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English Language Arts Program Update

English Language Arts Program Update. Dr. Lisa M. White School Committee Meeting October 19, 2009. Ongoing Focus Areas. Alignment between state standards and district standards/expectations (Draft Revision of MA ELA Frameworks)

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English Language Arts Program Update

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  1. English Language Arts Program Update Dr. Lisa M. White School Committee Meeting October 19, 2009

  2. Ongoing Focus Areas • Alignment between state standards and district standards/expectations (Draft Revision of MA ELA Frameworks) • Analysis of MCAS data: proficiency and improvement trends, AYP status for subgroups, etc. (District PIM) • Revision of department mission statement and program goals

  3. Elementary Initiatives • Elementary Literacy Embedded PD Model (Year 2) • Writer’s Workshop • Comprehensive Literacy Assessments • Differentiated Reading Instruction • Standards-based report card (ELA components)

  4. Job-Embedded PD Model • 2 elementary literacy coaches (4 buildings each) • Additional support for Grade 5 at PCIS and PSMS • Half-Day small group workshops • Model Lessons/Classroom Support • Study Groups

  5. Writer’s Workshop • Calkins’ Units of Study (K-2 and 3-5) • Talking, Drawing, and Writing (K) • District writing binders for units (literacy coaches) • Mentor texts

  6. Basic Components of Writing Workshop • Mini-lesson • Connection to prior work • Teaching and modeling • Independent Writing • Conferencing • Share/Author’s Chair

  7. Writing Genres • Personal Narrative • Essays • Nonfiction • Poetry • Fiction FOCUS ON AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE

  8. Linking Assessment and Instruction • Formative and Summative Assessments • MCAS • GRADE • DIBELS • Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System • Qualitative Reading Inventory IV • Differentiated Reading Instruction

  9. Summative: The process of measuring the plants. It might be interesting to compare and analyze measurements but, in themselves, these do not affect the growth of the plants. Formative: The equivalent of feeding and watering the plants appropriate to their needs – directly affecting their growth. The Garden Analogy: If children were plants…

  10. What is Differentiated Instruction? • Matching instruction to the needs of individual learners. • Forming small, flexible teacher-led instructional groups based on student data and observations. • Grouping students with similar instructional needs, limiting the size of the group based on the intensity of instruction needed. Arndt et al., Just Read, Florida! Leadership Conf., Orlando, 2008

  11. Secondary Initiatives • Secondary Literacy Initiative and PCIS Reading Grant • Socratic Circles/Seminars & Literature Discussions • Expansion of titles/choice • Updated Writing Folder Requirements and Cumulative Writing Portfolios • Curriculum Mapping/Pacing Guides (MS)

  12. Small Learning Communities Grant: School-wide Literacy • Dr. Julie Meltzer and literacy consultants from PCG-CRM • Literacy Action Plans (all schools) • Emphasis on reading and writing across content areas • Common Strategies (Thinkquiry Toolkit) • Literacy Walk-throughs

  13. Content area literacy demands that students… Read, write, think, speak/present, and listen acrosscontent areas (although application may differ in each discipline of study).

  14. Thinkquiry Toolkit I • Two teacher tools • Bloom’s Thinking Cues • Interactive Word Walls • Four collaborative routines • Think, Pair, Share • Give one, Get one, Move on • Save the last word for me • Group summarizing

  15. Thinkquiry Toolkit I • Six student strategies • Coding • Two-column notes • Triple-entry journals • Analytic graphic organizers • Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) • Role, Audience, Format, Topic (RAFT)

  16. Transfer the strategies to students using the “Gradual Release Model” Pre-assessment Explicit instruction Guided practice Independent practice Independent application

  17. Engagement in Literature Study and Reading • Over the past two years, addition of 25 new literature titles in grades 7 & 8 • Guided CHOICE! • Literature Circles/Socratic Dialogues • Increase motivation to read • Emphasis on skills and strategies, not teaching “the book”

  18. High School Writing Portfolios • 2 writing pieces per year (one literary analysis and one choice piece) • Reflection Letter at the end of each year • Senior Year Final Reflection on Growth as a Writer

  19. Recognizing Excellence • NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing: Dylan Davis • NCTE Excellence in Student Literary Magazines: PSHS Expressions • PCIS Reading Leadership Team presenting at MA DESE conference

  20. Celebrating Literacy! National Day on Writing: October 20 • The National Gallery of Writers • Writers in America’s Hometown

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