Selma Unified School District Department of Curriculum and Instruction

1. Selma Unified School DistrictDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction 6th grade Release Day # 2 Feb. 3, 2011

2. Welcome Norms Goals for this session Selecting Essential Standards WTA: Persuasive Writing Review Monitoring Student Reading PLC: Planning & Collaboration

3. Selecting Essential Standards in Selma Unified School District“All Standards are not Created Equal” 2010-11

4. How Do Each of Us Choose What is Essential to Teach? • Who among you has ever been able to teach and assess all the standards and indicators for which you are responsible? • So how do you decide which standards are the important ones to teach and assess? • Do we all use the same selection criteria?

5. “In absence of an agreed-upon set of criteria for prioritizing the standards and indicators, educators will, out of necessity, make up their own.” -Power Standards: Identifying the Standards that Matter the Most, Larry Ainsworth, 2003

6. Goal - Moving From This Model…

7. To This Model State Standards Potential Curriculum & Test Objectives Focused Curriculum & Assessments Essential Standards

8. What are Essential Standards? Essential Standards are the agreed upon standards that have endurance, leverage and develop readiness for the next grade level.

9. Criteria for Selecting an Essential Standard • Endurance – Will this standard provide students with knowledge and skills of value beyond a single test date? • Leverage – Will proficiency in this standard help the student in other areas of the curriculum and other academic disciplines? • Develop readiness for next level of learning – Is it essential for success in the next unit, course or grade level?

10. Why Are Essential Standards Important? “By focusing on essential skills, teachers prepare students for 80% to 90% of the content that will be addressed on state tests.” (Doug Reeves, 2002)

11. How Many Essential Standards? “We recommend that teams start by identifying 8 to 10 most essential outcomes students will be expected to achieve in the subject area for that semester (trimester).” (DuFour, 2006)

12. Clarifying What Students Must Learn • The essential learning must be aligned with state and district curriculum guides. • The essential learning must ensure students are well-prepared to demonstrate proficiency on state, district and national assessments. DuFour, 2006

13. District Approach To Selecting Essential Standards “Ownership and commitment are directly linked to the extent to which people are engaged in the decision-making process (Axelrod, 2002) and as a result there is a direct correlation between participation and improved results (Wheatley, 1999).” Learning By Doing Handbook, Dufour, 2006

14. Directions for Activity • Each group has been assigned a strand of the ELA content standards. Step One: Using the criteria of endurance, leverage and developing readiness, classify each standard as either a primary or secondary standard. -Resources provided include: Standards At A Glance Grade level ELA standards Individual standard cards Group poster

15. Criteria for Selecting an Essential Standard • Endurance – will this standard provide students with knowledge and skills of value beyond a single test date? • Leverage – will proficiency in this standard help the student in other areas of the curriculum and other academic disciplines? • Develop readiness for next level of learning – is it essential for success in the next unit, course or grade level?

16. Directions for Activity Step Two: With your group go to one of the other strand posters to review and provide input. If you have questions or think there should be a change, please use a sticky note to record and post your ideas. - Please don’t move the standards that have been classified already by the group. - You will be signaled when it is time to move to the next poster. - If your group agrees with something recorded on a sticky note by another group, please place a check mark on the same note.

17. Next Steps • Each site will provide teacher representation for a districtwide vertical articulation team. • Team will meet after contract hours (supplemental pay) to look for gaps, overlaps, and omissions in first draft of essential standards. • Team will also look for the correlation to CST/CELDT/CAHSEE/Common Core Standards and make any revisions. • Second draft for current grade, grade above, and grade below will be shared at Day 3 of WTA.

18. Break: 15 minutes

19. Persuasive Writing: Review 2nd Trimester Genre

20. Persuasive Writing Information Writing pacing guide: • Instruction: • Persuasive Writing: November 15th-March 11th • Trimester 2 Benchmark Testing Dates: • Writing Prompt: Mar. 3rd scanned by Mar. 22nd

21. Discussion Prompts… • Please share an instructional strategy/tool that has been effective in your teaching of persuasive writing. • Share any questions you may have regarding persuasive writing. • Be prepared to share.

22. Why Do Persuasive Writing? • It provides a life skill. • Students learn to use words to promote their ideas, rather than force. • Media Literacy -- helps students recognize when, how and by whom they are being persuaded to do something so that they can be discriminating in their decisions. • It helps students organize their thoughts in a convincing way.

23. The Big Picture

24. In persuasive writing, students are expected to… • Take a position • Support their position with clear evidence • Anticipate their audience’s reaction • Have counter arguments ready • Summarize or restate their position

25. Successful instruction should… • Scaffold content learning and • Scaffold language learning.

26. Expose Students to the Forms of Persuasive Writing • Advertisements or posters • Letters • Compositions / Essays • Speeches / Debate**

27. Using Printed Ads to Teach Persuasion Client Testimonial

28. Advertisements… • Goal: • To have students identify the position being taken and the supporting evidence or examples. • To have students recognize the use of persuasive language. • To have students transfer this information to a persuasive writing note page. • Note: Ads generally do not present the opposing viewpoint or rebuttal.

29. Next Step:Deconstructing Text** Goal • To have students identify the position being taken in text, the reasons, and the supporting evidence or examples. • To have students identify the counter argument and rebuttalin text. • To have students recognize the use of persuasive language and language frames. • To have students transfer this information to a persuasive writing organizer.

30. Deconstructing Text • Students May… • Color code essay structures (i.e. Introductory paragraph) • Underline a key components (i.e. position) • Underline persuasive language • Underline transitional sentences

31. Deconstructing Text Practice Think about the Gradual Release Model I do / You do Process • Locate the following & transfer to organizer: • Position • Counter argument • Rebuttal • Conclusion • Note: Subsequent practice can have students locate persuasive language. • NOTE: Model the process and think aloud.

32. Ideas for Persuasive Writing Prompts • Uniforms in school • Skateboards on campus • Junk food on campus • Pay for chores at home • Homework • Cafeteria food quality • Where to go on a fieldtrip • Length of school day • Children should not be able to eat sugary breakfast cereals

33. How to Write a Persuasive Composition Pre-Write • Identify the topic of the composition • Choose your position on the topic • List all of the reasons supporting your position • From the list choose three of the strongest reasons • Find and note evidence to support each reason • Determine the counter argument and address these concerns

34. How to Write a Persuasive Composition Draft • Write your composition in at least five paragraphs with the following elements: • Introduction which states a clear position and reasons • Three supporting paragraphs which include evidence for each reason • The counter argument and how you would address the reader’s concerns • A strong conclusion that restates the position and reasons Edit / Revise/Reflect • Reread, revise, and edit your composition • Reflect on your essay

35. English Language Development Through ***Persuasive Writing Instruction*** • Do not assume that they have the necessary language structures or vocabulary to write a persuasive letter/essay. • Provide language frames along the way. • Provide time for students to use the frames in speaking and in writing. • Model using the frames to redundancy!

36. Persuasive Language Framesfor stating your position: • In my opinion • I believe that… • It seems obvious to me that… • Although not everybody would agree, my position is…

37. Persuasive Language Framesfor supporting your position: • I have several reasons for arguing this point of view. • My first reason is…Another reason is… • There are several points I want to make to support my point of view. • A further point they make is…

38. Persuasive Language Framesfor considering the counter arguments: • Some argue that… • They say (claim, hold, maintain) that… • On the other hand, there are many who disagree with the idea that… • A further point they make is…

39. Persuasive Language Framesfor restating your position: • After looking closely at both sides of the issue and the evidence, I believe it is best to… • The advantages of…outweigh the disadvantages of… • Even though the issue has two sides, I think I have shown that…

40. Resources Available on the SUSD Website • Select the Curriculum Channel • Select Writing, when drop down menu appears. • You will find: • Organizers, language frames, pacing guide, transition words, and 6 persuasive letters to use when deconstructing texts. • Don’t forget about the resources available to you from 2009-2010 trainings.

41. PLC: Revising and Editing • Look over the Revising & Editing Lessons. • In your group discuss/brainstorm ideas for the following: • How might you scaffold these lessons? • What academic language would kids need to know? • What would be the suggested pacing?

42. PLC: Revising and Editing • Group Share

43. Lunch Break • Please take a minute to add to your reflection form. • Enjoy your lunch!

44. The District Expectation Regarding Individual Reading Assessments… • Individual monitoring of student reading must occur on a consistent basis. • Information gathered should be used to create instruction plans that will provide the necessary interventions for students. • All students below grade level, will need to be assessed using an individualized reading inventory. • A minimum of 1 assessment per trimester

45. Analysis of the Running Record Reader’s of text appear to make decisions about the quality of the message they are getting. One theory is that they are recalling or attacking words. Another theory is that the student is working to get the best fit possible with the limited knowledge he has. It is the last theory that guides teacher decision making. (Marie Clay, Running Records For Classroom Teachers)

46. 3 Cueing Systems

47. Steps 1. Analyze errors for M,S,V. 2. Read up to and including the error. Ask yourself: does that make sense? 3. Read up to and including the error. Ask yourself: Does that sound right? 4. Read up to and including the error. Ask yourself: Does it look like the word in the text? Is there visual similarity?

48. Steps 5. Total the columns . 6. Decide which cues the child used and which he/she neglected. 7. Determine what you would praise after the reading of this text? What did the child do well? (limit 1-2 praise points) 8. Determine what you would focus on as a teachingpoint. What’s next for this child? (limit 1-2 teaching points)

49. Demonstration:

50. Analysis of the Running Record Decide on praise and teaching points. Note the areas of need. Plan the next lesson. Decide which prompt you will utilize with your student(s).