What’s an English Language Arts EGLCE , and Why Should I Care?

1. What’s an English Language Arts EGLCE, and Why Should I Care? Michigan Department of Education OEAA Fall Conference 2005 Sheila A. Potter BETA, Inc. spotter18@comcast.net

2. What are Extended GLCEs? Learning expectations or TARGETS. . . • based on the Michigan Curriculum Framework ELA Content Standards and Benchmarks • aligned to and extended from Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCE) • designed to guide curriculum development and inform instruction • used to drive grade level MI-Access assessments for the next several years

3. What are Extended GLCEs? Learning expectations or TARGETS. . . • developed by an outstanding team of mostly special education teachers, consultants, administrators, and parents • Divided into Strands of Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening/Viewing • Subdivided into Domains, e.g., in Reading, Word Study, Narrative Text, Informational Text, Comprehension, Metacognition, Critical Standards, and Reading Attitude

4. MI-AccessFunctional Independence Assessments • measure ExtendedGrade Level Content Expectations (EGLCE) at Grades 3-8 and Extended benchmarks (EB) at Grade 11. The EGLCE and EB reflect similar content and skills as the GLCE and benchmarks, but they have been reduced in depth, breadth, and cognitive complexity.

5. Example Grade 5 GLCE and EGLCE R.NT.05.02 Analyze elements and style of narrative genres (e.g., historical fiction, tall tales, science fiction, fantasy, mystery). R.NT.05.EG02 Begin to identify and describe a variety of genre including - poetry - fantasy - legends - drama

6. Example Grade 5 GLCE and EGLCE R.NT.05.03 Analyze character traits and setting and how it defines characters/plot, the role of dialogue, how problems are resolved, and the climax of a plot. R.NT.05.EG03 Identify story elements, such as - characters’ actions and motivations - setting (time and place) - problem/solution - sequence of events - theme/lesson.

7. Example Grade 5 GLCE and EGLCE R.IT.05.01 Analyze elements and style of informational genres (e.g., advertising, experiments, editorials, atlases). R.IT.05.EG01 Identify and describe a variety of informational/functional genre including - simple how-to books - personal correspondence - science and social studies magazines

8. Example Grade 5 GLCE and EGLCE R.IT.05.02 Identify and describe informa- tional text patterns (e.g., theory and evidence, compare/contrast, position/support, problem/solution). R.IT.05.EG02 Identify informational text patterns - sequential - descriptive - enumerative.

9. “Not everything that counts can be counted; not everything that can be counted counts.” Albert Einstein

10. “Mining” the EGLCEs • Begin by discussing the fundamental meaning and content of the domain. • Examine each grade-level statement in light of the domain. • Underline important key concepts. • Think about the meaning of each term—underlying knowledge/skills, concrete examples—and why it’s important.

11. “Mining” the EGLCEs Key concepts are specific learning targets. They: • reveal meaning of the EGLCEs. • are the content of the curriculum. • serve as basis for state assessment and classroom assessment – mastery of concepts. • guide teachers in what to teach. • are the criteria upon which scoring guides are constructed.

12. Key Concepts/Learning Targets R.NT.05.EG03Identifystory elements, such as - characters’ actions and motivations - setting (time and place) - problem/solution - sequence of events - theme/lesson.

13. Hitting the Target: Teaching the Elements of a Story • Characters – Who are the main characters in the story? What do they do? Why do they do it? • Setting – When and where does the story take place? • Problem – What problem does the main character have? What does the main character want? • Solution – How is the problem solved? How does the main character learn to deal with the problem? • Events – What does the main character do to solve his/her problem or get what he/she wants? • Theme/Lesson – What did the main character learn? What did you learn from this story? Why do you think the author wrote this story?

14. Key Concepts/Learning Targets R.IT.05.EG02 Identifyinformational text patterns - sequential - descriptive - enumerative.

15. Hitting the Target: Teaching Informational Text Patterns • Sequential – Main ideas and supporting details are written in a prescribed order, e.g., chronological (steps in a process), geographical (N, S, E, W), etc. • Descriptive – Information is provided about a topic by presenting its attributes. • Enumerative – The main idea is “proven” through examples.

16. Hitting the Target • Knowledge of text structure (narrative and informational/functional) aids comprehension by helping us to focus on important elements of text. • Mapping is a graphic representation of the story or informational text. • Teachers use “maps” to make informed decisions about texts to use, questions to ask, and prior knowledge needed to comprehend. • Students use “maps” to comprehend and remember content; to build knowledge about process – how text is constructed; to retell and summarize; and to plan for and write original text.

17. Hitting the Target “Students learn what teachers emphasize.” Gerald Duffy

18. MI-Access Functional IndependenceInstructional Implications • Proficient readers are metacognitive; they think about their own thinking during reading. • Effective teachers provide direct instruction and modeling in comprehension strategies, e.g., • activating prior knowledge before, during, and after reading; • determining important ideas and themes; • asking questions; • creating visual and other sensory images; • drawing inferences; • retelling or summarizing what is read; and • using fix-up strategies to repair comprehension. From Keene & Zimmermann, Mosaic of Thought, 1997

19. MI-Access Functional IndependenceInstructional Implications Effective teachers also: • provide opportunities for students to read silently and listen for extended periods of time in class. • allow students to read, listen to, and create texts in a variety of genre (short stories, poetry, plays, newspaper articles, web pages, graphs, etc.) in all content areas. • provide daily opportunities for writing done in support of reading, e.g., response logs, journals, and writing in which students reflect on their growth as authors. • encourage students to connect and compare ideas and information from more than one text.

20. “If we teach reading and writing well, the test scores will take care of themselves.” Roger Farr “A Czar’s Pronouncements on the Subject of Reading Assessment” June, 2003