Literacy in the Elementary Classroom

1. Literacy in the Elementary Classroom Monday, October 7, 2013 Roosevelt High School

2. Be sure to sign in before you leave this morning!

3. We will post our questions in the parking lot. If we would like a personal response to the question, we’ll be sure to include our names. • We will limit side conversations when someone is talking to the group. • We will make productive use of this time.

4. Introductions/Norms • “Closing in on Close Reading” • Break (15 minute break at 9:30) • What Can We Learn from Kids’ Writing? • Using the Quarterly Assessment • Exit Card

5. Definition of “Close Reading” • A close reading is a careful and purposeful reading. Well actually, it’s rereading. It’s a careful and purposeful rereading of a text. It’s an encounter with the text where students really focus on what the author had to say, what the author’s purpose was, what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us.

6. Definition of “Close Reading” • It really is getting to what Louise Rosenblatt talked about as a transaction between the reader and the text. Louise Rosenblatt, the originator of Reader-Response Theory, really talked about understanding what the author had to say and not impugning those authors words, but really getting what the author had to say and bringing some of your own ideas to bear on that text.

7. Definition of “Close Reading” • In a close reading, we have to have students reread the text. We give them questions; text dependent questions that require that they go back into the text and search for answers. These aren’t simply recall questions, just the facts of the text, but rather questions that allow students to think about the text, and the author’s purpose, the structure, and the flow of the text. Dr. Douglas Fisher http://www.mhecommoncoretoolbox.com/close-reading-and-the-ccss-part-1.html

8. Close Reading in Third Grade After a “close reading” of these three paragraphs, talk in your groups about what “close reading” will look like in the third grade.

9. Because of Winn-Dixie • Read the excerpt on your own. • When everyone in your group is ready, discuss the questions on top half of the handout. • Then turn to the questions on the bottom half of the handout. • Compare the sets of questions to each other. Take some time to discuss what standards you think could be taught using these two sets of questions. Which set requires the student to do more “close reading?”

10. Third Grade Literature Standards • Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. • Recount stories…, determine the central message…, and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. • Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. • Determine the meaning of words and phrases… • Refer to parts of stories…when writing or speaking about a text. • Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or characters. Standards 7 (illustrations), 9 (compare authors’ works), and 10 (reading grade level text) will not be considered for this piece.

11. First Set of Questions • Why was Miss Franny so scared by Winn-Dixie? Why was she “acting all embarrassed”? • How did the Herman W. Block Memorial Library get its name? • Opal says, “She looked sad and old and wrinkled.” What happened to cause Miss Franny to look this way? • What were Opal’s feelings when she realized how Miss Franny felt? • Earlier in the story, Opal says that Winn-Dixie “has a large heart, too.” What does Winn-Dixie do to show that he has a “large heart”? • Opal and Miss Franny have three very important things in common. What are these?

12. Second Set of Questions • The author repeats a few phrases, like “My daddy was a rich man, a very rich man.” Why does the author do this? Find more repeated phrases. What effect do these have on the meaning of the story? • In Chapter 7, Miss Franny Block tells Opal the story of the bear from long ago. Why do you think the author stops the action of the story to go back in time like this? What might not have happened if Franny Block hadn’t told this story? • What is Franny Block’s point of view about Winn-Dixie by the end of Chapter 7? What is the evidence? Where does her point of view change?

13. Third Grade Literature Standards • Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. • Recount stories…, determine the central message…, and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. • Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. • Determine the meaning of words and phrases… • Refer to parts of stories…when writing or speaking about a text. • Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or characters. Standards 7 (illustrations), 9 (compare authors’ works), and 10 (reading grade level text) will not be considered for this piece.

14. Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf

15. Dr. Doug Fisher Talks About Close Reading • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhGI5zdjpvc

16. Closing in on Close Reading • Read the article by Nancy Boyles. We know this may not be a “close read,” but in your small groups take a few minutes to share--according to the protocol, “One paragraph, One sentence, One word.”

17. A Third Grade Example A Sweet Smell of Roses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7-3iD-gL1

18. “One Today” • Read the poem, “One Today,” by Richard Blanco as a choral read. • In your small groups, apply some of the questions and article points to a discussion of the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSRy8SGTEE

19. 4 Questions to Consider • What is the author telling me here? • Are there any hard or important words? • What does the author want me to understand? • How does the author play with language to add to meaning?

20. 1st Quarter Science Articles Feel free to use these articles. 3rd Grade Close Reading Articles

21. Take a break! http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/

22. Using the Writing Rubric • In small groups, take 5-10 minutes to go through each of the writing traits, discussing what each trait and level might look like. • Mark your rubric to indicate what key pieces you may be looking for at each level.

23. Using the Writing Rubric • Number the writing pieces in your small group so that each piece has its own number. • In small groups take turns scoring the writing samples you have available, using the writing rubric. If you’re not able to score all traits, score the ones you can. • Use the writing scoring sheet and make sure to keep track of the numbers on the pieces you score so you can compare. • In pairs, compare a couple of pieces of writing that each person scored. Discuss similarities/differences in scoring and how each scorer arrived at that score.

24. What Will “Proficiency” Look Like? What “proficiency” evidence can we find in our students’ writing? • In language standards? • In speaking/listening standards? • In writing standards?

25. By the End of the _______ Quarter Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening Standards... • What is it that we want our students to know this quarter?By the end of the second quarter? • What are they showing us (in this piece of writing) that they already know? • What sorts of activities (mini-lessons) can we provide to teach this standard for students who don’t have it yet? (traditional worksheets don’t count!)

26. Share!

27. Quarterly Assessment Take some time to look over the assessment. In your groups discuss… • During the next two weeks, at what standards do my students need to become more proficient? • What mini-lessons might I include to prepare them? • What will proficiency look like? • How much time do I need to plan to administer this assessment? https://docs.google.com/a/k12.sd.us/document/d/1zKxBny5SInCVuQHYgUZv1LXuWiQJ7-zx8_7hi9CrnQw/edit

28. Quarterly Assessment Study the rubric… • What might a “3” look like for the science standard? • What will be included in the writing to be considered proficient? • Notice that the speaking/listening standards may be assessed through writing. Might you also be able to obtain information through conversation? • What information might you be able to get from an assessment of the reading standards?

29. Exit Card On the index card, please provide: • 3 things that you learned or that became clearer • 2 things you will implement as a results of this morning’s conversation • 1 question you still have Have a wonderful rest of your day! Be sure to thank your facilitators!