Day 1_Session I_Standards and alignment between two educational levels
Day 1_Session I_Standards and Alignment
1. Dr. Peter Ufland, Adjunct Professor, Community College of the District of Columbia Tamara Reavis, Instructional Systems Specialist, Office of the state Superintendent of education Bridging the Gap:Preparing High School Students for College Writing
3. Grammar/Punctuation Students should be able to identify and correctly use all parts of speech. Students should know all verb tenses and when to apply them Students should know how to maintain verb tense consistency and use proper subject-verb agreement Students should know the proper uses of commas, colons, semi-colons, apostrophes, and quotation marks Students should know what words require capitalization Students should know the difference between clauses and phrases Students should know what run-on sentences and sentence fragments
4. Editing Students should understand the importance of writing drafts and editing work Students should know basic editing skills/strategies in order to identify grammatical and structural errors in both their own and others writing Students should be able to evaluate the soundness/logic of organization and strength of argumentation Students should be able to assess the appropriateness of a given style of writing depending on the assignment Students should be willing to accept and use feedback from others
5. Organization Students should know how to plan a paper through a variety of prewriting strategies: brainstorming; outlining; etc. Students should know how to present ideas in a logical order Students should know how to link sentences/ideas together in order to form a coherent and cohesive paragraph Students should be able to place paragraphs in an order that is logical and supports their purpose
6. Argumentation Students should know the difference between their topic and their thesis Students should know how to support their thesis through the use of appropriate and compelling evidence, examples, logic; etc. Students should know how to use refutation of counterarguments as a means of strengthening their own theses
7. Style Students should be able to understand the need for different styles of writing depending on both the objective and the audience of their work Students should be able to employ the different writing styles mentioned above Students should be able to write in a variety of styles and at the same time develop and maintain their own unique voice in writing*
8. Research Students should know how to use library facilities and catalogues in order to find a variety of types of sources Students should know how to differentiate between primary and secondary sources Students should be able to differentiate between academically acceptable and unacceptable sources on the Internet. Students should understand the concept of plagiarism, in all its forms, and how to avoid it Students should understand how to develop research questions, refine topics, and create a plan for research Students should know how to take information from their research and employ to support their argument
9. Common Core Standards Initiative State-led effort to establish a single set of clear educational standards for English language arts and mathematics. Standards are benchmarked to international standards and designed by a diverse group of teachers, experts, parents, and school administrators. DC, Maryland and 25 states have adopted Common Core Standards.
10. English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core Standards (CCS) Organized by grade in K – 8 and grade bands from 9 – 10 and 11 – 12 Aligned to College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards released Fall 2009 Divided into Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and Language Strands Literacy Standards for Grades 6 – 12 Science and Social Studies An appendix supports the Standards with illustrative texts and student writing
11. CCR Standards Form theBasis for the K–12 ELA Standards Common Core Standards for each grade follow the CCR Standards in each strand Each grade-specific standard corresponds to a particular CCR standard. Example:
12. College and Career Readiness - Writing Standards are broken into four clusters: Text Types and Purposes Production and Distribution of Writing Research to Build and Present Knowledge Range of Writing
13. Writing Arguments Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
14. Writing Informative/Explanatory texts Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
15. Next Steps How big is the gap? What steps can we take to bridge that gap? Review the Common Core Standards for K – 12 Writing Analyze exemplar arguments and informative/explanatory texts for CCS grades 9 – 12 Review Checklist for College Readiness. Are these skills covered in the Common Core Standards? Discuss the current state of high school writers. How do we bridge the gap?
