Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts

2. Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts Vertical Articulation at a Glance

3. Common Core State StandardsOur goals for today… Participants will… • Review their previous experiences with the CCSS • Deepen their understanding of the vertical articulation of the standards • Deconstruct a standard and begin to evaluate its rigor as defined by Hess’s Cognitive Rigor matrix • Consider implications for their work • Review resources and coming events

4. Writing Communication (includes Speaking and Listening) Reading Current WA Standards (GLEs) – Grades K-10 Common Core ELA Standards – Grades K-12 Language Media & Tech

5. The ELA Document Structure Introduction page 10 • 6-12 page 35 • Reading • Writing • Speaking and Listening • Language • Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects • K-5 page 11 • Reading • Foundational Skills • Writing • Speaking and Listening • Language Appendices A, B, C

6. College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for ELA • College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards – Overarching standards for each of four ELA strands that are further defined by grade-specific standards • Reading- 10 • Writing - 10 • Speaking and Listening - 6 • Language - 6

7. What is Vertical Articulation Vertical alignment asks: • How are the content standards/objectives related from one year/grade to the next? • Knowledge or skills extend to a wider range of content • Deeper understanding of the (cognitive process) for same content • New content or skills

8. Example of Grade-Level Progression in Reading CCSS Reading Standard 3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

9. Quality of Content Alignment • Content standards are clearly articulated across grades if: • Related standards are clearly differentiated. • What new knowledge or skill is required? • Differences in terminology are explained. • One or both standards may not be described in sufficient detail. • Terminology • Different words for the same skill? • The meaning of terms appears to be expanded.

10. Bloom’s Taxonomy Labels the type of thinking (verbs) needed to complete a task; tracing the verbs reveals a deepening of the cognitive processes through a standard from K-12.

11. CONTENT TASK STUDENT TEACHER This is important because… Task Predicts Performance Elevate the cognitive demand of the task, and you elevate the performance.

12. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy • Taxonomy of cognitive objectives • 1950s- developed by Benjamin Bloom • Means of qualitatively expressing different kinds of thinking • Adapted for classroom use as a planning tool and continues to be one of the most universally applied models • Provides a way to organize thinking skills into six levels, from the most basic to the higher order levels of thinking • 1990s- Lorin Anderson (former student of Bloom) revisited the taxonomy, and as a result, a number of changes were made (Pohl, 2000, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, pp. 7-8)

13. A ComparisonOriginal Revised Creating Evaluating Analyzing Applying Understanding Remembering Evaluation Synthesis Analysis Application Comprehension Knowledge (Based on Pohl, 2000, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 8)

14. Bloom’s Taxonomy Levels

15. Back-mapping the ELA CCSS • Starting with college and career readiness • Standards for each grade level are identified • Working backward from grade 11-12 to 9-10 to 8 etc. • Establishes a clear, aligned K-12 pathway, linking elementary, middle, high school, and end-of-high school college and career readiness

16. Analyzing the Standards

17. Your turn… • With a partner, choose a standard • Highlight the additions of the grade level standard as it progresses from Kindergarten toward College and Career Ready Anchor Standards (CCRS)

18. When you have finished: Using the standard you have highlighted. • Underline the key concepts important nouns or noun phrases • Circle the verbs describing skills required of students

19. Summary Statement Example: • Anchor standard 1 is about argumentative writing and the components needed in a logical argument. • It emphasizes: • Writing sound arguments • Sufficient supporting evidence • Valid reasoning • The need to read critically • Analysis of substantive topics/text

20. Cognitive Rigor Matrix by Karin Hess • Combines Bloom’s Taxonomy with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge framework. • A tool for: • Designing units of study that have a range of cognitive demand. • Assessing tasks for the thinking they require of a student

21. The Cognitive Rigor Matrix

22. Nature Of Content Alignment Applying Webb’s Alignment Constructs 1. Categorical Concurrence What content is new? What content is continued? 2. Range of Content Broadening or generalizing knowledge/skills 3. Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Webb DOK ratings are somewhat grade-specific 4. Balance of Representation How does content emphasis vary across grades? 5. Source of Challenge What needs to be clarified about the standards?

23. Implications • What kinds of statements can you make regarding the vertical articulation of the standard you analyzed? • Use the cognitive rigor matrix to assist you. • What are the similarities and differences in your current expectations for students with those of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?

24. What instructional shifts do you see? As a result of your work today, what specific impact will the Common Core State Standards have on your lesson planning, assessment and teaching practices? In what ways will you shift your instruction as an individual, grade level, department, building or district.

25. What we have done today…

26. Standard to Practice • Deconstructed • Identified the verbs • Highlighted words/phrases defined or interpreted • Examined the vertical alignment and identified the context • Examined the horizontal alignment and identified the context • Determined whether one item/activity can address the entire standard • Described something in your curriculum that aligned to the standard

27. Next steps?

28. Standard to Practice • Begin with the Common Core State Standards, then consider what you already have and do. • Determine whether you address: • all or part of the standards in your curriculum, • whether your practice occurs at the same grade level as the standard, • and whether you currently have any data to evaluate effectiveness of instruction relative to that practice

29. Resources

30. Grade Level One-Pagers created by teachers in Washington State See the Resource page for the link to these documents.

31. Resources for Implementation • ELA overview documents (one-pagers) as connected with WA standards: http://k12.wa.us/CoreStandards/Transition.aspx#ELAGradeLevel • Publisher’s Criteria in ELA and Literacy: http://k12.wa.us/CoreStandards/Resources.aspx • Alignments cross-walk documents: http://k12.wa.us/CoreStandards/Transition.aspx#Analyses • Parent Resource Guides: http://www.pta.org/4446.htm

32. For More Information • Common Core Website: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards • Common Core Questions: • Email: corestandards@k12.wa.usOR • Greta Bornemann, OSPI CCSS Project Director, E-mail: Greta.Bornemann@k12.wa.us • Hunt Institute Videos • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGD9oLofks&feature=player_detailpage (overview) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt_2jI010WU&feature=related (writing)

33. Thank you. corestandards@k12.wa.us