INSERVICE GOALS: Understand TEKS Understand the difference in difficulty between TAAS & the TAKS Recognize the TAKS critical thinking skills required in.

INSERVICE GOALS:Understand TEKS Understand the difference in difficulty between TAAS & the TAKSRecognize the TAKS “critical thinking skills” required in the classroomGo over TAKS Blueprints (Weights)Read & Study TAKS Guide BookUnderstand TEKS “Big Ideas”Create an Appropriate Curriculum Calendar for 1st & 2nd Six Weeks

Activity 1 (1 hour)

•Revisit Blooms•Understand Rules of Thumb for Curriculum•Teach 1 to 2 levels above what student expected to perform•Application Evaluation Requires instruction & thinking over TIME•Walk-through Looking for student performance at the appropriate level of thinking.

Vertical Alignment Process Reflecting National Standards

•Involves everyone•Involves Tested TEKS•Involves Teacher Accountability

Understanding TEKS•Know level of THINKING each TEK requires

•Concept, Operation, Problem-Solving•Concept vs. Application Level

•Know what TEKS are introduced & mastered In ONE year (40% of your curriculum)•Create a “Spiraling Curriculum”

•Introduce – First Year•Practice – Second Year•Master – Third Year

•State Legislated – TEKS (not favorite lesson plan) – NO freedom•Freedom in the classroom – resources & strategies

ASK YOURSELF:

“If I engage my students in this activity, at what level will they be required to think?

How will I know?”

What are the new Expectations?Activity 2 (1 hour)

•Look exclusively to your TAKS Information Booklet•Look at the Weights on the Assessment (TAKS Blue Print)•Look at the tested TEKS•Look at Clarifying Activities•Notice that the TEKS & TAKS require “critical thinking skills”•Understand the “Big Ideas”

Alignment CommitteeMust ensure that mastery level TEKS are at least introduced the year beforeUse data analysis to make data-driven decisionsUse TAKS Guide to Create Curriculum Calendar

Accountability at the Application LevelNew TAKS Test Objectives

10% Concept90% Application or Above

Exception – Social Studies Test will be closer to •50% Concept•50% Application

Accountability at Application Level Requires:

•Teaching all concepts at least to the Application Level•Rule of Thumb: “Teach at least one level above what You will test”

•Requires Teaching at the Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation Level – Project-based levelBEST PRACTICES MODEL -- •Most Tested TEKS will be assessed at the Application Level•Recommendation for Math – 90 minutes a day

with 45 minutes in problem solving – every day•Recommendation for LA – 45 minutes a day in Comprehension Formal Instruction

Logical Reasoning Skills tested on TAAS Deductive Reasoning: The conclusion

reached contains no more information than the information from which it was drawn.TAAS test requires text-dependent reading (Narrative, Informative, Functional).All the answers are based on the information in the passage.

NO FEELINGS ALLOWED – DO NOT READ ANSWERS FIRSTEliminate C “Creative” - Response FIRST

Difference Between Creative & Technical Reading – page 2

•C- Reading Uses Inductive & Deductive Reasoning•Used in Basal Readers•Used in Health, Science, Social Studies•Should be taught --- but should be labeled.

•T-Reading Uses only Deductive Reasoning – needs to be practiced everyday in all classes.

•Three Levels of Questions –page 4•Level 1 – Explicit - Sentence Completion•Level 2 – Stated – More Difficult to Locate•Level 3 – Not Stated – But answer based on evidence in the text.

Students must PROVE their answer using Text

New Targets for Student Expectations – in TESTED TEKS

CONNECTIONSRELATIONSHIPSCONSEQUENCES

Activity 3 (20 Minutes)

Look through your TEKSIdentify the Level of Think for Each TEK using BLOOMSSTAR all TEKS that are at the Application Level or aboveDouble STAR all TEKS that correlated to TESTed TEKS

Understanding Thinking Skills TESTed on TAKS

EXAMPLES IN ALL CURRICULUM:•Classifying – sorting, grouping, lumping•Categorizing – labeling, generalizing•Compare & Contrast –

•similarities & differences

•FLOWS INTO WRITING•Correlates with SAT•Correlates with ACT

Reading & Thinking ProcessIN CLASSROOM

Level 1 questions “closed book”Level 2 & 3 questions “open book” test

Give 3 conclusions you can support from the textGive 3 conclusions you cannot support from the text

Identify C & T Questions & AnswersIntroduce different reading materials (Biographies, Novels, Newspaper, Cartoons, Charts)Practice Vocabulary in Context

READING for Progress•Stories – on grade level•Non-fiction –above grade level – informative•Newspapers, charts, cartoons, ads, menus,

bus schedules, information gathering – Research Strand

Use same text for both kinds of reading C & T

Student Error Rate doubles with non-fiction and triples with science and social studies texts.

Teacher accountability

READING for ProgressConnect Reading & Writing – ALWAYSConnect Writing & Oral DiscussionConnect Oral Discussion & Higher-order Questioning SkillsConnect Big Ideas, Concepts, Topics

EXIT 2000 Test

Questions 1-7 Fiction – Conclusions 70%8-16 Fiction17-23 Informative Text25 – 32 Functional33-40 Fiction41-48 Non Fiction

90% Level 360% Non-Fiction

Connection to WritingImplied Main Idea

Connection to details (classify +categorizing = Main Idea..with use of synonyms)Organization of ThinkingStudent comes up with labels for WebbingUse:

• Prewriting – brainstorm, classify, webbing for organization of ideas…determines score of 4

• Draft – classify and categorizing• Revising• Editing• Defending – Evidence, Sources, Oral questions

Students MUST PRACTICE THE “BIG TICKET” ITEMS ---CRITICAL THINKING

SequencingCategorizingCause-and-effect

RelationshipsComparingContrastingFinding the Main Idea

SummarizingMaking

GeneralizationsDrawing InferencesDrawing

ConclusionsInterpreting

information from visuals

Identifying points of view and bias

KEEP ASKING YOURSELF:

“If I engage my students in this activity, what level of thinking will they be required to use?

HOW WILL I KNOW?

Create Curriculum Calendar

Three Columns1. Big Idea2. Tested TEKS (Identify Blooms Level)3. Activities Planned at appropriate

level of thinking (Identify Blooms Level – 1 to 2 levels above TEKS SE verb)