Bridges to Academic Success

Professional Development WorkshopAug. 30 – Sept. 1, 2011

WELCOME: Come in and Do now!

• Make yourself a name tag• Sit with people who are new to you and

introduce yourself• Write on 2 sentence strips: 1. One important way that SIFE/Bridges students differ from others in your classes 2. Cite one important way we can help SIFE/Bridges students learn academic content

Introductions• Partners interview each other: - History or meaning of your first name

- Where you spent most of your life - What you expect to get out of Bridges

• Share partner’s info with the group• Question/suggestion box:

Warm feedbackCool feedbackQuestions/comments (drop as things come up)

Our Project

How can we support student learning in Bridges?

The Pillars of our Bridges Program

A. Build a class communityB. A Team ApproachC. Customized CurriculumD. Integration of language, literacy and contentE. Focus on foundational high school skillsF. Instructional strategies based on academic

needsG. Materials

A. Build a class community

• Ensure physical and emotional environment for consistency, comfort, safety, learning• Establish clear and predictable procedures and rituals for class and school behaviors • Focus on cultural awareness• Consider classroom as giant toolbox: Gather and display artifacts for and of learning

B. Teamwork

• The team approach: - Teachers as researchers - Interdisciplinary teacher teams - Sheltered class for one year: class works

together for good of its members- Collaborative learning groups

Collaborative/cooperative Learning Groups (CLGs)

Discussion: 1) What was your experience working in a

group in the last activity?2) What are your experiences with CLG’s more

generally?• Benefits?• Pitfalls?• Productive strategies?

Remember

When planning your cooperative learning groups,

always keep the following Elements of Cooperative Learning

in mind….

1. Positive Interdependence (sink or swim together)

• Each group member's efforts are required and indispensable for group success

• Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task responsibilities

2. Face-to-Face Interaction  (promote each other's success)

• Orally explaining how to solve problems

• Teaching one's knowledge to other

• Checking for understanding

• Discussing concepts being learned

• Connecting present with past learning

3. Individual & Group Accountability( no hitchhiking! no social loafing)

• Assigning one student in each group the role of checker. The checker asks other group members to explain the reasoning and rationale underlying group answers.

• Having students teach what they learned to someone else.

• Keeping the size of the group small. The smaller the size of the group, the greater the individual accountability may be.

• Giving an individual test to each student.

• Randomly examining students orally by calling on one student to present his or her group's work to the teacher (in the presence of the group) or to the entire class.

• Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each member-contributes to the group's work.

4. Interpersonal & Small-Group Skills

Social skills must be taught:

• Leadership • Decision-making • Trust-building • Communication • Conflict-management

skills

5. Group Processing

• Group members discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships

• Describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful

• Make decisions about what behaviors to continue or change

CLG Websites• Channel Thirteen Workshop on Cooperative & Collaborative Learning.

Includes webliography http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/index.html

• “Cooperative Learning” on the Kennesaw University website:

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm

C. A Customized Curriculum, incorporating the following principles:

• Teaching to NYS and Common Core Standards• Critical concepts taken from grades 2-8 in each

subject area • Backwards design – Goals, assessment, learning

activities• Interdisciplinary (SS, Sci, Math, Eng), thematic

exploratory • Participatory: student empowerment • Accelerated learning • Bottom up + top-down learning

The Curriculum

Is the work TOO EASY??

TOO HARD??JUST THE RIGHT

STREEEETTTCHH!!

D. Language and literacy integrated with content

Use of the Language Experience Approach (LEA) =

Experiential (content) Oral (language) Written (literacy)

E. Focus on foundational high school skills:

content knowledge and skillsvocabularyoral language: listening and speakinglearning to read - basic literacy skillsreading to learn writing, including spellingcritical thinking skillsacademic habits and community buildingtechnology skills

F. Instructional strategies based on academic needs:

Native language supportsCollaborative learning activitiesUse of technologyExperiential learningDifferentiated learningProject-based assessments, plus other

assessments

G. Materials

No textbooks

Use of authentic materials

The language experience approach (after our

lunch break!)

Learning to Read in Bridges

The Language Experience Approach (LEA) integrates personal and

experiential learning, academic concepts, oral language and literacy

and critical thinking.

Video clip demonstration of LEA

Watch for• Elicitation of background knowledge• Development of oral language in a familiar context• Concept Oral language Written language• Words sentences • Simple concrete experiential ideas an abstract concept

WHAT AIDS STUDENTS’ LEARNING IN THIS DEMONSTRATION?

Practicing the Language Experience Approach

Homework

1. In Binder, read a) Intro to Curriculum – bring in Qs and comments; b) Section on the Language Experience Approach. Study LEA Follow Up Activities, in particular. 2. Develop one specific activity to follow up on the text we created in class today.

Day 2

1. Come in and Do now!2. Following up from LEA3. Building concepts through learning experiences 4. Building oral language: vocabulary5. From oral language to reading and writing:

discrete skills6. Using the Bridges Curriculum

Come in and do now!

1. Read the LEA section distributed.2. One question you have?

LEA: Following up activities

• Learning the words (and sentences) of the LEA text: vocabulary practice and reinforcement• Using same words in new contexts and

concepts• Learning new words: vocabulary development

Learning the words of the text: vocabulary practice

• Share your homework with each other: #1 and 2 only• Using the text that you developed with Trevor yesterday,

create one of the following follow-up language/literacy activities.– Illustrate the text– Make sentence strips– Make word cards– Create a cloze activity.

• In your group, plan to implement this activity with the other group. Choose a “teacher” and lead us in your activity.

Using same words in new contexts and concepts

• In your groups, use some of the same words in a new context, choosing a concept from yesterday’s list or another. Plan one follow-up activity to develop that concept, if possible embedding the activity in a subject area. (Note: This activity may also involve the introduction of new vocabulary words.)

Learning new words: Vocabulary development

“Our Bridges goal is for students to learn a minimum of 11 new words per week in each class, for a total of 44 words per week and 1320 words per year that student can understand in listening and reading and use when speaking and writing.... All people learn word meanings best when they are embedded in ‘purposeful talk.’ The bulk of instruction and practice with these words will be oral word ‘play’ activities, with reading and writing as reinforcement.” (See section 4 of white binder}

More ideas for developing vocabulary

• Act out the word; play charades• In addition to a semantic map with the word in the center, make a sounds-like map with the word in the center (include words with same initial sound, rhyming words, word families...)• Put the word on a word wall, into notebooks, or in 3 word boxes (new, practice, known)

• Add word to graffiti panel• Use word in new sentences throughout the week, in different subject areas

End of week: • Make small books, with new words accompanied by drawings• Make CD covers, with new words in song titles!

Pair/Group Activity

Open Sort: Your pair/group will receive a stack of cards, each with a word printed on it. The group organizes the cards in any way it sees fit, but it must justify why it has chosen this organization. Closed Sort: Using the same stack of cards, your group must organize the cards into three groups: i. Everyday words

ii. General academic words (frequent)iii. Technical or subject-specific academic words (infrequent)

[See vocab handout]

Oral Language Discrete Skills

From experiential learning and concepts (top down) oral vocabulary and sentence building discrete skills (bottom up)

We encourage Bridges classes to work in discrete skills stations, e.g. phonics, sight words, fluency, sentence structure, writing practice, to develop basic literacy skills

Basic Literacy in Bridges: Where to start?

The Basis for Word Reading:Word Families and Sight Words

“Word families will be the focus of phonics instruction in Bridges, as through word families we can simultaneously work on beginning consonants, chunks of letters that create a sound and eventually help students recognize these chunk in multisyllabic words.” What is a word family? (Share homework question #2): Provide examples of word families from one of the LEA text words. Sight words: What is a sight word and why is this important? What is the difference between teaching word families v. sight words?

Phonics Direct Instruction Goal: Learn one word family per week in each class

• Choose a word family that relates to central concept, that students already know meaning of (ex. NAME).

• You write the word on the board and students say it 3 times• Cover up the first letter and ask, “If I take this away, how do we read this?

What does it say?” (-AME) (The first time you do this, students can do this with their names)

• Repeat it 3 times• Ask if they know any other words with this sound (-AME) (they most likely

wont know many, if any)

• You generate a list (refer to word family list), changing only the first letter • You read the list out loud, students read chorally (name, game, same,

came) (* meaning in NOT the goal here, only sound patterns)• Students get list (typed in advance) and students point the word you call

out

Phonics Partner Practice (10 mins)

Reading• Students practice reading word list in partners

“Spelling”• Partner 1 reads first word• Partner 2 makes this word with letter cards• Partner 2 reads that word• Switch after finished all words• Copy words in new list in notebook

Sight Word Direct InstructionGoal: Learn 10 words per week in each class-reading automatically

• Sight words are everyday basic words• These should be common words students have seen and heard

in this unit• Choose 10 words (refer to tier 1 list on unit plan, but you are not limited to this)

• Hand out these 10 words to each student (mark initials on back)

• Flash large cards and read aloud• Student chorally read each one 3 times• They work in groups to draw/ write something on back that

shows meaning• Help with ones they do not know, asking them if they can look

somewhere to find this meaning• Teacher calls out word and the hold up card• Ask someone what it means

Visualizing Sight Words

1. Goal of sight word reading is for students to be able to say the word immediately, as a whole unit and NOT sounding out.

2. Goal is also for them to visualize the meaning of the word, although some high frequency words are difficult to imagine (of, from, though).

* We must teach students to “take a picture” of the

word to visualize the spelling and to “make a picture” in the mind of the meaning.

“Taking a Picture in your Mind”

1. Flash a word card2. Teacher says the word3. Students repeat 3 times4. Students look at word & “air spell”, saying letters “W-h-a-t”5. “Take a picture of this word in your mind”6. “Close your eyes. Can you see this word?”7. “What letters do you see?”8. They spell (using finger of needed) 9. Open eyes and spell again, now looking10. “What is this word?” Students say word

Sight Word Partner Practice

1. Partner 1 gives partner 2 his words2. Partner 2 flashes cards3. Partner 1 reads all words4. Partner 2 makes two piles YES and NO5. If partner 1 read correctly and quickly, word goes

into YES pile. Other into NO pile6. Practice until all in YES pile

7. Switch

Text Fluency Reading: Direct Instruction

1. When reading LEA text aloud, track print with finger. Do the same with read aloud.

2. “Scoop” the second time you read, so they are reading in chunks.

3. Exaggerate use of punctuation- short pause if comma and complete stop at period.

4. Isolate any words that are giving pronunciation problems .

Sentence Structure: Direct Instruction

1. Model the targeted structure first orally 2. Students repeat 3 times3. Write the targeted structure on the board4. This is a _______________.5. You read6. Students read7. Students practice this target in whole class8. Students practice this target with partner

(speaking then writing)

Dictation: Practice

“Take a picture in your mind” activity can support internalizing symbols and their sounds. You can use this with letters, word families and sight words.

1. Teacher says sounds, students write letters that make that sound

2. Teacher says words (word family or sight), students write word

3. Teacher says 2 basic sentences, students write4. Teachers says challenge sentence, those who can write5. Choose 3 students to write sentences on board

A Tour of the Bridges Curriculum

Your comments and questions re 1. Introduction and Overview

Other Sections of the Curriculum Guide

2. A culture of Interdisciplinary practice3. Curricula for Unit 1 4. Vocabulary Materials5. (Learning Outcomes – not included)6. Additional Materials

Unit 1 ComponentsUnit map for each subject area

1. Goals: Big understandings, essential questions, content knowledge & skills, language functions & structures, vocabulary, suggested texts, literacy stations

2. Assessment: Unit project (and test)? - summative assessment; formative assessments

3. Learning Activities: Suggested foci for each week and possible activities. This is NOT a blueprint; you will need to develop your own lessons (template provided) and teach responsively, with differentiated instruction as needed

Looking at Unit 1 Materials

1. Examine page one for overview of all disciplines. 2. If you are an English, SS, Sci or Math teacher, examine the “map” of your unit. Pair up with another teacher from your discipline, if available. 3. If you are an NL teacher, examine the English unit plan and think about how you can adapt it to NL learning. Decide on a few ways to incorporate at least one other discipline into your NL instruction. 4. Note the Assessment Checklist for your discipline or, for NL teacher, another.

Looking at Units in Across Disciplines

English, Social Studies, Science, Math, NL

• Give a one sentence summary of the focus of this unit in your class; NL teacher can do Eng unit or another

• What connections do you see across unit 1? • What concepts and words will you teach across all

classes? • How can NL instruction and support be incorporated

throughout this unit?

Developing a Lesson Plan

Core Instructional Elements• Content knowledge and skills• Critical Thinking• Experiential Learning• Vocabulary• Oral language (listening and speaking)• Reading and writing• Basic literacy skills• Native language• Numeracy• Arts• Formative assessment

Map of Core Instructional Elements and how they are used throughout Bridges

Sample Lesson Plan

•See sample lesson plan for your discipline.Your comments? Changes?

• See lesson plan template for developing other lessons

Creating a Lesson Plan

For Day 2: Group discuss broad ideas for follow-up to Day 1 specific ideas for Day 2:• interdisciplinary connections• core instructional elements

Homework

Use lesson plan template to plan the lesson for day 2, which you will share with your group. Be sure to include a) as many items in the core instructional elements as possible, and b) interdisciplinary connections whenever possible.

Reflections so far?Take 3 cards and indicate:

• Yellow - One thing that stands out• Blue - One concern, suggestion• Red - One question

Day 3 Agenda

1. Questions, concerns, reflections2. Sharing of Day 2 lesson plans3. Bridges Research4. Bridges Website5. Teacher responsibilities and

remuneration6. Final reflections: What’s next?

Do Now

Write your answers to these questions: 1. What is one thing you’re excited about in implementing Bridges?2. What is one concern you have about implementing Bridges?

Sharing Day 2 Lesson Plans1. Present your lesson to the group.2. Others make suggestions, focusing on

• core instructional elements• connecting the lesson across

disciplines3. Share your experience in developing

this plan (positive and negative)? 4. What further help do you need?

Bridges Research:

Teachers = Researchers

Researchers = Teachers

Participants

Bridges Students: 15-20 students, at each of 4 high schools Entering 9th grade, with less than one year of

schooling in NYC Native language reading score: below 4th grade Varied native languages

Comparison Groups: Non-Bridges students, matched at each school

ParticipantsBridges Staff:

Instructional leader Bridges team at each school, incl school team leader: Curriculum consultants and PD facilitators Researchers:

Principal Investigator

Project Director

Support Staff

Research Activities (with informed consent)

1. Documenting Bridges implementation:

Classroom observations

Selected lesson plans

Online E-logs of classroom teachers

Online team meeting E-logs of team leaders

One-day Bridges Conference on schools’ PD day in Jan. 2012, to reflect on curriculum and instruction for purpose of revisions

2. Documenting student progress

(collaboration between school Bridges team leaders, classroom teachers, and researchers)

A. Initial Student Information

Demographic information from school records

Native language literacy assessments (Sept 2011) Spanish ALLD or school-based assessments

Initial student information, cont.

Student background information: Oral Language Interview in native language

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/ELL/KeyDocuments/Academic+Language+and+Literacy+Diagnostic.htm

Sections:

• Personal and Language information

• Benchmark 1

• Benchmark 2

B. Student learning measures

English ALLD used as pre-test (Sept. 2011) and post-test (May/June 2012)

Any other school-based pre-post measures (Internationals?)

Academic achievement measures, incl unit tests(?) or other measures, taken throughout school year.

Student work samples (quizzes, homework, portfolios, etc.)

Teacher responsibilities

• Help collect student data• Document own practice• Contribute to Bridges team meetings• Attend January PD

Teacher remuneration

Activity AmountSummer ‘11 PD: 13 hrs $552.50Academic year- DOEDOE $900.00Academic year - NYCT 212.50Total $1,665.00

Questions?

The Bridges Website

http://thebridgesproject.weebly.com/index.html

Final Reflections

Write on cards:• One thing we did well• One thing we could improve• Other comments or questions

Share in circle:One important thing to remember as we begin

Bridges