reading first action seminar los angeles unified schools march 10, 2005

Reading First Action Seminar

Los Angeles Unified Schools

March 10, 2005

Energizer

High School Reunion

Objectives and Outcomes:

• Determine how analysis of student of writing can be used to inform teaching decisions.

• Identify how the lesson design of Open Court contributes to the schema necessary for quality writing.

cas·ti·ga·tion n.Criticism or punishment delivered in a severe manner (formal)

Follow-up Conversation: Vocabulary

Follow-up Conversation: Vocabulary

1. What evidence did you see of robust vocabulary instruction and development at your school?

2. How did you use the information provided in the last professional development?

3. What correlations are there between your SOAR data and your responses to the previous questions?

4. Share the data collected, evidence seen, and the actions taken since the last seminar. Colleagues will give constructive feedback.

LAUSDUnit 2, Grade 3

Writing Data Disaggregated by Ethnicity

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Applications Strategies Conventions

% S

tud

en

ts a

t B

en

ch

ma

rk ALL

AMER INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE

ASIAN

BLACK

FILIPINO

HISPANIC

PACIFIC ISLANDER

WHITE

(genre, content)

(organization, structure)

(grammar, usage &

mechanics)

LAUSDUnit 2, Grade 3

Writing Data Disaggregated by EL Level

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Applications Strategies Conventions

% S

tud

en

ts a

t B

en

ch

ma

rk ALL EL LEVELS

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 5

EO

UNKNOWN

(genre, content)

(organization, structure)

(grammar, usage &

mechanics)

Local District 6Unit 2, Grade 3

Writing Data Disaggregated by Ethnicity

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Applications Strategies Conventions

% S

tud

en

ts a

t B

en

ch

ma

rk ALL

AMER INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE

ASIAN

BLACK

FILIPINO

HISPANIC

PACIFIC ISLANDER

WHITE

(genre, content)

(organization, structure)

(grammar, usage &

mechanics)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Applications Strategies Conventions

ALL EL LEVELS

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

LEVEL 4

LEVEL 5

EO

IFEP

RFEP

UNKNOWN

Local District 6Unit 2, Grade 3

Writing Data Disaggregated by EL Level

(genre, content)

(organization, structure)

(grammar, usage &

mechanics)

Examining School Site Writing Data

1. Examine your Grade 3 writing data.2. Discuss with your school team:

What observations can you make?

What are the implications for instruction?

A Closer Look at Writing Instruction

1. During your classroom observations, what evidence do you have that writing instruction is taking place daily?

2. What is the evidence that teachers understand the connection between the core components of OCR and writing instruction?

What does it take to write?

• Turn to the graphic organizer (Handout page 2).

• Describe the function and parts of a carburetor.

• You have 3 minutes to begin your pre-write. Go!

What do you need to know to write about this subject?

The goal of a carburetor is to mix just the right amount of gasoline with air so that the engine runs properly. If there is not enough fuel mixed with the air, the engine “runs lean” and either will not run or potentially damages the engine. If there is too much fuel mixed with the air, the engine “runs rich” and either will not run (it floods), runs smoky, runs poorly (bogs down, stalls easily) or at the very least wastes fuel. The carb is in charge of getting the mixture just right.

A carburetor is essentially a tube.

There is an adjustable plate across the tube called the throttle plate that controls how much air can flow through the tube.

At some point in the tube there is a narrowing, called the venturi, and in this narrowing a vacuum is created.

In this narrowing there is a hole, called a jet, that lets the vacuum draw in fuel.

Please read…The excerpt from Wondrous Words:

Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom

By Katie Wood Ray

(Handouts 3 – 7)

Silence is golden!

Compare and Contrast

Inexperienced writers

Experienced writers

What adds up to good writing instruction?

Knowledgeof the

Standards

Quality Writing

Instruction+ Writing

ProcessGenre + =( ) ConceptualDevelopment

Tonight’s Objectives:

1. Determine how analysis of student of writing can be used to inform teaching decisions.

2. Identify how the lesson design of Open Court contributes to the schema necessary for quality writing.

What are some characteristicsof good writing?

In order to better answer this question, think about the following:

• a novel you have enjoyed• the newspaper you read this morning• an email communication shared• a great article you have studied

Then, list characteristics common to good writing.

Activity #1 1. Read Sample A of student writing,

focusing on characteristics of good writing.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the writing sample.

3. Be prepared to report your findings.

Activity #2

1. Read Sample B of student writing, focusing on characteristics of good writing.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the writing sample.

3. Be prepared to report your findings.

Focusing on characteristics of good writing, what is it going to take for this student and others like him to

become proficient writers?

Tonight’s Objectives:

1. Determine how analysis of student of writing can be used to inform teaching decisions.

2. Identify how the lesson design of Open Court contributes to the schema necessary for quality writing.

Knowledgeof the

Standards

Quality Writing

Instruction+ Writing

ProcessGenre + =( ) ConceptualDevelopment

What are the OCR ingredients that contribute to the knowledge base

necessary for quality writing?

• Unit Opener– Inquiry Journal– Concept/Question

Board

• Build Background• Preview and Prepare• Phonics/Fluency Word Knowledge

(2002)– Developing Oral

Language

• Selection Vocabulary • Comprehension Skills• Discussing the

Selection• Theme Connections

(small group discussion)– Concept/Question Board

• Exploring the Theme– Inquiry Journal– Concept/Question Board

Taking a Closer Look

How does the City Wildlife Unit Opener contribute to the schema necessary for

quality writing ?

Activity #3

1. Read the schema map for City Wildlife. (Handout 8)

• Learning Goals• Selection Concepts

2. Highlight conceptual knowledge and vocabulary that would support the student writing.

What key concepts and vocabulary taught in the City Wildlife unit will enhance student writing?

Handout 8

Activity #3, cont.

3. Read the Unit Overview page on the Unit Opener.

Page numbers:

2000 2002

Unit Opener

123K 113K

Think Aloud Model

• Let’s look at the Unit Opener• What knowledge base (schema) do my

students need about ____ to enhance their writing?– What vocabulary do I want to pre-teach?– What concepts can I illustrate that will

support the theme?– What literature, activities, and realia

will help activate prior knowledge and build background?

Unit Opener: City Wildlife

Realia: bird nest, insects, plants in a pot, pictures (pet vs. wild animals)

Vocabulary: habitat, survive, adapt, pet (domestic), wildlife

Activities: nature walk with observation journal, read aloud

Resources: Wild in the City by Jan Thornhill, When the Pigs Took Over by Arthur Dorros, internet sites, Thinking Maps®

Activity #4What are the OCR ingredients that contribute to the knowledge base

necessary for quality writing?• Divide OCR components equally amongst

colleagues.• Read the lesson.• Determine how each component will contribute

to students’ schema necessary for quality writing.

• Record you answers on a puzzle piece. • Be specific. • Share with your colleagues and build your puzzle

on the chart paper.

Several OCR components contribute to the schema necessary for quality writing. What discoveries did you make about this statement?

1. Individually, quick-write. (3 minutes)

2. At the cue, find a partner to discuss your responses with, noting similarities and differences. (4 minutes total)

3. You will be invited to share publicly. (3 minutes)

Do these C/Q Boards build schema?

How does this vocabulary evidence add to students’ schema?

Activity #5What evidence of conceptual

knowledge do you find in your students’ writing?

• Look at the samples of student writing you brought with you.

• As you read the work, discuss as a team:What do we notice?What tend to be strengths?What tend to be challenges?Which students look well on their way and

which students need more instruction? What area do we want to focus on first? What are the implications for professional

development?

Writing Objectives

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Actionable

R = Realistic

T = Time-bound

Fuzzy Objective

“Our objective is to improve student achievement.”

S•M•A•R•T Objective

“By June, 90% of our Kindergarten students will be at or above grade level in phonemic awareness (as measured by the Kindergarten End-of-the-Year

assessment) through all of our Kindergarten teachers meeting

regularly to plan phonemic awareness lessons, practice teaching, and gain

feedback from each other.”

Effective Objectives

1. Addresses, or aligns with, the current situation

2. Objective is SMART

3. Reaching objective will have a significant impact on success at your site

Action Plan

Improving Student Writing

Students must be challenged to do the deep thinking that leads to works like those of Toni Morrison and Isabelle Allende and Kurt Vonnegut and Daisaku Ikeda and Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling, Emerson, Tolstoy, Pushkin.  They were thinkers first.  We’ve got to push thinking as the measure of writing capacity just as we push phonemic awareness, automaticity, and fluency before comprehension. 

-Alta Ray former reporter for LIFE magazine Expert, Elementary Literacy

Reminders!

Please bring back your Action Plan journals to our next Action Seminar on March 31st. Thank you.

Follow-up WorkReading First Action Seminar

When you return to your school: 1. Look for evidence that shows how teachers support conceptual development and schema building for the students. 2. Identify one or two specific Grade 3 classrooms in which to deepen your study. 3.Choose representative evidence from your classrooms that demonstrates where your faculty is in terms of allowing students to build conceptual development and schema.

For the March Action Seminar: 1. Bring the evidence that demonstrates where your Grade 3 teachers and students are in building conceptual understanding using the Open Court Reading Program. 2. Be prepared to discuss your findings, reflections, and possible action steps.