1. CCRS Quarterly Meeting # 2 English Language Arts Grades 6-12

2. A Word from Dr. Bice
eeting.mp4

3. Outcomes Participants will
Explore the Reading/Writing connection in the ELA standards.
Have participants read the outcomes. Remind them that last time they took an exemplary lesson apart using the rubric. This time they will be asked to take a regular lesson apart to determine what might be missing and then reconstruct the lesson using their own ideas.

4. Did you know?
“Of all the instructional approaches to connecting reading and writing studied so far, writing about text has been the most successful as an avenue to improving reading achievement, and such integrated approaches have been valuable in stimulating higher quality writing outcomes too.”
Dr. Timothy Shanahan, University of Illinois at Chicago
Talk to someone about this statement. What makes it different from what you may have heard in the past?
Last time we talked about speaking and listening and its connection to reading, how does s & l tie into reading and writing?
Facilitator notes:
The reading/writing connection is assessed through the ACT so we must give students plenty of practice. ASPIRE will also include constructed responses.

5. “…writing is treated as an equal partner to reading, and more than this, writing is assumed to be the vehicle through which a great deal of the reading work and assessments will occur.”
Pathways to the Common Core, pg. 102
Read this statement as it relates to our new standards and the emphasis that is placed on students becoming more proficient in writing.
Share your thoughts with a partner.

6. Closely Read the Anchor Standards
First read: look for key ideas and details. Second read: look for evidence of how the reading and writing standards support one another. Third read: look for applications and connections you will want students to make.
Handout # 1 –anchor standards one pager
Facilitator notes:
Remind participants that the anchor standards are what they want their students to be able to do when they graduate. These are not their grade level standards. However, it is important to look at these to understand where we want students to go. They are NOT a separate set of standards.
First read: What key ideas and details did you pull out of the standards?
Second read: How do the reading and writing standards support one another?
Third read: What does this look like in your classroom? What will your students need to know and be able to do as you work toward these anchor standards?

7. What’s new with CCRS?
PREVIOUSLY
NOW
Students wrote periodically
Now students must write routinely
Let participants discuss.
Facilitators:
The next slide shows the shifts in writing. After participants have talked about the changes they see, move to the next slide.
So, what is another change you see in the writing standards?

8. What is the instructional shift in writing?
Increased emphasis on
Analysis of individual texts
Argument and evidence
Informative/explanatory writing
Frequent short, focused research projects
Comparison and synthesis of multiple sources
Decreased emphasis on
Narrative, especially personal narrative
Writing in response to decontextualized prompts
Explain that one of the instructional shifts required by the Common Core State Standards will be a shift toward more class time and student writing being devoted to argument and informative writing that derives its content from texts, both in ELA as well as the content areas. This includes analyses of individual texts as well as research projects.
This is balanced by a corresponding decrease in the class time and student writing being devoted to narrative writing, especially the personal narrative, as well as writing in response to decontextualized prompts.
For instance, the facilitator might say,
“One of the significant shifts in implementing the CCSS will be in the proportion of class time and student writing being devoted to various types of writing in ELA as well as the content areas. The CCSS increasingly emphasizes argument and informative writing over narrative writing as students progress through the grades. Further, it emphasizes the type of argument and informative writing that is tied closely to texts, deriving its content from the texts. Logical arguments are supported with evidence from texts; explanations are developed with evidence from texts.
This is balanced by a decrease, as students progress through the grades, in the amount of time spent writing narratives, especially personal narratives – such as the familiar ‘Write about a time you experienced ….’ It also de-emphasizes the use of decontextualized prompts that require no reference to texts – prompts such as ‘Explain your concept of what makes a hero,’ or “What does freedom mean to you?’”

9. RESOURCES: Reading/writing aids
10 minutes
Handout # 8: Reading/Writing Aids
Direct participants attention to the importance of graphic organizers that do more than just organize.
Show participants the Make Sense Strategies if there is time, especially the process writing piece.

10. TIPS FOR THE SHIFTS IN WRITING
Make argument and informational writing a bigger part of your curriculum.
Use authentic writing prompts.
Write routinely and assign a mix of short and long research projects.
Teach students to be aware of audience and adjust language accordingly.
Consider enquiry, problem and project-based learning as realistic 21st Century ways to teach research and writing.
Have students use technology to produce and publish writing
Teach argument, not persuasion
Teach language through writing
Make writing collaborative.
Eye on Education: Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans; Fisher and Frey: English Language Arts in a PLC at Work
Facilitators: Only discuss if you have additional time, if not, just give them the tips sheet.
Handout: Tips for the Shifts in Writing
In middle and high school standards, there is a decreased emphasis on narrative writing.
Authentic prompts involve topics and issues that students might face in their communities or see in the world around them. The best Authentic prompts are generated by what the students are reading and applying that reading to their lives. Authentic prompts will motivate students because they see the real-life purpose of the assignment. Also use authentic audiences, and submit students’ works to those audiences; don’t have students write just “for the teacher.”
The key word for writing now is “routinely-writing should not be done only occasionally, but rather daily and for extended periods of time in order to increase volume ((English Language Arts in a PLC at Work. Fisher and Frey)
They need to understand when to write in a more formal or less formal style
The caution is to make sure that what students are doing is relevant and meets the outcomes
Think of innovative ways that students can produce and publish writing on blogs, wikis and use other online tools so real audiences can read their work
A logical argument convinces the audience because of the perceived merit and reasonableness of the claims and proofs offered rather than either the emotions the writing evokes in the audience or the character or credentials of the writer (common core state standards p. 24).
Persuasive writing appeals to an audiences emotions. Argument, on the other hand, appeals to logic and reason, consists of a thesis/claim and supporting evidence and is usually written in a more formal style. It is a crucial kind of writing to learn for college and careers.
Sentence combining, vivid adjectives, punctuation, etc. can all be taught through the writing and will help make the writing more complex

11. identifying Next Steps
Add writing to a lesson plan that already includes reading, listening and speaking components. Bring back student samples