CONTENT LITERACY
INSTRUCTIONAL SHIFTS
FOR
SOCIAL STUDIES
Facilitator
Auddie Mastroleo ҉ OCM BOCES Network Team
COMMON CORE SHIFTS
ELA & CONTENT LITERACY
Balancing Informational & Literary Texts (Grades PK-5)
Knowledge in the Disciplines (Grades 6-12)
Staircase of Complexity
Text-based Answers
Writing from Sources
Academic Vocabulary
BALANCING
INFORMATIONAL &
LITERARY TEXTS
Range of Text Types
Literature = Stories,
Dramas, Poetry
SHIFT 1
Grades
PK-5
Informational =
Literary Nonfiction,
Historical,
Scientific, &
Technical Texts
12th grade
8th grade
4th
grade
50% fiction
50%
nonfiction
40%
fiction
60%
nonfiction
20%
fiction
80%
nonfiction
Increase in
teaching
and learning
with nonfiction text
KNOWLEDGE IN THE
DISCIPLINES
Reading & Writing
Literacy
Standards
Depending on text
rather than
referring to it
• Complement,
not replace
content
standards
•Read a president’s
speech & write a
response
•Read scientific
papers & write an
analysis
SHIFT 2
Grades
6-12
Think sophisticated
non-fiction
•Analyze and
evaluate texts
within disciplines
•Gain knowledge
from texts that
convey complex
information through
diagrams, charts,
evidence, &
illustrations
Expectation of
rigorous domain
specific literacy
instruction
outside of ELA
PreCCLS Core
Text
SHIFT 1
Balancing
Informational
and Literary
Texts
SHIFT 2
Building
Knowledge in
the
Disciplines
PostCCLS Core
Texts
SHIFT 1
Balancing
Informational
and Literary
Texts
SHIFT 2
Building
Knowledge in
the
Disciplines
Paired Texts: Hero or Villain?
SOCIAL STUDIES PRE AND POST SHIFT NOTES
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
STAIRCASE OF
COMPLEXITY
Increase
in text
complexity
at each
grade
level
Qualitative
Levels of meaning
Structure
Clarity of language
Knowledge demands
Quantitative
Word length
Sentence length
Text cohesion
Reader &
Task
SHIFT 3
Motivation
Knowledge
Experience
Expectation of
proficiency and
independence in
reading grade
level text
Appendix B:
Text Exemplars
and Sample
Performance
Tasks
PRE-CCLS
John Brown
“When the state of Virginia
hanged Brown for treason on December
2, 1859, church bells across the North
tolled to mourn the man who many
considered a hero. But, southerners
were shocked. People in the North were
praising a man who had tried to lead a
slave revolt! More than ever, many
southerners were convinced that the
North was out to destroy their way of
life.”
SHIFT 3
Staircase of
Complexity
POST-CCLS
Enquirer
We rejoice that old BROWN has been hung. He was not only a
murderer of innocent persons, but he attempted one of the
greatest crimes against society -- the stirring up of a servile and
civil war. He has paid the penalty for his crimes, and we hope his
fate may be a warning to all who might have felt inclined to
imitate his aggressive conduct..
Press and Tribune
John Brown dies to-day! …The man's heroism which is as sublime
as that of a martyr, his constancy to his convictions, his suffering,
the disgraceful incidents of his trial, the poltroonery of those who
will lead him forth to death, have excited throughout all the North
strong feeling of sympathy in his behalf, but no where, within our
knowledge, is the opinion entertained that he should not be held
answerable, for the legal consequence of his act.
SHIFT 3
Staircase
of
Complexity
TEXT-BASED ANSWERS
Questions tied
directly to the
text, but extend
beyond the
literal
Students must
cite text to
support
answers
Personal
opinions,
experiences,
and
connections to
the text are
minimized in
favor of what
the text
actually says or
doesn’t say
SHIFT 4
Questions are
purposefully
planned & direct
students to
closely examine
the text
PRE-CCLS
John Brown
“When the state of Virginia
hanged Brown for treason on December
2, 1859, church bells across the North
tolled to mourn the man who many
considered a hero. But, southerners
were shocked. People in the North were
praising a man who had tried to lead a
slave revolt! More than ever, many
southerners were convinced that the
North was out to destroy their way of
life.”
SHIFT 4
Text-based
Answers
Question:
Describe
how John
Brown’s raid
increased
tensions
between the
North and
the South.
POST-CCLS
SHIFT 4
Text-based
Answer s
Enquirer
We rejoice that old BROWN has been hung. He was not only a
murderer of innocent persons, but he attempted one of the
greatest crimes against society -- the stirring up of a servile and
civil war. He has paid the penalty for his crimes, and we hope
his fate may be a warning to all who might have felt inclined to
imitate his aggressive conduct..
Press and Tribune
John Brown dies to-day! …The man's heroism which is as
sublime as that of a martyr, his constancy to his convictions,
his suffering, the disgraceful incidents of his trial, the
poltroonery of those who will lead him forth to death, have
excited throughout all the North strong feeling of sympathy in
his behalf, but no where, within our knowledge, is the opinion
entertained that he should not be held answerable, for the
legal consequence of his act.
Question:
Compare and
contrast the
reaction of John
Brown’s hanging
by the two
newspaper
excerpts. How
could these
ar ticles
contribute to the
tensions between
the Nor th and
the South?
Use specific
examples from
the text to
suppor t your
answer.
SOCIAL STUDIES PRE AND POST SHIFT NOTES
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
WRITING FROM
SOURCES
Three
Text
Types
Argument
Informational/
Explanatory
Writing
Narrative
Writing
SHIFT 5
Supporting a claim
with sound
reasoning and
relevant evidence
Increase subject knowledge
Explain a process
Enhance comprehension
Conveys experience
i.e. fictional stories,
memoirs, anecdotes,
autobiographies
Argumentative
writing is
especially
prominent in
the CCLS
Appendix C:
Samples of
Student Writing
Pre-CCLS
Describe a time when you took
action in support of something
you strongly believed in. What
were the consequences of your
actions?
SHIFT 5
Writing
from
Sources
Post-CCLS
Write a critical essay in which
you discuss your understanding
of John Brown from the
perspective provided in the
critical lens.
Provide a valid
interpretation of
the statement.
Agree or
disagree with
the statement
as you’ve
interpreted it.
Support your
opinion using
specific
references from
the two works
listed above.
SHIFT 5
Writing
from
Sources
Critical Lens
Nothing is given to
man on earth –
struggle is built
into the nature of
life, and conflict is
possible - the
hero is the man
who lets no
obstacle prevent
him from pursuing
the values he has
chosen.
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Tier One
Words
• Words of everyday speech
Tier Two
Words
• Not specific to any one
academic area
• Generally not well-defined
by context or explicitly
defined within a text
• Wide applicability to many
types of reading
Tier
Three
Words
• Domain specific
• Low-frequency
• Often explicitly defined
• Heavily scaffolded
SHIFT 6
Ramp up
instruction of
Tier Two
words
Pre-CCLS
abolition
SHIFT 6
radical
secede
Martial
Law
Academic
Vocabulary
Post-CCLS
Tier 3
Words
Tier 2
Words
abolition
inclined
radical
aggressive
secede
sublime
Martial law
convictions
SHIFT 6
Academic
Vocabulary
SOCIAL STUDIES PRE AND POST SHIFT NOTES
TURN AND TALK
With a partner…
Share your initial
thinking and
reactions
QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? NOTICES?