CONTENT LITERACY INSTRUCTIONAL

SHIFTS FORSCIENCE

FacilitatorAuddie Mastroleo ҉ OCM BOCES Network Team

Balancing Informational & Literary Texts (Grades PK-5)

Knowledge in the Disciplines (Grades 6-12)

Staircase of Complexity

Text-based Answers

Writing from Sources

Academic Vocabulary

COMMON CORE SHIFTS ELA & CONTENT LITERACY

SHIFT 1

GradesPK-5

BALANCING INFORMATIONAL &

LITERARY TEXTS

Range of Text Types

Literature = Stories, Dramas,

Poetry

Informational = Literary

Nonfiction, Historical,

Scientific, & Technical Texts

50% fiction 50% nonfiction

40% fiction 60% nonfiction

20% fiction 80% nonfiction

4th grade

8th grade

12th grade

Increase in teaching

and learning with non-

fiction text

SHIFT 2

Grades6-12

KNOWLEDGE IN THE DISCIPLINES

Reading & Writing Literacy

Standards

• Complement, not replace content standards

Depending on text rather

than referring to it

• Read a president’s speech & write a response

• Read scientific papers & write an analysis

Think sophisticated

non-fiction

• Analyze and evaluate texts within disciplines

• Gain knowledge from texts that convey complex information through diagrams, charts, evidence, & illustrations

Expectation of rigorous

domain specific literacy

instruction outside of

ELA

SHIFT 1

Balancing Information

al and Literary

Texts

SHIFT 2

Building Knowledge

in the Disciplines

Core Text

Pre-CCL

S

The Study of the Cell

SHIFT 1

Balancing Information

al and Literary

Texts

SHIFT 2

Building Knowledge

in the Disciplines

Paired Texts: The Cell and Beyond

Core Texts

Post-

CCLS

SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES

With a partner…

Share your initial thinking and

reactions

TURN AND TALK

SHIFT 3

STAIRCASE OF COMPLEXITY

Increase in text complexity at each grade level

Qualitative

Levels of meaning

Structure

Clarity of language

Knowledge demands

Quantitative

Word length

Sentence length

Text cohesion

Reader & Task

Motivation

Knowledge

Experience

Appendix B:

Text Exemplars

and Sample Performance

Tasks

Expectation of proficiency

and independence

in reading grade level

text

SHIFT 3

Staircase of Complexity

PRE-CCLSThe cell membrane is a thin , flexible barrier around the cell. Many cells also have a strong layer around the cell membrane known as the cell wall...

Some cells also have a nucleus, a large structure that contains the cell’s genetic material and controls the cell’s activities. The material inside the cell’s membrane – but not including the nucleus – is called the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm contains many important structures.

SHIFT 3

Staircase of

Complexity

POST-CCLSUnder the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic information that makes you you. The cytoplasm buzzes like a New York City street. It’s crammed full of molecules and vessels endlessly shuttling enzymes and sugars from one part of the cell to another, pumping water, nutrients, and oxygen in and out of the cell. All the while, little cytoplasmic factories work 24/7, cranking out sugars, fats, proteins, and energy to keep the whole thing running and feed the nucleus – the brains of the operation.

SHIFT 4

TEXT-BASED ANSWERS

Questions tied directly to the text, but extend beyond the

literal

Students must cite

text to support answers

Personal opinions,

experiences, and

connections to the text

are minimized in favor of what

the text actually says

or doesn’t say

Questions are purposefully planned &

direct students to

closely examine the

text

SHIFT 4

Text-based

Answers

Question:

Draw a model of a cell. Label the parts in the cell and describe the function of each.

PRE-CCLSThe cell membrane is a thin , flexible barrier around the cell. Many cells also have a strong layer around the cell membrane known as the cell wall...

Some cells also have a nucleus, a large structure that contains the cell’s genetic material and controls the cell’s activities. The material inside the cell’s membrane – but not including the nucleus – is called the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm contains many important structures.

SHIFT 4

Text-based Answers

Question:

Analyze the author’s similes to describe the cell. How does her language choice convey the function and structure of a cell?

Use specifi c examples from the texts to support your answer.

POST-CCLSUnder the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic information that makes you you. The cytoplasm buzzes like a New York City street. It’s crammed full of molecules and vessels endlessly shuttling enzymes and sugars from one part of the cell to another, pumping water, nutrients, and oxygen in and out of the cell. All the while, little cytoplasmic factories work 24/7, cranking out sugars, fats, proteins, and energy to keep the whole thing running and feed the nucleus – the brains of the operation.

SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES

SHIFT 5

WRITING FROM SOURCES

Three Text Types

Argument

Supporting a claim with sound reasoning and relevant evidenceInformational

/Explanatory Writing

Increase subject knowledge

Explain a process

Enhance comprehension

Narrative Writing

Conveys experience i.e. fictional stories, memoirs, anecdotes, autobiographies

Appendix C: Samples of

Student Writing

Argumentative writing is especially

prominent in the CCLS

SHIFT 5

Writing from

Sources

Write about a time you were treated unfairly or

dishonestly. Describe the situation and how you

reacted.

Pre-CCLS

SHIFT 5

Writing from

Sources

Select a bio ethics article to read. Write a critical essay in which

you discuss the article you have chosen and The Immortal Life of

Henrietta Lacks from the perspective provided in the

quote.Provide a

valid interpretation of the quote.

Agree or disagree with the quote as

you’ve interpreted it.

Support your opinion using

specific references

from the two works listed

above.

Post-CCLS

“We must not seeany person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with itsown secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.”

~Elie Wiesel

SHIFT 6

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

Tier One

Words

• Words of everyday speech

Tier Two

Words

• Not specific to any one academic area

• Generally not well-defined by context or explicitly defined within a text

• Wide applicability to many types of reading

Tier Three Words

• Domain specific• Low-frequency• Often explicitly defined • Heavily scaffolded

Ramp up instruction of Tier Two

words

With a partner…

Share your initial thinking and

reactions

TURN AND TALK

SHIFT 6

Academic Vocabular

y

Pre-CCLS

Cell membra

ne

cell wall

nucleus

cytoplasm

SHIFT 6

Academic Vocabular

y

Post-CCLS

Tier 3 Words

Cell membran

e

Cell wall

nucleus

cytoplasm

Tier 2 Words

buzzes

crammed

shuttling

cranking

SCIENCE PRE AND POST SHIFTS NOTES

With a partner…

Share your initial thinking and

reactions

TURN AND TALK

QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? NOTICES?