Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 304

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Essential, easy-to-implement tools for teachers to help improve literacy across the content areas, as mandated by the CCSS Thinkquiry Toolkit 1, Second Edition, is a collection of teacher instructional practices, student learning strategies, and collaborative routines that improves reading comprehension and vocabulary learning in grades 4 through 12. Each practice, strategy, or routine is research-based, high impact, multi-purpose and effective in improving student learning across multiple content areas. It addresses the importance of the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think well enough to learn whatever one wants to learn, to demonstrate that learning, and to transfer that learning to new situations. Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 iscomprised of five sections: * Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy and the related instructional shifts * Selecting the Right Tools for Maximum Learning * Laying the Foundation Before Reading/Learning * Building New Knowledge During Reading/Learning, and * Expanding and Deepening Understanding After Reading/Learning If teachers collaboratively use these practices, strategies, and routines; teach them to students; and use them regularly across content areas, students will develop confidence and competence as readers, writers, and learners. A division of Public Consulting Group (PCG), PCG Education provides instructional and management services and technologies to schools, school districts, and state education agencies across the U.S. and internationally. They apply more than 30 years of management consulting expertise and extensive real-world experience as teachers and leaders to strengthen clients' instructional practice and organizational leadership, enabling student success.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

About PCG Education

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1: Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Related Instructional Shifts

Introduction to the CCSS ELA & Literacy

Instructional Shifts Required by the CCSS ELA & Literacy

Key Elements in the Standards and Shifts

Part 2: Selecting the Right Tools for Maximum Learning

Content Teachers Are Key to Supporting Students to Become Better Readers, Writers, and Thinkers

Why Thinkquiry Tools Work with Students in Grades 4–12

The Literacy Demands of Different Content Areas

The Connection between Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension

Tips for Using Thinkquiry Tools in Your Classroom

Designing Lesson Plans That Increase Content Learning

Evaluating Classroom Practice

Notes

Part 3: Laying the Foundation before Reading/Learning

Introduction

Knowledge Rating Guide

Knowledge Rating Guide Template

Knowledge Rating Guide Content Examples

Frayer Model

Frayer Model Example

Frayer Model Template

Frayer Model Content Examples

Triple-Entry Vocabulary Journal

Triple-Entry Vocabulary Journal Template

Triple-Entry Vocabulary Journal Content Examples

Word Sort

Word Sort Template

Word Sort Content Examples

Word Analysis

Word Analysis Template

Word Analysis—Frequent Affixes and Roots

Common Greek and Latin Roots in English

KWL Plus

KWL Plus Template

KWL Plus Content Examples

Quick Write

Quick Write Content Examples

Partner/Small Group Vocabulary Preview

Partner/Small Group Vocabulary Preview Template

Interactive Word Wall

Interactive Word Wall Planning Template

Interactive Word Wall Content Examples

Chapter Preview/Tour

Chapter Preview/Tour Template

Chapter Preview Content Examples

Anticipation/Reaction Guide

Anticipation/Reaction Guide Template

Anticipation/Reaction Guide Content Examples

Use of Triple-Entry Vocabulary Journal in a High School Science Classroom

Part 4: Building New Knowledge during Reading/Learning

Introduction

Question-Answer Relationship (QAR)

Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) Content Examples

Coding/Comprehension Monitoring

Coding/Comprehension Monitoring Template

Coding Content Examples

Two-Column Note Taking

Two-Column Note-Taking Template

Two-Column Note-Taking Content Examples

Question the Author (QtA)

Question the Author (QtA) Template

Question the Author (QtA) Content Examples

Analytic Graphic Organizers

Analytic Graphic Organizers for Vocabulary Development

Analytic Graphic Organizers for Patterns and Relationships

Analytic Graphic Organizers Content Examples

Semantic Feature Analysis

Semantic Feature Analysis Template

Semantic Feature Analysis Content Examples

Discussion Web (Social Studies)

Discussion Web Template

Discussion Web Content Examples

Proposition/Support Outline (Science)

Proposition/Support Outline Template

Proposition/Support Outline Content Examples

Inference Notes Wheel (English Language Arts)

Inference Notes Wheel Template

Inference Notes Wheel Content Examples

Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share Template

Think-Pair-Share Content Examples

Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal Teaching Template

Reciprocal Teaching Content Examples

Paired Reading

Paired Reading Content Examples

Critical Thinking Cue Questions

Critical Thinking Cue Questions Content Examples

Use of Coding/Comprehension Monitoring in an Elementary Social Studies Classroom

Part 5: Expanding and Deepening Understanding after Reading/Learning

Introduction

Role-Audience-Format-Topic (RAFT)

Role-Audience-Format-Topic (RAFT) Template

Role-Audience-Format-Topic (RAFT) Content Examples

Sum It Up

Sum It Up Template

Sum It Up Content Examples

Picture This!

Picture This! Template

Picture This! Content Examples

Save the Last Word for Me

Save the Last Word for Me Template

Save the Last Word for Me Content Examples

Give One, Get One, Move On

Give One, Get One, Move On Template

Give One, Get One, Move On Content Examples

Jigsaw

Jigsaw Template

Jigsaw Content Examples

Group Summarizing

Group Summarizing Template

Group Summarizing Content Examples

Problematic Situation

Problematic Situation Content Examples

Use of Sum It Up in an Elementary Mathematics Classroom

Use of Save the Last Word for Me in a Middle School English Classroom

References

Additional Resources

List of Tables

Table 2.1

Table 2.2

List of Illustrations

Figure 1.1

Figure 2.1

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Part 1

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Thinkquiry Toolkit 1

Reading and Vocabulary Strategies for College and Career Readiness

Second Edition

Copyright © 2016 by Public Consulting Group. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-BassA Wiley BrandOne Montgomery Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594–www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Permission is given for individual classroom teachers to reproduce the pages and illustrations for classroom use. Reproduction of these materials for an entire school system is strictly forbidden.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet websites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

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ISBN: 978-1-119-12751-2

9781119127789 PDF

9781119127772 ePub

About PCG Education

A division of Public Consulting Group (PCG), PCG Education provides instructional and management services and technologies to schools, school districts, and state education agencies across the United States and internationally. We apply more than 30 years of management consulting expertise and extensive real-world experience as teachers and leaders to strengthen clients' instructional practice and organizational leadership, enabling student success.

As educators engage with rigorous standards for college and career readiness, PCG Education partners with practitioners at all stages of implementation. We work with clients to build programs, practices, and processes that align with the standards. Our team of experts develops and delivers standards-based instructional resources, professional development, and technical assistance that meet the needs of all learners.

In response to a wide range of needs, PCG Education's solutions leverage one or more areas of expertise, including College and Career Readiness, multi-tier system of supports/response to intervention (MTSS/RTI), Special Programs and Diverse Learners, School and District Improvement, and Strategic Planning. PCG's technologies expedite this work by giving educators the means to gather, manage, and analyze data, including student performance information, and by facilitating blended learning approaches to professional development.

To learn more about PCG Education, visit us at www.publicconsultinggroup.com.

Acknowledgments

The resources and materials in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 were developed and field-tested by Public Consulting Group's staff and consultants. Special thanks to Katanna Conley, Christine Anderson-Morehouse, Doris Bonneau, Brianne Cloutier, Betty Jordan, BJ Kemper, Mary Ann Liberati, Jennie Marshall, Kevin Perks, Melvina Phillips, Kimberly Schroeter, Pamela Thompson, Roz Weizer, Susan Ziemba, Sharon DeCarlo, Rebecca Stanko, Peter Seidman, and Elizabeth Maine.

Key support for this work was provided by Nora Kelley, Barbara Hoppe, Elizabeth O'Toole, Diane Stump, and Caitlin D'Amico.

Julie Meltzer, Dennis Jackson, editors

Introduction

Welcome to the Common Core edition of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1. First published in 2010, Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 is a collection of teacher instructional practices, student learning strategies, and collaborative routines that improve reading comprehension and vocabulary learning in grades 4–12. To be selected as a Thinkquiry Toolkit tool, the practice, strategy, or routine had to be research based, high impact, multipurpose, and effective in improving student learning across multiple content areas.

These tools are tried and true. Our consultants and classroom teachers have been using them for the past 20 years in multiple settings including high schools, career and technical education centers, middle schools, elementary schools, rural schools, urban schools, suburban schools, and digital academies. These tools support the reading comprehension and vocabulary development of all students.

A lot has happened in the past 6 years. In 2009, at the same time the first edition of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 was nearing publication, a sweeping initiative was under way that would change the face of English language arts and literacy instruction across the United States—the development of the Common Core State Standards. Launched in 2009 by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from across the country, the development of the standards was intended to ensure that “all students, regardless of where they live, are graduating high school prepared for college, career, and life” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015a). The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS ELA & Literacy) were released in June 2010 and over the course of the next 2 years were adopted and implemented by the majority of states and territories.

In this newest edition of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1, we explain the implications of the CCSS ELA & Literacy for ELA and content literacy instruction, and we affirm the strategies and approaches in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 that can help implement the needed shifts in literacy instruction. As ELA teachers and teachers of literacy in other disciplines begin to align their instruction with the CCSS ELA & Literacy, they will continue to need tools, approaches, and strategies to support their students—and they will continue to use Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 for those resources. In this edition of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1, we have added a new section that provides an overview of the CCSS ELA & Literacy and related instructional shifts, and we have explained how the research-based, experience-tested strategies and approaches in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 continue to provide a strong resource for helping students and teachers achieve the literacy requirements of the Common Core.

What Has Changed, and What Remains the Same in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1?

In 1999, we were asked what the next most important issue was going to be in education—that is, what needed to be addressed to ensure that students had the opportunities to be successful in college, in the workplace, and as citizens. Our answer: content area literacy.

We did not mean “basic reading skills”—although these are certainly necessary. We meant the ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think well enough to learn whatever one wanted to learn, demonstrate that learning, and transfer that learning to new situations.

Clearly, there were literacy skills that applied across all content areas and literacy demands specific to each content area. The Common Core affirms this vision. The standards recognize that literacy does not reside solely in the ELA classroom. In order for students to be ready for college and career when they graduate high school, they need to be proficient in the literacy skills of each discipline. The CCSS were not written just for ELA but for literacy in the disciplines as well.

In order to write Thinkquiry Toolkit 1, we compiled strategies and approaches that taught students how to read, write, discuss, and think in each content area. Teachers across the country began using these tools with their students in grades 4–12 and gave us feedback as to what worked well, how they used the tools, and the challenges they faced while teaching the strategies. We developed the materials in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 to provide directions, templates, examples, and scenarios based on teacher requests.

The purpose of the teacher instructional practices and collaborative routines included in this book is to help students develop the skills they need to be excellent readers, learners, and thinkers. The goal of teaching the learning strategies is for students to be able to use the strategies appropriately and independently when reading and learning new content. Similarly, in the Common Core, independence with grade-level text and skills is the ultimate goal.

We believe that Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 will be an increasingly valuable tool for individual teachers, teams, departments, and whole schools. This edition of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 includes nearly all of the strategies, routines, and tools from the original. However, we have updated some of the examples to be more illustrative of Common Core practices, and we have added “Common Core Connections” to the strategies to help link the instructional shifts and key elements of the standards. The biggest change in this edition is the addition of a substantive Common Core section as Part 1 of this book. The intent of Part 1, Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Related Instructional Shifts, is to frame teachers' use of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 as a Common Core resource. If teachers collaboratively take on these instructional practices, student learning strategies, and routines, teach them to students, and use them regularly across content areas, students will develop confidence and competence as readers, writers, and learners.

Format of the Toolkit

Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 includes five parts: Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Related Instructional Shifts, Selecting the Right Tools for Maximum Learning, Laying the Foundation before Reading/Learning, Building New Knowledge during Reading/Learning, and Expanding and Deepening Understanding after Reading/Learning. Part 1 provides a description of the instructional shifts and key elements of the CCSS ELA & Literacy and makes connections between the shifts and Thinkquiry strategies. Parts 2–4 each correspond to one of three phases of reading instruction—before, during, and after—and provide tools that students and teachers can use to develop the habits and skills needed in that phase. The following is a brief overview of the contents of each part of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1.1

Part 1: Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Related Instructional Shifts

In Part 1, we provide an introduction to the origin, purpose, and structure of the CCSS ELA & Literacy and an explanation of the instructional shifts teachers are required to make in order to fully implement the standards. We provide detail about each shift, the rationale for the shift, and how it relates to the standards. We also provide a more thorough explanation for several key elements shared by the instructional shifts: text complexity, academic language and vocabulary, and close reading.

Part 2: Selecting the Right Tools for Maximum Learning

In Part 2, we provide information that is key to using the Thinkquiry tools effectively. The tools are powerful but they have to be carefully selected and explicitly taught for students to use them to their greatest advantage. Part 2 includes topics such as:

Why content teachers are key to literacy learning

Why strategies matter

The literacy engagement instruction cycle

The literacy demands of different content areas

The connection between vocabulary development and reading comprehension

The research about vocabulary learning and reading comprehension

The

gradual release of responsibility model

Matching the right tool to the type of text students are reading

Differentiation—what to do when there are students at different reading levels in the same class

Designing lesson plans that support vocabulary development, improve reading comprehension, and increase content learning

Part 3: Laying the Foundation before Reading/Learning

The tools in Part 3 focus on preparing students for reading and learning by

Considering what students already know about a topic

Setting a purpose and generating questions for learning

Attending to text features, graphs and charts, appendices, and other text structures that contribute to the student's understanding

Adjusting understanding about text as new information is presented

Part 4: Building New Knowledge during Reading/Learning

The tools in Part 4 help students comprehend content information and construct concepts and relationships by

Questioning to clarify and deepen understanding

Monitoring understanding and using fix-up strategies, such as rereading, reading on, or examining a word more closely

Making connections with other texts and integrating knowledge of world issues to make sense of text

Inferring to get a deeper understanding of text and making valuable connections with the text

Drawing conclusions and refining them in light of additional information

Analyzing story structure and informational text structures and using these structures as supports for building meaning

Part 5: Expanding and Deepening Understanding after Reading/Learning

The tools in Part 5 help learners reflect on, analyze, and synthesize the content by

Reflecting on what they read

Reviewing information, ideas, relationships, and applications to real life by rereading, summarizing, and discussing with others

Synthesizing by combining ideas and information within and across texts

Presenting concepts learned through the informal and formal written and spoken word, including small-group classroom venues and authentic audiences

Each section's tools are listed in the section introduction. Note that many of the Thinkquiry tools can be used to support student learning at more than one phase of the reading process. How and when you and your students use the tools will depend on your teaching and learning goals, the needs of your students, and the specific demands of the text or content being read or learned.

The Tools of the Toolkit

Parts 3–5 of the Toolkit describe three types of tools: student learning strategies, collaborative routines, and teacher instructional practices.

Student learning strategies are strategies that we want students to be able to use independently in school and beyond. These strategies have the capacity to improve students' literacy habits and skills with ongoing use. For example, when students go to college and career, we want them to be able to use Coding/Comprehension Monitoring, Two-Column Note Taking, or Sum It Up strategies if these would be helpful to the task.

Collaborative routines support the social nature of literacy and learning by providing protocols for pair and group work. These help students use one another as a resource for learning. Collaborative routines shift the responsibility for learning to students and help students to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary development when regularly engaged as part of teaching and learning.

Teacher instructional practices are approaches that teachers can use to support all students to develop the reading, vocabulary learning, and thinking skills of strong readers, writers, and thinkers.

Each tool is described with steps for implementation and tips for how to deepen student learning or maximize effectiveness. Templates are provided where applicable. For each tool, there is a set of examples of what the tool might look like “in action” in grades 4–12 in various content areas. Finally, at the end of each section, there are more extended classroom scenarios.

Professional learning and use of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 can take many different forms:

Individual teachers

of students in grades 4–12 can use

Thinkquiry Toolkit 1

to improve their students' reading, writing, vocabulary development, and content learning.

Professional learning communities, grade-level teams, teaching teams, or departments

can use the Toolkit by discussing student literacy needs and selecting strategies, collaborative routines, or instructional practices that address specific learning goals. Then teachers can try the approach in their classrooms. When they meet, they can discuss how they used the strategy, routine, or practice, how students responded, and how they would improve their instructional use of the tool next time. Teams can examine student work resulting from use of the tool to understand the impact of the tool on learning, related to the targeted standards.

School literacy leadership teams, departments, grade-level teams, or teaching teams

can select a common set of

Thinkquiry

strategies to teach students, thereby developing a set of common experiences and language for talking about literacy and learning. Students would see the applicability of the tools across content areas and strengthen their literacy habits and skills.

We hope that teachers find Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 to be helpful in supporting their efforts to improve students' academic language and vocabulary, reading comprehension, and learning across the content areas.

Note

1.

Content about how to support students before, during, and after reading/learning is adapted from the Council of Chief State School Officers (2010)

Adolescent Literacy Toolkit

. Available from

http://programs.ccsso.org/projects/adolescent_literacy_toolkit/

.

Part 1Overview of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Related Instructional Shifts

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS ELA & Literacy or “the standards”) have been widely adopted or adapted in the majority of states across the country. This research-based set of standards raises the bar for what students will learn in each grade and sets the expectation that all students can and will achieve college and career readiness. As schools and districts begin to align curriculum and instruction with the CCSS ELA & Literacy, they review and reconsider the instructional activities, tools, protocols, and materials they currently use. In this same spirit, we revisited the tools, strategies, and instructional approaches in Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 to confirm its alignment with the rigor of the CCSS ELA & Literacy and its accompanying instructional shifts. This trusted collection of high-quality, research-affirmed strategies, tools, and approaches continues to be a valuable resource for teaching and learning in the Common Core era both for current users of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 and for those who are seeing it for the first time. This new section of Thinkquiry Toolkit 1 describes the instructional shifts required by the CCSS and connects them to the Thinkquiry strategies, tools, and approaches.

In this section, we provide an overview of the instructional shifts as well as what they mean for teachers, students, and instruction. Understanding the instructional shifts will help you most effectively choose the right Thinkquiry tools.

Introduction to the CCSS ELA & Literacy

The CCSS ELA & Literacy is a clear set of college and career-ready standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade. Published in 2010, the standards were developed under the auspices of state education chiefs and governors in 48 states; teachers, parents, school administrators, and experts from across the country provided input into the development of the standards. The standards are based on research and evidence and are built on the strengths of previous state standards. They are “based on rigorous content and the application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills” (Common Core State Standard Initiative, 2015c). The intent of this new set of high standards was to provide consistent, clear expectations across the states and to ensure that all students would have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college and career.

Thirty-two College and Career Readiness anchor standards (CCRA) form the basis for all of the standards. They are organized in four domains: Reading (10), Writing (10), Speaking & Listening (6), and Language (6). Grades K–5 also include a set of standards for Reading Foundational Skills. At each grade level (elementary) and grade band (secondary), a detailed set of standards is built backward from these anchor standards. Reading standards are further divided into Reading for Literature and Reading for Informational Text. Additionally, the Reading standards (informational only) and Writing standards are made more specific for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

Each domain of the standards contains clusters of standards with a similar focus.

Reading

Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, and Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Writing

Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing, Research to Build and Present Knowledge, and Range of Writing

Speaking & Listening

Comprehension and Collaboration, and Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Language

Conventions of Standard English, Knowledge of Language, and Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Not only is each grade-level standard built on the one in the grade before it, the standards within and across domains relate to and integrate with one another. For example, the Language standard L.3 explicitly states, “Students will use their knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.” This integration appears throughout all of the standards, emphasizing the reciprocal relationships among the domains.

The standards clearly demonstrate what students are expected to learn at each grade level, but they do not dictate how to teach the skills and content. These rigorous standards represent a challenge not only for students but for teachers as well. Teachers need support to help students achieve this new, high set of standards and be able to read, discuss, and write about increasingly complex texts. Thinkquiry's strategies, routines, and practices are tools teachers will use to scaffold students toward independence and success in the standards.

Instructional Shifts Required by the CCSS ELA & Literacy

The CCSS ELA & Literacy require shifts in curriculum and instruction from teaching to earlier standards. These changes comprise three instructional shifts:

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

These shifts are closely related, contain overlapping elements, and have sometimes been stated as six, eight, or even ten “shifts.” The three previous statements are the most common ways in which the shifts are characterized; they serve as a useful foundation for discussing the changes teachers and students must make in order to achieve college and career readiness in literacy.

Instructional Shift 1: Regular Practice with Complex Text and Its Academic Language

The CCSS ELA & Literacy set an expectation that students will be able to read and comprehend increasingly complex texts as they progress through the grades. Text complexity refers to the comprehension challenge of a text; complexity is measured both quantitatively and qualitatively. The more challenging and sophisticated a text is, the greater its complexity. The CCSS create a staircase of increasing text complexity so that students are expected to both develop their skills and apply them to more and more complex texts (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015b). Previous standards increased the level of literacy tasks from grade to grade but did not weigh in on text complexity at each grade. As a result, students often ended their high school grades reading texts that were below the level of complexity they were expected to read in college and career. The authors of the CCSS ELA & Literacy sought to remedy this gap by setting grade-level expectations for text complexity.

One of the factors that most influences text complexity is the text's academic language and vocabulary. In order to comprehend more complex texts students must be able to understand the vocabulary in the text and negotiate the overall structure of the text, its paragraphs, and its sentences. Of particular concern is academic vocabulary—sophisticated words that relate to specific disciplines and words that appear in multiple contexts but may not be familiar in everyday speech. Students whose vocabulary is limited will also be limited in understanding increasingly complex texts. Therefore, the standards are clear in their expectations that teachers will guide students in learning high-utility vocabulary, including knowing how to define words by using clues in the context in which they appear. This emphasis on vocabulary, while always implicit in ELA & Literacy standards, has been made explicit in the CCSS ELA & Literacy.

The need to increase text complexity at K–12, and the close relationship between text complexity and academic language, explains why Instructional Shift 1, Regular Practice with Complex Text and Its Academic Language, is so important. Thinkquiry strategies, practices, and routines help students acquire and use academic vocabulary as well as organize, navigate, and comprehend complex text.

A more detailed discussion of text complexity and academic vocabulary appears later in this section.

Instructional Shift 2: Reading, Writing, and Speaking Grounded in Evidence from Text, Both Literary and Informational

The CCSS ELA & Literacy focus strongly on the role of evidence-based responses. Previous standards did not emphasize the use of textual evidence, and teachers often encouraged students to draw from their own experiences or feelings rather than from the texts. However, beginning in the earliest grades, the Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening standards set an expectation that students will collect evidence from texts and deploy it skillfully to support their writing and discussions. This emphasis prepares students for the demands of college and career, where much of the writing and presentation requires students to take a position or inform others while citing evidence, rather than personal opinion.

This shift has become associated with the practice of close reading: “Close analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately” (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2015). Aligning instruction with the CCSS requires teachers to create carefully sequenced series of text-dependent questions and tasks, scaffolding students toward deeper understanding of texts. Students further deepen their knowledge and understanding through structured, evidence-based discussions. As a result, students spend more time reading and learning from text and, in doing so, their ability to read and learn from text increases.

Related to this shift is a change in the focus of writing as well. Whereas many writing curricula emphasize narrative writing, the CCSS ELA & Literacy place a strong emphasis on argument and explanation, both of which require textual evidence to be effective. In writing, this shift places an increased focus on the informative and argument genres, using textual evidence to inform written claims. Finally, the speaking portion of this shift focuses on rich student discussions that are grounded in text-based understandings.

Instructional Shift 2 asks teachers to consider carefully how they ask students to think about and respond to text. This requires them to take notes, summarize, and organize information from the text. It requires students to build the skills and stamina for reading closely, rereading, and determining the explicit and inferred meanings in text. Students learn to annotate text, examining both the details and the big picture, and make connections based on their reading of a text through writing and discussion.

Instructional Shift 2, Reading, Writing, and Speaking Grounded in Evidence from Text, Both Literary and Informational, is one of the most challenging, yet most crucial, changes in teaching and learning from earlier sets of standards. Thinkquiry strategies, practices, and routines help students locate and organize evidence to use in writing and discussion.

A more detailed discussion of close reading appears later in this section.

Instructional Shift 3: Building Knowledge through Content-Rich Nonfiction

The CCSS ELA & Literacy have placed an increased focus on the deliberate use of content-rich nonfiction. This change in focus recognizes both the emphasis on nonfiction reading in college and career as well as the role of nonfiction in building student content knowledge. When students read increasingly complex texts with similar content, they build disciplinary knowledge and vocabulary.

Before the advent of the CCSS, reading in elementary schools was regularly taught as a subject separate and unrelated to content areas often through fictional text—stories, poetry, and chapter books. In other core subjects, such as science and social studies, students were more likely to learn content through direct instruction or by reading a textbook. At the secondary level, the teaching of reading was associated primarily with English class. Teachers of other disciplines often felt that they were experts in content but less well prepared to teach reading. Thus, reading was taught mainly in English and primarily through the genre of fiction. As a result, students were likely to be passive recipients of content knowledge, rather than learning how to build knowledge for themselves through text.

The CCSS ELA & Literacy, recognizing the prevalence of fictional text in elementary schools and the reliance on ELA teachers for reading instruction in secondary schools, call for a change in the balance of fiction and nonfiction in elementary schools and for shared responsibility for reading instruction across the secondary disciplines.

In grades 6–12, ELA standards place much greater attention on literary nonfiction in addition to literature. Additionally, in grades 6–12, specific standards for literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects ensure that teachers of these disciplines share responsibility for reading instruction. The ultimate goal is that students will independently build knowledge in each discipline through reading and writing.