1.
(1 min)
Image Credit/Nicholas Lue
Bringing it All Together: Knowledge, Writing and a Cohesive Curriculum
Grades 6 – 8
Winter 2017

2. Reconnecting as a Community
1/2/2017
Reconnecting as a Community
1 min
Facilitator’s choice – use an introduction that fits your style. Purpose of this is to rebuild sense of community. This is day 4 – people are likely tired. Help them get energized!

3. 1/2/2017
Today’s Session
Analyze the impact that knowledge makes on the quality of writing.
Name the essential elements of curriculum that are aligned to the standards.
Analyze the EngageNY ELA curricula for those essential elements to determine whether your current curriculum has those essential elements.
Plan next steps to ensure alignment.
1 minute

4. 1/2/2017
Session Objectives
At the end of today, we will have a better understanding of
how building knowledge influences writing performance.
what a fully aligned curriculum contains, and how it marries the things we’ve been talking about all week into an integrated package.
the state of your own curriculum.
1 min

5. 1/2/2017
Session Agenda
Experience and analyze how building knowledge influences the quality of writing.
Dive deeply into the EngageNY curriculum—really getting a handle on what’s there and why.
Compare what you see in the EngageNY curriculum to your current state—any gaps?
Action planning—what are the right next steps for you?
1 min

6. Norms That Support Our Learning
1/2/2017
Norms That Support Our Learning
After some shared work this morning, much of today’s session is going to be highly self-directed.
Take advantage of this time, especially if you’re here with colleagues. You never get enough.
GET WHAT YOU NEED…. Ask questions, seek resources, etc. You are in the driver’s seat this afternoon.
1 min
Review the norms …this is a partial list from Day 1 specifically chosen based on what they are about to experience. However, as the facilitator, feel free to modify the list based on the needs of the group.

7. Will Water Shortages Affect You?
Read “Florida Has Driest, Warmest December in 6 Years.”
What evidence does this author present that Floridians should be alarmed?
What specific words and phrases does this author use to raise your level of concern?
10 mins -- At this point we are transitioning in to the work of the morning. We are not going too deeply into what new standards call for in terms of writing, but there is a relationship between reading and writing that we can’t just leave off the table. So we are going to ask them to work as writers for a bit this morning, just to close the reading, thinking, talking, writing cycle that should be in any curriculum they are using. Ask them to read the article and discuss the article to get their juices flowing – hopefully they realize all of this reading they’ve been doing about water this week should be of real concern to them.

8. Let’s Do Something!
Our public relations agency has been asked to submit a proposal to work with the State of Florida to win the EPA’s annual “Watersense Award.” This award is given to municipalities that develop successful water conservation campaigns.
Your task this morning will be to work with a partner to develop a powerful 30-second radio public service announcement that will convince fellow Floridians to do something specific in order to protect fresh water. This public service announcement will be our “audition” to win the contract with the State of Florida.
5 mins -- This is actually a real task that real people do! (Authentic). It can be found in their packets too, so they can follow along as you describe the work ahead. Answer any questions they have – they may be concerned about doing this because grown ups are sometimes nervous about sharing this kind of work with other adults.

9. Analyzing a Model
10 min. This slide is hyperlinked but just in case: You want the 30 second version. The point of listening to this model (and following along with the transcript for this PSA which is in their notebooks), is to think about the qualities of an excellent PSA. What they are listening to was an award winner – it’s a model.

10. What Makes a Great Radio PSA?
What do you notice about the model?
Exactly 30 seconds (you will have to read it aloud and time it several times).
10 minutes – discuss the model and create an anchor chart of the qualities of an excellent PSA. This will be the qualities that they will be working toward as they develop their own PSAs.

11. Writing from Sources
Any of the pieces we’ve looked at over the past three days.
Some additional places for ideas:
Protecting Source Water in General: do-protect-source-water
Preventing Nutrient Pollution:
Conserving Water (be sure to look at the tabs across the top of the page):
Protecting Watersheds (remember our Fairy Shrimp!):
5 mins – they may have enough information from all of the reading they have done all week about water, but it’s possible that some people will realize they haven’t been reading enough or closely enough to write a PSA. They could back to their existing handouts or use their sources. This slide is in their notebook as well.

12. Draft Your PSA Remember our criteria for quality!
20-30 minutes. Provide time for participants to read, gather specifics from texts, and draft. As they work, the should check their work against the criteria.

13. Praise-Question-Suggestion
Where have you learned enough to support your claim?
Use your partner’s suggestions to determine what you still need to learn.
10-30 minutes – depending on how things are going, you might role this part out as an anchor activity for people who are done writing or to the whole group as an expectation. Partners should review each other’s work and PRAISE it, ASK QUESTIONS about it, and MAKE SUGGESTIONS about it.
Depending on how things are going, ask people to share their PSAs with the whole group, or in groups of 4.

14. Reflection
How has your knowledge of the threats to fresh water and the life forms that rely on them changed over the last several days?
Look back in your journals at your writing from Day 3, to 4, to today. What’s changed? Why?
20 minutes. First, ask participants to reflect on these two questions independently, in writing. Then have them discuss at tables. Finally, ask for whole group share out. Key point is that they should come away with is that KNOWLEDGE is essential to quality writing. People can’t write well about something they know nothing about. Reading and quality writing are linked.

15. Break – 15 minutes

16. 1/2/2017
Knowing and Writing
Read “A Powerful Tool: Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding.”
As you read the article, annotate as you desire in preparation for the First Word/Last Word discussion protocol.
Provide minutes to read and annotate the text. This text is NOT in the notebook and not posted but they can easily find it on the internet.
Reading protocol: you might choose to have participants annotate the text using symbols such as:
! For an a-ha moment
A star for something that they connect with
? Questions about something in the article
A check for something they disagree with
Discussion Protocol minutes (adjust protocol if the time constraints of lunch are a factor)

17. Knowing and Writing: Discussion
As a table, discuss the article using “First Word/Last Word.”
The first person at the table shares something that he or she noted in the article.
Each person responds to what was shared, but the first person stays silent.
Once everyone has commented, the first person responds to the comments.
The next person shares something he or she noted and Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until everyone has shared.
The time for this varies based on table size. Plan 2 minutes per person in the group.

18. 1/2/2017
Knowing and Writing
How did your understanding of importance of fresh water grow over the past few days?
What specifically was done to build your knowledge? What instructional strategies were used?
5-7 minutes depending on participant response/connections. Ideally, participants will understand that their understanding of the topic grew over the course of the past few days as they read and reread texts for different purposes, discussed the topic and texts, and wrote short pieces on the topic over the course of the three days.

19. Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
1/2/2017
Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
Central Ideas
Focusing Question
Building and Processing Working Knowledge
Structure
Writing
2 mins. Draw participants’ attention to the purple text box on the last page of the article. These five components will guide the participants as they look through the EngageNY/UnboundED curriculum materials. They will notice these components are an integral part of the design of the curriculum.

20. 1/2/2017
LUNCH – 60 minutes

21. The “EngageNY” 3–8 ELA Curriculum
1/2/2017
The “EngageNY” 3–8 ELA Curriculum
Created “by teachers, for teachers” in a collaboration between the New York State Education Department and the teachers and curriculum design team of a non-profit organization called Expeditionary Learning/EL Education.
EL Education has deep roots in integrated curriculum design and successfully supports schools all over the country – urban, suburban, and rural – with school transformation.

22. How to Use It?
Designed to be a resource to help teachers understand the shifts and the standards, and also to be a curriculum that can be adapted and adopted.
Be sure participants take away that this curriculum is not meant to SCRIPT teachers, though for some new teachers, following it closely may be helpful. But as always with any ELA curriculum, teachers need to be tuned in to their kids and support or provide LESS support as needed.

23. How to Access It? The curriculum is available, free, online:
(we are going to work mostly from here today)
(some important additional documents here)
The curriculum is an open educational resources and therefore may be found in many places. We know that it is COMPLETE and UPDATED in both of these places.

24. 1/2/2017
What’s There?
These are the components of the curriculum that are available for free online.

25. Supported By
In order to implement the curriculum, it requires that schools purchase books. These books are widely available from a variety of vendors – use whomever your district works with.

26. At a Glance: The Curriculum Plan
This document shows all of the curriculum available. Reasonably, a teacher can only implement 4 modules. There are 6 modules so that teachers can have choice. 2A and 2B and 3A and 3B are interchangeable.

27. More Than You Can Use: Choice
This page of the document shows the alternates.

28. Bundles of Standards Reading Closely and Writing to Learn
Working with Evidence
Understanding Perspectives
Research, Decision Making, and Forming Positions
The stadards are bundling and flow this way over the course of year across all grade levels 3-8.

29. The Staircase of Complexity
The curriculum plan also shows

30. Structure of the EL ELA Curriculum
Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
Module 4
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Review the structure of the modules.
8/9 weeks
16/19 weeks
24/26 weeks
32/34 weeks
Teaching four modules results in deep teaching and assessment of all of the standards.
EngageNY.org

31. Extended Reading and Research Building Background Knowledge
Each Module Contains Three Units
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Review the structure of the modules.
Extended Writing
(2–2.5 weeks)
Extended Reading and Research
(2–2.5 weeks)
Building Background Knowledge
(2–2.5 weeks)
EngageNY.org

32. Culminating Performance Task
Each Module Embeds Assessment
½ Unit 1
End Unit 1
½ Unit 2
End Unit 2
½ Unit 3
End Unit 3
Culminating Performance Task
Assessment
Incorporates multiple modes, or types, of writing (e.g., argument, informative/ explanatory text, and narrative)
Always involves writing from sources and citing evidence
EngageNY.org

33. Heading to the Website: Focus on Grade 6

34. The Highest Level

35. Go to Module 2A: See the Units?

36. Download the Module

37. Analysis The goal of this work is fourfold:
To help you see the components of a curriculum that’s been called an “exemplary” model of standards alignment.
To help you notice the embedded nature of reading, writing, and discussion in curriculum design.
To help you think about your own curriculum—how aligned are you now?
To help you begin to determine if this a resource that can help you.
The goal of the next chunk of work is for participants to see how everything we’ve been talking about all week is embedded in the curriculum. If they’ve been using the curriculum, this is a good time to clarify things they may have been questioning.

38. Analysis Note-Catcher
1/2/2017
Analysis Note-Catcher
Use this note-catcher to capture your thinking as you view the videos and study the curriculum materials.
This notecatcher is aligned with the “purple box” in the article they read just before lunch. The notecatcher is in their participants’ packet.

39. Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
1/2/2017
Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
Central Ideas
Focusing Question
Building and Processing Working Knowledge
Structure
Writing
We are starting our analysis with central ideas, focusing question, and building knowledge. First we will see kids in action actually doing this work, they we will look at how it is written into the module plans.
What are you noticing?

40. This video comes from a highly effective middle school in Portland Maine. The school is very diverse, 37 languages are spoken here and 30% of the students are ELLs. In addition, 17% of the students are students with documented learning challenges.

41. Central Ideas and Focusing Questions in the EngageNY Curriculum Materials
Read these documents to gather information on the central ideas of the module:
First page of the Unit 2A Module Overview
First page of each Unit 2A Overview
Participants read the materials – either downloaded or in the notebook – and complete this analysis.
What are the guiding questions and big ideas?
What are the reading and writing standards that focus students’ skills and establish the learning goals of the module?
What is the writing prompt to which students will craft a written piece?

42. 1/2/2017
Building & Processing Working Knowledge in the EngageNY Curriculum Materials
What texts will students read, view, discuss, and respond to throughout the module to build knowledge?
How will they take notes as they read and discuss so they can access their thinking when they are writing?
Read these documents to gather information on building knowledge in the module:
Unit 1 Overview
Central Texts (page 3)
Unit-at-a-Glance chart (pgs. 4–7)
Unit 2 Overview
Unit-at-a-Glance chart (pgs. 4–12)
Possible ADD:
Unit 3 Overview
Central Texts (page 4)
Unit at a Glance chart (pgs. 5-9)

43. Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
1/2/2017
Planning Components of “Writing Based on Knowledge and Understanding”
Central Ideas
Focusing Question
Building and Processing Working Knowledge
Structure
Writing
Now participants will focus on the structure and writing portions of the module.
What are you noticing?

44. This video is Part II of the video before. Same school
This video is Part II of the video before. Same school. Students are working through the writing process.

45. Structure in the EngageNY Curriculum Materials
Read this document to gather information on structure in the module:
Unit 3 Overview
Again, participants return to the module TEXT to do this analysis.
How will students know what is expected of their writing?
What organizers or tools might they need?

46. Writing in the EngageNY Curriculum Materials
Read this document to gather information on writing in the module:
Unit 3 Overview
What are the opportunities for drafting, feedback, and revision?

47. What Do You Need? Action Planning Guidance Sessions
1/2/2017
What Do You Need?
Action Planning
Meet in teams to make plans for next steps.
Guidance Sessions
Meet with one of us to discuss curriculum implementation—we’ve learned a lot over the past several years from schools doing this work!
During this last portion of the institute, participants have time to work with their teams. Have a sign for teams to sign up for 15/20 minute guidance sessions (depending on how many teams are left). They might need guidance to get started with action planning and/or might need to plan before they realize they need some guidance!

48. Action Planning Review template, then let people go into team work.
1/2/2017
Action Planning
Review template, then let people go into team work.

49. Closing How has your thinking changed as a result of this institute?
What are you committing to doing differently?
Where will you need more support? How will you get it?

50. http://www. standardsinstitutes
MON – TUE – WED – FRI end of day

51. References Slide Source 19
Grades 6-8 Curriculum Plan, EngageNY.