Updates and Cool
Ideas/Resources
Professional Development July 2016
State Assessments
 Given during a three-week period at the end of the year or
semester
November 28- December 16
April 17 – May 5
 Math, ELA, and U.S. History – option of paper and pencil/online
testing
 Biology and Chemistry – paper and pencil
Test Prep
Revised blueprints now available at
http://www.tn.gov/education/topic/tcapblueprints?mc_cid=74c1172154&mc_eid=72f8cf9d5a
Updated practice tests available on EdTools in August and
in online practice format in early November
ELA Assessments
 Eliminating the Part I/Part II format - English I, II, and III will have only one
assessment made up of 4 parts.
 Writing portion wil be given during the first week of the three-week testing
window
Subpart 1: 85 minutes (writing)
Subpart 2: 50 minutes
Subpart 3: 45 minutes
Subpart 4: 45 minutes
 Reduces overall testing time by 120 minutes
 Students respond to only one text-dependent writing prompt – explanatory,
argumentative, or narrative
 Subparts 2-4 will contain multiple item types.
Math Assessments
 Integrated Math I/II/III, Algebra I/II, and Geometry – 3 Subparts
Subpart 1: 35 minutes (no calculator)
Subpart 2: 55 minutes (calculator)
Subpart 3: 55 minutes (calculator)
 65-minute reduction
Science and Social Studies Assessments
 Chemistry and Biology – 1 subpart: 75 minutes (no change)
 U.S. History – 3 subparts
Subpart 1: 50 minutes
Subpart 2: 45 minutes
Subpart 3: 45 minutes
 40-minute reduction
Field Tests
 Some ELA and U.S. History students will participate in field tests
outside the testing windows. These will include one support.
 One-third to one-half will need to participate, and the group of
students selected to participate will rotate each year.
Good News
For the typical 11th grader, this would mean the
2016-2017 TCAP Assessments would be shorter in
total by 255 minutes—3 hours and 45 minutes—
compared to last year!!
Cool Tools/Resources
Cool Resources/Tools-Readability Tester
Now you can easily check the grade level of
online sources!
http://www.webpagefx.com/tools/read-able/
Cool Resources/Tools-Rewordify
Now you can easily modify level of text for struggling students.
 This resource already has many classics and public
documents, like Shakespearean plays, Gettysburg Address, Bill
of Rights, etc.
 BUT it also allows you to copy and paste text you want to
make simpler.
 https://rewordify.com/index.php
Vocabulary Learning Sessions
Can change difficulty level of passage by
selecting number of words to replace
Consider adding steps for copying and pasting text
into a word document to check grade level of text.
EDPuzzle
Allows one to search bank of videos (by subject/title)
from a plethora of sources (e.g. YouTube, Khan
Academy, National Geographic, etc.)
https://edpuzzle.com
EDPuzzle
Allows one to search bank of videos (by subject/title)
from a plethora of sources (e.g. YouTube, Khan
Academy, National Geographic, etc.)
Clip videos to just the section you want
https://edpuzzle.com
EDPuzzle
Allows one to search bank of videos (by subject/title)
from a plethora of sources (e.g. YouTube, Khan
Academy, National Geographic, etc.)
Clip videos to just the section you want
Add voice-overs or questions to videos
https://edpuzzle.com
EDPuzzle
Allows one to search bank of videos (by subject/title)
from a plethora of sources (e.g. YouTube, Khan
Academy, National Geographic, etc.)
Clip videos to just the section you want
Add voice-overs or questions to videos
Assign videos to students or embed them in PPTs
Save videos you’ve created/edited
https://edpuzzle.com
OpenED – World’s largest K-12 Resource
Collection
Offers instructional videos, homework assignments,
projects, games, and assessments
Can format a plan for students and individualize
instruction
Provides online practice with questions that are CCaligned and that mimic TNReady
https://www.opened.com
Assessment
Options
An Overview of
OpenED
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=FmHe6ryV1vQ
Strategies That Promote
Literacy in the Content Areas
Professional Development - July 2016
Think, Pair, Share
What are the first two words that pop into
your mind when you hear the word literacy?
What method do you use most often to
share the content in the area you teach?
https://edpuzzle.com/media/573ded25663480e0299
ad7e4/edit
Reflection
What are the first two words that pop into your mind
when you hear the word literacy?
Reading & Writing???
Yes, but in a way that produces power and privilege in
our students
Are the methods you use most often to share the
content in the area you teach developing power
and privilege in your students?
Have students use annotation any time they
are reading text in your content area.
Why?
 It slows down those super-speedy readers who are
racing to the finish line.
 It helps students make CONNECTIONS.
 It encourages students to ASK QUESTIONS and FIND
EVIDENCE, both of which are emphasized in the
Common Core.
 It fosters a PERSONAL relationship and understanding
of the text.
 It makes reading ACTIVE.
 It improves COMPREHENSION.
Considerations When Implementing
Annotation
Annotation is a conversation.
When we don’t remember what we just read, it’s often
because we were reading passively.
When we actively read a text, we engage in a mental
conversation with its ideas and this is what annotation
should reflect.
Considerations When Implementing
Annotation
Annotations are the words you write about the text, not the text you
underline or highlight.
 Consider telling students that they may not underline a word in a
text, unless they write WHY they underlined it. Even if it’s just a
question mark, or an exclamation point, requiring them to write their
reason for underlining makes them consider their thoughts about
that text, focusing and deepening their analysis.
 In addition, they are less likely to mark everything as significant,
because they are held accountable for discussing the significance
of what they mark.
Ideas for Initially Implementing Annotation
 A particularly effective activity is to put a short text up on the SmartBoard, often
a poem, and have students get up and scribble their comments all over it. (This
also works well with a document camera.) After the students have clustered
around the board, writing and talking about what they’ve written, the class sits
down and, one at a time, students explain their thinking about the section of text
they’ve annotated.
 With more timid classes, given them the text ahead of time so that they can work
on it individually for a while and then let them compare annotations in pairs.
Finally, two at a time, the students go up to the board to annotate and explain
their comments and thoughts.
 By getting students thinking about a text and hearing the thought processes of
others, they quickly begin to deepen their understanding of the possibilities for
analysis.
Are you getting the most out of
your students when you
implement annotation as a
reading/literacy strategy in
your classroom?
Turn and Talk
Implementing
Annotation with
Success
• Have a plan.
Implementing
Annotation with
Success
• Have a plan.
• Model annotation for
students, allowing them
to hear you think aloud
as you do it.
• https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=jrly3EtnT8I&f
eature=youtu.be&t=2m5
0s
Implementing
Annotation with
Success
• Have a plan.
• Model annotation
for students,
allowing them to
hear you think
aloud as you do it.
• Provide anchor
charts with common
symbols.
Implementing
Annotation with
Success
• Have a plan.
• Model annotation for
students, allowing
them to hear you
think aloud as you do
it.
• Provide anchor charts
with common
symbols.
• Be clear about
student expectations.
Roadblocks: Students Often Sweat the
Small Stuff
 Some students understand that
you aren’t supposed to
highlight the entire page, but
they still aren’t sure how to pull
out the text elements that ARE
important, like evidence,
argument, and author’s
purpose.
 FIX IT: Try doing some “reverse
highlighting,” where you cross
out everything that isn’t 100%
ESSENTIAL. Then discuss what’s
left. Why is it so important? Use
your discussion to help create
a framework for annotation.
Promote Accountable Talk in your
Classroom
Why?
 It promotes student engagement and hones critical thinking skills.
 It mimics the academic discourse in which students are expected to
communicate in college and provides a purposeful and respectful
mode of communication for the work force.
 It lays a foundation for writing that is responsive, focused, and
evidence-based.
Accountable Talk Resources
 Bookmark https://www.pinterest.com/pin/414190496962073284/?utm_campaign=bprecs&e_t=ab8e3
8b7ed4a4f1b93b0175e6df2b66d&utm_content=414190496962073284&utm_source=31&ut
m_term=6&utm_medium=2004
Strategies that Impact Achievement
Take a look at the statistics on the
following slide.
What are your initial observations and
thoughts?
Writing is an activity
that causes students to
have to
do extended thinking
about your content
area.
One-Sentence Summaries
Have students summarize what they read with onesentence summaries.
Could even denote the number of words (maybe 10/12)
so that students must think very critically about exactly
which words to include to convey the necessary
information within the limited space.
Encourages students to use complex sentences to be
able to incorporate multiple ideas.
One-Paragraph Response
Have students write one-paragraph summaries/reflections on
what they have read using the following format.
Introductory sentence that includes the topic or claim
Two proofs with commentary/explanation
Conclusion/closure that includes the topic or claim
 https://edpuzzle.com/media/573f5daa5c26d5167c80c1ef/edit
One-Paragraph Response
Make grading these easier on yourself by having students
highlight various components using different colored
highlighters.
Introductory sentence that includes the topic or claim
Two proofs with commentary/explanation
Conclusion/closure that includes the topic or claim
Make Me an Inference
Make Me
an Inference
Subject
This
These statements
This instance
This quote
Verb
Shows
Means
Proves
Conveys
Demonstrates
Displays
Supports
Infers
Develops
Implies to the reader
Convinces
Lets the reader know
Expresses
Explains
Creates
Implies
 After that elaborate on it…..(use because if you are stuck)
 Text excerpt: The narrator explains the voyager’s intense emotions when he says, “Day after day
passes and all you see is an unbroken waste of water, and unrelieved, hopeless monotony of water.”
 Example of inference and elaboration: This quote from the author lets the reader know that the
voyager was nervous about reaching his destination because all he could see was endless water.
FRED Strategy of Paragraph Development
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTaTS4wFJ50
CEI Strategy for Paragraph Development
Turn and Talk
Is there ever a benefit to writing something instead of
just saying it?
Written Conversations
 Students are seated with a partner. The teacher prompts the students with an
open-ended question. Examples might be, “What struck you about this text?”
or “What are the most important ideas here?” For the following examples, the
prompt was “Write down everything the word ‘brilliant’ means to you.”
 Both students in each pair begin writing their thoughts on paper. After 2-3
minutes, the students exchange papers. The students read what their partner
wrote and respond in writing. For example, students might agree, disagree,
ask a question, affirm their partner’s thinking, or relate a personal
anecdote. After another 2-3 minutes, students swap papers again.
 After 2 or 3 exchanges are complete, students then talk out loud to their
partner or participate in a whole-class discussion. Everyone should have fresh
ideas about the topic after merging their thinking with a partner.
Sharing and reflecting on a
common experience will
undoubtedly deepen these
students’ understanding of
the word.
In this first example, you will notice
Partner B empathizes with Partner A by
writing, “Dear _______, this happened to
me too. Everyone expects me to be as
smart and bright as my sister _____.”
Sharing and reflecting on a
common experience will
undoubtedly deepen these
students’ understanding of
the word.
In this next example, Partner A begins by writing, “I think that
brilliance means to be over average of your grade
level. You do things that are beyond your level and beyond
you.”
After Partner B emphasizes (by underlining) that brilliance
might mean “an understanding of things and a knowing or
perfection of somethings,” Partner A rethinks the
definition. Partner A then writes “I know that just because
someone is brilliant it doesn’t mean they get everything
right. They may be wrong every once in a while.”
It is noticeable here how Partner A’s original thinking shifted
slightly after input from Partner B. We wanted students to
synthesize their thinking based on another person’s
perspective, and we saw a little evidence of that here.
Sharing and reflecting on a
common experience will
undoubtedly deepen these
students’ understanding of
the word.
In this final example, Partner A begins
with a web of words related
to brilliance. She writes “smart, bright,
educated, incredible.” Partner B
adds “I feel power when I hear this
word,” and then Partner A agrees, “Now
that you mentioned it I see that you’re
right. There is a power to the word.”
Ways I Can Assist
 Model strategy/Assist with implementing a strategy
 Be a thinking partner/growth partner
 Research ways to implement a certain standard/objective
 Maintain the Literacy Page on the District Website and LiveBinder
for each of the subject areas….Can assist you with using some of
the resources we have on the website or gather/create specific
resources for you
Strategies for
Promoting Thinking
Do you agree/disagree with the
following? Justify you response.
ProCon.org
http://www.procon.org/
According to numerous studies on critical thinking
and quotes about critical thinking from famous
thinkers spanning Aristotle to Zinn, when students learn
critical thinking by discussing controversial issues,
those students, in turn, go on to become more
civically involved and engaged citizens, capable of
dissecting information presented by biased sources to
come to more informed conclusions.
http://www.procon.org/view.backgroundresource.php?resourceID=005476
Let students text responses to openended questions and display them on
screen so class can discuss.