Mid-Year BT Symposium Spring 2013 WCU Brooke Mabry, Instructional Coach, McDowell County Schools

To provide students with the… toolset toolset skillset skillset mindset mindset …needed for college and career readiness.

Tree Map Classification What are the needs of your students? What are your areas of needed improvement? What professional development needs do you have? Which area will be hardest to address?

Hattie, John. (2006). Visible Learning. New York: Routledge.

80% of all information that comes into our brain is VISUAL 40% of all nerve fibers connected to the brain are linked to the retina 36,000 visual messages per hour may be registered by the eyes - Eric Jensen, Brain Based Learning

“Knowledge is stored in two forms: linguistically and nonlinguistically. Research proves that the more we use both systems of representation, the better we are able to think and recall knowledge.” “The true discrimination that comes out of poverty is the lack of cognitive strategies.” - Ruby Payne PhD., A Framework for Understanding Poverty - Robert Marzano, Classroom Instruction the Works

“We believe that probably the best strategies for teaching text structures are visual- spatial strategies.” “The search for meaning is the purpose of learning; so, teaching for meaning is the purpose of teaching.” - Jacqueline G Brooks, To See Beyond the Lesson - Peregoy & Boyle, Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL

 Close reading  Increasing complexity  Gather evidence, knowledge, and insight  Text-dependent questions and tasks that require deep critical thinking  Increased attention to author’s craft  Evidence-based responses

Text Selection: Complexity Qualitative evaluation includes levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. Quantitative evaluation is concerned with readability measures and other scores of complexity. The teacher must consider reader variables such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences, and task variables such as purpose and complexity of task and questions posed, to match readers with appropriate texts. The quality of suggested texts is high--they are worth reading closely and exhibit exceptional craft and thought or provide useful information. Texts should be worthy of close attention and careful re-reading for understanding. (PARCC)

 80-90% of (CCSS) reading standards require text- dependent analysis yet over 30% of questions in major textbooks do not.

 Asking students to make connections to themselves, other texts, and the world is a common style of questioning that guides students away from the text. This type of questioning does not lead to a deep understanding of the text.  We often ask students simple questions that require very literal thinking to ensure they have read the text. Students expend too much time and energy answering these questions rather than slowing down to consider the meaningful text-specific questions that will bring them to a deeper understanding.

Text-dependent questions do not require information or evidence from outside the text; they establish what follows and what does not follow from the text itself. Eighty to 90 percent of the Reading Standards in each grade require text- dependent analysis.  High-quality sequences of text- dependent questions elicit sustained attention to the specifics of the text and their impact.  Questions and tasks require the use of textual evidence, including supporting valid inferences from the text.  Instructional design cultivates student interest and engagement in reading rich text carefully.  Questions and tasks attend to analyzing the arguments and information at the heart of literary nonfiction in grades  Questions and tasks require careful comprehension of the text before asking for further evaluation or interpretation.

 are questions that can only be answered correctly by close reading of the text and demand careful attention to the text.  require an understanding that extends beyond recalling facts.  often require students to infer.  do not depend on information from outside sources.  allow students to gather evidence and build knowledge.  provide access to increasing levels of complex text.  call for careful and thoughtful teacher preparation.  require time for students to process.  are worth asking.

“The best questions will motivate students to dig in and explore further—just as texts should be worth reading, so should questions be worth answering.”

How?

 Complete an “inspectional” read (# all sentences and paragraphs)  What do similarities do you notice about paragraphs 2 – 7?  How do these paragraphs relate to paragraph 9?  What effect does the author achieve through structuring the paragraphs 2 – 7 as single sentences?

 Planning from standards to instructional delivery  Learning Targets aligned to NCSCOS and written in student-friendly language  Pose questions supportive of Enduring Understanding  Identify Big Ideas  Planning thoughtful, text-dependent questions

 Slow down and dig deeper into content  Uncover concepts and ideas in content vs. covering content objectives  Read closely/re-read multiple times (during instruction)  Master learning targets  Have regular practice with complex texts and its academic vocabulary (during instruction)

 Knowledge is built through content-rich nonfiction and informational text  Reading and writing is grounded in evidence from text  Academic vocabulary via text complexity is utilized  Balanced literacy—students read, write, speak, and listen equitably  Elementary Text Type Balance—50 Inform/50 Lit  Secondary Text Type Balance—70 Inform/30 Lit

 Learning and Innovation Skills (4 C’s) Critical thinking (skills/processes) Collaboration (student-to-student) Communication (student-to-student) Creativity (opportunities)  Life and Career Skills  Information, Media, and Technology Skills

 Begin planning with the standards rather than the resource or text  Select appropriately complex texts for instruction  Identify Tier 2 vocabulary words prior to instruction  Plan text-dependent questions prior to instruction  Assume the role of facilitator of students’ learning and plan instruction accordingly

We’re not in it for the income; We’re in it for the outcome.

Contact Information: Brooke Mabry (828) 460 – 7125