A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THE KEY SHIFTS IN THE MA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Learning, Teaching, and Leading

Boston Public SchoolsApril 26, 2012/Elementary Session

Agenda

Overview of Shifts and Common Assessments

Applying the Shifts to Our Work Ahead Text Complexity Text Dependent Questions

2

3 Shifts in ELA/Literacy

1. Building knowledge through content-rich non-fiction and informational texts

2. Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

3. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text

3

English Language Learners and Text Complexity

“…(ELL) instruction is usually pitched at a lower level than instruction provided for English proficient students…(and) texts used….are usually less complex, less informative, and less demanding…As a result such texts rarely if ever provide any exposure to the kind of language students need to learn and use in carrying out academic work” (Wong-Fillmore)

4

Current and Future Assessments and the Key Shifts in ELA/Literacy

(Adapted from Sue Pimental)

5

Assessments

From State Assessments That:

• Measure ELA only

• Emphasize narrative fiction

To Common Assessments That:

• Measure literacy across disciplines

• Emphasize informational texts

6

Shift 1: Building Knowledge Through Content-Rich Informational Text

Much of our knowledge base comes from informational text

Makes up vast majority of required reading in college/workplace (80%)

Informational text harder for students to comprehend than narrative text

Yet students are asked to read very little of it in elementary and middle school (7% to 15%)

Standards moves percentages to 50:50 at elementary level and 75:25 at secondary level

7

Assessments

From State Assessments That:

• Focus on reading skills—on what students can do with what they read

• Assess literary terminology

To Common Assessments That:

• Focus on complexity of what students can read too

• Measure academic vocabulary

8

Shift 2: Regular Practice with Complex Text and Academic Vocabulary

Gap between complexity of college and high school texts is huge

What students can read, in terms of complexity is greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study)

Too many students reading at too low a level (<50% of graduates can read sufficiently complex texts)

Standards include a staircase of increasing text complexity from elementary through high school

Standards also focus on building general academic vocabulary so critical to comprehension

9

Assessments

From State Assessments That:

• Use de-contextualized writing prompts (narratives)

• Emphasize selected response items

To Common Assessments That:

• Include text-evidence based writing prompts

• Emphasize technology-enhanced evidence questions

10

Shift 3: Reading and Writing Grounded in Evidence from Text

Most college and workplace writing is evidence-based and expository in nature (not narrative)

Ability to cite evidence differentiates student performance on the National Assessment

Writing Standards ask students to respond to evidence-based writing prompts (inform/argue)

Speaking and Listening standards require students to prepare for and refer to evidence on ideas under discussion

Reading standards require students to respond to text-dependent questions with evidence-based claims

11

ELA/Literacy Assessment

2011 - 2012 2012 - 2014 2014-2015

Partial Implementation Near Full Implementation

Full Implementation

MCASFocus on standardscommon to formerand new Frameworks

Will also assess selected standards from the former Frameworks not included in the new Frameworks

MCASFocus on standardscommon to formerand new Frameworks

Will also assess selected standards from new Frameworks not included in former Frameworks

WIDA (ACCESS) Assessment for ELL’s

PARCC Assessment

12

C-I-A & Professional Learning Aligning Curriculum- Instruction- Assessment

Understanding the shifts, what must we do to revise our ELA/Literacy curriculum? What opportunities are there to teach literacy in other subject areas and expand access to content knowledge?

How must we teach differently? What about assessments?

Professional Learning Lever to change and sustained student improvement Quality: Every minute is critical How must we work in different ways? What current collaborative practices yield continuous

improvement?

13

Curriculum Support

Create text-dependent questions to accompany main reading selections in adopted ELA anthology programs with accompanying writing tasks for selected texts

Elementary: Substitute some reading selections with sufficiently complex non-fiction texts aligned with the Social Studies curriculum

Create text-dependent questions and exemplars of close reading for ELA instruction and content area instruction that lead to common writing assignments grounded in evidence from the text (emphasize the importance of a shared responsibility for literacy)

14

Instruction Support

Methods of teaching a close reading of texts to ensure all students have access to sufficiently complex texts in ELA/Literacy and across disciplines

Ensure students are moving up efficiently in leveled texts

Use of common rubrics in the Common Writing Assignments to reflect text types in the Standards (narrative, informational, argument) and guide instruction

Targeted on-site support will be provided based on school need

15

Assessment Support

Predictive assessments: Trend analysis to determine instructional options for re-teaching and intervention

Student work to assess and inform instructional practice Common Writing Assignments using a

common rubric for writing Curriculum-embedded classroom assignments

Diagnostic assessments: Match intervention to need

16

Productive Mindset for Transformation

“Professional [learning]- what little is invested is too often spent on forms of training aimed at improving things at the margins rather than developing structures aimed at causing teachers and administrators to think differently about their work and work differently because of what they come to think”

(Schlechty)

17

ELA/Literacy Shift ‘Look For’ Indicators Aligned to Teaching Standards

Example from MA Educator Teacher Rubric Indicator II-D. Expectations: Plans and

implements lessons that set clear and high expectations and also make knowledge accessible for all students.

II-D-3. Access to Knowledge (Proficient): Consistently adapts instruction, materials, and assessments to make challenging material accessible to all students, including English learners and students with disabilities.

ELA/Literacy Look-For: Quality of Text(s)- Is there a text(s) under discussion and is the text(s) of sufficient complexity and quality, where quality of text selection includes different considerations in different disciplines, such as coherent contribution to knowledge? Where appropriate, over the year, is there an appropriate balance of informational and literary text?

18

Instructional Leadership as the Lever to Ensuring Student Success in Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks

Knowing, messaging, supporting, and monitoring the instructional shifts

Integrate ELA/literacy shifts with teaching standards

Use student and teacher data to provide feedback to teachers and create strategic plan for professional learning

Create collaborative groups to analyze data/student work, plan and observe instruction

19

A Closer Look at Text Complexity A measurement of how challenging a

particular text is to read based on quantitative and qualitative factors

Lexile frameworks weigh word length, frequency and difficulty as well as sentence and text length and text cohesion

Qualitative factors, such as multiple meanings, knowledge demands, vocabulary and unconventional text structure can increase the text complexity

20

New Lexiles Ranges from elementary to high school

Quantitative Measures and the CCSS

21

Quantitative measures look at factors impacting “readability” as measured by particular computer program.Qualitative measures examine levels of meaning, knowledge demands, language features, text structure, and use of graphics as measured by an attentive reader.Reader and Task considers additional “outside” factors that might impact the difficulty of reading the text.

David Pook

Measuring Text Complexity

Appendix A in the CCSS identifies the following factors as determining text complexity:

22

“Does not rely on students possessing background knowledge or experiences to answer the question; instead it privileges the text itself and the information students can extract from it.

It is critical that a text dependent question originate from the text itself” (Pook)

A Closer Look at Text Dependent Questions 23

Reading Series Questions and Real Texts

What book was Miss Franny reading when the bear came into the library?

What did the men say when they were teasing Miss Fanny?

Will Opal and Amanda ever be friends?

Explain how reading the story made you feel about visiting a library?

Was there ever a time where an animal scared you?

Should Ms. Franny have felt embarrassed?

24

Reading Series Questions and Real Texts

What book was Miss Franny reading when the bear came into the library?

Will Opal and Amanda ever be friends?

What did the men say when they were teasing Miss Fanny?

Explain how reading the story made you feel about visiting a library?

Was there ever a time where an animal scared you?

Should Ms. Franny have felt embarrassed?

25

Text Dependent Questions

Yet an equally important feature of text dependent question is that they should be framed as open ended and not leading questions, as genuine learning only happens when students can engage in an authentic conversation about the text instead of the questions (or teachers) providing the right answer immediately.

(Pook)

26

Reading Based in Evidence

What do we learn about Ms. Franny in the first paragraph?

Embarrassed means to feel ashamed or uncomfortable. A student might feel embarrassed if he/she fell in the lunch room and everyone laughed at them. Why is Ms. Franny embarrassed?  On page. 32, what details about Ms. Franny reveal something that she and Opal have in common?   

The sequence of questions should not be random but should build toward more coherent understanding… that build gradual understanding of its meaning. Achievethecore.org

The sequence of questions should not be random but should build toward more coherent understanding… that build gradual understanding of its meaning. Achievethecore.org

27

Reading Series Questions and Real Texts

This author has won prizes for her books. Why? Find a part of this story you think could win a prize.

In Because of Winn-Dixie Opal tells about her experiences after moving to a new town. Think about a time that you were a newcomer to a place or situation. Now use vivid words to write a memoir about that experience.

Ask students to do research on wildlife and plant life in Florida and how to safeguard libraries from “unwanted visitors”

28

Writing Based in Evidence

Culminating Task:How do Ms. Franny and Opal become friends?

29

Play-Doh

Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions Don L. Wulffson

Lexile 920 Common Core Appendix B Grade 4-5, Informational Texts

30

Play-Doh

Use the paper titled Text Dependent Questions and the CCSS

Create 3 text dependent questions.

Questions may refer to: Word/phrase Sentence paragraph

31

Share

Place a marker next to each complex text dependent question.

32

Next Steps

As you visit classrooms observe the questions teachers are using.

How often are students actually interacting with the text?

How often are teachers using text dependent questions?

How often do students provide text dependent answers.

Both questions and answers must be text dependent.

33

CCSS Resources

Common Core State Standards (http://www.corestandards.org/)

PARCC Model Content Frameworks (http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-content-frameworks)

Student Achievement Partnershttp://www.achievethecore.org/)

Council of Great City Schools (http://www.cgcs.org/domain/72)

Aspen Institute (http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/education-society)

34