The Big Rocks

1. The Big Rocks STAAR Reading and Rigor

2. STAAR Reading Please note that on handout the bulleted comments after these topics come directly from Victoria Young’s commentary. What the Data Tells Us • Author’s Craft • Text Connections • Academic Language • Textual Evidence • Textual Complexity

3. STAAR Reading Performance Spring 2013 Statewide ResultsPhase-in and Recommended Standards

4. STAAR Reading—What the Data Tells Us Author’s Craft: Students must be able to identify the “tools” an author uses to craft a piece and to pinpoint/articulate how they affect meaning. • Analysis not Identification • Must be able to articulate how they affect meaning…how is the author using the tool? • There are “tons” of craft questions, usually connected with Figure 19

5. STAAR Reading—What the Data Tells Us Text Connections: Students must be able to make connections—at differing levels of depth and complexity—both within and across texts (including connections between a text and its accompanying photograph or procedural piece) • The connections have to add to the overall understanding and meaning of both texts • Inferential thinking! • Students need to make the connection and provide textual evidence to support their answer.

6. STAAR Reading—What the Data Tells Us Academic Vocabulary: Students must have a command of and be able to apply the specific academic vocabulary associated with literary and informational reading. • Students cannot do well on this test if they do not have a command of academic vocabulary • Students even sketchy on the literary vocabulary, such as the elements of fiction • Rigorous vocabulary even used in answer choices

7. Why We Have to Include Text Complexityin the Conversation To be successful on STAAR (and in class), students must be able to read on-grade-level texts of varying complexities. That requires learning to independently “tackle”—or negotiate—increasingly complex literary and informational texts. “I’m putting this in because I wonder if the way we manage our classroom has too much guidance and modeling without sufficient opportunity to negotiate complex texts. Maybe what we give them to read independently is too close to the floor as opposed to the ceiling.” - Victoria Young

8. Your Turn… In your grade level groups, sort the following STAAR question stems into the categories below: • Author’s Craft • Text Evidence • Academic Language • Text Connections Reflect on the following: • Ahas? OMGs? • Are the students able to analyze text/genre at the level of rigor exhibited in these question stems?

9. Your Turn… Now, look within the sort and resort by genre • Please think through each genre represented by grade level • 3rd: Literary, Expository, Poetry • 4th: Literary, Expository, Poetry, Drama • 5th: Literary, Expository, Poetry, Drama, Persuasive Reflect on the following: • What does this mean for my instruction? • How can I embed these question types in my instruction? • How can I use my Shared Reading and Small Groups to scaffold the thinking necessary for answering these questions? Explain.