1. Writing the Arts Access Points
May 26, 2010
Welcome & Virtual Housekeeping
Introductions
Online tools and resources
June 2, 2010
A Brief History of the Project
A Brief History of the SSS Revision
Overview of Browder/Flowers Model
Terminology Resources
Strategies for Getting It Done
Writing Teams

2. Virtual Housekeeping Online protocol and etiquette
Turn off radios, cell phones, etc.
Post "Meeting in Session" notice
Use real name to sign in
Use headsets rather than speakers
Turn off microphone except when speaking
Webcam (optional)
Use appropriate language and respect for all
One person speaks at a time
Wait for planned question times or use the chat box to post a question or comment
Refrain from web-surfing during meeting

3. What’s My Line?
CLASP Staff
Bennett Buckles Gina Horton Debbie Bass

4. Long Story Short … Name School/District
Interest & Experience in the Arts
Experience with SwSCD
Briefly, what is your experience with Access Points?

5. “Access to the Arts” Wiki
Initial worksite
Project will an invitation to join the “Access to the Arts” wiki space.
Accept the invitation and follow the directions to join
User Name: first_last
Password
address

6. “Florida Framers” Wiki
Background information & resources
Project will an invitation to join the “Florida Framers” wiki space.
Accept the invitation and follow the directions to join
User Name: first_last
Password
address

7. Calendar Next meeting – June 2, 2010 Future meetings?
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
Future meetings?
Preferences/Availablilty will be surveyed through MeetingWizard.com

8. A Brief History of the Project
IDEA ‘97 emphasizes the importance of access to general curriculum for ALL students with disabilities.
Access is provided through meaningful instruction and engagement.
Other educational needs are important.
Access must be insured.

9. A Brief History of the Project
NCLB focuses on high expectations for ALL students.
ALL students are assessed and progress is reported.
Expectations are specified for each grade level.
Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may use alternate assessment.

10. A Brief History of the Project
2005 – Stakeholder’s Meeting
SSS adoptions with Access Points:
2007 – Language Arts
2007/ Mathematics
2008 – Science, Social Studies, Health, P.E.

11. A Brief History of the NGSSS Revisions
  Sunshine State Standards.--
(1)  Public K-12 educational instruction in Florida is based on the "Sunshine State Standards." The State Board of Education shall review the Sunshine State Standards and replace them with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards that establish the core content of the curricula to be taught in this state and that specify the core content knowledge and skills that K-12 public school students are expected to acquire. The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards must, at a minimum:
(b)  Establish the core curricular content for visual and performing arts, physical education, health, and foreign languages. Standards for these subjects must establish specific curricular content and include distinct grade level expectations for the core content knowledge and skills that a student is expected to have acquired by each individual grade level from kindergarten through grade 5. The standards for grades 6 through 12 may be organized by grade clusters of more than one grade level.

12. A Brief History of the NGSSS Revisions
  Sunshine State Standards.– (con’t)
(c)  Identify the core curricular content that a student is expected to learn for each subject at each individual grade level in order to acquire the broad background knowledge needed for reading comprehension.
(d)  Be rigorous and relevant and provide for the logical, sequential progression of core curricular content that incrementally increases a student's core content knowledge and skills over time.
(e)  Integrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills; communication, reading, and writing skills; mathematics skills; collaboration skills; contextual and applied-learning skills; technology-literacy skills; information and media-literacy skills; and civic-engagement skills.
(f)  Be organized according to a uniform structure and format that is consistent for each subject. The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards shall, for each subject and grade level, use the same alphanumeric coding system.
(g)  Be aligned to expectations for success in postsecondary education and high-skill, high-wage employment.

13. A Brief History of the Arts NGSSS Revisions
8 “Big Ideas”
Skills, Techniques, and Processes
Structural Organization
Active Engagement
Cognition and Communication
Historical, Global, and Future Connections
Aesthetic and Critical Reflection
Arts and the Economy
Relationships Across Academic Content Areas
2-4 “Enduring Understandings” for each “Big Idea”

14. A Brief History of the Arts NGSSS Revisions
Each Enduring Understanding has Benchmarks written for each grade K through 5 and grade clusters 6-8 and 9-12.
Each Enduring Understanding will have an “Essence Statement” for 3 complexity levels
In - Independent
Su - Supported
Pa - Participatory

15. A Brief History of the Arts NGSSS Revisions
Each “Essence Statement” will have one or more “Access Points” per grade level/cluster for each complexity level
In - Independent
Su - Supported
Pa – Participatory

16. Levels of Complexity (a depth of knowledge continuum)
Based on Cognitive Ability/Disability ONLY!
DO NOT consider physical or communication limitations!
In Su Pa
Independent Supported Participatory
More Complex Less Complex

17. (A side note)
Always consider assistive technology/augmentative communication needs first – before considering a modified curriculum.
This helps tease out the confusion between cognitive and physical/communication limitations.

18. UNC – Browder/Flowers Model
Abridged for the purpose of orienting writers to the criteria for aligning Access Points to General Education
“Enduring Understandings” and benchmarks.

19. Our (Browder/Flowers) Proposed Definition for Alternate Achievement
Definition of the Concept: Linking to Grade Level Content with Alternate Achievement
To be linked to grade level standards, the target for achievement must be academic content (e.g., reading, math, science, art) that is referenced to the student’s assigned grade based on chronological age.

20. Our Proposed Definition (cont)
Functional activities and materials may be used to promote understanding, but the target skills for student achievement are academically-focused.
Some prioritization of the content will occur in setting this expectation, but it should reflect the major domains of the curricular area (e.g., strands of math, “Big Ideas” of the arts) and have fidelity with this content and how it is typically taught in general education.

21. Our Proposed Definition (cont)
The alternate expectation for achievement may focus on prerequisite skills or some partial attainment of the grade level, but students should still have the opportunity to meet high expectations, to demonstrate a range of depth of knowledge, to achieve within their symbolic level, and to show growth across grade levels or grade bands.

22. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
Content is academic
Is it READING, MATH, SCIENCE, ART, etc.

23. Findings Mixed: Some states had strong alignment to academic content; some weak alignment
Examples from strongly aligned states
Math
•Compare volumes of more and less
•Use strategies such as counting, measuring, to determine possible outcomes in problem solving
Reading
•Answer questions related to story
•Identify pattern in familiar story
Examples from weakly aligned states
Math
•Replace rollers in beauty parlor
•Measure growth of fingernails
Reading
•Show anticipation on roller coaster
•Attend to visual stimuli

24. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
2. Referenced to student’s grade level
Not to an artificially referenced grade level equivalent. (e.g., a Pa level student will function at a Pre-K/K level by grade 12)
So, you have to look at the grade level benchmark and ask yourself, “How will a Pa level student participate in this Enduring Understanding?” and not, ”What does this mean for a student functioning at a Pre-K/K level.”

25. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
3. Achievement differs from grade level achievement Is the access point different in complexity from the benchmark? 4. Some differentiation in achievement across grades / grade bands Meaning, scaffolding exists

26. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
5. Promotes access to activities, materials, settings of general education What will the student be doing (learning) and what materials will the student be using if sitting in GE classroom?

27. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
6. Content and performance centrality Content = “Is it reading, math, art, etc.” Performance = “Is the action the same?” or Is the verb the same? (e.g., GE = “Student demonstrates”, AP = “Student Recognizes”)

28. Brief Summary of 7 Criteria
7. Multiple levels of access to general curriculum We have this one covered! Independent, Supported, Participatory

29. One More – Number 8 8. Relevance
Will this Access Point be meaningful to the student?
What’s the rationale for learning this skill?

30. Some Do’s and Don’t’s to correctly align Access Points
Write to the “essence” of the standard or benchmark
Write the skill or knowledge the student is expected to demonstrate
Write using clear and understandable language and syntax
Differentiate across grade levels

31. Some Do’s and Don’t’s to correctly align Access Points
Do not reference the mode of response in the Access Point (e.g., will use gestures/signs/pictures/words to ...)
Do not write Access Points as “activities.” (e.g., “write a description of a literature selection that identifies characters...”
Do not reference skill or knowledge to “daily routine” or “classroom activity.”
Do not obsess over every word in your Access Point.

32. Some Do’s and Don’t’s to correctly align Access Points
Do not use “e.g.,” in the Access Points themselves. Write “Remark” or “Example” followed by your comments for clarification.
Avoid
Including multiple skills in a single Access Point (e.g., “identify the meaning of words that show spatial and temporal relationships – e.g., up/down, before/after.”)
(This will not always be possible if Gen Ed includes multiple skills.)

33. Terminology Resources
Webb’s Taxonomy and Related Verbs
Webb’s Change in Content across Grades
Verb Definitions
Distinction between “Recognize” and “Identify”

34. Strategies for Getting It Done!
We have tried numerous approaches. The one that definitely does not work is writing one complexity level separately from the others (e.g., writing the Pa level separately from the In and Su levels.) Teams need to write all 3 levels at the same time.

35. Strategies for Getting It Done!
It is advisable that the full writing team work together to develop access points at least until you all feel comfortable with the process and each other.
You may decide to break into smaller groups to develop drafts to be shared with the whole group at a later time.

36. Strategies for Getting It Done!
You may want to assign a limited number of “Enduring Understandings” for individuals to work on if they have time between this meeting and the next one. Writers then bring them in as a draft to be reviewed and revised by the team.

37. Team Assignments