DEVELOPING STUDENT LITERACY SKILLS

 Abby Stotsenberg, Senior Administrator for SS  Catherine Trudell, Senior Administrator for HS ELA (well, sort of)  Sara Overby, Coordinating Teacher for Secondary Literacy INTRODUCTIONS

 Understand how to develop critical reading, writing and thinking skills  Understand how strategic writing instruction will increase reading achievement and increase the capacity for teaching students to develop complex thoughts  Consider strategies for making thinking visible in classroom instruction PURPOSE

“Commonplaces are never tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious or appreciative [We] find that it is not a new scene which is needed, but a new viewpoint.” -Norman Rockwell WHY SHOULD WE ENGAGE IN CLOSE READING?

CLOSE READING What does it mean to engage students in close reading? What are the skills the students need to learn in order to navigate language and make deep meaning? How can you provide opportunities for students to practice these skills?

CLOSE READING AN IMAGE What did you see? Note all the details from the picture. What questions do you have? What did you see? Note all the additional details that you saw. What questions do you have? Were any previous questions answered? Share your observations with your table team. Are you able to answer questions when you share your cognitive resources?

 What does the image represent?  How does the author develop that meaning for the audience? What evidence can you cite from the image?  What questions does the image create for you as the reader? What do you need to know to better understand the image and its impact or role as an argument?  What might Rockwell’s central argument be?  What counterclaims might he be addressing? UNCOVERING MEANING

CLOSE READING AN IMAGE Take a close look at the image on the right. What do you notice? What questions does the image create for you?

“Commonplaces are never tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to be curious or appreciative [We] find that it is not a new scene which is needed, but a new viewpoint.” -Norman Rockwell WHY SHOULD WE ENGAGE IN CLOSE READING?

“IT IS NOT A NEW SCENE WHICH IS NEEDED, BUT A NEW VIEWPOINT.”

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

MAKING THINKING VISIBLE Fortunately, neither others' thinking nor opportunities to think need to be as invisible as they often are. As educators, we can work to make thinking much more visible than it usually is in classrooms. When we do so, we are giving students more to build on and learn from. By making the dancers visible, we are making it much easier to learn to dance.

A NEW VIEWPOINT Revisiting an earlier question How did your understanding of Rockwell’s central argument change with each additional piece of evidence?

WRITING: TEACHING STRUCTURE Teach the positioning of ideas to impose or understand value and hierarchy Teach the complex sentence structures to teach complex thinking Teach structure to increase reading comprehension Develop three sentences that address Rockwell’s central argument.

 There is a lot of evidence showing the importance of grammar in reading comprehension. Studies over the years have shown a clear relationship between syntactic or grammatical sophistication and reading comprehension; that is, as students learn to employ more complex sentences in their oral and written language, their ability to make sense of what they read increases, too. -Tim Shanahan FROM THE FIELD OF RESEARCH

CLOSE READING A TEXT What is the tone of the piece? What evidence can you use to support your assertion? How does the author use diction and syntax to develop the tone? What evidence can you use to support your assertion?

CHORAL PERFORMANCE

ANALYZING THE COMPLEXITY OF A TEXT

QUANTITATIVE MEASURES

QUALITATIVE FEATURES

QUESTIONS?

English Department Chairs “Is it too much to expect from the schools that they train their students not only to interpret but to criticize; that is, to discriminate what is sound from error and falsehood, to suspend judgement if they are not convinced, or to judge with reason if they agree or disagree?” ― Mortimer J. AdlerMortimer J. Adler

 Clearly align the text to standards.  How will this text facilitate student learning better than other texts?  Make sure all texts, particularly those that may have potential challenges, are listed in the syllabus that goes home to parents.  Have a clear plan to address the sensitive material in the text.  Make sure the form is on file in your school. UPDATES AND REMINDERS: SUPPLEMENTAL TEXT

 If a parent challenges the reading material, speak with the parent about the merit of the work and how you are handling the sensitive material in class.  Provide an alternate text that will facilitate the same learning objectives for the student.  Be mindful of length and difficulty of the alternate reading selection to make sure both are comparable to the original text.  If a parent wishes to formally challenge a text, contact the administrator over your department, and that person will assist in following the process within Board Policy.  Keep in mind that we need to be sensitive to the values and beliefs of others. A parent choosing to have learning facilitated through an alternate text is not a judgment of you as an educator. CHALLENGES

FOCUS: WRITING District Rubrics Performance Tasks

 More information about the process will be coming through your administrative team  Phase 1: District Assessment  Phase 2: School-based Assessment (Could be a performance task)  Eligible courses: English I,II,III,IV CREDIT BY DEMONSTRATED MASTERY

ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WORK

PROCESS/PURPOSE OF THE ASW Measure student growth to contribute to NC Teacher Evaluation Standard VI score.

5 Rating Categories Demonstrate Leadership Establish Environment Know Content Facilitate Learning Reflect on Practice Contribute to Academic Success 3 Rating Categories Not Demonstrated Developing Proficient Accomplished Distinguished Effectiveness Status NC Educator Evaluation System

Overview of Standard 6 Contribute to Academic Success End of Grade (EOG) or End of Course (EOC) tests 6 NC Final Exams 6 Career Technical Education Assessment 6 Analysis of Student Work K-3 Checkpoints 6 6

Analysis of Student Work 6 Contribute to Academic Success In , ASW is the Standard 6 measure for teachers in Advanced Placement, Arts Education, Healthful Living, International Baccalaureate, and World Languages. Growth is based on student work submitted by teachers and rated by content experts in a “blind review” process.

Overview: Analysis of Student Work ASW Process

ASW FLOW CHART

 We will not be using Case 21 assessments at the high school level this year  English has been given permission to try using performance tasks as the benchmark assessment  Sara will be leading you in that initiative over the next few chair meetings BENCHMARKS

Have a great year! “A LECTURE HAS BEEN WELL DESCRIBED AS THE PROCESS WHEREBY THE NOTES OF THE TEACHER BECOME THE NOTES OF THE STUDENT WITHOUT PASSING THROUGH THE MIND OF EITHER.” ―MORTIMER J. ADLERMORTIMER J. ADLER