STRATEGIC PLAN Writing Across Common Core Standards Bradley County Schools Secondary In-Service August 3, 2012.

STRATEGIC PLAN

Writing Across Common Core

Standards

Bradley County Schools

Secondary In-ServiceAugust 3, 2012

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Today’s agenda

1. The Context in Tennessee; our Purpose and Goals

2. Shifts in writing expectations3. Provide discipline specific strategies for

instruction4. Resources

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Implementation of Common Core State Standards complements other work underway

Student Readiness for Postsecondary Education and

the Workforce (WHY we teach)

Common Core State Standards provide a

vision of excellence for WHAT we teach

TEAM provides a vision of excellence for HOW we teach

Text Demands of Postsecondary Education

“Most of the required reading in college and workforce training programs is informational in structure and challenging in content; postsecondary education programs typically provide students with both a higher volume of such reading than is generally required in K–12 schools and comparatively little scaffolding.”

(Common Core State Standards 2010a, 4)#8 & 9

Range and Content of Student Writing

Through writing, students… Superior Opportunity Sufficient Opportunity

Lacking Opportunity

assert and defend claims

take task, purpose, and audience into careful consideration

use technology strategically

report findings in research and analysis by gathering information, evaluating sources, and citing material accurately

produce quality work under time constraints

produce multiple drafts through a revision process

produce numerous pieces over short and long periods of time

Varieties of Writing in Content Areas

Scientific lab report

Essay or Poem for English Class

Social Science Essay

Void of personal opinion (based on truth)Sequence is extremely important.Discipline-specific vocabulary is essential to communication.

Personal opinion or experiences and logical reasoning Language may include descriptive imagery.Often references one literary text

Distanced stanceEvidence included to support claimLogical reasoning to tie evidence to claimOften references multiple texts as evidence

Writing Like a Historian

How would you approach teaching students to write like a historian?

Implementing the Reading Standards

Instructional Scenario: While teaching a lesson about the Stamp Act in Grade 9, you provide students with three texts: an article from the Boston-Gazette, an article from a London newspaper, and a letter from a frustrated colonist.

Given these documents, you ask students to answer the question:

Was the Stamp Act an unreasonable and unfair tax?

Discipline-Specific Strategies for Instruction4

What discipline-specific strategies will support implementation of the Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies?

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Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies,

Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12

www.corestandards.org

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College and Career Anchor Standards are broad standards that outline what students need to have in place to be college and career ready. Each corresponding grade span standard falls under one of 4 categories: Text types and purposes Production and distribution of writing Research to build and present knowledge Range of writing

How are the Writing Standards organized?

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Text Types and Purposes for Writing in History

The last section of the Common Core Standards is explicitly written for 6-12 teachers in content areas other than ELA.

The Common Core Standards outline 2 types of writing in Science, History and Technical Subjects:

a) Writing arguments focused on science content

b) Writing informative/explanatory texts.

The Role of Opinion/Argument

“While all three text types are important, the Standards put a particular emphasis on students’ ability to write sound arguments on substantive topics and issues, as this ability is critical to college and career readiness.”

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 24)

Foundations of Argument Writing

Before students can write sound arguments on substantive topics and issues, we must teach them to…

Introduce and state opinions

Support opinions with reasons

Use words, phrases, or clauses to link opinion and reason

Provide a concluding statement or section

Progression of Argument Writing Skills

Look at p.64 to identify the progression of the new argument writing skills and those addressed in the grade band you teach.

Supporting Opinion/Argument

Students who are college and career ready: “Use relevant evidence when supporting their own points in writing and speaking, making their reason clear to the reader or listener, and they constructively evaluate others’ use of evidence.”

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010a, 7)

Elements of Argument

Claim: the position or assertion that supports an argument

Evidence: the facts or reasons that support the claim

Warrant: the chain of reasoning that connects the evidence to the claim

Counterclaim: an opposing position or assertion

Rebuttal: logical reasons for rejecting the counterclaim

Creating an Argument

Topic: Should people be encouraged to commute by bicycle, rather than by car?Claim: People should be encouraged to commute by bicycle, rather than by car.Evidence: Maintaining a bicycle is significantly less expensive than maintaining a car. Warrant: Spending less money on commuting expenses is a good thing in this tough economy. Counterclaim: Some may say that riding a bicycle to work would increase commuting time and therefore decrease productivity and money earned. Rebuttal: However, bicycles can navigate rush-hour congestion more efficiently than cars.

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https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/gallery-walk-lesson-plan

Exploring the World of Ancient Civilizations

What is informational/explanatory writing?

Informational/Explanatory writing conveys information accurately. This kind of writing serves one or more closely related purposes:

to increase readers’ knowledge of a subject

to help readers better understand a procedure or process

to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension of a concept

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010b, 23)

Key Ideas of Informational/Explanatory Writing

Students are writing from expertise (what they already know).

Students also draw from primary and secondary sources on the topic.

Strategies for organizing and developing ideas vary by grade level.

Informational/Explanatory Writing in Your Classroom

What kinds of informational/explanatory writing do students do in your classroom?

Constructed Response (WHST.9-10.2)

• Explain how civil disobedience was used in the struggle for India’s independence.

Sample Task

• Students compare George Washington’s Farewell Address to other foreign policy statements, such as the Monroe Doctrine, and analyze how both texts address similar themes and concepts regarding “entangling alliances.” (RI. 9 – 10.9)

Examining Student Work

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010d, 64)

Incorporating Research and Writing into History and Social Studies Curriculum

CCR 7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCR 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

CCR 9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

(Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010a, 18)

Research Writing Strategy: RAFT

(Billmeyer and Barton 1998)

Role Audience Format Topic

Martin Luther King Jr.

Modern television audience

Speech Revisiting his dream

Joseph StalinThe Soviet people

Propaganda pamphlet

What makes the perfect Soviet citizen?

Rosa ParksHer Facebook friends (writer to determine)

Facebook wall messages

Her side of the story about the boycott

Great Wall of China

Self Diary entryAn account of Manchu invaders approaching

Sample Performance Task

• Essay Prompt: In the last paragraph of the “Gettysburg Address,” Lincoln shifts the focus of his speech away from what he says is its purpose at the end of the second paragraph. What reasons does he give for the shift in focus? What does Lincoln think is the task left to those listening to his speech? Use evidence from the text to support your analysis. Formulate an answer to these questions in a thoughtful brief essay.

History/Social Studies Instructional Scenario

Classroom 1Students are watching an excerpt from Ken Burns’s Civil War series to better understand a particular event.

Classroom 2Students are reading a section of the textbook and working with a partner to answer comprehension questions.

Classroom 3

Students are working with a variety of primary and secondary documents that represent various viewpoints on a similar topic. Students are then answering questions about the cause and effect of an event, using the documents as evidence.

Classroom 4Students are taking notes on a particular event from history using a graphic organizer to help organize the information.

Reflection

What is one concept or idea that you want to immediately incorporate into your instruction?

What is one concept or idea that you want to incorporate into your instruction in the next year?

If your instruction guided your students to read and write like historians, how would it change student achievement?

Reflection

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References

Baer, Justin, Stéphane Baldi, Kaylin Ayotte, and Patricia J. Green. 2007. The Reading Literacy of U.S. Fourth-Grade Students in an International Context: Results From the 2001and 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) . Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008017.pdf.

Billmeyer, Rachel, and Mary Lee Barton. 1998. Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who? 2nd ed. Denver, CO: McREL.

Bransford, John, National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, and National Research Counsil (U.S.) Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice. 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Common Core State Standards Initiative. 2010a. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards.

———. 2010b. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards and Glossary of Key Terms.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf.

———. 2010c. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf.

———. 2010d. “Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Appendix C: Samples of Student Writing.” Accessed January 1, 2011. http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_C.pdf.

Strong American Schools. 2008. “Diploma to Nowhere.” Accessed December 22, 2010. http://www.deltacostproject.org/resources/pdf/DiplomaToNowhere.pdf.

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