Embracing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

1. Embracing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Bill Heller SUNY College at Geneseo Perry Central Schools (retired) buckbuck11@aol.com

2. In this session we will...... 1. Briefly review components of the ELA Common Core. 2. Compare ELA Core with LOTE Standards. 3. Examine ELA Common Core Strategies and suggest adaptations for LOTE classes. 4. Briefly discuss approaches to LOTE unit planning which supports common core.

3. The Good News! From EngageNY: “Languages Other Than English teachers should be aware of the Common Core State Standards and the shifts they represent, and think about how their own instructional practice may change as a result. LOTE teachers should deliver a Common Core aligned unit based on the charge from the Commissioner; however, that unit should be in LOTE (not in ELA or Math) and be aligned to the six shifts and/or Common Core Learning Standards -— but taking into account the level of instruction for the class…”

4. More Good News! From EngageNY: “…the 6-12 literacy standards…are not meant to replace content standards in those areas but rather to supplement them.”

5. Where do the Common Core SS “fit in”? Lenses Address Needs of Learners Windows Content and Goals Mirrors Assessment

6. Window: ACTFL National Standards Five ELA CCSS Strands: 1. Reading2. Writing3. Listening and Speaking4. Language5. Media and Technology National WL Standards: 1. Interpretive Mode2. Presentational Mode3. Interpretive /Interpersonal/Presentational Modes4. Vocabulary and Grammar5. Presentational Mode / Cultural Products & Practices/Connections ✔

7. Window: ACTFL: Proficiency Guidelines • Levels of proficiency • Novice (No real functional ability to communicate. Memorized words or phrases, word level discourse). • Low, Mid, High • Intermediate (Can create with language, capable of asking simple questions and answering them with simple full sentences, can describe, sentence level discourse). • Low, Mid, High

8. ACTFL: Proficiency Guidelines • Advanced (Can narrate and describe in major time/aspect frames, can survive complicated situations, paragraph level discourse). • Low, Mid, High • Superior (Can give supported opinions, hypothesize, provide complicated explanations and deal with abstract topics, extended discourse).

9. Inverted Pyramid Representing the ACTFL Rating Scale

11. Window 2: ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines Approximate Expectations: 1. Checkpoint A Year 1 (Grade 7) Novice Mid2. Checkpoint A Year 2 (Grade 8/Level I) *Novice High3. Checkpoint B Year 1(Level II)*Novice High4. Checkpoint B Year 2 (Level III)*Novice High-Intermediate Low5. Checkpoint C Year 1 (Level IV)* Intermediate Low6. Checkpoint C Year 2 (Level V)Intermediate Low - Intermediate Mid (?) Based on data gathered from 22,000 STAMP Tests compiled in 2008 www.avantassessment.com

12. Lens 1: Common Core Curriculum (ELA) Six Skills: 1. Cite evidence2. Analyze content3. Study and apply grammar4. Study and apply vocabulary5. Conduct discussions6. Report findings ✔

13. Lens 1: Common Core Curriculum (ELA) Instructional Shifts: 1. Balancing Informational and Literary Text – “close reading” 2. Building Knowledge in the Disciplines 3. Staircase of Complexity 4. Text-Based Answers 5. Writing From Sources – expository and persuasive 6. Academic Vocabulary

14. Time out! Question: What concerns or potential conflicts do you see with supporting CCSS in ELA with the communicative goals of our LOTE Standards?

15. Examining the CCSS for ELA Activity: Examine the chart of the abbreviated CCSS checklist on pp. 4 Code each standard as follows: + I already do frequently ✓ I already do occasionally – I do, but rarely 0 I do not do, but would consider. ✗ Not appropriate for WL Classes

16. Sr. Buckbuck presents… The Common Core Catechism

17. Issue: How do I increase the “rigor?” Answer: It’s a f&@#k%n’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE!!!

18. Issue: What are appropriate texts? Answer: Authentic documents!

19. Issue: What does “close reading” look like? Curriculum Entrepreneur, David Colemen (in a talk ironically entitled “Bringing the Common Core to Life,”…) disparaged research-based strategies including: 1. Providing background information. 2. Pre-reading activities, including vocabulary introduction. 3. Giving a purpose for reading. (“strategy of the weak”) 4. Personalization of the text See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teacher-one-maddening-day-working-with-the-common-core/2012/03/15/gIQA8J4WUS_blog.html

20. Issue: How should we do “close reading”? ANSWER Ignore Curriculum Entrepreneur, David Coleman!! For now…. 1. Stick with well-established, research-based student-centered “best practices.” 2. Demand research evidence to the contrary. 3. Request model lesson with your students.

21. Issue: What does “close reading” look like? So…. 1. Provide background information. (all media) 2. Pre-reading activities, including vocabulary introduction. Give context and provide relevance! 3. Multiple Readings of the Text for different purposes. 4. Giving a purpose for each reading. 5. Start with word/phrase level comprehension  move to paragraph level. 6. Start with literal comprehension move to inferential comprehension. 7. Personalization of the text

22. Issue: What does “close reading” look like? Reasons for Multiple Readings: 1. Skim to determine audience. (silent/individual) 2. Skim to circle cognates. (silent/individual) 3. Read for main idea /underline (silent/individual) 4. Read for vocabulary given definitions or synonyms. (pair) 5. Read for literal comprehension / verification. (individual or pair) 6. Read for argumentation, structure, language use (group discussion)

23. Issue: How can I help students justify answers using text-based evidence? Techniques: 1. Find-highlight-number. (Can be done in pairs) 2. Comprehension: • True / False – Verify true / Correct &Verify False 3. Scavenger Hunts: • Include line numbers in printed texts 4. Graphic Organizers: • Compare/Contrast (Venn Diagrams) • Cause  Effect • Concept Formation (Classification Circles)

24. Issue: Multiple Sources Techniques: 1. Use audio and video texts as well as written texts – adapt “close reading” techniques for “close listening”. 2. Two Sources: • True Statements – Students identify Source A, Source B, Both Sources • Make more challenging by adding statements not verified in either source. 3. Multiple Sources • Use a grid for students to identify sources.

25. LOTE teachers can support CCSS goals and be true to developing Second Language Proficiency by: Writing, LOTE & CCSS 1. Regularly incorporating formal and informal writing activities into teaching and assessments. 2. Focusing primarily on developing writing skills at the sentence and paragraph discourse level. 3. Reinforcing common expectations for grammar, usage and style in grading practices. 25

26. Classified by Purpose Types of Writing A. Narrative – letters, stories, anecdotes, journals, diaries, autobiography B. Expository – reports, summaries, descriptions, biography C. Persuasive – editorials, position papers, essays, letters to the editor – CCSS calls for increased practice with expository and persuasive genres.

27. Issue: How do I expand writing genres? Techniques: 1. Make sure to cover the four NYS LOTE functions: • Socializing (Narrative) • Providing and Obtaining Information (Expository) • Expressing Feelings (Narrative) • Persuasion (Persuasion) 2. Use framed paragraph technique to model writing.

28. A. Sentence Level Discourse What to write.... • Use textbook questions to summarize a class. • Alphabetical lists • Write questions that can be answered from notes.

29. Students write sentences. Menus in the morning in the afternoon in the evening after school on the weekend in the summer every day always sometimes rarely often never all the time as soon as possible to sing to go to the movies to play video games to play basketball to do chores to take a hike to go camping to study to do homework to visit relatives to attend a concert to visit a museum to take a trip love(s) like(s) prefer(s) enjoy(s) detest(s) avoid(s) has/have to need(s) to should I My best friend My friends My friends and I My siblings My family My teacher Variation: Play three truths and a lie.

30. B. Paragraph Level Discourse Techniques and Ideas! • Framed Paragraph • Reactions to quotations – agree/disagree • Timed Writing (5 – 10 minutes) • Textbook questions • Old Regents Questions • Summarize main ideas

31. Framed Paragraph: Ayer hice muchas cosas. Por la mañana, _____________________, ____________________, y _____________________. Entonces, _____________________ y ____________________. Después de clases, _______________________ y __________________________. Por la noche, ________________________, ______________________ y ________________________. Por fin, ________________________ .

32. Public and private employers (should / should not) be required to offer paid child rearing leave. Offering parents child rearing leave ___________________ because _____________________ . The cost of providing paid leave __________________ because ___________________. If child rearing leave is given, then _______________. Framed Paragraph An upper level class is discussing gender roles. Students are asked to give their opinion about child rearing. Students are given this framed paragraph: 32

33. “Measure twice, cut once.” Reaction to quotation To start off a class on choosing a career, the teacher puts this quote on the projector: • What meaning does the quote have to a carpenter? • What meaning does the quote have to a person who is thinking about what to do after high school? 33

34. C. Extended Discourse Techniques and Ideas! • Timed writings – 15 - 30 minutes • Editorial Writing • Reporting from groups on chart paper • Cause and Effect or Compare and Contrast Essays

35. D. Pre-writing Techniques and Ideas! • Menus • Word Banks • Graphic Organizers – Q. A. D. • Venn Diagrams. • Picture prompts • Brainstorming • Interviews

36. Sample Graphic Organizer

37. E. Sentence Level Discourse Revision • Slotting – substitution of pronouns or new vocabulary.

38. They eat all the food. Slotting A student answers a test question like this: Put it on the document camera. Slot for the pronoun “they” and the noun “food” Theyeat all the food. consume devour The organisms The field mice The herbivores the wheat The producers The green plants 38

39. E. Sentence Level Discourse Revision • Slotting – substitution of pronouns or new vocabulary. • Sentence expansion – Use 5Ws

40. Because it’s fun. Sentence Expansion A student writes on a test: Put it on the document camera. Expand the sentence for the 5 Ws. Many teens go to the movies because it’s fun. Many teens go to the movies on the weekend because it’s fun to spend time with their friends. Many local teens go to the movies on the weekend in nearby Geneseo because it’s close-by and they enjoy spending time with their friends. 40

41. Issue: What should my unit plan look like? Answer: Here’s the CCSS design:

42. Issue: How can I create LOTE units? Suggestions: 1. “I can” statements or KUDos 2. Gather texts – (written, audio, video) 3. Build a Foundation – vocabulary and background knowledge 4. Work from the texts to create speaking and writing prompts

43. Issue: What are sources for writing thematic units? Answer: “I can” statements National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Language (NCSSFL) – Linguafolio http://www.ncssfl.org/LinguaFolio/index.php?checklists

45. Issue: What are sources for “I can” statements? Answer: Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/Gheens/CurrMaps.html

46. From: Jefferson Co. KY World Languages: Level 2

47. Conclusions: 1. Language Proficiency is JOB #1 2. Stick with LOTE “best practices” 3. Base your units on culturally authentic documents. 4. Share what you know about teaching listening and speaking! 5. Contribute to foundational skills for research (without spending too much time)