A Balanced Literacy Approach to “Attacking” the Common Core Standards. Jamie Manning, Ed.S Nakoa Wiley, Ed.S Atlanta Public Schools 1

Norms Ask questions! Listen respectfully and consider matters from another’s perspective. Keep electronic distractions to a minimum. 2

The Background of the Common Core Initiated by the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) with the following design principles: Result in College and Career Readiness Based on solid research and practice evidence Fewer, Higher and Clearer 3

Common Core Shifts ELA/LITERACY 3 SHIFTS Regular practice with complex text and its academic language. Reading writing and speaking grounded in evidence from the text both literary and informational. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction. 4

Shift #1: Regular practice with complex text and academic language Density of information Unfamiliar settings, topics or events Lack of repetition, overlap or similarity in words and sentences Complex sentences Uncommon vocabulary Lack of words, sentences or paragraphs that review or pull things together for the student Longer paragraphs 5

Content Shift #2 6 In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote? What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous? What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received? “The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech? Not Text-DependentText-Dependent Text-Dependent Questions

Shift #3: Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction Students are required to read more informational text in elementary and middle grades. Non-fiction should make up the vast majority of required reading to prepare students to be college and career ready. Informational text is harder for students to comprehend than narrative text that’s why exposure is key. Teachers have to support and guide students learning of how to read different types of informational text. 7

Depth of Knowledge Adapted from the model used by Norm Webb, University of Wisconsin, to align standards with assessments Used by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) for assessment alignment 8

Why Depth of Knowledge? No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires assessments to “measure the depth and breadth of the state academic content standards for a given grade level” (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. 12). Mechanism to ensure that the intent of the standard and the level of student demonstration required by the standard matches the assessment items (required under NCLB). Provides cognitive processing ceiling (highest level students can be assessed) for item development. 9

Depth of Knowledge Levels Level 1: Recall Recall, recognition; skill, behavior or sequence of behaviors learned through practice and easily performed Level 2: Skill/Concept Engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling; the use of information or conceptual knowledge; requires making some decisions regarding how to approach a question or problem Level 3: Strategic Thinking More sophisticated reasoning and analysis; deep understanding; students are required to solve problems & draw conclusions Level 4: Extended Thinking Requires integration of knowledge from multiple sources and ability to represent knowledge in a variety of ways; usually requires work over an extended period of time 10

The Components of Balanced Literacy (K-2) Reading – 90 minutes Read-Aloud – 10 minutes Share Reading/Mini Lesson – 30 minutes Guided Reading Groups – 45 minutes Sharing (exit tickets, formative assessments) – 5 minutes 11

The Components of Balanced Literacy (K-2) Writing (Writer’s Workshop) – 30 minutes Day 1 – Shared Writing (whole class) – The teacher introduces specified genre and focuses on conventions/writing process. Day 2 – Shared Writing (whole class) - The teacher and students are working collaboratively to create a topic sentence, compose ideas, develop word choice and sentence structure. 12

The Components of Balanced Literacy (K-2) Day 3 – Guided/Independent Writing – The teacher gives differentiated small group instruction; conferencing with students to give feedback on tier writing pieces. Students begin to develop topic sentences and ideas based on given topics. Day 4 - Guided/Independent Writing – The teacher gives differentiated small group instruction; conferencing with students to give feedback on tier writing pieces. Students begin to develop topic sentences and ideas based on given topics. 13

The Components of Balanced Literacy (K-2) Day 5 – Independent Writing – Students share their published piece during the conference with teacher to demonstrate competency of weekly skills and strategies. 14

G ROUPING S TUDENTS Questions to Consider: What assessment/s do I use to group students? Do I have students in this group that are too much alike? What is the learning style of each person in this group? How can I work with this group to ensure center success? What is the ability of each of the students? Are you maximizing small group instructional time? 15

Grouping Assessments Running Records DRA Progress Monitoring* Observational Records 16

What Does A Balanced Literacy Classroom Look Like? Reading Center Writing Center Technology Center Word Works Center Phonemic Awareness/Phonics Center 17

Creating Tiered Activities Tiered activities are planning strategies for a mixed ability classroom where learning tasks and projects are developed based on assessed student need. Tiered activities are intended to provide a better instructional match between students and their needs. Tasks and/ or resources may vary according to learning profile, readiness and interest. The use of tiered activities maximizes the likelihood that each student comes away with key skills and competency and that each student is appropriately challenged. 18

Creating Tiered Activities There are various methods for designing Tiered Activities. You can tier an activity by: Challenge level (Depth) Complexity Resources Outcome Process Product 19

Tiered Activity Sample 20 ELACC2RI2: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text. Below Level (Tier 1)On Level (Tier 2)Above Level (Tier 3) Very Important Words. Explain that authors give readers clues about the most important information in the text. One clue can be the use of Very Important Words. These are usually a few words that relate closely to the topic and may be used several times in the text. After reading and discussing an informational selection, have students dictate the Very Important words from the text. Write these words on chart paper and talk about why these are (or are not) Very Important Words. Assist students in using these words to dictate sentences with key information about the topic. Bag It. Choose a book or passage with multiple main ideas. Choose three or more main ideas. Label three sandwich bags with index cards on the front with the main idea written on each card. On index cards write details that go along with the main idea. Have students sort the details into the matching main idea bag. This strategy can be done as a center, a whole class activity or a paired activity. Once students become proficient in this activity, they can make their own main ideas and details. Sticky Note (independent reading): Students read independently, marking with sticky notes any sections they desire to return to or discuss. These may be sections they understand and can explain, sections that need further clarification, or places for creating their own explanations, pictures, and diagrams (Santa, Havens & Maycumber, 1996).

Now It’s Your Turn!!! 21 Please turn to the back of your information packet. Activity #1 – TDQ/DOK Activity #2 – Make & Take

Resources

Contact Info Jamie Manning Nakoa Wiley