Teaching the (Actual) Standards

Implementing the CCSS with Fidelity

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Purpose of this Session

• Participants will be able to Identify curriculum or planned instruction that

correctly addresses a standard. Identify and correct common mistakes in

teaching the CCSS.

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Lenses for this Session

• Teachers: How do I teach a standard with fidelity? How do I recognize and correct common errors?

• NTI Members/Coaches What errors do I recognize, and what coaching

can I provide teachers to correct these errors?• Principals/Leaders

In lesson plans, what should I be looking for to determine whether a lesson focuses correctly on a standard?

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

What is this standard about?

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R.3 in the EBC Unit

• Review these pieces of the EBC unit, focusing on the reading and class discussion instructional notes.

Part 1 Activity 3: pp. 11-12 Part 3 Activities 1 and 2: p. 21-22 Part 4 Activity 5: p. 29

• As you read, make note of how the instructional notes and questions in these sections address R.3.

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Talk about it!

• Where did you find evidence of R.3 in this unit? Trace how it is addressed across these excerpts.

• In what ways do the questions and the notes for discussion get at the core of this standard?

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What’s wrong with this picture?

• An assignment requires students to explain how Hemingway’s background influenced his description of Margot Macomber.

• Students are asked to look for “key ideas” in the text because the first 3 standards, including R.3, are about that.

• A lesson teaches students to review the text for examples of direct and indirect characterization.

• An assessment prompts students to compare Robert Wilson to Francis Macomber.

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Common Mistakes in Teaching the CCSS

• Rewriting the standard Leads to misinterpretation, overgeneralization, or teaching

micro-standards

• Lumping standards together inappropriately Leaves out critical skills

• Teaching micro-standards (only teaching sections of a standard)

Frequently changes the intent of the standard

• Teaching the wrong standard Can be the wrong grade level or a misunderstanding of the

standard’s demands

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Teaching the Whole Standard

• Read the standard often. Return to it when you’re teaching and assessing

it. Avoid the temptation to just use the number.

• Understand the standard. The grade-level standard, its “heart” or its “core” The anchor standard The section the standard resides within

• Assess the standard. Vet the assessment against the items above

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Exceptions: Complex Standards

• Standards with clear breaks in content and intent:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

CAVEAT: Still always teach ALL the pieces

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Exceptions: Extended Standards

• Standards in which a single lesson cannot address an entire standard:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CAVEAT: All standards require multiple instances of instruction and assessment.

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Teaching the Whole Standard

Original• An assessment in

which students are asked, “Describe the character traits of Francis Macomber.”

Revision• An assessment in

which students are asked, “How does Margot view the hunting? How does her view change over the course of the text? What details demonstrate her view and the changes?”

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Teaching the Whole Standard

Original• Asking students to look

for “key ideas” in the text (because the first 3 standards, including R.3, are about that.)

Revision• Asking students to

make and support a claim about how Hemingway uses the three main characters’ interactions to build a key idea in the story.

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Practice—In Pairs

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

A unit in which students are asked to write an essay about the character traits of the protagonist.

Asking students to explain the different ways Hemingway creates characters in the text.

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Practice—On Your Own

• RL.9-10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

a) Asking students to analyze a paragraph to find things that are surprising.

b) An assignment in which students describe how the pace changes in different sections of a text.

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Reflection

• What challenges do you see to making sure that the CCSS are taught with fidelity?

• What types of professional development experiences do educators need to be able to do this?