Statewide System of Support
Foundational Services
Illinois State Board of Education
In Collaboration with
Regional Offices of Education/Intermediate Service Centers
and the Illinois Center for School Improvement
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
4
What Are the Shifts at the Heart of
PARCC Design (and the Standards)?
1. Complexity: Regular practice with complex
text and its academic language.
5
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. . .
8
Shift 1: Regular practice with complex text and
its academic language
1. PARCC builds a staircase of text complexity to
ensure students are on track each year for college
and career reading.
2. PARCC rewards careful, close reading rather than
racing through passages.
3. PARCC systematically focuses on the words that
matter most—not obscure vocabulary, but the
academic language that pervades complex texts.
9
The Shift Kits
NEEDS ASSESSMENTS
TEXT COMPLEXITY
Text Complexity Model
Text complexity is defined by:
1. Quantitative measures – readability and
other scores of text complexity often best
measured by computer software.
2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning,
structure, language conventionality and
clarity, and knowledge demands often best
measured by an attentive human reader.
3. Reader and Task considerations –
background knowledge of reader, motivation,
interests, and complexity generated by tasks
assigned often best made by educators
employing their professional judgment.
Reader and Task
Quantitative Measures Resources
• Grade Band Ranges Chart
• Internet databases for
quantitative measures
(Lexile and ATOS book
level)
Quantitative Measures Ranges for
Text Complexity Grade Bands
Text Complexity
Grade Bands
Suggested
Lexile Range
Suggested ATOS
Book Level Range**
K-1
100L – 500L*
1.0 – 2.5
2-3
450L – 790L
2.0 – 4.0
4-5
770L – 980L
3.0 – 5.7
6-8
955L – 1155L
4.0 – 8.0
9-10
1080L – 1305L
4.6 – 10.0
11-CCR
1215L – 1355L
4.8 – 12.0
* The K-1 suggested Lexile range was not identified by the Common Core State Standards and was added by Kansas.
** Taken from Accelerated Reader and the Common Core State Standards, available at the following URL:
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004572117GKC46B.pdf
Lexile ranges realigned to Common Core
Old Lexile Ranges
Realigned Lexile Ranges
16
Quantitative Measures Resources
Lexile Analyzer:
www.lexile.com/findabook/
AR BookFinder:
www.arbookfind.com
Qualitative Measures Resources
• Rubric for Literary Text
• Rubric for Informational Text
Qualitative factors of text complexity
 Levels of meaning/purpose
 Text structure
 Language conventionality and clarity
 Knowledge Demands: Life Experiences
 Knowledge Demands: Cultural/Literary Knowledge
 Knowledge Demands: Content/Discipline Knowledge
Qualitative Measures Resources
The Qualitative Measures Rubrics
for Literary and Informational Text:
http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4778#TextRes
The rubric for literary text and the rubric for
informational text allow educators to evaluate the
important elements of text that are often missed by
computer software that tends to focus on more
easily measured factors.
Qualitative Measures Resources
Because the factors for literary
texts are different from
information texts, these two
rubrics contain different content.
However, the formatting of each
document is exactly the same.
And because these factors
represent continua rather than
discrete stages or levels, numeric
values are not associated with
these rubrics. Instead, four points
along each continuum are
identified: high, middle high,
middle low, and low.
Reader and Task Considerations Resources
• Questions for Professional
Reflection
Reader and Task Considerations Resources
Questions for Professional
Reflection on Reader and Task
Considerations:
The questions provided in
this resource are meant to
spur teacher thought and
reflection upon the text,
students, and any tasks
associated with the text.
Reader and Task Considerations Resources
The questions included
here are largely openended questions without
single, correct answers,
but help educators to think
through the implications of
using a particular text in
the classroom.
Students need to engage with:



Grade-appropriate materials for exposure to
structures, content, vocabulary
Instructional-level materials that allow them to
progress
Easy materials that allow them to practice.
If familiar/interesting, material can be more
challenging.
 If unfamiliar/uninteresting, material may need to be
less challenging.

– More at K-12 Teachers: Building Comprehension in the Common
Core
CLOSE READING
Process
• Students and teachers understand multiple reads will occur
– Independently
– By proficient readers including teacher
• Vocabulary instruction with a focus on Tier 2 words
• Questions will follow Common Core Standards structure
To Implement Close Reading
Use Shorter texts
Read multiple times
Read slowly and deliberately
Annotate the text
Identify patterns: repetition, contradictions, similarities.
commonalities
• Identify unfamiliar vocabulary words (Tier II Words)
• Write about the text using evidence to support student
responses
•
•
•
•
•
Close Reading: Annotate
•
•
•
•
•
Number the paragraphs
Chunk the text
Underline and circle
Left margin: What is the author saying?
Right Margin: Dig Deeper into Text
Annotate the Text
Symbol
Stands for:
Means:
You have seen, read, or thought
about that before.
?
Connections you
have to the text.
Question
!
Main Idea
∞
I don’t understand. I need more
information.
This is the important point the author
is trying to get across.
+ (E)
Agree
I agree with the author on this point.
(Support with (E)vidence)
- (E)
Disagree
I disagree with the author. I think
differently. (Support with (E)vidence)
NEW
New information
This is brand new to my thinking.
Word analysis
Structure/figurative language
Highlight
Sample Process for Informational Text
•Key Ideas and Details
•State what the text says explicitly and support it with
evidence.
•Identify the central idea and theme(s).
•Analyze relationships, concepts, or events.
•Craft and Structure
•Interpret words and phrases.
•Analyze features and structures of text.
•Discuss purposes and points of view.
•Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
•Evaluate the different medias.
•Integrate information from several sources to address related
themes and concepts.
K-5 Graphic Organizer
 Setting
 Characters
 Problem or Goal
 Sequence of Events
 Outcome
 Theme





Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Subject




Text to Self
Text to Itself
Text to Text
Text to World
1.
2.
3.
Was the outcome of the story good or bad? Explain why.
What lesson does the main character learn?
What lesson did you learn from the story?
There is a purpose for each text.
Author’s purpose:
• Entertain
• Explain
• Inform
• Persuade
44



Number one sentence
Number one word
Note to author
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
ELA Common Core Vocabulary Standards
Reading Strand
Reading Anchor Standard #4
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative,
and figurative meanings, analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Language Strand
Language Anchor Standard #4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using
context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized
reference materials as appropriate.
Language Anchor Standard #6
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an
unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
Research Behind Vocabulary Instruction
• Effective vocabulary instruction has to start early, in
preschool, and continue throughout the school years (Nagy,
2005).
• Teaching vocabulary helps develop phonological awareness
(Nagy, 2005) and reading comprehension (Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown,
1982).
• Vocabulary instruction needs to be long-term and
comprehensive (Nagy, 2005) for ELs (Carlo, August, & Snow, 2005;
Calderón et al., 2005).
More Research….
• Command of a large vocabulary frequently sets
high-achieving students apart from less successful
ones (Montgomery, 2000).
• The average 6-year-old has a vocabulary of
approximately 8000 words, and learns 3000-5000
more per year (Senechal & Cornell, 1993).
• Vocabulary in kindergarten and first grade is a
significant predictor of reading comprehension in
the middle and secondary grades (Cunningham, 2005;
Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997) or reading difficulties (Chall &
Dale, 1995; Denton et al. 2011).
Academic Vocabulary
Isabel L. Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan (2002, 2008) have
outlined a useful model for conceptualizing categories of words readers
encounter in texts and for understanding the instructional and learning
challenges that words in each category present. They describe three levels,
or tiers, of words in terms of the words’ commonality (more or less frequently
occurring) and applicability (broader to narrower).
Common Core State Standards, Appendix A, page 33
Academic Vocabulary
… is not unique to a particular discipline and as a result are not the clear
responsibility of a particular content area teacher. What is more, many
Tier Two words are far less well defined by contextual clues in the texts in
which they appear and are far less likely to be defined explicitly within a
text than are Tier Three words. Yet Tier Two words are frequently
encountered in complex written texts and are particularly powerful
because of their wide applicability to many sorts of reading. Teachers thus
need to be alert to the presence of Tier Two words and determine which
ones need careful attention.
Common Core State Standards (English Language Arts, Appendix A)
Context Clue Steps
For Students
1. Identify the unknown word.
2. Look for the words that
give hints about its
meaning in the sentence.
3. If you need more cues,
read the sentences before
and after the one with the
word in it.
4. Infer the word’s meaning
based on what you found.
For Teachers
Then model it….
“As Tom stepped out of the tent,
the moist grass soaked his
shoes and he wondered if it
had rained.”
Say aloud….
“The grass is moist. It soaks
Tom’s shoes. Tom thinks it
rained. Rain makes things
wet. Moist must mean…..”
“Now try ‘wet’ in place of moist
to see if it makes sense.”
Adapted from Vocabulary Instruction Module developed for Reading Excellence Act. Graves (2002)
The SLAP Strategy
✔Say the word
✔Look for clues
✔Ask yourself what the word might mean;
– think of a word that expresses that meaning
✔Put the word in the passage in place of the
– unfamiliar word. Does it make sense?
Trying out the SLAP strategy
He tried to open the box with no luck. He
couldn’t find the key, so he decided to use a
smidget.
✔ Say the word.
✔ Look for clues.
✔ Ask your self what the meaning might be.
✔ Put word in the passage; does it make sense?
3 Tiers of Words
– Highly specialized, subject-specific; low occurrences in
texts; lacking generalization
◦ E.g., lava, aorta, legislature, circumference
–Abstract, general academic (across content areas);
encountered in written language; high utility across instructional
areas
◦ E.g., vary, relative, innovation, accumulate, surface, layer
– Basic, concrete, encountered in conversation/ oral
vocabulary; words most student will know at a particular grade level
◦ E.g., clock, baby,
Common Core State Standards, Appendix A, page 33
Why are “academic words” important?
•
•
•
•
•
They are critical to understanding academic texts.
They appear in all sorts of texts.
They require deliberate effort to learn, unlike Tier 1 words.
They are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech.
They often represent subtle or precise ways to say otherwise
relatively simple things.
• They are seldom heavily scaffolded by authors or teachers, unlike
Tier 3 words.
Common Core State Standards, Appendix A, page 33
Choosing words
• Jose avoided playing the ukulele.
• Which word would you choose to pre-teach?
Which word?
Avoided
Why?
• Verbs are where the action is
–
–
–
–
Teach avoid, avoided, avoids,….
Likely to see it again in grade-level text
Likely to see it on assessments
We are going to start calling these useful words “Tier
2 words”
• Why not ukulele?
– Rarely seen in print
– Rarely used in stories or conversation or content-area
information
How do I determine that a word is
Word
Is this a
generally
useful
word?
Does the
word relate
to other
words and
ideas that
students
know or
have been
learning?
TIER 2?
Is the word
useful in
helping
students
understand
text?
If you
answer yes
to all three
questions,
it is a tier 2
word. If
not, it is
probably a
tier 3 word.
In this presentation, we will look at a variety of
strategies to teach academic vocabulary……
Isabel Beck, Margaret
Mckeown & Linda Kucan
Robert Marzano & Debra
Pickering
Step by Step Vocabulary Instruction
For Tier 2 words
1. Read the story/text
2. Contextualize the word
3. Have the children say the word
4. Provide student friendly definition
5. Give an example in another context
Steps continued….
6.
Engage children in interacting with
words.
a. Respond with actions
b. Answering questions/giving reasons
c. Identifying examples and nonexamples
7.
Have students repeat the word again.
8.
Review and use the new words.
(Adapted from Bringing Words to Life by Isabel Beck, Margaret
McKeown, Linda Kucan, 2000)
Marzano’s Building Academic Vocabulary
EIGHT RESEARCH-BASED CHARACTERISTICS
OF EFFECTIVE VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION
1. Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions.
2. Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic
and nonlinguistic ways.
3. Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of
word meanings through multiple exposures.
4. Teaching word parts enhances students’ understanding of terms.
5. Different types of words require different types of instruction.
6. Students should discuss the terms they are learning.
7. Students should play with words.
8. Instruction should focus on terms that have a high probability of
enhancing academic success.
(Adapted from Building Academic Vocabulary by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, 2005)
A Six-Step Process for Teaching New Terms
Step 1: Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
Step 2: Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their
own words
Step 3: Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the
term or phrase
Adapted from Building Academic Vocabulary by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, 2005
A Six-Step Process for Teaching New Terms
Step 4: Engage students periodically in activities that help them add
to their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks
Step 5: Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one
another
Step 6: Involve students periodically in games that allow them to
play with terms
Adapted from Building Academic Vocabulary by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, 2005
Students use a Graphic Organizer to Record
The Information
Adapted from Building Academic Vocabulary by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, 2005
How Many Words?
• In school settings, students can be explicitly taught a
deep understanding of about 300 words each year.
• Divided by the range of content students need to know
(e.g., math, science, history, literature), of these 300–350
words, roughly 60 words can be taught within one subject
area each year.
• It is reasonable to teach thoroughly about eight to ten
words per week. (Chall, 1996)
Implications for Instruction
• Teach fewer words
• Focus on important Tier 2 (high utility,
cross-domain words) to know &
remember
• Simply provide Tier 3 (domainspecific, technical) words with
definition
Vocabulary Casserole
Ingredients Needed:
20 words no one has ever heard before in his life
1 dictionary with very confusing definitions
1 matching test to be distributed by Friday
1 teacher who wants students to be quiet on Mondays copying
words
Put 20 words on chalkboard. Have students copy then look up in
dictionary. Make students write all the definitions. For a little
spice, require that students write words in sentences. Leave
alone all week. Top with a boring test on Friday.
Perishable. This casserole will be forgotten by Saturday
afternoon.
Serves: No one.
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read,What
Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Vocabulary Treat
Ingredients Needed:
5-10 great words that you really could use
1 thesaurus
Markers and chart paper
1 game like Jeopardy or BINGO
1 teacher who thinks learning is supposed to be fun
Mix 5 to 10 words into the classroom. Have students test
each word for flavor. Toss with a thesaurus to find
other words that mean the same. Write definitions on
chart paper and let us draw pictures of words to remind
us what they mean. Stir all week by a teacher who
thinks learning is supposed to be fun. Top with a cool
game on Fridays like jeopardy or BINGO to see who
remembers the most.
Adapted from When Kids Can’t Read,What
Serves: Many
Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers
Effective Vocabulary Instruction
• Provide Independent Reading Time
• Employ Read-Alouds
• Keep Vocabulary in Circulation
• Keep Vocabulary Interactive
• Use Research-Based Method to Teach Vocabulary
• Pre-select words that Must Be Explicitly Taught
(Mix of Tier 2 & Tier 3)
Vocabulary Strategies
Next Steps… Planning
Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Training Considerations
•
•
•
•
Grade level groupings
Appropriate tasks
Timing of Trainings
Educator experience in the new standards (Content and
Practice)
Planning for Training
• Take some time to plan the structure of the training for your
area.
– How will participants be grouped? (Grade bands? Courses?)
– How will time frames be organized?
Generating Questions
• How will I facilitate conversations around the
scope and sequences?
• How will I facilitate conversations around the
Unit Maps?
• How will I facilitate conversations around
Assessment and Lesson resources?
Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Thank You
Peoria Regional Office of Education
Cindy Dollman, Assistant Reg. Supt.
cdollman@peoriaroe48.net
Content contained is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License