Integrating English Language Arts Academic Skills into CTE

Integrating English Language Arts Academic Skills into CTE Curriculum Is not “one more thing to do”! It’s part of what we should be doing whenever lessons require that students read or write. Being proficient communicators, both orally and in writing are success skills needed in all occupations!

Arizona College Career Ready Standards (also known as Common Core Standards) Are our documents: You have: O Anchor Standards (the same for all grades) O Reading/Writing Standards specifically for Technical Subjects in grades 6 -12 Reading - Yellow Writing – Blue

Take five minutes Reading Anchors now to skim over There are 10 Standards that fit within these the categories: standard 1. Key Ideas and Details Read closely s 2. Craft and Structure Interpret 3. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Analyze and evaluate 4. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity Comprehend

Take five minutes now to Writing Anchors skim over There are 10 Standards that fit within these the categories: standard 1. Text Types and Purposes Argumentative, Informative, Narrative s 2. Production and Distribution of Writing Produce, revise, and use technology 3. Research to Build and Present Writing Gather information and draw evidence 4. Range of Writing Write routinely for a range of tasks and purposes

Section Objective: Topic: Arizona College and Career Ready Reading and Writing Standards for Technical Subjects Do: Examine standards to see what CTE teachers can do to address them in their programs Level of Thinking: Analyzing

Close Reading: Critical to Az. CCR Reading Standard Attainment! Let’s break every Power. Point rule in the book on the next slide….

Close Reading (PARCC, 2011, p. 7) Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole.

Let’s look at the definition bit by bit…

Engaging with sufficient complexity… O Students need to be assigned challenging text with the expectation that eventually they will read it successfully independently O They will need help (scaffolding) at first, but the degree of support should lessen over time O Most likely the text you are using has a high Lexile level, but you can check any text by creating a free account and following the steps to analyze text on the www. lexile. com website

The Lexile® measure: a scientific way to match readers with text O Uses a common scale for measuring individual readers and texts • Lexile scores are determined by the difficulty of text measured by sentence and word lengths O Enables accurate matching of reader ability with text complexity to enhance learning

Measuring Text Complexity Lexile scores are the “Quantitative” task factor “Qualitative” = teacher’s professional decisions based upon the difficulty of the text based on text structure, visual supports, language used, etc. “Reader and task” = the factor like O student background knowledge O motivation O reading skills

Common Core Lexile Levels

Encouraging students to read and reread deliberately O Have students determine central ideas or themes (Standard 2) O Each time they reread a selection they should have a different purpose for reading (task you have given)

Direct students to the text itself O Help students realize that they will learn by reading for the rest of their lives O Don’t just “answer their questions. ” Have them dig into the text to find the answers themselves

Reflect on meanings of individual words and sentences O Guide students to extract meaning from the words, sentences, and paragraphs O Analyze how the use of symbols and domain-specific vocabulary shape meaning or tone (Standard 4)

Focus on the development of ideas over the course of the text O Analyze how ideas develop (Standard 3) O Demonstrate how each part of the text contributes to the overall message

Let’s take a look at text Close Reading (Lexile level 1330) Article by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher Step 1: Examine Text Features O Title/subtitles O Who wrote it? O Graphs/illustrations if present O Print features (bold, italics, etc. ) O Number and chunk paragraphs or sections (if not done by the teacher)

Step 2: First Read For this exercise, let’s look at paragraphs 37 (continue to read all of 7 on back side) O Circle any key vocabulary along with any that is unknown O Put a ? In the margins for unknown Please do this now…

Step 3: Second Read O Underline key details O Put exclamation marks !! by important ideas

Step 4: Third read O On the left margin, write statements in your own words about what you learned O Write an “about statement” for each chunk of the text (LEFT = Learned) O On the right margin make reflections: O Predictions O Opinions related to text O Connections O Patterns/repetitions (RIGHT = Reflect)

Step 4: Subsequent Readings O If done, direct the student to mark according to one or more of these things: O Author’s point of view O Support for claims/opinions O Connections O Cause and effect O Compare and contrast

Students as independent, proficient readers of complex text is the ultimate goal of Az. CCR Reading Standards How do we get them there?

Students must learn to effectively gather evidence, knowledge, and insight directly from the text in order to comprehend and draw inferences This can be taught through the use of well-crafted text dependent questions written specifically to selections of complex text

The text MUST BE: O First closely read by you, the teacher O Worth reading O Of sufficient complexity to be challenging yet “doable” The questions MUST BE: • Worth asking • Specific to the text selection (kids get bored with answering generic questions) • Crafted deliberately • Answered first by you the teacher to insure that answers require referring back to the text

Writing Text Dependent Questions

Quality Text Dependent Questions: O Require students to be close readers of text O Set the stage for critical thinking O Are crafted in a way to elicit extended thoughts O Usually have more than one correct response O Require that students refer back to the text O Provide opportunity for students to cite evidence

3 Types of text dependent questions • • • Questions that assess themes and central ideas Questions that assess knowledge of vocabulary Questions that assess syntax and structure O Why did the author choose particular words? O How do portions of the text relate to the whole? O What info is gained from examining graphics/photos?

6 Steps To writing quality text dependent questions

Step 1: Identify the standards that are being addressed O Determine which Az. CC Reading/Writing Standards are being addressed by the text and questions O Your CTE Program’s Technical Standards would be the basis for your learning objective

Step 2: Identify core understandings of text O What is it that you want students to understand or learn from the text? O This could be stated in the form of a critical focus question

Core Understanding / Critical Focus Questions Examples from the article you have read: Guided close reading lessons help students develop skills and stamina needed to successfully comprehend complex text. Close reading should be done periodically in all classes with well-chosen selections for which text dependent questions have been written. How do teachers prepare for, and students participate in and benefit from close reading lessons?

Step 3: Start small The first questions … O Orient students to the text O Simple enough to encourage confidence to tackle more challenging subsequent questions

Step 4: Target vocabulary and text structure O Identify how text is set up O Focus attention on diagrams and charts imparting information O Write questions to ensure understanding of key vocabulary

Step 5: Tackle tough sections directly O Identify areas that are likely to pose challenges to craft questions to ensure understanding

Step 6: Create a coherent series of text dependent questions O Questions should build upon one another O Sum of the questions should lead to core understanding (answer critical focus question)

Sample text dependent questions… 1. What is the recommended length of text to be used for close reads? 2. Why should close reading text selections be relatively short? 3. Paragraph 6 refers to the teaching of close reading not being the purview of English teachers, meaning what? 4. What is an ultimate goal of close reads?

You’re the experts! PLC groups will work together to: O Select appropriate complex text O Determine core understandings / critical questions O Craft quality text-dependent questions O Critique one another's questions to select the best O Write Az. CCRS Reading/Writing tasks – at least one quarterly

“ 3, 2, 1” Section Closure – Take out the ½ sheet in your binder pocket

Time for a short