Librarians & Common Core Implementation

1. Librarians & Common Core Implementation Shirley Fetherolf Program Advisor Library Media Services 4-22-12

2. Reading is at the core of everything in the Common Core Standards

3. Problem: Many of us have weeded out our high Lexile books

4. Problem Librarians say that it’s fun to read

5. CCSS Reading: Not always fun • Vehicle for deeper learning • Challenging and intellectually edifying activity • Deserving of students’ time, effort, and persistence Carol Jago

7. In order to reach appropriate levels of rigor, students must grapple with complex texts Challenging texts that may frustrate or confuse students can be extremely effective and important instructional tools

8. If students have not developed the skill, concentration and stamina to read complex texts—they will read less in general CSS ELA Appendix A, p. 4

9. Problem: Growing Imbalance • Champions at information gathering • Web surfing, social media, email and texting • Not good at processing information • Constructing meaning • Deeper thinking/synthesis • Learning to process information

10. What research has discovered about reading

11. 5% of children learn to read effortlessly 20-30% learn relatively easily once exposed to reading instruction Harris, Chris. “RTI – The Library Role.” Infomancy. 15 Mar. 2006. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://schoolof.info/infomancy/?p=173

12. For 60% of children, learning to read is a much more formidable task 20-30% of children: reading is one of the most difficult tasks ever 5% of students: even with explicit and systematic instruction, reading will continue to be a challenge Harris, Chris. “RTI – The Library Role.” Infomancy. 15 Mar. 2006. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://schoolof.info/infomancy/?p=173

13. The reading level of documents, technical manuals, and other materials required by entry level positions in most fields far exceeds the reading level of many students. • Meeting the Challenge of Adolescent Literacy, Judith Irvin, et al

14. Free voluntary reading is one of the most powerful tools we have in language instruction More reading results in better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammatical development The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research, Stephan Krashen

15. “Subject-area teachers should not be expected to teach basic reading skills, but they can help students develop critical strategies and skills for reading texts in each subject.” --Includes Librarians Southern Regional Education Board, 2009 Policy Statement, page 5

16. The Common Core Conversation Are you involved? How do you support student learning? How do you support teachers? Where can you learn more about how to implement Common Core?

17. What to do? What to buy? What curriculum? What will students do? Help!

18. New ADE Wiki on CCSShttp://ccssarkansas.pbworks.com • AETN Videos • http://ideas.aetn.org/commoncore/

19. CCSS Implementation Timetable

20. Students will still be tested over Arkansas frameworks until 2014-15 for math and ELA!

21. CCSS Changes • More nonfiction • Higher Lexiles • More research • More collaboration

22. New Challenges for Librarians STEM LMS Evaluation Waivers Complex Text Technology New PD Rules Lexiles eBooks ELL’s Collaboration 1:1 computers

23. Don’t let the new evaluation system catch you by surprise! 2014

24. New Teacher Evaluation System for Arkansas

25. What are the Curriculum Maps? • Vendor product—was free in past • Developed by Bill Gates Foundation • Used by many Arkansas schools • Not affiliated with CCSS—corestandards.org, even though their Website is commoncore.org

26. Common Core Curriculum Maps • Available online, also in book form • Teacher comment: “Implementation using these maps has been much easier, since we have some suggested texts, activities, and assessments to help us in teaching the new standards.”

27. Common Core Curriculum Maps • Issues • Catcher in the Rye in 8th grade unit • House of Spirits in 10th grade unit • Cost $19,500 for K-12 single title set • On average, all books within each unit, after set discount, cost around $250.00  • Each grade has six units

28. Pair and Share Bill Gates Curriculum Maps • Advantages • Disadvantages

29. Technology Integration Example • 8th grade ELA teacher creating podcasts of student poems • Typed poems on PPT slides, with credits and animation. • Recorded Audacity sound clip and attached to slide • Final product: students reading the words of their poems as slides scrolled through

30. Navigating the Big Shifts • Appropriate Text Complexity • Increased Reading of Informational Texts • Disciplinary Literacy • Close Reading • Text-dependent Questions • Academic Vocabulary--Tier 2 & 3 • Argumentative Writing • Short and Sustained Research Projects

31. Common Core Research Skills • Our LMS framework is still important! • Research projects in CCSS start in kindergarten • Collaboration needed with teachers to develop activities which teach our frameworks and Common Core research skills • See my wiki page for ideas

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33. Less Emphasis on Fiction

34. English Language Learners • Most ELL’s were born in USA • 43% of students in Springdale are ELL’s • Over 90% ELL’s in some classes in DeQueen

35. Connecting with Non-Readers Big Challenge:

36. Our Goal: A Word-Rich Environment • Lots of books and other reading material, invitingly displayed, on various topics, at various reading levels • Words on a word wall, etc.

37. Summer Reading Progress in International Reading Literacy Study

38. Pair and Share • Google search results not usually created specifically for children • How do you get teachers and students beyond Google?

39. Questions

40. Shirley Fetherolf 501-682-6576 shirley.fetherolf@arkansas.gov