Literacy and Librarians: Providing Critical Common Core Support for Content Area Teachers

1. Literacy and Librarians: Providing Critical Common Core Support for Content Area Teachers Marcia Barnhart Director of Organizational Learning Teacher 2 Teacher Prepared for INFOhio

2. Librarians and Literacy “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom…” Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities

3. Session Objectives • The Common Core Literacy Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects • The role librarians can play in supporting content area teachers in meeting this change • The process and next steps to begin this work • Resources available • Open discussion for questions and ideas

4. Questions about the Literacy Standards • What are the literacy standards? • Why do we need literacy standards? • Where are they located? • Who is responsible for teaching them? • How can teachers implement them?

5. What are the Literacy Standards? Standards for reading and writing in • Science • Social Studies • History • Other Technical Subjects*

6. What does “Other Technical Subjects” mean? *A course devoted to a practical study, such as engineering, technology, design, business, or other workforce-related subject; a technical aspect of a wider field of study, such as art or music. (CCSS Glossary)

7. Why not grades K – 5? The Literacy Standards are predicated on the assumption that K-5 teachers already teach reading and writing across content areas.

8. What do the writers of the CCSS tell us about the Literacy Standards? Short video – David Coleman www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute Look for video: Literacy in Other Disciplines

9. An Integrated Model of Literacy “We acquire knowledge and thinking skills best when we learn them reciprocally, when we are asked to read, write, argue, and problem solve as we engage with text and with an organized body of essential knowledge”  Mike Schmoker Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning ASCD 2011

10. Curriculum Literacy CURRICULUM CONTENT learned via reading, writing, discussion in these modes: • Draw inferences and conclusions • Analyze conflicting source documents • Solve complex problems with no obvious answer • Support ARGUMENTS with evidence • Multiple 3-5 page papers & “far more books, articles, essays” College Knowledge by David Conley

11. Where are the Literacy Standards located? The Literacy Standards for History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects follow the K-12 Common Core Standards for ELA (pp. 59-66) www.corestandards.org Select the tab The Standards at the top of the page.

12. Organization of the Document

13. Organization of the Literacy Standards

14. Creating the ELA Standards College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards Broad, foundational statements that define skills that students must demonstrate in order to be college and career ready. • Reading – 10 CCR Anchor Standards • Writing – 10 CCR Anchor Standards • Speaking and Listening – 6 CCR Anchor Standards • Language – 6 CCR Anchor Standards

15. Anchor Standards • Writing Anchor Standard #8 • Anchor Standard: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. • Grade 3: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories. • Grade 6: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources. • Grade 9: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for • citation.

16. Grade-specific standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies grades 6-12 Grade-specific standards distinctly identify what students should learn in each grade band.

17. Grade-specific standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6-12 Same concept as History/SS--different skills

18. Unlike the Reading Standards, there is no division within the subjects for Writing

20. Who is responsible for teaching the Literacy Standards? “The Standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared responsibility within the school.” (Introduction to the CCSS, p. 4)

21. Three Big Ideas for Literacy in All Content Areas 1. Literacy is everyone’s job. 2. Students must read complex texts independently and proficiently in every discipline. 3. Students must write argumentative and explanatory texts in every discipline (process writing and on-demand writing.

22. Increase Informational Text

23. Beginning in 5th grade… Students must be taught to be • Readers • Researchers • Writers • Speakers • Across all content areas

24. Primary Focus of Common Core Standards INQUIRY

25. Beginning in 5th grade… Students will be required to • Compare and contrast sources • Assemble evidence • Make contentions of their own • Juxtapose all sources, even those with conflicting ideas They will need access to multiple perspectives on given topics.

26. How Do Librarians Fit In?

27. Turn Lemons into Lemonade

28. Additional Role

29. The Crosswalk • “The Common Core standards are ELA standards with our 21st-century skills tacked on.” • Marcia Mardis, Assistant Professor of School of Library & Information Studies, Florida State University • AASL’s Crosswalk of the Common Core Standards and the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner

30. Thematically-Organized Collections “Kids shouldn’t have to get all their information from a single snippet of text…..They need to be a collection of information that’s systematically and thematically organized so they create a more contextual picture for students.” Barbara Stripling, Professor at Syracuse University School of Information Studies

31. No More Boring, Poorly-Written Fact Books • Weed out bland books with limited points of view • Hunt for databases and other online resources to supplement collections • Create a wish list for new resources • Show administrators why resources needed • Keep track of their usage to show how well the money was spent Marc Aronson, kids book editor and Michael L. Printz Award-winning author

32. Research to Support Role of Librarians Recent study (http://tinyurl.com/76t6qnj) by education researchers Keith Curry Lance and Linda Hofschire • Students achieve significantly higher on standardized reading tests in schools that have full-time “endorsed” librarian that their peers in schools that have lost or never had a librarian.

33. Research to Support Role of Librarians Review of test scores of Colorado students in grades 3 through 10 in 2005 and 2011, the researchers concluded that “[t]here is a positive and statistically significant relationship between advanced reading levels and endorsed librarian staffing trends.” “schools with full-time media specialist , students’ scores spiked 45 percent on Colorado Student Assessment Program, compared to just 29 percent for their counterparts in institutions that didn’t have a librarian.” (http:tinyurl.com/7gh8trq)

34. Media Specialists Media specialists help students with online reading comprehension • Navigating search engines • Using interactive media • Evaluating connected texts New literacies with which many classroom teachers need help.

35. Media Specialists • Introduce students to strategies for interacting with these new literacies • Ask students a series of questions to determine if they truly understand the purpose of a particular website • Walk kids through a site, evaluating it together.

36. Librarians’ Special Niche • Special relationship with students as readers • Not in the role of evaluating students • Undercover agents and know what students are selecting to read. • Share knowledge on curriculum teams and with classroom teachers.

37. Librarian as a Reading Teacher Can you see yourself in the role of supporting content area teachers in teaching reading comprehension? Natural fit for school librarians to teach reading comprehension.

38. For Example

39. For Example

40. 5 Things About the Common Core • Emphasis on literacy across the content areas • Increase in literary nonfiction • Close reading of shorter texts • The textbook is dead. • Increased emphasis on informational text Christopher Harris How to Get Started Library Journal April 2012

41. 5 Things To Do To Get Started • Become local expert. • Rethink your collection. • Highlight what you have. • Ask for help. • Work together. Christopher Harris How to Get Started Library Journal April 2012

42. Opportunities Abound! Your work will be perceived as urgent and critical. School librarians and librarians are indispensable.

43. Take the Lead! Become masters of the language of the Common Core. Become instructional leaders on the implementation of the Common Core. Teach concrete skills embedded in the inquiry process. Become a participant on curriculum mapping and/or literacy committees.

45. Resources to Explore • www.corestandards.org Select the tab The Standards at the top of the page • www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute Look for video: Literacy in Other Disciplines • http://hunt-institute.org Select Knowledge Library and then select Common Core Standards http://vimeo.com/25206110 Close reading demonstration by David Coleman

46. Other Ideas? • How to support content area teachers in using the Literacy Standards? • How to support the implementation of the Common Core in your building? • How to guarantee your collection aligns with the demands of the Common Core for rich informational texts on a variety of research topics as well as literary nonfiction?

47. What now? • Other suggestions? • Share throughout the year what worked for you • What kind of response are you getting from content area teachers , admins, etc… • KBC great way to see what others are sharing and get more ideas • Now it’s up to you!