Topics Brief Look at Common Core New Look for Reading-tutors.com New Phonics and Comprehension Packets eBooks via tablets Future Game Packets

Bringing Common Core Standards to Life in the Classroom

Significant Shifts in CCSS ELA Standards Focus on Informational text in K-5 Increased text complexity Text-dependent questions Academic Vocabulary Writing: arguments and persuasion May 1, 0123

Informational Text

Literature (RL) vs. Informational Text (RI) Grade Literature Informational K-5 50% % 55% % 70% May 1, 20125

Why use informational text? By sixth grade, 80% of school reading tasks are expository 80% of adult/workplace reading is informational Standardized tests are 85% expository Can motivate reading May 1, 20126

Academic Vocabulary

Academic Vocabulary: Definition They are not the domain specific words of math, science and social studies such quotient, rhombus, proton, metamorphosis, legislate, and congressional. They are the more general cross-curricular terms of greater utility such as estimate, observe, demonstrate, classify, compare, transform, and distribute. May 1, 20128

Research Background Differences in children’s vocabularies develop even before school begins and are key to inequality or education attainment. Hart & Risley, 1995 May 1, 20129

Importance of Vocabulary If you ask a student what makes reading difficult they will blame it on the words and their meaning. The National Research Council (1998) and the National Reading Panel (2000) concluded that vocabulary development is a fundamental goal for students in the early grades. Importance of vocabulary knowledge to school success, in general, and reading comprehension, in particular, is widely documented. Becker, 1977; Anderson & Nagy, 1991 However, very little instructional time is devoted to vocabulary development in the primary grades. Biemiller, 2001 May 1,

Putting Words into Tiers First tier: Basic words (radio, happy, child, house, jump) Rarely require instruction in meanings in school, except for English learners. Second tier: High-frequency words for mature language users; rich words that span across content areas/domains (fortunate, ability, sufficient, obvious) Should be taught explicitly because these words have a powerful impact on expanding student vocabulary capabilities. Third tier: Low-frequency; often content area/domain specific (isotope, outrigger, carpetbagger, subtropical) May be important to understanding that particular text but not words they will encounter frequently in multiple text exposures. Adapted from Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. Beck, et al. (2002) May 1,

Text-Dependent Questions

Text-Dependent Questions…  are worth asking.  can only be answered correctly by close reading of text.  require an understanding that extends beyond recalling facts.  often require students to infer.  do not depend on background knowledge.  allow students to gather evidence.  allow for access to increasing levels of complexity.  require teacher preparation. May 1,

Gettysburg Address Not Text Dependent Why did the North fight the Civil War? Have you ever been to a funeral or gravesite? How do you think the loved ones of the dead soldiers felt about Lincoln’s speech? Text Dependent What was the purpose of Lincoln’s speech. Cite at least two statements from his speech to support your conclusion.

Text Complexity

16 Overview of Text Complexity Text complexity is defined by: Qualitative 2.Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader. Quantitative 1.Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. Reader and Task 3.Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment. May 1,

How Should Instruction Change? Use more informational text. Integrate thematic units Tiered texts Text dependent questions Pre-teach academic vocabulary More attention to text organization. Go beyond only teaching text features May 1,

Game Packets

Plan 8 packs per grade grouping  K-1  2-3  4-5 Multiple formats Grade appropriate content

Example: Grade K-1 Formats Bingo Concentration Card sort Word Ladders Go Fish Game board Topics Alphabet Sight words Punctuation Compound words Synonyms and antonyms Cause and effect Parts of speech Plurals Vocabulary