TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY PROJECTPopular Culture in American History

February 7, 2013

CONGRATULATIONS NNCSS TEACHERS OF THE YEARSundae Eyer: Social Studies Middle School

Stacy Drum: Social Studies Elementary School

ATTENDANCE CHECK• On the back of the agenda is your attendance,

please check and if you see a mistake see me at lunch or breaks.

• Saturday History Seminars: Need to attend 4 for full stipend. Please sign up for Saturday History Seminar…will pass the sign-up sheet around.

The Triumvirate of CCSS for Social Studies

Deep Reading

Writing with

Evidence

Speaking &

Listening

A BASIC REVIEW OF TEXT COMPLEXITYDo you remember Reading Standard 10? It’s what makes CCSS so incredibly different. It requires not just that students can read and use certain skills while reading, but that every student is reading, understanding, and using appropriate evidence from grade level or above COMPLEX texts.

Partner Up To Play Power Sentences as we learn more about complex text

Power Sentences are clear, concise, and specific.• Why just sentences? Because a sentence is the building

block for longer works. If you use week bricks, your building will not sustain.

• Clarity: there is no question about the meaning of your words; you clearly address the question, topic, claim, etc.

• Concision: all “unnecessary” words and phrases are removed; long sentences are fine as long as written with concision.

• Specificity: when appropriate, all words are definable (or have a clear antecedent) – e.g. not “thing,” “they,” “some people,” “in history,” “over time,” etc.

Power Sentences• For the next three slides,

• Read the quote about text complexity.• Work with your partner to verbally summarize the passage. WHAT

IS THE MAIN POINT OF ALL OF IT?• Write one Power Sentence to demonstrate your understanding.

Bauerlein, M. (2011). Too Dumb for Complex Text. ASCD.

In a 2006 report titled Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, ACT identifies this inability as the decisive gap between college-ready and college-unready students. When measured by their understanding of various "textual elements" (such as main idea, word meanings, and supporting evidence), college-ready and college-unready students score about the same. The difference shows up on another measure: "The clearest differentiator in reading between students who are college ready and students who are not is the ability to comprehend complex texts“ (p. 2).

Bauerlein, M. (2011). Too Dumb for Complex Text. ASCD.

When faced with a U.S. Supreme Court decision, an epic poem, or an ethical treatise—works characterized by dense meanings, elaborate structure, sophisticated vocabulary, and subtle authorial intentions—college-ready students plod through them. Unready students falter.

Does the gap widen because unready students don't have the intelligence or background knowledge to understand complex texts? To some extent perhaps, but ACT suggests that the difficulty lies just as much in students' lack of experience and practice with reading complex texts. ACT asserts, "The type of text students are exposed to in high school has a significant impact on their readiness for college-level reading" (p. 23). The more students are exposed to complex texts, the more they realize that they can't complete their studies through "a single superficial reading" (p. 24).

Complex texts require a slower labor. Readers can't proceed to the next paragraph without grasping the previous one, they can't glide over unfamiliar words and phrases, and they can't forget what they read four pages earlier. They must double back, discern ambiguities, follow tricky transitions, and keep a dictionary close at hand. Complex texts force readers to acquire the knack of slow linear reading. If they rarely encounter complex texts, young students won't even realize that such a reading tack is a necessary means of learning. Unready students might be just as intelligent and motivated as the ready ones are, but they don't possess the habits and strategies needed to carry on.

Complex texts can be lengthy and opaque, the product of careful thought and studied composition. To address them, readers may need to sit down with them for several hours of concentration. Readers need to be patient enough to ponder a single sentence for a few minutes, because many complex texts aren't just purveyors of information, but expressions of value and perspective.…That willingness to pause and probe is essential, but the dispositions of digital reading run otherwise. Fast skimming is the way of the screen. Blogs, chats, and comments are usually hastily produced and consumed. The more students become habituated to them, they more they will eschew a slow and deliberate pace; or, rather, the more they will read quickly and fail to comprehend. If they have grooved for many years a reading habit that races through texts, as is the case with texting, e-mail, Twitter, and other exchanges, 18-year-olds will have difficulty suddenly downshifting when faced with a long modernist poem.

Bauerlein, M. (2011). Too Dumb for Complex Texts? ASCD.

What are the Qualitative Features of Complex Text?

• Subtle and/or frequent transitions

• Multiple and/or subtle themes and purposes

• Density of information

• Unfamiliar settings, topics or events, references to cultural and historical events, literature, etc.

• Lack of repetition, overlap or similarity in words and sentences

• Complex sentences

• Uncommon vocabulary

• Lack of words, sentences or paragraphs that review or pull things together for the student

• Longer paragraphs

• Subtle themes, sarcasm, idioms13

Qualitative Complexity

Less Complex

• Explicit• Conventional Structure• Literal• Clear• Contemporary/Familiar• Conversational• Familiar Vocabulary• Simple Sentences• Single meanings• Everyday knowledge/low

intertextuality

More Complex

• Implicit• Unconventional Structure• Figurative or Ironic• Ambiguous or Misleading• Archaic/Unfamiliar• Academic• High Load of Tier 2/3 Vocab• Complex Sentences • Multiple meanings• Need background/ other texts

Text Complexity Continuum

EXPLICIT…………IMPLICITCONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE………UNCONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE

LITERAL………FIGURATIVE OR IRONIC

CLEAR………AMBIGUOUS OR MISLEADING

CONTEMPORARY OR FAMILIAR………ARCHAIC OR UNFAMILIAR

CONVERSATIONAL………ACADEMIC

FAMILIAR VOCABULARY………HIGH TIER 2/3 VOCABULARY LOAD

SIMPLE SENTENCE STRUCTURE………COMPLEX AND VARIED EVERYDAY KNOWLEDGE………NEED BACKGROUND

LOW INTERTEXTUALITY………NEED TO KNOW OTHER TEXTS

SINGLE LEVEL OF MEANING…MULTIPLE LEVELS OF MEANING

Which text is more complex? Why?•Lincoln was shaken by the presidency. Back in Springfield, politics had been a sort of exhilarating game; but in the White House, politics was power, and power was responsibility. Never before had Lincoln held executive office. In public life he had always been an insignificant legislator whose votes were cast in concert with others and whose decisions in themselves had neither finality nor importance. As President he might consult with others, but innumerable grave decisions were in the end his own, and with them came a burden of responsibility terrifying in its dimensions.

•According to those who knew him, Lincoln was a man of many faces. In repose, he often seemed sad and gloomy. But when he began to speak, his expression changed. “The dull, listless features dropped like a mask,” said a Chicago newspaperman. “The eyes began to sparkle, the mouth to smile, the whole countenance was wreathed in animation, so that a stranger would have said, ‘Why, this man, so angular and solemn a moment ago, is really handsome.’”

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Text 1 Text 2

Scaffolds for Reading Complex Text

• Chunking• Reading and rereading• Read aloud• Strategic think aloud• Scaffolding questions• Heterogeneous small groups• Pre-prepping struggling readers to support confidence

and participation• Annotation strategies• Cornell notes• Paraphrasing and journaling

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Some things I’ve learned about SBAC

• There will likely be five to eight distractors for certain items (rather than 4).

• Some items will ask students to choose the best 2 or 3 answers from a list of 6-8 distractors.

• There will be several questions that ask students to highlight areas of the text that provide the best evidence for a claim.

• “Testlets” for each grade level are coming soon from my connection with SBAC!!!

Possible Text & Questions for 6th

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy (excerpt & Testlet)

1. Please silently read the excerpt.

2. Answer questions 1-7.

3. Discuss your answers with a small group (4 or less). Although this is 6th grade level, take the position of students. How is this different from past types of exams? What makes it difficult? What implications are there for our teaching?

4. Share out.

More SBAC type questions (2-part) The Validation of Continental Drift by Stephen Jay Gould (11th grade)

Part 1) What is the author’s viewpoint of the scientific method?

a. The scientific method keeps scientists from developing ideas that cannot be true.

b. The scientific method by itself is not likely to lead to new scientific advances. (*)

c. The scientific method helps scientists record data that do not change over time.

d. The scientific method must be supported by careful scientific research.

Part 2) Which excerpt from the text best supports the answer to Part 1?

a. Direct evidence for continental drift – that is, the data gathered from rocks exposed on our continents – was every bit as good as it is today.

b. New facts, collected in old ways under the guidance of old theories, rarely lead to any substantial revision of thought. Facts do not “speak for themselves’; they are read in the light of theory. (*)

c. “Impossible” is usually defined by our theories, not given by nature.

d. The only common property shared by all these land bridges was their utterly hypothetical status; not an iota of direct evidence supported any of them.

Close Reads & Test Questions• Consider adding one, 2-part SBAC-type question to your

close reads and/or creating a question or two like this for a paragraph of reading on your unit tests.

• Start small…these are hard to write. Maybe we should practice?

PLEASE SILENTLY READ THE SHORT PASSAGE ON COWBOYS FROM “WILD WEST SHOWS: THE GLADIATORIAL CONTEST REVIVED”

When you have completed the reading, write down the main idea of the passage.

Create 2-part question

Part 1) The main idea of this passage is…• Come up with an answer the group agrees on.

• Student friendly language based entirely on the text.

• Then, come up with three-four other plausible but wrong answers.

Part 2) Which excerpt from the test best supports your answer to Part 1?

• Find four-five direct quotes from the text to act as answers.

LUNCHPlease have your lesson plan out for us to look at and give you credit.

($30)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYQhRCs9IHM 

Thank you to Jamie Vaughn for sharing this fun video on women’s suffrage!

WRITING WITH EVIDENCE:PRACTICING ARGUMENT

Deep Reading

Writing with Evidence

Speaking & Listening

University of Maryland Professor Chauncey Monte-Sano sought to determine what instructional practices help students develop historical thinking and writing skills…. Monte-Sano found that students who experienced instruction with five specific qualities were more effective at writing evidence-based argumentative essays. These qualities of instruction were:

1.Approaching history as evidence-based interpretation. 2.Reading historical texts and considering them as interpretations. 3.Supporting reading comprehension and historical thinking. 4.Putting students in the role of developing interpretations and supporting them with evidence. 5.Using direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and feedback to teach evidence-based writing.

Using direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and feedback to teach evidence-based writing.

“Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I’d say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.”

—William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well

Argumentative WritingBy 12th grade, students…• Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics

or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.• Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the

claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

• Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.

• Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.

• Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.

• Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Putting the Pieces Together• Argument (Super Claim), Claims, Reasoning, Evidence,

Counterclaim(s)• Activity on “Violence in Video Games”

• Information pulled from www.procon.org • Discuss the argument, claims, and counterclaims

provided to you.• Your small group will separate the pieces of evidence

from the pieces of reasoning and then find the two pieces of evidence and the two pieces of reasoning for each claim and the counterclaim.

• All are related, so you will have to be thoughtful and engage with your peers in a discussion.

Argument: Putting the Pieces Together

• Argument: Violent video games do, in fact, contribute to youth violence.

• Claims:• Violent video games desensitize players to real-life violence.• Playing violent video games increases violent behaviors and

scripts (or repetitive procedures in reactions to events).• Playing violent video games leads to a lower level of empathy for

others.

• Counter-Claim: Violent juvenile crime in the United States has been declining as violent video game popularity has increased.

Putting the Pieces Together, Cont.

Answer Key

• Do your answers match mine?

• If not, is it simply a matter of highly related material?

• Does this help you separate evidence from reasoning a bit better?

• Could you use something like this with students?

Paraphrasing a Paragraph

• Choose one claim of the three with its related evidence and reasoning and put together a coherent paragraph IN YOUR OWN WORDS with POWER SENTENCES.

• Your ideas are organized (this is your paragraph outline). Now work on paraphrasing and linking everything together in a meaningful manner.

ANALYZING YOUR DISCUSSION LESSON PLANSAfternoon Session

Observations & Cadre Meetings• Sign up for Cadre meeting times (starting 2/19 through

3/1)

• Start thinking about your observation times

Which discussion model fits best with your intended outcome?

• Socratic Seminar (whole group/small group)• Jigsaw Seminar• Structured Academic Controversy• Fish Bowl• Legislative Hearing/Town Hall Meeting• Historical Debate• Philosophical Chairs

DISCUSSION LESSONS

Clarity Partners:

Refining Lesson Ideas

Deep Reading

Writing with

Evidence

Speaking &

Listening

Clarity Partners Norms

1. Pair up with someone with whom you do not regularly work.

2. Sit knee to knee without a table in between.

3. For each slide, give each person time to present their lesson ideas. Ask probing, provocative, and critical questions in order to assist in refining the lesson.

4. Stay focused on the lesson planning process and the questions asked.

How are you breaking down your discussion question and/or discussion time?

• Is your topic/question so broad that it requires multiple points of entry?• Seminars, Fish Bowls, Philosophical Chairs often require more

than one question

• Consider this deliberation:

What protection, if any, should homosexuals have in terms of domestic partnerships/marriage? Should the government:

• Ban gay marriage through each states’ constitution or a Constitutional amendment?

• Allow for civil unions for heterosexual and homosexual couples (leaving marriage ceremonies to religious groups)?

• Give equal protection in terms of marriage to homosexual couples?

• Take a different approach…

Multiple Questions?

• Or remember our Jigsaw Seminar on “leisure”?• Is laziness synonymous with leisure?

• Who gets leisure time? Are there differences amongst groups and classifications of people? Why or why not?

• How is consumption related to the leisure class?

• Why is there a debate over leisure time and the leisure class?

Clarity of the Question(s)

Switch questions with a partner.• Critique the question(s).

• Is the question(s) as written explicit and clear to me? If not, how might it be changed?

• Does it include any unknown or confusing vocabulary? Could these be changed?

• Does it seem to need additional sub-questions?• Does the question match the discussion method?• How many points of view seem inherent in the

question? Are these reflected in the question?

Writing for Understanding

•Before or after?•Length?• Influenced by discussion model?•Question same as in discussion or different?

Assessing Writing

•What exactly are you looking for?• Number of pieces of evidence?• Type of evidence?• Informational or argumentative?• Multiple viewpoints?• Reasoning?

•Rubric, checklist, other?

Assessing the Discussion• Coins, candy, poker chips• Student helpers (tally, score, slackers, group leaders, etc.)• Participation and/or quality of comments

• Established number of required comments

• Encouraging others to participate/adding questions to the discussion

• Monitoring over talkers & under talkers• Accountable talk or adherence to norms• Rubric, checklist, roster, or other ideas?

Assess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions you care about and

have fostered.

Upcoming• Saturday Seminar 2/23 from 8-12:30 at Matley (Music)

• George Washington Seminar 3/2 from 8-3:30• Count as a Saturday Seminar• OR get a ½ inservice credit

• Saturday Seminar 3/23 at the Nevada Museum of Art

• Sign up for observations with Katie

• ASSIGNMENT: Writing assignment for discussion, rubric or other assessment tool, model essay on the topic due APRIL 19.

Social Studies Travel/PD Opportunities

Organization Professional Development

Application Due Date

Website

Keiasi Koho Fellowship Program

2 week study program to Japan.All expenses paid.

February 15, 2013

http://www.kkcfellowships.com/fellowships/ 

Korea Society Fellowship Program

3 week study program to South Korea. ALL EXPENSES PAID.

Feb. 8, 2013 http://www.koreasociety.org/ 

Gilder Lehrman Summer Institutes

Over 40 different- 1 week study programs to select from. Located at Universities with well-known scholars. Travel stipend and free room and board.

February 15, 2013

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/education/seminar_overview.php 

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes

Some located at national Parks with esteemed scholars. Travel stipend and room and board.

March 4, 2013 http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html 

2014 Spring Field Study Trip• Boston/Philadelphia- 6 Days• Day 1: Travel & Arrive in Boston• Day 2: Boston Freedom Trail and Kennedy Presidential

Library• Day 3: Lexington & Concord, Plimoth Plantation• Day 4: Philadelphia- Independence Visitor Center, Historic

District• Day 5: Philadelphia National Constitution Center• Day 6: Valley Forge and Travel home• Dates: Sometime between March 29-April 13- We will

send out a goggle doc survey to decide exact travel dates.