District 6 Improving Academic Achievement Systemically April 20, 2005

Outcomes for Today Introduce new administrative assignments in District 6. Share API progress for District 6 schools from the base year, to Read a portion of Wong-Fillmore Snow article on “What Teachers Need to Know about Written Language.

Outcomes for Today Continue with the curriculum cycle of writing (Gibbons, Ch. 4) using history/social science at elementary and language arts at secondary as the demonstration content areas. Using site examples of elementary math journals and secondary math charts to explore Gibbons’ idea of moving from speaking to writing. (Chapter 3) Discuss Operations matters.

District 6 Academic Performance Index State RankBase

Base Base Base Base Base Base District 6 Historical API -- Elementary

Base Base Base Base Base Base District 6 Historical API -- Secondary

School Rankings State Rank 2000 Base 2001 Base 2002 Base 2003 Base 2004 Base District 6 Academic Performance Index Comparisons 2000 to

IncreasedStayed the sameDecreased

District 6 Administrators’ Academy L2 Content Reading Gibbons Using Gibbons March 16, 2005 Writing: Building academic language through a four- stage writing cycle Gibbons, Ch 4 1.Building the Field 2.Modeling the Text 3.Joint Construction 4.Independent Writing Designing opportunities to develop writing using History/ Social Science within a productive group work format

District 6 Administrators’ Academy L2 Content Reading Gibbons Using Gibbons April 20, 2005 Writing: Building academic language through a four- stage writing cycle Gibbons, Ch 4 1.Building the Field 2.Modeling the Text 3.Joint Construction 4.Independent Writing Deepening opportunities to develop writing using History/ Social Science and language arts within a productive group work format

Teacher-Guided Reporting Develops Academic Language. From Chapter 2 Ask an open-ended question. SLOW DOWN the dialogue. –Add wait time –Allow more turns Respond to meaning. From Chapter 3 “Lead from behind.” Push learner language. Recast and support.

Effective and Less Effective Writers (Gibbons, p. 52) Effective Plan before they begin to write Continually revise and edit Anticipate reader problems Are aware of linguistic differences between speaking and writing Know how to organize their ideas and writing as a whole Less Effective Tend not to plan before writing Have difficulty in revising and editing. Less able to anticipate reader problems. Write as though they were speaking. Focus on mechanics and grammar

Gibbons, Chapter 4 (p. 58) “Writing in a Second Language” “{ELL} learners are less likely to be familiar with the particular organizational structure of different kinds of writing, and with the grammatical structures of English.” –A specific purpose –A particular overall structure –Connectives –Specific linguistic features Relates to cultural relevance (Delpit)

So teach explicitly!! (p. 60) DON’T Teach traditional grammar. Conduct meaningless drills and exercises. Separate listening, speaking, reading, and writing into fragments. DO Reflect on how language is used. Look at purpose and audience. Encourage real-life use.

Gibbons Curriculum Cycle (pp ) Stage 1 (pp ) Building the Field Stage 2 (pp ) Modeling the Text Type Stage 3 (pp ) Joint Construction Stage 4 (p. 67) Independent Writing

D6 Modification of the Curriculum Cycle (pp ) Stage 1 (pp ) Building the Field Stage 2 (pp ) Modeling the Text Type Stage 3 (pp ) Joint Construction Stage 4 (p. 67) Independent Writing Modeled Writing

District 6 ¡Adelante! Onward!