Setting a Purpose and Backwards Design: Structuring a Content Area Reading/Thinking Lesson EDC448 Dr. Julie Coiro

Past Topics for Discussion What do good readers do? (M&MDAAVISS) How do good readers make sense of challenging texts? (wondering, inquiry) Do texts in each discipline require specific strategies? How skilled are adolescent readers? How can I make my thinking visible? How do issues of text complexity and instruction influence rigor & accessibility?

Agenda Diverse Text Set – Due Thurs, March 26 ELL Interview – Due Tues, March 31 Lesson Plan Interviews – Coming Up! Activity: Setting Your Purpose Activity: Designing Your Learning Goals Review Lesson Plan Assignment

Diverse Text Set 10 Texts around a theme/topic – select to make more accessible and maintain rigor Examples are on the wikispace Questions? Optional reading: Laura Robb’s Text Sets article

Interview with English Language Learner Part 1. Interview Part 2. Reflection Paper Part 3. Seminar Discussion Questions?

Today’s Learning Objectives Understand the importance of setting a clear and relevant purpose for reading & learning Understand how to plan a lesson using Backwards Design principles Connect the main components of a good content literacy lesson (before, during, and after) to your lesson plan assignment Craft a learning objective about reading in your content area that is clear, precise, and measurable

Why Am I Reading This? Tovani, Chapter 5 Defining Purposes for Reading – What is essential for students to know? What two places may cause difficulty? What will you model to help students negotiate the difficult parts? What do they need to DO with the information once they finish reading? How will you hold their thinking while they read? ACTIVITY 1 Text complexity Think-Aloud ACTIVITY 2 Annotations, Reading Guides, Graphic Organizers, Two Column-Journals

Activity 1 Purpose is Everything! Circle what you think is important. Underline places in the text a robber would find important. Squiggly line under places that a prospective home buyer might think are important. Which time was the hardest? Why? Purpose is Everything!

Linking Lessons to the Standards Be explicit about your purpose - Kids have a right to know!

Working Backwards… to design a good lesson

Sign up to meet with Dr. Coiro for your lesson plan meeting

Designing An Educational Trip to France OBJECTIVE: (poorly written) Students will learn more about culture, geography, history, and language by visiting Paris for 2 weeks. Groups 1: List the educational activities you will plan for students. Groups 2: List what you hope students will understand and be able to do when they return from their trip.

Learning Objectives for Paris Trip Educational Activities Have a conversation with someone in French Go to a play Les Miserables Order food at a restaurant in French See a French festival Go to a museum Measure the trusses and angles on the Eiffel Tower What will students know, understand, and be able to do? Know basic language communication skills (simple commands) Travel abroad by yourself (keep passports, navigate airports) Important historical events that affected country or world Recognize popular cultural icons (e.g., art) Identify France on a map

Why Backwards Design? (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) “Twin-sins” of traditional lesson design “Hands-on without being minds-on”: engaging experiences that lead only accidentally, if at all, to insight & achievement “Coverage”: marching through the text and/or curriculum to cover as many facts as possible

Understanding by Design To understand: To wisely and effectively USE (transfer) what we know in a certain context To APPLY knowledge & skill effectively What are your desired results? Start your lesson design with these results…not with your instructional methods and activities Communicate your desired results with clear purposes and explicit performance goals (“Understanding by design”)

Understanding by Design 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction: What are the most appropriate instructional activities that students will need to equip them with the needed knowledge and skills? 1. Identify desired results: What should students know, understand, and be able to do? How does this connect with your standards? 2. Determine acceptable evidence: How will you know if students have achieved the desired results? What will you accept as evidence of proficiency?

Supporting Reading/Thinking in this process 1. Think of your content-specific learning objective and desired result (know, understand, be able to do)? 2. What will be most difficult for students in order to accomplish your desired results (in terms of new content, reading complex texts, and thinking rigorously)? 3. Set THIS desired reading/thinking result as your literacy objective - What instructional supports can you offer to ensure success?

Lesson Plan Outline (Your handout – Complete for meeting with me) CONTENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE? (know, understand, and be able to do) ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE? What CONTENT will you TEACH? READING/THINKING OBJECTIVE? (know, understand, and be able to do) ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE? What CONTENT will you TEACH? THINK M&MDAAVISS

Working Backwards to Design Opportunities for Understanding CONTENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE? (know, understand, and be able to do) ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE? What CONTENT will you TEACH? Where are students likely to struggle most? (prerequisite content knowledge? Complex texts? higher level thinking?) READING/THINKING OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE students can accomplish these reading/thinking processes? (and be successful with the content learning objective?) What PROCESSES will you TEACH/Model to foster success?

Understanding the Main Components of Your Lesson Plan Assignment (Start to think about a topic, text, and a lesson objective)

Elements of Your Content Literacy Lesson Plan Assignment Context of the Lesson Objectives and Standards Opportunities to Learn – address matchup gaps Instructional Procedures (pre, during, closure) – ** Explicit modeling is critical Assessment Reflection Frontloading Modeling; Engaging with Support Consolidating Learning Connect these pieces Buehl’s three parts = (1) Frontloading learning, (2) guiding comprehension, and (3) consolidating learning SEE LESSON PLAN EXAMPLES

Promote Strategy Use and Independence by Gradually Releasing Responsibility Model, think-aloud, and SCAFFOLD your strategy support; note Beuhl’s three phases of instruction in Ch. 2

Key Reading Strategies (M&M DAAVISS) SYNTHESIZE MAKE CONNECTIONS DETERMINE IMPORTANT IDEAS SUMMARIZE MONITOR AND CLARIFY INFER PREDICT ASK QUESTIONS VISUALIZE ANALYZE

Lesson Plan Pieces to Hand In (Refer to this slide!) Typed plan in lesson plan template (download from the wikispace) Hard copy of your 2 texts with relevant think-aloud notes on text or stickies (mark up your text; explicit commentary of your thoughts about the strategy you are modeling) Graphic organizer with title & directions Assessment task with finished example Your completed points sheet with questions Your final reflection (after taught)

Writing Learning Objectives for your Lesson Plans

Three Criteria for a Learning Objective Clear Usually just one sentence Precise Precise verbs that reflect the thinking your students will be doing Set a context (Given…; After…; Before…) Measurable How will you measure the “quality” (%age or criteria met) Start with the top level and work backwards through average and below average

Writing Learning Objectives Given _____, students will _____ (verb and specifics) with (measurable) ____ % accuracy or to a certain level Content: What will students know, understand and be able to do? Reading Process: How will students think/interact/engage with this content material? (see Common Core Standards in your discipline and narrative or informational text)

Link reading/thinking strategy objectives to your content… The student will Set a purpose for reading … Predict and confirm… Summarize the key words… Monitor their understanding of… Ask questions/reflect … Show the relationship between concepts … Make inferences and support with evidence… Draw conclusions… Make connections between… Visualize… As a means of supporting content development and building understanding (by design)

Some examples - English CONTENT: Given a set of quotes, students will write a dialogue poem with high-level descriptive verbs to relate to the main character in Speak. READING/THINKING: Given a graphic organizer, students will make inferences and connections from their quote set to examine the advantages and disadvantages of being an outcast in society.

Example - History CONTENT: Students will summarize the main points to two sides of the argument about whether or not Japanese American internment camps were necessary. READING/THINKING: Students will write an essay that compares and contrasts the prisoners’ views and the government’s views of the internment camps.

Example - Science CONTENT: Given a graphic organizer, students will identify three differences between human and marine animal sound reception and three structures used by marine animals for sound reception with 80% accuracy. READING/THINKING: Given graphic organizers and a guided note outline, students will organize main concepts on sound reception in Ch. 6, while identifying supporting ideas and identifying relationships between different anatomical sound receptors in marine animals with 80% accuracy.

Example - Math CONTENT: Students will solve for a single variable involving two-step equations to 85% accuracy. READING/THINKING PROCESS Students will recognize key phrases that correspond to an equation and formulate the correct equation from a given word problem involving a two-step equation to 85% accuracy.

Example: Foreign Language CONTENT: Students will work collaboratively to create a French menu that shows their understanding of the French culture, new vocabulary, and creativity. READING/THINKING: Given a sample restaurant dialogue in a French restaurant, students will interpret the meaning of key vocabulary in context and categorize the term as either food, verbs you would use in a restaurant, or items you would find in a restaurant.

Introducing/Contextualizing your lesson: How do you “hook” your students? Images, discrepant events, interactive websites, videos, picture books, current events, anticipation guides Contextualize your lesson in this and RETURN to it at the end of your lesson to tie it all up and connect to their world!

Today’s Learning Objectives Connect the main components of a good content literacy lesson to your lesson plan assignment Begin planning your lesson using Backwards Design principles Craft learning objectives about reading in your content area that are clear, precise, and measurable Remember/Use ideas in your Buehl A & B book! Don’t have to start from scratch!

FYI: More ELL ideas on March 31, Seminar on April 2