Grade 3-5 ELA Common Core Ambassadors August 13-17, 2012 Albany, NY

Day 3: Welcome! Please remember to sit with your research teams.

A Few Changes in Agenda Today RCSD participants attending implementation focus groups in staggered sessions this morning. Persevere! At about 2 p.m. we will offer a differentiated session for “systems level” conversation: – How will you connect and integrate these modules into current district initiatives? – What strategies for procuring and allocating resources to implement CCLS? – How can schedules (master/building – district/PD) be developed to support CCLS implementation? – What steps can be taken to help manage change towards the CCLS. We hope teachers and likely building-based coaches will stay with the curriculum work – your deep knowledge of the lessons is essential!

Addressing Key Questions: Curriculum Maps Comprehensive list of standards addressed in each grade level are toward the end of this document Best list of texts per grade level are on the last page of the curriculum map document Required texts that need to be purchased for Module 1 are on the Book List for Module 1 that has been distributed We will have for you (on EngageNY) an Excel spreadsheet including ISBN numbers for all texts that need to be purchased, as they are central to lessons by September 21

Norms for Collaboration Directions: Think/Pair/Share (3 minutes total)  How did we do whole group? What is your evidence?

Your Feedback a Helpful Link  Please be in touch with us via about your ongoing needs: 

Culture of Achievement LT 1b. I can describe the importance of establishing a culture of achievement to prepare students for college and career success. LT 1d. I can strengthen a growth mindset (in myself and others) regarding teaching and learning.

Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening Conversation and Collaboration SL.1 “Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.”

A Culture of Achievement in your Context Revisit “portrait of a student who meets the standards” Write: What does a classroom/school look like and sound like where this culture is being developed?

A Culture of Achievement in your Context Partners: Share your writing. Encourage each other to be specific: “What is your evidence?” “How do you know?” Tables: Go ‘round: each person share something your partner said.

Research Teams: Reasoning with Evidence

LT 3a. I can describe the impact of engaging, supporting, and holding students accountable for citing and using evidence from text. LT 1c. I can effectively engage in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse colleagues, building on others’ ideas and expressing my own ideas clearly.

Purpose of Research Teams (a reminder...) Build our expertise about the CCLS “shifts” Experience the rigor of CCLS learning as adults: push ourselves, and feel what it may be like for students when they are challenged in similar ways. Particular emphasis on SL.1: “engage in collaborative discussions” – How do we do this effectively as adult learners? – Why is collaboration important for learners?

Revised Performance Task: Rationale for Recommended Change Task: The implementation of Common Core-aligned curriculum modules will require change at the classroom, building, and district levels, and in the services provided through BOCES/Network Teams. Your task is to develop a product describing the changes needed that serve the needs of your specific audience – for example, a PowerPoint presentation, a memo, a faculty meeting agenda, a PD session, or an implementation plan. No matter what format you choose, you must include a rationale for the specific changes that you are planning to make or that you want to help others make. Use specific evidence from the texts you are studying this week – the articles and research you studied in your research teams, the curriculum itself, Mindsets, and Switch – to support your rationale for change.

Review “Final Word” Discussion Protocol

Independent Reading and Annotating the Text (25 minutes) SAP’s Guide to Creating Text-Dependent and Specific Questions for Close Analytical Reading Critical Thinking Framework for Any Discipline (focus on chart on page 161; read more as time permits)

Bloom’s Taxonomy OldNew

Text-Dependent Questions (10 minutes) According to the text, what is a text-dependent question? Can a text-dependent question be inferential? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. How do specific types of questions and questioning strategies prepare students for the shifts of the Common Core and for college and career success?

Writing Time (10 minutes) Review our Performance Task for this week: The implementation of Common Core-aligned curriculum modules will require change at the classroom, building, and district levels, and in the services provided through BOCES/Network Teams. Your task is to develop a product describing the changes needed that serve the needs of your specific audience – for example, a PowerPoint presentation, a memo, a faculty meeting agenda, a PD session, or an implementation plan. No matter what format you choose, you must include a rationale for the specific changes that you are planning to make or that you want to help others make. Use specific evidence from the texts you are studying this week – the articles and research you studied in your research teams, the curriculum itself, Mindsets, and Switch – to support your rationale for change. Identify evidence from the two texts you read today. Begin to brainstorm/draft a section of your position paper.

Debrief (10 minutes) Stand, find a new person, and talk about the following: What is the most important point you are taking away from the reading this morning? How did the reading, discussion, questioning, and writing challenge you as a learner this morning? What Common Core standards was this learning experience designed to address? How would this type of experience look in your classroom or professional setting?

Transition  Thank you!  Take a break.  At 11am, please go to your grade-level breakout groups.

Welcome back  Please sit with your research teams.

Comparing and Contrasting the Modules LT 2c. I can analyze the role of student-friendly learning targets, aligned assessment, and effective curriculum- embedded assessment in ensuring that all students achieve college and career success.

Discussion Questions Identify similarities: How are the assessment practices similar across all three grades? Identify differences: How do the evidence practices differ from one grade to the next? Level of rigor: How do the standards and experiences working with evidence change from one grade to the next? What connections can you make between the design of the modules and the articles we read during our morning session?

Silent Writing (5 minutes) Reflect on our learning target about evidence: LT 3a. I can describe the impact of engaging, supporting, and holding students accountable for citing and using evidence from text. Include specific evidence from our reading today to support your thinking.

Debrief the Day and Looking Ahead

Teacher Target: I can build expertise in the Common Core shifts by analyzing model curriculum. I can build students’ literacy skills and content knowledge by implementing curriculum aligned with the Common Core standards. NTI/Administrator Target: I can support educators striving to build students’ content knowledge and literacy skills by building expertise in implementing curriculum aligned to the common core standards.

Learning Journal (5 minutes)  Go to the Day 3 section of your Learning Journal  Examine the Supporting Targets  Use the space provided to capture your thinking about the work today: Which learning targets represented your most important learning? What key points do you want to remember? Which activities or discussion impacted you the most? What do you want to commit to?

Re-orienting to our Long-term Learning Targets Teacher Target: I can build expertise in the Common Core shifts by analyzing model curriculum. I can build students’ literacy skills and content knowledge by implementing curriculum aligned with the Common Core standards. NTI/Administrator Target:  I can support educators striving to build students’ content knowledge and literacy skills by building expertise in implementing curriculum aligned to the common core standards.

Discussion Review the agenda: How did we address our targets? How did we promote a culture of achievement for ourselves as a community of adult learners? We emphasized the importance of finding and using textual evidence. What practices stood out for you today regarding your own learning as an adult? Consider both what you learned and how you learned today. What are the implications for our work with students?

Closing  Thank you.  Feel free to re-read or preview articles in the research tab of your binder. You will again have reading time during our morning session.  Please begin each day seated with Research Teams at your table number.