Get to the Core of Common Core: Creating Engaging Activities to - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Get to the “Core” of Common Core: Creating Engaging Activities to Promote Student Success with the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (Grades 6-12) Jamie Albon and Caroline Sweiss North Palos School District 117 | Conrady Junior High School

Common Core Convictions: NearPod Activity ✓ Go to nearpod.com ✓ Go to menu and click JOIN LESSON ✓ Type in Name (or alias ☺ ) ✓ 2 Minutes (Online Stopwatch) ➢ What is your greatest struggle in trying to teach the Common Core State Standards?

Today’s Purpose: Share a VARIETY of ENGAGING TOOLS and ACTIVITIES that will help students become SUCCESSFUL with the ELA COMMON CORE State Standards (Grades 6-8) Literature Common Core Standards Anchor Standard 2 Anchor Standard 3 How will we achieve our purpose? Walking you through the PROCESS of unpacking a standard and getting to the CORE of the standard & demonstrating the “How To” of getting students to learn the standard successfully using various TOOLS and ACTIVITIES.

Comprehension and The Standards The standards DO NOT teach students how to read… ❏ Why is this important for us as educators? ❏ We have a responsibility to equip students with reading comprehension strategies. ❏ Count how many times the Common Core standards ask students to “analyze” or complete an “analysis” of something. Almost every standard! This is impossible if students do not maintain a basic comprehension of the text. ❏ Food for Thought: Anchor Standard 10 (reading at or above grade level) should be Anchor Standard 1. Analysis can’t happen when comprehension is not in place. ❏ Our favorite reading comprehension strategy….(drum roll please) ANNOTATIONS!

Before Anything… Annotate! Annotate! Annotate! ➢ Anchor Standard 10: “By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.” ➢ Introduce Annotations--what is an annotation? Talking to the text. ➢ Provide different formats of annotations- can support the standard. ○ Generally, start with quick summary--what did I just read? ○ As the quarter progresses, demonstrate how to use a variety of different annotations. ■ Character Traits: Students are encouraged to use character traits to annotate- underline text and put character trait with a brief note. ■ Portions of the Plot diagram: Students are not necessarily asked to label entire story, but identify conflict--underline text and write problem with a brief note. ■ Theme: Students are encouraged to identify when a character learns a lesson-underline text and jot down a brief note. Annotations are meant to be a during reading activity. For sixth graders, we explicitly will put stopping points to train students when a story naturally breaks action. These can be leveled too when working in flexible groups.

Example Annotations: Google Documents ➢ Provided Shared Document for reading and/or annotating. ➢ Students can work collaboratively when reading-each student is assigned a different type of annotations(after various types have been taught) ➢ Each student “owns” their annotation for the day; for longer reading, students can change roles each day. Be sure to use timer for reading- students can also help one another Type of Annotation Summary Character Trait Plot Components-discuss setting, conflict, etc. Page 1-2 Page 3 Page 4

Sample Annotations: Freak the Mighty ➢ Practices standards ➢ Encourages participation ➢ Can be assigned based on student needs-Differentiation ➢ Used as a reteaching tool Annotations Rock!

8th Grade Annotations Analysis of Poetry “The New Colossus” and “Statue of Liberty: Dreams of Emma Lazarus Awakens with Tears on Her Cheeks” How cute is this?! This student made her own ANNOTATION KEY! SIDE NOTE: NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE ANNOTATED...only texts at student's frustrational level or slightly above independent level.

Anchor Standard 2: Central Idea Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. What is this standard asking students to do? ❑ Determine THEME Conrady 8th Grade ❑ Determine CENTRAL IDEA Assessment Audit: ❑ Analyze how the author DEVELOPS THEME Conrady 6th Grade ❑ ANALYZE how the author DEVELOPS CENTRAL IDEA through the characters, Assessment Audit setting, and plot. ❑ Understand the difference between OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE Just how often are ❑ Understand what makes a good SUMMARY we assessing the ❑ Write an OBJECTIVE SUMMARY standards on our ❑ Reading/Writing Evidence Tables from PARCC Pearson assessments and STANDARD FOCUS: RL 8.2.1 are we addressing THE PROCESS OF TEACHING CENTRAL IDEA all facets of the Provides a statement of a theme or central idea of a text, based on textual standard? evidence. (1)

Anchor Standard 2: Central Idea Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. Goal for My Students with RL 8.2.1: 1. Correctly identify the best central idea statement in a multiple choice item. 2. Accurately write a central idea statement.

The Process of Teaching Central Idea Objective: Tool/Resource: Gradual Release of Instruction 1. Understanding of Academic Language: Theme vs. Central Idea Chart Students will be able to differentiate between the concept Academic Language of the Standards Posters of theme and central idea. 2. Central Idea: What it IS vs. What it is NOT? Multiple Choice Warm-Up with Short & Engaging Students will be able to identify the attributes of an Texts accurate central idea statement. Central Idea What it IS vs. What it is NOT Chart? 3. Central Idea Starters Central Idea Starters Document Students will be able to identify the BUZZ words for central idea statements 4. GoFormative Central Idea Practice with Peer GoFormative (Tech Tool) Evaluations Peer Evaluation Comments and Rubric Document (Practice, Practice, Practice!) 5. Formative Assessment Brief Quiz in Edulastic (Multiple Choice Central Idea Item. Students will also write a central idea statement in response to a short passage; a rubric will be provided to evaluate)

Step 1: Understanding the Academic Language of Anchor Standard 2 (SubStandard 1) Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. ➢ Folly in trying to teach the entire standard in one week ➢ “Unpack the Standard” (Melissa Murphy) ➢ Dialogue with Students Resource: Theme vs. Central Idea Handout ➢ Post the Academic Language of the Common Core Standards

NOT EFFECTIVE For years, I prided myself on this beautiful bulletin board of all the standards; however, it helped ME more than the kids. Kids didn’t care about the posted standards; last year I started posting the academic language and it was life changing. Kids knew where they were posted and always referenced them! #insightinmind

Academic language of the standards posted at the forefront of the classroom and organized by anchor standards.

Step 2: Central Idea: What it IS vs What it is NOT? ❑ Students are still not ready to write their own central idea statements at this point… ❑ Best way to develop understanding of a word or concept is through EXAMPLES/NON-EXAMPLES. ❑ Use SHORT, HIGH-INTEREST TEXTS ...BUT WHY? ❑ Create PARCC STYLE CENTRAL IDEA MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS in response to short, high interest texts; Use Adie McHugh’s Master PARCC DOCUMENT ❑ MODEL for students a THINK ALOUD BY ANNOTATING a MULTIPLE CHOICE ITEM. ❑ Have students work in pairs and answer central idea multiple choice questions using a FABLE OR SHORT PASSAGE from “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul” book ❑ REPETITION : Entrance Slips/Central Idea Warm-Ups Resource: ❑ INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE PARCC Style Central Idea Multiple Choice Items with High-Interest, Short Texts & Central Idea Chart

Step 2: Central Idea: What it IS vs What it is NOT? SHORT, HIGH INTEREST TEXTS! ❑ “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty ❑ “The Umbrella Man” by Roald Dahl COMMONLIT ❑ “Charles” by Shirley Jackson ❑ Check out other states’ released test items Resource: PARCC Style Central Idea Multiple Choice Items with High-Interest, Short Texts & Central Idea Chart

Step 2: Central Idea: What it IS vs What it is NOT? ❑ Google Annotations of Central Idea Multiple Choice PARCC Style Questions

Step 2: Central Idea: What it IS vs What it is NOT? ❑ Google Annotations of Central Idea Multiple Choice PARCC Style Questions

Step 3: Central Idea Starters • Created Fall 2014 (Central Idea Training Wheels) • Great Tool for Struggling Students • Buzz Words • Bulletin Board of Central Idea Starters Resource: Central Idea Starters Training Wheels for “Riding” their own Central Idea Statement Bicycles (haha, punny!)

Central Idea Starters Bulletin Board