TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS building a critical foundation of knowledge needed for comprehending complex texts

Work Session Goals  Explore the instructional shifts motivating our intense focus on having students cite evidence from the text  Consider the implications for planning instruction  Practice assessing a text for appropriate complexity

How familiar are you with CCSS expectations for text text complexity and use of evidence? I am not familiar. I’ve heard of the shifts but haven’t really processed them. I’m familiar with the shifts, but I have questions and would like more specifics on how this impacts instruction. I’m very familiar with the shifts. I may be able to help others understand what they are and their impact.

Background  A priority of the CCSS is that students must closely read texts of increasing complexity to acquire knowledge  The standards strongly focus on students gathering evidence, knowledge, and insight from what they read  A majority of questions and tasks that students are asked to respond to (both orally and in writing) should be based on the text under consideration  Questions and tasks should require thinking about the text carefully and finding evidence in the text itself to support the response

80-90% of (CCSS) reading standards require text-dependent analysis yet over 30% of questions in major textbooks do not.

Why Adjust the Way We Question?  Asking students to make connections to themselves, other texts, and the world is a common style of questioning that guides students away from the text. This type of questioning does not often lead to a deep understanding of the text.  We often ask students simple questions that require very literal thinking to ensure they have read the text. Students expend too much time and energy answering these questions rather than slowing down to consider the meaningful text-specific questions that will bring them to a deeper understanding.

Text-Dependent Questions…  are questions that can only be answered correctly by close reading of the text and demand careful attention to the text  require an understanding that extends beyond recalling facts  often require students to infer  do not depend on information from outside sources  allow students to gather evidence and build knowledge  provide access to increasing levels of complex text  call for careful and thoughtful teacher preparation  require time for students to process  are worth asking

What Are We Looking for?  Rich and rigorous evidence-based conversations about text amongst students and with teachers  Discussions that stay deeply connected to the text so that students make evidentiary arguments  Students revisiting text for evidence to support their argument in a thoughtful, careful, and precise way  Students slowing down to explore and learn from the evidence

TURN AND TALK WITH AN ELBOW PARTNER: Which question requires students to read closely for text-specific information?  How did Frederick Douglass’ability to read contribute to his emotional struggle for freedom?  After reading Frederick Douglass’ narrative, in what ways does America represent the hope for freedom that lived in the heart of Frederick Douglass? Questions based on: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass Cite examples from the text to support your answer.

A Conversation about Text-Based Q&A This 11 minute video features a discussion between New York State Commissioner of Education John B. King Jr., David Coleman (contributing author to the Common Core) and Kate Gerson (a Sr. Fellow with the Regents Research Fund) that addresses the shift to Text-Based Answers. Coleman Video on Text-Dependent Questions

Questions to Consider After Viewing Video Independently answer the following questions and then discuss with colleagues at your station:  What does it mean to ask text-based questions?  How will this impact our instruction?  What challenges will we face as we make this shift?  What are the implications for teacher planning and for teacher planning time in schools?  What questions will take the students deeper into this text and cause them to pay careful attention to it?

What are your takeaways from viewing and discussing the video?

Theory into Action  Let’s practice a real class room scenario  Problem: A grade-level group is working on a satire unit. They are considering using a piece from NPR as part of their text bundle.  The group is asking: 1. Is this text complex enough? 2. If so, what questions should be asked of students orally and/or in writing to provoke deep analysis?

Is the Text Appropriate to Use?  Pro Dial-Up Anthem Pro Dial-Up Anthem  Listen to the radio spot while following along in your packet  Circle key vocabulary on the transcript and make any annotations you wish as you listen

Our First Consideration  Consult the sheet titled “Protocol for Measuring Text Complexity”  Figure out the quantitative measure of the selection  Lexile.com is a web resource where you can enter excerpt of the text and be given the lexile level of the selected text  See handout “Access to Quatitative Analysis Tools”  The lexile level of the piece was 1160

Considering Qualitative Measures  What could make this text difficult for my students to read?  Consult the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric”for Literary Texts  Work with an elbow partner to complete the rubric for the NPR selection

Coming to Consensus  Reviewing your scored rubric holistically, which designation would you assign this selection?  Very Complex  Complex  Somewhat Complex  Simple Text

Reader-Task Considerations  Think about students’ motivation, knowledge and experiences as well as purpose and the complexity of task at hand  Weigh that against qualitative and quantitative measures  Do we have a “go” to use this text as part of our unit teaching bundle of resources?

Text Dependent Question or No? Activity  Turn your attention back to the transcript of the NPR piece  Review with an elbow partner the questions on the handout labeled “Text Dependent Question or No?”  If helpful, consult the “Checklist for Evaluating Question Quality” to guide your evaluation  Check the boxes and provide rationale  Report out on your analysis

Do We All Agree that…  to really provide CCSS curriculum instruction requires some shifting of our focus  decisions about appropriate text complexity are not simply to be based on quantitative measures  to achieve the level of questioning required by CCSS necessitates a great deal of planning  we need real common planning time during which we work together on instructional and assessment materials- the HOW of implementation  this level of deliberate practice is a good thing

Please Complete an Exit Slip  Before you go, please take a few moments to provide some feedback on today’s PD session  THANK YOU!