Carol Booth Olson University of California, Irvine cbolson@uci Miami Dade USD June 2013

1. THE READING/WRITING CONNECTION: A COGNITIVE STRATEGIES APPROACH TO HELPING ENGLISH LEARNERS ANALYZE THEME IN LITERARY NONFICTION Carol Booth Olson University of California, Irvine cbolson@uci.edu Miami Dade USD June 2013

2. Reading Literal Comprehension What the text says Writing Summary Interpretation What the text means Analysis Interpretation Commentary

3. Academic Literacy Expected of High School Students on Exit Exams in 26 States • Summarizing texts • Using linguistic cues to interpret and infer the writer’s intentions and messages • Assessing the writer’s use of language for rhetorical and aesthetic purpose • Evaluating evidence and arguments presented in texts and critiquing the logic of arguments made in them • Composing and writing extended, reasoned texts that are well-developed and supported with evidence and details (Wong Fillmore & Snow, 2003)

4. How well do all students write? 2011 NAEPGrade 8- Only 27% “Proficient” or AboveGrade 12- Only 27 % “Proficient” or Above

5. Gaps in AchievementGrade 12White 27% “Proficient”Hispanic 11% “Proficient”Black 8% “Proficient”

6. What about EnglishLearners?Grade 8 EL Not ELAt or Above 1% 28%“Proficient”Grade 12 1% 31%

7. “A major reason for this growing inequality is that instruction is unequally distributed by track level.” Honors-rigorous academic work Low achievers, children of the poor, ELLs-receive instruction that places a premium on the transmission of information, providing little room for “the exploration of ideas and higher level literacy.” Applebee, Langer, Nystrand, & Gamoran (2003)

8. A sense of urgency … Every school day 7,000 high school students drop out. Only 70 percent of all entering freshmen and half of students of color finish high school with a regular diploma. Only 30 percent of students entering high school read at grade level. An estimated 85 percent of current jobs and almost 90 percent of fast-growing and best-paying jobs now require some post-secondary education.- Alliance for Excellent Education

9. Enter the National Common Core Standards for English/Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects

10. Purpose* Fewer, clearer, higher standards* Focused on college and career readiness* Inclusive of rigorous content and higher order skills* Internationally benchmarked* Research and evidence-based

11. Let’s take a look at the CCSS College and Career Anchor Standards for Reading and Writing. What are students expected to know and be able to do?

12. College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading

13. Key Ideas and Details 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

14. Craft and Structure 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

15. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

16. The same ten CCR anchor standards for Reading apply to both literary and informational texts, including texts in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

17. College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

18. Text and Types and Purposes 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2. Write informatively/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

19. Key Verbs Analyze Assess Convey Compare Comprehend Delineate Determine Draw Evidence Evaluate Examine Integrate Interpret Make Inferences Reflect Summarize Write (Compose)

20. So, as you can see, the CCSS-ELA set a high bar for all students in terms of their level of academic literacy.

21. Juggling Contraints Frederikson & Dominic, 1981 CBO Communicative Contextual Linguistic Textual Cognitive Affective

22. FACTS ABOUT ENGLISH LEARNERS • Fastest growing segment of the K-12 population • Largest increases in grades 7-12 • Speak more than 350 languages • 77% speak Spanish • 40% have origins in Mexico • 30% of all ELS are in California! • By 2020, 1 in 4 children enrolled in K-12 • will be Latino

23. ZPD ZME

24. 59% of ELS in California are Long Term English Learners scoring at Below Basic and Far Below Basic.

25. 2011 NAEP — EL Performance 8th Grade 65% Below Basic 12th Grade 80% Below Basic

26. Application of Common Core Standards for English Language Learners: The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers strongly believe that all students should be held to the same high expectations outlined in the Common Core State Standards. This includes students who are English language learners (ELLs). However, these students may require additional time, appropriate instructional support, and aligned assessments as they acquire both English language proficiency and content area knowledge.

27. Question! How can we help ALL of our students to become confident and complete readers and writers who can meet the rigorous new Common Core standards?

28. “Standards are not curriculum; there are multiple ways to teach to these standards, and therefore, there will be multiple approaches that could help students accomplish the goals set out in these standards.”

29. A focus on results rather than means By emphasizing required achievements, the Standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed. Thus, the Standards do not mandate such things as a particular writing process or the full range of metacognitive strategies that students may need to monitor and direct their thinking and learning.Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards.

31. WHAT IS A COGNITIVE STRATEGY? the process of knowing or thinking Cognition = Strategy = a tool or tactic one uses to solve a problem Cognitive Strategy = a thinking tool

32. “Numerous reports from blue ribbon panels implicate poor understandings of cognitive strategies as the primary reason why adolescents struggle with reading and writing.” Conley, 2008

33. Tool Kit

34. Key Verbs Analyze Assess Convey Compare Comprehend Delineate Determine Draw Evidence Evaluate Examine Integrate Interpret Make Inferences Reflect Summarize Write (Compose)

35. Three Types of Knowledge Declarative Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Conditional Knowledge

39. Planning and Goal Setting • My purpose is… • My top priority is … • I will accomplish my goal • by…

40. My goal: To add to your teacher’s tool kit and provide you with language arts strategies to teach ELs text-based analytical writing about theme in literary nonfiction.

41. Why teach theme?

42. Somewhat Important Very Important

43. Somewhat Important Very Important

47. “Sometimes, the Earth is Cruel” Leonard Pitts • “The Man in the Water” Roger Rosenblatt

48. “Sometimes, the Earth is Cruel” I think the theme is about disasters. Good things happen and bad things happen. The earth always kills people. The rain will not stop. Earth is mean to Haiti.

49. “The Man in the Water” The man cared for passengers, nature did not. A man rather save other people’s lives than his life. The most important theme is when the helicopter comes. The theme of the story is survival.

50. Please read paper 705539 Pre-Test. What would you do to help this student improve?