WELCOME Washington State Puget Sound ELA Fellows Convening #1 / October 27, 2015 / 9:00-3:00pm

Welcome Dr. Marion Smith, Jr. Director, Learning and Innovation Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) Aira Jackson Director, English Language Arts Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

Setting the Stage “ Imagine that upon your arrival at an airline ticket counter, you are told that only 65 percent of the flights to your intended destination actually even arrive. The remainder crash en route. And, if you are a child of color, or poor, you are required to fly on special, poorly Maintained planes—of which only 35 percent make it. Sounds crazy, right? But this is exactly the deal that, as a nation, we are serving up daily to millions of children in thousands of our public schools.” from Crash Course by Chris Whittle

How am I working to interrupt the pattern?

Agenda

Targets ELA Strand Calibrate a shared understanding of close reading Expand knowledge of writing text dependent questions Enhance understanding of drawing evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis and reflection Leadership Strand Form a community of learners focused on equity Identify and understand personal leadership skills to build adult capacity Understand the elements of the Action Plan and outline a plan for creation and implementation

Silent Circle Activity Form a circle Listen to various statements If the statement represents you raise your hand Notice who else raises their hand

Quick Chat: Think-Pair-Share Why might it be important to “start from a place of same?” As you think about your context, what systems and/or structures are maintained by Academic Language? As we continue to implement CCSS-ELA, what conversation(s) and/or work is or is not happening in your school / district to attend to the needs of all voices?

Introductions Individual introductions: name, role, schools / school district Share an idea from your Think-Pair-Share conversation

Community Agreements Stay engaged Speak your truth Have a learners stance Experience discomfort Intent vs. impact

Through line to Student Learning ESD District + School Leaders TeachersStudents

Grounding Our Work 1.Alignment 2.Personal Accountability 3.Collective Responsibility 4.Elevating Content Knowledge 5.Instructional Leadership

Larger Context Advocate and Systematize Collaborate and Implement Leadership of Self Leadership of Others Leadership in the Extended Community

Purpose On-going, Job-Embedded Professional Development Learning together De-privatize our practice and take risks in order to facilitate high quality, equitable ELA instruction Building skills around Best Practices / Research-Based Practices in ELA Build Leadership Capacity in School, Districts and Among Colleagues Intentional focus on instructional leadership Increase evidence of implementation and professional development in support of CCSS/WSLS at regional, district and state levels Leadership in the Extended Community Providing feedback to the state-wide system Supporting collegial capacity for all of Washington’s schools

Fellows and District Commitments Collaborate throughout the year with district leadership and/or school principal to discuss, create and document the ongoing District Fellow Action Plan. Implement learning from the Fellows meetings within your own instructional practice and in supporting teachers in Washington State Learning Standards (CCSS or NGSS) implementation. Submit completed District Fellow Plan to your Regional Coordinator at the end of the year. Attend and participate in a minimum of four regional Fellows Convenings

Content Focus English Language Arts: – ELA fellows will grow their instructional practice in the area of writing, specifically with drawing evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis and reflection. Math: – Math fellows will work on supporting productive struggle in learning mathematics and facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse. Science: – Science fellows will work to develop a vision of what 3- dimensional teaching and learning looks like in their building/districts.

Lessons from the Field? Share out from returning Fellows What types of support were you able to provide to your school or district because of your involvement as a Fellow? What types of learning formats have you used to share information? Professional Development trainings, PLCs, team meetings, etc…

Fundamental of Learning Activity Making Meaning Participating and Contributing Managing Learning

Instructional Leadership Our work will be anchored in the Fundamentals of Learning by Margaret Heritage and the WestEd Team. FoL Text  Making Meaning  Thinking critically, creatively and meta-cognitively  Connecting Prior Knowledge to New Learning  Using language, symbols and texts  Participating and Learning  Engaging with Others in Learning  Communication Ideas, Feelings, and Perspectives  Relating to Other People’s Ideas, Feelings and Experiences  Managing Learning  Taking personal responsibility for learning  Adapting learning tactics  Persevering with challenges

Where I Fit In? Core Work as a WA State Fellow: – To elevate educator practice through the development of courageous teacher-leadership and transformational teaching for learning resulting in improved student achievement.

How can we work together to provide equitable access to ELA learning opportunities for all students??

Shift Thinking Where we go depends on what we see. Where we go depends on what we choose to see.

Blue Green Please state the color of the text Black Red Green Blue Black Blue Black Red Green Red Black

Awareness Test

What does this have to do with our work? It’s “easy” to miss something you’re not looking for. We focus on (and make-meaning) based on what has or has not been “called-out” Our implicit and explicit ways of thinking shape our practices and views about students The opportunity gaps between White students and students of color continue to widen Leading with racial equity and engaging in these critical conversations is THE WORK if we are coaching and supporting others in shifting instructional practices

Environmental Scan When I think about being an ELA Fellow, and the realities of my school / district, what do I see as immediate challenges or barriers?

Break

Content Strand Exploring the Neglected “R”- Close Reading and Writing

Activating Prior Knowledge: Three ELA Instructional Shifts 1.Building content knowledge through content-rich nonfiction 1.Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text both literary and informational. 2.Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Three Shift Review A check for understanding with your peers: What did you do to share the shifts in your building? How have you changed your instructional practice? How do you plan to use this knowledge to shape your future work? Any suggestions for the group?

Document Carousel & Sharing Comprehensive Literacy Plan (CLP) Strengthening Student Outcomes - Menu of Best Practices English Language Proficiency Document Claims and Reasoning Documents Appendix A & Appendix B THSS Documents

2015 Regional Report Card

SBAC Data Share What does your district data show you about student performance in ELA? What trends do you notice in regards to reading? Does this align with your thinking? How does your district’s data compare to the regional data? What questions do you have?

Focused CLAIMS Claim #1 – Reading “Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts.” Claim #2 – Writing “Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and audiences.”

Close Reading How has your understanding of close reading impacted your instructional practice?

Funnel Strategy: Introduction to the Passage Read the article silently. Then apply Funnel Strategy. Go back and underline the sentence that stood out the most for you. Circle the most important phrase in the sentence. Draw a square around the most important word in the sentence. Discuss at tables. Be prepared to share out with the group.

Video Getting Ready to Write: Citing Textual Evidence

Video Response How does each part of the lesson prepare students for writing? What skills do students develop in the lesson? How do the scaffolds Ms. Norris puts in place be taken away as the students gain fluency?

What are “text-dependent” questions? 1)Questions which point to the most salient aspects of the text. 2) At higher levels of the taxonomy 3) Powerful questions that drive the CCSS in the classroom. 44

Text-Dependent Questions… can only be answered with evidence from the text. Should not require background knowledge. can be literal (checking for understanding) but must also involve analysis, synthesis, evaluation. focus on word, sentence, and paragraph, as well as larger ideas, themes, or events. focus on difficult portions of text in order to enhance reading proficiency. can also include prompts for writing and discussion questions.

Text-Dependent Questions are not… 1) Low-level, literal, or recall questions 2) Focused on comprehension strategies 3) Just questions 46

Non-Examples and Examples 47 In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote? What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous? What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received? “The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech? Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent

Creating Text-Dependent Questions Step One Identify the core understandings and key ideas of the text. Step TwoStart small to build confidence. Step Three Target vocabulary and text structure. Step Four Tackle tough selections head-on. Step FiveCreate coherent sequences of text- dependent questions. Step SixIdentify the standards that are being addressed. Step Seven Create the culminating assessment.

Text-Dependent Questions When you're writing or reviewing a set of questions, consider the following four categories: 1. Questions that assess themes and central ideas 2. Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary 3. Questions that assess syntax 4. Questions that assess structure 49

Practice Using the article, “Ignoring Background Noise Makes for Better Readers” in pairs, create 2 text dependent questions for each of the four types of questions. Example: Central Idea or Theme: What is the author’s central idea in this text? Use evidence from the text to support your answer? Vocabulary: Structure: Syntax:

3-11 Grade Appropriate / Brief Write Using the questions generated partners trade questions and do a brief write to answer each of the questions. Using the Rubric from the THSS score the first question on central idea or theme. Share and discuss the other questions

Formative Assessment

Lunch Break

Instructional Leadership Our work will be anchored in the Fundamentals of Learning by Margaret Heritage and the WestEd Team. FoL Text  Making Meaning  Thinking critically, creatively and meta-cognitively  Connecting Prior Knowledge to New Learning  Using language, symbols and texts  Participating and Learning  Engaging with Others in Learning  Communication Ideas, Feelings, and Perspectives  Relating to Other People’s Ideas, Feelings and Experiences  Managing Learning  Taking personal responsibility for learning  Adapting learning tactics  Persevering with challenges

Leadership Strand

Self-Assessment

Sphere of Influence Article – “Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders” While reading the article note in the margin where you could make an impact in your school or district

Change? Perspective #1 Perspective #2

Actualizing Dreams The world is full of people who have dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, of running a marathon, and of owning their own business. The difference between the people who make it across the finish line and everyone else is one simple thing: and action plan (John Tesh).

CSTP Teacher Leadership Framework Leadership of Self Working with Adult Learners Communication Collaboration Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy Systems Thinking

Exploring the Framework Please divide up your table of 5 so that each of you is responsible for learning in more depth about one of the components of the framework Working with Adult Learners Communication Collaboration Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy Systems Thinking

Exploring the Framework Step 1: Each table will send one person to each poster Step 2: At the poster, your group will discuss what the skills described at that poster look and sound like in context with leading ELA work Step 3: At the poster, your group will write a brief vignette that captures those skills Step 4: Return to your table for a share out

Move to “your” poster You have 10 minutes to complete steps 2 & 3: Step 2: At the poster, your group will discuss what the skills described at that poster look and sound like Step 3: At the poster, your group will write a brief vignette that captures those skills

Table Talk For each set of skills: 1. Describe to your group what they might look and sound like (and maybe provide non- examples) 2. Read your vignette to your group and discuss

3-2-1 Reflection On a notecard please refer to the framework to list: – 3 specific strengths you bring to this work – 2 specific areas in which you will need to push your practice – 1 question you may have about next steps

Action Plan: Getting Real What skills do you need? When and how will you talk with your principal/ supervisor? What barriers/obstacles might there be? How will you overcome them? What can you leverage in your conversation? Success

Questions, Comments or Suggestions

Break

Work Session

Hope ≠ Plan What do you hope to accomplish? Who do you hope to support? What are your hopes and dreams? * “Hope” is not a strategy; we need a clear and compelling vision with a plan! *

Observing the Fellows Plan

Action Plan: Part A 3 Step Process

Action Plan: Part B

Next Steps 1.Meet with Admin and complete Action Plan: Parts A and B 2. Read What Works in Writing Instruction: Research and Practices (Dean, 2010) 3. Part II: Coaching Along the Continuum (Hall & Simeral, 2008)

Question(s): What are you thinking about Next Steps to move this work forward? What additional resources may you need?

Final Word Every Kid Needs a Champion

AESD Participant Survey ELA Participant Survey