Key Advances and Translating English Language Arts/Literacy Standards Into College and Career Readiness-Aligned Curriculum and Instruction

2 Acknowlegments Most of the materials included in this training and presentation are taken or adapted from materials developed by the U.S. Department of Education- sponsored College and Career Readiness Standards-in-Action initiative. Virginia participated in piloting CCR SIA materials for adult education. CCR SIA materials were developed by StandardsWork, Inc., under contract by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. More information on federal professional development initiatives for adult education can be found on LINCS at: initiatives 2

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4 Benefits of the CCR Standards in AE  Aligned with 2014 GED ® test assessment targets and 21st century high school equivalency expectations  Based on employer, college, and community college input  Selected with adult learners in mind  Provide guidance (and continuity) from literacy level to advanced/HSE (High School Equivalancy) level 4

5 Structure of the ELA/Literacy Standards  Four Strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language (plus Reading Foundations)  Anchor Standards for Each Strand: 10, 9, 6, and 6 (4)  Standards Listed by Level: A (K-1; Beginning ABE Literacy), B (2-3; Beginning Basic), C (4-5; Low Int. Basic), D (6-8; High Int. Basic), and E (9-12; Low/High ASE) Strand Anchor Standard Level- Specific Standards

6 CCR Reading Anchor 1 (p. 14) Activity: Becoming Familiar with the ELA Anchor Standards 6

7 Three Key Advances Prompted by the CCR Standards in ELA/Literacy 1.Text Complexity: Regular practice with complex text (and its academic language) 2.Evidence: Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text 3.Building Knowledge: Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

8  Texts worth reading!  Questions worth answering!  Work worth doing!

9 9 Activity: Connecting CCR Standards to the Key Advances

10 Connections Between the Anchor Standards and the Key Advances  Each key advance depends on standards from the four strands.  Standards from the four strands come together in aligned instruction to realize the key advances.

11  Texts worth reading!  Questions worth answering!  Work worth doing!

Resource Alignment Tool Criterion descriptor Rating each dimension Dimension descriptors Summary findings Evidence “look fors” Suggested high- value actions to fill alignment gaps

13 Together, we will… Reach a common understanding of each criterion and its dimensions. Understand why each is critical for college and career readiness (CCR) standards alignment. Define how each criterion should impact curricula or lesson planning. Work to: o Find evidence in the sample lesson. o Determine the high-value actions needed. o Determine an overall rating for the resource.

14 Criterion #1: Text Complexity

15 Rationale for Text Complexity (Dimension 1.1) Most work and college success requires the ability to read at certain levels independently and with comprehension. By reading high-quality, complex texts, students increase their reading proficiency. With time precious for many adult students, what they read must be worth the time devoted to it.

16 What is complex text, exactly?

17 Three Part System for Measuring Text Complexity: 1.Quantitative Scale 2.Qualitative Measures 3.Professional Judgment (of reader and task)

18 Quantitative Analysis Measures CCR Levels of LearningATOS Degrees of Reading Power Flesch- Kincaid The Lexile Framework Reading Maturity B (2 nd – 3 rd )2.75 – – – – – 6.13 C (4 th – 5 th )4.97 – – – – – 7.92 D (6 th – 8 th )7.00 – – – – – 9.57 E (9 th – 10 th )9.67 – – – – – E (11 th – CCR) – – – – – 12.00

19 ccelerated-reader/atos-analyzer

20 ccelerated-reader/atos-analyzer

21 Qualitative Analysis Measures StructureLanguage Knowledge Demands Meaning/ Purpose

22 Dimension 1.1: Text Complexity and Quality Most of the texts included in the resource are at the appropriate level of complexity as defined by the CCR standards; all texts are worth reading.

23 Practice at Your Tables Read a sample set of texts to evaluate their qualities and determine if they are appropriately complex for the level. Apply the evidence for Dimension 1.1 to the resource: 1.Are the texts previously published or of publishable quality? 2.Are the texts content-rich? 3.Do they exhibit exceptional craft and thought, and/or provide useful information? Rate this dimension.

24 Dimension 1.2: Academic Vocabulary The resource regularly focuses on understanding words and phrases, their relationships, and nuances, as well as on acquiring new vocabulary, particularly general academic words and phrases.

25 Dimension 1.2: Rationale Nearly a century of research identifies vocabulary as crucial to reading and listening comprehension. Vocabulary is the feature of complex text that causes the greatest difficulty for readers. Learning academic vocabulary (Tier 2 words) is key. o They appear frequently in a wide variety of texts and disciplines, such as “systematic,” “particular,” “various,” “determine”… o They relate to other words and offer students more precise ways of referring to ideas they already know about. o They are necessary for understanding complex texts.

26 Practice at Your Tables Look for evidence in a lesson that attention is being paid to vocabulary, especially academic vocabulary. Scan supporting documents and instructions that accompany a lesson for Dimension 1.2: 1.Is there any attention on vocabulary? 2.Are any of the words identified academic vocabulary words (as opposed to words that are domain- specific)? 3.Are questions asked about vocabulary and the author’s word choice?

27 Criterion #1: High-Value Actions  Ask the publisher of the resource to provide information about the quantitative and qualitative complexity of the texts.  Conduct qualitative analyses of passages to differentiate between texts worth reading and those not worth reading.  If most of the passages you reviewed match a lower level of learning, recommend the resource be used for that level instead.  Identify high-value academic vocabulary words that should be addressed in the lesson.  Other:

28 Criterion #1: Group Debrief What were some of your key findings? What was the general consensus about text quality and complexity? Was academic vocabulary featured in the lessons and questions? How did you rate these dimensions? What questions do you still have about the importance of text complexity and quality?

29 achievethecore.org/academic-word- finder

30 achievethecore.org/academic-word- finder

31 Dimension 1.1: Impact on Curricula Texts must be consistently high-quality and worth reading. Many should be short enough to read and study carefully. They must be (largely) within the recommended range of complexity for the level. They should be content-rich and contain useful information.

32 Dimension 1.2: Impact on Curricula Instructional resources should: Provide guidance on what words are most crucial for understanding the text and building vocabulary. Regularly and systematically point out and ask questions about important academic vocabulary words. Teach how meanings of words vary with context (e.g., Texas was admitted to the union; he admitted his errors; admission was too expensive). Include numerous informational texts as they contain more academic vocabulary words than narratives.

33 Criterion #2: Evidence

34 Dimension 2.1: Growth of Comprehension and Using Evidence From Texts An overwhelming majority (80%) of all questions reviewed are high-quality, text-dependent, and text-specific.

35 Dimension 2.1: Rationale Surveys of employers and college faculty cite the ability to read well and draw accurate conclusions using evidence as key success in college and the workplace. The ability to cite evidence differentiates strong from weak student performance on national assessments. The ability to find and use evidence to support claims is a hallmark of strong readers and writers. Relying on evidence levels the playing field for students. There is no reliance on personal experience or knowledge to construct appropriate, evidence-based answers.

36 Dimension 2.1: Impact on Curricula Questions that accompany a text should: Require evidence from what has been read. Be intentionally sequenced to gradually deepen student understanding. Focus student attention on the text, not away from it. Provide students regular opportunities to speak and write about the text.

37 Text-dependent questions are not… Low-level, literal, or recall questions. Questions that depend solely on prior knowledge. Focused on comprehension strategies.

38 Text-dependent questions... Focus on words, sentences, and paragraphs, as well as larger ideas, themes, or events. Focus on difficult portions of text to enhance reading proficiency. Can be answered only with evidence from the text. Can be literal (to check for understanding) but must also involve analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Include prompts for writing and discussion.

39 Together, let’s… Look for evidence for how well the resource provides reading, writing, and speaking activities grounded in the text. Scan one lesson to see what kinds of questions are being asked: (Use Resources Alignment Tool) 1.Do the questions focus students on the text or elsewhere? 2.Do they gradually build understanding? 3.Do they ask about important parts and ideas of the text? 4.Do they address level-specific standards? (**Next, as a group, evaluate questions using checklist.)

40 Materials to Support Your Work Checklist for Evaluating Question Quality offers a comprehensive checklist that: Provides guidance on developing strong text-dependent questions. Acts as a training document as well as a way to check quality.

41 Dimension 2.2: Emphasis on Informative and Argumentative Writing and Speaking An overwhelming majority (80%) of all writing and speaking assignments reviewed require argumentative and informative writing and speaking; they require students to draw on evidence from texts to present careful analyses and well-defended claims.

42 Dimension 2.2: Rationale Employers and college faculty report this is the kind of writing and speaking valued in the workplace and higher education. Most college and workplace writing and speaking requires using evidence. CCR standards in writing emphasize writing to a source. After working hard to understand a complex text, students deserve opportunities to display what they have learned, either orally or in writing.

43 Dimension 2.2: Impact on Curricula The resource should include frequent opportunities for writing connected to the readings. The resource should offer frequent opportunities for students to speak to one another about what they have read. The vast majority of writing prompts should be either argumentative or informative as opposed to narrative. Writing prompts should require using evidence from the text as a central component of the assignment.

44 Together, let’s… Look for evidence of the kinds of writing assignments and speaking opportunities offered by a lesson in this resource: 1.Are there opportunities to write argumentative essays? 2.Are there opportunities to write informative pieces? 3.Do those writing assignments require students to provide text-based evidence? 4.Are there regular invitations to speak about the reading? 5.Do they make up 80% of the writing and speaking assignments in the selected lessons? (First, use the resources alignment tool. Then, use resource #4/D)

45 Criterion #2: Group Debrief What was the general consensus about the quality and text-based focus of the questions and assignments? Were there writing prompts that allowed students to demonstrate what they had learned from their reading? Were there discussion questions that allowed students to demonstrate what they had learned from the text? What questions do you still have about the role of evidence in a resource aligned to CCR standards?

46 Criterion #2: High-Value Actions  Replace non-text-dependent questions with valuable text-dependent questions that target level-specific standards.  Add a variety of text-based writing assignments, including short and long writing assignments developed from the central ideas of the text.  Add a culminating writing assignment developed from the central understanding of the text.  Other:

47 Criterion #3: Knowledge

48 Criterion #3 and Its Dimensions 3.1 The resource accentuates comprehending quality informational texts independently across disciplines. 3.2 Most passages reviewed are organized around a topic or line of inquiry; the resource includes regular research assignments.

49 Dimensions 3.1 and 3.2: Rationale Prior knowledge is a strong predictor of students’ ability to comprehend complex texts. To cultivate their knowledge, students must read and write regularly about content-rich, complex texts. Writing about what they read improves students’ comprehension of the text (and their writing skills). A reading deficit is integrally bound to a knowledge deficit.

50 Dimensions 3.1 and 3.2: Impact on Curricula The resource should: Provide coherent selections of content-rich, strategically sequenced texts so students can build knowledge about a topic. Demand evidence in students’ writing. Provide well-crafted writing prompts as a summative learning activity—not only to improve writing, but also to strengthen reading comprehension. Ask students to regularly conduct short, focused research projects and defend their point of view to create a useful and lasting knowledge base.

51 Together, let’s… Look for opportunities for students to build knowledge and engage in a volume of reading through this resource. Scan the list of topics and text titles. 1.How well does the resource build knowledge on a single topic? 2.How does the resource promote independent reading?

52 Criterion #3: High-Value Actions  Create a list of supplemental texts on the same topic to promote volume of reading and build knowledge.  Develop brief research projects for students on the same topic.  Other:

53 Criterion #3: Group Debrief How well did the resource build knowledge on a single topic? Were most of the texts content-rich informational texts that promoted learning? Were there opportunities for students to extend their learning through research? What questions do you still have about the importance of building knowledge and independent reading?

54 Practice at Your Table Work at your table and evaluate the Monk We the People excerpt as a possible supplemental reading. Determine: 1.Is the text complex? (Run it through the reading maturity tool to determine reading level and run it through the academic word finder to determine key vocabulary.) 2.Are there questions to support the text? If so, are 80% of the questions high quality and text-dependent? Do 80% of the writing prompts emphasize argumentative and informative writing? Are there opportunities for speaking and listening? If not, how could this be corrected? 3.Begin to discuss in your group how this reading could be part of a new/revised lesson tomorrow. Use handout to support this activity.

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56 5 Core Actions 1.Curriculum content matches CCRS demands. 2.Questions & tasks are text-specific and cognitively demanding. 3.Lessons engage learners while focusing on CCRS. 4.Lesson is sequenced to build students’ skills and knowledge. 5.Instructor assesses learner understanding and adjusts instruction accordingly. 56

57 Using the Observation Tool: Video Lesson Man's Search for Meaning - Level E (Grade 10) As you observe the lesson, individually make notes and assign ratings for Core Actions 1 and 2. After watching the lesson, discuss your findings, and evidence to back up your findings, at your table.

58 ELA Lesson Development

59 #1-2: Learning Goals and CCRS Briefly set context: for what level class is this lesson intended? how much time does the lesson cover? What are the learning goals? What 4-8 level-specific standards does the lesson target?

60 #3-4: Text Complexity How complex are these texts? What qualitative features will challenge students? What academic vocabulary can you target in this lesson?

61 #5-6: Evidence Does the lesson already include high quality questions? Which ones will you use? What additional questions do you need to plan to ask? Will those questions engage students, include the standards, and treat the text as the “expert in the room”? What is the writing task for this lesson?

62 #7: Knowledge How does this lesson build students’ knowledge? What extension activities are available for this lesson?

63 #8: Instructor Notes & Review What tips or suggestions do you have for instructors who will be teaching this lesson? What scaffolds and supports will learners need, including individuals with LD and English langauge learners? Does the lesson address the target standards initially identified? How do students demonstrate their knowledge? How will the instructor assess mastery?

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