Curriculum Shifts in Reading and Writing

1. Curriculum Shifts in Reading and Writing Whetstone Elementary School Literacy Night October 2013

2. Balancing Informational and Literary Text • Students read a true balance of informational and literary text. • Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts • Strive for 50% informational and 50% literary texts

3. Knowledge in the Content Areas • Students build knowledge about the world through reading text rather than the teacher or activities • Students gather information from many sources • Students evaluate the credibility and accuracy of sources • Use investigation of a topic to build knowledge

4. Staircase of Complexity • Students read the central, grade appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers create more time and space and support in the curriculum for close reading. • Practice with complex text on a regular basis to build student capacity to comprehend challenging text independently and proficiently • Analyze the structure of the text • Navigate the “tricky” parts of the text

5. Discuss Reading Using EvidenceText Based Answers • Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence based conversations about text • Ask and answer questions that can only be accessed by reading the text • Teach students to become experts in citing evidence from the text • Include formal presentations and informal discussions • Evaluate the authors’ use of evidence

6. Writing From Sources • Writing emphasizes use of evidence from sources to inform or make an argument • Teach how to respond to ideas, events, facts and arguments presented in text • Include opportunities to analyze two or more texts • Provide opportunities for students to write routinely over time

7. Academic Vocabulary • Students constantly build the transferable vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts. • Teach meaning of words and how they are used in various contexts to increase students’ ability to comprehend complex text • Expose students to rich and varied vocabulary to increase their knowledge base • Provide opportunities for students to use new vocabulary in small group discussions

8. Questions or Comments?