CCRS Quarterly Meeting 1 2016 - 2017 English Language Arts Welcome participants http://alex.state.al.us/ccrs/

RIGOR & THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COLLEGE-AND CAREER-READY STANDARDS As you learned in the opening session, this year we will be looking at the ELA standards and the rigor that is required for students to be college-and career-ready. For the last three years, teachers have been exploring the standards, determining how best to support students, developing new lesson plans, and readjusting their teaching styles so that students can begin to take charge of their own learning. Now as administrators, you will need to become very familiar with what is required so that you can support teachers in their efforts.

Outcomes Participants will: Identify key shifts and evidence of rigor in the CCRS standards and in ELA classroom instruction. Determine ways to support rigor in the ELA classrooms in your district/school Take a minute to look at the outcomes for today’s session. Facilitators give participants time to read. If teachers are staying true to the CCRS ELA, you should be able to see rigorous instruction and learning.

Understanding RIGOR Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels. (Blackburn, 2008) Chart paper Quick write: Remind participants of the definition of rigor. What do you expect to see in a classroom if you are looking for rigorous teaching and learning to take place? Give them a few minutes to write Quick Chart. Ask participants to share some of their ideas with the group. Facilitator will chart responses. Let them know that we will look for these things as we move forward. (or if they determine that something is not rigorous after learning more, it can be deleted).

Three Key Shifts in ELA/Literacy Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational Regular practice with complex text and its academic language Handout 1 For ELA there are 3 key instructional shifts identified by Achieve the Core. (Read each shift on slide). Remind them that they may have seen these shifts in other venues as six shifts or even 10. We have chosen to use Achieve the Core’s model. It contains the same information but is consolidated into three easy to remember statements. Participants will read and annotate the text, taking special care to note any vocabulary that is unfamiliar or important to remember. Allow them time to discuss at their table. Then clarify any unfamiliar vocabulary (reminding them that this is as it applies to ELA). Notes for facilitators. These can be used to further emphasize the purpose of our focus on the key shifts. The shifts are a high-level summary of the biggest changes from the old standards to the new. They represent the most significant shifts for curriculum materials, instruction, student learning, and thinking about assessment. Taken all together, they should lead to desired student outcomes. Communicate the shifts to everyone who will listen! Everyone working in your school and district should have a solid understanding of the shifts required in both ELA/Literacy and Mathematics. They are a great starting point for learning about and understanding the CCRS.

The Shifts and the ELA Standards Handout 2 – ELA Informational Text one-pagers Handout 3 – Processing the Shifts Participants will need handouts 2 and 3 ELA Informational Text - Explain that we are using this one because of the shift in genres. ELA teachers are very familiar with literary text, not all are as familiar with informational. In elementary it is recommended that teachers move to reading 50% informational text throughout the day and throughout the subjects. In secondary, more informational text is required with 70% informational text…again, this is throughout the school day…which means all subjects should read, not just ELA. That is why the literacy standards are so important in every content. Divide into pairs. Assign each pair an Anchor standard page, their task is to find evidence of the 3 shifts in the grade level standards. Find an elementary example and a secondary example. Talk through the process of how the shifts provide the rigor and how the rigor is age and grade appropriate based on the standard. Record any pertinent information in the column labeled standards Share their Anchor standard and examples of the rigor provided by the shifts.

Video Handout 3 Handout 4 The video used was from TDQ by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. You must purchase the book to use the video. You can find free videos at Teaching Channel www.teachingchannel.org. Good examples include Informational Texts: Reading for Inquiry and Asking and Answering Questions about Soil. Participants will continue to use handout 3 to record as they view the two videos. Ask them to look at the guiding questions in the first half of handout 4. This will help set a purpose for watching. Then go back to the shifts handout and review the shifts one more time. They will use the recording tool to tally the number of times they see evidence of each shift. Discussion after viewing each video. Remind them that even if they are not elementary or secondary, they need to be aware of what rigorous instruction should look like in other grades. Ask: If you do not see evidence of the shifts, what might be your next steps for supporting the teacher as he/she infuses rigorous activities. Talk at the table

Video The video used was from TDQ by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. You must purchase the book to use the video. You can find free videos at Teaching Channel www.teachingchannel.org Good examples include Using anchor Texts to Distill Big Ideas and Analyzing Texts with Storyboards. They will use the recording tool to tally the number of times they see evidence of each shift. Discussion after viewing each video. Remind them that even if they are not elementary or secondary, they need to be aware of what rigorous instruction should look like in other grades. Ask: If you do not see evidence of the shifts, what might be your next steps for supporting the teacher as he/she infuses rigorous activities. Talk at the table

IMPLICATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATORS Read the Paragraph “Implications for Administrators” on Handout 4. Based on your initial look at the standards, the ELA shifts, and the videos, what might you look for in an ELA class to determine if rigorous instruction and rigorous learning are taking place? Jot your ideas on the bottom of Handout 4. Now, ask participants to read the bottom paragraph in handout 4. Ask them to look again at the chart from the beginning of the session, What would they add, would they take away anything?

Final Thoughts What conclusions can you draw about our content today? What applications can you take back? Sticky Notes Ask participants to record their thoughts on a sticky note to use in the last session of the day.