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Curriculum, Instruction and AssessmentHigh School Department Chair Meeting

December 13, 2012

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Presenter Information• Marisa Hartling

Secondary ELA Curriculum Manager• Christi Keelen

Secondary ELA Curriculum Specialist• Donna Johnston

Secondary ELA TDS• Allison Leedie

Secondary ELA TDS• Chris Puente

Secondary ELA TDS

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Informational Items• Professional Development Opportunities

– STAAR Workshops- Genre Studies• 1/30/13 (see attachment)

– STAAR Workshops- Revising and Editing• 2/20/13 and 3/2/13 (see attachment)

– SpringBoard Writing Trainings (see attachment)– IRA Conference- 4/19/2013 San Antonio, Texas

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Curriculum Information

• Curriculum Preview Videos: HISD eLearn- https://hisdelearn.org/.

• STAAR Update- Victoria Young

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Instructional Strategies

• Academic Vocabulary– Allison Leedie

• Writing Round-Robin: Literary Writing Strategy– Donna Johnston

• “Writing to Show”: Expository Writing Strategy– Chris Puente

Academic Vocabulary

TAKS Why does the author focus on the fact that Lawrence liked to paint black heroes?A to emphasize Lawrence’s interest in historical figuresB to suggest that Lawrence’s skill was uniqueC to list examples of Lawrence’s best workD to show Lawrence’s pride in his heritage

STAARWhy does the author include paragraphs 2 and

3? A To share a humorous story about daylight

saving time B To explain to the reader how daylight saving

time benefited the city of Paris C To support the claim that daylight saving time

saves money D To help the reader understand where the idea

for daylight saving time originated

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8.12A: Identify the purposes of different types of texts such as to inform, influence, express, or entertain. (2008)

8.9: Analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide text support. (2012)

The Rigors of STAAR Reading

Consider the following: In paragraph 1, the description of Anne in the stage directions

is intended to evoke feelings of — A fear B doubtC angerD pity

What do students need to know or be able to do to answer this question?

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Model Your Thinking

In paragraph 1, the description of Anne in the stage directions is intended to evoke feelings of —

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Only look here, not the whole selection.

This is what I am looking for.

I’m only looking in the Stage Directions. If I don’t know what this is I need to look it up. Remember, this story is a play. What do I know about plays?

Do I know what this word means? I can tell it’s a verb. I might need to look it up.

This is another hard work. What does it mean?

Who’s feelings?

Academic Vocabulary

In addition to content specific vocabulary, consider including academic vocabulary in your daily routine.

Word of the day: Convey

• The author conveys the theme by _____________• The diction in this piece conveys a mood of___________• The piece conveys a sense of ________________

Encourage students to use the word in a complete sentence when speaking and writing about a text.

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Round Robin

• This strategy is a creative spin on the “Choose Your Own Ending” stories.

• Students are allowed to work together to write short stories.

• An extension to this strategy is a Round Robin Revision.

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Round Robin

1. Group students according to current classroom needs.

2. Assign a different sentence stem to each student in the group.

1. It was a dark and stormy night when…2. The boy was no longer certain he could…3. When the girl opened her birthday present…4. The train left the station before she…

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Round Robin

3. Explain and model to students the steps of the writing process.

4. Each student will have 2 minutes to add to the story. Encourage them to be creative and classroom appropriate.

5. When the timer dings, each student will pass his/her story to the student on the left.

6. Students read what has already been written and have 2 minutes to add to the story.

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Round Robin

7. Have students continue until they receive their own story again.

8. On the second round, have students concentrate on bringing the story to a conclusion.

9. The story is finished when each student has his/her paper back.

10.Have a couple of students read their stories aloud for the class.

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Round Robin Revision

• As an extension activity, have students revise these stories specifically looking to improve the elements of the literary genre.1. Assign each student a task

a) Student 1 focuses on Organization/Progressionb) Student 2 focuses on Development of Ideasc) Student 3 focuses on Use of Language & Conventionsd) Student 4 focuses on one of the three above

2. Have each task write in a different color

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Round Robin Revision

• Repeat the Round Robin process, but this time have students focus on offering revision suggestions for their assigned task.

• Continue until all students have reviewed each story, including their own.

• Return stories to original student, and allow them time to revise, if possible

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Summary

• Repeat the Round Robin/ Round Robin Revision strategies, each time changing the assigned revision tasks so that all students get a change to focus on each aspect of the rubric.

• Publish and post these stories on teenink.com and around the classroom.

• Allow students to illustrate their stories as an extension activity.

Writing to Show

Adapted from Crafting the Expository Argument by Michael

Degan

Telling rather than showing

Showing rather than telling

Rubric Connection

Showing versus Telling

Prompt: He was scaredUsing a minimum of 22 lines, write a

composition about a person being afraid WITHOUT telling the reader the person is afraid.

Tips for your SHOWING composition:

1. Don’t use the key word in the prompt or any synonyms for it.

2. Start in the middle of the story, where the action for the story begins.

3. Appeal to the senses! (yes, all five)4. Show the action as if you were filming it frame by

frame; let the reader see each particular object involved.

5. Avoid plurals. BE SPECIFIC!6. Use vivid verbs: scurried rather than ran.7. Stay in present tense AND AVOID ‘TO BE’ VERBS.

Example Composition

Carl steps onto the dimly lit patio and looks at his watch: 1:15 in the morning. Sweating already, he strides out onto the sidewalk, his eyes flashing from one side of the street to the other. He begins to notice how eerily loud his footsteps are on the pavement - TAP…TAP…TAP - and longs for daylight. Alone on the street except for the burnt out streetlights, Carl quickens his pace. TAPTAPTAP. Carl was terrified at what might happen. A fat, yellow cat hisses a warning when Carl passes her dumpster, and he jumps back, fists balled in front of his forehead. He drops his arms and forces a smile across his sweat-drenched face.

Vary the prompt

• Elicit various pronouns and adjectives from the class:– She was tired– They were hungry– It is new

• Use cliché’s– The baby is cute– Don’t judge a book by it’s cover

Peer Review Instructions

1. Read the entire composition. CIRCLE any instance of the author TELLING us that the character is _______. Anytime the author uses the key word from the prompt or a synonym for it, circle it.

2. Read the entire composition again. UNDERLINE anywhere that sensory imagery is employed to show you what is happening. This is good.

3. Highlight VIVID VERBS. Pick out any nonvivid verbs that could be changed to vivid verbs and write a suggestion for a more vivid verb.

Warning!

Try it first. It may be harder than it looks

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Conclusion

• Questions

Contact Information:Christi Keelenckeelen@houstonisd.orgJennifer Datrayjdatray@houstonisd.org