Diocese of Houma Thibodaux Catholic Schools Common Core Standards Unpacking the Six Shifts For ELA/Literacy,K-12 and Math

COMMON CORE STANDARDS Unpacking the Six Shifts For ELA/Literacy,K-12 Edited and adapted from Powerpoint presentation-Module 2-How Will We Prepare Students for “College and Career Readiness”?; The Common Core Institute, January 2013

ELA/Literacy Shifts Staircase of Text Complexity Text-based Answers Write from Sources Build Knowledge in the Disciplines Common Core Fundamental Shifts Balance Literacy and Informational Text Build Academic Vocabulary

Shift #1: Balancing Informational and Literary Text Goals of the CCSS The text that students read daily should include: Kindergarten - 5: 50% Literary – 50% Informational Middle School: 45% Literary - 55% Informational High School: 30% Literary – 70% Informational

What is informational text? Text designed to convey factual information, rather than tell or advance a narrative Examples include: Science Text Social Studies/History Text Health Text Technical Texts: directions, manuals, forms Digital Sources Biographies, memoir, journal Graphs, Maps, and Charts Personal Essays, Speeches, Opinion Pieces

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Shift #2: Building Knowledge in the Disciplines. Literacy standards for the content areas – not content standards Embedded expectations for grades K – 5 –Applicable for a range of subjects Grades 6—12 are divided into two sections –English Language Arts –History/social studies, science, and technical subjects

A Multi-disciplinary Approach Content-area teachers are not being asked to be English teachers. Each discipline requires unique forms of reading and writing. The way knowledge is acquired, developed and shared in a given field often requires discipline-specific skills.

Shift #3: Staircase of Complexity We must systematically expose students to increasingly complex texts.

Preparing Our Students For College and Careers

History/Social Studies & Science Literacy Common Core Standards APPENDIX A: FINDINGS Students who fall short of ACT's college readiness benchmarks have the greatest difficulty with the test items involving the most complex text. K–12 reading assignments have become much less demanding in the last half-century, with an especially large drop-off in high school expectations. Weston, S.P. (2010). “The giant text complexity challenge inside the new literacy standards.” The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

History/Social Studies & Science Literacy Common Core Standards CCSS APPENDIX A: FINDINGS College reading assignments have moved in the opposite direction, becoming a bit harder over the same fifty years. High school teachers commonly give students many kinds of support and coaching to help them figure out the material, but college teachers expect students to pull the knowledge from the text on their own, making the gap in practical ability even wider than the gap in the texts themselves. History/Social Studies & Science Literacy Common Core Standards

Text complexity: Appendix A Reading Standards include exemplar texts (stories and literature, poetry, and informational texts) that illustrate appropriate level of complexity by grade Text complexity is defined by: 1.Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands 2.Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity (word length or frequency, sentence length, text cohesion) 3.Reader and Task – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned

Quantitative: rigor increases 2-3 grade levels LEXILE® LEVELS TODAY AND WITH COMMON CORE *COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH, LANGUAGE ARTS, APPENDIX A (Additional Information) NGA and CCSSO 2012

Typical Lexile text measures by grade

Qualitative features of text complexity Informational Text Levels of Purpose Structure Language Conventionality and Clarity Knowledge Demands Literary Text Levels of Meaning Structure Language Conventionality and Clarity Knowledge Demands

The reader and task influences Reader’s Influence Cognitive Capabilities Motivation Knowledge Experiences Consider the Task Teacher-Led Tasks Individual Tasks Question Types

Shift #4- Text-based Answers Far longer amounts of classroom time spent on text worth reading and rereading carefully Base answers on what has been read, not opinions or experience Recent study found that 80% of the questions students are asked when they are reading are answerable without direct reference to the text itself. “Bringing the Common Core to Life," David Coleman, Student Achievement Partners, April 28, 2011.

Emphasis on Citing Textual Evidence Reading Anchor Standard 1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Writing Anchor Standard 9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Emphasis on citing textual evidence

Emphasis on argument & evidence Writing Anchor Standard 1 –Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Speaking & Listening Anchor Standard 3 –Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of evidence and rhetoric. Speaking & Listening Anchor Standard 5 –Present information, findings, and supporting evidence….

Emphasizing text-based answers Model close reading. Sequence questions to draw students into the texts. Pre-teach vocabulary and/or background to scaffold without pre- teaching the content of the texts. “Step back” and allow the readers space and time to experience the texts unmediated. Rich and rigorous student conversations dependent on reading a central text. Set up questions so students draw their own conclusions and back them up with evidence from the text. Source: Oregon Dept of Ed

Shift #5: Writing From Sources To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students need to learn to use writing as a way of offering and supporting opinions, demonstrating understanding of the subjects they are studying, and conveying real and imagined experiences and events. Source: Competency Model and Provisional Learning Progressions

Three text types Argument Informational/Explanatory Narrative

Argument

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Shift #6: Build Academic Vocabulary Academic vocabulary – the language of power across all content areas Use vocabulary to express understanding of the content (not just memorize) Vocabulary: –Tier 1 - Everyday Words (implicit) –Tier 2 - Academic Vocabulary –Tier 3 - Domain Specific Words

Three tiers of words Tier 1– Basic, concrete, encountered in conversation/ oral vocabulary; words most student will know at a particular grade level ◦e.g., school, house, walk, eat, animal, road Tier 2–Abstract, general academic (across content areas); encountered in written language; high utility across instructional areas ◦e.g., consistent, expectation, observation, relative, accumulate Tier 3– Highly specialized, subject-specific; low occurrences in texts; lacking generalization ◦e.g., trapezoid, tonsillectomy, carburetor, lava Source: Oregon Dept. of Ed.

Why is “academic vocabulary” important? Are critical to understanding academic texts Appear in all sorts of texts and are highly generalizable Require deliberate effort to learn Are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech Often represent subtle or precise ways to say otherwise relatively simple things Are seldom heavily scaffolded by authors or teachers, unlike Tier 3 words Source: Oregon Dept of Ed

Math Common Core Shifts Math Common Core Shifts Dual Intensity Focus Coherence Application Deep Understanding Fluency

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Jigsaw Activity Materials: Literacy Shifts: 2 documents per shift Math Shifts: 1 document per shift Group assignment Task: 1.Read all materials, including the essential questions. 2.Through discussion and collaboration, identify key concepts. 3.Create a graphic organizer which includes these key concepts. 4.Present to the faculty.