Embracing the Common Core State Standards

(CCSS)

Bill HellerSUNY College at GeneseoPerry Central Schools (retired)buckbuck11@aol.com

In this session we will......1. Briefly review components of the ELA Common Core.

2. Compare ELA Core with LOTE Standards.3. Examine ELA Common Core Strategies and suggest adaptations for LOTE classes.4. Briefly discuss approaches to LOTE unit planning which supports common core.

“Languages Other Than English teachers should be aware of theCommon Core State Standards and the shifts they represent, andthink about how their own instructional practice may change as aresult. LOTE teachers should deliver a Common Core aligned unitbased on the charge from the Commissioner; however, that unitshould be in LOTE (not in ELA or Math) and be aligned to the sixshifts and/or Common Core Learning Standards -— but taking into account the level of instruction for the class…”

The Good News!From EngageNY:

“…the 6-12 literacy standards…are notmeant to replace content standards inthose areas but rather to supplementthem.”

More Good News!From EngageNY:

Where do the Common Core SS “fit in”?

WindowsContent and Goals

LensesAddress Needs

of Learners

MirrorsAssessme

nt

National WL Standards: 1. Interpretive Mode

2. Presentational Mode

3. Interpretive /Interpersonal/Presentational Modes

4. Vocabulary and Grammar

5. Presentational Mode / Cultural Products & Practices/Connections

Window: ACTFL National Standards

Five ELA CCSS Strands: 1. Reading

2. Writing

3. Listening and Speaking

4. Language

5. Media and Technology

✔

Window: ACTFL: Proficiency Guidelines

• Levels of proficiency

– Novice (No real functional ability to communicate. Memorized words or phrases, word level discourse).

• Low, Mid, High

– Intermediate (Can create with language, capable of asking simple questions and answering them with simple full sentences, can describe, sentence level discourse).

• Low, Mid, High

ACTFL: Proficiency Guidelines– Advanced (Can narrate and describe in

major time/aspect frames, can survive complicated situations, paragraph level discourse).

• Low, Mid, High

– Superior (Can give supported opinions, hypothesize, provide complicated explanations and deal with abstract topics, extended discourse).

Inverted Pyramid Representing the ACTFL Rating Scale

Window 2: ACTFL Proficiency GuidelinesApproximate Expectations: 1. Checkpoint A Year 1 (Grade 7)

Novice Mid2. Checkpoint A Year 2 (Grade 8/Level I) *

Novice High3. Checkpoint B Year 1(Level II)* Novice High4. Checkpoint B Year 2 (Level III)*

Novice High-Intermediate Low5. Checkpoint C Year 1 (Level IV)*

Intermediate Low6. Checkpoint C Year 2 (Level V)

Intermediate Low - Intermediate Mid (?)

Based on data gathered from 22,000 STAMP Tests compiled in 2008

www.avantassessment.com

Lens 1: Common Core Curriculum (ELA)

Six Skills: 1. Cite evidence

2. Analyze content

3. Study and apply grammar

4. Study and apply vocabulary

5. Conduct discussions

6. Report findings

✔

Lens 1: Common Core Curriculum (ELA)

Instructional Shifts:

4. Text-Based Answers

3. Staircase of Complexity

2. Building Knowledge in the Disciplines

1. Balancing Informational and Literary Text – “close reading”

5. Writing From Sources – expository and persuasive6. Academic Vocabulary

Time out!

Question: What concerns or potential conflicts do you see with supporting CCSS in ELA with the communicative goals of our LOTE Standards?

Examining the CCSS for ELAActivity: Examine the chart of the abbreviated CCSS checklist on pp. 4Code each standard as follows:

+ I already do frequently✓ I already do occasionally– I do, but rarely0 I do not do, but would

consider.✗ Not appropriate for WL

Classes

Sr. Buckbuck presents…

The Common Core

Catechism

Issue: How do I increase the “rigor?”

Answer:

It’s a f&@#k%n’

FOREIGN LANGUAGE!!!

Issue: What are appropriate texts?Answer: Authentic documents!

Issue: What does “close reading” look like?Curriculum Entrepreneur, David Colemen (in a talk ironically entitled “Bringing the Common Core to Life,”…) disparaged research-based strategies including:1. Providing background information.2. Pre-reading activities, including vocabulary introduction.3. Giving a purpose for reading. (“strategy of the weak”)4. Personalization of the text

See also: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teacher-one-maddening-day-working-with-the-common-core/2012/03/15/gIQA8J4WUS_blog.html

Ignore Curriculum Entrepreneur, David Coleman!!ANSWER

Issue: How should we do “close reading”?

For now….1. Stick with well-established, research-based student-centered “best practices.”2. Demand research evidence to the contrary.3. Request model lesson with your students.

Issue: What does “close reading” look like?So….1. Provide background information. (all media)2. Pre-reading activities, including vocabulary introduction. Give context and provide relevance!

4. Giving a purpose for each reading.

7. Personalization of the text

3. Multiple Readings of the Text for different purposes.

5. Start with word/phrase level comprehension move to paragraph level.6. Start with literal comprehension move to inferential comprehension.

Issue: What does “close reading” look like?Reasons for Multiple Readings:

3. Read for main idea /underline (silent/individual)

1. Skim to determine audience. (silent/individual)

4. Read for vocabulary given definitions or synonyms. (pair)

2. Skim to circle cognates. (silent/individual)

5. Read for literal comprehension / verification. (individual or pair)6. Read for argumentation, structure, language use (group discussion)

Issue: How can I help students justify answers using text-based evidence?Techniques:1. Find-highlight-number. (Can be done in pairs)2. Comprehension:

• True / False – Verify true / Correct &Verify False3. Scavenger Hunts:

• Include line numbers in printed texts 4. Graphic Organizers:

• Compare/Contrast (Venn Diagrams)• Cause Effect• Concept Formation (Classification

Circles)

Issue: Multiple SourcesTechniques:1. Use audio and video texts as well as written texts – adapt “close reading” techniques for “close listening”.

3. Multiple Sources • Use a grid for students to identify

sources.

2. Two Sources: • True Statements – Students identify

Source A, Source B, Both Sources • Make more challenging by adding statements not verified in either source.

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LOTE teachers can support CCSS goals and be true to developing Second Language Proficiency by:

Writing, LOTE & CCSS

1. Regularly incorporating formal and informal writing activities into teaching and assessments.2. Focusing primarily on developing writing skills at the sentence and paragraph discourse level.3. Reinforcing common expectations for

grammar, usage and style in grading practices.

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Classified by Purpose

Types of Writing

A. Narrative – letters, stories, anecdotes, journals, diaries, autobiography

B. Expository – reports, summaries, descriptions, biography

C. Persuasive – editorials, position papers, essays, letters to the editor

– CCSS calls for increased practice with expository and persuasive genres.

Issue: How do I expand writing genres?Techniques:

1. Make sure to cover the four NYS LOTE functions:

• Socializing (Narrative)• Providing and Obtaining Information

(Expository)• Expressing Feelings (Narrative)• Persuasion (Persuasion)2. Use framed paragraph technique to model

writing.

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A. Sentence Level Discourse

What to write....

• Use textbook questions to summarize a class.

• Alphabetical lists• Write questions that can be answered from

notes.

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Students write sentences.

Menus

love(s)like(s)prefer(s)enjoy(s)detest(s)avoid(s)has/have toneed(s) toshould

to singto go to the moviesto play video gamesto play basketballto do choresto take a hiketo go campingto studyto do homeworkto visit relativesto attend a concertto visit a museumto take a trip

in the morningin the afternoonin the eveningafter schoolon the weekendin the summerevery dayalwayssometimesrarelyoftenneverall the timeas soon as possible

IMy best friendMy friendsMy friends and IMy siblingsMy familyMy teacher

Variation: Play three truths and a lie.

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B. Paragraph Level Discourse

Techniques and Ideas!

• Framed Paragraph

• Textbook questions • Old Regents Questions• Summarize main ideas

• Reactions to quotations – agree/disagree• Timed Writing (5 – 10 minutes)

Framed Paragraph:

Ayer hice muchas cosas. Por la mañana, _____________________, ____________________, y _____________________. Entonces, _____________________ y ____________________. 

Después de clases, _______________________ y __________________________. Por la noche, ________________________, ______________________ y ________________________. Por fin, ________________________ .

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Public and private employers (should / should not) be required to offer paid child rearing leave. Offering parents child rearing leave ___________________ because _____________________ . The cost of providing paid leave __________________ because ___________________. If child rearing leave is given, then _______________.

Framed Paragraph

An upper level class is discussing gender roles. Students are asked to give their opinion about child rearing. Students are given this framed paragraph:

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“Measure twice, cut once.”

Reaction to quotation

To start off a class on choosing a career, the teacher puts this quote on the projector:

• What meaning does the quote have to a carpenter?

• What meaning does the quote have to a person who is thinking about what to do after high school?

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C. Extended Discourse

Techniques and Ideas!

• Timed writings – 15 - 30 minutes• Editorial Writing• Reporting from groups on chart paper• Cause and Effect or Compare and Contrast

Essays

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D. Pre-writing

Techniques and Ideas!

• Menus• Word Banks• Graphic Organizers – Q. A. D. • Venn Diagrams.• Picture prompts• Brainstorming• Interviews

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Sample Graphic Organizer

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E. Sentence Level Discourse

Revision

• Slotting – substitution of pronouns or new vocabulary.

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They eat all the food.

Slotting

A student answers a test question like this:

Put it on the document camera. Slot for the pronoun “they” and the noun “food”

They eat all the food.The organismsThe field miceThe herbivores

the wheatThe producersThe green plants

consumedevour

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E. Sentence Level Discourse

Revision

• Slotting – substitution of pronouns or new vocabulary.

• Sentence expansion – Use 5Ws

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Because it’s fun.

Sentence Expansion

A student writes on a test:

Put it on the document camera. Expand the sentence for the 5 Ws.Many teens go to the movies because it’s fun.

Many teens go to the movies on the weekend because it’s fun to spend time with their friends. Many local teens go to the movies on the weekend in nearby Geneseo because it’s close-by and they enjoy spending time with their friends.

Issue: What should my unit plan look like?Answer: Here’s the CCSS design:

Issue: How can I create LOTE units?Suggestions:1. “I can” statements or KUDos 2. Gather texts – (written, audio, video)3. Build a Foundation

– vocabulary and background knowledge4. Work from the texts to create speaking and writing prompts

Issue: What are sources for writing thematic units? Answer: “I can” statementsNational Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Language (NCSSFL) – Linguafolio

http://www.ncssfl.org/LinguaFolio/index.php?checklists

Issue: What are sources for “I can” statements?Answer:Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools

http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/Gheens/CurrMaps.html

From: Jefferson Co. KY World Languages: Level 2

Conclusions:1. Language Proficiency is JOB #12. Stick with LOTE “best practices”3. Base your units on culturally authentic documents.

4. Share what you know about teaching listening and speaking!

5. Contribute to foundational skills for research (without spending too much time)