This document outlines three shifts in English Language Arts instruction: 1) Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts, 2) Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text, and 3) Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary. For each shift, the document describes what students will do and what teachers will do to implement the shift in the classroom. It also discusses the principal's role in supporting teachers through professional development, planning time, and ensuring access to complex, grade-appropriate texts. Potential challenges to preparing for these shifts include transitioning to more informational texts, developing skills in close reading and evidence-based writing, and helping students cope with frustration from complex texts.
3. The Thinking Behind the Shift
• Much of our knowledge base comes from
informational text.
• Informational text makes up a vast majority of
required reading in college/workplace.
• It is harder to comprehend than narrative text.
• YET… students are asked to read very little of it
in elementary and middle school.
4. Practice
1. Closely read Shift One in the brochure
(remember to annotate).
2. How will this shift translate in terms of
classroom instruction? Review examples.
3. What changes might this shift bring to your
classroom/school/district? Complete the lined
section of the brochure.
6. The Thinking Behind the Shift
• Ability to cite evidence differentiates
student performance on NAEP.
• Most college and workplace writing is
evidence-based and expository in nature
(not narrative).
7. Practice
1. Closely read Shift Two in the brochure
(remember to annotate, ask questions, …)
2. How will this shift translate in terms of
classroom instruction? Review examples.
3. What changes might this shift bring to your
classroom/school/district? Complete the lined
section of the brochure.
9. The Thinking Behind the Shift
• The gap between complexity of college
and high school texts is huge.
• What students can read in terms of
complexity is the greatest predictor of
success in college (ACT study).
10. Practice
1. Closely read Shift Three in the brochure
(remember to annotate).
2. How will this shift translate in terms of
classroom instruction? Review examples.
3. What changes might this shift bring to your
classroom/school/district? Complete the lined
section of the brochure.
11. ELA/Literacy Shift 1:
Building Knowledge Through Content-Rich Nonfiction and Informational Texts
What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does…
• Builds content knowledge through • Balances informational & literary
text text
• Finds evidence • Scaffolds for informational texts
• Gains exposure to the world through • Teaches “through” and “with”
reading informational texts by allowing
students to read the text instead of
• Handles primary source documents summarizing
Principal’s Role:
•Purchases and provides equal amounts of informational and literary texts for
each classroom and supports teachers’ transition to this balance
•Provides PD and co-planning opportunities for teachers to become more
familiar with informational texts and how to use them side by side with literary
texts
•Supports the role of all teachers in advancing students’ literacy 11
12. ELA/Literacy Shift 2:
Reading and Writing Grounded in Evidence from the Text
What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does…
• Finds evidence to support their argument and • Facilitates evidence based conversations
writes using evidence and presents opportunities to write about
• Forms own judgments and creates multiple texts
informational texts • Keeps students in the text and gives them
• Reads texts closely opportunities to analyze, synthesize ideas
• Engages with the author and his/her choices • Identifies questions that are text-dependent,
• Compares multiple sources worth asking/exploring, delivers richly
• Develops students’ voice so that they can
argue a point and articulate their own
conclusions using evidence
• Spends much more time preparing for
instruction by reading deeply
Principal’s Role:
•Provides planning time for teachers to engage with the text to prepare and identify appropriate text-
dependent questions
•Supports teachers as they spend more time with students writing about the texts they read – building
strong arguments using evidence from the text
•Encourage teachers to foster evidence based conversations about texts with and amongst students.
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13. ELA/Literacy Shift 3:
Regular Practice with Complex Text and its Academic Vocabulary
What the Student Does… What the Teacher Does…
• Rereads • Spends more time on more complex
• Tolerates frustration when engaged texts at every grade level
with challenging text • Gives students less to read, lets them
• Uses high utility words across content reread
areas • Provides scaffolding & strategies
• Builds “language of power” database • Develops students’ability to use and
access words
• Is strategic about the new vocabulary
words
• Teaches fewer words more deeply
Principal’s Role:
• Supports teachers as they work through and experience their students’ frustration with
complex texts and learn to chunk and scaffold that text
• Ensures that texts are appropriately complex at every grade and that complexity of text
builds from grade to grade
• Supports teachers as they scaffold so that students can move to more complex texts
• Provides training to teachers on the shift for teaching vocabulary in a more meaningful,
effective manner
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14. Potential Challenges
• What do you consider to be the
greatest challenge in preparing for
these shifts?
• Table talk – challenges and solutions
15. “The digital tools used during
this presentation have been
helpful to some educators
across the state. However,
due to the rapidly changing
digital environment, NCDPI
does not represent nor
endorse that these tools are
the exclusive digital tools for
the purposes outlined during
this presentation.”
Purpose: From discussing the shifts to understanding what these changes in instruction will look like in a classroom. Draw attention to cards - 3 Shift Cards.
This slide is the reasoning behind the need for the shift in instruction. Consultants: Do not summarize shift Literary nonfiction has more of an informational structure
Brochure is in folder. Direct participants to it. Ask participants to closely read Shift One (we will be doing this activity shift by shift) and annotate and fill out the lined section on the brochure.
This is the year of evidence!
This is the year of evidence! This slide is the reasoning behind the need for the shift in instruction. Consultants: Do not summarize shift
Ask participants to closely read Shift Two and annotate and fill out the lined section on the brochure.
Ask participants to closely read Shift Three and annotate and fill out the lined section on the brochure.
Information from engageny – do you see anything here that you can add to the notes on your brochure? Now let’s look at each shift – keeping in mind the student, teacher, and principal. Let participants read silently. It is available on the wiki. In discussion, point out a few things they might have missed.
Table Talk and share out
Directions for the activity are from the Voki. Voki: Motivate students to participate Improves comprehension of the message being relayed Introduces technology in a fun way And, is an effective language tool Change spelling to shiffs so we can better understand what it is saying.
