This document provides an overview of a professional development session on processing the Common Core ELA shifts. It discusses the three main instructional shifts required by CCSS: building knowledge through nonfiction, reading and writing grounded in evidence from texts, and regular practice with complex texts. It then covers why each shift is important and provides examples of scaffolding strategies for complex texts. The document outlines the session agenda, which includes analyzing sample texts to determine complexity, working with text-dependent questions, and debriefing lessons learned.
2. The CCSS require three tightly interrelated
instructional shifts:
1. Building knowledge through content-rich
nonfiction
2. Reading and writing grounded in
evidence from text: both literary and
informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and
its academic language
Processing the shifts – where are you
now?
3. Shift One: Building knowledge through
content-rich nonfiction: Why?
• Students have been required to read very
little informational text in elementary and
middle school
• Non-fiction makes up the vast majority of
required reading in college/workplace
• Informational text is harder for students
to comprehend than narrative text – more
instructional time is needed so this
comprehension is achieved
4. Shift Two: Reading, writing and speaking
grounded in evidence from text, both
literary and informational: Why?
• Most college and workplace writing requires evidence.
• Ability to cite evidence differentiates strong from weak
student performance on NAEP
• Evidence is a major emphasis of the ELA Standards:
Reading Standard 1, Writing Standard 9, Speaking and
Listening standards 2, 3 and 4, all focus on the gathering,
evaluating and presenting of evidence from text.
• Being able to locate and deploy evidence are hallmarks of
strong readers and writers
5. Shift Three: Regular practice with complex
text and its academic language: Why?
• Gap between complexity of college and high school texts
is huge
• What students can read, in terms of complexity is
greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study)
• Too many students are reading at too low a level
(<50% of graduates can read sufficiently complex texts)
• Standards include a staircase of increasing text
complexity from elementary through high school
• Standards also focus on building general academic
vocabulary so critical to comprehension
6. What are the features of complex text?
• Subtle and/or frequent transitions
• Multiple and/or subtle themes and purposes
• Density of information
• Unfamiliar settings, topics or events
• Lack of repetition, overlap or similarity in words and
sentences
• Complex sentences *
• Uncommon vocabulary *
• Lack of words, sentences or paragraphs that review or
pull things together for the student
• Longer paragraphs
• Any text structure which is less narrative and/or mixes
structures
7. Scaffolding Complex Text
The standards require that students read appropriately
complex text at each grade level – independently (Standard
10).
There are many ways to scaffold student learning as they
meet the standard:
• Multiple readings
• Read Aloud
• Chunking text (a little at a time)
Provide support while reading, rather than before.
8. Let's Review our Goals for Today
By the end of today participants will...
• Understand why these three shifts for
instruction
• Have a deeper sense of how the CCSS ELA
standards interrelate
• Know how to analyze texts using qualitative
and quantitative measures
• Understand how to identify text based
questions and why they are important for
instruction
9. Naming the Standards
•Start with the anchor reading standards.
•Use a 1-4 word phrase to quickly name
each
•Work in groups or alone, as you wish
•If you finish, go to the history-social
studies and/or science-technology
standards and do the same. (Anchors)
•If you finish with that, go to the Language
Anchor standards and name them.
10. Let's review how we're spending
our time today to achieve our goals
10:45 - 11:00: Processing the Shifts
11:00 - 11:15: Naming the Anchor Standards
11:15 - 11:25: Examine insights gleaned from Naming
the Shift Activity as a Group
11:15 - 11:40: Learning to Analyze a Text using Quantitative
and Qualitative Measures
11:40 - 11:55: Read and analyze a passage
11:55 - 12:00: Debrief the analysis on the passage
1:00 - 2:00: Analyze text based questions
12. Text Complexity
When choosing texts for instruction and assessment at any grade
level, educators should consider three dimensions of text complexity.
• Quantitative
Considerations
• Qualitative
Considerations
• Reader and Task
Considerations
13. Quantitative Considerations
• Quantitative complexity takes into account the
features of text computers can analyze.
• To place a passage within an grade band (K-2, 3-5. 6-
8, 9-10 , 11-CCR), run the passage through at least
one quantitative analysis tool (see “Access to
Quantitative Analysis Tools” handout).
14. Qualitative Considerations
• Qualitative complexity takes into account features of
text that cannot currently be measured by
computers, but must be evaluated by educators.
• To place a passage in a specific grade, systematically
analyze passage for qualitative features using the
qualitative scale.
16. Reader and Task Considerations
• Professional judgment takes into account how
suited a text is for a specific instructional
purpose with a particular set of students.
• (Tomorrow, you’ll be examining and working
with assessment considerations to gain insight
into text and task selection criteria in play for
the CCSS new generation ELA tests).
17. Let’s practice using these tools to
analyze the text we will be working
with over the next two days
• In grades 6-8, we will be analyzing
“Tornadoes: Earth’s Most Violent
Thunderstorms” USA Today 9.12.2006
• In grades 9-12, we will be analyzing an
excerpt from Susan B. Anthony’s “Speech
After Being Convicted Of Voting In The 1872
Presidential Election”
18. Now let’s roll up our sleeves and
analyze these texts.
• Please take the next 15 minutes to read the text
at your pertinent grade level and use the
qualitative scale to analyze the text complexity of
this passage and determine the grade-level of the
text.
• After 15 minutes are up, we will review our
analysis of the piece and place the text in a grade
for instructional purposes.
19. “Tornadoes” Is High Quality. An
Analysis Using the Qualitative Scale.
• Structure The central idea is complex, and is
supported using a cause and effect structure in
chronological order.
• Language Clarity and Conventions Some domain
specific, scientific terms. Nice use of transitional
phrases to establish cause and effect.
• Knowledge demands Students may be familiar
with the concept of tornadoes. Text types should
be familiar from science texts.
20. “Tornadoes” Is High Quality. An
Analysis Using the Qualitative Scale.
• Levels of meaning/purpose Single meaning that
is explicitly stated. Clear purpose: writing to
inform
• Overall Placement Grade 7.
Why?
• There is a simple, explicit, central idea that is
complicated by dense propositions and
demanding vocabulary. There is less structural
support because it was written as a newspaper
article
21. The Susan B Anthony Excerpt Is High
Quality. An Analysis Using the
Qualitative Scale.
• Structure The text type is tricky. It’s a persuasive
speech that changes without warning to a
(uncredited) quote from the U.S. Constitution.
Sentence structure is extremely complex
• Language Clarity and Conventions Vocabulary
demands are high. Words are used mostly
literally, but some figurative uses.
• Knowledge demands Allusions to other seminal
assume basic understanding of the intent of the
documents. Speech should be a familiar text type
for HS students, but cannot assume so.
22. The Susan B. Antony excerpt is High
Quality. An Analysis Using the
Qualitative Scale.
• Levels of meaning: Though the text does not
have multiple purposes its one purpose is
complex in itself; certain rights are “natural” and
“inalienable” hence cannot be “bartered”
• Overall Placement: Grade 10 with considerable
teacher support. Although the message is clearly
stated, the vocabulary and sentence structure
makes this piece challenging to navigate. Some
knowledge of US history and seminal texts
required.
23. Debrief and Break for Lunch
• When we return, we’ll be working with questions
customized for “Tornadoes”:
• judging whether text dependent or not,
• whether high quality or not.
• The primary focus of discussion will be on the
“Tornadoes” piece though equivalent Susan B
Anthony materials are provided for you also.
• Why the middle school text?
Pure informational articles represent more of
a shift for ELA practice and practitioners.
Editor's Notes
Reference that this mini lesson on text complexity draws heavily on Appendix A of the CCSS.
Please note in the interest of time that the quantitative measures have been run and are included at the bottom of each passage. The quantitative measures place the text in a grade-band, and the next exercise to analyze the text to place it at the appropriate grade for text complexity.