Pathways to the Common Core - Chapter 5

I know that you were expecting this post last night.  However, I seemed to have more important plans.  I worked at school a little, picked up the girls, made dinner, cleaned up dinner, put away some laundry, did homework with the girls, did bedtime, read books, and then sat down at about 8:45 last night to rest for a bit and see what I still needed to do for the night.  You can probably anticipate what happened next. . . . .yep, out like a light!  That's pretty scary since yesterday was only Monday!!

Anywho, here is chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Reading Informational Texts

As you know, the anchor standards for reading fiction and non-fiction are exactly the same.  So, much of what was said from chapter 4 about fiction was restated in this chapter about non-fiction.  So I will be brief about the first part of the chapter.

Anchor Standard 1:  Read Closely and Make Logical Inferences - You should be able to teach someone everything that you have learned so far from the text.

Anchor Standard 2:  Read to Determine Central Ideas and Themes - You should be able to ask and answer, " What is this passage/article/text starting to be about?"  You may have more than one idea or theme emerging as you read.  Most texts do have more than one theme or idea.

Anchor Standard 3:  Read to Analyze How Individual, Events, and Ideas Develop and Interact Over the Course of a Text - To do this work, readers need to think about the sequence of the text, relationships, connections, and cause and effect.

This might be a good place to tell you about an article that the authors of the book kept referring to.  It is called "Shoot-Out" by Guy Martin.  It was originally published in The New Yorker magazine in 2009.  The authors of "Pathways" take you through the standards with that article.  It is about a game that some high school students are playing where teams assassinate one another with water pistols until one team or one person is left.  You're intrigued right?  So was I!  It would be a great article to use for staff development on teaching about the standards and how to understand them.

Moving on!

Anchor Standard 4:  Read to Interpret the Language Used in the Text - To do this work, a reader should be thinking about words and choice.  Do some words seem more important than others?  Do some words seem symbolic in some way?  The authors gave two great examples here.  One:  Lincoln's Gettysburg Address uses words like conceived, dedicated, consecrate.  These words take on almost a biblical tone and even a sense of destiny.  The other example that was King's "I Have a Dream" speech.  King talks about America writing a "bad check."  This referral to money takes on a business tone.  Civil rights is just good business or will pay off for America in the end.

Anchor Standard 5:  Read to Analyze the Structure of a Text - To do this work, you look to see if the text can be broken down into parts.  What does each part do?  How does it contribute to the whole?

Anchor Standard 6:  Read to Assess the Author's Point of View and How It Shapes the Text - To do this work, think about the word choice, the language and how the tone of the text shapes what the author is trying to say.  Guy Martin in the article "Shoot-Out" was portraying with his words that students are now ready for the big world.  By planning ahead, seeking alternatives, making strategies in the game, this shows that students will be ready for life after high school.
****Keep in mind, that this is not the time to agree or disagree with the author.  This is the time to analyze what their point of view is and how well they substantiated that point of view.

Anchor Standards 7-9:  Read to Integrate Knowledge and Ideas and Think Across Informational Texts - To do this work, you need to have a text that is somehow related to the first text that has been read.  In our example "Shoot-Out" the authors suggested a YouTube video entitled "The Great Office War," or having the kids play "Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 2."  It does not always have to be a text.

The next part of the chapter laid out the pathways that we can use to get students ready to do this kind of reading work with non-fiction texts.
1.)  Students need to read more non-fiction texts.
2.)  Students need to be reading non-fiction texts that are at their just-right level (most are tooooooo hard)!
3.)  Students need to be engaged in reading non-fiction texts in more appropriate ways (not just fact gathering that disrupts the flow of reading therefore decreasing volume of non-fiction texts read).
4.)  Students need to have choice in their non-fiction reading.
5.)  Classrooms need more high-interest non-fiction.
6.)  Teachers need to infuse more non-fiction reading into content areas.
7.)  Teachers need to make sure readers are properly matched to the non-fiction they are reading. (Fountas and Pinnell is good)  I am saying it and the authors say it!!
8.)  Teachers need to continually move students up the level of text complexity as they are ready for it.

There you have it ladies and gentlemen!  Sounds simple right?!  One thing that I am very excited about is something that was just given to the Reading Specialists in our district yesterday.  These kits are great for non-fiction reading!

We have had these for a few years.  They are great to model comprehension strategies for students.  They make a primary toolkit as well.  But that is not what I am excited about.  We just got the toolkit texts that go with this kit.  You can now purchase all of them together, but we got the kits so long ago that the extra texts did not come with them.  They have a book for K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-7.  They are filled with engaging non-fiction texts.  They also come on a CD so you can show them on your Smart Board!  Here is a peak at one.

No, I don't work for Heinemann, I just love Stephanie Harvey and all the work she has done with comprehension!

Okay, it is 10:32 here in the burbs of the Windy City (more like stifling hot city)!  I am all for bed!  Next week, chapters 6 AND 7!

Pathways to the Common Core - Chapter 4

Well, here we are the night before my first day back to school.  Tomorrow we have an Institute Day with the students starting the day after.  How did I spend my last day of freedom?  Getting my room prepared!  I am still waiting on some bulletin board stuff that I ordered from Creative Teaching Press that go with my theme.  I am hoping it comes tomorrow.  I don't start with students right away, so I guess I have some time.

It is Monday (for another 2 hours and 20 minutes), and you know what that means.  Time for your run-down on chapter 4 of our professional book.  I love the fact that I am doing this.  Not sure how many of you are doing the same (if any at all, but that's okay.  I'll do all the reading and hand you over only the good stuff)!  Now that school is starting, it will be harder for me to stick to the schedule, but I really do love what I am learning so I plan to . . . . . . .

Or, if that doesn't work, there is always . . . . . . . .

So, here we go!

Chapter 4

Reading Literature

Chapter 4 started off by talking about the importance of the anchor standards.  The authors said if you look at the anchor standards, then you always have in mind the over-arching goals that the writers intended.  Not to say that the grade level specifics are not important, but it is always good to see where you are headed.  In that same fashion, the authors suggested that it is not a good idea to just look at your grade level standards in isolation.  The standards are a progression.  It is best to be informed of where students came from and where they are headed.

The next sections of the book broke up the Reading Literature standards up into their subcategories of:  Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.  Let's look at each one individually.

Key Ideas and Details:  Students who can do the work of these standards are able to carry meaning and understanding across an entire story.  Students will infer about character, ask questions about why something is happening and then understand that those answers can be found in the text.  Student should also be able to understand theme or what could be learned from the text.

Craft and Structure:  Students who can do the work of these standards are able to think about the craft of the writing and how the author said what they said.  The authors talked a lot about symbolism here and even used an example from Charlotte's Web to further get the reader thinking about these standards.  Think about words that the author chooses.  Do some seem more important than others.  Why did the author choose those particular words?  They used the example of Mr. Arable having washed his hands after he handed the runt pig over to Fern.  Was this intended by E.B. White to show that he is washing his hands of the little runt pig?  This is the kind of close reading that is needed.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:  Students who can do the work of these standards are able to carry meaning several texts.  This could be fiction with non-fiction, fiction with fiction, or even fiction with a movie.  (Think Hunger Games and the comparisons that are made between the book and the movie).  This is where students who read that Poppleton book go back for another Poppleton book to read.  They are making comparisons with the one that they have already read, maybe even looking for similar themes in the stories.

The last section of the chapter laid out the pathways that schools need to take in order to help students succeed in this kind of reading.  Nothing here will shock you, but I'll list them nonetheless.  These are taken right from the book.

1.)  Students should be doing lots and lots of in school reading.

2.)  Readers should have opportunities to choose from a wide range of high-interest texts.

3.)  Readers need explicit instruction in the skills of effective reading.

4.)  Students should have ownership over this intellectual work.

5.)  Teachers need support and professional development to help their students rise to this high-level reading work.

Next Week, Chapters 5 about non-fiction texts!

Happy Monday or early Tuesday!

Pathways to the Common Core Chapter 3

I promised chapters 3 and 4 today, but chapter 3 has so much meat to it, I think it is best to separate the two.  Too much meat in one blog post is too much!  So instead of a porterhouse or a T-Bone, we will go for more of a petite fillet kind of post (haven't had dinner yet).

Literal Understanding and Text Complexity

Text complexity seems to be the united theme that pulls the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) together.  The CCSS were actually written in a backwards fashion, going from what graduating seniors need to have in order to be successful in college and worked back from there.  The authors actually created a great metaphor.  They said to think of the reading standards as a ladder.  Standard 1 and 10 would be the sides of the ladder and the rest of the standards would be the rungs.  I picture it like this:

So, how do the CCSS determine a text's level of complexity.  Not one measuring system is adequate enough to use on it's own.  The CCSS use three criteria to measure a text's complexity:  qualitative measures, quantitative measures and reader and task consideration measures.  

Qualitative measures look at:  levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands.

For quantitative measures, the CCSS puts strong emphasis on the Lexile Framework for Reading

Reader and task consideration measures means that you can put a more difficult text in front of a student if their knowledge and interest about the subject is high (Hello, Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid)!  Of course, the opposite is also true.  I consider myself a good reader, but put one of my husband's law books in front of me and I will definitely be at my frustration level.

Now wouldn't it be great if you could put all of those factors into some kind of system (come on machines can do incredible things nowadays) and out pops the text's level of complexity.  (There is my million dollar idea)!  Nope, not so easy folks.  This isn't mathematics people!  Finding a text's level of complexity cannot be categorized like that.

Well at least for me (and I am sure many others of you).  The authors suggest that many of us using Fountas and Pinnell as a leveling system should continue to do so.  They have already taken into account much of the qualitative, quantitative and reader and task demands into leveling their books.  I can hear you thinking already, why doesn't the CCSS endorse their leveling system?  Good question.  Sue Pimentel (one of the authors of the CCSS) stated that the CCSS were written in a top-down fashion which doesn't coincide with the F&P method of leveling.  Also, there is no way to F&P an IRS document or a physics textbook.

One suggestion is to make sure that teachers look at the text exemplars that are referenced for each grade level band.  I think that is a good idea.  I would love to see the Lexile levels on them and then also get an F&P level on them just to do some comparing.  (By the way, if anyone has already done this and would like to save me the time, please respond via email)!!  I will totally credit you!

So, how do we move students up the ladder of complex texts?  Running records.  That was a huge theme that came out of this chapter.  They need to occur in classrooms and they need to occur more than just at report card time.  We need to be continually looking at students so we can see where they are in their progression.

Okay, I know that you have seen this chart before many times, but this was another big theme that came out of chapter 3.  One of the biggest factors that leads to success in reading is having access to high-interest texts and time spend reading.  The authors even quoted some research that says a classroom library should have 20 books for every 1 student (and that was a minimum people)!  They also suggested that at least an hour and a half of the school day should be spent reading (this does not include reading instruction, this is just time spent actually reading).  I am a big proponent of children get better at reading by reading.  Yet, just another thing we get to fit into our busy classroom schedules!

Okay, I told you there was a lot of meat to this chapter.  I could have gone on too!  This week delay means a change in the reading schedule for me.  (Chapter 4 has just as much meat)!  Next Monday will be chapter 4.  I seriously do recommend this book for classroom teachers.  I have felt more times than one, good about what I am reading because I realize so much of the CCSS is what we are already doing.  That makes me feel less overwhelmed about the work ahead (especially for our district.  We go CCSS in language arts next year).

Happy Monday everyone.  Now as my reward for finishing this never-ending entry, I am going to treat myself to an episode of How I Met Your Mother.  I am trying to catch up before the last season this year.  I hear it is going to be LEGEND (wait for it) ARY!

Pathways to the Common Core - Chapters 1 & 2

Things have been pretty crazy here!  I am trying to squeeze every ounce out of summer that I can get.  So, last Thursday, my daughters and I drove down to the little hometown I grew up in.  It is about a 2 hour drive.

We did it so we could surprise my mom for her 70th birthday.  We called her from the car and sang her Happy Birthday and then showed up in my parents' driveway 5 minutes later.  She was SOOOOO surprised.  I love it!  She is always doing nice things for me so it was wonderful to pay her back!

We drove back on Friday because my oldest daughter had a softball tournament with a game on Friday night.  Got rained out, so we relaxed at home.  Doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday left the weekend pretty much scheduled!  The unfortunate thing was that my daughter woke up on Sunday with a stiff neck and could barely move her head to the right.  It also hurt when she tried to throw.  We were able to get her limbered up enough to play for the second game.

Okay, week one of my (I would say our instead of my, but I don't know yet if anyone is reading it with me) professional book study.  Did ya read, did ya read?  I did!  My goal this week was to read Chapter 1 and 2.

An Introduction to the Common Core State Standards

Chapter 1 was a great beginning I thought.  It talked about our approach to looking at The Standards.  We can look at the standards through the eyes of a curmudgeon.  We can complain about the standards and argue the points where the standards might be weak or areas where we disagree.

Or we can look at the standards as if they are gold.  We can notice and highlight what the standards are doing right.  It has a very clear design, and setting the bar high is not always a bad thing.

I think that this is true for the standards as well as for the way you look at the world.  You have a choice to sit and complain about how this influential educational reform is affecting you and your classroom.  Or, you can look at it as a way to make some effective and lasting changes about the way we look at teaching and education.  The standards have made it very clear that we as educators decide how we implement the standards.  This is our chance to stand up and be a leader in our school/district/state as to how the standards will be implemented.  We can be at the forefront of change!  (Is it too obvious which way I choose to look at the standards)?

Overview of the Reading Standards

Chapter 2 just talked about what the reading standards look like.  Number one is that the standards unify both the reading of fiction and non-fiction texts.  Many of the standards for fiction and non-fiction are even worded the same.  Number 2 is that the standards definitely value deep comprehension and higher-order thinking skills.  Gone are the days of hearing your students say, "Oh, I have a personal connection."  The standards clearly spell out time and again that the text is at the forefront for interpretation.  The last part of the chapter listed some things to keep in mind as schools and districts start implementing the standards.

There were some additional resources that were mentioned that I would like to spend some time looking into:  Webb's Depth of Knowledge work and Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

Next week:  Chapter 3

Manic Monday

Today it hit me!  I finally started to realize exactly how much of the summer was left, and how much I still hope to get done.  I know that I am not alone when it comes to summer plans.  I know that there are others of you out there who plan many more "to do" summer projects than you will ever have time for.  (Please say I'm not the only one)!  I love this book for organizing your life.  It is written with love and humor for all of us perfectionist control freaks!  (Again, please say I am not the only one)!

Project #5262  is to paint my younger daughter's bedroom.  She want green with pink polka dots.  I finally picked up a sample of the color I think I will use, but I want to try it on the wall first before I commit to a whole gallon. ( A little glimpse for those of you that don't know me well into my OCD side).  I'll try to take some before and after pictures.

Also in a hopeless end of summer do all I can now because time is going to fast kind of way, I started to think about meal planning for the fall.  I seriously have mini anxiety attacks when I hear "What's for dinner?"  My oldest will have softball at least twice a week with games on Saturday.  My youngest will have cheerleading twice a week, religious ed once a week, and games to cheer for on Saturday.  I can almost already smell the french fries from McDonald's that we will have to get every other night running here and there if I don't do something now.  (Not to mention the impact the fries will have on my thighs)! So, I put together a little calendar for the month of August:

Monday:  Italian
Tuesday:  Chicken
Wednesday:  Soup/Salad
Thursday:  Pasta (my husband's night to cook while I work on blogging business and such)
Friday:  Beef/Pork
Saturday:  Fish
Sunday:  leftovers

I then made a weekly menu with a shopping list to help me prepare for the upcoming week.  I could have found one and downloaded it, but I just made one myself with the colors and style I like.  (Again hello, OCD)!  Here it is.  Click it to download and have your own copy (Google Docs).

My other "to do" projects were to read about every professional book out there on reading and the Common Core Standards.  I am confessing that I started one, but did not finish it.  I need and very much want to finish it.  Here is the book:

I am going to post on this (and other professional books in the future) every Monday.  If you would like to, please read the book along with me and post your own thoughts about it!  I would love to eventually turn this into a linky party, but since I don't have that many followers yet, it might be worth it to wait a bit.  (Please tell me if I should go ahead, bite the bullet and do it)!  The chapters are short and easy to follow.  Here is the reading schedule that I will be attempting to follow (notice the word attempt).

July 29 - Chapters 1 & 2
August 5 - Chapter 3
August 12 - Chapter 4
August 19 - Chapter 5
August 26 - Chapters 6 & 7
September 2 - Chapters 8 & 9
September 9 - Chapters 10 & 11

I have some ideas for books after this one, but if there is one that you have been dying to read, let me know and we can add that to the list!

Happy Manic Monday everyone!