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Module 3: Wisconsin ELA Standards and Curriculum

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Objectives

Understand a process to review your curriculum against Wisconsin’s revised standards for English language arts;
use that process to identify whether all key shifts are present in the curriculum, which standards learners have opportunities to work towards, which standards may need to be addressed through supplemental lessons or units, and to identify barriers to student learning;
and plan for sharing the learning with colleagues.

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Phase-by-Phase Rollout

Phase 1:

Understanding

Phase 2:

Curriculum

2023 - 24:

Assessment and Instruction

Click here to access graphic online

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2020 ELA Standard: All Learning

Module 1: Organization

Module 2: Revisions

Module 3: Curriculum Study

Additional Learning:

(Winter 2021)

Reading Foundational Skills
Text Complexity
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Language

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Why do this work?

Research shows a link between standards, curriculum, materials-focused professional learning and student achievement.
Standards are identified goals for our students. It is our job to ensure that we provide opportunities for each student to meet those goals.
Wisconsin data show we are not providing opportunities for every student to meet the grade-level goals we have for them.

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Agenda

Contextualize this work
Foundations of the work
Identifying elements of curriculum to review
Process for reviewing standards within curriculum
Eliminating barriers to learning
Selecting, adopting, and implementing standards-aligned instructional materials

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Norms for Collaboration

Equity is central to the work

Stay engaged
Experience discomfort
Speak your truth and own the impact
Listen respectfully to all ideas
Expect and accept non-closure

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Module 3: Wisconsin ELA Standards and Curriculum

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Objectives

Understand a process to review your curriculum against Wisconsin’s revised standards for English language arts;
use that process to identify whether all key shifts are present in the curriculum, which standards learners have opportunities to work towards, which standards may need to be addressed through supplemental lessons or units, and to identify barriers to student learning;
and plan for sharing the learning with colleagues.

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Phase-by-Phase Rollout

Phase 1:

Understanding

Phase 2:

Curriculum

2023 - 24:

Assessment and Instruction

Click here to access graphic online

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2020 ELA Standard: All Learning

Module 1: Organization

Module 2: Revisions

Module 3: Curriculum Study

Additional Learning:

(Winter 2021)

Reading Foundational Skills
Text Complexity
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Language

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Why do this work?

Research shows a link between standards, curriculum, materials-focused professional learning and student achievement.
Standards are identified goals for our students. It is our job to ensure that we provide opportunities for each student to meet those goals.
Wisconsin data show we are not providing opportunities for every student to meet the grade-level goals we have for them.

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Agenda

Contextualize this work
Foundations of the work
Identifying elements of curriculum to review
Process for reviewing standards within curriculum
Eliminating barriers to learning
Selecting, adopting, and implementing standards-aligned instructional materials

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Norms for Collaboration

Equity is central to the work

Stay engaged
Experience discomfort
Speak your truth and own the impact
Listen respectfully to all ideas
Expect and accept non-closure

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Educational Equity

Every student has access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education, across race, gender, ethnicity, language, ability, sexual orientation, family background, and/or family income.

https://dpi.wi.gov/statesupt/every-child-graduate?rdt=ecg-ccr

Adapted by DPI from The Aspen Education & Society Program and the Council of Chief State School Officers. 2017. Leading for Equity: Opportunities for State Education Chiefs. Washington, D.C

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Phase-by-Phase Rollout

Phase 1:

Understanding

Phase 2:

Curriculum

2023 - 24:

Assessment and Instruction

Click here to access graphic online

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2020 ELA Standards: All Learning

Module 1: Organization

Module 2: Revisions

Module 3: Curriculum Study

Additional Learning:

(Winter 2021)

Reading Foundational Skills
Text Complexity
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Language

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Vision for this work

Collaborative teams reflect on and analyze units of instruction against 2020 WI Standards for ELA.
Collaborative teams chart their reflections and analyses to identify standards or parts of standards addressed/not addressed in local curriculum and instructional materials and make plans to address them.
Collaborative teams consider barriers to learning within local curriculum and instructional materials and make plans to address barriers and scaffold every student to proficiency in grade-level standards.

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What this work is / is not

What the work IS

Job-embedded professional learning
Supported by research
Individualized for local contexts
Complex

What the work is NOT

Unpacking standards
A simple checklist

Taylor et al., 2015

Blazar et al., 2019

Blank, de las Alas, and Smith, 2007

Research shows that curriculum-focused professional learning for educators impacts student achievement greater than generic strategies divorced from the instructional materials teachers use. This is job-embedded professional learning because educators are reflecting on instruction and assessment and considering how to scaffold students to reaching grade-level goals identified in the standards. This work is complex and will look differently in every school or district context.

Unpacking or analyzing standards outside of the instructional materials and curriculum a teacher is facilitating is not job-embedded because while related to instruction it is removed from instructional content and students, therefore is significantly less likely to result in change in teacher practice. This work requires on-going thinking, reflecting, analyzing, and then acting; it is not a mere checklist of which standards appear in which units of instruction.

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Resources for engaging in the work

Time for team reflection after units of instruction
Wisconsin’s standards for ELA (2020)
Professional learning modules 1 and 2
Your local curriculum
Instructional materials used in your curriculum
Tools to organize your reflections on standards and curriculum

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Collaboration is key

Form a team that includes grade-level teachers, district reading specialist, educators with specific expertise about particular student groups, literacy coach, and C&I director

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Timing of this work

Engage in reflection and analysis of curriculum against Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts (2020) after completing a unit of instruction

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Foundations of the work:

Defining our terms

Academic standards are content-specific, end-of-year (or, in the case of social studies and other subjects, end of grade-band) goals for all students. Wisconsin academic standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They serve as goals for teaching and learning.

Handout

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Foundations of the work:

Defining our terms

Academic standards are content-specific, end-of-year (or, in the case of social studies and other subjects, end of grade-band) goals for all students. Wisconsin academic standards specify what students should know and be able to do in the classroom. They serve as goals for teaching and learning.

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Foundations of the work:

Defining our terms

Curriculum reflects a district’s philosophy of teaching, learning, and assessment; curriculum identifies what is essential to teach in order to meet academic standards; curriculum organizes and groups the academic standards in meaningful ways for teachers and students, including a scope and sequence or pacing guide; curriculum is the collection of instructional materials and activities implemented by educators in order to support students in reaching proficiency in academic standards; curriculum identifies and connects educators to resources that the district requires; curriculum identifies how students’ knowledge and understanding of the academic standards are measured.

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Foundations of the work:

Defining our terms

Instruction is the art and practice of implementing curriculum with instructional materials; instruction is designed to meet the needs of all learners, eliminating any barriers to their learning or application of academic standards. Instructional decisions are made in a systemic way to ensure coherence, both horizontally across a grade-level and

vertically from grade-level to grade-level.

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Foundations of the work:

Defining our terms

Instructional materials can include texts, videos, and other materials to facilitate instructional activities, assessments (formal and informal), graphic organizers, and other materials. High-quality instructional materials are aligned to standards, are coherent both horizontally across a grade-level and vertically from grade-level to grade-level, may include embedded assessments, and supports for all students to access and engage with

grade-level work. Many sets of standards-aligned, high-quality instructional materials include embedded assessments, supports for students, a scope and sequence, and a pacing guide, and therefore, may be considered the curriculum.

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Foundations of the work:

It starts with your vision

What does your school community believe about literacy? About ELA instruction?

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Determining if instructional materials and curriculum are standards-aligned

National tools PLUS Wisconsin’s key shifts in ELA, 2020

Handout

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The key components of curriculum to review

Assessments (summative, interim, and formative)
Standards
Instruction leading to assessment (highlights)
Pacing guide

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Analyzing for overarching statements and shifts

Create a cover sheet or document for each unit of instruction. Upon completion of the unit, note the following:

Texts students engage with

What type of texts were students engaged with in this unit?
Were these texts windows or mirrors for your students?

Texts students create

What types of texts did students create in this unit?
What modes did students write in?
Who were the audiences students created for?
What high-stakes writing was done? Low-stakes?

Overarching statements

How did students’ ELA and literacy work meet the overarching statements?

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Use a process that works with your materials

There is no single model that works for all instructional materials because instructional materials vary so much in how they are organized.

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Use a process that works with your curriculum

Model 1

Upon completion of a unit of instruction, create and complete a chart like this:

Assessments (formative, interim, and summative)	Instruction leading to assessment	Barriers to learning within instruction, assessment, or materials -------------------- Ways that barriers have already been eliminated	Standards addressed --------------------- How these standards were revised in WI	Areas for modification (barriers to eliminate or standards) --------------------- How changes might impact integrity of curriculum

This model would be used for a curriculum that clearly identifies the assessments to be used, the instruction that leads to the assessments, and the standards that are addressed. The identified standards are likely the 2010 Common Core State Standards, so it’s important to go back to professional learning module 2 here to identify the Wisconsin 2020 standards that are addressed and to note which 2020 standards or parts of standards are not addressed. The final column is the area for reflection and analysis. In that column, the team identifies areas for modification that will scaffold every student to proficiency in grade-level standards. Areas for modification could be eliminating barriers, or could be within the standards or parts of standards. When identifying areas for modification, it is also important to pause and reflect on how changing elements of a unit of instruction might impact the integrity of the overall curriculum. If one 4th-grade teacher makes one change while a different 4th-grade teacher makes a different change, the integrity of the curriculum has been affected in a way that now impacts instruction in 5th grade. Remember that determining what constitutes integrity of the curriculum is a local decision, so it is important for the team to revisit that conversation.

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Use a process that works with your curriculum

Model 2

Upon completion of a unit of instruction, create and complete a chart like this:

Days	Instruction	Standards addressed --------------------- How these standards were revised in WI	Barriers to learning within instruction, assessment, or materials -------------------- Ways that barriers have already been eliminated	Areas for modification (barriers to eliminate or standards) --------------------- How changes might impact integrity of curriculum

This model would be used for a curriculum that has a clear pacing guide with the instruction to be implemented, but which doesn’t identify common assessments to be used. In some curricula that we experimented with, standards were not identified at all. In that case, you will need to do the work of identifying the standards addressed, yourself. Go back to professional learning module 2 to identify the Wisconsin 2020 standards that are addressed and to note which 2020 standards or parts of standards are not addressed.

Again, the final column is the area for reflection and analysis. In that column, the team identifies areas for modification that will scaffold every student to proficiency in grade-level standards. Areas for modification could be eliminating barriers, or could be within the standards or parts of standards. When identifying areas for modification, it is also important to pause and reflect on how changing elements of a unit of instruction might impact the integrity of the overall curriculum. If one 4th-grade teacher makes one change while a different 4th-grade teacher makes a different change, the integrity of the curriculum has been affected in a way that now impacts instruction in 5th grade. Remember that determining what constitutes integrity of the curriculum is a local decision, so it is important for the team to revisit that conversation.

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Standards Addressed: 2010/2020 ELA Standards

https://dpi.wi.gov/ela/standards/standardsmodules (within materials for Module 3)

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Eliminating Barriers

Identifying barriers:

Goals

Local vision
Contribute to college-, career-, and community readiness

Materials

Representation and diversity

Instruction

Access for all students
Scaffolds so that every student reaches grade-level standards

Assessments

Multiple means of demonstrating knowledge and skills

Eliminating barriers:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Culturally Responsive Practices
Wisconsin’s model for equity (Will-Fill-Skill)
Online module: Cross-Pollination
Local method

Let’s take a moment to zoom in on the idea of barriers to student learning and eliminating those barriers. First, let’s talk through where barriers to student learning might be found. They could be in the goals for students. Refer to your local vision for ELA and literacy instruction. Do the goals for student learning in the curriculum reflect your local vision? How do they contribute to students being college, career, cand community ready? Do goals allow students to explore personal interests and areas of personal inquiry? Barriers might be in the instructional materials, themselves. How are students’ identities represented? Are there multiple means of representing content? Barriers to learning could be in the instruction. Are there access points for all students? Are there scaffolds to support the learning of every student? Is every student able to attain proficiency in grade-level standards? Or the barriers could be found in the assessments. Are there multiple means for students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities?

Barriers to learning can be eliminated through an existing framework, such as Universal Design for Learning, culturally responsive practices, Wisconsin’s model for equity (the will-fill-skill model), or other local methods. Use the final column in your chart to identify how your team plans to eliminate identified barriers to learning.

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Resources for deeper learning:

Eliminating Barriers

Universal Design for Learning

Culturally Responsive Practice

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Eliminating Barriers in Assessment

Find more information about eliminating barriers in assessment in Unit 6 of DPI’s assessment literacy modules

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Use a process that works with your curriculum

Your team has the freedom to create an organizational system that works best for you and your curriculum.

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Analysis and Reflection

What does proficiency in standards look like in this unit?
Which Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts (2020) - or parts of standards - were not addressed?
What would proficiency in those standards - or parts of standards - look like?
What changes to instruction, materials, and/or assessments would be necessary to meet those standards - or parts of standards?
What does this unit of instruction say about what you value in literacy and English language arts instruction?
What are the priorities for modifications?
How will you maintain the integrity of the curriculum?

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Let’s try it out...

Begin with the big picture cover sheet/document.

Identify the key components that are present in your local curriculum.

Create a chart with those components and begin filling it in for a selected unit of instruction.

Engage in reflection and analysis, ignoring any components not present in your curriculum.

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Use a process that works with your curriculum

Could also analyze against other topics:

Local initiatives (e.g., alignment to vision for literacy, alignment to school improvement plan goals)

Modifications for remote learning

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Annual analysis and reflection

Upon completion of a year of instruction, look back on your cover sheets to identify areas for modification. Use these questions to scaffold your thinking:

Over the course of the year, how were the shifts represented in students’ ELA and literacy work? Which shifts require more attention?
How were the overarching statements met? Which overarching statements require more attention?
Are modifications needed in the texts students are engaged with?
Are modifications needed in the texts students create?
What modification will the team prioritize for next school year?
How will the team make modification that retain the integrity of the curriculum?

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Resources for selecting and adopting standards-aligned instructional materials

PLUS Wisconsin’s key shifts for ELA, 2020

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Resources for implementing curriculum effectively

Instruction Partners engaged in a literature review and conducted research in 70 schools of varying sizes across 16 states and the District of Columbia to identify the conditions that resulted in systemic and systematic implementation of a curriculum.

They translated these findings to a 3-5 year “map” districts can follow: the Curriculum Support Guide.

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Planning to share the learning with colleagues

How will you share this learning with colleagues?

These standards are for all students; how will you involve all educators in learning about them?

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Objectives

Understand a process to review your curriculum against Wisconsin’s revised standards for English language arts;
use that process to identify whether all key shifts are present in the curriculum, which standards learners have opportunities to work towards, which standards may need to be addressed through supplemental lessons or units, and to identify barriers to student learning;
and plan for sharing the learning with colleagues.

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Contact Information

Laura Adams, Literacy Consultant

laura.adams@dpi.wi.gov | 608-267-9268

Barb Novak, Literacy Consultant

barb.novak@dpi.wi.gov | 608-266-5181

Bianca Williams-Griffin, ELA Consultant

Bianca.Williams-Griffin@dpi.wi.gov | 608-266-3551