Alaska English/Language Arts StandardsUnderstanding the Shifts

Karen MelinLiteracy Content SpecialistAlaska Department of Education & Early Development

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Goals For This Session

• Navigate Structure of Alaska English/Language Arts Standards

• Identify shifts in the Alaska ELA Standards

• Peek at the future

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Intentional Design LimitationsWhat the Alaska Standards do not define:

• How teachers should teach

• All that can or should be taught

• The nature of advanced work beyond the core

• The interventions needed for students well below grade

level

• The full range of support for English language learners

and students with special needs

• Everything needed to be college and career ready3

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading

•The concept of anchor standards:⁻ Created before the K–12 standards⁻ Present a big picture or overarching idea⁻ Represent overall outcomes⁻ Reflect research about postsecondary

education programs and what employers identified as critical skills

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Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects grades 6-12

READINGREADING WRITING

 10 Anchor Standards Arranged in 4 strands

Key Ideas and DetailsCraft and Structure Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

  

10 Anchor Standards Arranged in 4 Strands

Text Types and PurposeProduction and Distribution of Writing Research to Build and Present KnowledgeRange of Writing  

6-8

9-10

11-12

6-8

9-10

11-12

Grade Specific Standard

Grade Specific Standards

Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12 9

Content Area

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Content Area

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http://education.alaska.gov

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Turn and Talk

Tell a partner one thing you can add to your knowledge or understanding of the Alaska English/Language Arts Standards. 14

What Has Not Shifted in English Language Arts

1. Foundational Skills in the early Grades

2. The instruction of the basic reading components is still an expectation

3. The standards for these skill are mastered by grade 5. 15

General Shifts in Instruction

1.Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and information texts in addition to literature

2. Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text

3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

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17www.achievethecore.org

Shift #1: Building Knowledge Through Content-Rich Nonfiction

The Why: Shift One• Much of our knowledge base comes from

informational text

• Informational text makes up the vast majority (80 percent) of the required reading in college and the workplace

• Informational text is harder for students to comprehend than narrative text

• Yet, students are asked to read very little informational text (7 to 15 percent) in the elementary grades and in middle school 18

What is Informational Text in ELA?

• Literary nonfiction. For purposes of Alaska ELA Standards, • Biographies, memoirs, speeches, opinion pieces• Essays about art, literature, journalism, etc.• Historical , scientific, technical, or economic accounts

written for a broad audience

• Emphasis is on text structure other than narrative

• Historical text (Gettysburg Address, Letters from the Birmingham Jail, or The Preamble and First Amendment of the United States Constitution)

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Balance of Information and Literary Texts in K-5

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=250725&title=The_Balance_of_Informational_and_Literary_Texts_in_K_5

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21www.achievethecore.org

Shift #2: Reading and Writing grounded in Evidence From Text

The Why: Shift Two• Most college and workplace writing requires

evidence

• The 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, and speaking and listening standards 2, 3, and 4, all focus on gathering, evaluating, and presenting evidence from text.

• Approximately 80 percent of Reading Standard in each grade expect text dependent analysis

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In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes out. Describe a time when you failed at something.

In “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair.

In “The Gettysburg Address” Abraham Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote?

What makes Casey’s experiences at bat humorous?

What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received?

“The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech?

Not Text Dependent Text Dependent

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Good Text-Dependent Questions

• Linger over specific phrases and sentences to ensure careful comprehension of the text

• Help students see something worthwhile that they would not have seen on a more cursory reading

• Is a question that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text being read. 24

Reading Strategies and Text-Dependent Questions

• Text-dependent questions generally call on students to employ reading strategies.

• Strategies are no longer taught in isolation.

• The text itself—and a reader’s need to comprehend it—should determine what strategies are activated, not the other way around. 25

• Reading strategies should support the comprehension of texts and focus on building knowledge and insight. Close reading and the gathering of knowledge from specific texts should be at the heart of classroom activities and not be consigned to the margins of instructional materials.

Reading Strategies and Text-Dependent Questions

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Reading Strategies and Text-Dependent Questions

• Reading strategies should work in the service of reading comprehension (rather than being an end unto themselves) and should assist students in building knowledge and insight from specific texts. To be effective, instruction on specific reading techniques should occur when those techniques will illuminate specific aspects of a text.

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Video

• https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyzing-text-lesson

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Turn and Talk

Identify any Alaska English/Language Arts Standards that were present in this lesson.

How did Mr. Brewer accomplish the lesson objective of getting the students to discuss and analyze difficult informational text?

Could the approaches that Ms. Brewer uses be used in other content areas? If so, what adjustments might need to be made?

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Shift #3: Regular Practice With Complex Text and Its Academic Vocabulary

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The Why: Shift Three

• The gap between the complexity of college and high school text is huge.

• What students can read, in terms of complexity, is the greatest predictor of success in college (ACT study).

• Too many students are reading at a low level.(Less than 50 percent of graduates can read sufficiently complex text to succeed at the college level.)

• The Alaska ELA Standards focus on building the general academic vocabulary so critical to comprehension.

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Text complexity is defined byw of Text Complexity

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Text complexity is defined byw of Text Complexity

Quantitative

1. Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.

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Text complexity is defined byw of Text Complexity

Qualitative2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning,

structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.

Quantitative

1. Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.

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Text complexity is defined byw of Text Complexity

Qualitative2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning,

structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader.

Quantitative

1. Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software.

Reader and Task

3. Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.

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Emphasis on Complex Text

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5-uhmwsD6Y&feature=player_detailpage

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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 that is less narrative and/or mixes structures37

Vocabulary• Vocabulary is one of two features that is most

predictive of student future difficulty in reading. (Chall 1996, Stanovich 1986, Nelson et al 2012)

• Academic vocabulary is the vocabulary critical to understanding the concepts of the content taught in schools.

• Vocabulary is difficult to catch up38

Alaska Standards Timeline

June 2012•Adoption by State board

SY 2012-13•Awareness Campaign•Transition Tools•Field test item types

SY 2014-15•All grades and content taught to new standards•Spring ‘15 new assessment in place

SY 2013-14•Alignment of curriculum to new standards•Implementation of new standards

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Spring 2015 New Alaska Assessments

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments 40

Goals Check

Navigate Structure of Alaska English/Language Arts Standards

Identify shifts in the Alaska ELA Standards

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Contact Us!Karen Melin, Language Arts Content Specialist

karen.melin@alaska.gov, 907-465-6536

Deborah Riddle, Mathematics Content SpecialistDeborah.riddle@alaska.gov, 907-465-3758

Bjorn Wolter, Science Content Specialistbjorn.wolter@alaska.gov, 907-465-6542

Elizabeth Davis, Assessment Administratorelizabeth.davis@alaska.gov, 907-465-8431

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