Literacy instruction focuses on the holistic development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The skills are interconnected and growth in one area produces growth in another area. Language develops differently in each of these vocabularies where contemporary research has found that speaking and listening capacity is achieved in a different region of the brain than reading and writing, which must be intentionally mapped through regular practice aimed at building fluency. The grade-level standards and text drive the instruction and are analyzed during the intellectual preparation process. As students intertwine and enhance reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, students deepen content knowledge, expand vocabulary, gain fluency (in all components - reading, writing, speaking, and listening), understand how grammar provides clarity, and learn how to comprehend and analyze their own and others’ reading, writing, and speaking (Darling-Hammond, 2012).

In order to engage in the rich literacy learning described above, our youngest readers must not only access complex text, build knowledge, and grow their academic language as their older peers must do, but also master a foundational skill set that includes: concepts of print, alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, and high frequency words. These foundational skills not only require explicit and systematic instruction based on scientific research, but also permeate through all aspects of primary literacy instruction. Foundational skills are critically necessary, but not sufficient, for students to become skilled and passionate readers, writers, listeners, and speakers.

After students develop a strong understanding of foundation skills, the focus of English Language Arts instruction should transition to reading and analyzing texts of increasing complexity. Older readers must develop the ability to think critically about the texts that they read and develop their own interpretations of these passages. When discussing text dependent analysis, Jeri Thompson (2018) argues that in order for students to successfully analyze texts they “need to understand that authors make specific choices about literary and nonliterary elements, their craft and style, and text structures for particular reasons.” With the support of the CCSS, students should regularly engage in repeated readings of complex text in order to develop the ability to make meaning as they read.

ELA Cultural and Linguistic Inclusive Foundation

We believe that ELA instruction must be culturally responsive and center equitable curriculum and instructional practices. It must be linguistically responsive and center sustaining practices that see culture and language as an asset to curriculum.

NYU’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools provides a Curriculum Scorecard that can be used to support the implementation of instruction that “[validates] students’ experiences and values, [disrupts] power dynamics that privilege dominant groups, and [empowers] students” (Bryan-Gooden, Hester, Peoples, 2019). The Curriculum Scorecard is a tool to support teachers' analysis of the texts selected for instruction.

We hope to celebrate and include the multiple identities of the families, and communities that we serve.We ground this effort in the work of Gholdy Muhammad and her five pursuits: identity, skill development, intellectualism, criticality, and joy (Muhammad, 2020). Students are encouraged to adopt a critical lens of the world around them through high quality, complex texts; collaboration; critical thinking; and critical analysis.

The Role of a Coherent Instructional Core in the School District of Philadelphia’s English Language Arts Instructional Expectations Guide

In order for students to receive high quality instruction, aligned to the School District of Philadelphia (SDP)’s ELA Instructional Expectations Guide coherence must exist across all elements of the academic program in literacy. This includes high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum supported by aligned professional learning and assessments (Kaufman et al, 2018). The instructional core should be seen as the interaction between teacher, student, and content that places the instructional task at the center of three-way interaction which yields meaningful learning for students (City et al, 2018).

Curriculum is the pedagogical manifestation of academic standards, providing the rich content and meaningful learning tasks that the standards demand. Curriculum provides an important anchor for teachers, offering guidance in what to teach as well as how to teach it. Per Professor David Steiner, a national leader in the role of curriculum in school and school system improvement, “What we teach isn’t some sidebar issue in American education; it is American education” (Steiner, 2017). The Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard emphasizes that curriculum is also a key component of culturally responsive teaching and contributes to how young people understand the world around them. Curricula that “only reflects the lives of dominant populations...reinforce ideas that sideline students of color, linguistically diverse students, single parent/multi-generation/ LGBTQ+ led families, and students with disabilities” (Bryan-Gooden, Hester, Peoples, 2019). The Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard can be used as a tool to ensure that curricular materials center and normalize all people, cultures, and values.

Aligned professional learning supports teachers to masterfully deliver curriculum and content. The term “professional learning” is used here in an inclusive sense to reference not only explicit training, but also learning structures such as coaching, collaborative planning/intellectual preparation, and student work analysis. In a coherent system, teachers participate in training that grows their pedagogical content knowledge and specifically prepares them to deliver their high-quality curriculum with excellence (Darling-Hammond, 2012). Observation and feedback tools, coaching, and collaborative planning protocols/expectations align with and strengthen, rather than conflict with the instructional signals teachers receive via a high-quality curriculum.

In the highly successful districts, there is a high quality curriculum that is both guaranteed and viable. Guaranteed means that the same curriculum experiences are offered to students in every building in the district regardless of assigned school. Viable means that the curriculum experiences are aligned with the state standards and teach what they are supposed to teach at the depth of knowledge that is required for students to demonstrate mastery of those standards.

To effectuate a guaranteed and viable curriculum, the district must incorporate a comprehensive assessment plan that provides timely information on student performance on grade level standards. Aligned assessment provides teachers with the data they need in order to determine how best to support their students in accessing rich curricular content and mastering grade level standards.

It is critical both to limit the overall amount of assessment in order to prioritize time for teaching and learning and to achieve clarity and alignment across levels of the school system (classroom, school, network, district) on the purpose and use of each assessment.

While some assessments (e.g, curriculum-embedded assessments) can and should inform instructional decision making at the classroom level, others (e.g., state accountability assessments) serve important but different purposes such as providing a broad comparison of student success across classrooms, schools, and groups of students; informing school leader and district leader decision-making; and reporting out on progress.

In a coherent system, data from the former type of assessment enhances teachers’ ability to provide each student with access into the curriculum, while data from the latter type of assessment does not drive day to day classroom instruction, break the coherence of the curriculum, or consume excessive instructional time.

Research shows that teachers should monitor and adjust their instruction using aligned, unobtrusive, formative assessment that helps them design and use student exemplars for performance that inform the teacher if students are mastering the learning goals for the lesson and units. These exemplars must be developed at the depth of knowledge required to meet the grade level standards.

Alignment across these critical elements requires shared vision and shared understanding of educator roles and responsibilities across all levels of the school system. The chart that follows captures the role of teachers, coaches, school leaders and central office leaders in developing and implementing curriculum, professional learning and assessment.

Example Educator Roles and Responsibilities

Roles

Curriculum

Professional Learning

Assessment

Teachers

Use the School District of Philadelphia’s Instructional Guides, Scope & Sequences, Curriculum Engine resources, and SDP approved core materials

Use student exemplars to create rubrics and model expectations. .

Participate in training and coaching to grow pedagogical content knowledge and ability to masterfully implement curriculum

Internalize and accomplish the expected outcomes of professional learning and provide necessary feedback to enhance professional learning

Intellectually prepare to teach units and lessons

Administer a limited number of high-quality assessments that are aligned to the content and skills under study.

Teachers will use various approaches (i.e polls, exit slips) to determine what students know as they are learning and implement the use of formative assessments to make data based instructional decisions.

Understand the purpose, schedule, and expected data for the assigned assessments

Analyze student work and assessment data to determine how best to provide each student access into the curriculum

Academic Coaches

___

Consulting Teachers

Deeply internalize SDP’s Instructional Guides, Scope & Sequences, Curriculum Engine resources, and SDP approved core materials in order to support teachers in masterful implementation

Establish coaching goals that align to the components of the instructional expectations guide, professional learning needs, and student data

Provide modeling, co-teaching, planning support and asset based coaching that deepens teachers’ implementation of the curriculum

Participate in content-based training

Support intellectual preparation for units and lessons

Understand the purpose, schedule, and expected data for the assigned assessments. Support teacher and school analysis of data for coaching and measuring teacher effectiveness.

Co-plan with teachers in order to support with planning and preparation in response to student needs in the classroom

Support teachers to analyze student work to determine how best to provide each student with access into the curriculum

School Leaders

Set expectations for use of SDP’s instructional guides and SDP’s high quality curriculum at the school level

Monitor implementation in order to identify successes and challenges and continuously improve supports provided at the school level

Participate in content-based training, and ensure teachers and coaches participate

Oversee observation and coaching that deepens teachers’ implementation and understanding of the curriculum

Monitor implementation of systems for intellectual preparation at the school level

Understand the purpose, schedule, and expected data for the assigned assessments. Support teacher and school analysis of data for coaching and measuring teacher effectiveness .

Allow time for the assessments to take place.

Ensure district assessments are completed in a manner conducive to optimum student performance

Ensure limited assessments beyond what is required, aligned to student data and school-level planning

Monitor implementation of student work analysis systems for instruction

Analyze school-level data to inform school-level decision-making

Central Office Leaders

In collaboration with stakeholders and experts, develop, communicate, and support high quality curriculum; select high quality curriculum materials

Provide district, network, and school level technical and instructional guidance in the implementation of the curriculum

Monitor and assess implementation in order to identify successes and challenges and continuously improve supports provided at the system level

Develop and facilitate engaging, content-based professional learning to build understanding of the “why, what, and how” of curriculum expectations, implementation, and evidence of effectiveness

Analyze district, network, and school-level data to differentiate learning, identify trends, and identify areas to support in curriculum development and implementation

Source and/or support content-based coaches for schools

Create and monitor implementation of systems for coaching and intellectual preparation

Select a limited number of high-quality assessments

Communicate the purpose and use of each assessment

Create and monitor implementation of systems for student work analysis

Analyze data to inform system-level decision making and report on progress

Instructional Focus and Teaching Methods

Instructional Expectations Guide

Grades Pre-K - 12

Instructional Focus Areas
Fluency Vocabulary Grammar (Syntax and Sentence Structure) Content Knowledge Comprehension	Analysis Phonological Awareness Phonics Writing Speaking and Listening
Teaching Methods (used to support instructional focus areas)
Foundational skills instruction Student discourse Read aloud Shared reading Small group reading instruction Independent Reading	Modeled writing Shared writing Small group writing Independent writing Student conferencing
Guiding Principles of the Pre-K-12 Literacy Program
Engaging in the Intellectual Preparation Process will allow the teacher to make informed and purposeful instructional decisions. Flexible and dynamic schedules ensure that teachers are able to meet and support the needs of students. Explicit instruction, guided practice, and independent practice are key processes to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Integration across the language arts and content areas can have a multiplier effect allowing for literacy instruction to be maximized and differentiated to support the needs of all students. (Shanahan, 2020) The use of complex and engaging texts is at the center of a robust literacy program. As such, “the text itself is where teachers should spend their planning time” when creating effective literacy lessons (Liben and Pimentel, 2018). Close reading experiences should be anchored to standards that require students to create deeper meaning for the original text and the relationship of this text to other texts on similar topics, genre or by the same author. Regular opportunities to respond to text in writing must be incorporated into daily lessons. Exposure to complex grade level texts are essential for all students to develop necessary reading skills and critical thinking skills that transcend content areas. Reading, writing, speaking and listening should occur regularly in all content areas with an increasing emphasis on disciplinary literacy as students move beyond elementary school. Disciplinary literacy should be seen as a tool to get students to “grasp the ways literacy is used to create, disseminate and critique information in the various disciplines” (Shanahan, 2017).

MTSS

Meeting and supporting the academic needs of students includes the implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). The development of MTSS Tiers 1, 2, & 3 for academics is aligned with the implementation of the instructional expectations guide and professional development. Refer to the linked document for MTSS guidelines.

Reading Areas of Concern

Phonemic Awareness

Teaching phonemic awareness is the basic foundation that helps students learn to read and spell. Phonemic Awareness is the awareness that speech is made up of a sequence of sounds that can be manipulated—changed, added, or subtracted—to form different words (e.g., sick, slick, slim, slam.). The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words and to know that spoken words are made up of smaller parts called phonemes encompasses phonemic awareness. Often, the term phonemic awareness is used interchangeably with the term phonological awareness. To be precise, phonemic awareness refers to an understanding about the smallest units of sound that make up the speech stream: phonemes.

Phonics

Phonics, another term for Word Analysis, refers to the knowledge of letter sounds, syllable patterns, and the rules used to decode words. Although there are many different types of or approaches to phonics instruction (e.g., intensive, explicit, synthetic, analytic, embedded), all phonics instruction focuses the learner’s attention on the relationships between sounds and symbols as an important strategy for word recognition.

Fluency

Fluency is defined as the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. Fluent readers group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. To read with expression, readers must be able to divide the text into meaningful chunks. These chunks include phrases and clauses. Readers must know to pause appropriately” when reading orally. Fluency is not a stage of development at which readers can read all words quickly and easily. Fluency changes, depending on what readers are reading, their familiarity with the words, and the amount of practice with reading text. It is important to provide students with instruction and practice in fluency as they read connected text. Repeated and monitored oral reading improves reading fluency and overall reading achievement.

Comprehension
Comprehension is the process of making meaning from written text. The reader is intentional and thoughtful while reading, monitoring the words and their meaning as reading progresses. The reader applies reading comprehension strategies as ways to be sure that what is being read matches their expectations and builds on their growing body of knowledge that is being stored for immediate or future reference. Key comprehension strategies include monitoring comprehension, using prior knowledge, making predictions, questioning, recognizing story structure, and summarizing. Students demonstrate comprehension when they:

Use prior knowledge and personal experiences when discussing a book, or reading passage. Example: I just knew she was going to fall — that's what happened to me and my friends when we were learning how to skateboard.
Describe similarities and differences among books and/or reading passages. Example: Most kids' books have happy endings. Mystery books always try to trick you.
Describe characters' moods and motives.
Visualize and describe scenes and characters in books/reading passages with few illustrations.
Support their ideas or interpretations by giving examples from the text.
Identify the main ideas/central theme in a story or nonfiction book/reading passage.

Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In general, vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words a student recognizes or uses in print. Beginning readers use oral vocabulary to make sense of the words they see in print. Beginning readers have a more difficult time reading words that are not part of their oral vocabulary. Some vocabulary must be taught directly by providing students with specific word instruction and by teaching them word-learning strategies. Direct instruction of vocabulary helps students learn words that are not part of their everyday experiences. Most vocabulary is learned indirectly through everyday experiences with oral and written language. Students learn word meanings indirectly in three ways: They engage daily in oral language; They listen to adults read to them; They read extensively on their own. Overall, vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read and is essential to reading comprehension. Readers must know what most of the words mean before they can comprehend what they are reading.

Strategies to Address Reading Areas of Concern

Area of Concern: Comprehension

3-2-1 Summarize

3 things you learned; 2 things you found interesting; 1 question you still have (modify the categories as needed)

Activating Non-Fiction Comprehension

K-W-L, Summarizing, Coding (marking up text), Questioning

Activating Prior Knowledge

K-W-L, Brainstorming, Mapping, Class Discussions, Organizers

Click or Clunk

A self-check technique for comprehension

Directed Reading/Thinking Activities

Encourages students to make predictions while they are reading. After reading segments of a text, students stop, confirm or revise previous predictions, and make new predictions about what they will read next.

Expository Text Structure

Multi-Step Text Review: headings, subheadings, asking questions, locate key information; Self-Questioning

Use of Graphic Organizers

Graphically representing the relationship between ideas and facts. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines link the cells to represent logical relationships between ideas or concepts.

Interactive Charts

The teacher and students interact with the chart manipulating pieces of text. The text that moves might be an individual word, an entire line of text, or a phrase. What changes in the selection depends on the text.

Interactive Reading Logs

Students write reflections on texts read silently. These logs can be exchanged with other students or with the teacher who can write questions or responses to what students have written.

Partner Reading and Summarization

A cooperative learning strategy in which two students work together to read an assigned text.

Prediction Strategy

Readers use information from a text (including titles, headings, pictures, and diagrams) and their own personal experiences to anticipate what they are about to read (or what comes next).

QAR (Question/Answer Relationships)

A questioning strategy that emphasizes that a relationship exists between the question, the text, and the background of the reader. Students use four (QAR’s) to find the information they need to answer the question. (Think & Share; Right There; Author & You; On My Own)

Area of Concern: Fluency

Buddy Reading

Students read aloud to each other

Choral Reading

Reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students

Chunking the Text

Breaking and organizing the text into shorter, more manageable units.

Echo Reading

After a reader reads a line or sentence modeling pace and expression, the students read it out loud. They try to imitate the way the leader reads the text.

Books available for student’s reading level

Students should read materials that can be read accurately (90 to 95% accuracy). Material should be carefully selected so that the student is not frustrated by reading text that is too difficult.

Oral Reading

A passage is read aloud, modeling fluent reading. Then students reread the text quietly, on their own, sometimes several times. The text should be at the student's independent reading level. Next, the students read aloud and then reread the same passage.

Area of Concern: Vocabulary

Frayer Model

A graphical organizer used for word analysis and vocabulary building. This four-square model prompts students to think about and describe the meaning of a word or concept (definition, essential characteristics, examples, non-examples)

Use of Graphic Organizers

Graphically representing the relationship between ideas and facts. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines link the cells to represent logical relationships between ideas or concepts

Interactive Charts

Juxtaposition Strategies

Unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another

Labeling Objects and Activities

Meaningful print is displayed throughout the room; Objects that children see and use are labeled; Print is placed at children’s eye level.

Making Words

Students are guided through the process of using a limited number of letters to make a series of words. They begin by creating short words and end with longer ones.

Personal Dictionary

Create “personal dictionaries” in which to write words they want to remember, together with their own definitions of the words

Area of Concern: Word Recognition

Decoding, Phonics, Phonemic Awareness

Alphabetic Principles Activities

The understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds

Blending and Segmenting Games

Blending is the ability to smoothly combine, or pull together, individual phonemes or syllables into words. Segmenting is the opposite of blending. When children are segmenting words or sentences, they are breaking them apart.

Elkonin Box

The goal of elkonin boxes or sound boxes is to help children hear the individual phonemes in a word. They help students build phonological awareness by segmenting words into sounds or syllables.

Use of Graphic Organizers

Graphically representing the relationship between ideas and facts. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines link the cells to represent logical relationships between ideas or concepts.

Interactive Charts

OAS Framework Instructional Accelerators

The fives instructional accelerators are content agnostic and reflect explicit teacher moves to develop the practices described. You will also find links to resources to support the explicit teacher moves named. While these are not comprehensive of all teacher moves in a classroom, they reflect what we believe should be prioritized. The instructional accelerators are:

Develop Learning Partnerships with students in order to create conditions for rigorous grade level instruction.
Teachers engage in thoughtful unit and lesson planning.
Establish Classroom Norms and Routines.
Plan opportunities for Intentional Collaboration with and between students.
Information Processing and the mechanics of learning.

THE

WHAT

THE

HOW

Resources to develop/support Implementation

The Accelerator: Intentionally Agnostic of content area. These are things we would want ANY classrooms to exhibit.

Explicit teacher moves to develop the practice

Links to resources to support the explicit teacher moves named.

Accelerator #1 <LINK HERE> Develop Learning Partnerships with students in order to create conditions for rigorous grade level instruction.

1a. Teachers build strong, positive, & culturally authentic relationships with students.

1b. Teachers establish their role as a learning guide, providing intellectually-stimulating tasks and cognitive tools to support students in accessing grade level content.

1c. Teachers expose students to try a variety of ways to work through challenges to increase learning stamina.

1d. Teachers plan for and guide students to varying entry points for the same concept and provide support & resources tailored to their individual needs.

1e. Teachers release the cognitive load to students and help to cultivate a sense of self-efficacy

1f. Students take academic risks and rise to challenging concepts independently.

1g. The classroom environment allows students to be seen, valued, and safe to express misconceptions or make mistakes.

1h. Students are provided the language to effectively name and discuss their learning.

Accelerator #2 <LINK HERE> Teachers engage in thoughtful unit and lesson planning.

2a. Teachers examine their own knowledge of the content in order to identify areas they may need to further develop before presenting to students.

2b. Teachers plan lessons that pique and build upon students' interest and intellect, and provide multiple points of entry.

2c. The classroom content is responsive to students' identity and culture. (Learn more in Accelerator #1)

2d. Students have the opportunity to examine multiple narratives and perspectives of the same concept beyond the dominant narrative/culture.

2e. The outcomes of the lesson are relevant to your students’ lived-in experiences and provides opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students to succeed.

(Links to Accelerator #1)

2f. Accounts for individual student needs and anticipates pitfalls (eg. questions and misunderstandings) and taps into students' background knowledge, including well-timed tasks for new learning, practice, and application that build their skills for processing new information (elaborated in Accelerator #5).

2g. This planning works in tandem with emerging learning partnerships being built with students (Accelerator 1), and aims to release the cognitive load to students as much as possible.

2h. Teachers collaborate across school, content area, and grade teams to connect content priorities with classroom contexts.

Accelerator #3 <LINK HERE> Establish Classroom Norms and Routines.

3a. Create classroom norms with students for regular interactions (positive and not) in order to build a culture in which students feel safe, respected and encouraged to take intellectual risks and challenge their own learning(learn more in Accelerator #1).

3b. Create routines for daily operational occurrences to promote a focus on learning over logistics.

3c. Routines include cognitive strategies that students can apply to novel tasks as they develop skills for higher order thinking (a foundation for Accelerator #5).

3d. Build a classroom environment that has a collectivist approach where everyone is part of the team and students work together to solve problems (discussed further in Accelerator #4).

Accelerator #4<LINK HERE> Plan opportunities for Intentional Collaboration with and between students.

4a. Incorporate intentional opportunities for students to discuss and collaborate with one another daily. (Connects to Accelerator #2).

4b. Engage students in robust conversations using Total Participation Techniques.

4c. Students regularly engage in checks for understanding (aka formative assessments) so that instruction can be modified to address specific misconceptions and reinforce the opportunity to push through challenges when they arise. (Connects to Accelerator #5)

4d. Students are exposed to language and structures in order to effectively give and receive feedback (adjusting and affirming)(Links to Accelerator #1)

4e. Develop students' ability to make learning decisions for themselves.

Accelerator #5 <LINK HERE> Information Processing and the mechanics of learning.

5a. Allow students’ to tap into their existing background knowledge to identify what they know and do not know about the concept. (Linked to Accelerator #1)

5b. Students need daily opportunities to process their learning to connect new learning to existing knowledge.

5c. Students need exposure to cognitive routines for learning that are agnostic of content area in order to make learning transferable to other content areas.

5d. Routinely incorporate opportunities for students to share how they are making meaning of the content. (See Accelerator #4)

5e. Regularly use formative assessments (aka checks for understanding) and feedback to know when and what to support students to increase learning. (Aligns to Accelerator #4)

5f. Students come to rely less on teacher taught specific skills and are able to tap into background knowledge and cognitive routines in order to make meaning of new information independently.(Dive deeper in Accelerator #3)

Blended Learning

Teachers should continue to implement blended learning in which they incorporate both direct teaching and online instruction. This will engage students in learning, provide teachers with actionable data for more targeted, personalized instruction, and allow schools to extend learning beyond the traditional classroom. Blended learning accelerates student learning and achievement and compliments the instructional expectations guide.

Online Adaptive Programs and Interventions

The School District of Philadelphia considers online adaptive programming as a supplemental instructional resource to support classroom instruction. An adaptive program adjusts instructional activities based on student need providing a differentiated instructional experience. Using these programs, principals and teachers receive actionable data to understand students’ skills and abilities.

Scaffolding and supplemental aids are provided to assist students with reading more complex texts, but should be temporary supports that are removed as students become more capable readers. Scaffolding and supplemental supports can be individualized or used to support small groups of students.

English Language Development (ELD)

ELD Three-Moment Lesson Framework Alignment with the

Components of English Language Arts Instruction

The ELD Three-Moment Framework (i.e. Preparing the Learners, Interacting with the Concept, and Extending Understanding) is a well-scaffolded lesson that combines teacher’s knowledge of their students, standards-aligned objectives, grade-appropriate text(s), and discipline-specific language and practices. In this framework, the teacher determines what students need in order to develop both language and content understandings using purposely planned and structured scaffolding. The teacher selects tasks (strategies) that provide the scaffolding structures to support student engagement, dialogue, and collaboration.

Examples of Planned Scaffolding (Bunch and Walqui, 2019; Gibbons, 2014; Walqui and van Leer, 2010)

Choosing materials and tasks (strategies) carefully for specific purposes

Selecting and sequencing tasks in a logical order in a lesson / unit: Preparing the learner, Interacting with texts / concepts, Extending understandings
Providing multiple clues, perspectives, and opportunities for students to construct understandings
Including collaborative participation structures for maximum student interactions (e.g. total participation techniques, etc.)
Using tools (graphic organizers, videos, diagrams, charts, etc.) to enhance access to content
Providing students with generative language structures (e.g. formulaic expressions/sentence starters), exemplary writing samples (mentor texts)
Promoting language learning in meaningful context including key language of the discipline and concepts
Moving students toward autonomy as scaffolds are gradually removed
Building on students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential gifts they bring to the classroom

The PreK-12 English Language Arts Instructional Guide includes eight instructional focus areas and ten teaching methods based on the text, learning goals, and needs of the students. The ten teaching methods are components of a literacy block / English block.

ELD Framework

3 Moments

Objectives of Moment

PreK-12 Comprehensive Literacy Instruction

Preparing the Learners

Focus attention on concepts to be developed
Activate (or build) relevant background knowledge
Introduce essential vocabulary in context (2 - 3 key concepts)

During Student Discourse:

Activate Schema — making connections between past and present knowledge

During Reading (Aloud/Shared/Small Group Instruction):

Build background knowledge critical for comprehension of the text
Ensure texts are culturally relevant, and represent and diversity of cultures and perspectives
Identify content specific vocabulary and/or language forms which will need to be explicitly taught

During Writing (Modeled/Shared/Small Group/Independent):

Teachers plan to develop and extend children's background and language knowledge simultaneously while sharing the writing process.

Interacting with the Concept

Deconstruct text; focus on understanding a chunk
Reconnect chunk to whole text
Establish connections between ideas within text (with focus questions, analyzing quotes, etc.)
Record observations, claims, evidence and exchange ideas
Provide opportunities to experience and appreciate the language functions / features, tenor, mood, etc.

During Student Discourse:

Students use content/discipline-specific vocabulary to explain, elaborate, and explore ideas

During Reading:

Students support ideas and opinions with examples and evidence from the text
Teachers pose purposeful/guiding questions and allow wait time for productive struggle
Provide opportunities to annotate the text and discuss the annotation
Chunk portions of the text and work with identified small groups for a re-reading or pre-reading activity

During Writing:

Include students into the thinking process via discussion and guiding questions.
Model and discuss processes needed by the students (paragraph structure, word choice, organization, etc.) and the construction of a high-quality, error-free draft reflective of student contributions.

ELD Framework

3 Moments

Objectives of Moment

PreK-12 Comprehensive Literacy Instruction

Extending Understanding

Students collaborate to...

Re-create text in a new genre or create new text based on new understanding
Apply newly gained knowledge to novel situations or use to problem-solve
Connect ideas learned to other ideas outside the text
Support students in analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating their ideas and understandings

During Student Discourse:

Students apply what they have learned to new situations/text/content
Students ask questions that demonstrate a shift to student led discussions as they begin to construct their own learning

During Reading:

Students participate in a related extension activity before, during, or after a read-aloud to connect or extend their prior knowledge (Hoyt, 1999).

During Writing:

The writing activity includes use of the academic content under study - link between reading and writing
Students self-evaluate their writing to revise their work
Teachers identify learning tasks to extend and apply the content and skills being developed during independent writing.

The table below shows in detail the alignment between the ELD 3-Moment lesson design and the components of ELA instruction. Note that while the implementation of these practices is beneficial for all learners, implementing them is essential for English Learners’ academic success. The specific strategies provided below are aligned with an essential practice (lesson moment) for ELs and with the components of the Math framework. It is important to recognize that strategies can vary in effectiveness based on individual student’s English language proficiency and academic need and that they are most effective alongside the following:

lessons that integrate the four language domains (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
collaboration and student interactions
the use of appropriate scaffolding supports (see pp. 6-11)

Essential Practice	Applied to Specific Lesson / Learning Activity	How to Use Effectively
Multiple Modalities	Phonics / Foundational skills	Vary modes of engagement while practicing skills, such as skywriting, singing, movement, visualization of mouth positions, etc. Secondary students: If necessary, provide phonics instruction ideally in small groups and in a systematic, sequential and explicit way with a program designed for secondary learners.
Contextualizing instruction	Phonics / Foundational skills	ELs may need additional context when practicing sight words and when decoding/encoding individual words. Use words in a sentence to clarify meaning, and use appropriate visuals and gestures to support comprehension
Explicit instruction using home language skills	Phonemic awareness / Foundational Skills	Use explicit instruction to develop pronunciation skills by explaining how sounds are the same or approximate. Use this chart to identify which sounds students may already know and which are new. If students are literate in their home language, they need to become familiar with the sounds of English and learn to discriminate between sounds that are different in their home language and English. In your instruction, devote particular practice to sounds that do not exist, or exist with different symbols, in students’ primary languages.
Explicit instruction	Vocabulary / Grammar (Syntax and Sentence Structure) / Writing	Include word study (morphology, synonyms, antonyms) and, when appropriate, explicitly explain and incorporate homophones, homographs, and homonyms, ELs need additional explicit instruction with frequently used words that contain word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes) that can help students analyze other unknown words; words with multiple meanings, whether spelled differently (homophones such as to, two, and too) or spelled the same (such as a dining room table and a multiplication table); figurative language and idiomatic expressions; academic words that indicate relationships among other words (such as because, therefore, and since to indicate cause and effect). academic and complex sentence structures that provide critical information (such as lead-ins like To remember they went, Gretal left bread crumbs. and relative clauses like Animals who have traits that attract mates are more likely to pass on their traits to subsequent generations. sentence structures/linguistic patterns used for specific purposes (e.g., If ___, then ___ for cause/effect)
Real life objects/realia	Shared Reading / Read Aloud / Small group instruction Introduce concepts/ engagement prior knowledge	Introduce objects related to key topics of the unit. Provide opportunities for students to create, manipulate, or interact with physical objects in order to access text, and key ideas and concepts
Graphic organizers	Shared Reading/Read Aloud / Small group instruction Engage prior knowledge/ Prepare the learners/ process information from text/ demonstrate knowledge	Use tools to enhance access to content such as a KWL chart, Venn Diagram, or T-Chart. (e.g., Students use T-charts for different characters to record events on one side and how the characters respond to the events on the other side) Graphic organizers provide (1) a visual representation of facts and information, (2) explicitly show relationships between concepts and ideas, (3) make thinking visual and metacognitive, and (4) increase student engagement by encouraging interaction with content and through conversation with peers.
Opportunities for quality interaction/academic discourse Talk Moves	Shared Reading / Read Aloud / Small group instruction Shared Reading/ close read/ Whole-class or small group academic conversations	Prompt students to elaborate their ideas and build on others’ ideas (e.g., “tell me more about that,” “can you add to Remy’s idea?,” “Do you agree with Daphne’s idea? Why or why not?”) Provide carefully constructed, open-ended questions that prompt student interest and encourage authentic, in-depth dialogue.
Incorporate Home Language/Culture	Foundational Skills / Shared Reading / Read Aloud / Small group instruction Engage prior knowledge/ vocabulary	Identify cognates from vocabulary/ invite students to share prior knowledge/experience they may have with key concepts. Ensure all perspectives, interpretations, and experiences are welcomed.
Essential Practice	Applied to Specific Lesson / Learning Activity	How to Use Effectively
Sentence frames/ language frames/ formulaic expressions	Shared Reading / Read Aloud / Small group instruction Academic conversations/ writing/ demonstrating knowledge	Teach students to use generative language frames and structures for specific functions (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect) for sustained, reciprocal talk. Example: The main difference between ____ and ____ is _____.

Using Academic Language to Demonstrate Content Understanding

Discipline-specific language structures needed to express understanding and/or back up responses with evidence

Primary Students: Connecting Ideas and Using Academic Language

This chart is intended to help create academic language targets and supports based on standards. These are only starting points. Teachers and students are encouraged to add to these to facilitate academic speaking and writing.

Example Function

Example Features and Language Frames

Compare and Contrast

_____ and _____are the same/different.
Both_____and _____are/have/can_____.

Additional expressions:

alike, also, and, as well as, but, like, similar

Sequence
Order
Arrange

First,_____. / Next,_____. / Then,_____ / After that, _____ / Finally, _____.
_____came before_____. /_____happened after _____.

Additional expressions:

afterward, as soon as, at the same time, awhile, before, begin, during, last, later

Classify
Sort
Categorize

I organized these objects by _____.
_____ belongs to the category _____.

Additional expressions:

according to, arrange, attribute(s), group

[Identify] Cause and Effect

If _____, then_____.
_____is a cause/effect/result of _____.

Additional expressions:

based on, because, caused by, effect/affect, since, so, therefore, this is why, _____ will happen if _____.

Predict
Make Inferences
Draw Conclusions

I infer _____.
I predict that _____ will happen. / My prediction is _____.

Additional expressions:

guess, think

Justify
Persuade
Explain Reasoning

In my opinion_____.
I chose this because _____.

Additional expressions:

reason(s) why

Evaluate
Critique

I agree/disagree because _____.
____ is better than _____ because ___.

Additional expressions:

agree/disagree, bad, best, better

Main Sources: WIDA workshop materials (Costa, 2018); Academic Language Function Toolkit (Sweetwater Union High School District from Kinsella, 2010)

Middle and Secondary Student Students:

Connecting Ideas and Using Academic Language

Example Function	Example Expressions	Example Features and Language Frames
Compare and Contrast	alike, also, although, alternatively, although, and, as well as, but, connects to, contrary to, conversely, despite, differ/difference/different, difference/similarity between, equally, even though, however, in common, instead, like, likewise, neither/nor, nevertheless, on the other hand, opposed to, rather, same, similarly to, unlike, versus, while, whereas	One similarity/difference between ___and___. Both___and___are /have/can___. ___ and___differ in a variety of ways.
Compare and Contrast
Sequence Order Arrange	afterward, as soon as, at last, at that time, at the same time as, at which point, awhile, before, begin, concurrently, daily, during, eventually, finally, first, following that, immediately, in anticipation, initially, last, later, meanwhile, next, ongoing, over time, preceding, precipitate, previously, prior to, simultaneously, sometime later, sometimes, subsequently, then, the The onset of, to begin, to start, ultimately, when, while	In the time between and__. First,__. / Next,__. /Then,__/ After that,__. __came before__. / happened just after__.
Classify Sort Categorize	according to, arrange, attribute(s), behavior(s), belongs to/in, category, characteristic(s), correlate(s) to, features(s), fits into, group, organize/organized by, properties, quality (qualities), trait(s)	The classification is based on __. I sorted these objects by __ . __belongs to the category__.
Classify Sort Categorize
Example Function	Example Expressions	Example Features and Language Frames
[Identify] Cause and Effect	accordingly, as a result, based on, because, caused by, consequently, correlates to, effect/affect, factors contributed to the outcome, for that reason, if/then, in order to, led to, makes, one reason for, resulted in, since, so, therefore, this is why, thus, was the result of	If__, then__. __in order to__. __is a cause/effect/result of__.
Predict Make Inferences Draw Conclusions	assume, based on, conclude, determine, due to, estimate, expect, guess, imply, infer, in light of, predict/prediction, speculate, suppose, surmise, suspect, therefore, thus	I infer ___ based on ___. Due to the fact that __, I conclude__. Given__, I surmise that__.
Justify/ Defend Position Persuade/ Argue Explain Reasoning Also, see Evaluate	according to, advantages outweigh disadvantages, appeal to, argue/argument, based on, belief, claim, clearly, convince, definitely, disadvantage, due to, evidence, feel, following careful scrutiny, for this reason, for example, furthermore, influence, an obligation to, obvious that, in my opinion, my interpretation is, opponents would argue, outweigh, must, perception, perspective, prefer, proposition, should, shows, support, the benefits are obvious, the facts suggest that think, urge	The evidence points to __. __suggest__, while__ argue(s) that __. The advantages of __clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
Evaluate Critique	advantage/disadvantage, after analysis or inspection, agree, apparent, assessment, bad, benefit, best, better, challenge, consideration, criteria, disagree, estimation, favorable, further, greater than, inspection, interpretation, judgment, less than, negative, obvious, positive, unfavorable, valuable, value, worse than, worst, worth	After analyzing__, it is apparent that__. Considering__, it is obvious that__. __is more valuable than __because__.

Main Sources: WIDA workshop materials (Costa, 2018); Academic Language Function Toolkit (Sweetwater Union High School District from Kinsella, 2010)

Sample Scaffolding Tasks:

Scaffolding is… help which will enable a learner to accomplish a task which they would not have been quite able to manage on their own (Maybin, Mercer and Stierer 1992: 188).

Task	K–2	3–5	6–12
Quick Write		X	X
Think/Write/Pair/Share	X	X	X
Deep Reading of an Image Deep Reading of an Image Google Slides	X	X	X
Image Analysis Slide		X	X
Knowledge Rating Vocabulary Knowledge Rating		X	X
Sort and Label		X	X
SLSO “Shout It Out!” Graphic organizers		X
KWL Chart in Google Slides	X	X	X
Novel Ideas Only Novel Ideas Only Google Slide		X	X
Multilingual Word-to-Word Dictionaries by grade span and discipline (40 languages)		X	X
Semantic Map for key term / concept (Google Draw) Word Web key term / concept (Google Draw) Vocabulary Cluster term / concept (Google Draw)		X	X
Task	K–2	3–5	6–12
Frayer Model Frayer Model with Google Draw	X	X	X
Vocabulary in Context Vocabulary in Context Google Slide	X	X	X
Word Play Strategies Draw It! and Stretch It Out via Google Jamboard or SLSO Shared Workspace Act It Out! (TPR) via webcam	X	X
Double Entry Journal (notes of text evidence and make connections to the text) Double Entry Journal Templates - Google Doc Double Entry Journal Literacy - Google Slide		X	X
Text structure organizers (cause / effect, compare/contrast, sequence, etc.) Graphic Organizers with Google Draw	X	X	X
Summary organizer (main idea, details, formulaic expression	X	X	X
Jigsaw reading of a text		X	X
Reading in 4 Voices Explanation / Reading in 4 Voices video (synchronous) Reading in 4 Voices - ELA and Social Studies Examples	X	X	X
Gallery Walk (includes virtual gallery walk directions)	X	X	X
Four Corners for deliberation or problem solving		X	X
Mind Mirror		X	X
Collaborative Poster video Collaborative Poster / Google Slides Collaborative Poster for Literacy and MATH Dialogue Modeling with Google Draw	X	X	X
Storyboard for ELA	X	X	X

Special Education

Learning Support

Identify what it is, what it looks like, best practices, how to provide support:

Identify what it is Definition & Eligibility

Specific Learning Disability Defined:

The guidelines and regulations that accompany the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), define Specific Learning Disability as:

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in

understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. These terms include the following conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific Learning Disability does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, of intellectual disabilities, of emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

For more information:

Learning Disability

Students that are suspected of having a Learning Disability are referred to an Evaluation Team. This process is called an Evaluation. Through this process, parents provide consent and then students are evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, and a determination of disability is made. Once it is determined that a student has a disability, a decision is made as to if special education services are needed.

Once it is determined that a student has a disability and Special Education services are needed, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is written for the student; it identifies the current level of performance, the plan of instruction, and where the delivery of instruction will occur.

The specifics of an IEP process can be found below***

For more information Click Here

Eligibility Criteria for Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

To determine that a child has a specific learning disability, the school district of Philadelphia shall:

(1) Address whether the child does not achieve adequately for the child's age or meet State-approved grade-level standards in one or more of the following areas, when provided with learning experiences and scientifically based instruction appropriate for the child's age or State-approved grade-level standards:

Oral expression Reading fluency skills

Listening comprehension Reading comprehension
Written expression Mathematics calculation
Basic reading skill Mathematics problem solving

(2) Use one of the following procedures:

A process based on the child's response to scientific, research-based intervention, which includes documentation that: (A) The student received high quality instruction in the general education setting. (B) Research-based interventions were provided to the student. (C) Student progress was regularly monitored.
A process that examines whether a child exhibits a pattern of strengths and weaknesses, relative to intellectual ability as defined by a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement, or relative to age or grade.

(3) Have determined that its findings under this section are not primarily the result of:

A visual, hearing or orthopedic disability
Mental retardation
Emotional disturbance
Cultural factors
Environmental or economic disadvantage
Limited English proficiency

(4) Ensure that underachievement in a child suspected of having a specific learning disability is not due to lack of appropriate instruction in reading or mathematics by considering documentation that:

Prior to, or as a part of, the referral process, the child was provided scientifically-based instruction in regular education settings, delivered by qualified personnel, as indicated by observations of routine classroom instruction.
Repeated assessments of achievement were conducted at reasonable intervals, reflecting formal assessment of student progress during instruction, which was provided to the child's parents. For more information Click Here

Characteristics of Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

There may be an identification of a specific learning disability at any age, but most are seen first in the early years of schooling. Sometimes a learning disability is suspected when a child performs well in one academic area and poorly in another. Generally, students with a Specific Learning Disability have average or above average intelligence. For example, Students with a specific learning disability may perform well in writing and have difficulty expressing ideas verbally. When there are discrepancies in test scores, concerns are generated. These difficulties may interfere with academic performances, achievement, and in some cases, activities of daily living. Students with specific learning disabilities have deficiencies in academic achievement as compared to intellectual capabilities; and can have a disability in more that one area of learning. For more information please click here.

Learning support refers to services for students with a disability who require academic supports, primarily in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and/or speaking and/or listening skills related to academic performance and all students receive core instruction. Instructional programming develops academic skills by utilizing high leverage practices along with a variety of instructional methods in addition to, not instead of, core instruction.

What does it look like? Scenarios in Classroom Implementation:

There are many factors for the IEP team to consider regarding the student’s Least Restrictive Environment (LRE ). The least restrictive environment refers to the receiving of instruction to the maximum extent possible, in the same environment with students with nondisabilities. The amount of special education supports refers to the total amount of time in a typical school day that the student receives special education supports from special education teachers and/or related service providers; services by paraprofessionals are not included. These services include Full-time, Supplemental and Itinerant support

Full-time supports and services are provided by special education personnel for 80% or more of the school day.
Supplemental supports means that special education supports and services are provided by special education personnel for more than 20% of the day, but less than 80% of the school day.
Itinerant supports and services are provided by special education personnel for 20% or less of the school day

The type of support a child receives does not necessarily determine the placement. All children that fall under IDEA’s definition of a “child with a disability” who may be found eligible for special education services are to receive supports and services. Decisions about the delivery of special education services should be given careful consideration and any recommendations should be made by the IEP team. The IEP team includes parents, the LEA (Local Education Agency), regular education and special education teachers and related service providers.

There are a range of interventions, specialized instruction, and related services that are determined by individual needs and are not defined by specific locations or programs. The desired outcome of the IEP is for students to progress to their highest possible level of independence and participation in general education instruction. Instructionally appropriate IEP goals will direct the student’s success toward independence.

*Please Note

It is necessary for the school district to make data-based decisions when determining a student’s Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and it should not be assumed a student requires a more restrictive environment, such as another setting or classroom assistance, without the data to support that decision.

In a Learning support setting, students can receive supplemental supports, including interventions and resources provided by certified special education teachers and related service providers. Students can participate in a Pull-Out model, Co-Teaching model, Push-In model and Intensive Learning Support Model based on the recommendations in their IEP.

Pull-Out model refers to specially designed instruction provided in a resource room/“pull-out” setting depending on the student’s individual needs.
Push-In model refers to the general education teacher and the special education teacher working together in close collaboration. The role of the special educator is to “push in” to the general education classroom to provide support to address student-specific needs. This includes; modified materials, differentiated grouping, lessons for pre- or re-teaching. Push-in services should support direct instruction and includes the implementation of specially designed modifications within the classroom setting. Additionally, Special education teachers can provide individualized instruction in this environment based on student’s IEP goals.
Co-Teaching refers to a regular education teacher and a special education teacher collaborating to support the student in meeting IEP Goals and enhanced achievement. Students with disabilities are able to fully participate in the regular education curriculum while being provided with the needed accommodations and modifications provided through Learning Support services. Co-teaching can include several models: One Teach- One Assist, Parallel Teaching, Station teaching, alternative teaching, team teaching and one teach-one observe.
Intensive Learning Support model refers to a more restricted setting for special education students that persistently struggle academically, as well as for special education students returning from Approved Private School settings.

Instruction / Best Practices: Supporting Implementation

Intervention practices, such as direct instruction, learner strategy instruction and multi-sensory approaches, produce large-scale outcomes. Success for the student with learning disabilities requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. This requires specific, directed, individualized, intensive remedial instruction for students who are struggling.

High-Leverage Practices (HLP) are research-based strategies that have the potential to improve instruction that ultimately results in better outcomes for students with disabilities and others who struggle to succeed in school. There are 22 strategies in this model. Teachers who learn and master these practices are better prepared to engage in the types of complex instructional practice and professional collaborations that are required for effectively educating students with disabilities. They fall into four categories: Collaboration/Assessment/Social-Emotional/Behavioral and Instruction.

For more information on Higher Leverage Practices Click Here.

Collaboration

Collaborate with professionals to increase student success.
Organize and facilitate effective meetings with professionals and families
Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services

Assessment

Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs
Interpret and communicate assessment information with stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement educational programs
Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes

Social/emotional/behavioral

Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment
Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior
Teach social behaviors
Conduct functional behavioral assessments to develop individual student behavior support plans

Instructional

Identifying and prioritizing long and short term learning goals
Systematically designing instruction toward specific learning goal
Adapting curriculum tasks and materials for specific learning goalsTeaching cognitive and metacognitive strategies
Providing scaffolded supports
Using assistive and instructional technology
Active student engagement
Using flexible grouping
Providing positive feedback
Providing explicit instruction
Providing intensive instruction

The Universal Design Learning Framework (UDL)

The Universal Design Learning Framework (UDL) provides a flexible, responsive curriculum that reduces or eliminates barriers to learning. Using a UDL allows educators to offer curriculum options that present information and content in varied ways, differentiate the manner in which learners can express what they know, and engage students in meaningful, authentic learning. With UDL, more students are: Engaged in their own education; Learning in greater breadth and depth: Achieving

at higher levels and are Motivated to continue learning. The UDL framework provides a flexible, responsive curriculum that reduces or eliminates barriers to learning. For information on UDL: (http://udlguidelines.cast.org)

Strategies That Support Achievement

Scaffolding is a strategy that gives students access to success. In this process, the teacher starts out using heavily mediated instruction, known as explicit instruction, then slowly begins to let the students acquire the skill, moving towards the goal of student mediated instruction.

Strategy instruction is a teaching practice that shows students how to learn the content or skills they need to acquire. It provides students with clear strategies (such as note-taking, or thinking aloud) to help them process, remember and express the information they learn.

Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) refers to “what the teacher

does” to instruct, assess, and re-teach students with a learning disability.

Educators that teach students with learning Disabilities must provide Specially Designed Instruction through the lens of IEP goals and High Leverage Practices for Instruction:

1. Providing instructional strategies to all students.	12. Implementing methods for guiding students in identifying and organizing critical content.
2. Using strategies from multiple instructional approaches	13. Modifying pace of instruction and provide organizational cues.
3. Identifying and using specialized resources in order to implement specially designed instruction	14. Teaching learning strategies and study skills to acquire academic content.
4. Using evidence-based methods for academic and non-academic instruction	15. Using appropriate methods to teach mathematics
5. Using appropriate adaptations and technology	16. Implementing methods for increasing accuracy and proficiency in basic mathematics and literacy skill development
6. Recommending and using evidence-based practices validated for specific characteristics of learners and settings.	17. Implementing explicit and systematic instruction to teach accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and monitoring strategies in literacy and content area reading.
7. Applying prevention and intervention strategies for individuals at-risk for academic or behavioral failure.	18. Identifying resources and techniques used across all transition points to allow for the effective transition
8. Teaching individuals to use self-assessment, problem-solving and other cognitive strategies to meet their needs within the framework of Pennsylvania Academic Standards.	19. Identify and teach common instructional features within and across curricula.
9. Demonstrating the use of opportunities to integrate learning into daily routines and activities.	20. Using and teaching instructional methods to strengthen and compensate for weaknesses in perception, comprehension, memory, and retrieval.
10. Identifying and implementing differentiated instructional strategies through the use of matching appropriate strategies to student characteristics, integrating student initiated learning opportunities and experiences into ongoing instruction, e.g., universally designed approaches.	21. Identifying and teaching essential concepts, vocabulary, and content across the general curriculum.
11. Providing strategies to prepare students to foster continuous learning and performance on standards-based assessments.	22. Teaching strategies for organizing and composing written products.

Collaboration

Collaborate with professionals to increase student success:

1. Collaboration with general education teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff is necessary to support students’ learning toward measurable outcomes and to facilitate students’ social and emotional well-being across all school environments and instructional settings (e.g., co-taught, scheduling).

2. Collaboration with individuals or teams requires the use of effective collaboration behaviors (e.g., sharing ideas, active listening, questioning, planning, problem solving, negotiating) to develop and adjust instructional or behavioral plans based on student data, and the coordination of expectations, responsibilities, and resources to maximize student learning

Collaboration with general education teachers, paraprofessionals, and support staff is necessary to support students’ learning toward measurable outcomes and to facilitate students’ social and emotional well-being across all school environments and instructional settings (e.g., co-taught, scheduling).
Collaboration with individuals or teams requires the use of effective collaboration behaviors (e.g., sharing ideas, active listening, questioning, planning, problem solving, negotiating) to develop and adjust instructional or behavioral plans based on student data, and the coordination of expectations, responsibilities, and resources to maximize student learning.

Organize and facilitate effective meetings with professionals and families:

Teachers lead and participate in a range of meetings (e.g., meetings with families, individualized education program [IEP] teams, individualized family services plan [IFSP] teams, instructional planning) with the purpose of identifying clear, measurable student outcomes and developing instructional and behavioral plans that support these outcomes
They develop a meeting agenda, allocate time to meet the goals of the agenda, and lead in ways that encourage consensus building through positive verbal and nonverbal communication, encouraging the sharing of multiple perspectives, demonstrating active listening, and soliciting feedback.

Collaborate with families to support student learning and secure needed services:

Teachers collaborate with families about individual children’s needs, goals, programs, and progress over time and ensure families are informed about their rights as well as about special education processes (e.g., IEPs, IFSPs).
Teachers should respectfully and effectively communicate considering the background, socioeconomic status, language, culture, and priorities of the family.
Teachers advocate for resources to help students meet instructional, behavioral, social, and transition goals.
In building positive relationships with students, teachers encourage students to self-advocate, with the goal of fostering self-determination over time.
Teachers also work with families to self-advocate and support their children’s learning.

Assessment

Use multiple sources of information to develop a comprehensive understanding of a student’s strengths and needs:

To develop a deep understanding of a student’s learning needs, special educators compile a comprehensive learner profile through the use of a variety of assessment measures and other sources (e.g., information from parents, general educators, other stakeholders) that are sensitive to language and culture, to (a) analyze and describe students’ strengths and needs and (b) analyze the school based learning environments to determine potential supports and barriers to students’ academic progress.
Teachers should collect, aggregate, and interpret data from multiple sources (e.g., informal and formal observations, work samples, curriculum-based measures, functional behavior assessment [FBA], school files, analysis of curriculum, information from families, other data sources).
Data should be collected and analyzed through: progress monitoring of student work, monthly data meetings and assessment of IEP goals in order to support enhanced teaching and learning and data-driven instructional practices.

This information is used to create an individualized profile of the student’s strengths and needs.

Interpret and communicate assessment information with stakeholders to collaboratively design and implement educational programs:

Teachers interpret assessment information for stakeholders (i.e., other professionals, families, students) and involve them in the assessment, goal development, and goal implementation process.
Special educators must understand each assessment’s purpose, help key stakeholders understand how culture and language influence interpretation of data generated, and use data to collaboratively develop and implement individualized education and transition plans that include goals that are standards-based, appropriate accommodations and modifications, and fair grading practices, and transition goals that are aligned with student needs.

Use student assessment data, analyze instructional practices, and make necessary adjustments that improve student outcomes:

After special education teachers develop instructional goals, they evaluate and make ongoing adjustments to students’ instructional programs.
Teachers have to manage and engage in ongoing data collection using curriculum-based measures, informal classroom assessments, observations of student academic performance and behavior, self-assessment of classroom instruction, and discussions with key stakeholders (i.e., students, families, other professionals).
Effective teachers retain, reuse, and extend practices that improve student learning and adjust or discard those that do not.

Social/emotional/behavioral

Teachers should provide a proactive approach to establishing a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment, in order to improve school safety and promote positive behavior.
In a proactive approach, students are taught basic behavioral expectations as part of the daily learning environment.
Students who continue to struggle with negativity in social, emotional or behavioral issues, will be provided with evidence-based interventions and instruction.
Students with on-going social, emotional or behavioral concerns, will be provided with individualized supports and services through Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA). An FBA will facilitate a process that identifies a specific or target behavior that interferes with a student's education. The assessment will designate the particular behavior, identify the factors that support the behavior, determine the purpose of the behavior; and then use data to address strategies to eliminate the behavior.

How to Provide Services : Serving Implementation

SERVICES

Supplementary Aids and Services (SAS) in its simplest form is what the student needs including strategies, aids, and services in order to learn on a fair level with their peers. Some examples include:

adapted equipment—such as a special seat or a cut-out cup for drinking;
assistive technology—such as a word processor, special software, or a communication system;
training for staff, student, and/or parents;
peer tutors;
a one-on-one aide;
adapted materials—such as books on tape, large print, or highlighted notes; and collaboration/consultation among staff, parents, and/or other professionals
tracking guides
manipulatives
slantboard/stand
copy of notes written on the board

Related Services

Related Services are a key component of each student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Related Services are, “. . transportation and such developmental, corrective and other supportive services as required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education. They are designed to enable a student: “(i) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;(ii) To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum. . . and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and (iii) To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children.

Transition Services

The term “transition services” means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that:

Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment); continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation;
Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, preferences, and interests; and
Includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.

Intellectual Preparation

Intellectual preparation is a process in which teachers use curricular resources and texts to plan equitable, grade-level instruction, such that students access the texts and standards at the center of the instructional expectations guide. Intellectual preparation supports teachers to “become experts at teaching the curriculum they are using and adapting instruction to the needs of their particular students” (Ross and Pimentel, 2017). The Year at a Glance (YAG) documents offer teachers a long range view of the standards and texts to be shared as an integral part of assuring students interact with complex texts and receive instruction that is anchored to grade level standards from the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts that are crosswalked to the Pennsylvania Common Core. Quarter at a Glance (QAG) documents provide teachers with an “unpacking” of the standard, revealing the depth of the standard for a particular grade level and the learning progression to support teachers in differentiating their instruction for students. These core instructional maps provide an approximate pacing guide for texts and standards by providing suggested time frames for each text, aligning the CCSS standards to specific texts, and identifying the exemplar for student performance. During the intellectual preparation process, teachers use the curriculum resources to ensure they have thought through the most critical aspects of a text in order to plan instruction that is equitable, focused on student needs, and grade/age appropriate. Teachers should practice this process with each anchor text in order to become familiar and proficient in planning for the instruction.

Read and Annotate the Text:

Note answers to the following questions when annotating the text:

Where do the standards under study most resonate in the text?
What is the essential comprehension for this text that is required in the standards from the first cluster of the CCSS?
What background knowledge, skills, and/or experiences do my students have related to this text?

What cultural connections/voices are present or absent within the text?

Where are there teachable moments in the text?

Where and how are the big ideas presented?
Where are the ah-ha moments?
How does the author use craft moves and language to make a point?

What are the learning targets?

What should students know and be able to do upon completion of the text?

What are the essential questions which will support student discovery and use of the content and the skills under study in order to reach the learning targets?

Deconstruct (unpack) and Reconstruct (combine/re-pack) the standards that apply to the text:

Use the Year at a Glance documents (YAGs) and the Quarter at a Glance (QAGs) documents to identify the standards - aligned outcomes for the text.
Deconstruct: Determine what students need to know (teachable concepts) and be able to do (specific skills).
Reconstruct: Determine how the standards work together in this particular text.

Identify how and when students will engage with the text:

Will the text be read whole group, ›, or independently?
What support will the students need before, during, and after reading the text?

What types of scaffolding, accommodations, or modifications will individual students need to effectively engage with the text?

Identify Supplemental Material and Supports:

Teachers should identify additional texts/resources that will provide deeper dives into the content and skills under study within the text.

Supplemental materials should link to the “Big Ideas” and content contained within the anchor text.
How does the original text connect to the supplemental text or media resources?

Engaging with same priority standards and content again, in multiple contexts, will provide students with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the content and skills under study.

Instructional Focus Areas

Instructional Focus Area

Fluency

Why is this focus area important?

Fluency is important because it enables deep understanding of a text (comprehension) as well as increased motivation to read. In a discussion of the importance of fluency, Tim Rasinski (2012) argues, “Reading speed and proper expression in oral reading are indicators of fluency. The essence of fluency is not reading speed or oral reading expression but rather the ability to decode and comprehend text at the same time.”

What is fluency?

Fluency includes reading with:

Appropriate rate
Accuracy
Expression (prosody)

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

Provide adequate time during core instruction with the intentional use of strategies that promote fluency. All students will have multiple opportunities to engage with text and practice fluency skills including interactions with peers.
Provide tasks that promote reading and discussing content-rich, complex texts and produce a volume of reading.
Ensure students read a lot online and offline, including books, e-books, websites, newspapers, and magazines.
Demonstrate how to read with expression, such as dramatic reading of character dialogue and pausing for suspense in a breaking news report.
Formative assessment to track oral reading fluency.
Guide students through the process of decoding words in context using grade appropriate skills and morphology.
Monitor student comprehension in relation to fluency development.

Encourage students to reread decodable texts to work on accuracy, expression, and rate.

Instructional Focus Area

Vocabulary

Why is this focus area important?

Researchers have described vocabulary as “the bridge between word level processes and the cognitive processes of comprehension” (Hiebert & Kamil, 2005).

This acquisition is critical to students’ successful understanding of spoken and written language. Students will need a plethora of opportunities throughout a unit to practice reading and learning vocabulary (AIM, 2021).

What is vocabulary?

Vocabulary refers to the words students must know to comprehend and communicate effectively. Vocabulary instruction in reading is about knowing why the author chose these words to communicate the essential comprehension of the text rather than being limited to the definition of the word itself. Vocabulary knowledge is dynamic and incremental in nature, and students may need longer periods of time in order to master this knowledge. (Alharthi, 2014)

There is a generally agreed upon four part approach to vocabulary instruction that effectively develops students’ depth, breath, and fluency needed to comprehend a text.

Word conscious classrooms: Teachers create a classroom environment that centers academic vocabulary.
Intentional, on purpose instruction: Teachers choose words for intentional, direct instruction that are taught through explicit instructional routines.
Incidental on-purpose language experiences: Teachers create language rich environments through read-alouds, structured independent reading and classroom discourse.
Intentional, independent word-learning strategies: Teachers directly teach students how to use the dictionary, context clues, and morphology to determine the meaning of unknown words that they encounter when reading independently.

Vocabulary can be classified into three tiers when identifying words for direct instruction:

Tier I: everyday words that commonly appear in everyday language

Tier II: words that are used across the content areas and are important for students to know and understand - included here are process words like analyze and evaluate

Tier III: words that are traditionally used in academic dialogue and text (content-specific words). These types of words are used to explain a concept; they are not necessarily common or frequently encountered in informal conversation.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels :

Vocabulary instruction should be judiciously implemented.
Identify the level of instructional support required for understanding of vocabulary (incidental or intentional).
Connect new vocabulary to prior knowledge (extend schema).
Use the context of a text to teach vocabulary.
Teach words in clusters (help students understand how words are connected through direct instruction on Greek and Latin roots as well as cognates).
Include morphology which is the analysis of the structure of words and parts of words, such as stems, root words, prefixes, and suffixes (how are words related).
Ensure tasks require students to use academic vocabulary authentically.
Develop individualized vocabulary goals for students as needed.

Instructional Focus Area

Grammar (Syntax and Sentence Structure)

Why is this focus area important?

A strong command of grammar supports students in both their reading and writing. A high quality literacy program demands specific attention be paid to syntax instruction and analysis (Liben and Liben, 2012). Mastering the mechanics of grammar helps students understand how sentences, paragraphs, and writing become clear, interesting, and precise. Sophisticated grammar is fostered in literacy-rich and language-rich environments. Grammar options are best expanded through reading and in conjunction with writing. Instruction in conventional editing is important for all students but must honor students’ home language or dialect.

What is grammar?

Grammar is the whole system and structure of a language.

Syntax: the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Semantics: the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

Select texts that are interesting and relevant to engaging students in grammatical exercises with attention to a variety of dialects and grammatical structures.
Review the text and identify one or two sentences that are worthy of study because:

the sentence is rich in meaning and contributes to a deeper understanding of the text.
the sentence gets in the way of meaning and understanding.
the author’s craft and structure exemplify a writing move that students could replicate in their own writing.

Provide multiple exposures to a variety of grammatical concepts and techniques.
Provide tasks that allow for the use of complex sentence structure in discourse and writing.
Make learning visible with anchor charts and student work around grammatical concepts.

Instructional Focus Area

Content Knowledge

Why is this focus area important?

Content knowledge is important because it impacts students’ ability to make inferences and connections while reading. To access the ideas and information in different types of texts, readers need to call on prior knowledge. In the article Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom, Liben and Pimentel state, “Reading ability and knowledge about the world are equally tightly connected. Authors assume their readers know some things, so readers knowing things is a crucial component of those readers’ success and continued comprehension gains” (Liben & Pimentel, 2018).

What is content knowledge?

Content knowledge refers to the facts, concepts, theories, and principles that are taught and learned in specific academic courses. This includes knowledge about discipline-specific content and real-word contexts/applications.

Core Instructional Practices (HLP 21)

Applicable to all grade levels:

Prioritize depth over breadth.

provide deep dives of content.
extend content covered in core materials to provide repeated and nuanced exposure to focus topics.
create text sets that pair informational and literary texts to provide multiple perspectives on a topic.

Build background through a variety of mediums (paintings, photographs, videos, music, poems, prose, etc.).
Encourage students to research self-selected topics to deepen student understanding of a unit.
Make relevant connections to real world examples
Consider cross curriculum content area connections

Instructional Focus Area

Comprehension

Why is this focus area important?

Both oral and reading comprehension are important because they allow students to construct meaning from text and content. In order for students to analyze a text, students must understand what they read. Per the National Reading Panel (2000), “comprehension is critically important to development of children’s reading skills.” Reading comprehension skills will allow a student to access knowledge during their formal education and throughout the rest of their lives.

What is comprehension?

Comprehension is the ability to:

understand and interpret of what is read
process what is read, which requires the ability to decode print at a rate that allows for attention to be switched from recognizing words and phrases to understanding what is being conveyed by those words and phrases.
make connections between what is read and what is already known about a topic, genre and discipline.
think deeply about what is being read in relation to this text (local comprehension) and the broader understanding of other texts (global comprehension).

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

Use the Intellectual Preparation Process to plan questions and methods of instruction that address:

Language demands
Author’s craft
Text structure
Possible misconceptions
Opportunities for developing background knowledge
Evidence of the standards
Analysis of claims and key points

Intentionally plan how the text will be read to best support comprehension (read aloud, partner reading, shared reading, independent reading, chunking of the text, etc.).
Incorporate strategies that push students to do the heavy lifting (productive struggle) in understanding both the literal and deeper meaning of text.

Instructional Focus Area

Analysis

Why is this focus area important?

Analysis encourages students to connect ideas, examine inconsistencies in reasoning, solve problems, and reflect on their own beliefs. Analysis supports the development of critical thinking skills and an appreciation for . In the paper titled, “Understanding Text Dependent Analysis”, the Center for Assessment and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (2018) suggest that in order to successfully analyze a text “students need to understand that authors make specific choices about literary and nonliterary elements, their craft and style, and text structures for particular reasons”.

What is analysis?

Analysis is the careful examination and evaluation of multimodal texts. Analysis breaks down a text to core components - structure, author’s craft, author’s point of view, etc. - in order to explore how the author conveys meaning.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

During the intellectual preparation process, intentionally choose texts that are worthy of analysis with attention to selecting a variety of culturally and linguistically inclusive texts.

Understand the qualitative and quantitative demands of the text.
Understand the reader and the tasks.

Create exemplars that demonstrate the worth of the text in relation to literary analysis.
Use think alouds to model analysis for students.
Explicitly teach the process of analysis (close reading [literal interpretation versus metaphorical interpretations], deep dives into content, identify text structures and author’s craft, etc.).
Provide opportunities for students to discuss interpretations and evidence with peers.
Create tasks that require students to create and discuss written versions of their literary analysis.
Offer opportunities for students to identify and evaluate the claims of authors in multiple print and media sources as well as examine their use of language in conveying meaning.
Use purposeful questioning and annotation strategies to guide students through the analysis process.
Questions should be scaffolded to build deeper knowledge and be inclusive of all DOK levels.

Instructional Focus Area

Phonological Awareness

Why is this focus area important?

Phonological awareness is important because students at risk for reading difficulty often have lower levels of phonological awareness and phonemic awareness than do their peers. Phonological awareness is an overarching term that refers to a student’s awareness of units of sounds that comprise our spoken language. Phonemic awareness is the auditory manipulation of the sounds in our spoken language (Tolman, 2018). They are interconnected as phonemic awareness builds into phonological awareness. In The Critical Role of Phonemic Awareness in Reading Instruction, Kay MacPhee (2018) argues that phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of a student’s ability to read fluently. She writes, “[t]his ability to hear speech sounds clearly, and to differentiate them, is what allows us to acquire language easily, and this knowledge of language is key to our understanding of what we read.” As cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Paula Tallal explains, “To break the code for reading, a child must become ‘phonologically aware’ that words can be broken down into smaller units of sounds (phonemes) and that it is these sounds that the letters represent” (Children of the Code, 2003).

What is phonological awareness?

Phonological awareness is a broad skill set that includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language parts such as words, syllables, onsets and rimes, and individual sounds.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to grades K-3:

Use an explicit and systematic scope and sequence within a program based on scientific research.

Learn all about phonemes (there are more than 40 speech sounds).
Review the progression of the phonemic awareness skills found in the Foundational Skills of the CCSS documents.
Understand that these skills do not come naturally, but must be taught.
Learning these skills should be a significant part of the English Language Arts block for kindergarten and first grade where students should demonstrate mastery prior to the conclusion of first grade in order to be on track for reading at grade level.
If children are past the age at which phonemic awareness and phonological skill-building are addressed (typically kindergarten through first or second grade), attend to these skills one-on-one or in a small group.
Identify the precise phonemic awareness task on which you wish to focus and select developmentally appropriate activities for engaging children in the task. Activities should be quick and fun – play with sounds, rather than drill them.
Consider teaching phonological and phonemic skills in small groups since students may be at different levels of expertise.
Provide students on-going direct and constructive feedback.

Applicable to grades 4-12:

Be aware of phonological awareness skills. Use data to address foundational skills gaps (if necessary).
There may be students whose data indicate they need additional support with foundational skills. This may need to be addressed via MTSS and appropriate interventions.
Provide students on-going direct and constructive feedback.

Instructional Focus Area

Phonics

Why is this focus area important?

Phonics instruction is a critical driver of successful decoding and the foundation upon which reading skills are built. David Liben (2017) writes, “Once fluent, students still need to grow their vocabulary, grow their knowledge and have the opportunity to regularly work with rich, complex text. But successful decoding is the foundation without which none of the rest can stand.” The National Reading Panel (2010) reported that, “The primary focus of phonics instruction is to help beginning readers understand how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes) to form letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns and to help them learn how to apply this knowledge in their reading.

What is phonics?

Phonics instruction stresses the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences and their use in reading and spelling.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to grades K-3:

Teach phonics in a systematic, sequential and explicit way using a scientifically based program.
Systematic phonics instruction engages students in both synthetic (teaching letter-sound connections) and analytic (using knowledge of letter-sound connections) methods.
Explicit phonics instruction should incorporate teaching common spelling patterns (eg., CVC, CVVC, VC, CVCe, etc.).
Phonics instruction should incorporate onsets and rimes as well as examining combinations of letters.
Allow students time to practice using multiple modalities (seeing, hearing, speaking, touching, manipulating).
Help students understand the purpose of phonics by engaging them in reading (decoding) and writing (encoding) activities that require them to apply the phonics information that has been taught.
Instruction occurs during targeted phonics lessons and in the context of reading and writing throughout the literacy block.
Phonics instruction can be differentiated according to need, however all instruction follows the same sequence of learning.

Applicable to 4-12:

There may be students whose data indicate they need additional support with foundational skills. This may need to be addressed via MTSS and appropriate interventions.
Phonics instruction should be data driven and ideally addressed through small group instruction. Provide phonics instruction in a systematic, sequential and explicit way using a scientifically based program.
Provide students on-going direct and constructive feedback.

Writing

Why is this focus area important?

Writing is an essential communication skill that is grounded in the cognitive domain. Writing helps to cultivate emotional growth, develop critical thinking skills and improve school performance. Students who engage in early writing are also able to demonstrate their comprehension of complex concepts with greater ease. Students advancing through the grades are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades. The expected growth in student writing ability is reflected both in the standards themselves and in the collection of annotated student writing samples in Appendix C of the Common Core State Standards (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010).

What is writing ?

Writing well is ultimately about making meaning thoughtfully, and communicating that meaning clearly (Vermont Writers Collaborative et al, 2013). Each student should demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2010).

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

Well-rounded writing instruction contains a balance of the three types of writing: Opinion/Argumentative, Informative/Explanatory, and Narrative. Student writing can take various forms (eg, speech, literary analysis, poetry, etc) within these types.
Students should consider the intended audience of their writing.
Students should engage in the writing process which requires drafting, reflecting, editing, revising and publishing.Rehearsing and/or support for students' oral language development should be considered as part of the writing process.
Researching and integrating resources into writing is essential to support evidence based writing.
In order to produce and publish writing, students should have opportunities to use technology as a tool for effective communication and collaboration.
Students should write routinely over extended time frames and should have opportunities for on-demand writing, which is the result of uniform, pre-planned prompts. Student writing in response to prompts should be used to highlight developmental progressions in the Common Core Standards and build an understanding of grade-specific goals and expectations (Vermont).
Reading and writing should be taught simultaneously as research shows that the two skills are closely aligned. Students should have opportunities to write in response to what they have read, drawing evidence from literary and informational texts
Beginning Pre-K, students should receive direct instruction in word transcription (handwriting, typing, spelling) as well as composition (ideas, words, sentences, text generation).

Speaking and Listening

Why is this focus area important?

The Common Core State Standards call for the explicit instruction of speaking and listening skills. These standards are designed to be woven into literacy instruction to demonstrate what a literate, capable user and consumer of English should be able to do at each grade level (Liben and Pimentel, 2018). By providing multiple opportunities to engage in discourse, students develop oral language and acquire new vocabulary.

What is speaking and listening?

According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2011), speaking and listening contains two main elements:

Students should comprehend and collaborate with others through:

participation in discussions and projects
evaluation of a variety of information from various sources, including media
evaluation of what a speaker says

Students should develop skills in the presentation of knowledge and

ideas through:

audience-appropriate and logical presentation of information
use of media support
adaptation of speech to context and task.

Core Instructional Practices

Applicable to all grade levels:

Provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in conversations throughout the lesson.
Participate in collaborative conversations about grade level texts.
Use mutli-media in speaking presentations
Use formal English when appropriate
Socratic Seminar (finish this thought)

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Foundational Skills Instruction

When and Why→ Foundational skills are taught explicitly and directly using a synthetic, research-based, systematic program and then are embedded throughout the literacy block. Foundational skills include: the alphabet, concepts of print, phonological awareness, phonics, high frequency words and fluency. Although foundational skills are taught explicitly in grades K-5, fluency is on-going and should be developed and monitored throughout 6-12.

Teacher’s Role

Student’s Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Read and internalize the explicit and systematic foundational skills lesson and identify ideal student responses to each prompt/task.
Review shared reading and/or read aloud texts for areas to practice and reinforce the phonics and phonological awareness patterns that were directly and explicitly taught.
Look for additional opportunities to practice the transfer and application of previously learned skills.
Use class and student data to form small groups and differentiate instruction

Throughout the Literacy Block:

Engage students in conversations that support the use and comprehension of language.
Teach students to recognize and manipulate segments of sound in speech.
Teach students letter–sound relations.
Use word-building and other activities to link students’ knowledge of letter–sound relationships with phonemic awareness.
Have students read decodable words in isolation and in connected text.
Instruct students in common sound–spelling patterns.
Teach students to blend letter sounds and sound–symbol patterns from left to right within a word to produce a recognizable pronunciation.
Teach regular and irregular high frequency words, using an orthographic mapping process so that students can recognize words when reading
Engage students by utilizing multiple modalities during instruction, including the use of manipulatives (letter tiles, elkonin boxes, colored chips, magnetic letters, etc.
Explicitly and systematically instruct students in how to relate sounds and the letters that represent them, how to break spoken words into sounds, and how to blend sounds to form words.
Explain to students why they are learning the relationships between letters and sounds
Support students as they apply their knowledge of phonics when they read words, sentences, and text
Plan for students to apply what they learn about sounds and letters to their own writing
Monitor the mouth positions of students as they are articulating each phoneme. Teacher provides immediate corrective feedback as necessary.

Practice new phonological and phonemic awareness patterns as well as those previously learned and those specifically needed by individual learners.
Read decodable text multiple times independently and with partners.
Use multiple modalities (seeing, hearing, speaking, touching, manipulating).
Manipulates letters, sounds, and words in order to practice phoneme grapheme correspondence in multiple contexts.
Identify the individual sounds, or phonemes, that make up the words they hear in speech.
Identify phonemes that correspond to graphemes.
Blend letters into simple words.
Practice effectively decoding (convert from print to speech) and encoding (convert from speech to print) words.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Student Discourse

When and Why→ Student discourse, or talking on-topic while in the classroom, promotes language acquisition, engagement, comprehension, critical thinking and ultimately student achievement. Discourse routines need to be taught explicitly and be continuously reinforced in order to be effective. Opportunities to engage in discourse should be encouraged throughout the day across all content areas. “Collaboration activities that are intentionally structured for shared goals, individual accountability, and focused discourse drive deeper thinking within groups and can have a major positive effect on each student's learning” (Hess, 2020).

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Plan opportunities for students to engage in a range of discussions about the texts using conversations, debates and seminars.
Consider places in the text where students will be exposed to new information.
Consider how to support students' integration of information from multiple sources.
Consider the specific academic language (for example, both vocabulary and syntax structures) that students will ideally use in discussing these key moments in the text, and how to elicit and support the use of such language.
Consider engagement structures to ensure that as many students as possible produce language in response to the text and build on each other’s ideas.
Consider options for integration of digital media

Facilitating Student Discourse:

Teachers models how to adapt speech to a variety of contexts appropriate to task, purpose and audience
Teacher models and promotes discussion strategies to provide opportunities for student-led discourse and inquiry
Engage students in purposeful sharing of ideas and reasoning.
Encourage students to “think aloud” as they discuss text
Use a variety of groupings (i.e. small, peer to peer)
Students adapt speech to a variety of contexts (i.e. conversational, formal, debate)

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions about grade-appropriate topics and texts. In order to do so, students will need ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations.
Participate in discourse activities (e.g. turn and talk, small group discussion, accountable talk discussion protocols) that lead to the expression of complete ideas both verbally and in writing.
Use conversation skills to co-construct and argue ideas.
Practice effective listening with both verbal and nonverbal responses.
Support ideas and opinions with examples and evidence from text
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically.
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.
Students will demonstrate digital literacy through text-related research and presentations

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Read Aloud

When and Why→ Read alouds can create a class bond; promote a love for reading; preview information, themes, or text structures; model effective reading; show how texts connect with one another (intertextuality); create a bridge to more complex texts, or provide an exemplar for a genre of writing. Read alouds have multiple uses at every age and in every content area; however, the use of read alouds for older grades should be incorporated for specific purposes. After second grade, students should be engaging in the reading process where the read aloud is used only to provide emphasis on specific sections of the text. At the younger grade level, read alouds offer important opportunities for students to access more complex content and language that they may not be able to read independently. In grades 6-12, read alouds offers exposure to above grade level texts as teachers model prosody and critical analysis of complex texts.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Identify a book, which addresses the current instructional focus of the unit (content, skills, or strategies).
Identify key text understandings connected to the unit’s big ideas.
Practice reading the text aloud.
Plan stopping points to model think-alouds, explore rich academic language, pose questions to support students in accessing the text’s meaning, and provide clarity to content and skills.

During the Read Aloud:

Launch the book with lively, academic conversations.
Ensure texts are culturally relevant, and represent a diversity of cultures and perspectives.
Build background knowledge critical for comprehension of the text.
Model appropriate fluent reading.
Incorporate purposeful discussion and questioning using strategic and flexible pairing/grouping during read alouds.
Model thinking while reading the text.
Plan tasks that will allow students to respond to the read aloud via discussion and writing opportunities.

Actively listen and read along (if text is available).
Demonstrate comprehension through questioning and discourse.
Use discipline-specific vocabulary to explain, elaborate, and explore ideas.
Cite textual evidence to support claims, written or oral, during breaks or when engaged in a read aloud extension activity.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Shared Reading

When and Why→ Shared reading can be implemented at any point in the literacy block through whole group or small group instruction. Shared reading allows the students and the teacher to share the workload associated with reading complex text as part of a content-rich unit. Shared reading provides an interactive reading experience that allows for gradual release and supports the development of reading skills, comprehension, and content development.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Make a judicious decision about which excerpt of the text will be used for Shared Reading
Identify content specific vocabulary and/or language forms which will need to be explicitly taught, may be determined through deductive or inductive reasoning, or is solidified in a student’s schema.
Identify key text understandings with which students should walk away, connected to the unit’s big ideas.
Identify reading skills and behaviors students will require to access the text.
Generate and/or adapt from lesson materials purposeful questions to clarify anticipated misconceptions and support students in accessing key understandings.
Plan tasks aligned to grade-level standards and expectations.
Plan for opportunities to annotate and write about the text.

During Shared Reading:

Model appropriate reading behaviors and strategies.

Ensure use of discipline/content-specific vocabulary in discussion and writings.
Guide students in navigating a variety of genres, text structures, and text features.
Pose purposeful/guiding questions and allow wait time for productive struggle.
Support students with deciphering between literal and deeper meaning.

Actively listen and read along. Students should actively engage in reading the text before, during, and after the shared experience.
Apply reading skills and strategies to comprehend grade-level, age appropriate complex text.
Develop fluency and phrasing.
Utilize close reading strategies in order to support student ownership of the text and the objectives of the lesson.
Make predictions.
Draw inferences.
Develop a deep understanding of the content of the text being shared.
Incorporate the text and discipline-specific vocabulary in discussions and writings
Use content/discipline-specific vocabulary to explain, elaborate, and explore ideas.
Cite textual evidence to support claims.
Develop the confidence and stamina to read increasingly complex text.
Write about and annotate the text

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Small Group Reading Instruction

When and Why→Small group instruction can be implemented at any point in the literacy block and is used to accelerate instruction, provide feedback, reteach or pre-teach a skill and/or content, and build confidence through collaboration. Small group instruction is important because it provides teachers with the ability to focus precisely on the content/skills students need to progress academically. The purpose and focus of small group instruction is dependent upon the grade level and the needs of the students. Some examples include structured practice with specific sound/spelling correspondences (K-3), support with academic language related to unit texts/content, building background knowledge related to unit texts/content, or engaging in productive struggle with a particularly complex portion of the anchor text with increased teacher support.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Determine flexible grouping and objectives based on qualitative and quantitative data, including anecdotal notes, and observations.
Select a text that is most appropriate to meet the needs of the students in the group; text selection may be reflective of students’ grade-level, age, interest, specific gaps in foundational skills, or specific barriers to access to grade-level text and/or unit content (e.g. academic language, background knowledge).

During Small Group Instruction:

Promote an environment of cooperative and collaborative learning.

Employ practices for developing reading fluency, such as paired and partner reading, rereading, and close reading with discussion; include various forms of small group instruction.
Include explicit instruction that meets the individual needs of students in both literacy and language.
Provide models and examples of reading strategies to enhance comprehension.
Scaffold activities to deepen students’ understanding of the content present within the text.

Read the text in order to: Apply foundational reading skills
Activate and/or build background knowledge
Synthesize and summarize information
Analyze author’s use of syntax and vocabulary
Identify story elements
Practice fluent reading.
Engage in text-based discussions.
Build confidence and stamina in connection to reading.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Independent Reading

When and Why→ Independent reading can be implemented at any point in the literacy block and is used to create an appreciation for reading, develop fluency, apply metacognitive thinking, build and extend content/background knowledge, and practice reading skills. It also provides an opportunity for students to increase reading stamina.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Identify a purpose for student reading.
Identify opportunities to provide independent reading (fluctuate reading to build stamina).
Identify learning tasks to extend and apply the content and skills being developed during independent reading.
Assemble a classroom library that is reflective of the interests, cultures and language of the classroom students including text sets related to each unit’s theme.

During Independent Reading:

Guide student reading through goal-specific objectives; establish a purpose for reading.
Provide choice in text selection.
Vary the way independent reading occurs: read to self, read to others, computer-based reading, etc.
Ensure reading completion by assigning follow-up activities aligned to independent reading (critique, literary analysis, book talk, etc.).
Conduct individual reading conferences to evaluate reading comprehension and identify reading skills mastered, in development, or in need of additional support.
Provide opportunities for students to discuss and share their independent reading

READ - READ – READ.
Use a range of reading comprehension and decoding skills independently.
Make annotations as needed.
Plan for close reading opportunities that highlight the skill, standard, or content that is the focus of the lesson
Highlight or identify misconceptions: areas of confusion in need of future clarity to discuss during conferences or with peers reading similar/same text.
Use resources to support reading (dictionary.com, thesaurus, etc.).
Reflect about what was read on a personal, emotional, and cognitive level.
Explore multiple genres and topics of interest when engaging in choice selections.
Provide students opportunities to engage in close reading practices within complex text
Share with teachers and peers what they are reading independently.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Modeled Writing

When and Why→Modeled writing can occur at any point in the literacy block and may be implemented whole class, small group, or individually via a student conference. Modeled writing is used to teach and reinforce targeted areas of writing by clearly demonstrating the teacher’s thinking processes connected to the writing process. Modeled writing can be used to illustrate a wide range of skills related to writing, from transcription to composition. These writing skills include focused instruction on craft, structure, syntax and executive functioning. Like other forms of writing instruction, modeled writing should work in service of a coherent, content-rich unit that integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This instructional strategy can be used as a scaffold to support writers across grade levels. The goal is to move students toward independently applying writing skills.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Identify a purpose for modeled writing (whole class, small group, individualized need).
Understand modeled writing is planned but a responsive mini lesson may be needed to address an identified pressing student need.
Prepare an exemplar to use as a mentor text and practice connected “think aloud”.

During Modeled Writing:

Demonstrate his/her own thinking connected to writing - make thinking visible.
Establish a goal for learning.

Make expectations visible to students (rubrics).
Establish and “call out” the purpose for the writing.
Demonstrate brainstorming and revision to support students with constructing a strong draft.
Model the cognitive process in writing

Include students into the thinking process via discussion and guiding questions.
Connect reading to writing (e.g., through imitating mentor text or responding to anchor text).
Model the construction of a high-quality written response/product.
Reread the draft several times with students.
Make the draft available to students for later use (Google Classroom, anchor chart, etc.)
Offer scaffolds to support students as needed.

Develop writing skills from teacher modeling of the writing process by:

Discussing components/steps of writing (grammar, word choice, transitions, etc.).
Noting how to identify needed improvements and alter writing (use organizers and editing tools as needed).
Being involved in the actual process of writing

listening to, observing, and noting writing patterns..

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Shared Writing

When and Why→Shared writing can take place at any point in the literacy block and may be implemented in the whole class or small group. Shared writing allows students and teachers to collaboratively develop a piece of writing while working on a specific goal (focus, organization, elaboration, style, and/or conventions) related to unit content/focus. Student voice is vital to this component of the ELA Instructional Expectations Guide. The goal is for teachers and students to compose text together, contributing their thoughts and ideas to the writing process.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Plan to develop and extend children's background and language knowledge simultaneously while sharing the writing process.
Identify when and how writing may be connected to an anchor text.
Prepare a writing model to use as a mentor text.
Establish talking points which allow for student voice and student style in connection to writing tasks.

During Shared Writing:

Include students in the writing process via discussions and guiding questions.
Establish a goal for learning and communicate how that goal is reflected in the rubric.
Connect reading to writing (mentor text).
Model and discuss processes needed by the students (paragraph structure, word choice, organization, etc.). and the construction of a high-quality, error-free draft reflective of student contributions.
Have students reread the piece several times to identify and make needed revisions .
Share the written piece / draft in the classroom to allow students to revisit as needed.

Contribute to discussions and the production of written pieces by

Brainstorming ideas - thinking about content prior to writing.
Discussing components/steps of writing (grammar, word choice, transitions, etc.).
Identifying and altering errors (use organizers and editing tools as needed).
Actively listening to feedback and the reflection of others.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Small Group Writing

When and Why→Small group writing instruction is a scaffold to independent writing and can occur at any point in the literacy block. During small group writing: students are working in a peer group to support the development of the editing/revision processes (the teachers and/or a peer facilitates peer small group writing tasks); the teacher and students collaborate on a shared piece of writing related to unit content/focus; or the teacher provides targeted support to a group of students with similar writing modalities or similar writing skills. The goal is to conference with students in order to observe their writing progress and provide immediate feedback.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Review data to identify student groupings and needs.
Select student work to edit or extend.
Prepare a writing model to use as a mentor text.
Create or identify rubric and guiding documents to support students in the editing process.
Establish talking points which allow for student voice and student style in connection to writing tasks.

During Small Group Writing:

Model one or two writing strategies via a mini-lesson and discuss how to incorporate those strategies into students’ own writing.
Coach students with targeted feedback based on progress monitoring of writing samples by:

Incorporating writing templates or frames (as needed).
Sharing relevant mentor texts.
Collaboratively writing a piece.

Provide opportunities for peer to peer feedback.
Provide students with time to write
Allow students to share and discuss their written pieces.

Work with the teacher, peers or individually to produce a written piece.
Adhere to the steps within the writing process.
Apply strategies and suggestions offered by the teacher and peers.
Participate in the peer review process and other collaborative forums.
Use resources to support writing (editing checklists, organizers, dictionaries, etc.).
Students self-evaluate their writing to revise their work.

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Independent Writing

When and Why→Independent writing can take place at any point during the literacy block. During this time, students effectively use the writing process to build writing fluency and apply techniques modeled by the teacher and/or by mentor text. During independent writing, students can engage in casual, semi-formal, and formal writing activities. Independent writing tasks may be used for multiple purposes: to respond to text; to assess content knowledge; to develop writing skills and writing stamina; to enhance communication skills aligned to different audiences; and/or to enhance communication skills connected to purpose (inform, argue, debate, defend, make a claim, etc.).

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Identify a purpose for student writing.
Identify opportunities to provide independent reading (fluctuate writing to build stamina).
Identify learning tasks to extend and apply the content and skills being developed during independent writing.
Assemble a diverse and multi-purpose classroom library to ensure the availability of mentor texts which guide student writing.

During Independent Writing:

Provide a clear purpose for the student’s writing
Provide ample, uninterrupted opportunities for students to engage in authentic writing

Allow student to practice the transfer of content knowledge and writing skills independently
Provide one-on-one conferencing to respond to the content and quality of the student’s writing
Guide students through the writing process (provide detailed feedback for brainstorming, sequencing, drafting, editing, and publishing)
Incorporate scaffolds as needed (editing checklists, organizers, etc.)

Understand the purpose for writing
Include content/academic language when needed
Write in different modalities (letters, poems, narratives, expository, persuasive, argumentative)
Identify writing areas in need of development and work to create a solution

Revise and edit their writing
Participate in conferences about their writing
Produce publishable/finished piece

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Student Conferencing

When and Why→Conferencing can take place at any point during the literacy block to provide individualized instruction. It can be used to gain insight into a student’s reading and writing ability, a student’s content knowledge, and/or a student’s ability to listen and speak. It also provides an opportunity for teachers to provide individual guidance to students to reinforce and enrich reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Teachers’ Role

Students’ Role

During the Intellectual Prep Process:

Identify and schedule frequent opportunities to conference with students
Select scaffolds to support student reading and writing
Prepare questions that monitor and assess student learning connected to reading and writing

During Student Conferencing:

Use probing questions and anecdotal notes to determine the focus of the conference
Encourage students to ask questions and assess their own learning
Guide students through the process of reflection
Teach a targeted reading/writing skill based on student need
Discuss a student’s progress toward goals
Structure feedback to provide guidance or clarity via rich student-teacher discourse
Document the student’s progress (anecdotal notes)

Seek clarity or support for their learning
Set individual reading and writing goals
Note their own progress toward mastery of individual reading and writing goals
Encourage discourse to clarify learning or obtain needed supports

Considerations for Instructional Timing

It is helpful to think of this instructional expectations guide as a shift from daily lesson planning, that fits precisely into predetermined blocks of time that remain consistent from day to day, to shifts in knowledge, evidence, and complexity that unfold over multiple lessons in sequence. These shifts in the instructional expectations guide impact how instructional time is used day to day. For example, a writing performance task at the end of the unit takes some additional writing time; conversely, the beginning of the unit may focus more heavily on building background knowledge through reading and discourse. Considering the arc of learning and the sequence of lessons over the course of the week helps us to better meet the needs of all students over time. The sample lesson sequences below are intended to illustrate how teachers can leverage instructional time and instructional materials over several consecutive days to provide all students with learning experiences reflective of the instructional expectations guide components.

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Foundational Skills Instruction

Saxon Lesson 1

Introduce vowels and consonants (pg. 2):

Use the vowel wall card and call out the vowels are printed in red and all other letters are consonants

Note the letter y is treated as a consonant until lesson 61

Use the letter strips to demonstrate to demonstrate left from right and to recite the alphabet

Phonics:

Directionality
Letter Recognition
Letter Naming

Students are using supports in the room to decipher the alphabet and to recognize vowels from consonants

Foundational Skills Instruction

Saxon Lesson 1

Introduce Capital and Lowercase Letter:

Use student names to introduce capital and lower-case letters

Introduce the Letter Sounds L and N pg. 3 - 4:

The teacher points to her mouth and says the following:

Lollipop, lemon, lost - make sure to use the short crisp sound of /l/ and not /luh/
What sound is heard at the beginning of these words?
Repeat words: table, too, timber...no, nine, nifty...paper, petunia, people...zipper, zoo, zero

The teacher points to her mouth and says the following:

Note, numb, nip
What sound is heard in the initial position of these words?
Look at the alphabetic handwriting strip - is ‘n’ a vowel or a consonant?
Students listen to “We Love the Alphabet Song” on Max the Bear sing-along CD and identify words that began with the /n/ when the song has finished

Phonological Awareness:

Initial sounds
Mouth placement

Phonics:

Letter Recognition

Teacher is monitoring the mouth positions of students as they are articulating each phoneme. Teacher provides corrective feedback as necessary.

Teacher uses visuals when possible to demonstrate the meaning of the words practiced.

All students are attempting to produce the requested phonemes

-continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Foundational Skills Instruction

Saxon Lesson 1

Spelling with Letter Tiles (pg. 6):

Have students study and distinguish between the capital and lowercase N using the letter tile: purple for lowercase and green for capital
Have students identify lower and capital via partner discourse

Students should be reinforcing the name, sound, and shape of N throughout the lesson and the day

Letter Writing: The Letter N (p. 5):

Practice Skywriting the Letter N:

Skywrite capital N

Distribute Worksheet 1
Have students practice writing capital N and naming the letter N

Skywrite lowercase N

After skywriting lowercase N, have students practice writing lowercase N next to the capital N on the worksheet

Phonological Awareness:

Initial sounds
Mouth placement

Phonics:

Letter Recognition
Concepts of Print

Students are interacting with tactiles to reinforce the proper identification of capital and lower-case letters.

Students are producing the correct requested phonemes.

Students are holding pencils correctly and attempting to generate sound-spelling correlations (students are saying the phonemes as they are writing)

Student Discourse

Do Now: (launch into content and skills)

Turn and Talk: Students will closely examine pictures of bats obtained from Getty Images and discuss the images with a partner(s).

Are the pictures real or drawn like a cartoon?
How does the bat look? (Scary, happy, ugly, etc.)

Content Knowledge:

Activating Schema - making connections between past and present knowledge

Analysis:

Image analysis

Vocabulary

Producing academic language

The teacher is monitoring student discussions and providing probing questions or clarifying statements for students who are striving with the concepts of bats.

The teacher uses sentence frames and protocols to facilitate student interaction. (Examples: I think the pictures are real/illustrations because ______. The bat looks _____.)

-continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Read Aloud:

Develop background knowledge and prepare students for content (Bats)

Read Aloud:

Read Batty in the text collection: When are bats awake? Why would a baby bat be afraid of the light?

Picture Analysis:

Students will examine the Bats Note page in Stellaluna and the teacher will provide a summary of key sentences and information to students. (Hand-Wing etc.)

K-W-L:

Students complete the K & W in a KWL chart as an anchor chart created with students. Students will create responses based on the pictures, the poem, and personal knowledge.

Content Knowledge:

Activating Schema - making connections between past and present knowledge

Comprehension:

Students are deciphering the text via teacher generated questions

Fluency:

Listening to a fluent reader

Analysis:

Image analysis

The teacher is monitoring student discussions and providing probing questions or clarifying statements for students who are striving with the concepts of bats.

-continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Min

Shared Reading:

Whole class reading of anchor text with focus on vocabulary acquisition and literal interpretation during the first read.

Shared Writing:

completion of graphic organizer with teacher support

Student Discourse

The teacher will introduce fictional texts in the form of narrative writing:

Explain that narrative writing has a beginning, middle, and end

The teacher will use a graphic organizer to introduce components of a fictional text: identifies character, setting, beginning events, middle events, and end events
The teacher will emphasize the story is “not real”

Shared Reading:

First reading: The teacher and the students read selected pages to generate a literal meaning of the text and to note text structure.

The teacher will read the first seven pages of Stellaluna, stopping at “Stellaluna behaved as a good bird should.”

The teachers will model basic print concepts while reading
The teacher emphasizes the connections between the phonics lesson and the words in the text
Student Discourse and Purposeful Questioning:

The teacher will ask clarifying questions throughout the reading:

Why did mother drop Stellaluna?
How do you think Stellaluna feels being with the birds? Why?
How do you think it would be to be a bat behaving like a bird? Why?

Vocabulary & Comprehension:

The teacher will support vocabulary development prior to student summaries of the page:

Sultry forest, ripe fruit, leafy branches: present images from Shutterstock and have students discuss the images to obtain definitions

Guided Writing:

The teachers will stop reading to add to the graphic organizer through the use of prompting: Who are our characters? Who is the main character? Where does the story take place? How do we know? Etc.

Turn & Talk:

The teacher will stop at each page and allow students to summarize what is occurring on the page (literal interpretations) via an oral discussion

Content Knowledge:

Developing understanding of fictional text and fictional text structure - plot: beginning, middle, end
Developing knowledge of the predators and prey (owl and bat)

Comprehension:

Building towards the literal interpretation of Stellaluna

Vocabulary

The teacher is using the graphic organizer as a scaffold to support student learning and as a method to gather student strengths and needs.

The teacher and students are engaging in fruitful, content-specific conversations with the purpose of building background knowledge and developing a connection between the text under study and the focus phonics lesson.

The students are enhancing their vocabulary and making personal connections with the content under study.

Students are enhancing vocabulary by discussing visuals/photos that align and support the content under study.

The teacher is supporting the development of writing skills by modeling and providing content-specific vocabulary to write about.

Students are practicing their thinking and listening skills by sharing oral summaries.

-continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Foundational Skills Instruction

Consonants /L/ and /N/:

Juicy Sentence: the teacher will analyze the following two sentences with students

Oh, how Mother Bat loved her soft tinted baby. “I’ll name you Stellaluna,” she cried.
On silent wings the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats.

Have students count the words in the sentence
Have students identify where and when /L/ and /N/ sounds occur
Have students practice saying the words with /L/ and /N/ sounds

Phonological Awareness

Phonics

Fluency

Comprehension

Vocabulary

The teacher allows time for students to solidify foundational skills associated with /L/ and /N/.

The teacher models the appropriate phonemes and speech patterns.

Students have a chance to decipher the phonemes orally.

Shared Writing

Juicy Sentence: the teacher will analyze the following sentence with students:

On silent wings the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats.

Tell students the sentence will help them understand how the characters feel.
Display the sentence on sentence strips or recept tape segmented as indicated above.
Read the sentence aloud pointing to each word. Invite children to choral read.
Ask: Who is this sentence about? (the powerful bird; the owl)
Remove the corresponding chunk.
Invite students to pretend to be powerful birds. Establish that powerful means strong, or potentially harmful.
Ask: What did the powerful bird do? (swooped down; quickly flew or dropped down)
Invite students to pretend their hands are a bird swooping down. Illustrate the difference between flying and swooping. Encourage students to make sound effects (whooosh)
Ask: Where did the powerful bird swoop? (upon the bats; on Stellalluna and her mother)
Ask: How did the owl swoop on Stella Luna and her mother? (on silent wings; very quietly; it was a surprise)
Ask: Can you use your own words to tell me what this sentence means?
Ask: Based on this sentence, how do you think the characters are feeling? What makes you think so? (scared—powerful owl, afraid for safety; surprised—swooping, silent wings)
Have students recreate the sentence in the correct order using the sentence strips.
Practice: Present the sentence frame: On _____wings, Stellaluna _______.
Invite students to use the frame to describe what happened next. (Example: On floppy wings, Stellaluana fell down upon a branch)

Comprehension

Grammar: Syntax

Analysis

The teacher provides think time.

The teacher facilitates conversation between students using graphic organizers and protocols when necessary.

The teacher allows students to demonstrate understanding using different modalities; physical response; sketching; writing; speaking.

-continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Modeled Writing:

The teacher provides guidance connected to sentence structure and content.

Independent Writing:

The teacher is supporting the development of writing skills and the ability to summarize a text by identifying essential details and key concepts.

Modeled Writing:

The teacher will model how to summarize by summarizing what occured on the first two pages.
The teacher will model the proper use of upper and lowercase letters.
The teacher will model correct sentence structure.
The text will provide specific examples (mentor text connection)

Independent Writing: Students write a summary highlighting key details from the text that demonstrate a literal interpretation of the text (first seven pages).

Students will write three sentences summarizing what has occured in the text (beginning events).
The teacher will have sentence starters and key details on sentence stripes to support students who need additional support generating three sentences.

Striving students can place key details in order and copy into a written summary

Analysis

Comprehension

The teacher has provided all students with the ability to generate a written response.

The teacher and the students are actively engaged throughout the writing process.

The teacher determines students' readiness to complete the task independently. If students are not ready, consider beginning the piece as a shared writing.

Teacher provides sentence frames to facilitate summary writing if necessary. (Example: First, __. Then __. Finally, __.)

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Foundational Skills Instruction:

Saxon Lesson 2

Recognize Vowels and practice saying the alphabet pg. 1.

Students will use their alphabet handwriting strips and review vowels versus consonants
Review final and initial
Have students say the alphabet

Phonological Awareness

Phonics

Students are using the alphabet strips to decipher the alphabet and to recognize vowels from consonants

Foundational Skills Instruction:

Saxon Lesson 2

Introduce the Letter Sounds M and Short O; Review N pg. 2 - 3:

Distribute Worksheet 1
Introduce M: The teacher points to her mouth and says the following:

Most. Me. Mud
What sound is heard at the beginning of these words?
Make sure students are responding with the sound of the letter and not the name of the letter

Daily Letter and Sound Review:

Use letter card 1 and ask students what the letter is
What is the initial sound we hear in nest?
The keyword nest helps us remember the /n/ sound because nest begins with /n/
Ask students again, “what sound does /n/ make?’

Introduce the short sound of O

Use letter card 2
Have students echo the following words: Off, On, and Odd
What sound do you hear in the beginning or initial position?
Be sure students tell you the sound and not the letter name
Have students place their hand on their neck and make the short O sound

Phonological Awareness

Phonics

The teacher is modeling correct lip positions /m/: voiced and continuous

-Continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Foundational Skills Instruction:

Saxon Lesson 2

Spelling Review letter N pg. 3:

Use the hand signals to

Point to you mouth
Point to the students to echo the sound
Extend your hand as you ask for the name the letter makes
Point straight down to have students practice writing the letter N - Worksheet 2: Number 1

Spelling letter O pg. 5:

Use letter card 2 - say again “octopus”
Use the hand signals to

Point to you mouth
Point to the students to echo the sound
Extend your hand as you ask for the name the letter makes
Point straight down to have students practice writing the letter O - worksheet 2: Number 2

Complete worksheet 2: Number 3, 4, 5

Octopus, ostrich, and numbers

Blend N and O pg. 6 - 7:

Write “on” on the board
Ask students to identify the vowel and the consonant
Explain rule: “When a vowel has a consonant after it, it is short. We code short vowels with breves, which look like smiles”
Code the vowel on the board with a breve
Have students practice blending o and n
Have students complete Worksheet 2: Number 6 - code the vowel followed by a consonant with a breve
Introduce the vowel rule card, the student spelling dictionary, and the reference booklets

These will serve as tools to assist students with remembering and identifying short vowels

Phonological awareness

Phonics

Extended time given to explaining the vowel rule card, the student spelling dictionary, and the reference booklets

-Continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Student Discourse

Do Now: (launch into content and skills):

Digital Analysis:

Students will watch a Bat Video: 3 minutes, 12 seconds

Turn and Talk:

Students will turn to a peer(s) and state something new learned about bats

Whole class share out:

Select students will share responses based upon conversations monitored by the teacher

Content Knowledge:

Activating Schema - making connections between past and present knowledge

The teacher is monitoring student discussions and providing probing questions or clarifying statements for student who are striving with the concepts of bats

7.5

Student Discourse

Students will share their story summaries from yesterday’s closing activity (independent writing).

Students will have an opportunity to ask questions
The teacher will serve as a facilitator and attempt to focus questions and summaries on the content contained within the text.

Comprehension

Content Knowledge

All students are actively engaged either in listening or speaking

7.5

-Continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Shared Reading

Student Discourse

Shared Writing

K - W - L: Students will review yesterday’s K-W and determine if additions can be made to the K or the W sections of the organizer.

Shared Reading:

The teacher will read the next 7 pages of Stellaluna ending on “Wrong for a bird, but maybe not a bat”
The teachers will model basic print concepts while reading
The teacher emphasizes the connections between the phonics lesson and the words in the text

Student Discourse and Purposeful Questioning: The teacher will ask clarifying questions throughout the reading:

Is Stellaluna just like a bird?
Why is Stella luna trying so hard to be a bird?
Why are the birds afraid of flying in the dark and Stellaluna isn’t?

Vocabulary & Comprehension:

The teacher will support vocabulary development prior to student summaries of the page:

Define clumsy, anxious, and “soft sounds of wings” in context of the text

The teachers will stop reading to add to the graphic organizer through the use of prompting: Have any new characters been added to the story? Has the setting changed? What events are occuring in the middle of the story?

Turn & Talk:

The teacher will stop at each page and allow students to summarize what is occurring on the page (literal interpretations) via an oral discussion

Content Knowledge

Analysis

Vocabulary

Fluency

Comprehension

The teacher models and scaffolds reading skills necessary to decipher the literal interpretation of the text.

Students are generating literal interpretations via student discourse and listening skills.

The teacher intentionally encourages and supports the student’s engagement and interaction with the text.

Teacher questions are of quality with adequate time for students to respond.

The teacher is deepening the students' knowledge of bats and phonemic awareness for m, s, t, and short a application.

-Continued-

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Teaching

Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Modeled Writing

Student Discourse

Independent Writing

Modeling Writing and Student Discourse:

Connect Narrative Writing to the text:

Explain that narrative writing has a beginning, middle, and end - in class we have read the beginning of the story and the middle of the story
Go back into the text and look for words that show timing - ex) once demonstrates the beginning of a narrative story, quickly disappearing lets the reader know time is going by, etc.
The teacher will illustrate the beginning of Stellaluna and create a simple sentence to explain what occurred (key detail)

Independent Writing:

Students will illustrate the middle of Stellaluna and provide a sentence to explain to explain what occurred (key detail)
Sentence starters and word sorts will be available to support striving students

Comprehension

Grammar

Sentence structure
Punctuation
Spelling

Phonics

Encoding

All students have a sentence to write (may be supported with scaffolds).

The teacher takes time to discuss how the illustration and the statement connect.

Sentences are aligned to the middle of the text and speak to content.

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Materials

This is a sample 3-day scope of lessons designed to support students in analyzing the deeper meaning (content) of an anchor text. It is designed to highlight how the development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are integrated and used to allow all students access to grade-level texts.

Please note that not all components of the ELA Instructional Expectations are conducted within a single block period. The development of literacy skills and vocabulary/content is the focus of the lesson, not adherence to a specific activity. The connection between activities should support authentic, responsive teaching that is planned specifically for the needs of the students. Some activities will be embedded within other activities (student discourse, small group instruction, student conferencing, etc.). Throughout the lesson the teacher is developing vocabulary/content knowledge while simultaneously developing literary skills (the students’ ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think).

DAY 1

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Writing

Independent Writing: Students are creating a written piece that allows them to reflect on their knowledge of the content that will be addressed in the text.

Gear-Up: The teacher provides entry into the content via digital literacy (pictures, video, etc.), supplemental readings, and prior small group instruction.

Comprehension

Content Knowledge

Phonological Awareness through morphology

Vocabulary

Grammar

Analysis

The teacher is monitoring the room for student engagement / participation and providing guidance connected to the task contained within the Do Now.

The students are writing in their journals and completing the requested task that leads into the reading of the complex text.

The teacher makes the purposes of the lesson or unit clear, including where it is situated within the broader learning, linking that purpose to student interests.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 1

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Reading - focus on content specific vocabulary development (Bridge to upcoming Shared Reading):

Student Conferencing

Student Discourse

Students discuss the content / vocabulary contained within the complex text and resolve questions that still remain in connection to the literal meaning of the text.

Independent Reading: Students read select pages within a text independently, noting questions that they have in connection to vocabulary/content.

Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students who need additional supports to access the text.

Student-Teacher Conferencing:

Text may be the upcoming Shared Reading text or another reading based on student need to access the Shared Reading text.

Purposeful Questioning: Open-ended, text-dependent questions are being offered to students to guide conversations and clarify essential vocabulary and key concepts.

Discussions may alternate between teacher-lead, partner conversations, and small group conversation, but ALL students are engaged in discussion.

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

Comprehension

Fluency

Students understand their assigned role and the purpose of the activity to which they are assigned.

Teacher’s directions and procedures are clear to students and address potential student misunderstanding.
The teacher is fully engaged with students during independent reading time (conferencing, small group, monitoring the room).
The teacher is taking anecdotal notes of student reading capabilities to progress monitor.
All students are cognitively engaged in the reading.
Students are annotating texts or making written connections to the text to identify and define key words/concepts

Teacher has a roadmap of questions and a clear vision for accurate student responses.

Teacher’s questions are of quality with adequate time for students to respond.

Student responses are based on the text.
Teacher’s explanation of content connects to, clarifies, or expands a student’s prior knowledge and experience.
Students contribute to the discourse by explaining and/or defending their conceptual connections to their peers.

Students have an opportunity to pose questions that they created during independent reading.

Students formulate many questions.

While students are discussing, the teacher is actively monitoring conversations and coaching students.

The teacher and the students ensure that all voices are heard and respected during the discussion

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 1

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Shared Reading

Whole class reading of an anchor text with focus on vocabulary acquisition and literal interpretation during the first read.

Student Discourse

First Read The teacher and the students read select pages to generate a literal meaning of the text and to note text structures. The teacher is demonstrating the reading skills, strategies, or behaviors that will support students with comprehending the text and creating extended meaning of the text (real world application).

Students are identifying in Literature:

Characters?
Problem?
Solution?

In Informational Text:

What am I learning/ content?

In Poetry:

What is the literal meaning?

Students will discuss the content / vocabulary contained within the complex text and link to the literal meaning of the text.

Purposeful Questioning: Open-ended, text-dependent questions are being offered to students to guide conversations and clarify essential vocabulary and key concepts.

Discussions may alternate between teacher-lead, partner conversations, and small group conversation, but ALL students are engaged in discussion.

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

Fluency

Comprehension

Students are continuing to use vocabulary strategies to obtain the meaning of unknown words - analyzing “juicy sentences” that may add clarity to comprehension, analysis, or written connections.

Juicy Sentence - The sentences selected are complex and important enough to deserve attention and discussion.

The teacher models and scaffolds reading skills necessary to decipher the literal meaning of the text.

All students are cognitively engaged in reading by monitoring their comprehension and noting areas of difficulty.

The teacher intentionally encourages and supports the students’ engagement and interaction with the text.

Teacher’s questions are of quality with adequate time for students to respond.
The teacher provides time for the students to annotate the text

Teacher has a roadmap of questions and a clear vision for accurate student responses.

Teacher’s questions are of quality with adequate time for students to respond.

Student responses are based on the text.
Teacher’s explanation of content connects to, clarifies, or expands a student’s prior knowledge and experience.
Students contribute to the discourse by explaining and/or defending their conceptual connections to their peers.

Students have an opportunity to pose questions that they created during independent reading.

Students formulate many questions.

While students are discussing, the teacher is actively monitoring conversations and coaching students.

The teacher and the students ensure that all voices are heard and respected during the discussion.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 1

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Writing

The teacher is supporting the development of writing skills and the ability of students to summarize a text by identifying essential details and key concepts.

Independent Writing: Students write a summary highlighting key details from the text that demonstrate the literal meaning of the text.

Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students to create a written summary or to access the text.

Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to decipher the text and comprehend the literal meaning of the text and/or support with creating a written summary.

Peer-to-Peer Editing: Students are editing their peers’ papers and providing feedback aligned to criteria identified by the teacher. The focus of feedback should be centralized so that students are not evaluating the writing against all aspects contained within the rubric.

Analysis

Comprehension

The teacher has provided all students with the ability to produce a written response (annotations during shared reading and notes taken during student discourse).
The teacher and the students are engaged throughout the independent writing

All students are writing or clarifying comprehension (rereading the text, participating in small group, or individually engaged in an individual conference).
The teacher is actively monitoring the room and ensuring all students have an opportunity to generate a written response.

Student Discourse

Think-Pair-Share: Students will share a sentence or two that describes key details and/or the literal meaning of the text. (Students can pull from their summary.)

Comprehension

Analysis

Content Knowledge

The teacher ensures all students generate a response and have an opportunity to share.
The teacher is monitoring the room and supporting students as needed.

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

DAY 2

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Writing

Independent Writing/Digital Analysis:

The students are analyzing a visual graphic aligned to the text to provide further clarity and to support comprehension of the text.

Students are noting their wonderings and connections in their journals; students are noting changes in knowledge and/or beliefs.

Analysis

Comprehension

Content Knowledge

The teacher is monitoring the room for student engagement/ participation and providing guidance connected to the task contained within the Do Now.

The students have documented their learning and wonderings.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 2

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Shared Reading

Whole class reading of an anchor text with focus on comprehension (deeper meaning of the text)

Student Discourse

Students will discuss the deeper meaning of the text and build connections to prior learning or personal experiences.

Second Reading: The teacher continues to demonstrate the reading skills, strategies or behaviors students will need to replicate and use in order to uncover the deeper meanings contained in the text:

Students are identifying in Literature:

Lesson learned/theme?

In Informational Text:

What is the author’s point of view?

In Poetry:

What is the deeper meaning?

Purposeful Questioning:

Open-ended, text-dependent questions are being offered to students to guide conversations and clarify essential meanings and key concepts.

Discussions may alternate between teacher-lead, partner conversations, and small group conversation, but ALL students are engaged in discussion.

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

Comprehension

The teacher is modeling and scaffolding reading skills necessary to decipher the deeper meaning of the text.

All students are cognitively engaged in the exploration of content.

The teacher intentionally encourages and supports the student’s engagement and interaction with the text.

Teacher’s questions are aligned to the standards being addressed with adequate time for students to respond.
Annotations, questioning, and checks for understanding are purposeful and aligned to grade-level standards.

Teacher has a roadmap of questions and a clear vision for accurate student responses.

Teacher’s questions are of quality, with adequate time for students to respond.

Student responses are based on the text.
Teacher’s explanation of content connects to, clarifies, or expands a student’s prior knowledge and experience.
Students contribute to the discourse by explaining and/or defending their conceptual connections to their peers.

Students have an opportunity to pose questions that they created during independent reading.

Students formulate many questions.

While students are discussing, the teacher is actively monitoring conversations and coaching students.

The teacher and the students ensure that all voices are heard and respected during the discussion.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 2

Teaching Method(s)	Instructional Tasks	Focus Areas	Implementation Strategies	Minutes
Independent Writing	Students will write two lingering questions they have in connection to the deeper meaning of the text.	Vocabulary Content Knowledge Comprehension	Students will use their annotations and the information gained from the focused, shared reading to identify areas of confusion or questions that are aligned to the text.	5
Shared Reading Focus on Analysis	Third read: Whole class reading of a text with a focus on analysis, craft, structure, purpose, etc. The teacher asks questions that push students to analyze the text. Students have a specific lens through which to view and analyze the text. The teacher has chunked the text and has planned specific stopping points for students to do the heavy lifting. This reading is inclusive of excepts or select passages only.	Vocabulary Content Knowledge Comprehension Analysis Fluency	Students respond to questions with sufficient textual evidence. All students are cognitively engaged in identifying and deciphering the intent of author’s craft/moves. Students defend/augment responses/previous connections based on new evidence, understanding. Students are making text-to-writing connections as evidenced in annotations.	20
Shared Writing/ Student Discourse First round text-dependent analysis (TDA) - focus on ensuring cited textual evidence to support claims	Partner Writing: Students are working to answer a TDA prompt created by the teacher. Students select key details and produce a written response to the TDA prompt. Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students who need additional supports to decipher the text and comprehend the deeper meaning of the text in order to produce a TDA response and/or the teacher is working with students to develop writing skills aligned to the creation of a response to a TDA prompt. Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to decipher the text and comprehend the deeper meaning of the text in order to produce a TDA response and/or the teacher is working with students to develop writing skills aligned to the creation of a response to a TDA prompt. Peer-to-Peer Editing: Students are editing their peers’ papers and providing feedback aligned to criteria identified by the teacher. The focus of feedback should be centralized so that students are not evaluating the writing against all aspects contained within the rubric.	Vocabulary Content Knowledge Comprehension Analysis	The teacher uses prompts and cues to encourage students to appropriately apply writing skills and strategies. The students prove to be writers as they contribute ideas, discuss steps in the writing process, provide feedback (edit), make revisions, and listen to others share written works. Students are strategically grouped.	15

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 2

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Student Discourse

Select students share their written responses to the TDA prompt.

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

Comprehension

Students are demonstrating their content knowledge.

The teacher and students are respectful and accepting of others’ opinions and ideas.

Comments/ideas/suggestions are capable of being debated by other students with evidence.

Day 3

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Reading

Focus on revisiting the shared reading from Monday and Tuesday to obtain additional information to support the partner TDA response that was previously started.

Independent Reading: Students are revisiting the reading and their annotations to make additional connections (content schemas) and to locate additional information that may be used to support their analysis of the text.

Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students who need additional supports to access the text and to identify critical details necessary to analyze the text.

Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to access the text and to identify critical details necessary to analyze the text.

The teacher is supporting the students with analyzing the text and developing a deep understanding of the text.

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

Fluency

Comprehension

Grammar

Students understand the purpose and goal of their reading.

Teacher’s directions and procedures are clear to students and anticipate possible student misunderstanding.
The teacher is fully engaged with students during independent reading time (conferencing, small group, monitoring the room).
The teacher is taking anecdotal notes to serve as evidence of progress monitoring of student reading capabilities.
All students are cognitively engaged in the reading.
Students are annotating texts or making written connections to their reading in regards to the identification and defining of key words/concepts (before, during, or after reading based on student need).
Students are recording textual information to support their analysis of the text.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 3

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Writing

Continued focus on cited textual evidence to support claims.

The teacher supports the development of writing skills and the ability of students to analyze a text by identifying essential details, key concepts and the author's craft.

Independent Writing: Students respond to a TDA prompt via a written response. Students are continuing to develop their analytical written response.

Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students who need additional supports to decipher the text and/or need support organizing their ideas and textual references into written form.

Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to decipher the text and/or to support organizing their ideas and textual references into written form.

Analysis

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

The teacher has provided all students with the ability to produce a written response (annotations during shared reading, small group instruction, conferencing, etc.)

The teacher and the students are engaged throughout the independent writing.

All students are writing or clarifying comprehension (rereading the text, participating in small group, or individually engaged in a conference).
The teacher is actively monitoring the room and ensuring all students have an opportunity to generate a written response.

Shared Writing

Continued focus on cited textual evidence to support claims.

Student Discourse

Continued focus on cited textual evidence to support claims.

Shared Writing: Students are reading their peers’ writing and providing written feedback.

Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to decipher the text and/or to support organizing their ideas and textual references into written form.

The teacher supports the development of writing skills and the ability of students to analyze a text by identifying essential details, key concepts and author’s craft.

Students share their written pieces via a whole class discussion. Peers are offering feedback and debating presented written pieces with textual evidence from their written pieces or from previous readings.

Analysis

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

The teacher has provided all students with the ability to produce a written response (annotations during shared reading, small group instruction, conferencing, etc.).

The teacher and the students are engaged throughout the independent writing.

All students are writing or clarifying comprehension (rereading the text, participating in small group, or individually engaged in a conference).
The teacher is actively monitoring the room and ensuring all students have an opportunity to generate a written response.

All students have an opportunity to review a written piece and provide feedback to enhance the written piece.

The teacher provides the students with tools to support the editing process.

The classroom environment lends itself to a “safe” space where students may engage in dialogue.
Students have an opportunity to engage in a form of discourse.
Students are demonstrating or questioning their skills and content knowledge.
The teacher and students are respectful and accepting of others’ opinions and ideas.
Comments/ideas/suggestions are capable of being debated by other students with evidence.

-Continued-

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Material

Day 3

Teaching Method(s)

Instructional Tasks

Focus Areas

Implementation Strategies

Minutes

Independent Writing

Continued focus on citing textual evidence to support claims.

The teacher supports the development of writing skills and the ability of students to analyze a text by identifying essential details, key concepts and the author's craft.

Independent Writing: Based on the whole group discussion, students have an extended opportunity to edit their individual written response to the TDA prompt.

Small Group: The teacher is working with a small group of students who need additional support to decipher the text and/or need support organizing their ideas and textual references into written form.

Student-Teacher Conferencing: The teacher is working with individual students to decipher the text and/or to support organizing their ideas and textual references into written form.

Analysis

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

The teacher has provided all students with the ability to produce a written response (annotations during shared reading, small group instruction, conferencing).

The teacher and the students are engaged throughout the independent writing.

All students are writing or clarifying comprehension (rereading the text, participating in small group, or individually engaged in an individual conference).
The teacher is actively monitoring the room and ensuring all students have an opportunity to generate a written response.

Shared Writing

Shared Writing: The teacher selects a student exemplar (from the written pieces produced during independent writing - see above) to share with the class. The students and the teacher discuss and identify effective writing techniques and the effectiveness of the selected textual evidence.

CFU: Thumbs up and thumbs down in connection to the skill / writing technique / textual evidence that was shared

Analysis

Comprehension

Vocabulary

Content Knowledge

All students are engaged throughout the shared writing.
The teacher addresses areas in need of support as identified through: student discourse, student writing, small group instruction, conferences, and through the review and discussion of student exemplar.

Assessment (K - 12)

In order for students to master the components of literacy articulated in the ELA instructional expectations guide, SDP’s suite of ELA assessments must be aligned and coherent with the instructional expectations guide, such that they work in service of rich, grade-level teaching and learning in ELA. SDP’s suite of ELA assessments is intended to:

Provide teachers with information they need to inform day to day instructional decision making in the classroom using their high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum.
Identify students who may be in need of additional support.
Provide parents and guardians with clear information about how their students are doing relative to grade level expectations.
Provide school and district leaders with the information they need to inform school-level and district-level decision making and report out to stakeholders on student progress and gaps.
Limit the overall amount of classroom time devoted to assessment in order to prioritize time for teaching and learning.

Different assessments serve different functions among the stakeholder groups listed above.

Sample K-12 ELA assessment purpose and use matrix

	Computer-adaptive (e.g., STAR, Lexia, iReady)	Curriculum-embedded (e.g., unit performance tasks, formative tasks)
What it assesses	How students are doing on various dimensions of reading foundations and comprehension relative to a national sample size	How well students are learning what they have been taught, including unit content and all strands of ELA standards
What makes it useful	Takes relatively little time to administer (e.g., can be administered in batch form rather than 1:1) and does not need to be hand-scored by teachers. Can be administered and yield meaningful data across different school models, curricula, pacing, etc.	Can provide nuanced information for teachers about how each student is succeeding day to day with the specific content of his/her high-quality curriculum, including reading foundations, comprehension, building knowledge of unit content, writing, and speaking and listening .
Appropriate use by teachers	Identify students who may need additional support (e.g., Student X is in the second percentile in letter knowledge; in order to support him effectively, we need to learn more about why). Communicate with parents/guardians.	Analyze student work to identify individual and whole class progress and gaps in relation to unit and lesson goals. Use this information to adjust and target instruction such that all students receive the support they need to access the unit’s grade-level content. Communicate with parents/guardians.
Appropriate use by school leaders	Understand and adjust the composition of different classes and grade levels within the school (e.g., upon entry, one kindergarten classroom has far more high-performing students than the others; is that intentional?). Identify teachers/groups of students in need of additional support (e.g., Teacher X’s students have improved their percentile ranking, while Teacher Y’s students have declined; why is that and what support might Teacher Y need?). Gauge overall school instructional health, progress, and gaps.	Monitor the implementation and health of student work analysis systems to ensure teachers are on the right track with their analysis and aligned instructional decisions. Triangulate with other data points in order to ensure that teachers are well calibrated in their analysis (e.g., if two first grade teachers score their students very differently on unit performance tasks but their students’ data on computer-adaptive assessments is similar, there may be a need for further unpacking of the demands of the performance task and what constitutes an exemplar response).

-Continued-

Assessment

K - 12

Computer-adaptive (e.g., STAR, Lexia, iReady)

Curriculum-embedded (e.g., unit performance tasks, formative tasks)

Appropriate use by district leaders

Understand and communicate performance across the system, including program health, progress, and gaps.

Identify schools/groups of students in need of additional support (e.g., while students at School A and School B came in with similar levels of performance, students at School A have grown much faster. Why is that, and what support might be needed at School B?).

Monitor the implementation and health of student work analysis systems across the district as part of the larger measurement and evaluation of the district’s early literacy strategy.

Appropriate use by all stakeholders

Notice patterns and triangulate with other data points.

N/A

References:

AIM Institute for Learning & Research. (2021). Pathways to Proficient Reading. Retrieved from https://aimpathwaysonline.org

Alharthi, Thamer. (2014). The Dynamic and Incremental Features of Vocabulary Acquisition. International Journal of English Linguistics, 4(6). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v4n6p70

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2011). “Common Core and Literacy Strategies: English Language Arts (Module 4), Reading: Developing Language, Speaking, and Listening Skills.” PD Online. pdo.ascd.org .

Bryan-Gooden, J. M. Hester, & L. Q. Peoples (2019). Culturally Responsive Curriculum Scorecard. New York: Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, New York University.

Center for Assessment, & Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2018, June). "Understanding Text Dependent Analysis". Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) Resources | Center for Assessment. https://www.nciea.org/library/recent-publications/tda-instructional-resources.

Children of the Code. (2003, February 10). "Dr. Paula Tallal – Neuroscience, Phonology and Reading: The Oral to Written Language Continuum". Children of the Code. https://childrenofthecode.org.

City, E. A et al. (2018). Instructional rounds in education: a network approach to improving teaching and learning. Harvard Education Press.

Common Core Standards Initiative. (2010). Appendix C: Samples of Students Writing. corestandards.org

Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Creating a comprehensive system for evaluating and supporting effective teaching. Stanford, CA. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education

Hiebert, E. H., & Kamil, M. L. (2010). Teaching and learning vocabulary: bringing research to practice. Routledge.

Hess, K. K. (2019). "Deepening Student Understanding with Collaborative Discourse". ACSD Express, 14(22).

Kaufman, J. H., et al. (2018, September 19). Raising the Bar: Louisiana's Strategies for Improving Student Outcomes. rand.org . https://doi.org/10.7249/RB10024.

Liben, D. (2017). "Why a Structured Phonics Program is Effective". Achieve the Core. http://www.standardsinstitutes.org

Liben , D., & Liben, M. (2012). 'Boh and' Literacy Instruction K-5: A Proposed Paradigm Shift for the Common Core State Standards ELA Classroom. Achieve The Core. https://achievethecore.org

Liben , M., & Pimental , S. (2018, November 7). Placing Text at the Center of the Standards-Aligned ELA Classroom. Achieve the Core. achievethecore.org.

MacPhee, K. (2018, August 15). "The Critical Role of Phonemic Awareness in Reading Instruction". EDU. https://edublog.scholastic.com.

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: an equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic Inc.

National Reading Panel. (2000, April). Report of the National Reading Panel. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/findings.

Rasinski, T., Blachowicz, C., & Lems, K. (2012). Fluency instruction: Research-based best practices. The Guilford Press.

Shanahan , T. (2017, March 15). Disciplinary Literacy: The Basics. Disciplinary Literacy: The Basics | Shanahan on Literacy. https://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/disciplinary-literacy-the-basics.

Shanahan, T. (2019, January 26). How Would You Schedule the Reading Instruction? Shanahan on Literacy. https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog.

Thompson, J. (2018). Text Dependent Analysis: The Need for a Shift in Instruction and Curriculum. Center for Assessment. https://www.nciea.org.

Tolman, C. (2018, July 27). The Tolman hourglass figure: Phonological awareness [Video file]. Retrieved from http://drcaroltolman.com/the-tolman-hourglass-top-half/

Vermont Writing Collaborative, Student Achievement Partners, & CCSSO. (2013). Student Writing Samples. Achieve the Core. https://achievethecore.org/category/330/student-writing-samples.

Weimer, Ross, & Pimentel, S. (2017, May 11). Practice What You Teach: Connecting Curriculum and Professional Learning in Schools. The Aspen Institute. https://www.aspeninstitute.org

The School District of Philadelphia |

Instructional Expectations Guide PreK-12

Vision

The Role of a Coherent Instructional Core in the School District of Philadelphia’s English Language Arts Instructional Expectations Guide

Example Educator Roles and Responsibilities

Instructional Focus and Teaching Methods

Instructional Expectations Guide

Grades Pre-K - 12

MTSS

Blended Learning

Online Adaptive Programs and Interventions

English Language Development (ELD)

Essential Practice

Applied to Specific Lesson /

Learning Activity

How to Use Effectively

Essential Practice

Applied to Specific Lesson /

Learning Activity

How to Use Effectively

Intellectual Preparation

Instructional Focus Areas

Fluency

Grammar (Syntax and Sentence Structure)

Content Knowledge

Comprehension

Analysis

Phonological Awareness

Phonics

Writing

Speaking and Listening

Teaching Methods (Used to Support Instructional Focus Areas)

Foundational Skills Instruction

Student Discourse

Read Aloud

Shared Reading

Small Group Reading Instruction

Independent Reading

Modeled Writing

Shared Writing

Small Group Writing

Independent Writing

Student Conferencing

Considerations for Instructional Timing

Sample Literacy Blocks (120 minutes)

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 1

First Grade: Stellaluna: Unit 1, Day 2

Grade 3-8 Sample Block - Agnostic of Materials

DAY 1

DAY 2

Day 3

Assessment (K - 12)