May+20+2015

= English Language Arts Curriculum Revision =
 * 1 - Unpacking the 2014 ELA Standards **
 * Meet in grade level groups to analyze the 2014 Nebraska ELA Standards
 * Use this ►**Google Sheet** to document your work
 * 1) Select the grade level tab for the standards you will review.
 * 2) Compare the 2009 ELA standards and indicators (Column A) with the 2014 version (Column B).
 * 3) In Column C indicate whether the standard/indicator for the current version (2014) year is the SAME, SIMILAR, or NEW compared to the 2009 standard/indicator. Note that the language may not be parallel across each row; it is important to view all of the indicators within each standard/strand to make this comparison.
 * 4) Review those standards/indicators that have been designated as NEW. How will your ELA Curriculum be modified to incorporate these concepts?


 * 2 - Identifying Priority and Supporting ELA Standards **
 * Read **this item** by Larry Ainsworth that addresses the concept of Priority and Supporting Standards.
 * In your grade level group discuss the question //Why is it important to have Priority and Supporting standards as the basis for curriculum?//
 * Return to ►**Google Sheet** and in Column D (below each cell marked▼▼) designate **no more** than 3 PRIORITY standards and 3 SUPPORTING standards. PRIORITY standards are those in which your are designating those competencies that **"each teacher needs to help every student learn, and demonstrate proficiency in, by the end of the current grade or course"** . When doing s o, consider
 * the criteria indicated by Larry Ainsworth regarding " knowledge and skills that will **endure throughout life, be valuable in multiple disciplines, and provide success in the next level of instruction**."
 * the **Table of Specifications** for those Standards and Indicators that are addressed in the NeSA-R assessment
 * student performance trends on NeSA-R and NeSA-W
 * those standards/indicators that you have designated as NEW
 * When completed, select the SUMMARY tab and have a building-wide discussion regarding your selections.

Once Priority and Supporting ELA Standards have been identified, the "unwrapping" process reveals the knowledge and skills that will be required of students, and of teachers, to effectively learn and teach a particular skill. The process makes the learning objectives manageable for teachers and the learning goals clear for students. Here's the most important point: Once a standard is unwrapped, most of the lesson-planning work is done!
 * 3 - Unwrapping the Priority Standards **
 * Unwrap each unit's Priority Standards:
 * First, identify **nouns** or **noun phrases** to determine what content students need to know.
 * Next, identify **verbs** to see the skills and applications they'll be required to perform.
 * Finally, analyze the **level(s) of rigor** based on the specific skills (verbs) that are required using **Bloom's Taxonomy**.
 * Example: **LA 5.1.5 Vocabulary: Students will build and use conversational, academic, and content-specific grade-level vocabulary. **
 * Nouns/content: grade-level vocabulary
 * Verbs/skills: BUILD, USE
 * Blooms: 3
 * Rewrite: Students will BUILD and USE __conversational, academic, and content-specific grade-level vocabulary__.
 * Concepts:
 * Students will BUILD __conversational grade-level vocabulary__.
 * Students will BUILD __academic grade-level vocabulary__.
 * Students will BUILD __content-specific grade-level vocabulary__.
 * Students will <span style="font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif;">USE __conversational grade-level vocabulary__.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif;">Students will <span style="font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif;">USE __academic grade-level vocabulary__.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif;">Students will USE __content-specific grade-level vocabulary__.


 * 4 - Planning an ELA Unit of Study **
 * Access your grade level Unit Planning Organizer from **this folder** to articulate the components of an instructional unit. Add the following information to your Organizer for
 * SUBJECT: **English Language Arts**
 * GRADE/COURSE: **(e.g., Grade 3, American Literature)**
 * UNIT TITLE: **(use either the topic listed in Column B or some other appropriate name)**
 * UNIT TYPE:
 * **TOPICAL:** a specific portion of a larger subject or discipline (e.g., literary devices, character traits, narrative writing, etc.)
 * **SKILLS-BASED:** emphasis on application (e.g., developing an interpretation, applying before-during-after reading strategies, capitalizing and punctuating a piece of writing, interpreting author's intent), etc.)
 * **THEMATIC:** broad topics that connect to other topics within the same discipline or to completely different disciplines (e.g., )
 * PACING: **(indicate number of weeks required for this unit, typically 2-6)**
 * ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS and BIG IDEAS:
 * Essential Questions are "engaging, open-ended questions that educators use to spark student interest in learning the content of the unit". Ty
 * Big Ideas "represent what educators want students to remember long after the instruction ends", typically written in student-friendly language.
 * Big Ideas are the students' responses to the teacher's Essential Questions. Note that there is typically no one correct 'answer' to an Essential Question. The Essential Question
 * Consider this example list of Big Ideas (Enduring Understandings) and Essential Questions sample **Essential Questions** that are correlated to specific Enduring Understandings (Big Ideas)
 * PRIORITY STANDARDS: //Identified in Step 2 above//
 * SUPPORTING STANDARDS: //Indicate what other standards/indicators will be the focus of this Unit of Study//
 * CONCEPTS: //Identified in Step 3 above//
 * SKILLS: //Identified in Step 3 above//
 * BLOOMS TAXONOMY: //Identified in Step 2 above;//