Overview of the 3-8 ELA Curriculum Modules

New to NTI Teachers/CoachesSession 1

Common Core Success

• Grades 3-8 ELA & Literacy Curriculum

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Who We Are

• a non-profit network of practitioners with a 20+ year history working with schools and teachers

• an approach grounded in respect for teachers and school leaders as creative agents

• proud history of working in NYS

• engaged teams of teachers from high-performing classrooms across the state to help develop our curriculum modules

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Our Curriculum

• written by teachers and consultants in partnership with Student Achievement Partners (SAP)

• nationally recognized for level of engagement, and rigorous and consistent alignment to standards

• named among the “highest-quality Common Core-aligned curriculum materials currently available” by the NYCDOE

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Our Design Approach

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• The curriculum is strategically designed to address the “what” of adopting new standards and the “how” of adapting to new ways of teaching and learning.

For Teachers: the curriculum is a tool for professional learning, not a script, and can be adapted to the needs of teachers at all stages of their practice.

For Students: the curriculum gets kids excited about reading and writing and ready to do hard work through great books, compelling topics and ownership of their own learning.

Learning Targets for this NTI• I can describe the foundational characteristics of the modules and component parts.• I can describe how the modules increase in complexity over time.• I can explain why these modules are exemplary models of Common Core alignment. • I can effectively use protocols and the other collaborative classroom structures in the 3-8

Modules to develop students’ speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.• I can identify contexts and purposes for specific protocols. • I can describe what student-engaged assessment practices are.• I can describe how student-engaged assessment practices are used in the modules. • I can describe the instructional strategy of close reading.• I can analyze the role of close reading in the 3-8 ELA Modules. • I can describe characteristics of the different writing types required by the Common Core

State Standards and how they are incorporated into the modules.• I can describe EL’s approach to writing in the English Language Arts curriculum modules.• I can describe the role that models, critique and feedback play in developing students’

writing skills. • I can effectively use EL’s Recommendations for Reading Foundations and Language

Standards to support and enhance ELA instruction.• I can effectively use the Recommended Text List to support and enhance ELA instruction. • I can develop a planning paradigm that supports implementation of the modules.

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Our Beliefs about Professional Development

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Effective Collaboration Norms and Guidelines

Seven Norms of Collaboration 1. Promoting a Spirit of Inquiry and Balancing Advocacy 2. Pausing 3. Paraphrasing 4. Probing 5. Putting Ideas on the Table 6. Paying Attention to Self and Others 7. Presuming Positive Intentions

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The Norms for Collaboration

• We ask you to process thinking with each other often and hope that you will be thoughtful about your own development of relational trust with your NTI colleagues.

• Use the Norms Inventory (pp. X) to think about the strengths you will bring to collaborative discussions and places where you might need to be more conscious of being your best self.

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Learning Target

• I can describe the structure and content of the 3-8 ELA Modules.

• I can explain what makes these modules exemplary models of Common Core alignment.

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EL Curriculum Components

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Structure of the EL Curriculum Modules

• 8 weeks of linked instruction, comprised of 3 units.

• Teaching four modules results in deep teaching and assessment of the CCSS (RL, RW, and W in 3-5).

• Central text(s) are chosen to be the best for the subject and standards.

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Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Module 1

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Module 2

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Module 3

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Module 4

8/9 weeks 16/19 weeks 24/26 weeks 32/34 weeks

Each Module Contains Three Units

• In addition to instruction linked to the central text(s), each unit includes a text list of suggested classroom resources at all levels, which can be used with students at other times of the day.

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Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Module 1 Module 2A/B Module 3A/B Module 4

Building Background Knowledge (2-2.5 weeks)

Extended Reading and

Research(2-2.5 weeks)

Extended Writing(2-2.5 weeks)

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

On-demand and Performance Assessment

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UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

UNIT

Mid-Unit Assessments

End of Unit Assessments

Culminating Performance Task

7 formal assessments, in addition to daily opportunities to check for understanding via homework, entry and exit tickets, and in-class assignments

• on-demand, usually tied to reading• tied to standards• checkpoint before progressing

• on-demand, usually emphasizes writing• tied to standards• Measures understanding of content and skills

• takes place over Unit 3, aligned to a type of writing• tied to standards addressed across Units 1 and 2• requires research and writing from sources

Standards Addressed

• Across the school year: In grades 3-5, all of the reading and writing standards

are covered, as well as some language standards. In grades 6-8, all of the ELA standards are covered.

• Additional resources supplement the modules*: “Recommendations for Teaching Reading

Foundations and Language Standards in Grades 3-5” A resource to support Independent Reading

*We will dive into these resources during Session 6 tomorrow.

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A Common Core Exemplar

• EQuiP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products) is an initiative of the non-profit Achieve.

• Reviewers noted that the EL 3-8 curriculum: “demonstrates the key shifts by having students

read different types of text and read, write, and speak in the course of the lesson and unit…and pays special attention to using best practices in assessment and supporting the needs of diverse learners.”

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EL Prefatory Material

• Read first two pages of the document on pp. X in your Participant’s Notebook.

• Record “Notices” and “Wonders” on sticky notes.

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Curriculum Plan-A Year at A Glance

• Please note this has been UPDATED.

• Please check that your school is using this most recent version – May 2014.

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Curriculum Plan-A Year at A Glance

• Notice the headings: “Becoming a Close Reader” “Researching to Build Knowledge”

• Standards are arranged in this manner to provide focus on a coherent set of standards at a time.

• Not all standards are taught in all the modules-they are strategically clumped.

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Curriculum Map-Notice and Wonder

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Become an “Expert”

• Form a group of 4.

• Assign each member one of the following sections:

Module Overview Unit Overview(s) Assessments and/or Assessment Lesson First Week of Lessons

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Become an “Expert” Continued

• As you read your section(s), list: 3- features of the modules 2- surprising or interesting elements 1- most important point

• Share your 3-2-1 with other members of your group (2 minutes each).

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The Module Overview

• Shows how the texts and activities progress toward the final performance task.

What students will read and write and the assessments that teachers will use to measure progress are described.

Central texts are the texts that lessons are specifically designed around.

Alignment to CC Standards is described in the “English Language Arts Outcomes Table.”

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Unit Overviews

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Each one goes into depth about the scope of each unit.

Helps you understand on a day-to-day basis the learning targets each lesson will address.

Module Assessments

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There are assessments embedded in each unit (mid and end).

Excellent potential for grade level conversation, professional collaboration.

Students are practicing assessment all year long.

Lesson Plans

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The agenda shows the lesson “at a glance…

…and the teaching notes provide some

coaching for teachers as they think about

delivering the lesson.

Universal Terms

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Each lesson is broken down into

sections: Opening, Work Time, and

Closing.

Adapt Lessons

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Each lesson offers recommendations for

supporting all learners. Use your professional

judgment to incorporate these and many more

“moves” to match these lessons to your students’ needs.

Reflect

• What is your “best” learning from this session?

• Whip around the table and share this final thought.

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