Transcript Slide 1

Welcome to the Literacy
Design Collaborative!
From CAS to Colorado Classrooms
The Big Picture
Common standards, local choices!
CAS and CCSS
Just give us a little time to fix things.
CAS (CCSS) Standards are a blueprint.
CAS (CCSS) = clear goals
Standards for reading, writing, and communicating in all
grades must be clear and rigorous so that our public
educational system gives students the skills, knowledge,
and confidence they need to succeed in postsecondary
education and the workforce, to be well-informed and
responsible citizens, and to lead more fulfilling personal
lives.
Source: Colorado RWC Standards, p. 10
CAS (CCSS) = literacy into content areas
Language skills are necessary for academic
success in all disciplines. The ability to integrate
reading, writing, speaking, and listening effectively builds
understanding across all academic subjects as well as
allowing for the development of 21st century skills
within the context of these subjects. Critical thinking
and reasoning, information literacy, collaboration, selfdirection, and innovation are vital 21st century skills.
Source: Colorado RWC Standards, p. 9
CAS (CCSS) = challenges.
Unlike mathematics, secondary literacy is not a
discipline. It is “homeless” in that it belongs to everyone
and no one. Literacy is used in secondary classrooms,
but it is not taught in a systematic way.
CAS (CCSS) = rich possibilities!
With the Common Core of Standards, many things
now become possible. Because states will be working
from the same core, we can create broad-based sharing
of what works but, at the same time, provide local
flexibility to decide how best to teach the core.
– Vicki Phillips & Carina Wong (PDK, February 2010)
But We Need to Move …
From blueprint…
…to action!
From where many of us are now.
If students are not proficient when they enter a course, what is
the chance that teachers will “stop, drop and teach them to read
and write?”
Grade 9
English
U.S. History
Math
Science
PE/Health
World Language
Elective
Elective
Reading
Writing
All too often, the common answer is …
Grade 9
Reading
Writing
English
Low
Low-Medium
U.S. History
Low
Low
Math
Low
Low
Science
Low
Low
PE/Health
Low
Low
World Language
Low
Low
Elective
Low
Low
Elective (Reading)
High
Low
Our Typical Approach
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
READING & WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
LDC Offers a Different Choice!
So teachers don’t have to
‘move from blueprint to action’ alone.
The Literacy Design Collaborative
An expanding set of classroom, district, state and
service providers with the will to meet the challenge of
expecting high levels of secondary literacy, head-on.
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With state and district partners in such as
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, Louisiana
and more to come!
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An expanding array of national partners such as the
National Writing Project, New Visions for Public
Schools, MetaMetrics, Achievement Network and
others.
The LDC System:
Courses
• New courses
• Existing courses
Modules
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Tasks
Task
Skills
Instruction
Results
• Prompt
• Rubric
• Scoring exemplars
The LDC Framework
Module Section 1: What Task?
What task sets clear, measurable goals for learning?
 YOU select template
 YOUR CCSS (CAS) standards are “hard-wired” in
 YOU add your state/local content standards
 YOU “plug and play” to build teaching task
 YOU score results using LDC common rubric
Task 2 Template (Argumentation/Analysis L1, L2, L3): [Insert essential
question] After reading _____ (literature or informational texts), write an
_________(essay or substitute) that addresses the question and support
your position with evidence from the text(s). L2 Be sure to acknowledge
competing views. L3 Give examples from past or current events or issues to
illustrate and clarify your position.
Module Section 2: What Skills?
What skills do students need to succeed on the teaching task?
YOU identify, define, cluster, and order the skills
students need to complete the task.
Skills Cluster 2: Reading Process
1. Reading “habits of mind”
Ability to select appropriate texts and understand necessary
reading strategies needed for the task.
2. Essential Vocabulary
Ability to apply strategies for developing an understanding of a
text(s) by locating words and phrases that identify key concepts
and facts, or information.
3. Note-taking
Ability to read purposefully and select relevant information; to
summarize and/or paraphrase.
4. Organizing
Ability to prioritize and narrow supporting information.
Module Section 3: What Instruction?
How will students be taught to succeed on the teaching task?
 YOU establish the instructional plan – or
instructional ladder – to teach students the skills
necessary to succeed on the task
 YOU create plan includes mini-tasks w/ scoring
guide, instructional strategies, pacing guide
Skills Cluster 2: Reading Process (Skill: Essential Vocabulary)
Mini-Task: In your notebook, identify key words or phrases as you read and define
them denotatively and connotatively in context of the passage you are reading. Add
terms we identified as the “language of the discipline.”
Scoring Guide:
 Selects appropriate text(s) for task
 Creates a first draft of a bibliography (if applicable).
 Writes in readable prose.
Instruction: Lesson plans, pacing guides to teach skill via mini-task(s)
Module Section 4: What Results?
How good is good enough?
 YOU score and share sample student work
 YOU can opt create classroom assessment
tasks by using same template task– a “dipstick”
to see how well students do on their own
• Benchmark papers are being produced by SCALE (Stanford), Measured Progress
• You can also produce your own as a state (Pennsylvania did a first round)
• And you can also produce your own locally.
Enough of this. Let’s look at some modules.
Kathy Thiebes
Opportunities and Challenges: U.S.
Immigration 1880-1930
Melissa Hedt
(Oregon HS Teacher)
(National Paideia Center)
Comparing Economic Systems
Let’s look at…
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Organization (what makes LDC a system)
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Template tasks and teaching tasks built on the template
The sections of an LDC module, what’s in each one
But DON’T WORRY right now about…
 Style (you will make that call)
 Substance (all yours!)
 Time, energy, and overload (we have clever tricks)
 Connecting to CAS and other Colorado initiatives
ORGANIZATION: pp. 66-110
LDC Module Requirements and Options
MARK THESE PAGES!
pp. 53-54
What is required?
What can be changed or added?
A pretty packed morning. Questions? Comments?
LDC in Colorado
LDC your Colorado way…of course!
Our view of LDC?
Template Tasks and Colorado LDC
Teacher Kathy Thiebes
calls our template tasks
“teacher candy”.
Template Task
(Argumentation/Analysis)
After researching ______(informational texts) on
_________(content), write __________ (essay or
substitute) that argues your position on_____
(content). Support your position with evidence from
your research. L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing
views. L3 Give examples from past or current events
or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
Social Studies Teaching Task
(Argumentation/Analysis)
After researching academic articles on censorship, write an
editorial that argues your position on the use of filters by
schools. Support your position with evidence from your
research. L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views. L3 Give
examples from past or current events or issues to illustrate and
clarify your position.
Science Teaching Task
(Argumentation/Analysis)
After researching technical and academic articles on
the use of pesticides in agriculture, write a speech that
argues your position on its use in managing crop
production. Support your position with evidence from
your research. L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing
views. L3 Give examples from past or current events
or issues to illustrate and clarify your position.
Your choice!
Teachers use additional “plug and play” flexibility within
the template to adjust:
 Task level: Select level 1, 2, or 3 task
 Reading requirements: Vary text complexity, genre,
length, familiarity, etc.
 Writing demands: Vary product, length, etc.
 Pacing requirements: Vary workload and time
allowed to complete
Basic Task Design Process
1. Choose Your Template Task
Your template task can:
n Be argumentation, information,
or narrative.
n Use an essential question or an
“after researching” task.
n Call for students
i to develop
a definti on, a description, a
procedural-sequential piece,
a synthesis, an analysis, a
comparison, or a discussion of
cause and effect.
2. Choose Your Topic
Your choice should:
n Address a major issue in your
discipline (big enough to be
a good investment of 2 to 4
weeks of class time).
n Fit the state and local
standards for which you are
responsible.
n Make sense as a subject to
teach during the weeks you are
planning to schedule this task.
5. Create Your Teaching Task
Your prompt should:
n Use the exact wording of the
template.
n Use your topic, reading texts, and
writing text choices
l
to fil in the
blanks and brackets.
n Be both challenging and f easible
for students, with a balance of
reading demands and writing
demands that works well for the
intended grade and content.
n Require sustained writing
and effective use of ideas and
evidence from the reading texts.
n Be built out for students by
adding introductory background
statement and ending with
extension if applicable.
24 | Meeting Common Literacy Standar ds in Your Classroom: The Literacy Design Collaborativ e Guide for Teachers
3. Choose Texts Students Will Read
Your choices should:
n Address your topic.
n Be short enough to allow close
reading and careful analysis.
n Use and develop academic
understanding and vocabulary.
n Where possible, include models of
the kind of text students will be
writing.
Or, you can specify a topic and assign
students to research the issue to select
texts that address the issue.
4. Choose Texts Students Will Write
Your choice should:
n Be a good fit for your topic,
template task, and students.
n Where possible, resemble writing
students may need to do in adult life
(for example, make an argument in
a letter to the editor, or explain a
process in a memo to a colleague.)
Trick 1
LDC Template Task Collection 1
Your Turn! Design your own teaching task.
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Get in groups of 2-3.
Take a look at the template task collection. Pick a
favorite argumentation template.
Look at your CAS standards. Concepts/skills and
Inquiry questions can be used in templates to create
strong, aligned tasks.
Design a teaching task you think is worthy of 2-3
weeks of quality instruction.
Put your teaching tasks on a flip chart.. and be
prepared to share out!
A Great LDC Teaching Task
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Establishes a teaching task that is both challenging
and feasible for students, with a balance of reading
demands and writing demands that works well for
the intended grade and content.
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Addresses content essential to the discipline, inviting
students to engage deeply in thinking and literacy
practices around that issue.
A Great LDC Teaching Task
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Selects reading texts that are sufficiently complex ,
that use and develop academic understanding and
vocabulary.
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Makes effective use of the template task’s writing
mode (argumentation, information/explanation, or
narrative).

Designs a writing prompt that requires sustained
writing and effective use of ideas and evidence from
the reading texts.
ALIGNMENT across grades
Strategy Option: “Common Assignment”
After researching ______
(informational texts) on ______
(content), write ______ (essay or
substitute) that argues your position
on ______ (content). Support your
position with evidence from your
research.
DISTRIBUTION across content areas
Template Modules and Colorado LDC
Modules
Module templates support teachers in
developing instruction to use over about 2-4
weeks. They help teachers design instruction
– their choice – focused on guiding students
to complete a single literacy task linked to
content.
Template modules-re-use & recycle!
Let’s look at a template module
How does a module
template….
…turn into a module?
Teaching task + module template=LDC Module
But don’t forget!
1. You can select the template module of your
choice.
2. You can change it any way you like.
3. Or you can create your own!
Your turn! Design your own module.
1. Get back into your same groups
2. Insert your teaching task into the module template.
3. Work your way through the module to see how a
module template works with a new task.
4. Don’t worry too much about whether or not you like
this particular template module. Remember, you
can design your own. Just glimpse possibilities!
5. Be ready to share your thoughts.
Strategy Option:
Module templates that fit CO initiatives
Such as…
• RtI-connecting with LDC instructional planning
• CAS- collect and organize modules around content
• Teacher evaluation- align instructional strategies with
evaluation components
• ESL- develop modules that crystalize effective ESL
approaches
• Assessments- use formative data from mini-tasks to
prepare students to succeed on summative assessments
Welcome to LDC!