1. Common Core Literacy Standards in all Content Areas
Amanda Bradford
GCSC, Literacy Coach

2. Agenda
6 Common Core shifts in English Language Arts (10 min)- Purple Page
Integrating the ELA CCSS into the Content Areas (5 min)-Pink Tab
Classroom CCSS/PARCC based tasks, Examples and planning template (6 min)-Tabs(b,g,y,o)
Introduction and example of quarterly and assignment specific standards mastery checklist (6 min)-Pink, green, yellow pages
INCCSS ELA resources for teachers (3 min)

3. Common Core in ELA/Literacy
6 Shifts
(purple sheet)
Common Core in ELA/Literacy

4. PK-5 Balancing Informational & Literary Text
Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 1
PK-5 Balancing Informational
& Literary Text

5. PK-5 Balancing Informational & Literary Text
Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts.
Students can access the world- science, social studies, the arts, and literature – through text.
At least 50% of what students read is informational. (K-5)
At the 6-12 level a majority of text is informational.

6. 6-12 Building Knowledge in the Disciplines
Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 2
6-12 Building Knowledge
in the Disciplines

7. Disciplinary Literacy
Content area teachers outside the ELA classroom emphasize literacy experiences in their planning and instruction.
Students learn through domain-specific texts in science & social studies classrooms
Rather than referring to the text, students are expected to learn from what they read in the text
Points to Consider:
Disciplinary literacy does not mean the content teacher is teaching students “how-to” read, but rather how to “read” in a subject specific manner
Developing disciplinary literacy allows teachers to help students deepen their understanding of critical concepts as they engage with content specific texts in ways that mimic how a content person would gather information (i.e. how to think like a historian, or scientist, or mathematician)

8. Defining Disciplinary Literacy
To have disciplinary literacy is to know the essential language and processes of a particular discipline (i.e. geometry)
To be literate in a particular discipline means one can function according to the discourse frames of that discipline
To be literate in a discipline means one actively engages in the skills germane to a particular discipline, thereby producing high levels of success (i.e. geometry)
Points to Consider:
Each discipline (subject) contains language students need in order to become literate. Building students’ knowledge and understanding of critical language – beyond defining words allows them to begin growing in their knowledge and understanding of the discipline
Being able to understand how a discipline operates (i.e. important rules, patterns, processes, etc.) provides learners with a level of understanding, which will enable them to attain competency in the discipline
Once learners begin to understand the language of the discipline and how it operates, they can enhance their ability to take part in the activities that move towards proficiency and mastery

9. Why it Matters? Literacy is deeper than reading and writing
Content areas require students to engage with multiple texts in varying ways
The needs of diverse populations require expanded understandings of the scope of literacy
There are multiple ways by which a person can be literate
Different disciplines require different literacy actions
Points to Consider:
There are baseline literacy structures; however, there are ways of interacting with texts that may vary between disciplines
Learners need to understand how domain-specific texts operate and what is necessary to access these texts in order to gain meaning
Developing disciplinary literacy prepares learners to encounter a variety of texts using the appropriate skills to gain deep understanding

10. Points to ponder…
What is the role of content area teachers in advancing students’ literacy?
How will content area teachers engage students with text in their instruction?
What is meant by “You can’t effectively teach a subject unless you become a literacy teacher?” What are your thoughts about this statement?
Points to Consider:
Participants should choose 1 question on which to focus and be ready to discuss after viewing the video clip.
They should complete the Cornell Notes organizer answering their focal question

11. DL & the Common Core

12. Implications for the Common Core
“Everyone has a role in advancing students’ literacy.”
“You can’t effectively teach a subject unless you become a literacy teacher”
“Rather than referring to the text, students are expected to learn from what they read.”

13. Key Points for Understanding
Disciplinary literacy involves the use of reading , reasoning, investigating, speaking, and writing required to learn and form complex content knowledge appropriate to a particular discipline (McConachie 2002).
Requires educators to be able to know and name the thinking frames specific to the kinds of work in their discipline
There are generic forms of literacy which can be generalized to all disciplines; however, there are also those literacy skills specific to discipline

14. Staircase of Complexity
Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 3
Staircase of Complexity

15. Staircase of Complexity
Each grade level requires a “step” of growth on the “staircase”
Instruction is centered around grade appropriate texts
Close and careful reading is required
Scaffolding provided for below grade level readers

16. Text Complexity
Three Part Model

17. Measures of Text Complexity
Quantitative measures or readability formulas as proxies for semantic and syntactic complexity:
Word length: word frequency/familiarity
Sentence length and text length
Qualitative measures complement and sometimes correct quantitative measures:
Purpose
Language conventionality and clarity
Text structures
Knowledge demands

18. Lexile Adjustment

19. Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 4
Text-Based Answers

20. Text-Based Answers
Students have rich and rigorous conversations which are dependent on a common text. Teachers insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text on the page and that students develop habits for making evidentiary arguments both in conversation, as well as in writing to assess comprehension of a text.

21. Student Actions
Rich and rigorous conversations which are dependent on a common text
Make evidentiary arguments both in conversation, as well as in writing

22. Insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text
Teacher Actions
Insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text
Use evidentiary arguments to assess comprehension of a text

23. Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 5
Writing from Sources

24. Writing from Sources
Emphasize use of evidence to inform or make an argument rather than the personal narrative and other fictional writing
Narrative still has a role but students skills develop through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments
presented in the text they read

25. Common Core
ELA/Literacy
Shift 6
Academic Vocabulary

26. Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Students constantly build the vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts.
Focus strategically on comprehension of pivotal and commonly found words (“discourse,” “generation,” and “theory”) and less on literary terms (“onomatopoeia” or “homonym”).
Students are able to access more complex texts across content areas.

27. (retrieved August 23, 2011) features the following panelists:
Video Clip
(retrieved August 23, 2011) features the following panelists:
John B. King, New York State Commissioner of Education
David Coleman, contributing author to the Common Core
Kate Gerson, Sr. Fellow with the Regents Research Fund

28. Implications for Instruction?
“It’s important to be strategic about the kind of vocabulary that we’re developing.”
“Teach fewer words, but teach the webs around them.”
“Figuring out which are the Tier 2 words and then…figuring out which ones I am going to teach. Because…[you] can’t possibly teach all…Tier 2 words very thoroughly and still get to the heart of the matter with the reading.”
“It goes back to this issue about careful planning…and strategic thinking about how to support students’ skill development.”
You may choose to use these quotes from the video as additional discussion points for small groups. The quotes can be divided by groups or throughout groups.

29. Next Steps for My Role? What do I need to do? How do I need to do it?
Task planning
How do I need to do it?
Task planning sheets and mastery checklist
Who can help me?
Team effort
You could have teachers by grade levels, subject areas, or job alike groups meet to discuss these questions when thinking about the use of vocabulary and tiered words.

30. Classroom CCSS/PARCC based tasks, Examples and planning template
In your folder sample tasks
Pink tab- Academic vocabulary organizers
Blue tab- Social Studies task
Green tab- Math task
Yellow tab- P.E. task
Orange tab- Science task

31. Task Planning Sheet- Yellow page

32. PARCC Rubric- Orange Sheet

33. Assignment Mastery Checklist- Pink sheet

34. Quarterly Standards Mastery Checklist- Green Sheet

35. What next… Power point resource (located on Cougar Access)
On going Common Core PD sessions during the school year
Short Survey- sent via
questions-