Summer Leadership Institute

1. Summer Leadership Institute Administrative “Look-Fors”: Text Complexity Karen Colarossi, Kimberly Natal, Rose Sedely August 9-10, 2012

2. Common Board Configuration Date: Vocabulary: Complex Text, Comprehension Instructional Sequence, NGCAR-pd Bell Ringer: What do you already know and how have you seen complex text utilized in your school? Agenda: 1. Overview 2. Reviewing complex text 3. Resources for complex text 4. Meeting the needs 5. Classroom Look-Fors Learning Goal: Administrators will have a better understanding of what they should see in a classroom with regard to using complex text and know what the plan is for training teachers. Benchmark: RI.6.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Summarizing Activity: Rate how your knowledge about text complexity has changed as a result of this overview. • Objective: Administrators will be able to demonstrate an understanding of what should be observed in a classroom using complex text. Homework: Essential Question: Why does text complexity matter?

3. Lake County Schools Vision Statement • A dynamic, progressive and collaborative learning community embracing change and diversity where every student will graduate with the skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the workplace. Mission Statement • The mission of the Lake County Schools is to provide every student with individual opportunities to excel. • Lake County Schools is committed to excellence in all curricular opportunities and instructional best practices. This focus area addresses closing the achievement gap, increased graduation rate, decreased dropout rate, increase in Level 3 and above scores on the FCAT, achieving an increase in the number of students enrolled in advanced placement and dual enrollment opportunities and implementing the best practices in instructional methodology.

4. 21st Century Skills Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Collaboration and Leadership Agility and Adaptability Initiative and Entrepreneurialism Effective Oral and Written Communication Accessing and Analyzing Information Curiosity and Imagination

5. High Effect Size Indicators “The Department’s identified set of indicators on high effect size instructional and leadership strategies with a causal relationship to student learning growth constitute priority issues for deliberate practice and faculty development.” -Florida Department of Education, 2012

6. Classroom TeacherHigh Effect Indicators School LeadershipHigh Effect Indicators • Learning Goal with Scales • Tracking Student Progress • Established Content Standards • Multi-tiered System of Supports • Clear Goals • Text Complexity • ESOL Students • Feedback Practices • Facilitating Professional Learning • Clear Goals and Expectations • Instructional Resources • High Effect Size Strategies • Instructional Initiatives • Monitoring Text Complexity • Interventions • Instructional Adaptations • ESOL Strategies

7. Text complexity is the key to accelerating student achievement in reading.

8. Bell-Ringer • What do you already know about, and what have you seen teachers implement with regard to teachers using complex text? • Think, write, share

9. What is Complex Text? • How do you know if your teachers are using complex text? • How often should you see it used in the classroom? • Where can your teachers find resources for complex text? • Who is available to support your teachers? • What is the plan going forward?

10. How Do You Know if Your Teachers are Using Complex Text? • In the folder you will see two text samples- one is complex and one is simple. • Use the matrix and the “cheat sheet” and your table partners to read each piece of text then discuss each piece in terms of complexity. • Choose the piece you believe is complex- be prepared to support your choice with evidence from the text and details from the cheat sheet.

11. Where Can Teachers Find Resources? Choose an excerpt of text from Appendix B as a starting place: Use available resources to determine the text complexity of other materials on our own.

12. Additional Resources • Ebsco • Lake County Home Page • EBSCO • lakecounty (Username) • lakecounty (Password) • DBQ Essays

13. How Often Should You See Complex Text Used by Students? • Students should be interacting with complex texts • 1/3 of the time by October • ½ of the time by January • 2/3rds of the time by April • Interaction with complex texts should be throughout the student’s day

14. Use of Informational Text

15. What is Informational Text?

16. Who Can Help? • Literacy Coach • Your Literacy Coach was trained to identify complex text using the Fl DOE matrix. • All Secondary and two Elementary Literacy Coaches are trained to deliver NGCAR-pd and/or CIS(Comprehension Instructional Sequence) which assists teachers in understanding how to teach students in their content area to use complex text. • Other Elementary Coaches are encouraged to team up with their middle school/high school feeder Coach to attend or deliver NGCAR-pd or CIS training.

17. What is the Plan Going Forward? • Your Literacy Coach should deliver NGCAR-PD training to a selected cadre of content area teachers. • Already Reading Endorsed/Reading Certified or CAR-PD trained teachers should have training on implementing complex text through the Comprehension Instructional Sequence. • Elementary Coaches/CRT’s will have continued training on CIS to begin training teachers at the school level.

18. In Summary: What you should see- • Students reading and interacting with complex, content area text in the reading block and/or content area course. • Students interacting with complex text by marking the text, using directed note-taking, and generating their own questions about text while working in groups and pairs. • Authentic student writing (short and extended) based on informational, complex text which includes citing from the text in every subject area. (e.g. Argument/support essays, DBQ’s etc. )

19. MORE…. • An increase in the use of complex, informational text at all grade levels in all subjects. • Teachers using scaffolding and support strategies to assist students with complex text. • Think Aloud strategy • Deliberately formatted reading groups: pairs or triads • Opportunities for student directed dialogue • Organizers to assist and support student questioning, understanding, and reflection • Teacher Read Aloud (as needed) • Socratic Seminar

20. What you should NOT see- • Students reading complex informational text independently with packets of work sheets and questions to answer. • Students reading complex text as homework packets. • Silent classrooms with no text based discussion and no writing.

21. How Can You Monitor? • OBSERVE teachers and students in the classrooms. • EXAMINE the text being used in the classrooms. • ASK teachers how they evaluated their text for complexity. • REVIEW samples of student writing, including short and extended essays in all subjects, DBQ’s and Science Fair Projects. • ATTEND a Comprehension Instructional Sequence (CIS) or NGCAR-PD training conducted at your school.

22. Rate Yourself On a scale of 1-4 (one low, four high) rate yourself on your comfort level with understanding what you should see in a classroom using complex text.

23. Participant Scale and Reflection(Please complete and turn in)