Webinars - Patricia Davis Webinar Archives Common Core State Standards Webinars Teaching to the Rigor of the Common Core State Standards Recorded May 13, 2013 This webinar examines the effect of the Common Core State Standards on instructional rigor. Resources Addressing the Role of Text Complexity in the Common Core Recorded April 10, 2013 Are you prepared to teach to the rigors of the Common Core State Standards? This webinar will help prepare teachers to deliver lessons that support the student learning expectations set in the Common Core standards. Participants will Gain an understanding of text-complexity framework (qualitative measures, quantitative measures, and reader and text considerations). Webinar presentation handout (PDF) Archived Webinars ASCD webinars presented by Patti Davis from McREL.
40 Alternative Assessments for Learning When people think of assessment, pencils and bubble sheets may be the first things that come to mind. Assessment does not always have to involve paper and pencil, but can instead be a project, an observation, or a task that shows a student has learned the material. In the end, all we really want to know is that the skill was mastered, right? Why not make it fun and engaging for students as well? Many teachers shy away from alternative assessments because they take extra time and effort to create and to grade. The project card and rubric can be run on card stock (one on each side of the page), laminated, and hole punched with other alternative assessment ideas. Here are 40 alternative assessment ideas to get you started! Alternative Reading Assessments 1. Create a bookmark to match the theme of the last book read. 2. Put together a group of 5 things from the story of the week. 3. Students can make a stuffed animal that matches the theme of the story read. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Appreciating Hemingway: ELA 9-12 Afternoon Session | NTINotebook The Hemingway classic, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” was center stage during Tuesday’s 9-12 ELA afternoon session. The story illustrated to teachers, coaches and administrators the greater value involved in the process of close, analytic reading. During discussions, it was said that one or two well-chosen short stories that are read deeply would be sufficient to teach a variety of literary techniques. As a bonus, some joked, they have a newfound appreciation for Hemingway. Further conversations centered around the creation of text-dependent questions (TDQs). background knowledge questionshunt and peckscavenger huntuniversal truth“according to the text”too many “one-offs” Just as important was the guide to creating TDQs (soon to appear on EngageNY.org). Participants practiced this skill on the Hemingway story and came up with TDQs of their own. Like this: Like Loading...
Differentiation - tools, tips and resources Differentiation is an important aspect of education. Students learn differently, have different needs, different backgrounds, different skills, different ability levels, different interests and more. As educators, we try to create engaging lesson activities that provide a variety of learning experiences and allow students to demonstrate their learning in different ways. Differentiation should occur in both how students learn and gain knowledge and skills, and in how they demonstrate and are assessed on what they have learned. “In the practice of education, differentiation is defined as working to address the abilities, interests, and needs (both perceived and real) of individuals. Here are some resources, tips, and tools on differentiation: Digital Differentiation - ideas and tools for differentiating with digital resources Tools for Differentiation - helping teachers meet the needs of all learners Differentiating with Web 2.0 Technologies
Infor.Text Research Nell K. Duke We should not wait to address this problem until students reach late elementary, middle, and high school, when learning from text is a cornerstone of the curriculum. Four strategies can help teachers improve K-3 students' comprehension of informational text. Teachers should: Increase students' access to informational text. Increase Access Chances are that your personal bookshelves, magazine racks, and Web site bookmarks are replete with informational text. Young students need to learn about the range of purposes that text can serve (Duke, 2003). When teachers include informational text in the classroom, they also expand opportunities for home-school connections that support literacy (Duke & Purcell-Gates, 2003). Increased access to informational text can also better motivate the many students who prefer this kind of text or who have strong interests in the topics addressed in such text (Caswell & Duke, 1998; Jobe & Dayton-Sakari, 2002). Increase Time References Caswell, L.
Introduction to Cooperative Learning | An Overview Of Cooperative Learning David W Johnson and Roger T Johnson Without the cooperation of its members society cannot survive, and the society of man has survived because the cooperativeness of its members made survival possible…. It was not an advantageous individual here and there who did so, but the group. In human societies the individuals who are most likely to survive are those who are best enabled to do so by their group. (Ashley Montagu, 1965) How students interact with each another is a neglected aspect of instruction. In the mid-1960s, cooperative learning was relatively unknown and largely ignored by educators. Definition of Cooperative Learning Students’ learning goals may be structured to promote cooperative, competitive, or individualistic efforts. Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals. Types Of Cooperative Learning Formal Cooperative Learning 1. 2. 3. 4. Informal Cooperative Learning 1. 2. a. b. c. d. The question may require students to: a. b. c. d.
ReadRank Index By Alan Jacobson, Editor & Publisher TweenTribune & TeenTribune he Common Core identified six computer-based tools for measuring text complexity. The authors said: “Because of the limits of each of the tools, new or improved ones are needed quickly if text complexity is to be used effectively in the classroom and curriculum.” Why the urgency? Because education is making increasing use of technology – some of which is unreliable. For instance: Computer-based text analyzers do not parse the true meaning of words, so some novels with adult themes, like The Catcher in the Rye, get 3rd grade scores. But this is the real problem that proponents of analyzers refuse to address: Very similar passages can generate very different results when measured by some analyzers, including The Lexile® Framework for Reading. If you want to confirm our results, just copy and paste each of the six examples (one at a time) into the window, below. 1. 2. Post a comment, below, or contact us.
Reciprocal Teaching: A Reading Comprehension Package The intervention package teaches students to use reading comprehension strategies independently, including text prediction, summarization,question generation, and clarification of unknown or unclear content. For effective-teaching tips to use when introducing this strategy, consult the guidelines presented introducing Academic Strategies to Students: A Direct-Instruction Approach. Materials: Overhead transparencies of practice reading passages, transparency markers Student copies of Be a Careful Reader! Preparation: Prepare overheads of sample passages. Step 1: Set aside at least four successive instructional days to introduce students to each of the following comprehension strategies: Day 1: Prediction,Day 2: Summarization ("list main ideas"),Day 3: Question Generation,Day 4: Clarifying. Step 2: After students have been introduced to the key strategies, the group is now ready to apply all four strategies from the Reciprocal Teaching package to a sample reading passage. Jim's Hints
Developing Cognitive Competence: Learning the Skills of Argument | Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz Earlier I shared an educational problem that scholars have described as a crisis in poor critical thinking training found in American schools today. We must still better appreciate the value of an argument-skills curriculum. Over the last 20 years, there has been an increased interest in the study of the skills required for argument. Humans have the unique capacity for reason like no other living creatures and many scholars have claimed that the primary function of reasoning is argumentative (Sperber, 2000a; 2001; Billig, 1996; Dessalles, 2007; Kuhn, 1992; Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca, 1969). Argumentation has been investigated from within a large range of subjects: juror reasoning (Pennington & Hastie, 1992; Kuhn, Flaton and Weinstock, 1994), political science (Finlayson, 2004), economics (Voss, Blais, Means, Greene and Ahwesh, 1986), moral thinking (Anderson et al., 2001; Narvaez, 2001) and media analysis (Limon and Kazoleas, 2005). This is the key for our future.
Reciprocal Teaching From Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology Elizabeth Foster and Becky Rotoloni The University of Georgia Review of Reciprocal Teaching Introduction Mrs. Mrs. What is Reciprocal Teaching? Reciprocal teaching is a cooperative learning instructional method in which natural dialogue models and reveals learners' thinking processes about a shared learning experience. Reciprocal teaching is based on Vygotsky's theory of the fundamental role of social interaction (dialogue) in the development of cognition. Effective reciprocal teaching lessons include scaffolding, thinking aloud, using cooperative learning, and facilitating metacognition with each step. Whole class introduction or reinforcement of reciprocal teaching is appropriate, but this should serve as opening and closing activity. Palincsar, Brown, and Campione (1989) define reciprocal teaching as a dialogue between teacher and student. Mrs. Predicting Vignette Mrs. Mrs. Mrs. We think that: Ms. Mrs. The students in Mrs.
Lexile Level Is NOT Text Complexity CCSS.R.10 | Resource - Full This Tweet from #tcrwp (Teachers College Reading and Writing Project) on August 15th caught my eye. A quick glance at the twitter stream confirmed that it came from Stephanie Harvey’s keynote (sigh of envy across the miles). @amandalah: Careful of lexile: Harry potter, old man & the sea &Alexander & the horrible no good very bad day. All similar lexile. Hmmm. . . Was I interested? Did I independently check? Those three books are typically read by readers at these levels: Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, Very Bad, No Good Day – primary gradesHarry Potter – upper elementary gradesOld Man and the Sea – high school But yet they all three have similar lexile levels! The initial connection to Stephanie Harvey was further confirmed in Twitterverse later: So what is a lexile? The Lexile Framework® for Reading claims to measure a student’s reading ability based on actual assessment, rather than a generalized age or grade level. What examples of “Out of Whack Lexiles” have you found?
Non-Fiction Text Structures! « Reading. Writing. Thinking. Sharing. How are you doing with teaching non-fiction, informational texts? Do you feel you have a good grasp on expository text structures? With the Common Core ELA standards, students are expected to be proficient in reading complex informational texts. The purpose of this post is to provide a few resources for teaching non-fiction, in preparation for the higher levels of achievement students are expected to reach! The Non-Fiction Text Structures: What are text structures? Non-fiction text structures refer to HOW an author organizes information in an expository text. Why are the text structures important? Understanding non-fiction text structures is critical for “Reading to Learn” (i.e., reading for information). Introducing & Reviewing Non Fiction: It is important to note at this point that students need to understand the difference between fiction and non-fiction BEFORE jumping into learning about text structures. Here are a few resources to introduce or review non-fiction with your students:
History Lecturer : On the stretching of brighter history pupils The education twitter-sphere has been all a-buzz today with stuff about helping (or failing) bright pupils. I am not at all qualified to contribute directly to the debate; I can only recount my own experiences, and anecdotal evidence is not very valuable in such a case. Because of my work as an examiner I meet history teachers from scores of other schools every summer, and I do not think my approaches were in any way unusual. Yes, I taught at an independent school, so it was selective in terms of ability to pay fees. However, I think I do have some credentials when it comes to helping bright history pupils make good use of their time in school. We laid great emphasis on free reading, both quantity and quality. This emphasis on free reading started with the juniors (and we had three years before exam-pressure kicked in). As far as A2 work is concerned serious reading of adult history was taken for granted. At this point I am going to chuck in an advert. Back to the advert.
Cooperative Learning Strategies Global rating average: 0.0 out of 50.00.00.00.00.0 Read articles that define and explain how to use cooperative learning strategies in the classroom. Includes cooperative learning lesson plans for a variety of subjects and grade levels. There are links to eThemes Resources Teaching Tips: Cooperative Learning for High School, Teaching Tips: Cooperative Problem Solving Tasks, and Teaching Tips: Team Building Activities for Elementary Students. Grades Links A Guide to Cooperative Learning Learn about the basic elements of cooperative learning, helpful tips, and the structure of cooperative learning activities such as: think-pair-share, three-step interview, roundtable, numbered heads together, pairs check, send a problem and jigsaw. Education Standards Request State Standards