1. Integrating English Language Arts Academic Skills into CTE Curriculum Is not “one more thing to do”! It’s part of what we should be doing daily. Being proficient communicators, both orally and in writing are success skills needed in all occupations!

2. Arizona College Career Ready Standards (also known as Common Core Standards) Are our documents: You have: O Anchor Standards (the same for all grades) O Reading/Writing Standards specifically for Technical Subjects in grades 6-12 Writing – Blue Reading - Yellow

3. Close Reading : Critical to AzCCR Reading Standard Attainment! Let’s break every PowerPoint rule in the book on the next slide….

4. Close Reading (PARCC, 2011, p. 7) Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole.

5. Let’s look at the definition bit by bit…

6. Engaging with sufficient complexity… O Students need to be assigned challenging text with the expectation that eventually they will read it successfully independently O They will need help (scaffolding) at first, but the degree of support should lessen over time O Most likely the text you are using has a high Lexile level, but you can check any text by creating a free account and following the steps to analyze text on the www.lexile.com websitewww.lexile.com

7. The Lexile ® measure: a scientific way to match readers with text O Uses a common scale for measuring individual readers and texts Lexile scores are determined by the difficulty of text measured by sentence and word lengths O Enables accurate matching of reader ability with text complexity to enhance learning

8. Measuring Text Complexity Lexile scores are the “Quantitative” task factor “Qualitative” = teacher’s professional decisions based upon the difficulty of the text based on text structure, visual supports, language used, etc. “Reader and task” = the factor like O student background knowledge O motivation O reading skills

9. Common Core Lexile Levels

10. Encouraging students to read and reread deliberately O Have students determine central ideas or themes (Standard 2) O Each time they reread a selection they should have a different purpose for reading (task you have given)

11. Direct students to the text itself O Help students realize that they will learn by reading for the rest of their lives O Don’t just “answer their questions.” Have them dig into the text to find the answers themselves

12. Reflect on meanings of individual words and sentences O Guide students to extract meaning from the words, sentences, and paragraphs O Analyze how the use of symbols and domain-specific vocabulary shape meaning or tone (Standard 4)

13. Focus on the development of ideas over the course of the text O Analyze how ideas develop (Standard 3) O Demonstrate how each part of the text contributes to the overall message

14. Let’s take a look at text Close Reading (Lexile level 1330) Step 1: Examine Text Features O Title/subtitles O Who wrote it? O Graphs/illustrations if present O Print features (bold, italics, etc.) O Number and chunk paragraphs or sections (if not done by the teacher)

15. Step 2: First Read O Circle any key vocabulary along with any that is unknown O Put a ? In the margins for unknown Please do this now…

16. Step 3: Second Read O Underline key details O Put exclamation marks !! by important ideas

17. Step 4: Third read O On the left margin, write statements in your own words about what you learned O Write an “about statement” for each chunk of the text (LEFT = Learned) O On the right margin make reflections: O Predictions O Opinions related to text O Connections O Patterns/repetitions (RIGHT = Reflect)

18. Step 4: Subsequent Readings O If done, direct the student to mark according to one or more of these things: O Author’s point of view O Support for claims/opinions O Connections O Cause and effect O Compare and contrast

19. is the ultimate goal of AzCCR Reading Standards Students as independent, proficient readers of complex text How do we get them there?

20. Students must learn to effectively gather evidence, knowledge, and insight directly from the text in order to comprehend and draw inferences This can be taught through the use of well-crafted text dependent questions written specifically to selections of complex text

21. The text MUST BE: O First closely read by you, the teacher O Worth reading O Of sufficient complexity to be challenging yet “doable” The questions MUST BE: Worth asking Specific to the text selection (kids get bored with answering generic questions) Crafted deliberately Answered first by you the teacher to insure that answers require referring back to the text

22. Writing Text Dependent Questions

23. Quality Text Dependent Questions: O Require students to be close readers of text O Set the stage for critical thinking O Are crafted in a way to elicit extended thoughts O Usually have more than one correct response O Require that students refer back to the text O Provide opportunity for students to cite evidence

24. 3 Types of text dependent questions Questions that assess themes and central ideas Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary Questions that assess syntax and structure O Why did the author choose particular words? O How do portions of the text relate to the whole? O Where are pivotal points in the text? O What is disclosed at the beginning or end of the text?

25. 6 Steps To writing quality text dependent questions

26. Step 1: Identify core understandings of text O What is it that you want students to understand or learn from the text? O This could be stated in the form of a critical focus question

27. Core Understanding / Critical Focus Questions Examples from the article you have read: Guided close reading lessons help students develop skills and stamina needed to successfully comprehend complex text. Close reading should be done periodically in all classes with well-chosen selections for which text dependent questions have been written. How do teachers prepare for, and students participate in and benefit from close reading lessons?

28. Step 2: Start small The first questions … O Orient students to the text O Simple enough to encourage confidence to tackle more challenging subsequent questions

29. Step 3: Target vocabulary and text structure O Identify how text is set up O Focus attention on diagrams and charts imparting information O Write questions to ensure understanding of key vocabulary

30. Step 4: Tackle tough sections directly O Identify areas that are likely to pose challenges to craft questions to ensure understanding

31. Step 5: Create a coherent series of text dependent questions O Questions should build upon one another O Sum of the questions should lead to core understanding (answer critical focus question)

32. Step 6: Identify the standards that are being addressed O Determine which CC Reading/Writing Standards are being addressed by the text and questions O Don’t forget the CTE Technical Standards! Match those up as well

33. Let’s practice! Looking back at the Close Reading article, write one Text Dependent Question for the section (paragraphs 1-6) that you read earlier.

34. Sample text dependent questions… 1. What is the recommended length of text to be used for close reads? 2. Why should close reading text selections be relatively short? 3. Paragraph 6 refers to the teaching of close reading not being the purview of English teachers, meaning what? 4. What is an ultimate goal of close reads?

35. You’re the experts! PLC groups will work together to: O Select appropriate complex text O Determine core understandings / critical questions O Craft quality text-dependent questions O Critique one another's questions to select the best O Write AzCCRS Reading/Writing tasks – at least one quarterly

36. Use the checklist! Preparing for a CTE Close Reading Lesson should be used by PLCs to insure that text is appropriate and Text Dependent Questions and Writing Tasks are well written