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Reading & Writing. Two things even the Common Core can’t mess up. Common Phrases. Focused More On . c omparative r eading content-rich non-fiction critical writing; argumentative and informational ( as much as 35% should be argumentative ) close reading t ext-dependent questions
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Reading & Writing Two things even the Common Core can’t mess up.
Common Phrases Focused More On comparative reading content-rich non-fiction critical writing; argumentative and informational (as much as 35% should be argumentative) close reading text-dependent questions culture studies math: procedural skills, fluency, and application academic vocabulary • college readiness • seminal works; complex texts • profound insight into the human condition • premium on evidence from the text Common Core Emphasis
Think of the best companies or people in a field. What makes them great? Question
What makes Apple great? What makes Google great? It’s a simple answer…
Each company focuses on simplicity. They each do 1 thing exceedingly well –if not great.
Simple. The ability to read and write well. Ok…ok…maybe it takes a little more than just those two things, but if you have those skills you’re well on your way to college success.
“Consistently, one of the largest differences between failing and successful students was that only the latter could express their thoughts on the page.” • from The Atlantic, “The Writing Revolution” Some self-serving quotes to make the point.
“If we could institute only one change to make students more college ready, it should be to increase the amount and quality of writing students are expected to produce.” from College Knowledge by David Conley, an in-depth study of the skills and content needed to succeed in college. And another...
What about reading? We’ll use some mathematical-statistical thingies for this one…
achievement percentile word gain per year amount of outside reading by minutes and per day 40+ minutes per day <13 minutes per day <2 minutes per day 2.3 million a year 600,000 a year 51,000 a year 90th percentile 50th percentile 10th percentile Seems like a strong reason to drop everything and just have kids read. The numbers tell the tale.
Where to begin? Keep it simple.
Increase in-class reading and writing. Bear in mind that the goal is to foster college readiness, include seminal works, and provide insights into the profound human condition. All ridiculously easy things to do, of course. ;) Adopt a few strategies TEAM-wide. Keep in mind that students need multiple opportunities to practice the strategies you bring to them; and that using them cross-TEAM will make the process far more likely to succeed. Now, are you thinking any (or all) of the following?
I don’t know enough about reading strategies to teach it with science, mathematics, or social studies. • If I spend my time teaching reading and writing strategies, I’ll won’t cover even half of the curriculum. • I’m only allotted forty minutes a day to cover everything. I have to lecture and write notes on the board. • I’m going to need more room help than I have to get to the neediest kids.
Remember: Our charges under the Common Core are many, but chief among them is that students will… …wrangle with complex texts… …use text evidence to support arguments… …become critical readers and thinkers. Now, rather than upset anyone any further… …I’m going to run off like a scared jack-rabbit and let someone else’s fine efforts show how strategic reading can be done while still covering content.
Language Arts Lesson Science Lesson What do Common Core reading lessons look like? (NOTE: These reading lessons are easily employed in any of the content areas. The common denominator (math term) they share is that the acquisition of knowledge comes from shared exploration of the text.
click image for video What does a Common Core math lesson look like?
click image for video Another, more comprehensive, math lesson.
Which Strategies are the best ones? They’re all good in one way or another, but research has shown that one need only consistently employ a few to be effective with students. Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Elevate Student Learning by Mike Schmoker OK then, which strategies are the fewbest ones?
Many of the best reading strategies just happen to come prior to what we all typically consider actual reading. Pre-Reading Activities • Pre-reading activities are often the main determinant of overall comprehension. • Without adequate time devoted to pre-reading activities, we’re bound to set up a portion of students for failure. • We’re also, coincidentally, setting up ourselves for failure. • Pre-reading is important because it helps gauge what your students know, or don’t know, it helps them access their prior understandings, and it can provide the hook for wanting to learn what you have to share with them. The few best are those that properly prepare and engage students in comprehending texts.
Time to feel clueless. With a partner, read and discuss the following: There’s a bear in a plain brown bag wrapper doing flip-flops on 12, taking pictures, and passing out green stamps. Key word: CB radios Another. The Batsmen were merciless against the Bowlers. The Bowlers placed their men in slips and covers. But to no avail. The Batsmen hit one four after another along with and occasional six. Not once did their balls hit the stumps or get caught. And one more. Key word: cricket With hocked gems financing him, our hero bravely defied all scornful laughter that tried to prevent his scheme. “Your eyes deceived,” he had said. “An egg not a table correctly typifies this unexplored planet.” Now three sturdy sisters sought proof. Forging along sometimes through calm vastness, yet more often over turbulent peaks and valleys. Days became weeks as many doubters spread fearful rumors about the edge. At last from somewhere, welcomed winged creatures appeared signifying momentous success. Prior-Reading Strategies Key word: Columbus
I’ve no clue. Keeping in mind some of the focuses of CC (student sharing, student centered, critical thinking and writing), we can rely on old approaches IF we adapt them slightly. For examples… Well, maybe half a clue. Posed Questions Posing a question –especially one with an arguable answer- activates thinking because it puts the onus to act on the audience. Brainstorming Works best under a time factor. Defining Key Concepts Best if limited to a very few, or even one, unifying idea. E.g. A virus is unique, having characteristics suggesting that it’s both a living thing and non living thing. PlacematActivity Using butcher paper, each student brainstorms on her/his part of the “placemat”. After a few moments everyone at a table shares, and the most common ideas are put in the middle. Anticipation Guide Prepares students to identify the major themes and concepts of a written work through a series of statements that address the concepts. Students may be asked to agree or disagree with a series of statements in order to get them to think about concepts in the reading to follow. What do Common Core pre-reading activities look like?
Anticipation Guide: Percents Directions: Before reading pages 318-319 in your mathematics book, read each statement and write if you agree or disagree with each statement. Before Reading After Reading Agree Disagree Decimals are whole numbers. Agree Disagree Agree Disagree You can always recognize a decimal Agree Disagree number because it always has a decimal point. Agree Disagree Decimals are not related to fractions. Agree Disagree Pre-reading Strategy for activating prior knowledge Anticipation Guides (mathematics)
Anticipation Guide: Social StudiesDirections: Before reading: In the column labeled “Me,” place a check next to any statement with which you agree.After reading: Compare your opinions on those statements with information contained in the text. Put a plus sign under the “Text” column if you originally had a check in the “Me” column. If you had no check to begin then, leave the “Text” column blank. Me Text ______ ______ 1. Before the building of the canal, ships traveled South to get from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. ______ ______ 2. The fastest way from the Caribbean to the Pacific was by plane. ______ ______ 3. The building of the canal continued the US policy of isolation. ______ ______ 4. The geographic conditions helped make the building of canal easier. ______ ______ 5. A canal through Panama would benefit the US politically and economically. ______ ______ 6. Latin America welcomed US control of the Panama Canal. ______ ______ 7. The control of Latin America by the US required the US to send troops to protect its interests. Pre-reading Strategy for activating prior knowledge Anticipation Guides (social studies)
Key words, dates, events, terms, from a soon-to-be read passage, are provide prior to reading. Students then use the flow of information to write an impression of what the coming reading will be about. Pre-Reading Strategy involving writing Story Impressions
Gregory Mendel 1843: age 21, Monastery of St. Thomas He studied agriculture But , he was mostly interested in heredity He worked with pea plants because they were self-fertilizing & had observable characteristics after 7 years This can easily be adapted for students to include signal and/or transitional words to assist with the writing. Or… A writing frame can be embedded in the writing impressions area. In 1843, at the age of _____, Gregory Mendel joined the Monastery of St. Thomas. There he studied agriculture, but he was mostly interested in _______________________. He worked with ______________ because they were .....and so on.... Pre-Reading Strategy involving writing Modified Story Impressions
Imagine the air moving through the room. As the air slowly circulates, notice that on these air currents are carried thousands of microscopic, round, bead-like spores. • They are so small you have to look very closely to spot them. These sporesare looking for an opportunity to grow. They are liketiny seeds, searching for a food source that will enable them to grow and live. If they locate a food source with enough moisture, they can grow. • As you watch them drift by, you notice a loaf of bread on the counter. The plastic bread bag has been left opened. • The spores get closer and closer and some of them begin to land on a slice of bread. • Watch carefully as tiny little strings of cells begin to grow from a spore. More and more cells grow out, farther and farther from the spore. • Soon there are so many of them that you see a tangled mass of little strings; these are growing denser and denser as they feed off of the bread. You see some of them with little hooks attach to the bread fibers. They continue to wind outward and further outward. • Now you can see a velvety fuzz appearing on the surface of the bread. What colors are you seeing? What have you witnessed? Pre-Reading Strategy for activating prior knowledge Guided Imagery (science)
Common Core expects that lesssubject matter be covered, rather than more. Covering less subject matter allows students to delve deeper with their understanding, which is a key driver behind the Common Core. How is this accomplished? One way the Common Core sees this as being met is by examining multiple resources on a topic. Deeper Not Wider
Glastonbury Public Schools Grade 6 Reading Draft Unit: Short Story Overview: In this unit, students will recall what it means to be an active reader and will strategically apply their comprehension strategies. Through reading short stories, students will explore literary elements such as setting, conflict, plot, and theme. Students will understand that short stories are a part of our pattern of communication. They will develop an awareness of the structure of the short story and the elements that comprise this genre. Students will realize that short stories convey information in an effective, concise manner. Common Core Standards Key Ideas and Details CCSS.6.RL.1- Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.6.RL.2- Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. CCSS.6.RL.3- Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. Craft and Structure CCSS.6.RL.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. CCSS.6.RL.5- Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use CCSS.6.L.4- Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Essential Questions: How do literary elements such as setting, conflict, plot, and theme contribute to my understanding of the short story? What comprehension strategies can I use to better understand text? What elements in this story combine that made this an effective Example of this genre? Enduring Understandings: When readers know and understand story structure, they are better able to use their comprehension strategies strategically in order to comprehend text on a deeper level. Although short stories share common elements with novels, the concise nature of the genre can impact readers differently. Concepts (What students need to know): Literary Elements: Character Antagonist Protagonist Plot Climax Conflict Exposition Rising Action Falling Action Resolution Story Theme Central lesson Message Moral Skills (What students need to be able to do): Reading Strategies: Noticing/Wondering Visualizing Inferring Quote accurately from text Ask and answer questions Gather text evidence Summarize theme, main points and supporting evidence Speak clearly Decode multisyllabic words Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary Related Reading Strategies/Weekly Focus Learning Outcomes/Related Mini Lessons Resources Week 1: Literary Elements *Readers are aware of story elements such as character, setting, plot, theme, and point of view. Lesson 1 Characters *Notice character traits to infer character’s motives, feelings, beliefs, and reasons for actions and change. Lesson 2 Setting/Plot *Understand the setting’s influence on the story and the development of plot. Lesson 3 Theme Lesson 4 Point of View Possible Short Story Collections Every Living Thing Baseball in April Friends Guys Read Tripping Over the Lunch Lady What do Fish Have To Do With Everything? Teacher Resource: Literary Elements Short Story: “Eleven” Handouts For Lesson 1: * Noticing Language and What It Reveals About Characters *Examining Characters’ Decisions *Traits&Evidence *Searching for and Noticing Information That Reveals Characters *Analyzing Characters *Searching for Evidence of Characters’ Traits *Providing Text Evidence for Characters’ Traits (1 &2) *Relating Behavior to Character Traits *Character Development Handouts for Lesson 2: *plot diagram *conflict *conflict type chart Handouts for Lesson 3: *theme quilt Handouts for Lesson 4: Week 2: . Predicting (Wondering)* *Readers continually anticipate, confirm, and revise predictions as they read. Lesson 5 Predicting and Confirming *Use prior knowledge to anticipate what will happen in the text before, during, and after reading. Predicting and Confirming Making Predictions Week 3: Summarizing (Retelling) *Readers select and organize essential events and information during and after reading. Lesson 6 Recording, Remembering, and Reflecting on One’s Thinking *Record information (language, story elements) for later discussion and/or writing. Chapter Notes Quick Sketch Identifying and Assessing Language in Texts Week 4: Making Connections/Noticing Language *Readers understand what they read when they link text to one’s own experience, other texts, or to one’s knowledge of the larger world. Lesson 7 Making Connections Within and Across Texts *Notice literary elements that are similar across texts; use information from one text to understand another text; connect characters by trait across texts. Making Connections Between Texts Idioms Figures of Speech Language Arts unit of study sample: Short Story
One Topic Multiple Resources Graphic Novel Biography Video Deeper Example: Amelia Earhart
Opportunities to engage with various genres: biographies… documentaries… articles… fiction… Practice with note-taking skills from text from a documentary Students wrangled with interesting questions: How does a graphic novel help a reader understand a time period better than a novel? What discrepancies did you notice between the information in the documentary and the information in the biography? How did sampling multiple resources deepen your understanding of the topic? Which genre form was most informative? Most compelling? Who (what audience) was this written for? Using facts from a biography, compare them to the events in a graphic novel? The Deeper Payoff when using Multiple Resources
Hits on many fronts: examining text structure, partner & group work, & recognizing essential concepts in the reading. For a history chapter on Ellis Island 2. Partner X: Read aloud paragraph 2Partner Y: Listen and decide how to answer the following questions: Section A: Intro to Ellis Island, pages 1-2 1. Class: Listen and follow along in the article as I read. Then based on what you remember respond to the questions below. If you need to, you can locate information in the article. • Were the earliest immigrants to the U.S. regarded as a good thing? • Why or why not? (provide text support) • Ellis is located in what city? • What famous landmark can be seen from Ellis Island? • List 4 reasons why immigrants came to the United States. 3. Partner Y: Read aloud paragraph 3Partner X: Listen and decide how to answer the following questions: • Did the government keep close track of early immigrants? • What clues in the reading helped you figure this out? Section B: Early Immigration to the U.S., pages 2-3 1. Partners: Read paragraph 1 silently and decide on an answer to the following: 4. Partner s: Read silently paragraphs 4-6. List 4 things that attracted people to the U.S. • Who were the first immigrants to the U.S.? And another… Here’s another way to go Deeper with Comprehension: Interactive Reading Guide Strategy
Writing in math is a great way to help students grasp mathematical concepts. 3-Cloumn Notes STEP #1: The teacher presents the concept while students jot notes. Several clear examples are given and recorded. STEP #2: The students work on connecting the math concept to real world examples. They may also try to draw conclusions about the concepts. Going Deeper in mathematics STEP #3: The students add more examples, drawings, graphs, etc. and work on summarizing the important ideas.
This is a writing to learning activity that can be done at any stage of a lesson. The idea is to systematically summarize text. Grade 6-8 example • Text Passage: Ratios express how one number is related to another. It may be written as a/b, a:b, or as a phrase, a to b. For example, the ratio 1:8 is read as 1 to 8, and means that the second number is 8 times as large as the first. A proportion is a statement of equivalency for two or more proportions. Given the proportion of a:b = 3:8 and asked to find b if a = 12, follow these steps. • First substitute 12 in the proportion for a, 12:b = 3:8, 12/b = 3/8 • Then use cross products, 3 x b = 12 x 8 • Solve the equation 3b = 96, b = 32 • Therefore, if the ratio of a to b is 3:8 and a = 12, the b = 32 Teacher models the steps to writing the GIST for this math problem until students can do this on their own. STEP 1. Read the text (or portion of a longer piece) and write down important ideas. • how numbers relate. • 96 divided by 3 = 32 • a:b is 3:8 and a = 12 • how numbers can be written in different ways. • the proportion is 12:b = 3:8 • B = 32 • 3 x b = 12 x 8 which is 3b = 96 Still looking at mathematics: Generating Interactions Between Schemata and Text i.e. GIST
Grade 6-8 example • Text Passage: Ratios express how one number is related to another. It may be written as a/b, a:b, or as a phrase, a to b. For example, the ratio 1:8 is read as 1 to 8, and means that the second number is 8 times as large as the first. A proportion is a statement of equivalency for two or more proportions. Given the proportion of a:b = 3:8 and asked to find b if a = 12, follow these steps. • First substitute 12 in the proportion for a, 12:b = 3:8, 12/b = 3/8 • Then use cross products, 3 x b = 12 x 8 • Solve the equation 3b = 96, b = 32 • Therefore, if the ratio of a to b is 3:8 and a = 12, the b = 32 STEP 2. Using the important ideas, summarize in your own words the concept. Try limiting yourself to a certain number of words or lines, i.e. 25 words or less or 2 lines or less. • how numbers relate. • how numbers can be written in different ways. Summary: ratios express how numbers relate and if the ratio is 3:8 and a = 12, then b = 32. • a:b is 3:8 and a = 12 • the proportion is 12:b = 3:8 • 3 x b = 12 x 8 which is 3b = 96 Mathematics example GIST continued • 96 divided by 3 = 32 • B = 32
Credit Where Credit is Due. Scholastic is Getting it Right these Days {Select image for Common Core Info.} • online issues available • issues aligned to Standards. More Awesome Sauce! • lexile levels provided • paired reading materials available • on & off-line comprehension sheets • solid planning and writing forms • links to vetted websites • content is interesting to read {Select image to visit Scope.} Less is More is Critical to Developing Deeper Thinking
Yeah, there’s an App for that. Other Avenues, Same Process
More and more we’re becoming an eye consuming society. Pictures are telling the tale. And, let’s face it, there are some amazing things to see. The key is to take what’s observed and draw relevant information from it Using the Reuter’s app, The Wider Image, what could be done with that image of a Chilean eruption? So… Future Tech, Time-Tested Thinking
Using The Wider Image app, students can take observational notes (science term) from images related to the eruption. possible impact: costly repairs & clean uploss of drinking water reduced tourism observations: planes unable to fly ash in waterways runways covered in ash possible impact: fewer farmers producing food long-term damage to soil increased cost of foods observations: dead livestock divers in water damaged farm Then, their using observations, they can try to infer the potential impact.
Still using the same app, the students can then examine a graph, which graphs how a country compares to the United States in areas like, population, armed forces, electricity consumption, Internet users, life expectancy, and so on. • Using the defined terms for these areas of measure, students can work on trying to understand the impact the volcanic fallout could have on a country given the strengths and weaknesses displayed by the graph. • Regrettably I only have a graph for Myanmar here.
One important way to improve students’ writing is to engage them in critical thinking about a topic at hand. Critical thinking leads to more thoughtful writing and can be incorporated in a number of ways: (1) As an exploratory writing task How might DaVinci’s lonely childhood have influenced his art? (2) As a formal writing assignment Explain how percentages can help interpret nutritional labels. Of the following languages: French, German, and English, which can be said to be the most romantic? (3) As an essay exam/question (4) As a problem-solving task for small-group discussion; Art, athletics, & music move people greatly. So why do most societies pay their athletes so much more? As a group, come up with a plan to balance this inequity. • (5) As an opening question for whole-class discussion or as a problem for an in-class debate, mock trial, simulation game, or individual or group presentation. Viruses: Living or Dead. You be the judge. Should scientists clone extinct animals? Being a little more specific then, we can get assignments like:
Thesis support assignments, in which students are given a controversial thesis to defend or attack. Problem-posing assignments, in which the teacher gives the students a question which they have to try to answer through thesis-governed writing, or to contemplate through exploratory writing or small group problem solving. Often the assignment specifies an audience. Frame assignments, where the teacher provides a topic sentence and an organizational frame that students have to flesh out with appropriate generalizations and supporting data, generating ideas and arguments to fill the open slots in the frame. Often the frame is provided by an opening topic sentence, along with the major transition words in the paragraph. Students report that such assignments help them learn a lot about organizational strategies. Data-provided assignments, which in a sense are the flip side of the thesis-provided assignment: the teacher provides the data, and the students must determine what thesis or hypothesis the data might support. “What if” assignments that ask the students to step out of their normal point of view and to adopt an unfamiliar perspective or assumption. Such assignments stretch students’ thinking in productive ways, and are excellent critical thinking exercises. Writing summaries of articles, passages, or class lessons, is a another way to develop reading and listening skills, and to improve the precision, clarity, and succinctness of students’ thinking and writing. Summaries force writers to determine structure and sequence of a text. Summaries are without writer’s opinions. Summaries can vary in length: 200-250 words all the way down to a 25-word, single sentence to force revision, clarity, and succinctness. Critical Thinking (continued)
Music Listening Exercise • Music educator can encourage age appropriate discussions at both the primary and secondary levels using music listening activities. The teacher selects several recordings in different styles and moods. After playing an excerpt, the music instructor engages students in a discussion using critical thinking questions. Some sample questions include: • “Why do you think this song makes you happy?” • “If the musician played a drum instead of a flute, what would happen?” • “Does this type of music always have strings?” • “What do the lyrics mean to you?” • For older students, the teacher can divide students into several small groups and give each group a series of critical thinking questions. After fifteen minutes, each group shares their responses to the questions. The teacher follows up with challenging questions that encourage students to view their discussion from alternate viewpoints. Questions like “Why do you think that?” and “Group A stated the opposite view. How can you support your viewpoint?” Or, what’s the theme for this song? What would make the best lyrics for this instrumental piece? Writing component: Exit Tickets: This strategy requires every child to answer a critical thinking question before leaving the class. This strategy encourages the concept of asking a question instead of giving the answer. Critical Thinking & Writing in Music
Conley’s researched prescriptions for what makes students college ready are both simple and relatable to Common Core standards. Students must be able to: This compares to Common Core… • read to infer or interpret • close reading • text-dependent questions • read to draw conclusions • critical writing; argumentative and informational • support arguments with evidence • resolve conflicting views • premium on evidence from the text • examine source documents • comparative reading • culture studies • solve complex problems with no obvious solution • math: procedural skills, fluency, and application Flashing Back to David Conley, whom I quoted on writing, he’s also got some reading points to make.
Always try to answer the following about a lesson… • What activities will students do before the reading? • What activities will students do during the reading? • What activities will student do after the reading? Also… At which points will I include writing, because this is how you know for sure how well a student understands something. And… Where will I incorporate student discussion? Last, not least… What’s the final outcome I’m expecting students to have learned and did my prior reading & writing activities prepare them for how they were assessed and will finally be assessed? The Simplest Formula to Follow
Many of the shared strategies come from this source. I selected this text because… • the strategies are… …practical… …sensible… …and fit well with the Common Core. Each TEAM will have a copy for reference. Same with our school library. Keeping it Simple. We’ve one resource…for now.
