+ PL Needs Assmt and Prof Learning Topics KATHY GLASS

www.kathyglassconsulting.com | kathy@kathyglassconsulting.com | 650-366-8122 1
GLASS EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING
Kathy Glass’ professional learning (PL) opportunities are customized for each school,
district, or county office of education group. Use this suggested process to determine
PL that fits your organization:
1) To determine your specific needs, complete Part 1 individually or work together
as a group and compare responses.
2) Review the list of Professional Learning topics in Part 2 and check off those that
address focused needs uncovered from the assessment in Part 1.
3) Determine the kinds of services that can move professional capacity forward.
Part 3 includes myriad options that can be combined for a comprehensive
experience that supports the goal of increasing student achievement and
sustainability.
Part 1: Needs Assessment for Professional Learning
Kathy Glass
UNIT DESIGN: Unit Mapping No
Some
-what
Yes
1. Backward planning. We* (teachers and teacher leaders) are familiar
with the rationale for backward planning and know what this
process entails.
2. Unit maps. We effectively use the backward planning process and
develop unit maps to guide us in designing units and lessons.
3. KUDs and Guiding Questions. We know what KUDs (know-
understand-do) are and can write/identify them for each unit:
essential (enduring) understandings, knowledge items, skills, and
guiding questions.
4. Unit design expertise. We have the expertise to create or revise our
own effective standards-based effective units of study.
5. Unit design autonomy. Although we have adopted published
curriculum and textbooks, we have the autonomy to use them as

resources to embed within an effective standards-based unit.
6. Culminating Assessments. We design culminating (summative)
assessments so students can demonstrate understanding of unit
goals.
7. Rubrics. Our rubrics align directly to the culminating task and are
useful tools for assessing student work.
Priority areas:
LESSON DESIGN: Instruction and Assessment
General Lesson Planning No
Some
-what
Yes
8. Lesson Plan Models. We know the research behind using explicit
direct instruction to teach new skills, strategies, or procedures and
use an effective lesson plan model to effectively teach students new
learning.
9. Preassessments. We find or develop unit and lesson pre-
assessments to diagnose students’ current level of knowledge and
understanding then plan instruction accordingly.
10. Self-Assessments. We provide opportunities for students to self-
assess so they can guide their own learning progression.
11. Formative Assessments. We regularly incorporate a variety of
formative assessments within a unit of study to gauge and guide
students’ progress.
12. Data. We use the informal and formal data from formative
assessments within a unit to inform instruction.
13. Instructional Activities. We select strategies to move learning
forward based on students’ characteristics and learning outcomes.
Strategies are engaging, meaningful, and appropriately
differentiated.
14. Differentiation. We differentiate learning based on assessment
information. We know the concrete definition of differentiated
instruction and include appropriate opportunities for differentiation
throughout a unit of study.

Priority areas:
Reading Across Content Areas No
Some
-what
Yes
15. Complex Text/Complexity Level. We know how to select
appropriately challenging complex text.
16. Informational Text. We can describe and list the kinds of text that
are classified as informational.
17. Complex Text Teaching Sequence. We follow a lesson sequence that
includes components for helping students successfully grasp the
essence of complex text.
18. Text-Dependent Questions. We find or develop questions that
require students to use evidence fromthe text to respond to deepen
their understanding of complex text.
19. Vocabulary. We are aware of the three tiers of vocabulary, carefully
select vocabulary from a complex text, and know a variety of
instructional experiences to teach particular words.
20. Lesson Design for Reading. We regularly incorporate a variety of
reading activities and formative assessments to guide and gauge
students’ progress.
Priority areas:
Writing Across Content Areas No
Some
-what
Yes
21. Writing Types. We know the structure and characteristics specific to
each writing type and genres so we can plan instruction accordingly.
22. Writing Tasks. We craft effective writing prompts so students can
demonstrate understanding of unit content and goals.
23. Writing Rubrics. Our writing rubrics align directly to the culminating
task and are useful tools for assessing student work.
24. Writing Checklists. We design and tailor a writing checklist specific

to a genre that students use to guide their writing. We use the
checklist as an effective tool within the instructional program.
25. Lesson Design for Writing. Our instruction includes myriad
instructional strategies and assessments (pre-, formative, self,
summative) in a robust unit of study aligned to writing standards.
26. Writing Samples. We have or know where to get resources for
collecting writing samples of student work. We know how to
incorporate different student writing samples into a lesson to target
various skills for instructional purposes.
27. Grammar/Conventions. We design and teach engaging grammar and
conventions lessons in an authentic and engaging way and tie them
to existing curriculum rather than teaching these lessons in
isolation.
28. Scoring Sessions. We conduct scoring sessions with colleagues to
calibrate scores, discuss data results, and plan next steps in
instruction to address areas needing attention.
Priority areas:
Speaking and Listening Across Content Areas No
Some
-what
Yes
29. Audience Accountability. When students listen to classmates’
presentations, we provide ways for them to actively participate to
keep them engaged and included.
30. Instructional Experiences. We devise opportunities for students to
engage in meaningful and respectful discussion and collaboration
(e.g., 21st Century skills, Socratic discussions, questioning
strategies, etc.).
Priority areas:
* Teacher/teacher leaders

Part 2: Professional Learning Topics
Kathy Glass
UNIT DESIGN: Unit Mapping
The following professional learning topics are included in a unit map that guide curriculum
design and are incorporated in a backward planning process. Based on participants’ needs,
topics can be addressed separatelyor in combination.
□ Backward Planning/Unit Mapping.
 Define and explain the backward planning process and the rationale.
 List, articulate, and apply the components included in a backward planning approach;
complete a unit map template with these components to guide unit and lesson design:
□ Standards. Peruse and group pertinent content area standards for a unit focus.
□ Knowledge. Define what knowledge means; identify and list knowledge items for
a targeted unit of study.
□ Essential (or Enduring) Understandings (EUs):
 Articulate the value of EUs as a key component in unit design.
 Find and list concepts embedded in standards for a targeted unit.
 Create EUs for a unit using examples and templates as a guide.
 Investigate using EUs for a grade cluster.
□ Skills. Define skills, their purpose, and how they relate to unit design; determine
skills for a unit.
□ Guiding Questions (GQs):
 Articulate the benefits of using GQs to frame units of study.
 Explain the rationale and difference between unit and lesson guiding
questions.
 Identify ways to embed guiding questions into instruction to set the purpose
for learning.
 Write unit and lesson guiding questions associated with EUs for a unit.
□ Culminating Assessments/Rubrics:
 Define summative and performance assessments.

 Peruse and critique various culminating assessments aligned to standards.
 Create or revise culminating assessments for students to demonstrate understanding of
learning outcomes.
 Define the role of checklists and rubrics; critique examples.
 Create or revise checklists and rubrics for culminating assessments.
Books
One of these publications by Kathy Glass can further the work of professional learning
sessions:
 Mapping Comprehensive Unitsto the ELA Common Core Standards, K-5 (©2012) *
 Mapping Comprehensive Unitsto the ELA Common Core Standards, 6-12 (©2013) *
 Curriculum Mapping: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Curriculum Year Overviews
(@2007)
* Applicable resource for developing a unit aligned to any content area standards
Targeted Participants
Language arts, science, social studies, or other content area educators invested in
designing or revising existing units of study aligned to the ELA CCSS or other state,
province, or district content-area standards.
Recommendations
 Teams of subject- and grade-alike educators attend sessions together.
 Narrow the audience to provide more customization (e.g., K-2, 3-5, 4-8, 9-12).
 Participants target a comprehensive unit that they want to design or revise as the
basis for this hands-on professional learning. The unit can be subject-specific or
interdisciplinary.
 Vertical and horizontal articulation of these targeted units is encouraged.
LESSON DESIGN: Instruction and Assessment
These offerings represent topics essential for effective and meaningful learning experiences.
They can be addressed following the creation of a unit map, which serves as a guide for lesson
design. Choose individual or a combination of topics based on participants’ needs.
General Lesson Planning
□ Lesson Models
 Identify the components of a quality lesson.
 Read, participate, and critique various lessons.

 Apply a lesson plan model to design standards-based comprehensive instructional
experiences to teach a new skill, strategy, or procedure.
□ Preassessments
 Examine examples of preassessments; learn about available resources to use for
preassessments around reading and writing.
 Develop preassessments.
 Plan ways to use diagnostic information to design instructional experiences.
□ Self-Assessments
 Create self-assessments that empower students to be aware of and advocate for
moving their learning forward.
□ Formative Assessments/Data
 Peruse and critique various differentiated formative assessments.
 Determine ways to use data from assessments to measure learning and make
instructional decisions.
□ Instructional Strategies
 Participate in a variety of instructional strategies that engage learners.
 Draft differentiated lessons that employ engaging instructional strategies to target
skills and meet learners’ needs.
□ Differentiation
 Define and identify types of differentiation.
 Share various differentiated assessments (pre-, self-, formative, summative).
 Recognize qualities of effective examples of differentiated instruction and
assessment.
 Learn about quality-driven differentiated tools, strategies, and assessments to
embed within lessons.
Reading Across Content Areas
□ Complex Text/Complexity Level. Select appropriate complex text to use within curriculum;
ascertain complexity levels.
□ Informational Text. Define and provide examples of informational text; distinguish types of
fiction from nonfiction text; identifyways to use informational text within an instructional
program.
□ Complex Text Teaching Sequence.
 Explain lesson sequence options and necessary components for reading complex
text closely.

 Explain the role of pre-reading and prior knowledge around a complex text.
 Design lessons aligned to a complex text using the sequence model.
□ Text-Dependent Questions
 Define text-dependent questions; determine the difference between text-dependent
questions and those that are not dependent on the text.
 Craft or redesign text-dependent questions associated with reading material.
 Learn about available resources for finding text-dependent questions.
 Learn about ways students can generate their own questions.
□ Vocabulary
 Discern between tiers 1, 2, and 3 levels of vocabulary.
 Participate in engaging activities to teach vocabulary.
 Examine vocabulary assessments.
 Draft vocabulary lessons tied to a complex at the center of instruction.
Writing and Speaking & Listening Across Content Areas
□ Writing Types, Prompts (Tasks), and Scoring Guides
 Define the structure and characteristics of various writing types (e.g., opinion,
argumentation, narrative, informational, explanatory, etc.).
 Distinguish argumentation from persuasive writing.
 Devise writing prompts (tasks) for students to demonstrate understanding of the
characteristics and structure of a particular writing type and subject matter content.
 Create or revise writing rubrics, student writing checklists, and student revision
tools.
 Learn about available resources to use for assessments around reading and writing.
□ Writing Lessons
 Participate in interactive differentiated lessons around characteristics of a text type
(e.g., build a thesis statement, craft a well-constructed body paragraph, write an
introduction that provides a context for writing, begin sentences in different ways,
identify and writing using figurative language, etc.).
 Draft writing lessons using myriad instructional strategies and assessments.
□ Writing Samples
 Access resources to find a range of student writing samples.
 Learn ways to incorporate samples into a lesson to target specific skills.
 Identify appropriate strong and weak writing samples to use during instruction to
teach target skills.

□ Grammar/Conventions
 Study, adapt, and implement a grammar and conventions curriculum map to use for
articulation purposes across a school or district.
 Participate in interactive differentiated grammar and conventions lessons (e.g.,
sentence combining, complex sentences, parallel structure, parts of speech, etc.)
tied to curriculum-aligned complex text.
 Draft authentic grammar and conventions lessons that students apply in their own
writing.
□ Scoring Student Work
 Facilitate scoring sessions around student writing.
 Participate in calibration to examine, discuss, and arrive at a consensus about
students’ writing performance levels using a rubric.
 Identify anchor papers (i.e., examples of student work that exemplify different levels
of performance for criteria against a rubric).
 Use data from students’ writing to inform instruction, design lessons, and
differentiate.
□ Speaking and Listening
 Utilize an audience accountability measure when listening to peer presentations.
 Develop strategies for students to participate in productive discourse that fosters
acknowledgment and extension of peers’ input.
 Participate and apply instructional strategies and teaching methods for 21st Century
skills: critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.
Books
One of these publications by Kathy Glass can further the work of professional learning
sessions:
 Complex Text Decoded: How to Design Lessons and Use StrategiesThat Target
Authentic Texts (@2015 ASCD)
 Mapping Comprehensive Unitsto the ELA Common Core Standards, K-5 (©2012) *
 Mapping Comprehensive Unitsto the ELA Common Core Standards, 6-12 (©2013) *
 Lesson Design for Differentiated Instruction (©2009)
 Current project: book series for Solution Tree on developing or redesigning writing
curriculum:
 The Fundamentals of (Re)designing Writing Units
 (Re)designing Argumentation Writing Units for Grades5-12
 (Re)designing Narrative Writing Units for Grades 5-12

 (Re)designing Informational Writing Units for Grades5-12
 (Re)designing Poetry Writing Units for Grades5-12
* Applicable resource for developing a unit aligned to any content area standards
Targeted Participants
Language arts, science, social studies, or other content area educators invested in
designing or revising existing standards-based lessons.
Recommendations
 Teams of subject- and grade-alike educators attend sessions together.
 Narrow the audience to provide more customization (e.g., K-2, 3-5, 4-8, 9-12).
 Participants target skills as the basis for developing lessons.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TOPICS
Focus on any of these topics or combine them with others to meet curriculum and instructional
needs.
□ Curriculum Alignment. Critique and revise existing or published curriculum to insure
alignment with targeted content area standards.
□ Existing Resources And Textbooks. Show how to use existing resources and textbooks as
tools to create an effective and standards-aligned instructional program.
□ Standards Implementation. Develop strategic plan for implementation of ELA Common Core
and other content area standards.
□ ELA Common Core Standards. Provide the rationale and research behind the emphasis on
argumentation and informational text and the focus on reading complex text; define and
provide examples of informational text; develop writing prompts related to the writing
types; define characteristics related to argumentation versus persuasion; identify vocabulary
tiers (i.e., 1, 2, 3); learn instructional suggestions to teach vocabulary; (re)design standards-
based curriculum.
□ Collegiality. Determine how to best utilize PLCs or teams to implement content area
standards.
□ Six Traits. Develop Six Traits lessons to align to content area standards and curriculum.
□ Curriculum Mapping. Develop curriculum maps across grades, schools, and districts to
reflect year long topics and unit goals.

P a r t 3 : P r o f e s s i o n a l L e a r n i n g
D e l i v e r y M e t h o d s a n d S e r v i c e s
A combination of the following services can equip educators with a robust professional
learning experience. Review them through the lens of what can impact student achievement
based on your identified topics. Content is initially delivered onsite in a workshop setting. To
help insure that what is presented has sustainability and translates to classroom practice,
workshops can be augmented by virtual or face-to-face customized experiences.
Onsite Professional Learning
Kathy’s workshops rely on a combination of interactive lecture combined with work time for
participants to apply what they learn. She employs myriad instructional strategies to engage
participants and conducts modeling of lessons, when appropriate. Additionally, she can
facilitate groups to critically assess student work and use data to revise or create next steps in
instruction to address weaknesses.
Face-to-face Coaching and Collaboration
A dedicated or roving substitute enables teachers to have release time to work with Kathy who
is stationed at a school site in a conference room or at the district office. A schedule is devised
for individuals or small groups to meet with Kathy throughout the day, or a whole or half day is
dedicated to a particular group. Options for coaching or collaboration include:
 Conduct observations (For this option, Kathy visits a teacher’s classroom.)
 Collaborate on lesson or unit design or revision.
 Brainstorm ideas and offer suggestions. (Kathy serves as a thought partner.)
 Validate, provide feedback, or answer questions.
 Work on a particular project.
Customized Virtual Exchanges
Through email, conference call, or online through Skype or another platform, Kathy works with
individuals or small groups to meet any needs. Options can, but are not limited to, items on
the list above for “Face-to-Face Coaching and Collaboration” with the exception of conducting
observations. This is also a popular item for educators who want to send Kathy drafts of their
lessons or unit maps for review, critique, and input.
Webinars

Kathy can conduct interactive webinars based on Professional Learning topic that educators
request. Like other offerings, the webinar is customized to meet the needs of the particular
client group. Be aware that these are not passive webinars; Kathy encourages engagement and
participation.
Lesson Demonstrations
This is for a classroom teacher and up to four other educators who all observe Kathy teaching a
lesson tied to grade-level standards and curriculum. Here is an example of a possible format
and schedule:
 Prep Work - (a) The team and Kathy agree on targeted skills for a lesson; (b) I email
teachers in advance to request student grouping configuration and seating charts; (c) I
can target a complex text that teachers are using in the classroom to embed in the
lesson; (d) I might ask the teacher to read the text to students in advance of the lesson
demo.
 Preview - (20 minutes) Kathy meets with the group of teachers to explain the lesson
content and targeted skills.
 Lesson Demo - (45 minutes to an hour) Teachers observe lesson and take notes, as
needed.
 Debrief Lesson – After the lesson demonstration, Kathy debriefs with teachers and share
additional instructional strategies that can be used to teach literacy and other skills.

+ PL Needs Assmt and Prof Learning Topics KATHY GLASS

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