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Achievement Network

ELA Series #2

Leveraging Complex Text Through Text Dependent Questions

November 20, 2019

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Leadership reflection

What did you learn about the leadership teams at your schools by engaging alongside them in the Text Complexity PD?

How did you show up in a way they needed you to during the PD? What will you keep or do differently in the next PD?

What practices have you seen in your schools aligned to the content in the PD?

Put your reflections in the google doc

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Trajectory for this series

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Session 1:

I can analyze text in order to diagnose why students are struggling to access it.

Session 2:

I can use textual analysis to plan scaffolded questions and meaningful supports.

Session 3:

I can provide effective models to support students’ text dependent writing.

Session 4:

I can build in discussion and revision to support students’ comprehension.

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Session Goals

I can explain the role that text dependent questions play in the Common Core and in an effective literacy classroom.
I can generate and evaluate effective questions: those that help students make meaning, are standards-aligned and text dependent.
I plan for anticipated student responses, possible misconceptions and scaffolded questions as part of my literacy planning.

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Agenda

Practice: Textual Analysis & Teacher Text Talk

Creating text dependent questions

Text dependent questions in action

Next steps

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Creating text dependent questions

Choose texts for instruction.

Read the text closely. Conduct a qualitative analysis to determine challenging features and name the key understanding. Engage in a text talk with your colleagues.

Write a focusing question and statement.

Use resources to craft text- dependent questions based on important aspects of the text.

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Lori

Here is a basic approach that you can use to help you create text dependent questions (share the steps out loud with leaders or ask them to read themselves). Because the focus of today’s session is on understanding what text dependent questions are and how to create them, we’ve done the text analysis of the passage we’ll use today for you. If doing text analysis is not familiar to you, we recommend that you follow up with your coach for additional support/resources after this session (however, this should be familiar to most participants, as this is the same approach we take to analyze texts during the data meeting).

�We’ll be working through this approach together today. I’ll start by modeling for you– then I’ll ask you to create a few text dependent questions on your own. Remember that this is an approach that you can bring back to your teachers.

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Step #1: Choose a Text

6th Grade Text.
Core Action 1 can provide guidance as can the Appendix A from the Standards.

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Step #2: Read the text closely and conduct a qualitative analysis.

Take your time and annotate as you read. Make note of sections of the text that seem particularly challenging.

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Step #2: Conduct a text talk with your colleagues to align on the key understandings and the complexities.

Discuss the text as an adult reader

Discuss the text with your teacher hat on (hone in on the key understanding(s) & qualitative dimensions of complexity)

Consider what questions (TDQ) and tasks would support students reaching the key understanding(s) and complexities of the text

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Step #2: Conduct a qualitative analysis & text talk.

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-Understanding that in Chicago at this time you couldn’t just pick up the phone to call the fire department

-Knowing that hay is quite flammable

Easy to follow: all takes place during one evening and in chronological order

-Some more complex words (ambled, stifled, scuttled, etc.)

-The fire is personified (for example, “tongue

of flame”, “struggling to break free”, “shower of burning embers”)

-The language at the beginning (ambled, stretched, leaned back) implies that the fire was not expected (it was a sudden, surprise event).

-The language toward the end of the passage implies intensity and danger (frightened, straining, fiercely intense, blinded, etc.)

-Irony: the “shower of embers” “greeted Sullivan” when he got into the barn

This excerpt shares the experience of one man (Daniel “Peg Leg” Sullivan) and how he first spotted but was not able to stop the Chicago Fire (a force of nature—such as fire—can be more powerful than humans).

STRUCTURE

KNOWLEDGE

MEANING

/PURPOSE

LANGUAGE

Lori

Now we’ll move on to the second step on our approach: conduct a qualitative analysis to determine challenging features.

If folks don’t know what a qualitative analysis is, feel free to frame this simply: it’s a way to think about the parts of the text that are particularly challenging and where students may struggle to make meaning. Again, this session is not meant to build leader skill in doing text analysis (but the point is to have them understand that challenging portions of the text should drive what you’re asking TDQs about).

Give folks a chance to read through the text analysis in their participant packet (or you could think aloud about each element of qualitative complexity for the group). Note that language seems to be fairly complex in this passage– so we can expect that we’d want to craft some TDQs that help students make sense of the language they’re reading.

We want leaders to see how a deep understanding of the text (developed in steps 1 & 2) should inform TDQs.

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Reflect

How did your understanding of the text deepen or change as result of your conversation with colleagues?
Shift out of this activity and think about your teaching team. Assuming texts are appropriately complex <Core Action1>, how do they currently plan for text dependent questions <Core Action2>?

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ISLs: How do you anticipate your leaders will respond?

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Agenda

Practice: Textual Analysis & Teacher Text Talk

Creating text dependent questions

Text dependent questions in action

Next steps

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Scaffolding TDQs to the Focusing Question

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Focusing Question

Text Dependent Question

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Step #3: Jump back into your text talk and collaboratively write a focusing question and statement.

A focusing question sets a succinct purpose for the lesson or lessons. It outlines what students should be able to answer in writing as a culminating task, and will shape the lesson(s) to get students to that point.

A focusing statement is the response to your focusing question (the thesis statement for their writing).

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Whose job is it to mitigate and reduce climate change?

It is the combined job of individuals, committed groups, and all levels of government, including international, to reduce and mitigate climate change.

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Step #4: Craft text- dependent questions based on important aspects of the text + the standards

What text-dependent questions could you ask of students to help them make meaning from complicated sections?

What responses would you want to hear students say to demonstrate understanding?

What standards are you addressing through these questions? You might need to tweak questions after reading the standards.

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A Resource to Support Quality TDQs

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Separate page

Read the adapted Short Guide to Creating TDQs in your packet.

Which steps are familiar practices for you and your team? What is new?

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Step #4: TDQs → An Example

What text-dependent questions could you ask of students to help them make meaning from complicated sections?

What responses would you want to hear students say to demonstrate understanding?

What standards are you addressing through these questions? You might need to tweak questions after reading the standards.

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RI.6.1, RI.6.4. RI.6.5

The title of the text is The Great Fire; in the first sentence, what words does Murphy use to hint at the tragedy to come?

Students should notice that the evening is “unusually warm” and the house is described as “stifling.” The meaning of “stifling” can be inferred using the details about the temperature and Sullivan’s decision to go out for a visit.

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The Standards

RI 6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI 6.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

RI 6.5: Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.

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Step #4: You try it!

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What text-dependent questions could you ask of students to help them make meaning from complicated sections?

What responses would you want to hear students say to demonstrate understanding?

What standards are you addressing through these questions? You might need to tweak questions after reading the standards.

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Key Message

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Text dependent questions should be text driven and standards-aligned. They should help students make meaning of complex portions of the text.

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How would you adjust these steps when using a curriculum?

Choose texts for instruction
Read closely and conduct a qualitative analysis of the text
Write a focusing question and statement
Craft text-dependent questions (TDQs) based on important aspects of the text.

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Effective use of TDQ in a Curriculum

Read texts chosen for instruction
Conduct a qualitative analysis of the text
Review the mid-unit and end-of-unit assessments
Review or write a focusing question and statement
Read the text-dependent questions (TDQs) included in the curriculum and evaluate how they build towards the assessments and align to the standard

Decide which questions to highlight/adjust
Script student responses
Anticipate misconceptions

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Agenda

Practice: Textual Analysis & Teacher Text Talk

Creating text dependent questions

Text dependent questions in action

Next steps

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Why does text and question quality matter?

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TURN

AND

TALK

How are these indicators similar or different from your look-fors?

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Key Message

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Writing questions and anticipated responses helps ensure students do the deep thinking of the lesson.

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Planning Time

Try it on for size! Do a text talk and write or revise questions from an upcoming lesson. Script student responses. If time permits, also script out the anticipated misconceptions and scaffolded questions!

Plan for how to take this learning back to your team.

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TURN

AND

TALK

Again, we have asked teachers to bring a text to apply this learning right away to their unique context.

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Plan for Success!

Who do you want to sit next to?

What do you want to learn or influence by being alongside them during the session?

What challenges do you anticipate? What can you do to support?

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Put your responses in the google doc.

Link

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Homework - for Principals

Collaboratively plan and write text dependent questions. Be sure to script out possible student responses and align the questions to standards. Bring the agenda and resulting work to our next meeting!

Observe a classroom and consider Core Action indicators 1 and 2. What strengths shine through? What areas of development stand out?

Be prepared to share your work and what you learned!

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How will you lean in to support principals in this work? Get specific.

Put it in the google doc.

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Reflect on Today’s Learning

Go back to the first page in your packet and rate yourself again on the outcomes.

Educational Equity (a definition): A guarantee that educators engage all students with meaningful support that they need to reach and exceed a common standard through high quality instruction.

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How does the work we did today help you and your team progress towards achieving equitable outcomes for students?

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Let’s talk about the Standards

Turn and Talk: What is one new thing that you learned about Standard 1 by looking at these progressions?

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