The Teacher Toolbox Project: Model Lessons

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The Teacher Toolbox Project Model Lessons

• Welcome

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The Teacher Toolbox Project Model Lessons
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The Teacher Tools Initiative
Teacher Toolbox
Teacher Tools
HISD Portal
Laptops
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The Teacher Toolbox

• Project CLEAR
• Syllabi/Syllabuses
• PASSLink
• Model Lessons

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Why Model Lessons?

• To provide a baseline standard of the written,
  taught, and tested.
• To provide a model of pacing and Project CLEAR
  implementation.
• To provide a floor to ensure student
  achievement.

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The Model Lesson Coordinator

• Participate in the Project CLEAR Summer Institute
  and ongoing Model Lesson professional development
  sessions.
• Teach the Model Lessons.
• Disseminate Model Lessons and accompanying
  professional development to campus colleagues.
• Facilitate implementation at the campus level.

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Model Lesson Training

• Periodic roll-out

MLC Training
Campus Training and Dissemination
Classroom Implementation
Debrief/Reflect
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• Model Lessons
• Project CLEAR
• Curriculum Background

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Strands, Goals, ObjectivesProject CLEAR
Language Arts

• In language arts, it is commonly accepted that
  there are six strands, or overarching behavioral
  categories. They are
• listening
• speaking
• reading
• writing
• viewing
• representing

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Receptive Behaviors Reading Listening
Viewing
Literacy Thinking Communication
Speaking Representing Writing Expressive
Behaviors
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Project CLEARFour Strands Twenty four goals
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Objectives
ROCS Clarifications
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ROCS
HISD TEA TEA TEA/ Objectives TEKS SEs HISD
Assessments
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Prerequisites and Instructional Considerations

Content Specifications
Connections to Other Objectives and Content
Areas
Assessment Considerations
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The English Language Arts Continuum of
Masteryprovides you with information to better
gauge expected levels of student performance and
instruction at the appropriate level. Each
Content Specification includes an icon to show
you the ideal level of mastery students should
achieve at the grade level under examination.

• ? introductory level - background knowledge,
  explicit instruction should be provided to the
  student
• ? increasing accuracy and/or acquisition - guided
  and independent practice should be provided to
  the student. Re-teaching and review is often a
  necessary component of instruction.
• ? mastery - continued instructional support
  should be provided for the student
• ? accomplished - enrichment and application
  opportunities should be provided for the student

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Literature Circles

• Integrating Reading, Writing, Listening, and
  Speaking

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What are literature circles?

• Student-led discussion groups of three to six
  children who select and read a common text

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Students...

• Read a wide variety of genres
• Prepare for discussions by keeping a response
  log, jotting ideas on Post-it notes, or filling
  out role sheets
• Meet regularly

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Try Out a Literature Circle

• Read Eleven silently. You may wish to make
  notes for discussion.
• Hold an open-ended discussion with four or five
  others.
• Share a sample of your conversation.

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Reflect on your discussion

• What were the social skills used to make this
  discussion work?
• What were the thinking skills used to comprehend
  and talk about the story?
• How did you learn these skills?

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Discussion

• What were your general impressions of the
  literature circles?
• What social and thinking skills were evident?

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Literature Circles in Your Classroom

• Has anyone here already tried some form of
  literature circles? What is going well? What
  needs work?
• What problems do you foresee coming up among your
  own students? How can they be resolved?

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Focus Lessons

• Literature Circle Procedures
• Reading Strategies
• Writing and Response Strategies

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Literature Circle Procedures

• How to choose a book
• How to start discussion quickly
• How to listen attentively
• How to keep the conversation going
• The role of a discussion group member
• What to write in your response journal

• What to do when you dont understand
• What to do when your group finishes
• How to mediate conflicts
• How to spice up a lagging discussion
• How to tie extension projects back to the book

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Reading Strategies

• Predicting
• Reading on to see if predictions make sense
• Self-correcting when reading doesnt make sense

• Thinking about what would make sense
• Using what you already know (background
  knowledge)
• Finding evidence to support a point

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Reading Strategies

• Building vocabulary through reading
• Creating pictures in your head
• Comparing/contrasting
• Identifying important information
• Using flexible strategies to identify unknown
  words

• Previewing
• Asking yourself (or the text) questions
• Reading what you dont know slowly and what you
  do know quickly
• Analyzing, interpreting, inferring

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Writing and Response Strategies

• Provide journal prompts

• I liked
• I noticed
• I wonder
• I felt ________ because
• I think
• This story makes me think of
• I wish
• If I were __________, I would
• When I
• I was surprised by...

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Writing and Response Strategies

• Choosing a topic or focus
• Supporting ideas with information from the text
• Elaborating using details
• Writing with a purpose and for an audience
• Using figurative, descriptive language

• Using sketches and illustrations to spark or
  extend ideas
• Developing criteria for effective writing
• Incorporating ideas from Post-it notes into a
  written response
• Incorporating ideas raised during discussion into
  a written response

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Possible Roles

• Discussion leader develops questions, talking
  points keeps discussion on track
• Literary leader locates passages beautiful in
  craftsmanship to read aloud
• Illustrator creates a visual representation of
  the passage (sketch, diagram, flow chart, etc.)

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Possible Roles

• Connector makes connections between text and
  outside world, other texts, and self
• Summarizer prepares a brief summary
• Vocabulary enricher selects a few special words
  from the passage (unknown, frequently used, etc.)
• Investigator locates background information on a
  topic related to the book

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The Literature Circle
A powerful structure to integrate reading,
writing, listening, and speaking through
collaborative learning
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• Think Alouds
• Making Strategies Explicit

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Why Think-Alouds?

• Make the implicit explicit.
• Emphasize strategy instruction.
• Move students from decoding to comprehension.
• Help students learn to make meaning (learn to
  read).
• Negotiate various texts/genres.
• Provide metacognative support for students.

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What Can a Think-Aloud Do?

• Model general strategies used for reading
  comprehension instruction.
• Model specific elements of text.
• Literary elements
• Text-specific structures and characteristics

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Who Can Do A Think-Aloud?

• Teacher presents/students listen.
• Teacher presents/students assist.
• Students present/others assist.
• Students present/teacher monitors.
• In an oral and/or written form.

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Thinking Through a Think-Aloud

• What is the purpose of reading this text?
• How can students be helped to access necessary
  background information that must be brought to
  the text?
• How can students be helped to put the content
  they are reading into a mental structure?
• How can students be helped to articulate the
  meaning of the text?
• How can students be helped to name the structure
  of the text and determine how the structure helps
  communicate meaning?

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud Jeffrey Wilhelm
Improving Comprehension with Think-Aloud
Strategies

• Choose a short section of text or a short text
  (such as a picture book).
• Provide each student a copy of the text
• Retype or photocopy and provide margins for note
  taking.

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Decide on the strategy or strategies you will
  highlight.
• Activating Background Knowledge
• Decoding
• Determining Word Meanings
• Setting Purpose(s) for Reading
• Monitoring Repairing Comprehension
• Prediction Visualizing
• Questioning Summarizing
• Paraphrasing Reflecting
• Inferring Synthesizing

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• State your purposes.
• Watch out for sensory overload.
• Select your focus strategy/ies. It is better to
  work on one thoroughly than diffuse your effort
  and energy.
• Use the think-aloud to reinforce attentive and
  active listening.
• Expect students to be prepared to explain what
  you model and where in the text you use the
  strategy/ies.

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Read the text aloud concurrently think aloud.
• Target your focus strategy.
• Be natural. Use normal routines, but stay
  focused.
• Notice text features that are relevant to the
  genre.
• Use age-appropriate language and anecdotes to
  help students understand the strategy.

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Have the students underline the words, phrases,
  or sections of text where you use the strategy.
• Have students underline in the provided text
  after you model.
• Incorporate prediction as a natural strategic
  outgrowth of the think-aloud.

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Discuss the cues in the text that lend themselves
  to the use of the selected strategy.

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Connect the think-aloud to other reading
  situations and real life situations.
• Summarize information Infer character...
• Make judgements... Predict future actions...
• Cite evidence... Reflect on ...

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The Steps of a Think-Aloud

• Provide practice.
• Provide more modeling.
• Have students participate in Think-Alongs.
  (Identify the strategies)
• Provide strategy reference lists.
• Have students write about the strategy
• Logs/Journals
• Thought Bubbles
• Use Post-its.

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Practicing a Think-Along

• Follow a Think-Aloud preparation and delivery
  pattern.
• Have students actively participate
• Identify strategies
• Add information
• Debrief and provide practice opportunities

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Practice a Think-Aloud

• Choose a text.
• Determine a focus strategy.
• Develop your think-aloud.
• Deliver your think-aloud.
• State your purpose.
• Target your strategy or strategies
• Discuss the cues in the text.
• Connect the strategy.
• Think through practice opportunities and discuss.

Model
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• Model Lesson Overview
• Components/Terminology
• How to Use the Plans

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Model Lesson Components

• Overview
• Lesson Plans
• Appendix
• Blackline Masters
• Resources and Routines

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Overview (General)

• Unit Summary
• Key Concepts
• Key Terms and Vocabulary
• Lesson Summary
• Unit Assessment Plan
• Objectives
• Resources

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Lesson Plans (Specific)

• Objectives
• Content Specification-level
• Summarized
• Often repeated in multiple lessons
• Explicitly taught

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Lesson Plans (Specific)

• Lesson Cycle
• Introduction
• Concept Development
• Student Practice
• Assessment
• Closure

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Lesson Plans (Specific)

• Because English Language Arts skills are not
  always developed in a linear format, there may be
  several concepts developed in one lesson.
• Student practice and assessment may be developed
  for each concept or consolidated into one
  activity or assessment.
• Check the whole lesson cycle before you make
  instructional decisions.

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Supplementary Materials

• Appendix A1 A __
• Background Information
• Lengthier explanations of concept development
  phase, student practice activity, or assessment
  instructions
• Teacher Tips/Notes
• Options
• Blackline Masters B1 B __
• Resources and Routines R __

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How to Use the Plans Suggestions/Recommendati
ons

• Read the Unit Overview. Focus on the
• summary concepts vocabulary
• lesson summary assessment
• Glance through the Appendix - note especially
  unit background, strategies, and instructional
  methods.
• Glance through the Blacklines - the first one or
  two generally include a unit overview or timeline
  for students.

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How to Use the Plans Suggestions/Recommendati
ons

• Read lesson-by-lesson.
• Prepare lesson-by-lesson. Note resources and use
  the blacklines.

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Homework...

• Read over the first two units you receive today.
• Return, with your questions, and be ready to
  practice some key activities necessary for the
  unit implementation.