Secondary English Non-Negotiables
Instructional
non-negotiables
Research based rationale
Monitoring schools’ implementation
Our Secondary English Teachers will—
General Instructional Practices
Unpack the standards at the beginning
of each year—focusing on Bloom’s
level of Understanding
Create unit lesson plans using the
instructional menu and county pacing
and alignment documents
- Focus on strategies, skills and
rigor
- Create integrated, theme-based
lessons (that address all
domains of English/Reading)
- Integrate vocabulary, nonfiction and poetry into every
unit
- Show reading and writing
connection
-
According to VDOE, Common Core
sites and Understanding by Design,
unpacking the standards allows a careful
reading of the standards documents to
ensure clarity about the end results and
an understanding of how the pieces fit
together.
Color coded items from Unpacking
sessions should be found in teacher plan
book/e-file.
From Eduplace:
“There are many
advantages to integrating the language
arts. First, children learn all aspects of
language by using language in
purposeful
situations
(Halliday,
1975)…By integrating the language arts
for classroom instruction, we put
children in situations that match the way
in which they naturally learn and use
language. Second, by integrating the
language arts, children and young adults
develop better critical thinking abilities.
This is especially true when reading and
writing are taught together (Tierney &
Shanahan, 1991).”
Admin checks lesson plans using the
instructional menu, pacing and
alignment documents
- objectives should focus on
strategies and skills, not stories
- each section of the instructional
menu should be addressed daily
Ensure individual, choice
reading is included in daily
plans
Vocabulary Instructional Practices
Teach vocabulary in context using
authentic texts, not merely word lists.
Emphasize common Greek and Latin
roots and affixes.
Have students differentiate between
denotation and connotation.
Have students analyze and determine
rhetorical purpose (i.e. author’s purpose,
mood, etc.) of word choice and style
-
-
-
From Reading Rockets: Seeing
vocabulary in rich contexts provided by
authentic texts, rather than in isolated
vocabulary drills, produces robust
vocabulary learning (National Reading
Panel, 2000).
From The Reading Teacher: Most of
the academic words and challenging
multisyllabic words in English are
derived from Latin and Greek (Author,
2008).
Vocabulary should be taught integrally
in a meaningful language context, and
attention should be paid to cultural
connotation (Ramirez 1995).
planning should show specific
vocabulary, non-fiction and
poetry items
planning should show how
reading and writing connect and
should use mentor texts as a
platform to instruct writing and
close reading skills
planning should show how
student choice reading has a
purpose as shown through
activities on strategies and
reading stamina building
Admin checks of lesson should show
where in the text the vocabulary has
been taken from
Admin checks of lesson should show
this study (both in and out of the context
of the texts)
Admin checks of lesson should show
graphic organizers, annotation exercises
or tasks examining vocabulary at this
higher level
Admins should see mini lessons using
mentor texts and student
practice/annotations of vocabulary
analysis
Close Reading Instructional Practices
Choose richly-layered texts for the
strategies and skill(s) they teach
Use a graphic organizer or annotation
strategy with every selection
Include before, during, and after reading
strategies.
Emphasize making inferences and
drawing conclusions.
Include emphasis on text structures and
organizational patterns to pinpoint
author’s purpose.
Grammar Instructional Practices
Teach grammar in the context of
professionally-written texts.
Have grammar focused correction
assignments
From ASCD: Close, analytic reading
stresses engaging with a text of
sufficient complexity directly and
examining meaning thoroughly and
methodically, encouraging students to
read and reread deliberately. Directing
student attention on the text itself
empowers students to understand the
central ideas and key supporting details.
It also enables students to reflect on the
meanings of individual words and
sentences; the order in which sentences
unfold; and the development of ideas
over the course of the text, which
ultimately leads students to arrive at an
understanding of the text as a whole.
(PARCC, 2011, p. 7)
Lesson plans should indicate a variety of
skills for each text taught
Teacher should attach graphic
organizers to lesson plans
Evident in lesson items and organizers
From NCTE Brief: Effective writing
instruction and assessment incorporates
many different facets of writing that
have traditionally been taught in
isolation, including grammar, syntax,
spelling, mechanics…
Evident in lesson items --DOL and other
grammar sentences can be found in the
reading/writing of mentor texts
Evident in lesson items--Teachers focus
on one to two areas (i.e. comma usage,
agreement) in writing instruction and
practice
Evident in lesson items --Editing, Peer
conference sheets and teacher
conference sheets should indicate
usage/mechanic items
From NCTE Brief:
The growing
demand for good writers requires more
time and attention devoted to writing
instruction and assessment in order to
prepare all students for a changing
world…
Students who create high quality writing
plans… produce stronger papers.
Teachers can help students with this
process by examining and responding to
prewriting…
Evident in lesson items and organizers
From Empowering Struggling Readers:
“the Internet inquiry process is a
challenging task…(Eagleton 2003) *as
such, it needs to be approached weekly
in small segments instead of one large
project
Evident in lesson items
From ASCD: Assessment becomes
responsive when students are given
appropriate options for demonstrating
knowledge, skills, and understanding.
Evident in observations;
Admin pulls and reviews assessments
during monthly content meetings
Hold students accountable for the
grammar they are taught in the writing
they produce.
Writing Instructional Practices
Create daily writing opportunities
- Have students constantly
writing (short items) to gauge
comprehension of reading and
understanding of writing
techniques
- Focus on pre-writing strategies
and skills (especially 6th, 7th,
9th)
Model writing techniques and strategies
Use mentor texts for writing
Research Instructional Practices
Stress citation of primary and secondary
sources.
Provide mini research skill items each
unit, not just one big research project
each year
Assessment Practices
Ensure assessments focus more on
strategies and skills than on content.
Daily formative assessments should be
used
Use "Cold" reading passages for most
assessments.
Evident by the graphic
organizer/strategy attached to lesson
plan
Evident in lesson items and organizers
Evident in observations
Evident in lesson items and organizers
Evident in lesson items