fat” (p. 2, paragraph 8) ?
a. attacks
b. crowd c. criminals
d. individual
Part B
Which word from this text best helps the reader understand
the meaning of mobs?
a. incubator b. operator
c. gatherings
d. swarmed
thesaurus.com/ (Excellent resource to help generate these questions)
Literacy Task Creation

Create a Template Task using the following (Task 20):
After researching ____________ (content), write a(n)
________ (report or substitute) that analyzes
________ (content), providing evidence to clarify
your analysis. What _______ (conclusions or
implications) can you draw from the article?
Writing Strand = Explanatory
Text Structure = Analysis
How Do I Grade This?

 CTE teachers can grade student work holistically
focusing on certain areas such as organization,
content, referencing the text, and academic
vocabulary (as opposed to grammar, sentence
structure, conventions, etc).
 CTE teachers should follow grading guidelines set
forth by their district or school. TDOE has a rubric
which could be used.
How Do I Grade This (part 2)?

 Most importantly, teachers should include written
feedback on their students’ writings. Positive
comments are just as important as constructive
criticism.







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“Your essay is structured appropriately, but your introduction should not start with you stating
your opinion.”
“Excellent work at quoting evidence from the article!”
“You could have given less opinion and more facts from your research.”
“Remember to divide your writing into appropriate paragraphs.”
“Good job at using technical terms correctly.”
“Try proofreading your work to reduce common spelling errors.”
“This is much stronger than your first writing assignment because you referenced the article
appropriately.”
“Great work at providing a counter argument here based on research.”
Bridge to Practice
(Time Permitting)

Individual Work
 Read the following essays written on the Emu Ranch topic on
slide _____.
 Assign each of the 2 essays either as either Proficient or Not
Proficient.
 Provide one positive comment and one constructive comment
for each essay.
Group Work
 Compare your scores with a peer.
 Reach consensus on scores for each essay.
Congratulations!

You have now …
 Gained knowledge through
complex, grade-level nonfiction
 Read a grade-level, complex
text
 Created a “PARCC-Like”
Vocabulary Question
 Created a “PARCC-Like”
Literacy Task which requires
the student to write
referencing the text
INCREASED STUDENT LITERACY
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