Foundations in Disciplinary Literacy

. . .experts from math, chemistry, and history read their respective texts quite differently.

Shanahan & ShanahanUnderstanding Disciplinary Literacy

Training developed by Lisa Arneson, CESA 5 Literacy & Curriculum Specialist, Fall, 2011Lets move into the specifics of reading. Recent research by Shanahan and Shanahan (U of Illinois at Chicago) studied how content experts and secondary content teachers read disciplinary texts, made use of comprehension strategies and taught adolescent students. They found that the reading done in each of the disciplines was different from one another. 1 In Wisconsin. . .. . .disciplinary literacy is defined as the confluence of content knowledge, experiences, and skills merged with the ability to read, write, listen, speak and think critically in a way that is meaningful within the context of a given field.

Our DPI content consultants, along with teacher leaders across the state, have spent considerable time unraveling this thing called disciplinary literacy. This is their definition: (read). There are now materials published that can provide guidance and support and teachers move into this new realm.

Soon they will be releasing a guidance document on disciplinary literacy that will be a valuable resource for all teachers.2Important statisticsApproximately two-thirds of 8th- and 12th-grade students read at less than the proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (Rampey, Dion, & Donahue, 2009)

3Important statisticsAmerican 15-year-olds rank slightly below average in reading literacy on PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) as compared with 65 other nations, marking no improvement in a decade relative to our global peers.

4Important statisticsNearly 32% of high school graduates are not adequately prepared for college-level English composition courses (ACT, 2005)

5Important statisticsApproximately 40% of high school graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek (National Education Summit on High Schools, 2005)

6Important statisticsAbout 1.2 million students drop out annually, and their literacy skills are lower than most industrialized nations (Laird, DeBell, Kienzl, & Chapman, 2007, OECD)

7Public Perception

There is no doubt that we have been judged in education, and public perception has not been kind. (Play clip)8200120102011201219982014States Required to Adopt StandardsWisconsin Model Academic Standards?Race to the Top FundingNo Child Left BehindMandatory Assessment for AccountabilityWisconsin Adopts Common Core State StandardsCCSS Full ImplementationAssessment in CCSSA look back in timeSMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium developing state test based on standardsA timeline is helpful for us to conceptualize the standards movement in Wisconsin. (read through timeline events)9How did our standards compare?Preparing the Future Workforce: STEM Policy in K-12 Education, June 2009 http://www.publicpolicyforum.org/pdfs/2009STEM.pdfData source: Education Next http://educationnext.org/files/ProficiencyData.pdf

This gap in proficiency between the NAEP test and WKCE has called into question the rigor of the states standards. (p. 15)Percentage Proficient WKCE 2009Percentage Proficient NAEP 2009Difference WKCE and NAEP 20094th Grade8th Grade4th Grade8th Grade4th Grade8th GradeMRMRMRMRMRMR8181788445.132.739.333.9-35.92-48.26-38.66-36.26Wisconsin has long been criticized for having relatively low standards when compared to some national standards. One such comparison involves NAEPwhich is the National Assessment for Educational Progressalso called The Nations Report Card. This is the test that provides general achievement results for each state. This comparison is from 2009, and it compared how 4th and 8th graders scored in math and reading on the WKCE versus how those same grades performance on the NAEP. You can see the difference.10Wisconsin was 34thAccording to a 2008 Education Next report, 33 states have more rigorous standards than Wisconsin. Our grades?

Strength of State Proficiency Standards, 20074th Grade8th Grade200320052007Change(St. Dev.)CC-D+DDC-C-+12.7Peterson, P. E. & Hess, F. (2008) Few states set world class standards. Education Next, 8, 3. http://educationnext.org/few-states-set-worldclass-standards/When the rigor is compared in all 50 states, Wisconsin came in 34th. These grades indicate very little change between 2003-2007. Widely criticized for low standards, when the Common Core Standards were introduced, Wisconsin was one of the first to formally adopt these more rigorous standards.11readicide Four contributing factors to Readicide: 1. Schools value the development of test-takers more than they value the development of readers2. Schools limit authentic reading experiences

Kelly Gallagher, a high school English teacher, author and literacy advocate defines readicide as : Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools. His book, a must-read for educators, indicates the drastic need to change how we do business in schools.12COMMON VOCABULARYText: Anything students are asked to read, including articles, internet sites, books, magazines, journals, etc.Authentic reading and writing: the reading and writing connected to a particular discipline and the real worldCommon Core State Standards (CCSS): national standards adopted by WI on June 2, 2010.Disciplinary Literacy: the focus on the types of reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening in various disciplines.

Here are some terms that you will encounter today, and its important that we are all on the same page. Text refers to. . . (read slide)13Why Disciplinary Literacy?Each Discipline has specific:

Language and VocabularyTypes of text to comprehendWays of communicating in writingThe focus on what we call disciplinary literacy has become necessary because each discipline has its own language, vocabulary and ways to think, read and write that are different from other disciplines. Whether one is in science, health care, the auto industry, engineering, historyeach discipline has a unique language. As an English teacher, I can teach a lot of things, but I am not qualified to teach students how to read and write equipment operational and safety rules, service bulletins, posts on repair blogs, or tech manuals. I dont have the background to teach what should be in a science lab write-up, and I dont know a lot about writing estimates for the building trades or engineering projects. I dont read that stuff, and I dont write it. But if you teach in one of those fields, you do.14Increasing Levels of Literacy

(Shanahan & Shanahan (2008), p. 44)In their seminal study, Shanahan & Shanahan found that there are differing levels of literacy. Most students have some success with basic and intermediate literacies; however, when it comes to specific disciplinary literacy, thats when students really flounder. The Shanahans spent two years examining the literacy behavior of experts in history, chemistry and math, and then studying how those specific skills could be taught. They then studied the impact of teaching those skills in secondary schools and teacher ed. programs. Their work tells us that as disciplinary experts, we can make a difference in the literacy skills of our students.15NOT AN ACCURATE PICTURE

Buehl, 2011Doug Buehl, whom many of you might know, has written extensively on ways to bring literacy into the content classroom. He has studied the work of Shanahan & Shanahan extensively, and Buehl offers his own graphics of what disciplinary literacy looks like. Except. . .Buehl is quick to point out that this is NOT an accurate picture. We do not have the same level of skill in navigating the texts of all disciplines equally.16A READERS PROFILE

Buehl, 2011Instead, Buehl illustrates how each of us has strengths and weaknesses with the reading, writing and thinking of the various disciplines. They are not equal as they are often contextualized. One person might be able to successfully read and understand Literary Fiction, as well as Health and Fitness texts very well; however, that same person might struggle when reading Math or Physical Science texts.17YOUR READERS PROFILEHave a conversation with your neighbor. What would your readers profile look like?

Take a few minutes to think about your readers profile. What are your literacy strengths and weaknesses? Are you good with step-by-step directions; do you read research journals; do you like to lose yourself in a good book? What types of text do you struggle with? Have a conversation with your neighbor. What would your readers profile look like? Now think about your students.18What the new standards sayThe Standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared responsibility within the school.The language of the standards is clearIve highlighted the critical text in red. You can see: shared responsibility, variety of content areas, teachers using their content area expertise are at the foundation of the standards document.19What the new standards sayJust as students must learn to read, write, speak, listen, and use language effectively in a variety of content areas, so too must the Standards specify the literacy skills and understandings required for college and career readiness in multiple disciplines. 20What the new standards sayLiteracy standards for grade 6 and above are predicated on teachers of ELA, history/social studies, science, and technical subjects using their content area expertise to help students meet the particular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language in their respective fields.21MIKE SCHMOKER in FOCUS If we choose to take just a few well-known, straight-forward actions, in every subject area, we can make swift, dramatic improvements in schools (p. 1)

Mike Schmoker is a popular author on school reform. His book Focus: Elevating the Essentials To Radically Improve Student Learning encourages schools to reduce the amount of fluff and simplify how we do business. With the right focus, we can make dramatic improvements. His advice related to disciplinary literacy is as follows: (read quote). 22Is your district focused? Reasonably coherent curriculum (what we teach)Sound lessons (how we teach)More purposeful reading and writing in every discipline, or authentic literacy

Have a conversation with your neighbor. Evaluate your school on these three points. Are they in place in your building?Schmoker says that schools must have: (read slide). Were going to focus on purposeful reading. Right now, have a conversation with your neighbor about what purposeful reading is happening within your district.23

Wisconsins Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning inform the design and implementation of all academic standards. Are these similar to your belief statements?Wisconsins Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning inform the design and implementation of all academic standards. All educational initiatives are guided and impacted by important and often unstated attitudes or principles for teaching and learning. The Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning emerge from research and provide the touchstone for practices that truly affect the vision of every child a graduate prepared for college and career. When made transparent, these principles inform what happens in the classroom, the implementation and evaluation of programs, and most important, remind us of our own beliefs and expectations for students. 24STEM FACTSThe state is in need of a more coordinated focus on STEM content and higher-level thinking skills in the K-12 system, if our future workforce is to meet the needs of a strong, healthy, and growing economy. (p. 50)

Preparing the Future Workforce: STEM policy in K-12 Education http://www.publicpolicyforum.org/pdfs/2009STEM.pdf25Stem factsFor the 2011-2012 Wisconsin has over 300 pre-engineering specific courses. The importance of STEM education becomes even more pronounced when you factor in predictions that the jobs of tomorrow have yet to be imagined. The spirit of STEM education lies in the delivery of good teaching in the form of project-based learning and other applied methodologies. 26Stem factsOf the approximately 32,000 bachelor degrees awarded by the University of Wisconsin Madison each year, only 21% were in STEM fields. This is disturbing data when compared to Germany (36%), China (59%), Japan (66%) and the United States (32%). (UW-Madison Center on Education and Work)27Stem factsStudents have a high degree of interest in STEM occupations:43% of Wisconsin high school juniors taking college placement exams in 2008 were interested in a STEM-related major, which was higher than the 39% reported nationwide. 28It is important to noteDisciplinary Literacy as weve discussed it todayauthentic speaking, listening, reading, writing, and thinkingis not all that different from what many teachers are already doing in their classrooms. One thing I want you to take away from todays presentation is that . . .(read slide). The difference is that there are clearly defined expectations in the standards that will provide guidance as to what students must know and be able to do regarding disciplinary literacy; another difference is that these very skills in disciplinary literacy will likely show up on our new state test. 29Look at the standardsYou have a handout of the Disciplinary Literacy standards from the Common Core. These clearly indicate the kinds of reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking students should be doing in the various disciplines in grades 6-12.Read through the standards. Feel free to mark on them, and then have a discussion with your neighbor.What did you notice?For the first time ever, the Common Core State Standards identify the specific literacy skills that should be a part of our disciplines. It forces us to examine what it really means to teach reading. Most people think that teaching reading includes helping students decode words and study phonics. That is not what we are talking about with disciplinary literacy. Our task, as experts in our fields, is to expose students to the authentic literacy activities of the discipline and teach them how to interact with those texts. Literacy looks differently in Family and Consumer Science class than it might in History or AgriScience. We have always taken it for granted that by high school, students should be able to read what we give them, but research now tells us otherwise. The standards make it clear: We have to teachnot assignliteracy within every classroom, every day. Go ahead and study the standards; then have a discussion with your neighbor about what you noticed. 30Tools to Guide Us

Developed by two of the lead authors of the Common Core State Standards A list of criteria designed to guide publishers and curriculum developers Designed to ensure alignment with the standards in English language arts (ELA) and literacy for history/social studies, science, and technical subjectsWith the release of the standards comes a flurry of support documents to help with the transition. David Coleman and Susan Pimentel, two authors of the CCSS, have written Publishers Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3-12, a document designed to provide publishers and curriculum developers guidance as they feverishly work to align their products to the new standards. This document has a specific section devoted to Literacy for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects which identifies, . . .the most significant elements of the Common Core State Standards to be mindful of when revising and developing aligned materials. (p. 14) 31Priority AreasI. Text SelectionII. Questions and TasksIII. Academic (and Domain-Specific) VocabularyIV. Writing to Sources and ResearchFind your handout, History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Literacy Curricula, Grades 6-12 and examine it. Highlight the elements that are part of your current practice. Discuss with a partner ways that you could incorporate more of these elements into your curriculum.Youve had a chance to study the disciplinary literacy standards of the CCSS; of those standards, this document identifies priority areas for us to include in our curricula, including text selection, questions and tasks, academic vocabulary and writing to sources and research. Todays training is designed to provide some instructional strategies that allow you to incorporate these priority areas into your current practice. Lets dig into this document and explore exactly what they mean. (Read blue instructions and allow worktime15-20 min?)32The 2014-15 State TestThe Publishers Criteria document was referenced by the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), which is the workgroup that is developing Wisconsins new assessment system scheduled to be used in the 2014-15 school year. The SBAC group, then, has also released a guidance document to help educators prepare for WKCEs replacement. Disciplinary Literacy expectations are interwoven throughout the new assessment model.

We cant have a conversation about the CCSS without talking about the new state assessment system being developed right now. Perhaps youve heard that Wisconsin is a lead state in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium. This group received a federal grant to develop a balanced assessment system for Wisconsin and other member states. We know that this assessment will look very differently than the WKCE. The consortium has now released content specifications which identify the priority standards, examples of student evidence, and sample questions that will be on the test. Without going into this document too deeply, suffice it to say that disciplinary literacy permeates the new assessment system. Here is an example:33

Take a stance on BIODIESEL PRODUCTION:Look at the standards. Which standard(s) does this performance task evaluate? Discuss with a neighbor.From Appendix E, pages 32-41, SMARTER Balanced Assessment Specs, Sept., 2011In this sample 11th grade performance task, students are asked to read two short articles about a controversial issue, take a position on the issue, and find at least one additional resource to support their position. They must support their position with relevant information from ALL of the source materials. Then students are to draft and revise a persuasive letter where they take a clear position on the issue. What you see here are worksheets for students to organize their ideas, and as you can see, these pieces will not be graded. Take a few minutes to dig through the standards to identify how many and which ones are covered in this performance task.34What is a Lexile?Measurement of text difficultyAssigns a number to text than can be compared to grade level expectationsReadability formula based on word syllables, sentence length, and other factorsStudents are expected to be at 1200L when they graduateThe Lexile Framework was developed by a company called Metametrics; it is a measurement of text difficulty that is quite popular. Many assessment tools include a Lexile reading range for each studentScholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are two of the most common. Teachers can use the Lexile number to help them match text to their students. It should be used as a guidea starting pointas there are many other factors to consider when helping a child choose a book to read, but for classroom purposes, Lexiles are a great tool. 35Grade Level Equivalents

Use the higher Lexile ranges for alignment with the CCSS.This chart is taken directly from the Common Core State Standards, and it lists grade level ranges and the corresponding Lexile levels. It is interesting to notice that the Lexile Framework has been adjusted to accommodate the increased expectations of the CCSS. You can see that Lexile ranges have increased for each grade band. When choosing text for your classroom, use varying Lexile levels to honor all students reading abilities. Selecting several pieces of text to teach one topic is called building a TEXT SET, which is a term that is very common in for reading specialists and literacy coaches, but it is likely a new term for you.36BadgerlinkKids Search

Several different pieces of text for use with one topic or unit is called a TEXT SET.Badgerlink can help you make TEXT SETS, and youre going to get a chance to explore in a minute. Here, a search was done for hybrid cars. In seconds, over 18,000 articles came up from hundreds of different magazines, and most have Lexile levels attached. You can select the articles you want and create a folder, which stores them for you. Take a look. The read arrows indicate that the first four articles have Lexile levels ranging form 940-1410. You could easily find three different articles at three different levels and let kids choose which one to read. No one knows that certain kids are getting easier articles and if students read and share, all participate in class equally. You can either choose which article students read, or let them choosestudents tend to gravitate towards text that matches them best. (Directions for the presenter: Go to BADGERLINK, under EBSCOHost, click on Kids Search. Type in search word. It may ask you to type in a library card number to authenticate, so test it first. ALL schools have this free in their buildings).37Text ResourcesBadgerLink (www.badgerlink.net/)Article of the Week (www.kellygallagher.org)Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/)The Week Magazine (http://theweek.com/)The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/)The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/)

There are many places where you can find interesting articles for your studentsshort texts that are relevant and interesting for students. In addition to Badgerlink, weve listed several moreand you are probably familiar with others connected directly to your discipline. One of the reasons we asked that you bring your laptops today is so you could explore these sites and perhaps find others, that are relevant resources for text in your classes. (Give them time to play)38Get Students ThinkingStudents must INTERACT with the text, not just passively read and answer questionsConsider the questions you askare they fact based/simple recall, or do they advance up Blooms Taxonomy to get students thinking at higher levels?Consider the tasks you ask of your students. Are they useful, authentic, and rigorous? Are they tasks experts in your field do on a regular basis?Blooms Taxonomy plays an important part of the Common Core State Standards. The authors and assessment creators make it very clear that students are expected to think critically, cite evidence, evaluate and complete performance tasks that combine several standards in one. It is important to think about the questions we ask, the questions we want our students to ask, and the tasks we ask them to complete. We are moving into a time where fill-in-the-blank worksheets and fact-based questions at the end of the chapter are tasks of the past, with homework, assessments and grading moving to the forefront. Standards-based grading and standards-based IEPs are being discussed in schools throughout the state. Are those conversations happening at your school? (Facilitate a brief group discussion).39Harvards Self Help Guide Interrogating Texts: 6 Reading Habits to Develop in Your First Year at Harvard: Previewing Annotating Outline, Analyze, Summarize Look for repetitions and patterns Contextualize Compare & Contrast

Skim through the Harvard document to learn about these six reading habits. Now compare these habits with the standards. How do they compare?Now that weve explored many ways to find text, were going to get into some strategies of how to USE text in your classroom to get your students thinking. It is essential that students INTERACT with text. The document Im going to share with you now comes from HARVARD; it is sent to every incoming freshman to help them handle the high expectations and the reading load. Entitled, Interrogating Texts: 6 Reading Habits to Develop in Your First Year at Harvard, it provides simple strategies that can pay off big for students. These include: (Read slide). Were going to practice several of these today. Firsttake out the Harvard handout and skim through to get the gyst of each of the habits. Then lay the standards next to the Harvard handout. How do they compare?40REPEATED READING and READING WITH A PURPOSERead CustodianUse these strategies tomorrow!This is an activity developed by Mary Jo Ziegler, former DPI Reading Consultant and the current Director of Instruction for the Marshall School District. While this particular text is an Englishy short story, imagine what texts you might use to teach your students the importance of repeated readings and reading with a purpose. (Refer to activities instruction sheet)41PREVIEWING TEXT and HIGHLIGHT YOUR CONFUSIONCleaning Up the Trash in Space article

1) Preview the textread title, subtitle, headings, etc. Write down a sentence or two that tells what you think the article will be about.2) Read the article. Using a highlighter, note the words, phrases, or portions of the article that are confusing to you.Use these strategies tomorrow!Refer to activities instruction sheet42ANNOTATING TEXTA Legacy of Illnesses from 9/11Show evidence of your thinking by marking the articlewrite questions, comments, A-has in the margins and on text.Use this strategy tomorrow!Refer to activities instruction sheet43AnnotationsChances are, your text looked something like this. Imagine that THIS would be your students homeworktheir task simply to show you evidence of their thinking.44SUMMARIZE vs. ANALYZEUsing the same articleA Legacy of Illnesses from 9/11Pair up with someone. One person will read and summarize; the other will read and analyze. Discuss the difference.Use this strategy tomorrow!Refer to activities instruction sheet45TRANSITIONAre there any questions about the reading strategies we have discussed and how they connect to the CCSS?Before we move into a closer examination of disciplinary literacy and writing, are their any questions about what weve covered so far? The connection between reading and writing is powerful, and it is difficult to separate them. You will see that most of the tasks asked of students in the assessment specs tie writing to reading in some fashion. So lets explore writing more in-depth. 46WRITING ACROSS DISCIPLINESLearning to Write vs. Writing to LearnFormal writing (for an audience); also called process writingInformal writing is done to facilitate learningExamine the writing standardsNote: Most of the writing expectations listed in the standards are connected to text!

Pull out your copy of the writing standards. What do you notice about the expectations? How might you incorporate these expectations into your instruction?We need to be clear when we talk about writing because not all writing is the same. There is formal writing, which often is developed through a process of drafts, revisions and editing; this type has a specific purpose and audience, and it is generally graded. The CCSS cover this type of writing. WRITING TO LEARN is different, but just as important. This type of writing is informal, it is generally quick and used as a formative measure or a tool to aide in comprehension. It can be as simple as asking students to put text into their own words, summarizing, taking notes, jotting downs questions, and so on. It is important to note that just because WRITING TO LEARN is not covered by the standards, doesnt mean students shouldnt do it. Research shows that having students stop and write several times during a class period, a film, a text, increases their learning significantly. Many teachers use exit tickets, which are short responses that students write and turn in (often on note cards) before leaving class which can be used to gauge learning and misconceptions. Name three things you learned today. What is something that confuses you? Why is it important to learn about. . . . are all examples of how exit tickets can be used. 47Writing Instruction EssentialsStudents do real, meaningful writingModelingUse of Mentor TextUse of ExemplarsRubrics and GradingFocus is on GROWTH!!!There are some necessary components to consider when teaching writing (Remember you are Teaching writingnot assigning writing!): Just like reading, students writing should be authenticthe kind of writing often done in your discipline. They should have a real audiencenot just the teacher. If you are asking students to write, you should be writing in front of them. Modeling the thinking done as you write is important because students need to see that it doesnt come out perfect on the first try. While you may not be a published author, you are the most expert writer in the room, and your students must see you grapple with writing. Giving students examples to look at and models to create is also essential. You saw Kelly Gallagher use the Dahli Llama article for both reading and wrtiing. Students were going to create a similar looking article on someone they wanted to feature. Exemplars are pieces of writing that have been gradedStudents need to see an A paper and a B paper and identify the difference between the two. What makes one paper a C and the other an A? This takes the mystery out of the expectations. To that end, Rubrics are an important piece of the puzzle. Dont we all like to know the expectations up front? Descriptive rubrics help students put a name to different writing features and gives you a common language. Finally, some people think that its all about the end product, but in writing, learning takes place on the way to the final product. You should see growth in students writinggrowth overtime is best captured by portfolio assessment. Lets get into each of these ideas more in depth.48AUTHENTIC WRITINGJust like reading, the writing in your class should match that done in your field.The CCSS privileges informational and argumentative writing and short research projectsNot school writingInstead, they should be doing the kind of writing you want them to be doing twenty years from nowGiven the writing standards, what are some authentic writing tasks you either currently do or could begin do to help your students meet the CCSS?Do students know why they are writing what you ask them to write? Are they given opportunities to do real-world writing? We are not talking about formal research papers, but real-life products that include: brochures, handbooks, guides, lists, articles, and more. Lets brainstorm: Given the writing standards, what are some authentic writing tasks you either currently do or could begin do to help your students meet the CCSS?

49MODELING Modeled writing is the teacher being an active writer. The teacher models the selection of topics;the skills of gathering and organizing information; the need to clarify meaning; the ways in which information can be reordered, reoriented, changed, or deleted. Given the tasks we just discussed, lets talk about how to teach the writing. To begin with, modeling writing is key. (Read slide) Its much better if teachers of writing do write themselves. At one stroke, it puts you both in the same world. - J. R. Gentry

50MENTOR TEXTMentor text include examples of final productsagain, authentic writing tasksAnswers the question, What should it look like at the end?City Recycling Guide http://www.cityofinglewood.org/pdfs/pw/Recycling_Facts.pdf (Students create their own guide)50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth (2008) EarthWorks Group (Students create their own lists (Five simple things you can do to. .. ..)Consumer Reports Tire Talk http://forums.consumerreports.org/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=cr-tiretalk (Students write product reviews; online Q&A posts) Technical Writing Examples http://www.paulmacmartin.com/more/index.html#markein (Students create brochure, instruction manual, etc)

Take a minute to revisit the list we created earlier of authentic text from our disciplines. How might you incorporate these as WRITING tasks for your students?

As Kelly Gallagher says in his new book WRITE LIKE THIS (Stenhouse, 2011), Studying the work of accomplished writers is powerful. If students are to grow as readers and writers, they need to read good writing, study good writing and emulate good writers. Carefully choosing the writing tasks your students will complete in your discipline can build engagement and increase the comfort level of even within your most struggling students. When you bring in modeling with the use of mentor text like the examples shown here, you will help students become adult writers in the real world. Take a minute to revisit the list we created earlier of authentic text from our disciplines. How might you incorporate these as WRITING tasks for your students?51EXEMPLARSNational Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/itmrlsx/search.aspx?subject=writing State of North Carolina/Informational WritingCharacteristics of a good parent (scored high, middle, low) http://www.learnnc.org/topics/writing/exemplars/09/informational/index.html Letter to the principal (scored high, middle, low) http://www.learnnc.org/topics/writing/exemplars/10/informational/index.html

Student exemplars can be hard to come by, and most teachers like to develop their own collection of writing done in their classrooms. It is well worth your time to do so. Exemplars generally shows the level of competence of a students writing, and it is extremely valuable for students to evaluate their own and other students work on a regular basis. The language used when talking about exemplars vary, from letter grades, like A, B, C, to terms like high, middle, low or for more standards-based evaluation, approaching, meeting, exceeding the standard. Regardless of your choice of vocabulary, it is an excellent instructional activity to have students examine the standards and get a good picture of what it should look like. (Visit the NAEP site and click on a writing prompt (I like the very last one on voting). Then select the Questions Tool and you can select Key/Scoring Guide and Sample Responses at the tab on the top. Run through each and discuss.) How might spending time on this in class improve the quality of student work that you receive?52SCORING GUIDES/RUBRICS Should be helpful to both teacher and studentTeacher created vs. Student created?See UW-Stouts link for 21st Century examples: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/rubrics.cfmRefer to U of Virginias A Method of Grading Essays in Any Course http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Fall_1996/TC_Fall_1996_Caraco.htm Create and print your own rubrics: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

A rubric is a tool to grade writing or other projects that breaks out specific criteria of the assignment which are examined individually. For example, if I asked students to create a how-to guide, I might look at accuracy of information, use of language for ease of understanding, organization and presentation (neatness, spelling, usage, etc). Though rubrics are not necessary for every single writing project, nor should every writing task be graded, for formal writings , rubrics are important. One rubric does not necessarily work for all writing assignments because they should be tailored to the assignment. You might combine showing exemplar papers with the development of a rubric. What makes this paper so good? Identifying the features that make a product better are points to include in a rubric. For example, you may really be looking for evidence from the text in an argument paper, but in an informational brochure or how-to guide, you may be looking for how well students presented the information in an easy-to-understand way. Take a few minutes to examine these websites and be ready to share what you found to be helpful.536+1 Traits The 6+1 Trait Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:Ideas, the main message;Organization, the internal structure of the piece;Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;Conventions, the mechanical correctness;Plus. . .and Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page. (http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503)

Many districts use Six Traits, which is a program developed by Education Northwest in the early 1980s. It is an writing assessment program that provides specific language for students and teachers to talk about and evaluate writing. With this system, students and teachers talk about writing using the six main qualities listed above. As with any program, there are pros and cons. You can certainly develop a rubric without using Six Traits, but some teachers find it a helpful guide. Many districts have spend considerable money to have staff trained and Six Traits and using it is an expectation. Whether you use Six Traits or not, know that its use alone does not produce better writers. It is simply a tool that some find helpful in evaluating and discussing writing. Teachers still must model, use mentor texts, conference, and develop scoring criteria regardless of Six Traits or any other writing program that is out there. (CLICK TO ADVANCE) Here is a Six Traits rubric that evaluates three of the traits. You can see that ideas, organization and voice are the scoring criteria. This rubric would probably NOT be one that you would use in your class as it doesnt necessarily describe the kind of authentic writing your students should be doing. For example, this wouldnt be appropriate to score a HOW-TO GUIDE like we discussed earlier. What are your thoughts? How might you change it to make it more useful?54GROWTHWriting ConferencesGive useful feedback to improve the writing (Dont just circle errors)Editing vs. proofreadingtheres a difference!Group scoring is excellent professional development Collect evidence of growth over time (ie. drafts leading up to a final product)TIP: When working on a writing project, collect drafts, read through them, and choose ONE or TWO things to talk about with each student. You can group students if they have the same issues. Assign students to sign up for a conference with you during class. Be sure to have a plan for what the other students will be doing while you conference.

Writing improvement occurs over time. You may begin to teach a writing project with the whole class through modeling and the examination of mentor text, but once students begin to write, youre going to want to meet with students in small groups or individually. These writing conferences generally take no more than 2-3 minutes each, and they give you the opportunity to check-in with each student. Are they headed in the right direction? How can they make their writing better? Are you seeing improvement? This is where the learning occursthe writing process before the final. Your comments must move them towards improvement. Feel free to collect drafts and use these as teaching tools. Having students look at the drafts they wrote to see their own growth is powerfuland its a life skill. This takes much less time than you might think. One great way to build up your experience and expertise is to gather with some other teachers to grade and discuss the same papers. Many districts provide release time for group scoring as it is worthwhile for all involved. Finally, spelling and accuracy are important when publishing papers, and students need to know that. However, that comes at the END of the process and should not be a focus during writing as it can take away from getting ideas down. Here is an example of an actual marketing tool where the authors should have spent a little more time proofreading BEFORE the printing process. (CLICK to view examples) We might laugh, but showing an example like this to your students might drive home the importance of proofing their work more than any amount of nagg55ON-DEMAND WRITINGA, B, C, and D Activity (from K. Gallagher)ATTACK the prompt; circle all of the verbs that tell you exactly what to doBRAINSTORM possible ideas about how you could answer; make a list CHOOSE the best idea from the list and further developDOUBLE-CHECK work by re-reading answer, making sure

SAT Prompts for CTE Programs (Maine) http://www.maine.gov/education/mhsa/writingprompts.pdf Use this strategy tomorrow!Teaching students how to write to a prompts is valuable; writing prompts are part of our state assessment, college entrance and placement exams, scholarship essays, as well as many summative assessments in college or technical schools and job interviews. This strategy, developed by Kelly Gallagher, is a way for students to follow a step-by-step process that helps them answer what the prompt is really asking. Heres how it works. (read through process from slide). Now youre going to try it. . . (Presenters, refer to activity instruction sheet)56IMPORTANT RESOURCES

Go to: http://dpi.state.wi.us/standards/disciplinaryliteracy.htmlThe content specialists in the Content and Learning team and Career and Technical Education staff at the DPI has worked diligently to put together disciplinary literacy resources for teachers in various contents. There is a Google site that lists a multitude of reading and writing activities, which can be found on the DPIs Disciplinary Literacy website. Lets take a few minutes and explore their resources. 57Closing ThoughtsFinal words from CCSS author, David Coleman in The Hunt Institutes video, Literacy in Other Disciplines.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#p/u/8/1zHWMfg_8r0

Weve covered a lot of material today, and much is new. Lets close today with some final words from CCSS author, David Coleman. 58Next StepsGiven what weve explored today, what support do you need to help your students meet the ELA standards in Disciplinary Literacy?