Foundational Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Foundational Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Jeannie FeldmanField Services Specialist Pearson School Achievement Services

Session Objectives • Participants will develop a deeper understanding of the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) for ELA. • Participants will examine the developmental progression of the CCSS for ELA. • Participants will identify the implications of the CCSS to instruction, assessment, leadership and professional development.

Key Ideas of the CCSS for ELA The goal of the CCSS for ELA is college and career readiness for all students. The CCSS for ELA are more than a re-hash of the standards that we are now working towards. They are “higher, clearer, and fewer.” Understanding the CCSS for ELA documents requires studying the organization of the standards document and the relationship of Appendices A–C to the standards themselves.

Portrait of College- and Career-Ready Students Make a list of what you consider would be the characteristics of college and career-ready students. Share your list with your elbow partner.

Career Readiness Over the last twenty years, there has been a marked shift in the skills that employers demand.

Employer Needs • Critical thinking and problem solving • Effective communication • Collaboration and team building • Creativity and innovation

Characteristics of College- and Career-Ready Students Read the text from page 7 of the CCSS for ELA document. Annotate or highlight the text using the following marks: • On my list • + Add to my list • ! This surprises me • ? I have a question about this • O This word or term needs clarification

The CCSS for ELA • K-12 Standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening and language • Standards for literacy and content areas • Standards that define end of year expectations and a cumulative progression.

Standards Organization • A comprehensive K–5 section with four strands • Reading strand (includes Foundational Skills) • Writing strand • Speaking and Listening strand • Language strand • Two content area-specific sections for grades 6–12 with four strands • ELA • Reading strand • Writing strand • Speaking and Listening strand • Language strand • History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects • Reading strand • Writing strand

Standards Organization • Three appendices • Appendix A: contains research and supplementary material on reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, as well as a glossary of key terms • Appendix B: consists of text exemplars in the genres and accompanying sample performance tasks • Appendix C: includes annotated samples of student writing demonstrating at least adequate performances at various grade levels

Reading Standards 10 standards per grade level clustered under 4 bands that remain constant up through the grades • Key Ideas and Details • Craft and Structure • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas • Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity • Types of text: Literature Informational • Complexity

What Does Reading Instruction Look Like in Your Schools?

NAEP Reading Framework Distribution of Literary and Informational Passages by Grade in the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework The Standards aim to align instruction with this framework so that many more students than at present can meet the requirements of college and career readiness. The Standards aim to align instruction with this framework so that many more students than at present can meet the requirements of college and career readiness.

College and Career ReadinessReading Standards Key Ideas and Details 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. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

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

College and Career ReadinessReading Standards Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Integrate and evaluate content presented graphically, visually, orally, and multimodally as well as in words within and across print and digital sources. 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. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

College and Career ReadinessReading Standards Range and Level of Text Complexity Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. 11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American and world cultures.

Foundational Premises of the CCSS for ELA Premise #1: Increasing text complexity Premise #2: Progressive development of reading comprehension

Foundational Premise #1 Research shows that the ability to read and comprehend complex text is the best predictor of college success. Many of the books students read in K-12 became easier after 1962. Instruction in K-12 texts is highly scaffolded. Students in high school read significantly less than is required in college.

Text Complexity Grade Bands and Associated Lexile Ranges (in Lexiles)

Premise #2Activity • With a partner, review the reading standard for informational text from kindergarten to grade 12. • Focus on the progression of skills students are expected to acquire as they move across grade levels in this standard. • Underline each new grade level expectation. • Discuss the following question: • What stands out to you in terms of the progression in what students need to know and be able to do from grades K-12?

Reading Standards for Informational Texts

Informational Text Exemplar (Appendix B) Grades 4/5 Lauber, Patricia. Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms. New York: Scholastic, 1996. (1996) From “The Making of a Hurricane” Great whirling storms roar out of the oceans in many parts of the world. They are called by several names—hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are the three most familiar ones. But no matter what they are called, they are all the same sort of storm. They are born in the same way, in tropical waters. They develop the same way, feeding on warm, moist air. And they do the same kind of damage, both ashore and at sea. Other storms may cover a bigger area or have higher winds, but none can match both the size and the fury of hurricanes. They are earth’s mightiest storms.

Like all storms, they take place in the atmosphere, the envelope of air that surrounds the earth and presses on its surface. The pressure at any one place is always changing. There are days when air is sinking and the atmosphere presses harder on the surface. These are the times of high pressure. There are days when a lot of air is rising and the atmosphere does not press down as hard. These are times of low pressure. Low-pressure areas over warm oceans give birth to hurricanes.

Reading Informational Text- Grade 5 • Craft and Structure • Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts or information in two or more texts. [RI.5.5]

Sample Performance Task (Appendix B) • Students identify the overall structure of ideas, concepts, and information in Seymour Simon’s Horses (based on factors such as their speed and color) and compare and contrast that scheme to the one employed by Patricia Lauber in her book Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms. [RI.5.5]

Table Talk • What are the implications of the Reading Framework: • for you? • for principals? • for teachers? • for students and parents?

What Does Writing Instruction Look Like in Schools?

NAEP Writing Framework Distribution of Communicative Purposes by Grade in the 2011 NAEP Writing Framework Writing assessments aligned with the Common Core should adhere to the distribution of writing purposes across grades outlined by NAEP. Classroom assignments/instruction should address all three writing types.

Overall Organization- Writing Standards • 10 standards per grade level • clustered under 4 bands that remain constant up through the grades (4 bands) • Text Types and Purposes • Production and Distribution of Writing • Research to Build and Present Knowledge • Range of Writing

Text Types and Purposes • Text Types • Narrative • Fictional • Personal • Informative/Explanatory • Opinion Argument • Grade K-5: Opinion/Evidence • Grade 6: Claim/Evidence/Reasoning (warrant) • Grade 7-12: Claim/Evidence/Reasoning/Counterclaim • Response to Literature (NY State)

College and Career Readiness Writing Standards Text Types and Purposes • Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. • Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

College and Career Readiness Writing Standards Production and Distribution of Writing • Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. • Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. • Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

College and Career Readiness Writing Standards Research to Build and Present Knowledge • Conduct short, as well as more sustained research projects based on questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. • Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. • Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

College and Career Readiness Writing Standards Range of Writing • Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. Responding to Literature 11. Develop personal, cultural, textual, and thematic connections within and across genres as they respond to texts through written, digital, and oral presentations, employing a variety of media and genres.

Activity: Reviewing Writing Standards for Opinion • With a partner, review the writing standard for argument from kindergarten to grade 12. • Focus on the progression of skills students are expected to acquire as they move across grade levels in this standard. • Underline each new grade level expectation. • Discuss the following question: • What stands out to you in terms of the progression in what students need to know and be able to do from grades K-12?

From Standards for Writing Opinion

Argumentation Argumentation is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that the writer’s position, belief, or conclusion is valid. Research shows that the ability to“write to argue or persuade readers” was virtually tied with the ability to“write to convey information” as the most important type of writing needed by incoming college students. Only 20 percent of those who enter college are prepared to write reasoned arguments.

Some Definitions Claim: the position or assertion that supports an argument. Evidence: the facts, reasons, evidence 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. 67

Argument or Persuasion? What are the key differences between argument and persuasion?

Argument or Persuasion Argument Persuasion Uses persuasive strategies that: Establish credibility, character, or authority of the writer Appeal to the self-interest, identity, or emotions of the audience • Convinces the audience based on merit and reasonableness of the claims and proofs

Activity: Looking at Student Work (Appendix C) • With a partner, review the piece of student work. • Use the writing standard for that grade level (12) to determine how it meets the standard. • Check your analysis against the annotation below the work.

Think, Pair, Share • How does the student work(s) reviewed compare to the writing produced by your students? • What are the implications for your grade level? • What are the implications for your instructional practices?

Implications by grade level • Take time to closely review the writing standards for your grade level and adjacent grade levels, if possible. • Discuss with your colleagues the impact these standards will have on your classroom practices related to writing instruction. • Generate recommendations for your grade level to begin moving students toward meeting or exceeding the CCSS.

Reflection by grade • Implications for our instructional practices in reading and writing • What can we do to incorporate the CCSS for reading and writing into our instructional practices? • By when?

Websites with More Information Your State Department of Education Website Pearson www.commoncore.pearsoned.com Educational Testing Service www.k12.center.org Achieve www.achieve.orgfor Parc test www.k12.wa.us/smarter/for Smarter Balanced test

Foundational Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts