Middle School English Language Arts/Reading Professional Learning Conference 2013

1. Middle School English Language Arts/ReadingProfessional Learning Conference 2013 Charles Fears cfears1@saisd.net

2. NORMS • Please silence your phones • Take care of yourself and your neighbor • Actively participate • Place questions on the Parking Lot

3. ICE BREAKER • Line up by years of teaching experience. • Divide and pair up. • A – pedagogical question or insight. • B – summary and/or feedback. • Switch roles.

4. AGENDA • Welcome • 2013 STAAR Data Overview • SAISD Literacy Initiative • Strategies for Success • Close Reading • Text-Dependent Questions • Curriculum Guide Changes

5. Clear Learner Objectives • Analyze and identify areas of strength and weakness for assigned grade level • Apply close reading skills • Create text-dependent questions

6. Daily Demonstration of Learning • Annotated STAAR Data • Annotated text (close reading) • Written text-dependent questions

7. Active Student Engagement Strategies • Ice Breaker • Think-Pair-Share • Sentence Stem Discussion • Video – Cornell Notes • Jigsaw • Cornell Notes • Musical Gallery Walk • Discussion • Text-Dependent Questions – Socratic Seminar • Collaborative Grouping • Toss a Question

8. 2013 STAAR Data Overview

9. STAAR Performance Level Descriptors • Level I- Unsatisfactory Academic Performance • Level II- Satisfactory Academic Performance • Level III- Advanced Academic Performance (there will not be a phase-in for Level III Advanced Academic Performance)

10. Grades 6-8 Performance Standards • TEA is proposing to maintain Phase-In I 2013-14 • Data wasn’t received until January 2013 • No access to released-tests or item-level analysis • NOTE: While question stems may be used, do not utilize any STAAR released-tests as a formative assessment.

11. Reading Performance for Grades 6-81stPhase-In Met Standard Percentages Percentage of Inferential Questions 6th 42% 7th 32% 8th 35%

12. Writing Performance for Grades 4, 7, EOC I, EOC II1st Phase-In Met Standard Percentages Narrative & Expository Narrative & Expository Literary & Expository Persuasive & Expository

13. STAAR DATA DISCUSSION ACADEMIC SENTENCE STARTERS You might consider how… Another way of looking at the problem… If considered in this light… When you look at it this way… Can you imagine how it might feel to… From another perspective it might seem… In my opinion… It might seem that… It makes good sense that… A reasonable person can assume…

14. Grade Level Item Analysis • Group by grade level • Person with the longest hair pick up 2013 STAAR Item Analysis and STAAR Snapshot • Identify and annotate areas of Strength (+) and Weakness (-) a poster that illustrates areas of strength and weakness

15. Gallery Walk

16. Gallery Walk – Post-It!

17. Campus Plan • Group by campus • Discuss grade-level notes item analysis and develop a plan that will address the areas of weakness and sustain areas of strength. • Share campus plans and add insightful ideas from other campuses.

18. SAISD Literacy Initiative

19. What is literacy? • Five Strands of ELAR TEKS • Reading • Writing • Listening and Speaking • Oral and Written Conventions • Research • Media literacy is also embedded in the standards

20. SAISD Literacy Initiative • Three year plan -reading and writing across contents -district will partner with Benchmark and Pearson to provide teachers with professional development -Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop K-12 • Designed to improve literacy instruction in SAISD • Utilizes a balanced literacy model

21. SAISD Literacy Initiative Goal All students in third grade will read on grade level and remain on grade level throughout their educational career

22. Research Research shows that proficiency in reading by the end of third grade enables students to shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Most students who do not reach this critical milestone will struggle in school and many often drop out before earning a high school diploma. Two-thirds of U.S. 4th graders are not proficient readers. More than 4 out of every 5 low-income students miss this critical milestone. Discuss: How can we promote and support literacy across the content areas on our campus?

23. Strategies for Success

24. CLOSE READING

25. What is Close Reading? "Close reading is an instructional approach that requires readers to re-read a text several times and really develop a deep understanding of the content contained in the text. The purpose is to build the habits of readers as they engage with the complex texts and to build their stamina and skills for being able to do so independently. As part of a close reading, students "read with a pencil" and learn to annotate as they go. In addition, they are asked text-dependent questions that require that they produce evidence from the text as part of their responses." - Dr. Douglas Fisher

26. What is Close Reading? • Read Douglas Fisher’s definition of close reading. • Think about how Douglas Fisher defines close reading and underline the big ideas. • Think-Pair-Share the big ideas of close reading.

27. Why Close Reading? “Combined with shared, collaborative, and independent readings, close readings will give students the experiences they need to become skilled in analytical reading, a prerequisite for college and career success.” – Nancy Frey

28. Group by Grade-Level

29. Teaching Close Reading

30. Close Reading Demonstration As you watch the following video, think about the definition of close reading. Make notes of the how the teacher incorporates elements of close reading.

31. Close Reading Jigsaw

32. Close Reading Jigsaw • Locate 1)“Allowing tweens on Facebook:There’s much to like” • 2)“Close Reading” Annotation • Read silently (5 minutes) • Count off 1-5 and meet with your designated group. • UsingClose Reading handout markers, annotate for: • Details • Syntax (Text structure) • Diction (Vocabulary) (7 minutes) • Tone (Author’s attitude) • Figurative Language • Share (5 minutes)

33. Final Word on Close Reading “Read like a detective. Write like a reporter.”

34. Text-Dependent Questions

35. Why Text-Dependent Questions? According to Margaret Kilgo, educational researcher on curriculum and standardized assessments, STAAR requires close, text-dependent reading comprehension. The correct inferred and implied answers are based on accurate, relevant, and explicit text evidencewhich requires students to read and reread and find accurate evidence to support their response.

36. What Are Text-Dependent Questions?

37. Text-Dependent Questions Are Not… Low-level, literal, or recall questions Focused on comprehension strategies Just questions…

38. If you were present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, what would you do? How do the authors’ support their declaration to separate from Great Britain? Consider the following questions:

39. When students are asked to make connections to themselves, other texts and the world they are guided student away from the text. (Level 3) • To ensure students have read a text, they are often asked simple, literal questions. (Level 1) Why adjust the way we question?

41. Types of Text-Dependent Questions Whole Acrosstexts Entire text Segments Paragraph Sentence Word Part

42. What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous? What can you infer from King’sletter about the letter that he received? “The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech? In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote? Non-Examples and Examples Not Text-Dependent Text-Dependent

43. Creating Text-Dependent Questions • Provided by the ELAR department in the curriculum guide. • Kilo Stems found with the TEKS can also be used While STAAR released-test question stems may be used, do not utilize any released-tests as a formative assessment. Tinyurl.com/staarstems

44. Think about the following when creating text-dependent questions? • Do the questions require the reader to return to the text? • Do the questions require the reader to use evidence to support inferences? • Do the questions move from text-explicit to text-implicit knowledge? • Do the questions require the reader to analyze, evaluate, interpret, and synthesize?

45. You Try!

46. “Allowing tweens to Facebook: There’s much to like” Text-Dependent Questions Return to close reading jigsaw group Group1 6.10A Group 2 7.10B Group 3 8.10C Refer to Standards Group 4 Figure 19D Group 5 7.2B Each member writes their name on a new piece of paper and creates three text-dependent questions Toss a Question

47. Active Student Engagement Strategies • Ice Breaker • Think-Pair-Share • Sentence Stem Discussion • Video – Cornell Notes • Jigsaw • Cornell Notes • Musical Gallery Walk • Discussion • Text-Dependent Questions – Socratic Seminar • Collaborative Grouping • Toss a Question

48. It’s More Than Recall “The goal in creating text-dependent questions is to balance the reader and the text so that each is involved in the transaction of reading.” -Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher

49. Curriculum Guides

50. Curriculum Guide Changes • Vertical vs. Horizontal • TEKS Specificity and Examples • Essential Questions • Teacher Homework/Preparation • Weekly Pacing • Strategies • Anchor Charts • Homework • Reading/Writing Connection