Grade 10 Curriculum Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction / 1
Platform Overview / 2
Research / 4
Teaching Key Skills & Concepts / 5
ELA Curriculum Guide / 6
Science, Social Studies, and Math / 15
Supports for Developing Bilinguals / 16
Results / 18
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
Introduction
About ThinkCERCA
What is ThinkCERCA?
ThinkCERCA’s personalized literacy platform helps educators teach critical thinking skills through
argumentative writing. Through standards-aligned close reading and academic writing lessons for
English language arts, science, social studies, and math, our schoolwide approach to literacy
instruction prepares students in grades 4-12 for post-secondary life by building up their analytical skills
in every subject.
Practical Approach, Expert Pedagogy
The designers of ThinkCERCA have authored more than 30 publications on cross-curricular critical
literacy.
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
1
Platform Overview
The ThinkCERCA Platform
Schoolwide Literacy Instruction
The CERCA Framework gives teams a common literacy language to collaborate more effectively across
content areas and improve student outcomes.
Close Reading
Our platform includes a lesson library of relevant, leveled texts and tasks that build students’ disciplinespecific knowledge while making close reading engaging and fun.
• Standards-aligned, discipline-specific highlighting and summarizing practice
• In-text vocabulary and audio support
• Automated assessments for comprehension
Writing Across Content Areas
Scaffolded lessons walk students through the process of using evidence and details to support their
argumentative, informational, and narrative writings across disciplines. • Interactive Argument Builder; prewriting tools for narrative and informational writing
• Rigorous writing prompts focused on debatable issues and great literary models
• Standards-aligned sentence frames and supports for English language development
Differentiation
We make personalization simple with theme-based text sets that are differentiated for 10 levels of
readiness and built-in tools that keep teachers at the center of instruction.
• Embedded differentiation tools to auto-assign by readiness level
• Leveling pre-assessments for reading and writing
• Real-time data to monitor student progress [email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
2
Platform Overview
Standards-Aligned Instruction
Our instructional designs were developed based on the research and practice of master teachers and
nationally recognized literacy experts and meet the demands of new career and college readiness
standards.
• Introductions to standards-aligned key skills and concepts
• Standards-aligned formative assessments and rubrics
Assessment Preparation
Research shows that frequent practice of CERCA increases test scores while building critical thinking
skills. ThinkCERCA’s formative and summative assessments allow teachers to infuse practice with
items found in new state assessments, including PARCC, Smarter Balanced, and ACT, as well as the
new SAT and growth assessments such as NWEA.
• Development of analytical and synthesizing skills
• Practice of providing supporting evidence with discipline-specific language instruction
• Creation of constructed responses to text-based questions
Why Argumentation?
ThinkCERCA prepares students for new standards and state assessments by providing a scaffolded
process that supports the development of argumentation skills.
“The Standards put particular emphasis on the students’ ability to write sound
arguments on substantive topics and issues, as the ability is critical to career and
college readiness.” — CCSS Appendix A
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
3
Research
Our Research-Based Approach
Summary
ThinkCERCA was built upon an ever-growing body of research as well as years of practice and
continuous learning. The research behind our approach has been drawn from a number of sources.
Here, we highlight an influential University of Chicago study that clearly illustrates the importance of
writing and discussion in improving student achievement. While traditional models have positioned
technology as the teacher, we position technology as a support for great teaching and collaboration
with peers. The relationship with teachers and peers is what helps to create a context for true
personalized learning and motivate students to persist through challenges.
From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation—Too Much, Too Late (2008)
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
4
Teaching Key Skills and Concepts
Direct Instruction to Introduce Key Skills and Concepts
Example ThinkCERCA Direct Instruction Lessons
Direct Instruction Lesson: Why Do We Make Arguments?
In this lesson students will learn about the
importance of making effective arguments in
school, in their careers, and in life.
Direct Instruction Lesson: Developing Effective Paragraphs
In this lesson students will learn about different
types of writing and how to develop effective
paragraphs for each type. They will learn about how
to create a strong topic sentence and support that
topic sentence with cohesive organization and clear
transitions.
Direct Instruction Lesson: Making Arguments about Connections within a
Text
In this lesson, students will learn some effective
techniques to make connections within a text:
allusions, analogies, repetition, parallel structure,
and anecdotes.
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
5
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
1
School Policy
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.2, W1
“Test to the Teach or Teach to the Test?” — Should schools teach
and test Wagner’s “survival skills,” or should the traditional curriculum
remain?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Why NFTE Makes Sense in Schools”
SKILLS FOCUS
Summary
CERCA SET
Video Games
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Are Video Games a Massive Waste of Time?” — Are video games
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Internet Speeds”
SKILLS FOCUS
Developing Effective Paragraphs
CERCA SET
Government’s Role in Health
2
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.8, W1
a harmless or a potentially dangerous type of entertainment?
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.8, W1
“How Regulation Really Does Change Eating Behavior” — Are the
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
benefits of government regulation of unhealthy food worth the price
individuals and companies pay in terms of freedom of choice and
freedom of speech?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“To Fight Ebola, Create a Health Workforce Reserve Force”
SKILLS FOCUS
Claims
CERCA SET
Social Media
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Social Media In and Out of School” — Who should step up and
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Social Media: It's So 1st Century BC”
SKILLS FOCUS
Evidence
CERCA SET
Sports & Society
3
4
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
5
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
stop cyberbullying?
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.1, W1
“Is Aggression in Athletics Traditional?” — Is violence in professional
sports a reflection of the culture at large, or is it simply that some
professional athletes behave as violent individuals?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Wilma Rudolph: The Potential for Greatness”
SKILLS FOCUS
Reasoning
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
RI.1, W1
6
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
The Role of Machines
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
"Essay-Grading Software Offers Professors a Break” — Should
6
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
CERCA SET
RI.2, W1
artificial intelligence be used to score student essays?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Newsbound: You Are Being Tracked: License Plate Readers
Explained”
SKILLS FOCUS
Counterargument
CERCA SET
Distracted Driving
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.1, W1
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
7
Should the government be allowed to regulate the use of cell phones in
cars?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Biofuels: Fuel for the Future or Foolishness?”
SKILLS FOCUS
Audience
CERCA SET
Personal Identity
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“The Return of the Selfie” — How has technology changed the way
8
“The Feds’ Ultimate Solution to Curb Distracted Driving” —
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.2, W1
people use the "selfie" as a representation of identity?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“A Message to Lululemon Founder Chip Wilson: Stop Shaming
Women’s Bodies!”
SKILLS FOCUS
Organizing Your Argument
CERCA SET
Genetics
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
9
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
“Firstborn Girls Are Statistically More Likely to Run the World” —
Is the way in which the author develops her argument effective in
dismantling Bu's birth order research?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Feel Like Reading This Later? Study Explains Why”
SKILLS FOCUS
Connections Within a Text
CERCA SET
Family and Influence
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
10
RI.3, W1
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.2, W1
"A Wagner Matinée” — How does Willa Cather use Aunt Georgiana’s
story to represent the idea that loving someone or something involves
the equal possibility of experiencing both great joy and great pain?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Young Cesar E. Chavez: The Early Years of an American Hero”
SKILLS FOCUS
Theme
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
7
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
11
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
author develop her explanation of the benefits and challenges of using
social norming for behavioral modification?
“Criminal Case Puts Focus on Bullying Laws”
SKILLS FOCUS
Connections Within a Text
CERCA SET
Bullying
12
RI.5, W1
“The Destructive Influence of Imaginary Peers” — How does the
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.6, W1
“School Shootings Illustrate the Need for Empathy” — Does the
author make a persuasive case that the main cause of school shootings
is lack of empathy?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“We Have to Prevent School Bullying”
SKILLS FOCUS
Author’s Purpose
CERCA SET
Conflict and Dominance
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
Multiday Short Fiction: “Hop-Frog, or The Eight Chained OurangOutangs” — Does the author intend for readers to feel that Hop-Frog’s
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Primate Brains May Explain Humans’ Fear of Snakes"
SKILLS FOCUS
Point of View
CERCA SET
Nonverbal Communication
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language” — What does
13
Group Decision-making
14
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.3, W1
actions are justified in this story?
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.3, W1
the author warn about relying on nonverbal cues in order to detect lying?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Kids Shuffle Lunch Seating as Part of National ‘No One Eats
Alone’ Campaign”
SKILLS FOCUS
Informational and Explanatory Writing
CERCA SET
Communities
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
15
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.4, W1
Poetry: “Birches” — What does the speaker mean when he says,
“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches”? Do you think he is
all for taking risks and escaping reality?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
"Poet Laureate: ‘The Pen ... An Instrument of Discovery’”
SKILLS FOCUS
Elements of Language
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
8
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
CERCA SET
21st Century Learning
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“The Professor's Big Stage” — Does the author create a convincing
16
RI.1, W1
argument that the MOOCs revolution is "here and real"?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Teachers “Flip” Over Technology, But Classes Are Flop for Some
Kids”
SKILLS FOCUS
Central Ideas
CERCA SET
Image & Impact
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
17
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.7, W1
“The Memphis Sanitation Strike” — How did the sanitation strike of
1968 change history? Analyze the details shown in both the print article
and the photographs to determine your answer.
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
"TED Talk: What We Can Learn from Galaxies Far, Far Away”
SKILLS FOCUS
Text Features
CERCA SET
Risk-Taking
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“24 Miles, 4 Minutes and 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump” — Is
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Renewable Energy Projects Can Now Get 30-Year Permit to Kill
Eagles”
SKILLS FOCUS
Central Ideas
CERCA SET
Character and Risk
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
Poetry: excerpt from “Hamlet” and "The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock"” — How does T. S. Eliot's reference to Hamlet shed light on
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“The Mad Scientist’s Mad Scientist”
SKILLS FOCUS
Ideas Across Texts
CERCA SET
Perseverance
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Hiram Rhodes Revels Was America's First Black U. S. Senator”
— How does the author's retelling of events in Revels's life help make a
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Introducing the Girl Effect Accelerator”
SKILLS FOCUS
Connections Within a Text
18
19
20
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.2, W1
furthering science and setting a world record worth the inherent danger?
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.9, W1
and transform Prufrock's dilemma?
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.3, W1
convincing case that he was a good choice to be a U.S. senator?
9
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
Social Responsibility
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.9, W1
“Patrick Henry's Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” —
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
How did Patrick Henry's passionate speech and his final cry of "give me
liberty or give me death," in particular, inspire people and spur them into
action?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Protector of Children”
SKILLS FOCUS
Author’s Purpose
CERCA SET
Conflict and Character
21
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
22
Optional Narrative Writing Prompt >>
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
Multiday Short Fiction: “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” — How
does Head use Brille’s insights in “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” to reveal
the weaknesses of oppressive regimes?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“No Ordinary Joe: Fans Go Wild for G.I. Joe”
SKILLS FOCUS
Characters
CERCA SET
Overcoming Obstacles
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
personal narrative that describes the origins of an unexpected friendship.
“Remaking a Nation: President Mandela”
SKILLS FOCUS
Characters
CERCA SET
Civil War Poetry
23
RL.3, W3
Multiday Writing: “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses” — Write a
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
RL.6, W1
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.2, W1
Poetry: “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest and the Road
Unknown” — How does Whitman use the contrasting sensory images in
the poem to convey the nature of what it means to be a soldier in "A March
in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown"?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Civil War Air Force”
SKILLS FOCUS
Theme
CERCA SET
Humor
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Budget Mix-Up Provides Nation's Schools With Enough Money
to Properly Educate Students” — How does humor help demonstrate
24
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.4, W1
the need for educational resources?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Distant Planet Terrified It Might Be Able to Someday Support
Human Life”
SKILLS FOCUS
Words and Details
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
10
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
Technology & Impact
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.2, W1
“Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?” — Trace the
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
author's development of the arguments for and against standardized
tests being revised to reflect the cultural shift toward more reading on the
Internet. Which of these arguments do you find most convincing?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Swipe to Save a Life”
SKILLS FOCUS
Central Ideas
CERCA SET
Technology and Art
25
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
26
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.7, W1
“The Crucible Act III Courtroom Scene” — How does the impact of
The Crucible Act III change or become more effective when it is listened
to rather than read?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Multimedia Lesson: We the Economy: Supply Chain Reaction”
SKILLS FOCUS
Format
CERCA SET
Endangered Animals
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
27
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
“After Years of Conflict, a New Dynamic in Wolf Country” —
Should ranchers be allowed to kill endangered wolves on their own
property?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Horseshoe Crabs Are Now in Danger”
SKILLS FOCUS
Words and Details
CERCA SET
Nature Poetry
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
28
RI.1, W1
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.2, W1
“Poetry: Hurt Hawks” — What commentary or observation does the
poet make about life, death, and dignity through the choice made by the
speaker in the poem “Hurt Hawks”?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“California Struggles to Set Up Early Quake Warning System”
SKILLS FOCUS
Theme
CERCA SET
Cultural Perception
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Leaving Baghdad: Culture Shock in America” — According to the
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Timely Leader”
SKILLS FOCUS
Words and Details
29
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.4, W1
author, how does moving to a new culture alter one's personal identity?
11
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
Intellectual Property
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Pandora Goes After Artist Royalties In Big Risk”— Should
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Showdown at Separation Point”
SKILLS FOCUS
Reasoning
CERCA SET
Family History
30
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
31
RI.2, W1
“‘See You On the Other Side!’ My Family, 2 Presidents, and the
African American Dream” — How does the author use the story of his
family to make the argument that the idea of the American Dream can
play an important role in our personal and national histories?
SKILLS FOCUS
Central Ideas
CERCA SET
Cultural Memoirs
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.7, W2
Multiday Short Memoir: “Picnic Geese” — Why does the father want
his sons to help him poach the geese? What does he get out of it? What
does he expect his sons to get out of it?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Tracing a Line from the First Black Slave to the First Black
President”
SKILLS FOCUS
Theme
CERCA SET
Growing Up
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
33
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
“Supreme Court Wisdom on DNA”
32
RI.1, W1
Pandora be allowed to reduce its royalty payments to musicians?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
Optional Narrative Writing Prompt >>
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
CERCA SET
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.2, W3
Multiday Writing: “Picnic Geese” — Write a personal narrative about
an event that revealed something surprising or contradictory about
someone you thought you knew well, either at the time or in hindsight.
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“For Dark-skinned Mexicans, Taint of Discrimination Lingers”
SKILLS FOCUS
Writing Narratives
CERCA SET
The Best Laid Plans
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.3, W3
Multiday Narrative Writing: “The Lottery" — Write a personal
narrative about going along with the crowd and the outcome of that
decision. INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“The Need to Keep Up with the Jones's Lawn Is in Our Heads"
SKILLS FOCUS
Plot
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
12
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
34
Entrepreneurship
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.3, W1
“Beyond Buy-One Give-One Retail” — How does the author develop
an argument about both the benefits and the limitations of buy-one giveone retail?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Educating the Incarcerated”
SKILLS FOCUS
Organizing Your Argument
CERCA SET
Money and Decisions
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.2, W1
Multiday Short Fiction: “A White Heron” — Given the circumstances,
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
35
did Sylvia make the right decision? As you support your claim, consider
the general observations or commentary about being human that the
author makes through the development of this character.
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Scraping By: What You Need to Know about the Minimum
Wage”
SKILLS FOCUS
Theme
CERCA SET
Kid Inventors
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Clever Queens Teen Seeks U.S. Patent for Solar EnergyGenerating Invention” — How does Chan convey the idea that
36
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.5, W1
Mashriqi is an amazing inventor?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Elon Musk to Allow Rivals to Use Tesla Motor Electric Car
Patents”
SKILLS FOCUS
Structure and Organization
CERCA SET
Sounds in Poetry
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
37
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.5, W1
Poetry: “Revenge” — How does Landon use sound to convey her
emotions toward her former love?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“My Song Is My Weapon”
SKILLS FOCUS
Elements of Language
CERCA SET
Student Free Speech
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
“Cyber Snoops Track Students' Activity” — Is collecting information
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Fighting Words”
SKILLS FOCUS
Reasoning
38
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RI.1, W1
online from students a violation of privacy or a positive safety measure?
13
English Language Arts Curriculum Guide
Suggested Scope & Sequence: Grade 10
CERCA SET
39
APPLIED WRITING
PRACTICE
Comparing Traditional Tales
READING & WRITING
STANDARDS
RL.9, W1
“Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Orpheus with His Lute Made
Trees”— How does reading Shakespeare’s sonnet together with the
original Orpheus myth add to the reader’s knowledge of each piece of
literature?
INDEPENDENT
READING PRACTICE
“Musings: Reinventing a Monster"
SKILLS FOCUS
Ideas Across Texts
Integration of Longer Works with Recommended CERCA Sets
•
•
•
•
Grapes of Wrath - Connections to Money and Decisions, Group Decision-making, and Perseverance
Candide - Connections to Humor, School Policy, and Personal Identity
Things Fall Apart - Connections to Cultural Perception, Family History, and Cultural Memoir
In the Time of the Butterflies - Connections to Social Responsibility, Character and Risk, and
Character and Conflict
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
14
Literacy Across the Curriculum
Cross-Curricular Literacy Lessons
The above scope and sequence are lessons from our ELA library only. We have lessons in science,
social studies, and math, as well. Below are examples.
Science: NGSS
Contributors to the Next Generation Science Standards,
master teachers, and administrators worked with our
team to develop our approach to differentiated science
literacy content. This debate-centric approach to science
mirrors items on new assessments that ask students to
evaluate peer-to-peer and scientist-to-scientist debates.
Social Studies: C3 Frameworks
We collaborated with key thought leaders, including the
designers of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State
Standards, as we developed our social studies content.
These leveled lessons—aligned to key topics across
geographical locations and time periods—allow teachers
to build discipline-specific background knowledge in a
vertical plan while engaging students who may be ahead
of or behind peers.
Math: Content & Practice
We collaborated with Professor Doug O’Roark, founder
of the Graduate Math and Science Teacher Certification
Program at University of Chicago and current head of
Math Circles Chicago, to design a unique, standardsaligned approach to differentiated math literacy content
that supports the expansion of mathematical knowledge
through its application in writing.
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
15
English Language Development Supports
Supporting Developing Bilinguals
ThinkCERCA provides teachers with everything they need to support developing bilinguals in their
academic English fluency. In addition to research-based approaches embedded in the pedagogy of our
software, we provide direct instruction in standards-aligned practices that help developing bilinguals
succeed.
•
•
•
•
Supports for English language development in any classroom setting
Resources for students at a WIDA Level 3 and above
Research-based best practices for developing bilinguals
Online and offline tools and instructional practices, including speaking and listening activities
Full Supports List for Developing Bilinguals
Conventions of
Standard English
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
Personal
Connections
- Applied Reading and
Writing Lessons
ThinkCERCA’s Minilessons help students with conventions of standard
English usage, mechanics and grammar, and parts of speech. They also
provide instruction in discipline-specific, academic vocabulary across
subjects.
Each Applied Lesson provides an opportunity for students to connect
personally with the topics in the text. By encouraging collaboration and
peer-to-peer discussion, in a group, or even whole class, students engage
in meaningful discussions and high-interest topics that expose them to the
language they need to successfully navigate the world.
Tier 2 Vocabulary
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
Writing Lessons
Audio Support
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
Tier 2 vocabulary words with definitions are provided for pre-reading
support. Explicit instruction in academic vocabulary helps students access
content in disciplines.
All ThinkCERCA texts have audio support so students can listen to the text
while reading along. Student have the option of listening multiple times or
even listening to small sections of the text. Real human voices model fluent
and expressive English and allow students to access texts beyond their
independent English reading levels.
Writing Lessons
Non-Print Features
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
ThinkCERCA provides non-print features to support students in connecting
to background knowledge and developing new meaning. The strong visuals
in our Minilessons and the images embedded in our texts, including
infographics, multimedia, and video presentations, support learning for
everyone, including English language learners.
Writing Lessons
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
16
English Language Development Supports
Full Supports List for Developing Bilinguals
Sentence Frames
- Applied Reading and
Writing Lessons
Blended Learning &
Small Groups
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
Sentence stems help students crack the code of college- and career-ready
English. By understanding the most common frames and practicing them,
students build confidence in their critical literacy skills.
ThinkCERCA provides a framework for teachers to incorporate into small
group instruction, independent collaboration, and individual personalized
instruction in a blended learning environment. In this dynamic
environment, students are given a variety of opportunities to engage with
language through listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Writing Lessons
Structure &
Language of Genre
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
ThinkCERCA exposes students to the language of various genres and
disciplines. The consistency of the text structures in the overview, summary,
sentence frames, and counterargument gives students repeated exposure
and familiarity with both structure and language.
Writing Lessons
Oral & Written
Language
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Additional Reading
Practice
- Applied Reading and
Writing Lessons
Applied Reading &
Writing Lesson
Supports
- Applied Reading and
ThinkCERCA supports the critical relationship between oral and written
language by requiring students to discuss and negotiate complex issues
with multiple perspectives. Readings about debatable topics open up
opportunities for structured conversations in small groups, with partners
and as a whole class. Discussions require students to use accurate and
relevant text-based information to support claims and to explain their
reasons as well as reasoning. By toggling back and forth from text to
conversation, and finding evidence to support thinking, students increase
and deepen their understanding of the text at hand.
We have additional ELD lesson supports for our premium Applied Writing
Lessons. These supports provide extra scaffolding in order to help ELD
students access the same great content as their non-ELD peers
Writing Lessons
Culture
- Direct Instruction
Lessons
- Applied Reading and
Readings respect and honor the cultures of multiple groups and offer broad
representation of not only various cultures, but also discussions about
global issues.
Writing Lessons
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
17
English
Results Language Development Supports
Proven to Help Student Achieve Two Years of Academic Growth
Third-party efficacy data shows that students gain an average of 1.5 to 2.5 years of reading growth when
ThinkCERCA is implemented with fidelity. More information at www.thinkcerca.com/results.
LEAP Innovations Controlled Study
On average, students using ThinkCERCA gained an extra year's worth of academic growth. This is equivalent to closing the
achievement gap by 264 percent for low-income students, 456 percent for black students, and 749 percent for Latino students.
Read the full study at go.thinkcerca.com/leapstudy
Atlantic Research Partners Third-Party Study
Students in grade levels with significant use of ThinkCERCA outperformed their peers nationally on NWEA growth at different
attainment levels in the 2014-2015 academic school year. Read the full study at go.thinkcerca.com/arpstudy
SRI Education Controlled Study
Gains in student writing scores in the elementary grades were positive across all writing aspects and statistically significant for
five of the six aspects. Read the full study at go.thinkcerca.com/sristudy
[email protected] / (708) 79-CERCA
18