SUPPORTING STUDENTS TOWARD HIGHER WRITING STANDARDS THE ROLE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Linda Denstaedt Oakland Writing Project Peter Haun Oak Park High School

Reflective Conversation GOAL—Explore the question: How do we support students to develop their skills and strategies as readers and writers? PROCESS Step into habits of practice Reflect on our work Reflect on your work

Literacy Design Collaborative Collaboration between Gates Foundation and National Writing Project Oakland (MI) Writing Project—Year 1 Participant Oak Park High School— Piloted ELA Units /

8 Core Principles Of LDC Module Design  Clear articulation of learner tasks  Rich learner feedback alignment with the Common Core cross-subject-area responsibility for literacy instruction adaptability to diverse classroom contexts practicality for teacher adoption backwards planning Connecting reading and writing instruction

The Local Context

 SIG (School Improvement Grant)  Adopted LDC Modules as Curriculum  950 students, Grades  90% African-American student population  76% qualify for free & reduced lunch  $7 million deficit  School of choice in  40% out of district students Demographics & Realities

Reading Levels for Peter’s First Hour—

PLAN Reading Scores for Peter’s First Hour—

Snapshot of a Performance Band of Peter’s First Hour in Reading Growth in Score Range KAPLAN Pre-Test ACT/ MME

What have we learned ?

Daily mini-tasks create opportunities to interact with students engaged in robust, independent work designed to accelerate conscious use of habits, strategies and skills. Daily formative assessment informs instructional decision-making and practice to teach & adjust in the moment or for next-step lessons. Daily Mini-Task Formative Assessment Adjustment

Interact with Students Inform Teaching Decisions Compliment a student on a current performance Focus attention on a key point to teach or reteach Explicitly name and point to evidence in student work Describe a range of performances in a room to adjust and differentiate instruction Formative Assessment: Interact and Inform

Stop and Jot Introduce yourself to your Shoulder Partner who will serve as your Thinking Partner for this session. Share your thoughts. What questions about formative assessment do you have? What are you learning from your work with formative assessment?

Daily Mini-task The real accountability system is in the tasks that students are asked to do…. [T]he task predicts performance. Richard Elmore, City et al  Clear articulation of learner tasks

Writing to Impact Reading Habits of a Writer Point to & name decisions & effects on reader Decisions & Intentions Daily Mini-task

Focus on Multiple Entries to Develop Habits of Memoirist Copyright 2012 Oakland Schools /Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators

Write #2: EXPLAIN IDEA THAT SEEMS CONNECTED TO YOU (PERSONAL VIEW) Why does this idea matter to me? How does this affect me?  My Values?  My Beliefs?  My Concerns?  My Hopes?  My Actions? HABIT: Ask and answer questions to reflect on an idea and push to understand who I am. TOOLS OF MEMORIST Write again and again to push deeper and find new and surprising thoughts. Reread & Reflect #2: FIND A DEEPER IDEA Highlight words that seem important or are repeated.  What do these words suggest?  What new idea do you have now that you have reflected? Name this new idea that takes you to a deeper meaning. HABIT:  Notice key words and words that I repeat.  Interrogate what I repeat.  What does this suggest about who I am? TOOLS OF MEMORIST Write again and again to push deeper and find new and surprising thoughts.

Javon Alonzo Hope is I believe I never feel Failure & Success Question Work Less fortunate Black ways Progress Employment Idea

Mini-task Continuum Range of Performance TaskMeetingDevelopingReaching Write a 2 nd Entry to Find a Deeper Idea Identifies a range of words to reflect on Identifies a single life event Reflects & writes to a surprising thought/idea Identifies key words to reflect on Identifies a life event. Explains the idea and/or life event New thinking emerges in conference Identifies a few words to reflect on Makes general comments about the new thought Key Detail & Key Point

Name and Point to Evidence in Student Work Find evidence in Entry 2 that you could name and describe as  Digging Deeper  Surprise

Daily Formative Assessment  Rich learner feedback

How will I increase feedback?

How will I design my lesson architecture to provide time for feedback? Mini-LessonTEACHER models, thinks-aloud, demonstrates, and/or guides Active Engagement STUDENTS rehearse and/or turn-and- talk Mini-Task: Independent Work STUDENTS enact TEACHER confers, assesses, studies, reflects, adjusts whole-group ShareStudents & Teacher reflect, assess, and/or set goals

Conference Compliment a student on a current performance Ask a question to gather information or raise an issue Listen to a student’s thinking Point to a strength in the writing and explain its impact on the writing

Teach with a Compliment Read Entry 1 from Exploration Series #2. What question would you ask? What compliment would you give?

Meta-logs: self-assessment and/or reflection Alonzo I learned that I have to catch my reading attention very early. I have to make strong feelings in my story. I have to make sure my readers relate to me and find a way so they won’t get tired and put my writing down. Alonzo When you write something and a different angle is change the way you felt when it happen. Bad things become good memories. When you change ideas and details you think of what you could did different.

To get started Design and connect mini-tasks that allow students to make decisions independently or solve problems. Look for strengths. Name, point to, and compliment the strength(s). Interact/confer regularly with students. Study student work to name and describe what students are doing. Build continuums to describe the range of performances in the room.

Stop and Jot Turn to your Shoulder Partner and share your thoughts. What seems like a next-step for you and your students? At the beginning of the session I was thinking… Now I am thinking…

What thoughts and questions do you have?