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doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association1 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013 doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦♦ © 2© 2013 International Reading Association013 International Reading Association11 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITIONTHE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦♦ August 2013August 2013
ENGAGING THE ADOLESCENT LEARNER
BY DOUGLAS FISHER AND NANCY FREY
SSENTIALS–IRA
The First 20 Days
Common Core Edition
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association2 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
This question has been posed innumerable times as the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGA Center] & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010) move from theoretical construct to reality. Even in regions within and outside of the United States that have not adopted these standards, the CCSS for English Language Arts have become the 800-pound gorilla in the room, dominating nearly every professional conversation. Whether the question is asked of colleagues or is directed inward, there is little doubt that the dilemma of where to begin is of central concern.
Understanding New Demands A sea change is upon us. The release of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium’s practice tests and performance tasks in May 2013 are shaping our understanding of what students will be expected to know and be able to do. For example, the seventh-grade practice test includes an item that asks students to select all the sentences that support a stated concept (item 5). Students reread a 14-sentence passage to determine the answer. The sheer number of possible combinations is mind boggling, and the likelihood of guessing the correct one is near zero. Either one knows the answer, or one doesn’t. For students who have grown accustomed to locating one correct answer from four or five choices, this is a daunting task.
On the same test, students listen to a four-minute audio presentation about bats (no text) and then answer several multiple-choice and constructed-response questions
(items 12–15). Although the audio can be replayed, students are not able to look at a written transcript of the recording. How will students learn the skills needed to answer such questions? How often do students confront such a task in their classes?
We return to the question that opens this article: Where to begin? To be sure, the habit of regularly using the critical thinking skills required by the CCSS means that we will need to change our practices accordingly. Questions and tasks that rarely require students to dive below the surface of a text are no longer sufficient. At the same time, secondary students are arriving at our classroom doors with the expectation that it’s business as usual. It’s not. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu’s reminder that the completion of a long journey begins with the first step is as timely today as it was 2,500 years ago. In this article, we describe a 20-day calendar for getting started with CCSS goals in mind.
Above all else, the CCSS require students to construct knowledge within and across disciplines. Text is at the center, but deep understanding comes by way of extended discussion, research, and writing. This is a marked change from the way many learners have acquired knowledge: the lecture. Students think, The teacher will tell me the content—I just need to listen and take notes.
It is unlikely, however, that high school history students will be able to “evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence” (RH.11-12.6) without contextualizing these within a time period, participating in debate of the issues, and knowing the structure of argumentation writing. As well, middle school science students need regular opportunities to write if
they are to “develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach” (WHST.6-8.5). Establishing routines, procedures, and expectations within the first 20 days of the school year is critical if students are going to learn at the increased levels demanded by the CCSS.
The First Month of SchoolAlthough the domains of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language are organized in a linear fashion in the CCSS for English Language Arts, in practice they require an integrated and interleaved approach. The first month of school consists of about 20 instructional days that serve as students’ gateway to the disciplinary knowledge they are expected to learn. These first weeks of school are a critical period in the lives of teachers, too: We encounter and assess students, establish habits of mind and of procedure, and build a community from a group of strangers. Students learn about us as well.
“Where do I even begin?”
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association3 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
Day 2: Listening Across the DivideBarrier games force students to rely on their listening comprehension skills to glean information. Structure a task for your students to complete that is consistent with your discipline (e.g., assemble a salt molecule using molecular model kits in Chemistry, plot a route on an ancient map in World History, or describe a vocabulary term in English, Password-style). Create a barrier for each student so that he or she cannot see what the other student is doing (e.g., sitting back to back in their chairs, propping a binder between them). This may be done first as a fishbowl, with a pair of student volunteers who work through a problem together while others observe. After students have completed the activity, debrief with them and make connections to your content.
For instance, English teacher Kate Woodbury distributed pairs of slightly different visual scenes to her sixth-grade students and asked them to determine the differences between the two. “They discovered they had to be systematic, explicit, and patient,” she said. “All the traits they’ll need to be successful in this class!”
Day 3: Getting the Gist of a TextSelect a text appropriate to the content and worthy of discussion over the course of several lessons. Middle school science teacher Roberto Piña chose an article on the science of generating electricity, as designed by William Kamkwamba. “As a 14-year-old, he figured out how to construct a windmill using found parts so that his family in Malawi would have electricity,” Mr. Piña said. After students read the article first on their own, Mr. Piña modeled and thought aloud for his students about how he gained a general understanding of the text. He showed students how he used the title and subheadings
over an entire school career. The calendar is color coded to represent the four domains of the CCSS, but in many cases they entail more than one modality. These spotlight lessons are not designed to consume the entire class period and are generally completed in 20–30 minutes, leaving time to attend to other aspects of the curriculum.
The First Week of School: Community Building and AssessmentWhile the first week is filled with the clerical tasks of firming up rosters, reviewing the course syllabus, and assigning textbooks, content teaching is also occurring. These spotlight lessons give you the opportunity to establish a classroom culture, gather informal literacy assessment data, and introduce a related reading.
Day 1: Links in a ChainMany teachers begin the school year with an activity that gets students talking about themselves. This is also an ideal time to gather some informal assessment information about each learner. How does he or she make use of vocabulary? What grammatical structures does he or she use while conversing? Who is loud and boisterous? Who is quiet and subdued? Distribute four or five strips of colored paper and ask students to write their names on each, as well as a talent, skill, or interest, while you do the same. Model how you use the strips to support your introduction of yourself and link the strips together to form a paper chain. Each student does the same, creating a long chain that serves as a metaphor for the classroom community you are building. Be sure to take notes about each student so you can use this information in future instruction.
They try to ascertain if we will be flexible or rigid, formal or laid back. Your lessons indicate to students what is important to you. In other words, this is the perfect time to signal to them that how and what they learn will be different from their previous years of schooling.
Using the CalendarWe have developed a calendar of literacy lesson topics for the first 20 days of the school year (see Figure). The content of your discipline drives your curriculum, while the literacies used provide the tools for building knowledge. Therefore, the calendar should be understood as a means to spotlight an aspect of the CCSS for English Language Arts that is dovetailed with your curriculum content. These spotlight lessons are interleaved; that is, they are layered to establish a range of practices about how the content is understood, discussed, and written.
Although these topics are introduced on a single day, they are built upon and extended throughout the school year. For example, on Day 8, students are instructed on solving unknown words and phrases, but in reality this complex skill is fostered
Speaking and ListeningThe Speaking and Listening standards overlay all the others and represent the chief mode of instruction in classrooms. Students and teachers need to use both in equal measure and with equal emphasis in order to maximize communication—after all, they’re not called the “Speaking and Waiting to Speak Again Standards.”
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association4 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
Figure. 20-day plan for introducing the CCSS
Note. Speaking and Listening (yellow); Language (green); Writing (blue); Reading (orange)
DAY 1
Links in a Chain
Students write name and talents/skills on 4 or 5 paper strips, introduce self, and add to paper chain.
DAY 2
Listening Across the Divide
Pairs must reconstruct a
drawing using a visual barrier.
DAY 3
Getting the Gist of a Text
Modeled read-aloud focused on reaching a general understanding of
the text.
DAY 4
Language Frames About Text
Use language frames to support textual
discussion.
DAY 5
Writing About Text
Modeled writing about the text.
DAY 6
Locating the Key Details
Use a text to focus attention on locating the key details that relate to the central
idea or theme.
DAY 7
Posing Questions of a Text
Students ask and answer questions of
a character in the text.
DAY 8
Solving Unknown Words and Phrases
Model looking inside and outside
to resolve unknown words and phrases
in a text.
DAY 9
Finding the Author’s Purpose
Read and discuss a text chosen
because the author’s purpose is unclear or
unknown.
DAY 10
Marking Text
Introduce an annotation process for use in your class.
DAY 11
Reading Explanatory Text
Types
Introduce a text that explains a
process or procedure and identify key characteristics.
DAY 12
Explaining to Another
Small groups develop an oral explanation of
another process or procedure using
characteristics from yesterday’s text and then try it out with
others.
DAY 13
Writing to Explain
Individuals write about a third process
or procedure, applying identified
characteristics.
DAY 14
Reading Narrative Text Types
Introduce a text that uses narrative to illustrate an idea
and identify key characteristics.
DAY 15
Conveying Experience to
Another
Small groups develop an oral narrative using
characteristics from yesterday’s text and then try it out with
others.
DAY 16
Writing to Convey Experience
Individuals write about a third experience,
applying identified characteristics.
DAY 17
Learning About Opinions
Where do you stand on a topic? Form an opinion and discuss it with others who agree and others
who disagree.
DAY 18
Reading Argumentation
Text Types
Introduce a text that uses argumentation
and identify key characteristics.
DAY 19
Convincing Another
Small groups develop an oral argument using
characteristics from yesterday’s text and then try it out with
others.
DAY 20
Writing to Persuade
Individuals write about a third topic, applying identified characteristics of argumentation.
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association5 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
science when I read an article,” he explained. “I’m going to read this again to look for evidence in the windmill article we’ve been reading.”
Over the next 10 minutes, Mr. Piña modeled how he identified evidence of scientific thinking and took notes about the role of the scientific method in Kamkwamba’s work. He referred frequently to a chart he had introduced, describing each step in the scientific method to find his examples. “I can see where his methods for testing took shape,” he said. “It says that he began with a prototype, much smaller than the finished product. This would have allowed him to see where the design flaws might be.”
Mr. Piña added this information to a graphic organizer he had developed for the writing. Students began adding evidence they had found in the article, and soon the graphic organizer was complete. “Now we have a framework to write from,” said Mr. Piña. For the remainder of the period, students wrote a short summary of the application of the scientific method in Kamkwamba’s windmill project. Mr. Piña stated, “This is the kind of weekly science writing they’ll be doing on their own. This gives me a way to introduce the task and provide a guide for their thinking.”
The Second Week of School: Building SkillsAs students move into the flow of your classroom, it’s time to introduce a new text. The spotlight lessons for this week develop the habit of rereading a single piece of complex, worthy text for multiple purposes.
Day 6: Locating the Key DetailsSelect a passage that contains details that are not easily discerned,
U.S. history teacher Alexa Jennings returned to the text she had selected for the previous day’s lesson. “Yesterday we read an article from that date in history—the birth of the outlaw Jesse James. I chose it because of the date and because he represents a figure whose reputation has changed substantially during his lifetime and in the century since his death,” she said. “I’d like students to see that historical study requires sourcing information, contextualizing it, and corroborating accounts. Stories about James are all over the map.”
Ms. Jennings began with a rereading of the article and a brief, whole-class discussion on locating the source. Then she divided the class into small groups. She had table tents in the center of each group with language frames to structure students’ discussion:
♦ The first thing I noticed in this article was ____________. It got my attention because ___________.
♦ I’m confused by _________ because _________.
♦ The most surprising part of this article was ______ because ________.
Each student discussed his or her perspectives within the small group in preparation for further whole-class discussion. Ms. Jennings stated, “At this point, I’m using short, collaborative conversations to develop the habit of checking in with one another. Over the next few weeks, the language frames are going to push their historical analysis skills.”
Day 5: Writing About TextMr. Piña instructed his students about the scientific method earlier in the class period and then returned to the text on William Kamkwamba to model how he locates the application of science knowledge in news articles. “As a science teacher, I can’t help but look for evidence of good or bad
to confirm his initial impressions and noted that the article opened with Kamkwamba’s achievements and then described those achievements using chronological order.
Mr. Piña stated, “I wanted students to walk away with two ideas today. One, that science is practiced by observant and innovative people every day and not just in laboratories. Two, I wanted them to get a sense of how many science articles are structured. Most start with a summary of sorts then go into more detail. They’ll be locating science articles from news outlets and writing about them each week. This is my way of getting them started.”
Day 4: Language Frames About TextDiscussion of text may prove difficult for many students because of a lack of experience (as opposed to answering the teacher’s questions). This can be further magnified because the adolescents in front of you feel self-conscious and awkward in front of strangers. Provide a few language frames to get them talking to one another using the language of the lesson.
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association6 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
conversant in the language, you’re not going to be able to learn the concepts.” Using a passage from their textbook, Mr. Chen modeled how he resolves terminology as he reads. “When I run into a term or a phrase I don’t know, I think about three ways that I can unlock it. First, I look inside the word to see if I can figure out the word parts. If that doesn’t work, I look outside the word to see if the context helps. I reread the sentence, as well as what comes before and after the sentence. I look around on the page for diagrams. Sometimes looking inside and outside aren’t enough. I have to go further outside to check resources. The glossary is one good source,” he explained.
Using a passage from the chapter on foundations of life sciences, Mr. Chen read aloud and modeled how he resolves terms such as metabolism, symbiosis, and mutualistic relationships. He said, “Students are going to run into unfamiliar terms throughout this course, and I don’t want them to give up on a reading because they don’t know what to do. My intent today was to get them started on building a toolkit for themselves.”
Day 9: Finding the Author’s PurposeThe purposes for writing any text include informing or explaining, persuading, and entertaining. These purposes become more nuanced when considered through the lens of history. Twelfth-grade U.S. government teacher Henry Konigsberg and his students had been examining types of government for the past week, and in this lesson he used editorial cartoons that make reference to these. “This is an opportunity for them to apply new knowledge to interpret these texts,” he said.
Through extended discussion, students identified references to oligarchy, socialism, free enterprise, and direct democracy in the cartoons that spanned the late 19th and early
Day 7: Posing Questions of the TextMost middle and high school learners are not accustomed to questioning a text, which makes it difficult for them to divine the inferential levels of meaning hidden just below the surface. This habit takes years to develop and is enhanced as content knowledge grows. Using a target text that has been discussed before, role-play a character or other persona and ask students to develop interview questions for that character.
After reading the Mandela text again the next day, Ms. Jackson discussed qualities of good journalistic interview questions (e.g., Don’t ask yes–no questions because that’s all the information you’ll get). Students worked in small groups to draft questions and then posed them to Ms. Jackson, playing the role of Nelson Mandela. After their discussion had finished, they examined the text again using the questions they had developed. “They figured out that the text raised some questions for them, some that could be answered, and others that demanded more research. We’ll return to that idea later this month when we design and conduct investigations to find more information about a topic,” Ms. Jackson said.
Day 8: Solving Unknown Words and Phrases“Biology is loaded with vocabulary,” said 10th-grade biology teacher Michael Chen. “If you’re not
avoiding ones that have a bulleted or enumerated list. Your teaching goal in this lesson is to demonstrate how key details relate to the key ideas in the text. Students commonly zero in on the most interesting factors without considering whether they relate to the central theme or idea.
Middle school English teacher Evelyn Jackson chose a short passage on Nelson Mandela’s accomplishments as part of a unit on overcoming obstacles. Using a close-reading procedure, Ms. Jackson’s eighth-grade students determined the central idea of this informational text quickly but had more difficulty determining the key details. “I chose it for exactly that reason,” she later said. “It’s actually not all that difficult to read, but it’s easy to get caught up in the specifics of his imprisonment and lose sight of the psychological and political obstacles he surmounted.”
Using text-dependent questions, Ms. Jackson drew her students’ attention to a quote attributed to Mandela: “After one climbs a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” She told her students, “Those hills Mandela referred to are his obstacles, and our search for the key details means we are naming those hills.” This proved to be a turning point, and her students recognized that imprisonment itself, rather than the details of his suffering, are an obstacle, along with apartheid policies, societal prejudices, and the economic disparities and poverty Mandela wrestled with during his presidential term.
LanguageAlthough sometimes confused with speaking and listening, language is a distinct field of knowledge. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2012), speaking focuses on oral expression, whereas language describes the meaning of the words (vocabulary) and the rules of order that make them meaningful (grammar and syntax). In addition, language concerns itself with the combinations of words that match the situation (pragmatics and register) as well as the rules that allow us to create new words (conjugation).
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association7 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
intersection of the standards involves text types. Unlike genres, which describe written forms, text types describe purposes. Therefore, a narrative text type can include historical fiction, science fiction, a personal letter, a recount of a day at the shopping mall—anything that conveys an experience. An explanatory text type can include informational readings, directions for baking snickerdoodle cookies, or a written essay. Argumentation text types can include a film review, a literary criticism, or a debate. These text types traverse what is read, discussed, and written. Therefore, a goal in these lessons is to encourage students to use all these literacies to build knowledge.
Days 11–13: Reading, Discussing, and Writing for ExplanationNinth-grade earth science teacher Elisha Orton was going to introduce investigation labs later in the week, but first she needed to ensure that her students are well grounded in lab safety. “People don’t think that an earth science lab can be just as hazardous as a chemistry lab, but they’re wrong,” she said. A portion of her lesson on each of these days is
emphasize the ten or dozen most important statements. You may want to fold a corner of each page where you make such a mark or place a slip of paper between the pages.
♦ Numbers in the margin to indicate a sequence of points made by the author in development of an argument.
♦ Numbers of other pages in the margin to indicate where else in the book the author makes the same points.
♦ Circling of key words or phrases to serve much the same function as underlining.
♦ Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page to record questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raises in your mind. (pp. 49–50)
Mr. Dziki used a new piece of text for students to read first “for the flow.” When they signaled to him that they were finished, he placed a copy of the text on the document camera and offered a think-aloud about his annotations. “You don’t need to copy mine,” he said, “just watch and think about what I’m doing.” After he finished, he asked his students to read the text a second time and to annotate. “Don’t forget to write questions and connections. If you have a paper filled with symbols you’ll never remember why you made them later,” he reminded them.
Mr. Dziki explained that this is the beginning step in a longer process: “They need lots of experience with doing this, and when we begin using their annotations in their writing it’s going to help quite a bit. It lets them see the purpose beyond simply doing an activity to please me. Those annotations will become a way they engage in a conversation with the text itself.”
Weeks Three and Four: Quickening the PaceThe focus of these spotlight lessons is on consolidating habits. A key
20th centuries. With each analysis, students had to address the artist’s purpose, taking into consideration the context of the time. “There’s a strong message in each of the six editorial cartoons we examined today, but without an understanding of the governmental structures they were referencing, the purpose would be lost. It would just be a cartoon without teeth,” Mr. Konigsberg said.
Day 10: Marking TextAnnotation is the practice of marking a text in order to support one’s own comprehension. It refers to the habit of making notes in the margin, especially questions, connections, and observations. We ask students to “read with a pencil” in order to make their thinking visible to us by circling confusing words and underlining main ideas and key points. We often witness teachers moving quietly around the classroom while their students read, making notes on their own copy of the text to identify patterns of understanding or confusion exhibited by students’ annotations. These observations serve as a formative assessment that aids in making instructional decisions about what should occur next in the lesson.
Sixth-grade English teacher Ted Dziki introduced a simple annotation system to his students on this day. Teachers at his school had reached agreement earlier in the summer on some annotation practices to be held in common across grades and content areas. “We encourage students to personalize this as they become more adept, but these initial annotation procedures build a foundation for them,” said Mr. Dziki. The following are recommended by Adler and Van Doren (1972):
♦ Underlining for major points.
♦ Vertical lines in the margin to denote longer statements that are too long to be underlined.
♦ Star, asterisk, or other doodad in the margin to be used sparingly to
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association8 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
witnessed how Native Americans will be treated. Ms. Bowden said, “Today I want them to examine the surrender speech of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce in 1877.” After the tribe’s resistance to a federal order to move to a reservation, as well as a failed attempt to escape across the Canadian border, Chief Joseph took stock of his people’s suffering and surrendered.
As a class, students read and discussed the speech, especially its haunting final line, “I will fight no more forever.” Ms. Bowden drew their attention to elements that made the speech so effective, especially Chief Joseph’s ability to tell a moving story as a way to explain his decision. They identified literary devices he used, such as repeating words and phrases (e.g., freezing to death, listing the names of dead warriors).
The following day, students read and discussed an account of the interactions between Christopher Columbus and his men and the Taino Indians of Hispaniola. “Remember the elements of a compelling story as you read and discuss this first-person account,” Ms. Bowden reminded them. Students searched for similarities between the two pieces of text, noting that both the speech and the account contained vivid images of suffering.
On day 16, students worked in small groups to develop a story that the Taino Indians of Hispaniola would have told about their experiences, had their people survived. Using VoiceThread, an online storytelling platform (www.voicethread.com), students retold the story using supporting images. “Native American history was primarily passed from one generation through an oral tradition,” Ms. Bowden said. “Narrative devices are so important within this culture, but also in recounting historical events. Throughout the year we’ll read and discuss lots of first-person accounts. This gives students an introduction to narrative as a means for retelling our histories.”
of the group. They are, in turn, also taught content by their peers. “This really pushes their speaking and listening skills, because they need to add information about the hazards to the content from yesterday. The ones being taught need to pay close attention and ask for clarification as needed,” Ms. Orton remarked. To support students’ discussions with their expert and home groups, Ms. Orton provided language frames on table tents to serve as reminders about providing clear explanations.
By the third day, students became more confident with the content. Students developed a set of lab safety procedures with their home groups. Ms. Orton reminded her students, “Remember to keep them clear and precise.” Each group proposed lab rules and compared them against those Ms. Orton had already created but had not shared with them until that point. “My lab rules get better every year because the students refine them,” she said. “If I just told them the rules, they would go in one ear and out the other. Spending some time each class for a few days examining potential hazards makes it much more memorable for them.”
Days 14–16: Reading, Discussing, and Writing to Convey ExperienceThe narrative text type conveys experience and is not limited to the English classroom. Eighth-grade social studies teacher Carmen Bowden introduced issues that punctuate United States history. “I don’t teach strictly in a chronological order,” she explained. “Certain issues arise repeatedly and continue to challenge us. One is the rights of Native Americans.” When an issue is foreshadowed early on, she zoomed ahead a century or more to see how not confronting a problem ends up magnifying it for a later generation.
In their current study of early exploration of the continent, the class
devoted to the topic of lab safety. “I want them to read about it, talk about it, and write about it,” said Ms. Orton.
She directed students’ attention to a lab safety chart in her classroom and an accompanying passage from their earth science textbook on the topic. The chart was organized into five columns: Safety Symbols, Hazard, Examples, Precautions, and Remedy. “That’s what good explanatory text does, and what you need to do when you’re giving explanations to others. It’s organized, contains pertinent information, uses consistent and precise language, and provides examples,” she told her students. Using the chart as a guide, students located supporting evidence and explication in the passage.
The following day, students used a jigsaw method to discuss lab safety topics (Aronson, Blaney, Stephin, Sikes, & Snapp, 1978). Jigsaw is a two-part, small-group approach for examining and constructing texts. Students are members of a home group comprising members distributed across topics, as well as an expert group to build knowledge about a single topic. They worked in expert groups to discuss 2 of the 10 safety hazards, then reconvened in their home groups to teach the content to the other four members
ReadingThe CCSS for reading are anchored by 10 college- and career- ready standards. Standard 1 requires students to “read closely” while standard 10 describes “complex literary and informational texts.” Standards 2–9 describe the ways in which these are understood through identifying key ideas and details, acknowledging the role of craft and structure, and integrating knowledge and ideas coherently.
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association9 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
Mr. Coughlin noted. Students read the summary and then chose an opinion station posted in the room that best reflected the writer’s position. Those in possession of summaries for the first topic chose Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree to reflect the position. Students with the second topic observed as Mr. Coughlin facilitated discussion within and among groups. “You have to use the reasoning on the paper, not your own,” he reminded them.
After the second topic was discussed in similar fashion, the writers turned the summary over to revise it. “When they have to argue what’s on the page, and not interject what they believe they get pretty frustrated, but they begin to see what makes for a strong or weak argument,” states Mr. Coughlin. The summaries with peer revisions on them were returned to the original writers, who revised their summaries based on the feedback. “Teaching argumentation is a long and complex task, but this gives me a good jumping-off point,” he said.
ConclusionThe CCSS for English Language Arts represent fundamental shifts in the way we teach and how students learn. One can be easily overwhelmed by the scope of the work, especially because we must acknowledge that it will take several years to refine our practices. However, that work is going to be thwarted if we engage in magical thinking. We hold high expectations for ourselves, and we want to be flawless the first time we try something new. Yet we don’t hold our students to that same expectation; in fact, quite the opposite. We realize that their learning is forwarded through trial and error, and we encourage them on a daily basis to try something new. Allow yourself the same conditions. Try something new, be reflective, and polish your practice. The first step can make all the difference in the journey.
each group must solve,” Mr. Coughlin said. “It’s interesting to watch how each group resolves this. Some make new categories that describe how many types of appeals were used. Others list the various combinations and sort them accordingly.” Mr. Coughlin debriefed the activity with the class and asked the groups to categorize their own methods for solving the problem. “I’m interested in them appreciating that these appeals are used to resolve a problem,” he said, “not just to sell a product.”
The next day, students returned to identify another dilemma, starting with a short video of people presenting three viewpoints. Using an inside/outside circle, groups made up of half of the total class identified the arguments themselves, while the remainder of the class served as observers who categorized the appeals they witnessed. Mr. Coughlin then showed a second short video and students reversed roles.
By the third day, students were ready to take on appeals for use in their writing. Each student chose one of the topics discussed in the videos and wrote a summary of the argument. “Each has to have examples of ethos, pathos, and logos in it,” Mr. Coughlin says.
He collected students’ summaries as tickets out the door at the end of the period and then redistributed them on the fourth day. “Now they have someone else’s writing,”
Days 17–20: Reading, Writing, and Discussing Through ArgumentationStudents entering middle school are not going to know about the nuances of argumentation, and it is a safe bet that many high school students don’t know these, either. Argumentation at its core is about formal reasoning and the means by which a case is built to support a position. English teachers commonly draw upon Aristotle’s classic appeals of logic: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotional), and logos (logical). Sixth-grade English teacher Bill Coughlin introduced these three principles in the first month of the school year. “Some people like to say that there’s nothing more that young adolescents like to do than argue, and then they roll their eyes,” he said. “But I think that reaction stems from the fact that many don’t argue especially well. We’ll be looking at how these appeals work in advertising.”
After introducing the three types of appeals and sharing examples of each, Mr. Coughlin provided samples of advertising copy with the images removed to focus students’ attention on the words. First as a class and then in collaborative groups, students studied the written copy and sorted them into one of the three categories. Students soon realized that some samples rightfully belonged in two or even all three categories. “In other words, I deliberately provide a dilemma
WritingThe CCSS for writing echo those of reading as it applies to text types; that is, students must also produce narrative, explanatory, and argumentative texts. Importantly, secondary students must become more adept at mixing these text types to suit the audience, task, and purpose, such as using an opening scenario (a narrative text type) to illuminate a point of argumentation. The types of writing vary as well, ranging from those that are produced on demand to those that are the product of extended research. Technology plays a key role in both research and production, as well as in collaboration with others.
doi:10.1598/e-ssentials.8034 ♦ © 2013 International Reading Association10 THE FIRST 20 DAYS: COMMON CORE EDITION ♦ August 2013
IRA ResourcesThe International Reading Association CCSS for English Language Arts Resource Page: www.reading.org/resources/ResourcesByTopic/CommonCore-resourcetype/CommonCore-rt-resources .aspx
The International Reading Association’s resource page serves as a clearinghouse for locating books, articles, white papers, archived webinars, and external links for all things CCSS. The page is regularly updated, so check back frequently to discover new tools.
The Path to Get There: A Common Core Road Map for Higher Student Achievement Across the Disciplines (Fisher, Frey, & Alfaro, 2013)
Published as a joint partnership between the International Reading Association and Teachers College Press, this book is written expressly for content teachers of history/social science, science, and technical subjects. Each chapter addresses a domain of the core standards for literacy, with attention given to the discipline-specific literacies that underpin learning in each of these subjects. In addition, the unique needs of English learners and students with disabilities in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language are discussed throughout.
PREVIOUS MEMBERS-ONLY COLUMNS
The Power of the Word: Vocabulary Across the Disciplines (July 2011) examines types of vocabulary and strategies for resolving unknown words and phrases.
Notetaking and Notemaking (December 2011) discusses annotation in more detail.
Text Complexity and Close Readings (January 2012) addresses instructional implications of working with complex text to foster deep comprehension.
Text-Dependent Questions (April 2012) focuses on this essential aspect of close reading.
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are
professors in the College of Education at
San Diego State University and teacher
leaders at Health Sciences High and Middle
College. They are interested in quality instruction for diverse learners
and are coauthors with Diane Lapp of Text Complexity: Raising
Rigor in Reading (International Reading Association, 2012).
You may contact Doug at [email protected] and Nancy at
IRA E-ssentials © 2013 International Reading AssociationISSN 2326-7216 (online) | No. 8034
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REFERENCESAdler, M.J., & Van Doren, C. (1972). How to read a book. New York, NY: Touchstone.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2012). What is language? What is speech? Retrieved at
www.asha.org/public/speech/development/language_speech.htmAronson, J., Blaney, N., Stephin, C., Sikes, J., & Snapp, M. (1978). The jigsaw classroom. Beverly Hills, CA:
Sage.National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers.
(2010). Common Core State Standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: Authors.
