Academic Readiness
in a Flat World
Literacy and Informational Text
Daily Quiz
Name this country:

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
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


Richest country in the world
Largest military
Center of world business and finance
Strongest education system
World center of innovation and invention
Currency the world standard of value
Highest standard of living
England, 1900
Information
“Informing”
“Never before in the history of the planet
have so many people on their own – had
the ability to find so much information
about so many tings and about so many
other people.”
-Tom Freidman
So, what are the questions?
Answers:
1. 100
2. 150 million - 2001
3. 1 billion – 2004
4. 8 billion
Guttenburg’s Press
“the pace of change”
1. 48 terabits per
second
1. 1850 – 90%
2. 3 minutes
2. 2005 - 3.5%
How do we remain
competitive?
1970’s
High skill
2010
High
Low Skill
Semi
1990’s
Low
High
Semi
Low
What do we know about
Maine students?
 80% of 8th graders say they want to go to college
 75-85% of students who begin high school – graduate
 Less that 50% of students who matriculate at one of
Maine’s public university’s graduates within six years
 Of all Maine’s graduating seniors in 2005
 65-70% took the SAT
 51% attended a two or four year college
 Only 30% will earn a Bachelor’s degree
High School Diploma does not mean readiness
College admission does not mean readiness
Six Year Graduation Rate
UMO
UMF
UMFK
UMM
USM
UMPI
UMA
UNH
UVM
UCONN
60%
56%
50%
44%
33%
31%
23%
73%
70%
695
Private Six Year Rate
Bowdoin
Bates
Colby
St. Joseph’s
UNE
Husson
Thomas
Unity
MeCA
90%
88%
86%
62%
57%
54%
52%
47%
36%
Maine’s Revised MLRs
Manageable: eight to six content standards
Added: Media use / critical thinking – “the
ability to use and understand information
through ever-changing media.”
Lexiles: Comprehension across spans
Engaging in complex
text and ideas
1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 -
Literature
On Ancient Medicine
The Scarlet Letter
Brown v. Board of Ed.
War & Peace
Pride & Prejudice
Black Beauty
Tom Swift
Adventures of Pinnochio
A Rabbit’s Tale
A Baby Sister for Frances
The Magic Bus
Frog and Toad
Clifford’s Mom
Informational Text
1500 1400 1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 -
The Making of Memory
Philosophical Essays
Psychology, Harcourt-Brace
Biology
America: Pathway to Progress
Writing & Grammar
World Cultures: Global Mosaic
Word ’97
The U.S. and Canada
Grade 4 Science – Addison
People & Places – SBG
Imagine That! Scholastic
My World, Harcourt-Brace
Informational Text
“Once a student leaves high school, 90%
of his/her reading will be
informational text.
Only 10% of his reading will be for
pleasure.”
-Willard Daggett
Lexiles: “at home & work”
Personal
Aetna Health Discount Form (1360)
Medical Ins. Benefit Pack (1280)
Application for Student Loan (1270)
W-4 Federal Tax Form (1260)
Installing Child Safety Seat (1170)
Microsoft Windows Manual (1150)
Newspapers
Reuters (1440)
NY Times (1380)
Washington Post (1350)
Wall Street Journal (1320)
Associated Press (1310)
USA Today (1200)
Work Place
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7/ 16 Career Clusters requires at the
entry level reading skill at the highest
level
6/16 require skill at the 2nd highest
level
Examples:
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Human Services (1000-1040)
Construction (1310-1380)
Manufacturing (1280-1330)
Literacy & Informational Text
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
11th & 12th
Graders
HS Texts
Papers
Careers
The SAT
Success on this gatekeeper requires
Mastery of Math through Algebra II
Critical Reading Skill of long / short text
Multiple choice grammar / style questions
Compose an expository essay
The SAT essay
A sense of happiness and fulfillment,
not personal gain, is the best
motivation and reward one’s
achievement. Expecting a
reward of wealth or recognition
for achieving a goal can lead to
disappointment and frustration. If
we want to be happy in what we
do in life, we should not seek
achievement for the sake of
winning wealth and fun. The
personal satisfaction of a job well
done is its own reward.
Assignment:
Are people motivated to achieve
by personal satisfaction rather
than money or fame? In 25
minutes, plan and write an
essay in which you develop
your point of view on this
issue. Support your position
with reasoning and examples
taken from your reading,
studies, experience and
observation.
Engaging text and ideas
11th Grade MEA Writing
Prompt
What if there were 8
days in a week?
How would you use the
additional day?
University Work
Complex theses
Argument
Analysis
Discussion