January 2013 K – 12 Literacy Research and Standards at a Glance

ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards READING	ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards WRITING	The Six Literacy Shifts Common Core ELA State Standards	Helpful Websites for Instruction &Technology-Enhanced and Performance-Based Assessments
Key Ideas and Details 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Craft and Structure 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. http://www.corestandards.org/	Text Types and Purposes* 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Production and Distribution of Writing 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. Research to Build and Present Knowledge 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Range of Writing 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. http://www.corestandards.org/	Shift 1 PK-5, Balancing Informational & Literary Texts Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts. Elementary school classrooms are, therefore, places where students access the world – science, social studies, the arts and literature – through text. At least 50% of what students read is informational. Shift 2 6-12, Building Knowledge in the Disciplines Content area teachers outside of the ELA classroom emphasize literacy experiences in their planning and instruction. Students learn through domain-specific texts in science and social studies classrooms – rather than referring to the text, they are expected to learn from what they read. Shift 3 Staircase of Complexity In order to prepare students for the complexity of college and career ready texts, each grade level requires a “step” of growth on the “staircase”. Students read the central, grade appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers are patient, create more time and space in the curriculum for this close and careful reading, and provide appropriate and necessary scaffolding and supports so that it is possible for students reading below grade level. Shift 4 Text-Based Answers Students have rich and rigorous conversations which are dependent on a common text. Teachers insist that classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text on the page and that students develop habits for making evidentiary arguments both in conversation, as well as in writing to assess comprehension of a text. Shift 5 Writing from Sources Writing needs to emphasize use of evidence to inform or make an argument rather than the personal narrative and other forms of decontextualized prompts. While the narrative still has an important role, students develop skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they read. Shift 6 Academic Vocabulary Students constantly build the vocabulary they need to access grade level complex texts. By focusing strategically on comprehension of pivotal and commonly found words (such as “discourse,” “generation,” “theory,” and “principled”) and less on esoteric literary terms (such as “onomatopoeia” or “homonym”), teachers constantly build students’ ability to access more complex texts across the content areas. Adapted from www.engageNY.org	MAISA Collaboration Project (ELA) http://oaklandk12-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Browse/View/Default Michigan’s Assessment Consortium http://michiganassessmentconsortium. org/ Michigan Department of Education – English Language Arts Website http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-28753_38684_28758---,00.html Michigan Department of Education – Educational Technology Standards and Expectations http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-28753_33232_37328---,00.html Live Binder – A Knowledge Sharing Place for the Common Core http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/297779 Michigan’s Mission Literacy http://missionliteracy.com/ Michigan’s Teaching for Learning Framework http://teachingforlearning.org/ NCTE Website http://www.ncte.org/ Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Resources http://www.smarterbalanced.org/ Wayne RESA’s ELA Website http://www.resa.net/curriculum/curriculum/english/
Reading Next Report http://www.all4ed.org/files/ReadingNext.pdf	Writing Next Report http://www.all4ed.org/files/WritingNext.pdf	Writing to Read Steve Graham and Michael Hebert – Vanderbilt University http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf	Marzano (2000)	A Technical Note on Meta-Analysis
The Recommendations: Fifteen Elements of Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs This report delineates fifteen elements aimed at improving middle and high school literacy achievement right now. 1. Direct, explicit comprehension instruction, which is instruction in the strategies and processes that proficient readers use to understand what they read, including summarizing, keeping track of one’s own understanding, and a host of other practices 2. Effective instructional principles embedded in content, including language arts teachers using content-area texts and content-area teachers providing instruction and practice in reading and writing skills specific to their subject area 3. Motivation and self-directed learning, which includes building motivation to read and learn and providing students with the instruction and supports needed for independent learning tasks they will face after graduation 4. Text-based collaborative learning, which involves students interacting with one another around a variety of texts 5. Strategic tutoring, which provides students with intense individualized reading, writing, and content instruction as needed 6. Diverse texts, which are texts at a variety of difficulty levels and on a variety of topics 7. Intensive writing, including instruction connected to the kinds of writing tasks students will have to perform well in high school and beyond 8. A technology component, which includes technology as a tool for and a topic of literacy instruction Reading Next Report Continued 9. Ongoing formative assessment of students, which is informal, often daily assessment of how students are progressing under current instructional practices 10. Extended time for literacy, which includes approximately two to four hours of literacy instruction and practice that takes place in language arts and content-area classes 11. Professional development that is both long term and ongoing 12. Ongoing summative assessment of students and programs, which is more formal and provides data that are reported for accountability and research purposes 13. Teacher teams, which are interdisciplinary teams that meet regularly to discuss students and align instruction 14. Leadership, which can come from principals and understanding of how to teach reading and writing to the full array of students present in schools 15. A comprehensive and coordinated literacy program, which is interdisciplinary an interdepartmental and may even coordinate with out-of-school organizations and the local community Since implementation of only one or two of these elements is unlikely to improve the achievement of many students, this report recommends that practitioners and program designers flexibly try out various combinations in search of the most effective overall program.	The Recommendations: Eleven Elements of Effective Adolescent Writing Instruction 1. Writing Strategies, which involves teaching students strategies for planning, revising, and editing their compositions (0.82) 2. Summarization, which involves explicitly and systematically teaching students how to summarize texts (0.82) 3. Collaborative Writing, which uses instructional arrangements in which adolescents work together to plan, draft, revise, and edit their compositions (0.75) 4. Specific Product Goals, which assigns students specific, reachable goals for the writing they are to complete (0.70) 5. Word Processing, which uses computers and word processors as instructional supports for writing assignments (0.55) 6. Sentence Combining, which involves teaching students to construct more complex, sophisticated sentences (0.50) 7. Prewriting, which engages students in activities designed to help them generate or organize ideas for their composition (0.32) 8. Inquiry Activities, which engages students in analyzing immediate, concrete data to help them develop ideas and content for a particular writing task (0.32) 9. Process Writing Approach, which interweaves a number of writing instructional activities in a workshop environment that stresses extended writing opportunities, writing for authentic audiences, personalized instruction, and cycles of writing (0.32) 10. Study of Models, which provides students with opportunities to read, analyze, and emulate models of good writing (0.25) 11. Writing for Content Learning, which uses writing as a tool for learning content material(0.23) It is important to note that all of the elements are supported by rigorous research, but that even when used together, they do not constitute a full writing curriculum	The Recommendations: Effective Practices for Strengthening Reading Through Writing: I. HAVE STUDENTS WRITE ABOUT THE TEXTS THEY READ. Students’ comprehension of science, social studies, and language arts texts is improved when they write about what they read, specifically when they: • Respond to a Text in Writing (Writing Personal Reactions, Analyzing and Interpreting the Text) (0.77) • Write Summaries of a Text (0.52) • Write Notes about a Text (0.47) • Answer Questions about a Text in Writing, or Create and Answer Written Questions about a Text (0.27) II. TEACH STUDENTS THE WRITING SKILLS AND PROCESSES THAT GO INTO CREATING TEXT. Students’ reading skills and comprehension are improved by learning the skills and processes that go into creating text, specifically when teachers: • Teach the Process of Writing, Text Structures for Writing, Paragraph or Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Comprehension) (0.18) (0.27) • Teach Spelling and Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Fluency) (0.79) • Teach Spelling Skills (Improves Word Reading Skills) (0.68) III. INCREASE HOW MUCH STUDENTS WRITE. Students’ reading comprehension is improved by having them increase how often they produce their own texts. (0.30)	1. Vocabulary. Research indicates that student achievement will increase by 12 percentile points when students are taught 10-12 words a week; 33 percentile points when vocabulary is focused on specific words important to what students are learning. (Effect size=0.95 ) 2. Comparing, contrasting, classifying, analogies, and metaphors. These processes are connected as each requires students to analyze two or more elements in terms of their similarities and differences in one or more characteristics. (Effect size=1.61) 3. Summarizing and note-taking. To summarize is to fill in missing information and translate information into a synthesized, brief form. Note-taking is the process of students’ using notes as a work in progress and/or teachers’ preparing notes to guide instruction. (Effect size=1.0 ) 4. Reinforcing effort and giving praise. Simply teaching many students that added effort will pay off in terms of achievement actually increases student achievement more than techniques for time management and comprehension of new material. Praise, when recognizing students for legitimate achievements, is also effective. (Effect size=0.8) 5. Homework and practice. These provide students with opportunities to deepen their understanding and skills relative to presented content. Effectiveness depends on quality and frequency of teacher feedback, among other factors. (Effect size=0.77) 6. Nonlinguistic representation. Knowledge is generally stored in two forms—linguistic form and imagery. Simple yet powerful non-linguistic instructional techniques such as graphic organizers, pictures and pictographs, concrete representations, and creating mental images improve learning. (Effect size=0.75) 7. Cooperative learning. Effective when used right; ineffective when overused. Students still need time to practice skills and processes independently. (Effect size=0.74) 8. Setting objectives and providing feedback. Goal setting is the process of establishing direction and purpose. Providing frequent and specific feedback related to learning objectives is one of the most effective strategies to increase student achievement. (Effect size=0.61) 9. Generating and testing hypotheses. Involves students directly in applying knowledge to a specific situation. Deductive thinking (making a prediction about a future action or event) is more effective than inductive thinking (drawing conclusions based on information known or presented.) Both are valuable. (Effect size=0.61 ) 10. Cues, questions, and advanced organizers. These strategies help students retrieve what they already know on a topic (PRIOR KNOWLEDGE). Cues are straight-forward ways of activating prior knowledge; questions help students to identify missing information; advanced organizers are organizational frameworks presented in advance of learning. (Effect size=0.59)	What is a meta-analysis? Meta-analysis is a particularly powerful way of summarizing large bodies of research, as it aggregates conceptually similar quantitative measures by calculating an effect size for each study. The strength of meta-analysis is that it allows consideration of both the strength and the consistency of a treatment’s effects. What is an effect size? An effect size reports the average difference between a group who receives an intervention and another group that does not. Effect size is related to the standard deviations difference between the two groups. An effect size of 1.0 reports that the mean for the group receiving the intervention has moved one whole standard deviation to the right. Since 95% of the scores are within two standard deviations of the mean, this a very large effect. The following guidelines provide a benchmark for interpreting the magnitude of an effect: .20 = small or mild effect .50 = medium or moderate effect .80 = large or strong effect Formative Assessment Formative assessment has an effect size of .4 to .7. Formative Assessment is intended to inform and guide adjustments to instruction on an ongoing basis. It is part of the instructional process. When incorporated into classroom practice, it provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. In this sense, formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made. These adjustments help to ensure students achieve targeted standards-based learning goals within a set time frame.