TEACHER LEADER TEAM

1. TEACHER LEADER TEAM Amory School District

2. District Mission The overarching mission of the Amory School District is to create opportunities for ALL students to achieve at the highest level possible.

3. 5 THINGS EVERY TEACHER SHOULD BE DOING • Designing lesson plans that require students to use Higher Order Thinking (HOT) skills • Create opportunities to actively engage all students in each lesson • Make good decisions about texts used in class, stressing thematic connections and text complexity • Use effective questioning to create discussions WITH and BETWEEN students • Teach the concept of argument in all content areas.

4. Collaboration • Both horizontally and vertically • To discuss/compare/share strategies and ideas • To plan lessons for overlapping of content • To create or tweak common assessments • To analyze data from formative and common assessments

5. Professional Learning Communities • Learning community with a focus on and a commitment to the learning of ALL students • Composed of collaborative members working together to achieve common goals linked to helping ALL students learn • Focused on continuous improvement • Must use RESULTS to determine next steps • Must use ongoing assessment to determine effectiveness of program

6. PLC’s • MDE emphasis • ASD use of PLC’s • Common planning times • Departmental/Grade level meetings • Data meetings • Principal meetings • Teacher Leadership Team

7. Why PLC’s • The creation of a guiding coalition or leadership team is a critical first step in the complex task of leading a school (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005) • None of us know as much as ALL of us • Learn from each other • Determine where we want to go, where we are, and how we are going to get there

8. English Language Arts Overview • Over the last few decades, textbook reading levels have decreased. • K-12 reading is more narrative in nature than informative, which is required in college and the workplace. K-12 reading content is not very challlenging. • K-12 teachers give students a great deal of coaching and support

9. Today’s Text Gap

10. Current Lexile Levels vs. CCSS Lexiles

11. Non-fiction Must Become Focus

12. Writing Requirements Argument and Evidence

13. Evidence-based Writing • Writing and answers should be based on what has been read in the text, not opinions or experiences. • 80% of teacher questioning doesn’t require students to read anything in a text to be able to answer • Supporting details from the text being read should be used when answering evidence-based questions

14. TEAM NORMS • Be at meetings and be on time. Plan to stay for the entire meeting. Appointments should be scheduled around meetings whenever possible. • Prepare for meetings. Review materials given and be ready for next meeting so that we don’t waste time • Collaborate!! • Take knowledge gained back to schools and help others put it into practice • Be a team player, even when it means agreeing to disagree at times

15. College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards • Four Strands • Reading • Literature (RL) • Informational (RI) Writing Speaking and Listening Language

16. Key Areas of CCRA’s and ELA Standards • Reading Informational Text • Newspapers • Magazines • Technical Manuals • Historical Non-fiction • Science • Biographies

17. Key Areas of CCRA’s and ELA Standards • Reading Literary Texts • Fairy Tales • Folklore • Historical Fiction • Poetry • Drama • Fictional Novels

18. Key Areas of CCRA’s and ELA Standards • Reading Complex Texts • Complexity should build as students progress in reading skills • Students must be exposed to reading that is above their current reading levels to help them grow.

19. Key Areas of CCRA’s and ELA Standards • Close Reading and Citing Text Evidence • Students are expected to use what has been read to answer questions and prove or justify their answers. • Teachers must ask questions that require students to refer to the text to find the answers. • Inductive reasoning should be required as students progress • Teachers should use graphic organizers and activities that ask students to provide quotations from text as evidence.

20. Key Areas of CCRA’s and ELA Standards • Writing Arguments • Many standards ask students to develop and evaluate formal, logical arguments based on evidence from text. • Persuasion uses the credibility or character of the writer and emotions to convince the audience. • Logical arguments use merit and reasonableness of claims to convince the audience. • Teachers must require students to analyze exemplar argumentative writings and require students to use argument in writing and speaking and listening assignments.

21. Reading Strand • Two domains • Reading standards for Literature- RL • Reading standards for information- RI Four Headings • Key Ideas and Details • Craft and Structure • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas • Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

22. CCRA for Reading

23. Implications for Reading CCRA • Requires Close Reading strategies to analyze or evaluate texts. • Requires citing of evidence to support conclusions drawn from text. • Requires analysis and synthesis of information to determine how plot, characters, structure, and word choice effect the text. • Requires use of summary, comparison/contrast to validate analysis. • Requires repeated exposure to Complex Reading text and independent comprehension.

24. Writing Strand • Types and Purposes • Arguments are used to support claims using evidence and supporting details. • Informative/Explanatory writing is used to convey complex ideas. • Narratives are used to develop real or imagined events or experiences, based on text read.

25. Writing Strand • Use short and sustained research projects based on specific questions • Assess of credibility of resources and integrate information found without plagiarizing • Use evidence to support analysis, research, or reflection • Write over both short and sustained time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences

26. Speaking and Listening Strand • Must begin developing speaking and listening skills in Kindergarten and continue through graduation • Students must learn to collaborate with others to prepare and present information to an audience • Students must learn to critique presentations of others • Students must develop and organize effective argumentative and informative presentations • Must use multiple resources, both written and digital • Students must learn to use language and word choice appropriately

27. Language Strand • Students must demonstrate knowledge of appropriate English when both writing or speaking • Students must use language to clarify meaning of words and to convey thoughts appropriately • Students must use language to acquire a wide range of vocabulary, both general and domain specific

28. Enterprise Change • If Constancy of Purpose is the first step to quality, Motivation to Change is the first step to Organization Development (Lewin • Not everyone will change • Resistance is ugly • Use “High Fliers” to help others believe that change is necessary

29. Motivation for Change • Lexile level changes we looked at earlier • Students are not adequately prepared for college or career with current standards being used • College and Career Readiness standards require a change in both teaching strategies and learning strategies

30. Anticipate “Survival Anxiety” • Some educators will cling to the old, now invalid thinking • Leads to defensiveness and resistance due to pain of having to UNLEARN and RETHINK • Three stages: Denial, (won’t happen), Scapegoating and passing the buck (it’s others fault, or I’m retiring), making excuses (my kids can’t do it, I don’t have time), and guilt (it’s not developmentally appropriate)

31. Common Core Fears • Requires Enterprisal Change- it involves everyone and requires change from everyone • Big Steps- increases rigor for all teachers and students • Scary Change- requires use of new strategies and new ways of thinking • Skills Fear- especially in math, where concepts are pushed down into earlier grades • Consequences- Fired?

32. How We Approach the Change • The change is not only necessary, it’s required • It is best for students • Focus on those receptive to the change • Determine benchmarks to determine progress • Maintain change: Constant Push • Communicate positively • Gradually release “helping” relationship to others • We must address the EMOTION of change

33. The Key Fear to Address • As much as we fear the NEW… We fear giving up the OLD even more. • This is because of our Habits and Mastered Content and Practices • We must provide comfort, support egos, and support others’ self esteem issues • Organize structure and coherence

34. Appendix A • Text Complexity Triangle • Qualitative Measures- levels of meaning or purposes, structure of text, language used, and knowledge demands of text • Quantitative Measures- word length or frequency, sentence length, text cohesion • Reader and Task Consideration- motivation, knowledge, and experiences of reader. Purpose and complexity of assigned texts and questions

35. Appendix A • Lexile Level Increases • Reading Standard 10 Progression • Argumentative Writing • Read- Alouds • Vocabulary Acquisition • Tier 1- general, everyday words • Tier 2- general academic words used in multiple content areas • Tier 3- content area specific words, circumference, aorta, compound predicate

36. Appendix B/C • Text Exemplars by grade level- B • Performance-based tasks- B • Writing Samples- C • Informative • Argument • Narrative

37. M-STAR • Planning • Artifacts • Common Core lessons • Levels • Pre-, Post • Piloted next year, live 2014-2015

38. Close Reading • Gettysburg Address

39. Rigor/Relevance Framework • Introduce Quadrants and assign for next session

40. Next Meeting • Close Reading of Standards of Mathematical Practices • Rigor/Relevance Framework