1. Common Core: Reading Informational Texts Key Findings and the Implications for Science, Social Studies, Computer Science and ELA Teachers

2. Agenda The current situation The organization of standards for reading informational texts Implications for students Implications for teachers

3. The Current Problem Graduating HS students can’t read complex texts independently Reading demands in college and workforce training programs have increased K-12 text complexity has decreased Students aren’t reading to learn Whereas twenty-five years ago, 95% of jobs required low skills, today low-skills jobs constitute only 10% of our entire economy. Linda Darling- Hammond

4. Students must read to learn. “There may one day be modes and methods of information delivery that are as efficient and powerful as text, but for now there is no contest.” (1) (1) Adams, M. J. (2009). The challenge of advanced texts: The interdependence of reading and learning. In E. H. Hiebert (Ed.), Reading more, reading better: Are American students reading enough of the right stuff? (pp. 163–189). New York, NY: Guilford.

5. How are the standards for reading informational text organized? Organized by grade level, across content areas: ELA by each grade level Literacy for Science / Technical Subjects grades 6-8, 9-10, 11-12 Literacy for History / Social Science grades 6-8, 9-10, 11-12 Parity across standards

7. Example #1 of Parity Across Content Areas ELA Standards 1-3 for Informational Text, Grade 8 Literacy for History / Social Science Standards 1-3, Grades 6-8 Key ideas and Details CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories). Key Ideas and Details CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).

8. Example #2 of Parity Across Content Areas ELA Standards 7-9 for Informational Text, Grade 8 Literacy for Science Standards 7-9, Grades 6-8 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

9. What Common Core Students Should Do Read ~50% nonfiction Read independently a lot at school Read just-right texts Read books of own choosing Read complex texts Read increasingly more difficult texts over time NOT read and take notes

10. What Teachers Should Do Get high-interest non-fiction into the classrooms Educate admin on the need to: ◦Read in class ◦Channel funds away from textbooks and towards trade books Build text sets that offer multiple perspectivestext sets Get high-quality, print rich journals into classrooms Access digital sources for current nonfictiondigital sources for current nonfiction

11. What Teachers Should Do Teach that nonfiction is not the truth, but is someone’s perspective of the truth Teach students how to read not to accumulate facts, but to:  learn ideas  analyze reasoning  identify and gain perspective Devote time to leveling books

12. Resources For Current Events Articles Teaching with the News: Teaching Resources Grounded in Scholarship Choices curriculum units feature rich content, drawing on the best scholarship available. You'll find historical and contemporary primary source documents, including maps, images, and editorial cartoons. A growing library of Scholars Online videos, aligned with printed units and embedded in our iBook Textbooks, brings content experts directly into your classroom.Scholars Online videosiBook Textbooks http://www.choices.edu/about/ ProCon.org ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity. Our purpose is to provide resources for critical thinking and to educate without bias. We research issues that are controversial and important, and we present them in a balanced, comprehensive, straightforward, transparent, and primarily pro-con format at no charge. http://www.procon.org/ Scientific American SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is the world’s leading source and authority for science and technology information for science-interested citizens, delivering understandable, credible and provocative content to an audience of more than 5 million people worldwide. The magazine is independently ranked among the Top 10 US consumer media* for “Most Credible” and “Most Objective. The website provides access to some good content even without a subscription. http://www.scientificamerican.com/ NY Times: Teens in the Times Collections of the latest NY Times news, features, and multimedia about young people. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/teens-in-the-times/ Library of Congress The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/ Youth Radio Partnering 14-24 year-olds with industry leaders, Youth Radio produces digital media and Peabody-award winning journalism that is distributed nationally. http://www.youthradio.org/