SESSION AGENDA: FACILIATOR-FACING:December Intro to ELA: Flip the Script Part 2!

I. Celebrate! What did you try? What happened with your kids that was positive? (5 minutes)II. Diagnose- what is working, what is not? What’s your gap? (8 minute reflection) I’m going to make a reflection sheet that will help people fall into certain gaps.III. Find a partner with a different gap than yours. (2 minute transition)IV. Share your situation & solve the problem using the appendices and discussion with partner (25 minutes per partner; goal = define the student change & next steps you’ll take to get there)V. Commit to a solution. (10 minutes, sharing whole group & committing via email)VI. Feedback with exit tickets

BEGINNING OF CORPS MEMBER-FACING PACKET:Intro to ELA December: Flipping the Script + Building Culture, PART 2

HANDOUT 1: Initial Culture Reflection Questions1. When your students work in partners or groups, how clear are they about WHAT they should be doing and HOW they should

do it? What is your student-evidence of this?

2. When your students work in partners or groups, to what extent is purposeful discussion happening? What student-evidence/ student-work are you thinking about?

3. How clear do you think your students are about WHY they should strive to own more of the reading, writing, & talking? About WHY they should strive to peacefully & effectively communicate with each other? What student-evidence are you considering?

4. What has been difficult about flipping the script? Where have you and your students struggled? What is the biggest habit holding your students back right now?

HANDOUT 2: Plan for More Effectively Building Collaboration & Culture

In an email to your MTLD (and any other accountability-partner!) answer:1. What do you concretely hope to change about student-outcomes by the last day of school in December & the first

weeks back in January?

2. What next steps are you taking? Why?

3. What will you say to invest students in the purpose of doing this? (Script out what you will say!)

4. Think proactively – what challenges might you encounter? How will you adjust course?

Appendices of Solutions A. Students aren’t completing the ACTUAL READING of the text effectively in partners or groups because they aren’t crystal clear on

the expectations or because they aren’t invested in reading in partners/ groups. (page 1)B. Students aren’t completing the ACTUAL TALKING about the text effectively in partners or groups because they aren’t crystal clear

on the expectations or because they aren’t invested in becoming better communicators. (pages 2-3)C. Some groups work better than others once students are working. (page 4)D. Different groups work at different rates during group/ partner reading & discussion, such that you really aren’t sure who knows

what by the end of class. (page 5)E. Students don’t know their progress as communicators, so they are starting to revert back to old habits of less constructive-

discussion. (pages 6-7)

APPENDIX APROBLEM: Students aren’t completing the ACTUAL READING of the text effectively in partners or groups because they aren’t crystal clear on the expectations or because they aren’t invested in reading in partners/ groups.

CAUSES/ SOLUTIONS:CAUSE #1: Students don’t know how they should be reading or how they should be proving that they are reading.

SOLUTION #1: Develop clearer reading procedures. Consider developing student roles (I.e.: Consider developing a visual cue procedure, such that your students can prove to you that they are doing the reading (pencils

or pens following along, all students in a group completing the questions on the handout) Reinforce this expectation through positive narration.

CAUSE #2: Students don’t feel a sense of urgency about getting reading done. They aren’t sure how much they are supposed to do in a given time.

SOLUTION #2: Provide clearer parameters about the amount of reading & time that students have to complete the task.

“You have 7 minutes to read through paragraphs 4. You need to have completed questions 1-3. GO!” The above stated directions are along posted visually in some way.

Cause #3: Students aren’t invested in reading in partner/ group reading.

SOLUTION #3: Provide more rationale & more-immediate incentives to help invest students in partner/ group reading. Specifically, consider trying the following:

Frame the purpose of partner/ group reading as it differs from whole-class reading (also known as Control the Game/ Hollywood Reading): “When we read whole-class, 80% of y’all raise your hands to read each time. We want to get better at reading in partners because when we read in partners, EVERY SINGLE STUDENT gets to read each class period, which is what you want anyway! Also when we read in partners, we are all doing more of the heavy reading, which is good for our brains.”

Develop a competition among groups to see which groups of students can complete the reading in the more effective, joyful ways. Award points to groups as you narrate groups that are achieving the reading procedures!

i. If your students read in partners, then you can still divide your class into 3-4 teams (teams would just be made up of multiple partners).

ii. Keep the prize something small & meaningfully connected to literacy (i.e. winning groups can choose any of the following prizes: getting to pick a book from the library to keep for self, getting to eat an exotic fruit from teacher during next in-class IR, getting to annotate on class-copy of text, winning high-lighters or fancy pens for text-annotations, etc.)

APPENDIX B PROBLEM: Students aren’t completing the ACTUAL TALKING about the text effectively in partners or groups because they aren’t crystal clear on the expectations or because they aren’t invested in becoming better communicators.

CAUSE #1: Students don’t believe that communication & talking are skills in which they need to build their proficiency.

SOLUTION #1A: Provide very clear directions for student communication. Roles: Give kids more parameters to help them achieve communication success! Ex: Partner A reads questions 1-3,

then Partner B shares initial thoughts, then Partner A responds by agreeing, disagreeing, elaborating, then Partners A & B decide on a final answer to record. Switch roles for questions 4-6.

Sentence starters: award team/ partner points when students use sentence starters to communicate about the text more clearly and to illuminate the nuances in their different thinking. See examples from Kori Miner’s (’12, dELtA) 9th grade ELA class here.

Timing constraints for discussion: Sometimes kids aren’t talking about the right stuff because they aren’t sure how much time they have, so they think they have enough time to talk about personal stuff AND talk about the text- when they really don’t.

o Consider letting kids know that they only have a certain about of time to read ___ # of paragraphs & discuss __ # of questions before they can then either independently read OR talk about personal stuff.

o Positively narrate groups that do this effectively with shout outs or group points.

SOLUTION #1B: Provide clear rationale for why growing as a communicator is desirable. Frame the purpose of partner/ group discussion as it differs from whole-class ping-pong questioning between

teacher & 1 student: “When we do ping-pong questioning, only one student gets to articulate her thinking at a time. We want to get better at sharing our claims & evidence about text, and when we discuss in partner or groups, EVERY SINGLE STUDENT gets to talk more and get better at discussion, which is what you want anyway!

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CAUSE #2: Students might not be getting positive reinforcement when they are increasing their skill at productive communication.

SOLUTION #2: Provide explicit feedback & praise to students when they meet your expectations. Team or Partner Incentives: See incentive ideas within Appendix A.

See Alex Gordon’s (’12, dELtA, 10th grade ELA) discussion incentives below!

Shout outs: Encourage students to shout each other out for moving the discussion forward & meeting/ exceeding your discussion expectations. Make sure you are encouraging your students to specifically shout out traits of strong discussion (ie: text-evidence-based debate, team: helping each other understand, listening & considering others’ opinions).See how Kori’s students get to celebrate each other below.

APPENDIX CPROBLEM: Some groups work better than others once students are working.

CAUSE: You, as the teacher, feel pulled in so many different directions during group/ partner work.

SOLUTION #1: Change your execution approach. As soon as group/ partner work begins, reinforce your reading & discussion expectations to all groups by awarding points or positively narrating AND THEN ZOOM OVER to the groups that you suspect will have a more difficult time reading & communicating. It’s ok to stick with the same groups if they need you. You can always reinforce the other groups from afar by awarding groups or checking their understanding once you come back together as a group!

SOLUTION #2: Talk with your partner about the personalities of students in your groups/ partners that aren’t working as well. What motivates these students? Why might they be less invested? How could you differentiate your support for these students?

APPENDIX DPROBLEM/CAUSE: Different groups work at different rates during group/ partner reading & discussion, such that you really aren’t sure who knows what by the end of class.

SOLUTION: Teach your students how to come back together from their partners/ groups to have a whole-class debrief.

Consider having a whole-class-debrief in between each chunk of reading/question-discussing that happens in partners. Goals of whole-class debrief:

o Ss get to all get back on the same page.o Ss get to practice listening & responding & debating with each other.o Teacher gets to check for understanding, especially in the groups that she/he didn’t get to work with as much during

partner/ group time. Student actions during debrief:

o Students in different groups/ partners share and provide text-evidence for their answers to questions from the previous work-chunk.

Students in other groups/ partners listen & respond with (“I agree!”, “I disagree!”, and “I can elaborate!” hand signals. See a video of such a whole-group debrief here. (Login to TFAnet, click VIDEO HUB, search “Delhagen”, Click on Culture of Achievement Video)

APPENDIX EPROBLEM/ CAUSE: Students don’t know their progress as communicators, so they are starting to revert back to old habits of less constructive-discussion.

SOLUTION: Protect regular, routine times for students to reflect on their own discussion-skills, provide feedback to each other, or receive & reflect on feedback from their teacher!

This could happen with regular student shout outs (see above examples in Appendix B), as long as you are encouraging your students to specifically shout out traits of strong discussion (ie: text-evidence-based debate, team: helping each other understand, listening & considering others’ opinions).

This could also happen if you develop a discussion-skill rubric like the one I found from theteachingchannel.org below. Students should rate themselves & then discuss areas of celebration or areas of growth with a partner.

Becoming a Powerful Communicator Rubric

4 3 2 1Engagement I enjoy class discussions because I

learn from hearing other people’s points of view.

While I am listening to my

I enjoy class discussions because it is interesting hearing what my classmates have to say about a topic.

I sometimes enjoy class discussions.

Sometimes I think about what my classmates are

I sometimes enjoy class discussions because I can just listen or daydream and not do any workOR

classmates’ comments, I connect what they are saying to my own experiences and opinions and draw conclusions about the topic being discussed.

I listen to my classmates’ comments with an open mind, but I think carefully about how they support their opinions.

When I am not talking, I show I am interested in the discussion by taking notes and exhibiting appropriate body language, such as eye contact, smiling, and nodding.

While I am listening to my classmates’ comments, I think about what they are saying.

I think about the validity of what my classmates are saying.

I show that I am paying attention to the discussion with my body language.

saying during a discussion, but sometimes my mind wanders.

Sometimes I think about whether my classmates’ comments are correct.

I usually show that I am paying attention, but sometimes I look like I am not interested in the discussion.

I think discussions are usually a waste of time.

I usually think about something else during a discussion.

I often look like I am not paying attention to the discussion.

Interaction I contribute my own appropriate experiences and opinions when they fit naturally into the flow of the discussion.

I make comments that enhance and build on those comments that were made before me by questioning, summarizing, paraphrasing, and elaborating.

I explain why my opinions and comments are worth listening to by using good reasoning and referring to reliable sources of information.

I contribute my own experiences and opinions appropriately.

I build on others’ comments.

I support my comments with good reasons and reliable sources.

Sometimes I contribute my experiences and opinions.

My comments are usually on topic, but sometimes they do not connect to what the speakers before me said.

Sometimes I give good reasons for my opinions, but sometimes my reasoning is not sound and my sources are not credible.

I rarely contribute my experiences and opinions.

My comments are often off the topic and meant to disrupt the discussion not enhance it.

I often express opinions that have no credible support.

Collaboration I enthusiastically contribute to discussions, but I am careful not to talk too much.

I encourage all my classmates to speak by asking them questions and noticing when they look like they want to say something.

I use a variety of strategies, such as questioning and humor to respond to comments I disagree with.

I listen carefully when people disagree with my opinions to see if they have valid points, and I change my mind if their arguments are convincing.

I follow the established rules for discussion in my class.

I speak, but not too much, during discussions.

I encourage my classmates to speak by asking questions.

I consider different viewpoints and respond to them respectfully.

When my classmates disagree with me, I consider their points of view.

I sometimes speak too little or too much during discussions.

Sometimes I respond respectfully to comments I disagree with, but sometimes I get upset.

When my classmates disagree with me, sometimes I take it personally and get upset.

I hardly ever speak during a discussionORI monopolize the discussion by speaking way too much.

I often get angry and say inappropriate things in response to comments I disagree with.

When my classmates disagree with me, I often get upset and respond inappropriately.

Reflection I think back on what I learned in a discussion and use that in my future studies.

I reflect on my participation in a discussion and set goals for how I could be a better participant in the future.

I think back on what I have learned in a discussion.

I think about how well I did in a discussion and set goals for improvement.

Sometimes I think about what I learned in a discussion.

Sometimes I reflect on my participation in a discussion and think about how I could do better the next time.

I rarely think about what I learned in a discussion.

I hardly ever think about how I could improve my participation in discussions.