1. Reading and Writing Standards:
Lessons and Strategies to Engage All Students in Grades 6-12
November 2, 2016
Presented by: The KVEC/ARI English/Language Arts: Professional Action Network
Carole
Welcome and Introductions
Ask participants to write down the website url…
Conducted by ARI Literacy Fellows:
Diedra Carpenter, Rachel Holbrook Ed.D.,
Rebecca King and Sonya Slone

2. Agreements for Learning
Be open to new ways of thinking about how to implement classroom instruction utilizing the Kentucky Academic Standards for English/Language Arts.
During group work be respectful of others’ opinions and points of view.
Don’t forget your e-manners (phones on silent, use of electronic devices, etc.).
Keep side conversations to a minimum.
Recognize that this is very important work and deserves
your full attention and commitment!
Carole
Review Information on Slide

3. Matching Lessons to Standards

4. Mapping the Standards: The Kentucky Marker Papers Project

5. What are the Kentucky Marker Papers?
How may teachers utilize the Marker Papers in the classroom?
What papers were added during the past year’s work?
How can I obtain a copy of the current Marker Papers set?
Read. It is a good idea to tell participants that they need a copy of a student sample to use during activities in this module.

6. What are the Kentucky Marker Papers?
The Kentucky Marker Papers, Grades P-12, offers teachers examples of competent student work at each grade level. Because competency in writing is developmental, it is important that teachers understand the skill progression of writing criteria. Therefore, these papers illustrate the progression of key writing skills in specific genres of writing. Each piece in the collection is annotated to show the skills that the writer has demonstrated in that sample of writing.
The marker papers represent end-of-the-year writing, the result of a year of effective writing instruction. For example, a year of effective writing instruction should move a student who shows ninth grade competency in writing to tenth grade competency by the end of the tenth grade year. Continuous progress and instruction are essential for these markers to be met.
The Kentucky Marker Papers may be used to help teachers and students understand skill continuous skill development in writing. Skills lists are included at the end of each genre of writing to help teachers identify characteristics of each genre and ideas for developing lessons.
The purpose of the MP document is to answer these two questions:
What is good writing supposed to look like at the grade levels I teach? And What lessons should I teach to enable my student to become proficient writers?
The MPs are examples of competency and illustrate the progression of key writing skills in specific categories of writing. Each piece is annotated to show the skills which the writer has demonstrated in that piece of writing. Included on each sample is a “Next Lessons” box. For each category of writing, the MPs include skills lists which provide teachers a list of skills to be taught for that particular category of writing.
The former set of MPs was released in KDE is has now finished Phase II of the MP project adding more samples and skills list.
Let’s look at some samples from the new MP set.

7. The Kentucky Marker Papers…
may be used to help teachers and students understand continuous skill development in writing
skills lists are included at the end of each genre of writing to help teachers identify characteristics of each genre and ideas for developing lessons
Look through the continuum of papers for a particular genre of writing (e.g., speeches). The continuum spans many grade levels so that teachers may identify the characteristics and “Next steps” for students as a way to individualize writing instruction.

8. The purpose of the MP document is to answer these two questions:
What is good (competent) writing supposed to look like at the grade levels I teach?
What lessons should I teach to enable my student to become proficient writers?
Read and discuss issues related to each of the two questions. Discuss how the marker papers could facilitate student learning. Have teachers identify the answers to these two questions based on the student sample he/she brought to the session. What characteristics of the student’s writing sample are strong? What would the teacher suggest the student work on? What lessons would the teacher need to use to help the student move to the next level?
Teachers should note that the questions above are the difficult questions about writing instruction. The Kentucky Marker Papers help teachers answer the question so they know specifically what to do.

9. How may teachers utilize the Marker Papers in the classroom?
Read.

10. The Kentucky Marker Papers
Skills Lists
Marker Papers
Unannotated
Annotated
Next Lessons
Identify the components of the MPs. A skills list offers teachers, literally, a list of skills that pertain to a particular type of writing (e.g., speeches, personal narratives). The skills lists are intended to help teachers identify particular lessons for instruction when working on a particular genre.
The unannotated papers may be used to have students or teachers respond to the writing or ask questions/annotate based upon the identified criteria.
The annotated papers help teachers identify where, within the continuum, particular skills are evident.
A “next lessons” section occurs at the bottom of the annotated copies from grades P-11 (with the intention that students have mastered the basic skills by grade 12).

11. Sequencing Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 6 Marker Paper Next Lessons
Look at the continuum of the specified genre. Notice how the skills build on each other from grade to grade.

12. In order to use these materials, you should:
Study the marker papers for a specific type of writing from the appropriate grade level (e.g., elementary teachers may look mostly to the P-4 range, middle school teachers may look mostly to the 5-8 range, and high school teachers may look mostly to the 9-12 range). Read the samples and annotations to notice how specific skills are demonstrated in each piece.
Locate the marker paper or papers that demonstrate the level of
writing at which students at your grade level should be performing.
Read one of your student’s pieces of writing to determine the skills that are evident in his/her writing.
Proceed through this process. Participants should use a sample of their students’ writing to complete this activity.
Find the marker paper or papers that demonstrate a level of skills similar to those of your student.
Determine the next lessons to teach in order to enable the student to move toward the goal for his/her grade level.

13. What papers were added during the past year’s work?

14. How can I obtain a copy of the current Marker Papers set?

15. Question Formulation Technique

16. The teacher is usually the person who asks the questions during a discussion. In a longitudinal study of elementary and secondary school classes, Dillon (1990) found that each student asks only one question(s) per month on average. Teachers must take deliberate steps to get their students to ask questions.
Carole
Ask participants to guess how often students ask questions.

17. Traditional Classroom
Teachers ask
Students answer
Teachers explain
Students take notes
Teachers create
Students complete
Instruction and inquiry flow almost entirely in one direction… From the teacher to the student
Carole
In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the center of attention, the owner of knowledge and information. Teachers often ask questions of their students to gauge comprehension, but it’s a passive model that relies on students to absorb information they need to reproduce on tests.
What do you think? Is the basic flow of education? Discuss with a partner…
We need to strive for a more balanced questioning diet, one that welcomes more questions from students

18. Question Focus (Q-Focus)
A Question Focus IS a simple statement, a visual or aural aid to help students generate questions
Created from curriculum content
Brief
Stimulates a new line of thinking
A Q-Focus is NOT
A question
Carole
Handout on website to guide you through process of developing a Q-Focus
The Question Focus (QFocus) is a prompt presented in the form of a statement, visual/audio aid, short text, etc. The QFocus attracts students’ attention and stimulates the formation of questions.

19. Four Rules for Producing Questions
Ask as many questions as you can.
Do not stop to answer, judge, or discuss. (silence)
Write down every question exactly as it was stated.
Change any statements into questions.
Carole
Reference the QFT 101 Handout

20. For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

21. Categorizing Questions: Closed/Open
Definitions:
Closed-ended questions can be answered with a “yes” or “no” or with a one-word answer.
Open-ended questions require more explanation.
Directions: Identify your questions as closed-ended or open-ended by marking them with a “C” or an “O”.
Carole
Follow directions on slide and “Improve Your Questions” on QFT handout

22. Change Closed to Open -Ended Questions (Divergent Thinking)
Directions: Take one closed-ended question and change it into an open- ended question
CLOSED-ENDED
OPEN-ENDED
Carole
Follow directions on slide and “Improve Your Questions” on QFT handout

23. Change Open to Closed -Ended Questions (Convergent Thinking)
Directions: Take one open-ended question and change it into an closed- ended question
OPEN-ENDED
CLOSED-ENDED
Carole
Follow directions on slide and “Improve Your Questions” on QFT handout

24. Prioritizing Questions
Review your list of questions
Choose the three questions you consider most important
While prioritizing, think about your Q-Focus:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Carole
Follow directions on slide and “Prioritize Your Questions” on QFT handout

25. REFLECTION
Why did you choose those three questions as the most important?
Where are your priority questions in the sequence of your entire list of questions?
Carole
Follow directions on slide and “Prioritize Your Questions” on QFT 101 handout
Kim will share how she used QFT with her students and how student generated questions were organized and implemented
Reflections can be focused on what the students learned, how the students felt about the process, or how the students' behavior might change as a result of this process.

26. KVEC/ARI ELA Professional Action Network Follow-Up Sessions
November 17, 2016
Grades 6-12
Jenny Wiley State Park
Convention Center
November 18, 2016
Grades K-6
Jenny Wiley State Park
Convention Center

27. Contact Information
Carole Mullins, KVEC Literacy Instructional Specialist
Diedra Carpenter, ARI Literacy Fellow, Magoffin County, Herald Whitaker Middle School Curriculum Coach
Rebecca King, NBCT, ARI Literacy Fellow, Pikeville Independent High School 11th and 12th grade AP Language & AP Literature
Sonya Slone, NBCT, ARI Literacy Fellow, Allen Central High School 10th- 12th English
Rachel Holbrook, Ed.D., NBCT, ARI Literacy Fellow, Johnson County Schools Technology Integration Specialist & Johnson County Middle School Language Arts
Carole