Teaching for Understanding: Delawares ELA Statewide Recommended Curriculum

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Teaching for UnderstandingDelawares ELA
Statewide Recommended Curriculum

• Juley Harper- ELA Education Associate
• Julia Webster- Reading Education Associate

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In the beginning

• New Directions Curriculum Framework Content
  Standards and Performance Indicators were
  developed in 1995 (Curriculum Framework)
• Original Performance Indicators were written for
  grade clusters (K-3), NOT for individual grades
• The original cut scores were set in 1999 for the
  Reading, Writing and Math DSTP
• Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) were created
  (well below the standard, below the standard,
  meets the standard, exceeds the standard,
  distinguished)

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Since then

• NCLB led to an external standards review (04-05)
  by McREL and Achieve
• Reviews indicated that DE Content Standards were
  well written in comparison to other states, but
  needed to be MORE RIGOROUS,DEFINED, CLARIFIED,
  and SCAFFOLDED
• Design teams for each area of the curriculum were
  formed
• ELA Design Team wrote GLEs, model UbD units
  clarifications documents, model syllabi/course
  descriptions, and model assessments

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Summary of Tasks Completed in ELA

• Grade Level Expectations
• Alignment of GLEs
• Clarifications Document
• Model Ubd units
• Model Syllabi/Course Descriptions
• Model Assessments

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Statewide Recommended Curriculum Project Leaders

• Mike Stetter
• Director, Curriculum Development
• Project Management
• Grant Wiggins
• Co-author of Understanding by Design
• Principal Trainer Development Facilitator
• Denise Wilbur
• Authentic Education
• Associate Trainer Development Facilitator

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ELA Design Team

• Chairs
• Juley Harper (DOE)
• Julia Webster (DOE)
• Design Team
• Ann Lewis (Laurel) Pat Clements (NCCVT)
• Becky Sharp (Polytech) Elizabeth Tiffany (IR)
• Aleta Thompson (Cape) Debbie OBrien (Lake)
• Bonnie Albertson (UD) Denise Allen (DOE)
• Sandy Baker (Laurel) Sharon Biss (Red Clay)
• Cathy Cofrancesco (Cape) Debbie Buffington (IR)
• Vicki Divittorio (Delmar) Debbie Fetzer (Red
  Clay)
• Deanne McCredie (UD) Sandy Meyers (DOE)
• Kate Siegel (DOE) June Wicks (Smyrna)
• Mary Wright (Colonial)

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What Content Alignment has been completed?

• Content Alignment was completed- DE teachers
  reviewed Reading Writing GLEs assigning a
  Depth of Knowledge to each Performance
  Indicator and DSTP items (coding the level of
  difficulty)
• Vertical Alignment was completed- DE teachers
  reviewed GLEs comparing grade levels to check for
  progression of rigor
• Additional Alignment was completed with NCTE
  standards, IRA standards, Reading First, NAEP,
  College Board, and National Media and Technology
  Standards

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What are the DE ELA Content Standards?

• Standard 1 (Writing Standard)- Students will use
  written and oral English appropriate for various
  purposes and audiences.
• Standard 2 (Reading Standard)- Students will
  construct, examine, and extend the meaning of
  literary, informative, and technical texts
  through listening, reading and viewing.
• Standard 3 (Research Standard)- Students will
  access, organize and evaluate information gained
  through listening, reading, and viewing.
• Standard 4 (Literary Standard)- Students will use
  literary knowledge accessed through print and
  visual media to connect self to society and
  culture.

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What are Performance Indicators?

• The original Performance Indicators (PIs) were
  written in 1998 and included in the Teachers
  Desk Reference
• They articulated the English Language Arts
  Content Standards
• The original PIs established end of cluster
  expectations for grades K-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-10
• The original PIs were NOT written for individual
  grades
• Example
• 2.2a Students will be able to develop and
  increasingly extensive vocabulary and actively
  seek the meaning of unknown words as an important
  facet of comprehending texts and messages by
  using context clues to determine the meanings of
  words.

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What are Grade Level Expectations/GLEs?

• A framework built on Content Standards, Cluster
  Expectations, and Performance Indicators
• A document that fully articulates expectations
  for each grade level
• A teacher-friendly document that is not meant to
  be a scope and sequence check list
• A tool for teachers that is now available on the
  DOE website
• are now available on the DOE website
• http//www.doe.k12.de.us/englangarts/elahome.html
• http//www.doe.k12.de.us/reading/

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How to best use the GLEs

• Curriculum mapping/pacing guides
• Unit and lesson development
• Lesson implementation
• Assessment design
• Informal assessment of student learning

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How NOT to use the GLEs

• As a checklist for disjointed lesson topics
• As a discrete set of skills
• As justification for not extending student
  learning beyond Grade Level Expectations

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Review WRITING GLEs-Standard 1

• Read the Writing Grade Level Expectations for the
  grade level(s) you teach. (ex. Gd.7 Reading reads
  gd. 7 GLEs)
• Read the Writing GLEs for the grade before ex.
  (gd. 6) and after (gd. 8) the grade level(s) you
  teach.
• Note any differences between the grades.
• (Differences will be underlined)

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Review READING GLEs-Standards 2 4

• 1. Read the Reading Grade Level Expectations for
  
• the grade level(s) you teach. (ex. Gd.10 ELA
  
• reads gds. 9/10 GLEs)
• 2. Read the Reading GLEs for the grade before ex.
  
• (gd. 9) and after (gds. 11/12) the grade
  level(s)
• you teach.
• 3. Note any differences between the grades.
• (Differences will be underlined)

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What are the Components of Delaware Recommended
Curriculum?

• Standards clarifications
• Enduring understandings
• Essential questions
• Model instructional units
• Model grade-level assessments
• Model grade-level syllabi
• ALL COMPONENTS ARE ALIGNED WITH CONTENT
  STANDARDS AND GLEs

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What is a Clarifications Document?

• It defines and extends the meaning of the four
  ELA standards for educators
• It provides suggestions, examples, and
  non-examples of what teaching and learning at the
  level of the standards looks like in a classroom

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What are Model Instructional Units?

• They are based on the Understanding by Design
  framework
• They focus on a major topic
• They typically last from a few days to a few
  weeks
• They are divided into THREE stages
• Desired Results
• Assessment Evidence
• Learning Activities

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What are model grade-level Assessments?

• Assessments are embedded in UbD units
• There are TWO kinds of assessments
• 1. Formative Assessments
• On-going
• Guides teaching and learning
• Examples quizzes, oral questioning, prompts,
  observations, reviews of draft work

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Model grade-level Assessments Continued

• Summative Assessments
• End of unit, complex challenge
• Requires a transfer of knowledge and skills to
  effectively perform or create a product to reveal
  ones understanding
• Examples performance tasks, end of unit projects

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What are Model Grade-level Syllabi/Course
Descriptions?

• They are
• A focused plan written for teachers/educators
• Written for a year or semester
• Based on the content standards and Grade Level
  Expectations
• A compilation of a variety of texts,
  methodologies, performance tasks, content
  descriptions
• NOT a detailed schedule for the student
• NOT a week by week lesson plan for the teacher

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Next Steps

• Provide Professional Development for districts on
  SRC
• Develop and implement all DE educators in UbD
• Develop SRC web page
• Develop parent and community brochures
• Distribute SRC newsletter
• Pilot, review and jury UbD model units
• Write model UbD syllabi

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QUESTIONS?
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For further information...

• Contacts
• grant_at_authenticeducation.org
• jharper_at_doe.k12.de.us
• jwebster_at_doe.k12.de.us
• Check out Big Ideas, an online newsletter, with
  monthly resources on every aspect of good design
  
• www.bigideas.org
• www.ubdexchange.org

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• THANK YOU!