1. How To Access Instructional Focus Calendars
Employees
Instructional Focus Calendars
Subject Area
Grade Level

2. How To Access IFC Language Purpose Statements
Open Focus Calendar
For Grades 3-12, Under the column for Week/Lesson click on the hyperlink.
Place your cursor before the number and press
Control + Click
You will now be able to see the description of the standard, the week of the lesson and additional weeks when the skill will be addressed.
Beneath it you will see the Content Purpose statement and the Language Purpose Statement.

3. What Are Essential Skill Areas Across Scope and Sequence?
Key…as indicated on Year’s Overview for MS/HS:
Vocabulary-Red
Reading Application- Dark Blue
Literary Analysis, Fiction Non-fiction – Green
Informational Text/Research Process-Purple
For example in MS and HS are color coded…Green is Character,plot and settin
Red is Word relationships and structures
Blue is Test Structures
Purple is Text Features

4. What Are Essential Skills Areas Across Scope and Sequence?
Seen across grade levels:
Main Idea and Details
Characters and Setting
Making Predictions, Inferences, Drawing Conclusions
Figurative Language
Word Structures/Word Relationships
Text Structures:
Cause and Effect, Compare and Contrast, Persuasion, Narrative, Poetry….
Text Features:
Glossary, Table of Contents, Headings, Graphs…
Vocabulary-Red
Reading Application- Dark Blue
Literary Analysis, Fiction Non-fiction – Green
Informational Text/Research Process-Purple

5. What Are Essential Skill Areas Across Scope and Sequence?
As students move to MS/HS more complexity is seen within Essential Skills:
Author’s Purpose
Plot and Setting
Summarize and Paraphrase
Character –Point of View, Conflict/Resolution, Motives
Analyze/Evaluate information
For example in MS and HS are color coded…Green is Character,plot and settin
Red is Word relationships and structures
Blue is Test Structures
Purple is Text Features

6. What are the Common Language Purposes?
Which vocabulary repeats across the year in a grade level?
Which Vocabulary repeats from grade to grade?
What do the Language Purposes require a student to do to demonstrate knowledge?
How do they evolve from one grade level to the next?

7. … what will give them the most
Question….?
If you are going to develop students’ language skills and support them in accessing classroom curriculum….
… what will give them the most
“bang for their buck”?

8. ???
What vocabulary words, ideas and skills do they most need to learn?
and… while assisting students in learning what are you likely to spend time teaching, re-teaching and practicing during therapy time ?

9. Some Ideas… Work in small groups or with a partner.
Each “team” select an Essential Skill Area .
Look at that skill area across the year.
Look at how the skill evolves across grade levels (3-5, 6-8, 9/10).
Dig down into the Content and Language Purpose Statements to see how students’ must demonstrate knowledge.

10. Keep your particular students in mind
Consider…
Keep your particular students in mind
What is important to know or master to be a successful high school student?
…a college student?
…a person in a vocational-technical school setting?
…in a job setting?