ELA Shifts 4, 5, and 6 “Sometimes I sum up the standards by saying, read like a detective and write like an investigative reporter. More and more I feel like I should say, “Read like a detective and write like a conscientious investigative reporter.” - David Coleman, “Bringing the Common Core to Life”
Agenda: Morning Session 8:30-9:00 Welcome/Introduction ELA Common Core Treasure Hunt 9:00-10:00 Session I Group A Group B Shifts: 1 & 3 Shifts: 4, 5, & 6 10:00-10:15 Break 10:15-11:15 Session II Group A Group B Shifts: 4, 5, & 6 Shifts 1 & 3 11:15-11:30 Wrap-Up Curriculum Mapping Input Afternoon Session 12:30-1:00 Welcome/Introduction ELA Common Core Treasure Hunt 1:00-2:00 Session I Group A Group B Shifts: 1 & 3 Shifts: 4, 5, & 6 2:00-2:15 Break 2:15-3:15 Session II Group A Group B Shifts: 4, 5, & 6 Shifts 1 & 3 3:15-3:30 Wrap-Up Curriculum Mapping Input
Clear Learning Targets I can generate questions that require my students to engage deeply with text. (Shift 4) I can provide my students opportunities for writing to inform or argue using evidences. (Shift 5) I can identify and plan instruction on Tiers 1, 2, and 3 words. (Shift 6)
Treasure Hunt Knowing where to find information is just as important as knowing the information. A question can be answered effectively when one knows how to use the available tools. Use your treasure map to navigate the ELA Common Core State Standards.
Word Bank: 10 6 K-5 Clusters Language Writing Craft and Structure Standards Speaking and Listening Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Language Production & Distribution of Writing Range of Writing K-5 Phonics and Word Recognition Phonological Awareness Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 6 Range of Reading and Lvl of Text Complexity Fluency Conventions of Standard English Print Concepts Comprehension and Collaboration Research to Build and Present knowledge Integration of knowledge and Ideas
Answe r Key
Six Shifts in ELA Common Core The new English Language Arts Common Core State Standards contain many changes in learning standards, but they can be grouped into 6 main shifts. The shifts are directly linked to the College and Career Readiness Standards. Shift 1: Balance of literature and information text (K-5) *50% of information text by 4th grade Shift 2: Literacy across all content areas (6-12) Shift 3: Staircase of complexity Shift 4: Question and Answers: text-dependent Shift 5: Writing to inform or argue using evidences Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary I can identify and plan instruction on Tiers 1, 2, and 3 words.
What is Shift 6? Academic Vocabulary Students constantly build the vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts. By focusing strategically on comprehension of pivotal and commonly found words (such as “discourse,” “generation,” “theory,” and “principled”) and less on esoteric literary terms (such as “onomatopoeia” or “homonym”), teachers constantly build students’ ability to access more complex texts across the content areas. Anchor Standards R4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meaning, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Shift 6: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? How many vocabulary words are there in the selection? How many of these words can be seen as useful “tools” which students will confront frequently as they read at this grade level?
Shift 6 Tier One Words: The most basic words (clock, baby, happy) Choosing Words to Explicitly Teach: Isabel Beck’s “Three Tier Instruction” Tier One Words: The most basic words (clock, baby, happy) These words rarely require instruction in school Tier Two Words: High frequency words for mature language users (coincidence, absurd, industrious) Instruction in these words can add productively to an individual's language ability Tier Three Words: Words whose frequency of use is quite low, often limited to specific domains (isotope, lathe, peninsula) Probably best learned when needed in a content area
Criteria for choosing Tier 2 Words: Importance and Utility Words that are characteristics of mature language users and appear across a variety of domains. Conceptual Understanding Words for which students understand the general concept, but precision and specificity is needed in describing the concept.
Shift 6: Putting it into Practice 1. Read text Adapted from All About Bulbs. (Selection taken from ClassScape -4th grade) 2. Underline Tier 2 words in the selection. 3. Compare the words that you have underlined with your group. 4. With your group, determine which words you might focus on during instruction.
What the Principal Does… What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Spend more time learning words across “webs” and associating words with others instead of learning individual, isolated vocabulary words. Apply knowledge of academic vocabulary in speaking and writing. Develop students’ ability to use and access words that show up in everyday text and that may be slightly out of reach. Be strategic about the kind of vocabulary you’re developing and figure out which words fall into which categories- tier 2 vs. tier 3. Determine the words that students are going to read most frequently and spend` time mostly on those words. Teach fewer words but teach the webs of words around it. Shift attention on how to plan vocabulary meaningfully using tiers and transferability strategies. Provide opportunities for PD on Tiered Vocabulary and the shift for teaching it in a more meaningful, effective manner. Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Shift 5: Writing from Sources I can provide my students opportunities for writing to inform or argue using evidences.
What is Shift 5? Writing from Sources Writing needs to emphasize use of evidence to inform or make an argument rather than the personal narrative and other forms of decontextualized prompts. While the narrative still has an important role, students develop skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they read. What is Shift 5? Writing from Sources Anchor Standards W1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. W7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. W8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. SL 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Specific Standard to address grammar and conventions:
Shift 5: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? What prompts, materials, and supports need to be provided so that students become curious and precise investigative reporters who uncover facts, draw conclusions, make arguments, and analyze the work of others?
Shift 5: Putting into Practice Read the Quindlen excerpt on the Sample Text handout and answer the questions below: What does the text say: What do I think about that: My opinion based on details from the text is: Write a response on the back of your handout using the answers to these questions.
Keep in mind we are just scratching the surface today… Favorite Bear From Creatures of Earth, Sea and Sky By Georgia Heard Grizzlies wander the meadows all day, searching for squirrels to scamper their way. Black bears and brown bears mark the trees, clawing the bark, sharking the leaves. Polar bears fish in ice and snow, with leathery pads and fur between their toes. Sun bear has a lighter nose than the rest and uses its tongue to lick honey from a nest. Although a teddy bear can’t do any of these things, its my favorite because of all the hugs it brings. K-2 Example Generate one way you might use this nonfiction poem with your students to empower them as nonfiction writers.
Other considerations: Plagiarism, paraphrasing, reliable sources, using meaningful, relevant and sufficient evidence. This will look different at every grade level, but these are important considerations! Students in 3rd grade must begin citing their sources, but can be exposed to what that looks like and how it is done as a shared model in grades K-2.
What the Principal Does… Begin to generate own informational texts. What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Begin to generate own informational texts. Use texts resources to support writing. Synthesizing the information from multiple sources for writing. Expect that students will generate their own informational texts (spending much less time on personal narratives). Present opportunities to write from multiple sources about a single topic. Give opportunities to analyze, synthesize ideas across many texts to draw an opinion or conclusion. Find ways to push towards a style of writing where the voice comes from drawing on powerful, meaningful evidence. Give permission to students to start to have their own reaction and draw their own connections. Ensure teacher accountability to move students towards informational writing. Provide opportunities for PD and co-planning for teachers to become more familiar with informational writing. Encourage teachers use of technology and media to support instruction on informational writing. Shift 5: Writing From Sources
Shift 4: Text Based Answers I can generate questions that require my students to engage deeply with text.
What is Shift 4? Text-Based Answers Students have rich and rigorous conversations which are dependent on a common text. Teachers insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text on the page and that students develop habits for making evidentiary arguments both in conversation, as well as in writing to assess comprehension of a text. Anchor Standard: R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Shift 4: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? What questions will take the students deeper into the text and cause them to pay careful attention to it?
Shift 4: Putting it into Practice Let’s read, Tops and Bottoms adapted by Janet Stevens, and answer the following questions. (Scott Foresman, Reading Street 3.2) 1. What do you think the author’s purpose was for writing this story? *Give examples to support your answer! 2. In what ways are the characters in the story like people? *Give examples from the text to support your answer! 3. Generate at least one more text based question as a group.
Share! Scott Foresman Reading Street- Grade 3 Unit 2 Tops & Bottoms Adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens Once upon a time there lived a very lazy bear who had lots of money and lots of land. His father had been a hard worker and smart business bear, and he had given all of his wealth to his son. But all Bear wanted to do was sleep. Not far down the road lived a hare. Although Hare was clever, he sometimes got into trouble. He had once owned land, too, but now he had nothing. He had lost a risky bet with a tortoise and had sold all of his land to Bear to pay off the debt. …
What the Principal Does… What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Go back to text to find evidence to support their argument in a thoughtful, careful, precise way. Develop a fascination with reading Create own judgments and become scholars, rather than witnesses of the text. Conducting reading as a close reading of the text and engaging with the author and what the author is trying to say. Facilitate evidence based conversations with students, dependent on the text. Have discipline about asking students where in the text to find evidence, where they saw certain details, where the author communicated something, why the author may believe something; show all this in the words from the text. Plan and conduct rich conversations about the stuff that the writer is writing about. Keep students in the text Identify questions that are text-dependent, worth asking/exploring, deliver richly, Provide students the opportunity to read the text, encounter references to another text, another event and to dig in more deeply into the text to try and figure out what is going on. Spend much more time preparing for instruction by reading deeply. Allow teachers the time to spend more time with students writing about the texts they read- and to revisit the texts to find more evidence to write stronger arguments. Provide planning time for teachers to engage with the text to prepare and identify appropriate text-dependent questions. Create working groups to establish common understanding for what to expect from student writing at different grade levels for text based answers. Shift 4: Text-Based Answers
We will resume in 12 minutes.
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary I can identify and plan instruction on Tiers 1, 2, and 3 words.
What is Shift 6? Academic Vocabulary Students constantly build the vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts. By focusing strategically on comprehension of pivotal and commonly found words (such as “discourse,” “generation,” “theory,” and “principled”) and less on esoteric literary terms (such as “onomatopoeia” or “homonym”), teachers constantly build students’ ability to access more complex texts across the content areas. Anchor Standards R4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meaning, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Shift 6: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? How many vocabulary words are there in the selection? How many of these words can be seen as useful “tools” which students will confront frequently as they read at this grade level?
Shift 6 Tier One Words: The most basic words (clock, baby, happy) Choosing Words to Explicitly Teach: Isabel Beck’s “Three Tier Instruction” Tier One Words: The most basic words (clock, baby, happy) These words rarely require instruction in school Tier Two Words: High frequency words for mature language users (coincidence, absurd, industrious) Instruction in these words can add productively to an individual's language ability Tier Three Words: Words whose frequency of use is quite low, often limited to specific domains (isotope, lathe, peninsula) Probably best learned when needed in a content area
Criteria for choosing Tier 2 Words: Importance and Utility Words that are characteristics of mature language users and appear across a variety of domains. Conceptual Understanding Words for which students understand the general concept, but precision and specificity is needed in describing the concept.
Shift 6: Putting it into Practice 1. Read text Adapted from All About Bulbs. (Selection taken from ClassScape -4th grade) 2. Underline Tier 2 words in the selection. 3. Compare the words that you have underlined with your group. 4. With your group, determine which words you might focus on during instruction.
What the Principal Does… What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Spend more time learning words across “webs” and associating words with others instead of learning individual, isolated vocabulary words. Apply knowledge of academic vocabulary in speaking and writing. Develop students’ ability to use and access words that show up in everyday text and that may be slightly out of reach. Be strategic about the kind of vocabulary you’re developing and figure out which words fall into which categories- tier 2 vs. tier 3. Determine the words that students are going to read most frequently and spend` time mostly on those words. Teach fewer words but teach the webs of words around it. Shift attention on how to plan vocabulary meaningfully using tiers and transferability strategies. Provide opportunities for PD on Tiered Vocabulary and the shift for teaching it in a more meaningful, effective manner. Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Shift 5: Writing from Sources I can provide my students opportunities for writing to inform or argue using evidences.
What is Shift 5? Writing from Sources Writing needs to emphasize use of evidence to inform or make an argument rather than the personal narrative and other forms of decontextualized prompts. While the narrative still has an important role, students develop skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they read. What is Shift 5? Writing from Sources Anchor Standards W1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. W7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. W8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. W9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. SL 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Specific Standard to address grammar and conventions:
Shift 5: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? What prompts, materials, and supports need to be provided so that students become curious and precise investigative reporters who uncover facts, draw conclusions, make arguments, and analyze the work of others?
Shift 5: Putting into Practice Read the Quindlen excerpt on the Sample Text handout and answer the questions below: What does the text say: What do I think about that: My opinion based on details from the text is: Write a response on the back of your handout using the answers to these questions.
Keep in mind we are just scratching the surface today… Favorite Bear From Creatures of Earth, Sea and Sky By Georgia Heard Grizzlies wander the meadows all day, searching for squirrels to scamper their way. Black bears and brown bears mark the trees, clawing the bark, sharking the leaves. Polar bears fish in ice and snow, with leathery pads and fur between their toes. Sun bear has a lighter nose than the rest and uses its tongue to lick honey from a nest. Although a teddy bear can’t do any of these things, its my favorite because of all the hugs it brings. K-2 Example Generate one way you might use this nonfiction poem with your students to empower them as nonfiction writers.
Other considerations: Plagiarism, paraphrasing, reliable sources, using meaningful, relevant and sufficient evidence. This will look different at every grade level, but these are important considerations! Students in 3rd grade must begin citing their sources, but can be exposed to what that looks like and how it is done as a shared model in grades K-2.
What the Principal Does… Begin to generate own informational texts. What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Begin to generate own informational texts. Use texts resources to support writing. Synthesizing the information from multiple sources for writing. Expect that students will generate their own informational texts (spending much less time on personal narratives). Present opportunities to write from multiple sources about a single topic. Give opportunities to analyze, synthesize ideas across many texts to draw an opinion or conclusion. Find ways to push towards a style of writing where the voice comes from drawing on powerful, meaningful evidence. Give permission to students to start to have their own reaction and draw their own connections. Ensure teacher accountability to move students towards informational writing. Provide opportunities for PD and co-planning for teachers to become more familiar with informational writing. Encourage teachers use of technology and media to support instruction on informational writing. Shift 5: Writing From Sources
Shift 4: Text Based Answers I can generate questions that require my students to engage deeply with text.
What is Shift 4? Text-Based Answers Students have rich and rigorous conversations which are dependent on a common text. Teachers insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text on the page and that students develop habits for making evidentiary arguments both in conversation, as well as in writing to assess comprehension of a text. Anchor Standard: R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Shift 4: Guiding Questions What will this mean we will have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make this shift? What questions will take the students deeper into the text and cause them to pay careful attention to it?
Shift 4: Putting it into Practice Let’s read, Tops and Bottoms adapted by Janet Stevens, and answer the following questions. (Scott Foresman, Reading Street 3.2) 1. What do you think the author’s purpose was for writing this story? *Give examples to support your answer! 2. In what ways are the characters in the story like people? *Give examples from the text to support your answer! 3. Generate at least one more text based question as a group.
Share! Scott Foresman Reading Street- Grade 3 Unit 2 Tops & Bottoms Adapted and illustrated by Janet Stevens Once upon a time there lived a very lazy bear who had lots of money and lots of land. His father had been a hard worker and smart business bear, and he had given all of his wealth to his son. But all Bear wanted to do was sleep. Not far down the road lived a hare. Although Hare was clever, he sometimes got into trouble. He had once owned land, too, but now he had nothing. He had lost a risky bet with a tortoise and had sold all of his land to Bear to pay off the debt. …
What the Principal Does… What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does… What the Principal Does… Go back to text to find evidence to support their argument in a thoughtful, careful, precise way. Develop a fascination with reading Create own judgments and become scholars, rather than witnesses of the text. Conducting reading as a close reading of the text and engaging with the author and what the author is trying to say. Facilitate evidence based conversations with students, dependent on the text. Have discipline about asking students where in the text to find evidence, where they saw certain details, where the author communicated something, why the author may believe something; show all this in the words from the text. Plan and conduct rich conversations about the stuff that the writer is writing about. Keep students in the text Identify questions that are text-dependent, worth asking/exploring, deliver richly, Provide students the opportunity to read the text, encounter references to another text, another event and to dig in more deeply into the text to try and figure out what is going on. Spend much more time preparing for instruction by reading deeply. Allow teachers the time to spend more time with students writing about the texts they read- and to revisit the texts to find more evidence to write stronger arguments. Provide planning time for teachers to engage with the text to prepare and identify appropriate text-dependent questions. Create working groups to establish common understanding for what to expect from student writing at different grade levels for text based answers. Shift 4: Text-Based Answers
Wrapping it up: Look in your GROUP MATERIAL folder: Take a look at the sample curriculum maps. Go through each one with your group and select features that you feel are beneficial. With your group, record these features on sticky notes and place them back inside the Ziplock bag inside of the folder. If you are interested in serving on a committee to look at curriculum mapping, please record your name on the chart paper by the door labeled “Yes, I’m Interested.”
If you have any questions, please contact us. Mia Johnson Mia_Johnson@catawbaschools.net Lora Drum Lora_Drum@catawbaschools.net Kathy Keane Kathy_Keane@catawbaschools.net Kristi Alfaro Kristi_Alfaro@catawbaschools.net Kim Ramsey Kimberley_Ramsey@catawbaschools.net