Standards Made Easy for Teaching

Do you as a teacher sometimes feel like a “deer caught in the headlights” when it comes to

implementing a standards-based curriculum?

If the answer to the question is ‘yes,’ then SMET is a partnership for you

• Standards Made Easy for Teaching (SMET) is a partnership that links many classroom teachers in small schools throughout Colorado to talk about the Colorado Model Content Standards.

• SMET helps teachers teach standards easier by analyzing CSAP test data to identify and to prioritize the CRITICAL benchmark skills that are high-point, high-value items (red center of the bull’s eye).

• SMET then identifies the IMPORTANT benchmark skills (the next concentric yellow circle of the bull’s eye).

Combined Learning Targets (blue)

Important Learning Targets (yellow)

Essential Learning Targets

(red)

SMET is a partnership that joins teachers in small schools throughout Colorado.

SMET equals two tools in one1) SMET is a great tool for teachers to use

during the school year to teach standards because it introduces standards in small pieces – one little piece at a time.

2) SMET can also be a valuable review tool to use in the weeks or days prior to CSAP to ensure students can show proficiency in the CRITICAL and IMPORTANT skills.

Unwrapping Standards is like peeling an onion – unwrap one small leaf at a time

Teachers say, “Take it slow and easy – show me Standards one small piece at a time.”

A. Critical skills1. Short version (1 pager)

2. Extended version (1-2 pages with more info)

B. Important skills1. Short version (1 pager)

2. Extended version (more information)

C. Combined (Critical and Important)1. Short Version (1 pager)

2. Extended Version (more info)

Unwrapping Standards: one small leaf at a time

A. SMET focuses first on the CRITICAL highest value, highest point benchmark skills tested on CSAP:

1) SHORT version (1st leaf of the onion); 2) then EXTENDED version (second leaf).

B. It then focuses on the IMPORTANT benchmark skills:

1) SHORT version (3rd leaf of the onion); 2) then EXTENDED version (4th leaf).

C. For those who want to see the “Big” picture, CRITICAL and IMPORTANT are then combined, with a SHORT and EXTENDED version

Aligned Curriculum

To teach a standards-based curriculum, the curriculum must be aligned.

SMET has an aligned curriculum in reading, writing, and math, based on the Colorado Model Content Standards: K-4, 5-8, 9-12

A teacher can clearly see which benchmark skills are taught at his/her grade level, and at the grade levels before and after his/her grade level.

Details of SMET Aligned Curriculum to Date

Reading alignment: P-4*, 5-8, 9-10

Writing alignment: P-4**, 5-8, 9-10Math alignment: P-2***,1-4***, 5-8, 9-10 and beyond CSAP

Science alignment: Not set until Colorado adopts new standards;

Assessment Framework data is available for 5, 8, 10

*P-2 Reading based on Colorado Basic Literacy Act; 3-4 based on CSAP

**P-2 Writing based on I-70 Corridor Curriculum and K-4 Colorado State Standards

***P-2 Math based on National Council of Teachers of Math’s FOCAL POINTS

Sample: Aligned Curriculum: Reading 1-4

Data Analysis: 6 year longitudinal study of CSAP results

CSAP’s “Assessment Framework” data have been studied for the past six years, and summaries have been made of the frequency of those CRITICAL benchmark skills generating the highest cumulative point totals.

The “Assessment Framework Frequency Summary” prioritizes the highest cumulative point benchmark skills.

Sample: “Assessment Framework Frequency Summary” --- priorities

Linkage between AFFS data and CRITICAL benchmark skills

Based on the “Assessment Framework Frequency Summary,” a teacher can clearly understand how the CRITICAL benchmark skills are identified.

A teacher can go to the Critical Learning Skills and identify the highest priority skills, WITH resources and test samples attached.

Aligned CurriculumIn grades

K-4; 5-8; 9-12

Teachers can see immediatelywhat skills are taught in each grade

Assessment FrameworkFrequency Summary

CSAP scores have been analyzed over a6 year period to identify the highest point,highest value CSAP benchmarks which

keep coming up year after year andwhich are prioritized as

“Critical Learning Targets”

Critical Learning TargetsWITH SAMPLES

The power benchmarks are listed as the Critical Learning Targets, and samples resources are hyperlinkeddirectly to each high value, high point

benchmark

Hyperlinked BenchmarksWith Sample Resources

Internet links and sample items areattached to the highest point,

highest value benchmarks to save teachers time and to add value

to the curriculum

1) Aligned Curriculum7th Grade Reading Top Priority

“Make predictions, draw conclusions,and analyze what they read, hear,

and view” (4.d)

2) Assessment FrameworkFrequency Summary

7th Grade Reading: highest cumulativepoint item over a 6-year period

(4.d) Item is the highest cumulative point item:

Current; 2006; Cumulative; Priority53 + 11 = 64 points 1

3) Critical Learning TargetsWITH SAMPLES

7th Grade Reading:Standard #4: Thinking Skills ---

Benchmark (4.d) is the top “power” benchmark that keeps coming up

on CSAP year after year.

Samples resources are hyperlinked directly to each high value, high point benchmark

4) Hyperlinked BenchmarksWith Sample Resources

Internet links and sample items areattached to the highest point,

highest value benchmarks to save teachers time and to add value to the

curriculum (see next slide for “4.d” links)

Sample walk-through

Following is a SAMPLE of a hyperlinked item of 7th grade Reading skill (4.d).

• Grade 7, Reading, Standard 4, (4.d): Make predictions, draw conclusions, and analyze what is read, heard, and viewed from texts in various genre.

• A. Predicting (4.d): Graphic organizers to help with predicting and with other reading, writing, and listening skills – some helpful graphic organizers at this site:

• http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Tools/making%20predictions.pdf• or for a full viewing of all the graphic organizers click on the following:• http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Tools/Index.htm• …………………………………………………………………..• B. Predicting (4.d): Reading strategies: predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarizing, and visualizing (4.d):• http://www.miamisci.org/tec/introduction.html• …………………………………………………………………..• C. Predicting (4.d): Comprehension strategies, including predicting (4.d):• http://www.reading-tutors.com/tips/TH_Tips_CompStrat.pdf• …………………………………………………………………..• D. Predicting (4.d): Drawing conclusions (lower level student) (4.d): • http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/e/drawconclusionsp.cfm

• E. Reading Sample and Questions (4.d):• Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

The Bermuda Triangle can be found off the coast of the southeastern United States. It is an area that is only a couple of miles in diameter. Since the beginning of aviation, there have been numerous reports of missing aircraft in the small area. Hundreds of such accounts have been verified by the Federal Aviation Bureau. What's most puzzling is that the planes, crews, and passengers have disappeared leaving absolutely no trace of wreckage or other physical evidence.

The earliest record of such an incident in the "Point of No Return," or "Sky Trap Zone," as it's also been called, occurred in 1943. A small English plane containing twelve passengers and a crew of three inexplicably disappeared during a flight. In its last radio transmission, the navigator stated that the weather was clear, and they were on course, approximately five hundred miles from Bermuda. Several hours later, there was no further transmission, and the plane could not be located on radar. The most puzzling factor was that there was no evidence of wreckage. A search party that was sent out was baffled by the lack of physical evidence. None of the people aboard the flight were ever found.

Even more unbelievable than the fate of the British flight in 1943 is the mysterious series of events that took place in June of 1958. It began with the take-off of a small military plane out of the Naval Air Station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Practice operations in which pilots underwent routine flight pattern exercises were common occurrences out of the base. Shortly after the departure of the first plane, two others became airborne. Within twenty minutes, all three pilots reported that they could not see land and were unsure of their positions. The last radio communication was cut off in mid sentence and revealed nothing as to the fate of the three pilots. None of the pilots returned to the base, and once again, no wreckage or remains were ever located.

During the last fifty years, there have been hundreds of such incidents, none of which can be explained. Experts in the aviation field won't even hypothesize as to the cause of such mysterious events.

• 1. What would be the best title for this passage? [Answer: C] (NOTE: There are additional questions in the actual link to 4.d)

• A. The Trouble With Small Planes• B. Inexperienced Flight Crews• C. Unexplained Missing Aircraft• D. Military Aircraft Mysteries

Content Areas

• The top portion of the SMET “grid” shows information in:

Reading; Writing; Math; Science; Social Studies

Critical Skills, Important Skills, Combined Skills

• Going down the left side of the SMET “grid” are the categories of:

• Critical skills; • Important skills; • Combined Critical AND Important skills; • Instructional Strategies;• Assessment Resources

Let’s drill down

• For example, we will now drill down in 3rd grade reading CRITICAL skills to see what the CRITICAL, high value and high point skills are.

• We will also see what resources are attached to each CRITICAL skill (go to next slide)

Benchmark skill

• The following benchmark skill is listed under Standard 1, 3rd grade reading:

“Use a full range of strategies to comprehend materials (for example: directions; non-fictional material; rhyme and poems; and stories) (1.a)

Sample of CRITICAL 3rd grade reading skills; Standard 1 – with hyperlinked

resources

Hyperlinked resources

• A teacher can click on the hyperlink to see what resources are attached to the 3rd grade reading benchmark (1.a) under Standard 1. In this case there are many different resources hyperlinked to this benchmark skill. (Go to next slide).

Click on hyperlinked resources for each benchmark skill

Drilling down further

• Under 3rd grade reading, Standard 1, benchmark (1.a) there are the following resources:

Two Internet hyperlinks for Poetry.

Two Internet hyperlinks for Short Story.

Two Internet hyperlinks for Rhyme.

Four Internet hyperlinks for Reading Comprehension.

Two Internet hyperlinks for Non-Fiction.

PoetryOne of the poetry hyperlinks is a Poetry writing workshop: 1) Brainstorm (find your idea); 2) Draft

(get it down on paper); 3) Review (evaluate and get feedback); 3) Revise (rework your piece); 5) Polish (edit and check your writing); 6) Publish (share the final poem):

Teachers are not isolated when they join the SMET partnership. SMET is a partnership that links teachers in small schools throughout Colorado to share ideas and resources.

Teachers can communicate through Virtual PLCs, e-mail list serve, phone.

VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

1. MEET REGULARLY AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY: working collaboratively in teams and being clear and explicit about what is to be learned and assessed at our grade and the grades before and after us … be results oriented and data driven.

2. COMMITTED TO SYSTEMATICALLY MONITORING AND IMPROVING CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: using formal and informal assessment tools, activities, or projects to evaluate a lesson’s effectiveness and making constructive adjustments on the basis of results

3. FOCUS ON THE LEARNER: conducting a check for understanding at certain points in a lesson

4. PROMOTE READING AND WRITING FOR HIGHER ORDER PURPOSES: raising the bar for student achievement; having kids read for higher-order purposes and write regularly

5. SHARE A COMMON VIABLE CURRICULUM: limit focus on essential learning targets; clearly state for students and carefully teach the criteria by which student work will be scored or evaluated (rubrics -- specific guidelines)

FOUNDATIONS FOR SMET VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

(Based on Michael Schmoker’s book, Results Now)

Do we know as 3rd grade teachers where our students are on the critical benchmarks?

Do we have enough resources to help us over the next 3-4 weeks to review critical and important benchmarks to get 3rd grade students ready for CSAP tests?

Activities to stimulate teaching:

. SMET face-to-face summer retreats are available to teachers.

. Virtual PLCs are held periodically for grade level teachers or content area teachers to discuss ways to teach standards more effectively.

. Graduate credit being discussed with Adams State.

. Work collaboratively to map out the curriculum (by quarters, trimesters, etc.) and do unit planning.

. Work to move to a standards-based grading system.

Activities to stimulate teaching (continued):

. Improve how teachers use factual information (data) to lead instruction.

. Share instructional strategies that work and resource materials that are effective.

. Teachers discuss changes in curriculum standards, such as science and social studies. Add other curriculum areas as: art, PE, VocAG, etc.. Align State Standards with high school upper level courses: physics, chemistry, calculus, etc..

. SMET can help in pre-service training of teachers.

SMET has other benefits for partners:

. Availability of an adaptive Internet based testing tool (Performance Series) to test a student’s: reading; language mechanics; math; and/or science skills --- with immediate student results available and linked resources.

. Free personalized research done by SMET staff on any teacher identified classroom topic (e.g., “I need resources to integrate social studies and math in a 6th grade unit I will be teaching in two weeks on Egypt and the pyramids.” Resources provided within 24 hours.)

For Further Information on SMET

If you want further information on SMET, please contact one of the following – if you contact us through email, make sure you write the word SMET somewhere in the title of your email:

Virginia Belland at vbelland@educationsolutionsandconsulting.com , phone 1-303-471-0403

Mark Belland, MBelland@yahoo.com , phone 1-303-471-0403

Ron Van Donselaar, phylronvand@aol.com , phone 1-303-918-7292

Bill Powell, wpowell955@aol.com , 1-970-641-0637

Membership in SMET is kept as a low per student cost, so that small schools can become partners. Check SMET out. You will not be disappointed.