David Coleman on Bloomberg Radio

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

David Coleman, lead author of the Common Core ELA standards, was on Bloomberg radio this weekend describing his new role as the President of the College Board. In his interview with Jane Williams, Coleman notes what parents need to know about the standards, the implications for classroom practice and assessment, and what might change about Advance Placement coursework and the SAT. You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

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Text Complexity Slides

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Denise Alterio, of Sullivan County BOCES, has put together the following Prezi describing text complexity (here). It proves a nice introduction to standard 10 and the implications for looking at text complexity through quantitative and qualitative measures as well as reader and task considerations.

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“The Complex Matter of Text Complexity”

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Robert Rothman, writing for the Harvard Education Letter, shares insight and research governing the inclusion of text complexity in the Common Core State Standards. In short, high school students are practicing with texts that are well below what they will be asked to read in college or career. He notes:

Writers of the standards say that students’ ability to comprehend the kinds of texts they will encounter in college and the workplace is perhaps the most critical factor in ensuring that they are prepared for postsecondary life. Yet research cited in the standards found that, while the complexity of texts in entry-level college courses and workplaces has held steady or increased slightly, the complexity of texts used in high schools has declined over the past few decades.

You can read the entire article here.

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Liben Presentation to WCSD Educators Now Available

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

David Liben, Meredith Liben, and Rachelle Etienne, of Student Achievement Partners, were in Reno on August 20th sharing strategies to effectively implement the Common Core. They focused on text complexity, text-dependent questions, syntax, academic vocabulary, writing to sources and the Close Reading Strategy. You can view the entire presentation by clicking here.

Of note, if you are someone who has employed the close reading strategy and more specifically, with the Feynman text, you may find the first hour of particular interest. In it, David Liben shares a classroom video in which he teaches the Feynman lesson and narrates what and why he is doing what you see him doing.

Posted in Academic Vocabulary, CCSS, Common Core State Standards, Core Task Project, Instructional Shifts, Student Achievement Partners, text complexity, Text-Dependent Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The WCSD Writing Philosphy

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Washoe’s 7-12 ELA Program Coordinator, Kim Cuevas, was instrumental in crafting and sharing a “Writing Philosophy” within the district. The document has eight elements including the importance of teachers using a mentor text, graphic organizers, and conferencing with their students. You can review the Writing Philosophy by clicking here.

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Pinnacle Posts on the BAP

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Pinnacle has posted a story on Washoe’s participation in the Basal Alignment Project. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

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Introducing the Common Core and the Shifts

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Kevin Hodgson has put together a Prezi  (here) as an introduction to the Common Core State Standards and the “instructional shifts.” Keep in mind, if you choose to watch, that Nevada is part of SBAC and not PARCC.

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“Keep it or Junk it” an ESL Perspective

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Dr. Pete Cobin, ELL Consultant with Washoe County School District, reviewed the lesson “Keep it or Junk it” and shared the following:

There are two things in particular that I noticed.

  1. The emphasis on “What are you thinking? How do you use this information?” requires students to grapple with how to use language to express their ideas.  This leads students to struggle with how to be more informative, and challenges them to go beyond staying on firm ground where they feel comfortable.  The result is that students are using language that is rather complex, and the text serves as a model for how to use this more complex language.
  2. The “Keep It or Junk It” activity begins with learning vocabulary and extends to discussing and arguing how the vocabulary relates to the main ideas.  As a result, the amount of paragraph level oral language shown is quite high.  The progression of language functions–from identifying vocabulary, to repeating it, describing it, making an example with it, explaining it, arguing about it–forms a nice WIDA-like strand across the range of proficiency levels.

I expect that these types of activities would not only provide for better comprehension of the reading, but would also prepare students for the language needed for a culminating activity for the unit. 

You can find out more about the lesson by clicking here.

 

Posted in Academic Vocabulary, CCSS, Common Core State Standards, Complex Text, English Learners, Instructional Shifts, text complexity, Text-Dependent Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Core Shift Blast is Back!

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

The Core Shift Blast is back! Authored by K-6 ELA Program Coordinator Torrey Palmer, the blast provides insights into the Common Core so educators have an acute sense of what it takes to align instruction to the CCSS.

The first blast, appropriately titled “Welcome Back” includes CCSS  perspective by Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond, tips for sharing CCSS with parents, and a lesson by Amy Burton. Amy has taken a lesson she uses during the first week of school and shifted it so that the questions and activities are anchored in the text.

You can review the first blast by clicking here and you can subscribe by emailing Torrey at TFPalmer@washoeschools.net.

Posted in CCSS, Common Core State Standards, Complex Text, Core Shifts Blast, Text-Dependent Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sierra Vista & Westergard Train on the Basal Alignment Project

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Sierra Vista and Westergard trained on the Basal Alignment Project today. Listed below are the resources used for the training as well as other materials referenced during the 90-minute session.

Training Materials

BAP Training PowerPoint

Tomas and the Library Lady Questions

Pictorial Guide to accessing the BAP materials

Additional Resources

Continue reading →

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