Best Practice Literacy InstructionAligning with the Common Core State Standardsin the Burlington Area School District

“Read like a wolf eats.” Gary Paulsen

“The biggest change coming from the Common Core standards is not in the content itself, it’s the notion of a learning target, or level of cognitive demand and critical thinking, attached to a content standard,” explains the Common Core Institute’s Baird. “These are overlays that demand changes in instructional practice. And, frankly, this change is revolutionary. It will cause a big change in how you do your job as a teacher.”

With Common Core, students are expected

to apply higher-order thinking and be able

to argue points and back up their arguments

with data and evidence.

Good writing comes from good

reading.

Disciplinary literacy

“It is not what the writing has, it is what the writing does.” Regie Routman

Reading aloud to students in the upper grades is not a substitute for independent reading by students. Round Robin reading allows students to be passive. Teacher read alouds at this level supplement and enrich what students are able to read by themselves.

Important to link speaking and listening standards to reading, language, and writing

Table of ContentsTeacher Actions..................................................................................................................4

Common Core “Shifts” in English Language Arts..................................................................7

Genre Studies.....................................................................................................................7What is genre?....................................................................................................................................................................... 7How do I go about accomplishing an inquiry-based genre study?................................................................8Genre study map for K-4 ELA.....................................................................................................................................9Genre study map for 5-8 ELA......................................................................................................................................9Features of Genres.........................................................................................................................................................10

Systems of Strategic Actions for Comprehending Texts.....................................................10Close Reading – Explicit Instruction Needed........................................................................................................11Continuum of Literacy Learning.................................................................................................................................11

Anchor Charts...................................................................................................................12

Mentor Text......................................................................................................................13Definition of mentor text...........................................................................................................................................13Value of mentor text for readers and writers................................................................................................13

Text Sets Book Lists...........................................................................................................13

Pacing Guides...................................................................................................................13

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)...............................................................................15College and Career Readiness.................................................................................................................................15Reading Literature (RL)..............................................................................................................................................15Reading Informational Text (RI)...........................................................................................................................15Writing (W)........................................................................................................................................................................ 15Language (L)......................................................................................................................................................................16Disciplinary Literacies & Wisconsin’s Literacy for All..............................................................................17Expectations in BASD for Disciplinary Literacy............................................................................................18

Text Complexity and Reading Levels.................................................................................18Selecting the right book for the right purpose (Fountas, 2011)...........................................................19Rationale for Increasingly More Offering Complex Text in Class.................................................................19

Research...........................................................................................................................21Grade 5 Writing, Language, and Speaking & Listening Plan.........................................................................21Grade 6 Writing, Language, and Speaking & Listening Plan.........................................................................22

DPI’s Balanced Assessment System...................................................................................23Match the intent of the standard to the assessment..........................................................................................24

Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium and the Next Generation Assessments.............24

Resources by the Gurus of Literacy Research and Instruction............................................25Grade 5 learning targets – READING STANDARDS for Literature...............................................................26Grade 5 learning targets – READING STANDARDS FOR Informational Text..........................................26GRADE 5 SPEAKING AND LISTENING LEARNING TARGETS.........................................................................26GRADE 5 LANGUAGE LEARNING TARGETS..........................................................................................................27

Bibliography............................................................................................................................27

Introduction

3

The instructional practices necessary in today’s schools are probably quite different from the training we received as undergraduates in the field of education. Our world has changed and is continually changing. So, we adjust and continue learning current best practices to ensure that our students are college and career ready. So, we adapt as the national, state, and district initiatives move us forward. So, we define our beliefs and align our practices. The intention behind this document is to put words on the paper in order to further define the practices that will help us teach our students to literate thinkers in this new world order.

Literacy instruction in grades 5 and above in the Burlington Area School District will look and sound different as we use practices such as described in this document. The rationale is to meet the needs of our students with the goal of accelerating their literacy growth, strengthening their skills, and ultimately raising the levels of the individual and group student achievement.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) adopted by Wisconsin in 2010 is the framework for our literacy curriculum. It is the framework for the guaranteed and viable curriculum in the Burlington Area School District (BASD). In implementing the “how” of the CCSS, we are preparing our students for a literate life but also for the Next Generation Assessment (NGA) currently being designed for Wisconsin by the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium. The NGA will be used in the spring of the 2014-2015 school year.

Teacher Actions Use mentor texts to provide the “gold standard” vision for students. Provide

learning opportunities for students to learn how to read and write various genres. Provide easy access to the mentor text for frequent use.

Combine instructional activities via the standards for reading, writing, language, speaking & listening to provide seamless literacy instruction.

Teach the 3 types of writing, the writing process, quality of student writing, and the shared responsibility of writing across the disciplines for real purposes

Make writing a habit through the direction of Writing Standard 10: Write routinely over extended periods of time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and for shorter time frames (1 sitting or 1-2 class periods).

Provide regular and frequent opportunities for students to compose at the computer keyboard rather than writing on paper first and then simply typing.

Provide multiple texts (combined into specific text sets of nonfiction and fiction) for reading. Provide texts in a variety of genres.

Match reading material to the student based on his/her reading and/or interest level. Provide reading material with increasingly more complex texts to reach the CCSS benchmarks for each grade band. Know that a Lexile is only one measure of the complexity of the text.

4

Provide more authentic material for reading. Provide more time for actual independent reading.

Share the responsibility of disciplinary literacy across the content areas.

Model reasoning, higher order thinking, instructional strategies, and expectations for applying what is read and learned by thinking out loud.

Provide increasingly longer periods of regular and frequent silent sustained reading in school.  Give students choice in the reading materials offered for instructional work and from the classroom library so that students have ownership in what they are reading.

Become more comfortable with the notion and action of exposing students to an increasingly larger amount of material.

Exposed students to a wide array of material both fiction and nonfiction on a particular topic or genre.

Record a summary of the mini lesson on an anchor chart for future reference.

Student actions:

Use language, academic and content vocabulary, questions, and content-specific talkExpress opinions with explained positions and reasoningSummarize discussions when they closeCollaborate

Combining CCSS with Comprehension Processes

Focus of Standard

CCSS Reading Key Ideas and Details Comprehension Processes

Explicit Implicit Meanings

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Make InferencesMake Connections to Prior KnowledgeDetermine Importance

Main Idea 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Generate QuestionsDetermine ImportanceSynthesis

Text 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop Make Connections to

5

Relationships and interact over the course of a text. Prior KnowledgeGenerate QuestionsMake InferencesDetermine Importance

CCSS Reading Craft and StructureVocabulary 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text

including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Make Connections to Prior KnowledgeMake InferencesVisualize

Text Structure 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text.

Generate QuestionsDetermine ImportanceSynthesize

Author PurposePerspective

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text

Generate QuestionsMake Inferences

CCSS Reading Integration of Knowledge & IdeasIntegration of Technology

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, & in words

Generate QuestionsVisualizeSynthesize

Argument and Support

8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

Generate QuestionsDetermine ImportanceSynthesize

Multiple Texts 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Make Connections to Prior KnowledgeGenerate QuestionsDetermine ImportanceSynthesize

CCSS Reading – Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Text Complexity

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently

All strategies

Common Core “Shifts” in English Language ArtsChanges required in the disciplines as BASD implements the CCSS – source CCSS Oregon

Shifts Shift 1Increase reading of informational text

Classrooms are places where students access the world – science, social studies, the arts, and literature – through informational and literary text. BASD will offer reading in a 40% fiction - 60% nonfiction combination. Increasing the amount of information text that students read K-12 will prepare them to read college and career-ready texts.

Shift 2Text complexity

In order to prepare students for the complexity of college and career-ready texts, each grade level requires growth in text complexity. Students read the grade appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers create more time in the curriculum for close and careful reading and provide appropriate and necessary supports to make the central text accessible to students reading below grade level. The supports do not include round robin reading as this promotes passivity. Be careful to carefully choose if or when to

6

use text read to the student (books on tape, apps that read the material, etc.) as an accommodation to avoid enabling students.

Shift 3Academic Vocabulary

Students constantly build the vocabulary they need to be able to access grade level complex text. By focusing strategically on comprehension of pivotal and commonly found words, teachers constantly build students’ ability to access more complex texts across the content areas.

Shift 4Text-based answers

Students have rich and rigorous conversations, which are dependent on students reading a central text. Teachers ensure classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text and that students develop habits for making evidentiary arguments based on the text – both in the conversation as well as in writing, to assess their comprehension of a text.

Shift 5Increase writing from sources

Writing instruction emphasizes use of evidence to inform or to make an argument; it includes short, focused research projects K-12. Students K-12 develop college and career ready skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they listen to and read.

Shift 6Literary instruction in all content areas

Content-area teachers emphasize reading and writing in their planning and instruction for teaching the content. Students learn through reading domain-specific texts in history/social studies, science, and the technical subjects and by writing informative and argumentative pieces.

Genre Studies

What is genre? 1. Definition of genre: any type of literary work that has a characteristic form or technique.

2. Fiction texts: realistic fiction, historical fiction, folktales, fairy tales, fables, legends, epics, ballads,

myths, animal fantasy, science fiction

3. Nonfiction texts: informational, biography, autobiography, memoir, narrative nonfiction, expository nonfiction, procedural, persuasive texts

4. Poetry

How do I go about accomplishing an inquiry-based genre study?(Pinnell, 2012)Collect a set of mentor texts in the genre to read aloud.

Collect a set of read aloud titles that clearly show the characteristics of the particular genre. Place in genre baskets in the classroom library.

Immerse students in several clear examples of the genre. Read the mentor texts aloud over a week’s time. Give book talks on texts in the classroom library. Invite students to select the genre for their

independent reading. Select some of the books from the book basket to use in guided reading lessons. Ask students to list what they notice.

Notice - analyze the characteristics that are common to the group of texts. List the genre features they notice on the anchor chart.

7

Make sure students are able to distinguish between characteristics that are always evident and those that are often evident.

Define the genre. Use the list of characteristics to create a short working definition.

Teach Teach specific mini lessons on the important genre features on the list, using the mentor texts and

adding new mentor texts to the initial text set.

Read and revise Expand student understandings during individual conferences about their independent reading,

and facilitate group share sessions. Encourage students to talk about the genre. Add more characteristics to the anchor charts and revise their working definition of the genre if

needed. Post the anchor chart you and the students create in your class.

Value of genre study for writers1. Helps writers notice what effective authors do to create texts in a genre2. Helps writers learn how texts are created 3. Helps writers create the structures and elements of the genre they are writing4. Develops the habit of writing like a reader and reading like a writer5. Grounds teaching in real-world texts6. Develops a habit of the mind so the students actively notice the writer’s decisions while they read7. Grounds writing in excellent examples of well-written texts8. Helps students use what they learn as writers to support reading and use what they learn as

readers to help them write.

Value of genre study for readers1. Helps readers know what to expect when beginning to read a text2. Heightens reader’s ability to notice features and structures used by the writer as they process a

text3. Helps readers anticipate the structures and elements of the text4. Develops the habit of mind of reading like a writer5. Develops the reader’s ability to comprehend genres6. Helps readers understand what is common among texts in a genre and what can vary7. Helps students use what they learn as readers to write and what they learn as writers to enhance

their reading8. Develops a shared language that students can use to talk with one another about texts

Nonfiction Texts Require Readers To gather information Follow a sequence of events or procedures Follow a logical line of thought Summarize and remember important details and other information Recognize and use underlying patterns of the text – established and temporal sequence,

comparison/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, description/categories Scan to pick up information Use organizing tools to find information Relate ideas and facts to each other Use prior knowledge to interpret and understand information Synthesize information by integrating it with prior knowledge Evaluate the text for accuracy and completeness Distinguish fact from fiction Search texts for missing information Recognize perspective and bias Notice and get information from graphics

8

Recognize implicit or explicit underlying values expressed by the writer Judge or evaluate the logic of an argument Evaluate the logic and feasibility of a proposed solution

Genre study map for K-4 ELADecision by literacy leadership team 2011-12

Kdg 1st grade 2nd grade 3rd grade 4th gradeInformational Informational Informational Informational InformationalPoetry Poetry Poetry and

lyricsPoetry Poetry

Fables Rhymes & riddles

Fables Biography Biography

Pattern Fairy tales Myths Fantasy Fantasy Rhymes & riddles

Legends Mystery Myths

Drama Drama

Genre study map for 5-8 ELADecision spring 2012

Grade 5Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8

Features of Genres

Fiction Texts Nonfiction TextsBiographical Texts Expository, procedural,

persuasive textsContent is imagined Content is real (may be

fictionalized to a degree)Content is real

Purpose is to entertain, to show life’s problems, and to communicate a message

Purpose is to engage interest or create appreciation for a subject

Purpose is to inform and engage interest in facts, often to persuade to show how to do something

Texts have usually read from beginning to end

Texts are usually read from beginning to end, although readers often know the end.

Texts can be read in parts, not necessarily in order, according to interest

Illustrations and graphics extend the meaning and the mood and help the reader visualize characters and events

Illustrations and graphics extend the meaning and the mood and help the reader visualize the setting and the subject’s world.

Illustrations, drawings, graphics, and organizational tools extend information and/or make it easy to find.

9

Systems of Strategic Actions for Comprehending TextsThinking Within the Text

1. Solving words2. Monitoring and correcting – students learn to monitor their understanding using genre

characteristics3. Searching for and using information – when readers know the characteristics of a genre, it is

easier to find the information 4. Summarizing – The structure and patterns of genre help readers recognize and remember

important information 5. Maintaining fluency – Knowing what to expect in the genre supports reading fluency. The

phrasing and intonation will be different when reading different genres aloud.6. Adjusting – Readers take a stance toward a text that is related to the expectations they have of the

genre. The stance requires students to behave in appropriate ways for reading in the genre.

Thinking Beyond the Text1. Predicting – Readers use genre characteristics to anticipate what will happen in a text.2. Making connections - Readers notice genre characteristics as they make connection between

texts, personal connections, and connections to the world around them.3. Inferring – All texts require inference, but knowing the characteristics of a particular genre helps

readers more quickly identify what the writer is showing and not telling.4. Synthesizing – Knowing genre characteristics helps readers identify information more rapidly

because they understand the organization. They can give their attention to sorting what is already known, identifying what is new, and revising their own conceptual understandings.

Thinking About the Text1. Analyzing – When readers have a frame for the structures and features of a genre, it is easier to

notice them in a particular text; this also makes it easier to notice how the writer has used them.2. Critiquing – Knowing about genres can help readers be much more specific in their criticism

Close Reading – Explicit Instruction NeededDefinition - Reading closely means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves.

Close reading also embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the passage itself.

Design the lesson so students reread.

Model the first and second readings (use and name strategies)

Read with a pencil in hand: annotate, highlight, make notes, note confusions, word meaning

Look for patterns, similarities, examine structure of the text, tone and narrative voice, figurative language, irony

Ask questions (types of questions: think and search, author and you, right there, on your own)

(Doug Fisher, 2012) The purpose of close reading is to build the habits of readers as they engage with the complex texts of the discipline and to build their stamina and skills for being able to do so independently. However, close reading doesn’t mean that you simply distribute a complex reading and then exhort them to read

10

it again and again until they understand it. This is likely to provoke exactly the kind of negative reaction McRae and Guthrie (2009) cautioned against in their examination of tasks that motivate and detract from learning. Instead, close reading should be accompanied by purposeful, scaffolded instruction about the passage. Select Short, Worthy Passages. Because close readings can be time-consuming, it is often best to select shorter pieces of text for instruction. After the close reading, the students are ready to write about the reading.

Continuum of Literacy LearningInteractive Read-Aloud and Literature Discussion

Definition - Students engage in discussion with one another and the teacher about the text that they have heard read aloud or one the students have read independently to build a deeper meaning.

Interactive Think-Alouds to Improve Comprehension1. Monitor Comprehension- Does it sound right, look right, and make sense?

Turn and Talk before reading I didn’t get the … so I… This reminds me of… because…

2. Make Connections Turn and Talk before and during reading I think I already know… because…

3. Asking Questions Ask “Wonder” questions during reading (keeping it about the text instead of asking

questions outside the text) I see … and I wonder…

4. Make Inferences I can tell … because… Book clues… My clues… So far… next…

5. Summarize/synthesize Pick key words from the text to visualize This is about… I now think ______ My “ah hah moment” is _______ because… Next, _____. Then, _____. Finally, ____

6. Evaluate I rate… because… I agree/disagree with… because…

Shared and Performance ReadingDefinition – Students read together or take roles in reading a shared text. They reflect the meaning of the text with their voices. They reflect on specific behaviors and understandings that are evident of thinking within, beyond, and about the text.

Oral, Visual, and Technological CommunicationDefinition - Students present their ideas through oral discussion and presentation or through the use of technology

Phonics, spelling, and work studyDefinition – Students learn about the relationships of letter to sounds as well as the structure of words to help them in reading and spelling.

Writing About Reading

11

Definition – Students extend their understanding of a text through a variety of writing genres and illustrations.

WritingDefinition – Students compose and write for a variety of purposes and audiences in a variety of genres.

Guided ReadingDefinition – Students read a teacher-selected text in a small group; the teacher provides explicit teaching and support for reading increasingly challenging texts with accuracy, understanding, and fluency. Levels at K-4 Fountas and Pinnell A to Z - Levels at 5-8 Lexile levels

Strategies for igniting passion for reading with reading logs1. Suggestion from Steven Layne: Teachers add to their own reading log once per week in the

hallway. The log would have (1) title, (2) author, (3) genre, and (4) rating. Students’ reading logs are not to be the PROVE IT log.

2. www.goodreads.com

Anchor Charts

DefinitionWhen you present a mini lesson, create a chart with the mini lesson principle and some examples. Students need to be the voice in the chart – ask them what to write or ask students to write the notes on the anchor chart. It can include a definition, a list of characteristics, etc. The Anchor Chart is a valuable resource for students because they serve as constant reminders.

http://www.tcsdk12.org/literacy/Anchors/Anchor%20Charts.html This is a link to some examples. (An effective anchor chart is one created with and by your students, but this site gives a look at charts made by others.)

Mentor Text(Pinnell, 2012) (Fountas, 2011) (Lucy Calkins, 2012)

Definition of mentor text1. Books that become models for what we may want to achieve in our own writing

2. Mentor texts help students anchor their understandings in excellent examples

3. Read a book aloud and it becomes a resource to which you can then return throughout the year. Student writers can borrow techniques found in the mentor texts.

Value of mentor text for readers and writers Genre study uses analytic thinking to connect texts

This reminds me of…

Use for specific purposes to facilitate

Title of Mentor Text Purpose for Mentor Text Grade

12

Text Sets Book ListsGrade Theme Fiction Nonfiction5678

Pacing GuidesDyer PLC teams studied and unpacked the CCSS and then began the process of writing pacing guides for the guaranteed and viable curriculum. From the CCSS, “I Can” Learning Targets were written in student friendly terms in order to communicate clearly to the students about the intended learning.

The Pacing Guides incorporate curriculum mapping features of # of days for units of study, the standards and the corresponding learning targets, technology integration, materials, and assessment tools. Work will continue on the ELA pacing guides to embed strategy instruction, text sets, and short cycle common assessments amongst other formative and summative assessment tools.

Example of pacing guide content

Month Standards I Can Learning Targets

Unit of Study & Resources

Assessment

13

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)(Standards, 2012) (DPI, 2012)

College and Career Readiness1. Anchor Standards http://www.corestandards.org 2. I Can Learning Target statements aligned to the CCSS

Reading Literature (RL)

Reading Informational Text (RI)

The CCSS value deep comprehension and high level thinking skills. You will notice repeated descriptive text such as the short list of example verbiage below. The CCSS deemphasizes the text-to-self type reading. Instead the emphasis is on textual analysis.

Close, attentive reading Reasoning and use of evidence Critical reading Comprehend, evaluate, synthesize Cite specific evidence Evaluate other points critically Read independently and closely Demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text

Writing (W)1. Common Core Standards Appendix C: Writing Samples by grade level How good is

good enough?

2. Required types of writing directed by the CCSS: persuasive/argument, narrative, informative.

Narrative writing includes: personal narrative, fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, narrative memoir, biography, and narrative nonfiction.

Persuasive/argumentative writing includes: persuasive letter, review, personal essay, persuasive essay, literary essay, historical essay, petition, editorial, and op-ed column.

Arguments are used for many purposes – to change the reader’s point of view, to bring about some actin on the reader’s part, or to ask the reader to accept the writer’s explanation or evaluation of a concept, issue, or problem. An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that the writer’s position, belief, or conclusion is valid. In ELA, students make claims about the worth or meaning of a literary work(s). They defend their interpretations or judgments with evidence from the text(s) they are writing about. In history/social studies, students analyze evidence form multiple primary and secondary sources to advance a claim that is best supported by the evidence and they argue for a historically or empirically situated interpretation. In science, students make claims in the form of statements or conclusions that answer questions or address problems using data in a scientifically acceptable form. In K-5, work on persuasive writing is the precursor to argumentative writing in grades 6 -12.

When writing to persuade, writers employ a variety of persuasive strategies. One common strategy is an appeal to the credibility, character, or authority of the writer (or speaker). When writers establish that they are knowledgeable and trustworthy, audiences are more likely to believe what they say. Another is

14

an appeal to the audience‘s self-interest, sense of identity, or emotions, any of which can sway an audience. A logical argument, on the other hand, convinces the audience because of the perceived merit and reasonableness of the claims and proofs offered rather than either the emotions the writing evokes in the audience or the character or credentials of the writer. The Standards place special emphasis on writing logical arguments as a particularly important form of college- and career-ready writing.

Informational and functional/procedural writing includes: fact sheet, new article, feature article, blog, website, report, analytic memo, research report, nonfiction book, how-to book, directions, recipe, and lab report.

In February of each school year, BASD fifth and 11th graders demonstrate their writing skills on the CESA5 Writing test.

3. The CCSS Writing standards not only define and describe the three types of writing, but they also show how the writing should progress over the course of K-12 grades. There is a call for the distribution of writing instruction and writing opportunities as well. There is a share responsibility across the subject areas. The emphasis on writing instruction “belongs in the hands of all disciplines and every teacher.”

4. Higher order concerns in writing instruction include such things as learning how to approach and develop a topic, understanding how to address the concerns of a specific audience, organizing ideas so that they are coherent and convincing, and becoming comfortable writing for a variety of reasons. Writing teachers need to spend most of their time on higher order concerns rather than on grammar and usage.

5. Volume of writing is related to the rate of writing. The expectation that all students are provided with regular and frequent time for authentic writing. Lucy Calkins wrote, “Writing is par of the Bill of Rights for all students.”

Language (L)1. There are six Anchor Standards for Language. (1) Conventions of Standard English,

which outlines expectations for grammar, (2) Knowledge of Language, which outlines how students should apply their knowledge of language as craft choices in their writing and speaking, and (3) Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, which outlines expectations for vocabulary. The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is the interim benchmark assessment in place in the BASD. MAP measures all three of the areas listed above. Des Cartes by NWEA lists the skills necessary in each area.

2. The Language standards are written to suggest that language work should not be taught in isolation. Language work should be interwoven across the day, so that conventions, vocabulary, and craft become a seamless part of the reading, writing, and speaking & listening.

3. The Language standards emphasize the applied use of skills in context – “the use rather than the knowledge of rules.” For students to meet the Language standards, we must teach various strategies for awareness and teach students how to apply them. This language in the Language standards most likely came from the Carnegie Corporation’s Writing Next document we say in 2007. Grammar instruction was studied in a meta-analysis for Writing Next. The researchers found that traditional grammar instruction (isolated systematic teaching of the parts of speech and sentence structure) is unlikely to improve the quality of students’ writing. They also found procedural work such as sentence combining does improve students’ writing.

4. CCSS uses verbs such as use, form, produce rather than explain or define when describing what students should know and able to do with language. This is a marked departure

15

from instruction that demands memorization of terminology and rules. We want students to use language as a craft. Hold true to the intent of the standards in our teaching; teach our students the skills and strategies that will make them independent word solvers and writers and speakers who are able to apply meaning, structure, elaboration, and conventions (as Lucy Calkins calls it) “craft moves.”

5. Begin with assessment. Look at student writing samples to determine what skills and strategies your students have control over.

6. Teach the Language standards in connection with writing, reading, speaking & listening.

Assessment Suggestion: Create a table for a way to look for patterns in your class of writers

Students’ names

General mastery of a skill with only occasional typos

Awareness of a skill but with misuse or confusion regarding its use

No apparent awareness of a skill

Disciplinary Literacies & Wisconsin’s Literacy for All (DPI, 2012)Wisconsin’s DPI website http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/disciplinaryliteracy.html

Disciplinary Literacy – consider the learning demands of the specific subject matter.

Educators who foster disciplinary literacy develop experiences that integrate rigorous content with relevant collaborative and creative literacy processes to motivate and engage students. Setting high expectations, they structure routines and supports that empower students to take charge of their own learning. When students work in teams to research science and mathematics concepts in the development of an invention or a graphic arts design; when they collaboratively build a blog that explains their recent marketing venture, they use specific literacy skills and strategies to solidify learning.

Students need these opportunities over time to develop the precise and complex reading, writing, listening, speaking and critical thinking skills demanded in today's careers.

Below are links from the Wisconsin DPI website and to some of the disciplines. Reading for Art LiteracyDisciplinary Literacy in Health EducationDisciplinary Literacy in ScienceDisciplinary Literacy in Social StudiesDisciplinary Literacy in Business and Information TechnologyDisciplinary Literacy in Physical EducationDisciplinary Literacy in MusicWhat does it mean to be literate in mathematics?

Educators help students recognize and understand the nuances of a discipline by using strategies that “make their thinking visible.” They promote classroom reading, writing, listening, speaking and critical thinking using authentic materials that support the development of content-specific knowledge. They guide students through these complex texts by using strategies that develop conceptual understanding of language and set expectations for relevant application of skills. These literacy practices deepen students' content knowledge, strategies and skills so that their learning transfers to real world situations.

16

Students who are literate in a particular discipline are able to successfully read, write, and speak about that discipline and can listen and think critically as others communicate in that community. Performance tasks that allow students to present the complexity of a content area in a way that is meaningful to the field become authentic approaches to assessing mastery within a discipline. Such tasks empower students to discover the real world connections across disciplines and to actively participate in communities of discipline-literate peers. As Wisconsin moves to the SMARTER Balanced Assessment System these integrated performance tasks will be integral to assessment of student learning.

Expectations in BASD for Disciplinary LiteracyStudents are to be provided with ample, regular, and frequent opportunities to read, write, speak & listen, and develop the craft of language in each of the disciplines. The CCSS provide equal weight on reading and writing. “These standards embrace the notion that literacy is everyone’s work. Social studies, science, and math teachers are all expected to support literacy. The same rich, provocative, critical reading and writing work that happens in English Language Arts needs to be present across the curriculum.” (Lucy Calkins, 2012) Gone are the days of assuming that the student “should be able to read the text at this grade.”

The Common Core State Standards include a section entitled Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies 6-12, Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6-12, Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects 6-12. These standards are to be unpacked, thought of in student-friendly learning targets, and integrated into the discipline. The College and Career Ready anchor standards and high school standards in literacy toil in tandem to define college and career readiness expectations -the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity. (Standards, 2012)

Text Complexity and Reading Levels The Lexile level required of high school graduates has increased significantly as a result of research that fed into the development of the Common Core standards. “The developers evaluated actual texts real people have to read in college and the work force, and they found a big gap,” says Rivki Locker, Senior Vice President, Product Research & Development for Achieve3000.

In fact, according to Appendix A of Common Core State Standards For English Language Arts & Literacy In History/Social Studies, Science, And Technical Subjects, a 2006 study “found a 350L (Lexile) gap between the difficulty of end-of-high school and college texts – a gap equivalent to 1.5 standard deviations and more than the Lexile difference between grade 4 and grade 8 texts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).”

MetaMetrics uses word frequency and sentence length to produce a single numerical measure to indicate a text’s complexity.

17

Selecting the right book for the right purpose (Fountas, 2011)

Relationship Between Text Complexity and Learning to Process Text

Easy Just Right Hard or Challenging

Support effective processing Work to support and effective processing

Get in the way of processing

Provide enjoyment and learning Provide enjoyment and learning Create frustration and undermine motivation

Promote fluent reading Promote fluent reading and quick problem solving

Hinder development of fluency

Provide easy comprehension Provide opportunities to expand comprehension without experiencing frustration

Make comprehension too difficult so reading becomes meaningless

What we need to do is provide explicit instruction where we model and provide guided practice for the use of strategies with a wide variety of texts that are increasingly more complex in order to build toward independence at higher levels.

Rationale for Increasingly More Offering Complex Text in Class

While keeping the reading level in mind as we build stamina in our readers, a reading level should not be considered the single determinant for choosing texts for students. There are three prongs. (Standards, 2012) standard 10

1. Qualitative evaluation of the text: Levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands

2. Quantitative evaluation of the text: Readability measures and other scores of text complexity

3. Matching reader to text and task:Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the ques tions posed) See Appendix A

Text Complexity Grade Band Old Lexiles Lexile Ranges Aligned to CCSS Expectations K–1 …………………………………… N/A ………………………… N/A2–3 …………………………………… 450–725L …………………… 450–790L 4–5 …………………………………… 645–845L …………………… 770–980L 6–8 …………………………………… 860–1010L …………………. 955–1155L 9-10 …………………………………... 960–1115L ………………….. 1080–1305L 11–CCR ……………………………… 1070–1220L ………………… 1215–1355L

Texts that build the reading process

18

(1) Levels of Meaning (literary texts) or Purpose (informational texts). Literary texts with a single level of meaning tend to be easier to read than literary texts with multiple levels of meaning (such as satires, in which the author‘s literal message is intentionally at odds with his or her underlying message). Similarly, informational texts with an explicitly stated purpose are generally easier to comprehend than informational texts with an implicit, hidden, or obscure purpose.

(2) Structure. Texts of low complexity tend to have simple, well-marked, and conventional structures, whereas texts of high complexity tend to have complex, implicit, and (particularly in literary texts) unconventional structures. Simple literary texts tend to relate events in chronological order, while complex literary texts make more frequent use of flashbacks, flash-forwards, and other manipulations of time and sequence. Simple informational texts are likely not to deviate from the conventions of common genres and subgenres, while complex informational texts are more likely to conform to the norms and conventions of a specific discipline. Graphics tend to be simple and either unnecessary or merely supplementary to the meaning of texts of low complexity, whereas texts of high complexity tend to have similarly complex graphics, graphics whose interpretation is essential to understanding the text, and graphics that provide an independent source of information within a text.

(3) Language Conventionality and Clarity. Texts that rely on literal, clear, contemporary, and conversational language tend to be easier to read than texts that rely on figurative, ironic, ambiguous, purposefully misleading, archaic, or otherwise unfamiliar language or on general academic and domain-specific vocabulary.

(4) Knowledge Demands. Texts that make few assumptions about the extent of readers‘ life experiences & the depth of their cultural/literary & content/discipline knowledge are generally less complex than are texts that make many assumptions in one or more of those areas.

A 350L (Lexile) gap currently exists between the difficulty of end-of-high-school and college texts—a gap equivalent to 1.5 standard deviations and more than the Lexile difference between grade 4 and grade 8 texts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). There is also evidence that standards prior to CCSS, curriculum, and instructional practice have not done enough to foster the independent reading of complex texts so crucial for college and career readiness, particularly in the case of informational texts. K–12 students are, in general, given considerable scaffolding—assistance from teachers, class discussions, and the texts themselves (in such forms as summaries, glossaries, and other text features)—with reading that is already less complex overall than that typically required of students prior to 1962.

What is more, students today are asked to read very little expository text—as little as 7 and 15 percent of elementary and middle school instructional reading, for example, is expository yet much research supports the conclusion that such text is harder for most students to read than is narrative text that students need sustained exposure to expository text to develop important reading strategies, and that expository text makes up the vast majority of the required reading in college and the workplace (Achieve, Inc., 2007).

What little expository reading students are asked to do is too often of the superficial variety that involves skimming and scanning for particular, discrete pieces of information; such reading is unlikely to prepare students for the cognitive demand of true understanding of complex text. Being able to read complex text independently and proficiently is essential for high achievement in college and the workplace and important in numerous life tasks. Moreover,

19

current trends suggest that if students cannot read challenging texts with understanding—if they have not developed the skill, concentration, and stamina to read such texts—they will read less in general. In particular, if students cannot read complex expository text to gain information, they will likely turn to text-free or text-light sources, such as video, podcasts, and tweets. To grow, our students must read lots, and more specifically they must read lots of complex texts—texts that offer them new language, new knowledge, and new modes of thought.

ResearchInquiry-based teaching and learning is an approach in which students are engaged in exploration. Taking an inquiry stance enables students to learn how to learn. Inquiry is an in-depth approach, which strengthens learning in other disciplines.

CCSS Writing Standard 7 on Research ProjectsConduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Make inferences about text and support inference with multiple examples of text

evidence (R 1)

Evaluate an argument in a text and whether the reasoning is sound (R 8)

Write informative essays to convey ideas (W 2)

Produce clear and coherent writing (W 4)

Plan, revise, edit, rewrite (W 5)

Use technology (W 6)

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital resources (W 8)

Draw evidence from text to support analysis, reflection, research (W 9)

Demonstrate command of grammar and usage when writing (L 1)

Demonstrate command of conventions (L 2)

Use knowledge of conventions (L 3)

Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words (L 4)

Grade 5 Writing, Language, and Speaking & Listening PlanSeptember Personal Narrative - W3 (a-e), W4, W5, W8, L1 (b-e), L2( Narrative)

October Literary Text and Compare and Contrast W4, W5, W9, W8, L2, L1 (b-e), L6, (Informative)

January Colonization - W1 (a-d), W4, W5, W7, W8, L1 (b-e), L2, L6 (Persuasive)

February Health Topic - Business Letter W1 (a-d), W4, W5, W7, W8, L1 (b-e), L2, L6 (Persuasive)

Nov./Dec. or March

Research Paper - biographies W2 (a-e), W4, W5, W8, L1 (b-e), L2 (Informative)

May Poetry L1 (b-e), L2, L5, W4, W5(Narrative)

June Demonstration Speeches SL 4, L1 (b-e), L2, W4, W5, (Narrative)

20

Grade 6 Writing, Language, and Speaking & Listening PlanSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuaryFebruaryMarchApril MayJune

21

DPI’s Balanced Assessment System

Balanced Assessment System, November 2010, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

To plan learning (prior to instruction

To support learning (during instruction)

To monitor learning (between instruction)

To verify learning (after instruction)

Formative Data(to quickly inform instruction)

Student learning goals or student self assessment

Feedback that informs both student and teacher in order to make real-time adjustments to teaching and learning

Feedback that allows teacher to see what progress has been made since the last check in

Feedback that confirms what the student knows and can do

Examples: Discussion, observations

Portfolio, class blog, journal

Open questioning, running records

Exit activities, portfolio

Interim Benchmark Data(to benchmark and monitor progress)

Data that show a teacher instructional starting point for a chapter, unit, semester, or year

Data that show the teacher what learning objectives have been mastered; what needs to be addressed next instructionally for individual students

Data that track student progress over time, providing periodic and multiple data points against benchmarks throughout the year. Can be used to promote program improvement in the short term; instructional change; monitor student progress

Data that are used, along with other data points, to establish a grade or score. Can be used to make decisions about instruction, curriculum, and to make program adjustments.

Example: Pre-tests Graded class work, curriculum based measures, Short Cycle Common Assessment SCCA

Portfolio, office referrals, CBM, SCCA

Progress report, post-test

Summative Data(to evaluate cumulative learning)

Data that aid the teacher in planning future instruction; reflecting on general patterns; or establishing the big picture within a class structure

Data that inform classroom decisions such as groupings, alterations to curriculum maps, etc.

Data provide a snapshot of what students know and can do. Can be used to promote program improvement, curriculum changes, instructional PD needs at school or classroom level.

Standardized data is used to make decisions, typically on annual basis, at macro levels, about subgroups, schools, districts, states.

Examples: Previous year’s common assessment, end of year C.A.

Item analysis of prior summative test, end of unit assessments, grades

Benchmark test scores, end of semester grades

Suspension rates

22

Match the intent of the standard to the assessment

Standard:

Grade: Target Type_____ Knowledge

Target Type_____ Reasoning

Target Type_____ Skill

Target Type_____ Product

List the knowledge, reasoning, skills, or product targets underpinning the standard or benchmark.

Knowledge Reasoning Skill Product

Assessment type Assessment type Assessment type Assessment type_____ Formative_____ Benchmark_____ Summative

_____ Formative_____ Benchmark_____ Summative

_____ Formative_____ Benchmark_____ Summative

_____ Formative_____ Benchmark_____ Summative

Item type Item type Item type Item type__ Selected response __ Constructed resp.__ Performance

__ Selected response__ Constructed resp.__ Performance

__ Selected response__ Constructed resp.__ Performance

__ Selected response__ Constructed resp.__ Performance

* The stricken item type is not a good match for the target to be assessed.

Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium and the Next Generation Assessments

Claim #1 – Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts.

Claim #2 – Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and audiences.

Claim #3 – Students can employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences.

Claim #4 – Students can engage in research/inquiry to investigate topics, and to analyze, integrate, and present information.

23

Resources by the Gurus of Literacy Research and InstructionAssignments Matter: Making the Connections that Help Students Meet the Standards

Eleanor DoughertyProductive Groupwork Doug Fisher and Nancy Freyhttp://www.fisherandfrey.com Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey

Robert MarzanoDoug Buehl

Opening Minds Peter JohnstonChoice Words Peter Johnston

Debbie MillerIgniting a Passion for Reading Steven Layne, Judson UniversityComprehension Toolkit Stephanie Harvey and Anne GoudvisComprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action

Stephanie Harvey and Smokey DanielsUnits of Study Lucy CalkinsReading Reasons Kelly Gallagher

Regie RoutmanRalph Fletcher

Assessment Live Nancy SteinekeAccessible Assessment Mike Ford, Mike OptizGenre Study Irene Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell

Richard AllingtonBest Practice Steven Zemelman, Smokey Daniels, Arthur HydePathways to the Common Core Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, Christopher LehmanReading for the Lives Alfred TatumIn the Middle Nancie AtwellThe CAFÉ Book Gail Boushey and Joan Moser (“The Sisters”)Fair Isn’t Always Equal Rick WormeliBetter Answers Ardith Davis ColeMentor Text Nonfiction Rose Cappelli and Lynne DorfmanMentor Text Fiction Rose Cappelli and Lynne DorfmanSupporting Struggling Readers and Writers

Dorothy Strickland, Kathy Ganske, Joanne Monroe

24

Learning Targets “I Can…” grade 5

Grade 5 learning targets – READING STANDARDS for LiteratureRL 1.  I can accurately explain and draw inferences from the text.

RL 2.  I can explain the theme of a piece of literature. (stories, drama, poems).

RL 3.  I can use details to compare and contrast the text (characters, settings, events).

RL 4. I can figure out the meaning of words, including similes and metaphors, as they are used in text.

RL 5. I can make connections between the chapters, scenes, and stanzas in stories, plays, or poems.

RL 6. I can tell the narrator’s point of view by the way he or she tells the story.

RL 7. I can explain how what I see and hear adds meaning to the text.

RL 8. Not applicable to literature per CCSS

RL 9. I can compare and contrast two similar themes within the same genre.

RL 10. I can read and comprehend literature independently at or above my grade level.  

Grade 5 learning targets – READING STANDARDS FOR Informational TextRI 1.  I can accurately explain and draw inferences from the text.

RI 2.  I can state the main ideas and summarize the key details.

RI 3.  I can specifically compare and contrast information from the text including people, events, ideas, and concepts.

RI 4.  I can demonstrate an understanding of the vocabulary.

RI 5.  I can compare and contrast 2 or more texts for: time order, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution.

RI 6.  I can compare and contrast different points of view on an event or topic.

RI 7.  I can use a variety of materials to locate an answer.

RI 8.  I can and identify the reasons and details an author uses to support their main idea.

RI 9.  I can include information from several texts in order to write or speak about that topic.

RI 10.  I can read and understand grade level informational text.

GRADE 5 SPEAKING AND LISTENING LEARNING TARGETSSL 1.  I can clearly discuss and express my ideas with others in different types of discussion.

a. I will learn the material in order to be prepared to actively engage in the discussion. b. I will follow the rules for discussion groups and carry out the role I am assigned.c. I can ask and respond to questions related to the discussion and add to others’ ideas.d. I can summarize and draw conclusions from the discussion.

SL 2.  I can summarize information that is presented to me both orally and visually.

25

SL 3.  I can summarize the speaker’s main idea and explain their reasons and proof.

SL 4.  I can give a presentation that has well-organized ideas that include important facts and descriptive details, making sure to speak clearly in order to be understood.

SL 5.  I can use different types of media to support the main idea of my presentation.

SL 6.  I can use appropriate speech based on the type of presentation being given and the needs of my audience.

GRADE 5 LANGUAGE LEARNING TARGETS

Learning Targets for Grades K-4 and Grade 5 language and Grade 6 TO BE COPIED into this document

Bibliography

DPI, W. (2012). Literacy for All.

Fountas, G. S. (2011). The Continuum of Literacy Learning: Grades PreK-8. Portsmouth, NH, USA: Heinemann.

Lucy Calkins, M. E. (2012). Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement. Portsmouth, NH, USA: Heinemann.

Pinnell, I. C. (2012). Genre Study: Teaching with Fiction and Nonfiction Books. Portsmouth, NH, USA: Heinemann.

Routman, R. (2005). Writing Essentials: Raising Expectations and Results While Simplifying Teaching. Portsmouth, NH, USA: Heinemann.

Standards, CCSS. (2012).

26