Shift 1: PK-5, Balancing Informational & Literary Text

Watauga County Schools

PD for K-5 ELA-Tentative Big Ideas to Teach during a half day session

Big Ideas:

Balance: NAEP chart – entire day, 50/50

Building background knowledge through informational text

Cultivate an attention to detail ***Use quotes for reflection

Shift 2: 6-12, Building Knowledge in the Disciplines

All teachers are literacy teachers/literacy is taught in every content area (self-contained classrooms)

Engaging students through primary sources, more time to explore a text, seeing text as evidence leading to debates, discussions, etc.

*What support systems need to be in place to support content area teachers? (Meredith)

*Activity: T-chart?

The 3-piece triangle, place of Lexile score along with other components to determine complexity.

Role of teacher: Scaffolding – not differentiation, slowing down, chunking, rereading

Teachers need to PLAN through rereading the text before teaching, choosing vocabulary, etc.

Required student behaviors: perseverance

Activity: Rereading handout and sample texts

Wiki chart of levels of complexity

Cultivating close reading and developing questions worth asking (shift from generic question stems)

Don’t always activate prior knowledge, don’t interfere with writer’s voice, purpose

Activity: Text-based Q&A Handout

Total shift from narrative, reading-writing connection

Voice comes from powerful, useful information with evidence from text, not just retelling what happens

Why shift is important for college AND career readiness

Quote: “Let go of the time you spend teaching narrative.”

Other considerations: plagiarism, paraphrasing, reliable sources, using meaningful, relevant and sufficient evidence.

Reading multiple sources (including primary sources) and compiling evidence to support an opinion/idea.

Activity: Review synthesis graphic organizer (3 boxes)

Vocabulary tiers, importance of Tier 2

Role of synonyms

Teach fewer words, deeper understanding (Tier 2 words)

Teacher planning – planning which words to use ahead of time

Quotes

Activity: Quindlen text vocabulary chart