Curriculum Work Group Kick OffFRPS June 26, 2014

Agenda1. Setting the context;

2. Identifying the scope of the work

3. Logistics

District MissionAll students in the Fall River Public Schools will graduate

from high school career and college ready with the academic knowledge, motivation, aspiration, and social consciousness necessary for personal and professional

success.

FRPS District Improvement Plan 2010

Our GoalMassachusetts Definition of College and Career Readiness Approved by Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on February 26, 2013; Massachusetts Board of Higher Education on March 12, 2013.

Massachusetts students who are college and career ready will demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities that are necessary to successfully complete entry-level,

credit-bearing college courses, participate in certificate or workplace training programs, and enter economically viable career pathways.

Hope

FRPS Instructional Priorities

Instructional Shifts “101”

Instructional Shifts “201”

Academically Fragile

Build knowledge through content rich non-fiction

Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Posing complex questions of complex text at the story, paragraph, sentence, phrase, and word level

Hold all students accountable for grappling with that complex question (e.g., evidence from the text, academic discourse)

Provide feedback and scaffold student thinking of the response to that complex question.

Retell/WIDA Academic Language Social Emotional Learning Skills RTI (Academic & Non-Academic Needs)

PARCCPARCC is based on the core belief that assessment should work as a tool for enhancing teaching and learning. Because the assessments are aligned with the new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they ensure that every child is on a path to college and career readiness by measuring what students should know at each grade level.

https://www.parcconline.org/

MCAS Multiple Choice

GRADE 5 ELAWhich conclusion about a burned-over forest is supported by information in the section titled “Changes over the Years”?

A. It will eventually recover and grow again.

B. It faces increased risk of a second forest fire.

C. It provides poor living conditions for all wildlife.

D. It becomes an attractive spot for tourists and researchers.

PARCC Multiple ChoicePart A Question: What is the purpose of the braces described in paragraph 6 of the article?

a. They fix broken tree limbs, so a tree house will not fall down.

b. They lock several trees together, so almost any kind of tree can be used.

c. They join two trees into one unit, so a tree house looks secure.

d. They help trees hold up a tree house, so the trees will not break.

Part B Question: Which two details from the article help support the answer to Part A? a. “Designing unique tree houses may sound tough, but Jonathan says it's no sweat.”

b. "’Hardwoods such as oak, maple, or hickory make the best trees for houses—but I did once build a wonderful tree house in a crabapple tree.’”

c. “’My tree house is in two trees—an oak and a fir—and has three posts to support the weight.’”

d. “As a certified arborist, Jonathan tries to never harm the trees.”

e. "The tree's center of gravity is at the top and the ends of its branches, so I build a house down at the center of the tree. . . ”

f. "The tree grows over the artificial limbs, and they become part of the tree, . . .”

MCAS Open Response

PARCC Performance Based Assessment

MCAS Multiple Choice

PARCC Multiple Choice

PARCC vs. MCAS

Should We Administer PARCC SY14-15?

Pro’s1. Schools are “held harmless” for accountability status SY 14-15.2. Students get an additional year of practice taking PARCC prior to SY15-16 which is the anticipated date of using PARCC for accountability.3. Teachers get an additional year to analyze student performance on PARCC prior to SY15-16 which is the anticipated date of using PARCC for accountability.

Con’s1. MCAS is a more consistent measure of progress for schools.2. Students would be taking an assessment they have little familiarity with given that district benchmarks will begin transition to PARCC in SY14-15.3. Teachers will be preparing students to take an assessment they are just beginning to understand and is not fully supported by district benchmark system.

Timeline

Historical PerspectiveRecovery

Plan

• Develop a viable curriculum that is aligned with the MA DESE Curriculum Frameworks to be completed by August 2010.

Accelerated Improvement

Plan (AIP)

• Improve quality and consistency of curriculum through the alignment to 2011 MA Curriculum Frameworks (CCSS) and the establishment of cycle of continuous curriculum review and refinement.

Curriculum Work Groups

• Enhance and Refine the effectiveness of curriculum through teacher feedback to ensure readiness of all students for college and careers as measured by PARCC and other assessments (e.g., DDM’s).

Current Curricula and Instructional Priorities

What makes a curriculum “good”?

??????

Assessment Goals

Teachers

• Clarify outcomes for student learning (Translate Standards into Learning Tasks)

• Identify students who are on track to be successful and those who are struggling

• Identify knowledge and/or skills that students have mastered and those students are still struggling with;

• Diagnose individual student learning deficiencies• Assess progress of students to meeting learning goals

Student• Provide opportunities to apply knowledge• Receive feedback on what knowledge and/or skills they have mastered

and which they haven’t• Provide opportunities to achieve a learning goal

Parents• Inform the parent whether or not his/her child is on track to be college

and career ready• Provide information on what knowledge and/or skills their child has

mastered and which ones they are struggling with• Inform the parent on the progress of their child

Scope and Sequence: Not all Standards are Created Equal

Scope and Sequence Goals

Teacher

• Provide a hypothetical learning trajectory based on research

• Allocate a greater emphasis on high priority Standards• Vertical Coherence across grade levels• Provide some guidance on when to move on

Curriculum Resources Goals

Teacher

• High order thinking• Research on how children

learn• Rigor matches that of

Standards

“The fact that the material you are dealing with has meaning does not guarantee that the meaning will be remembered. If you think about that meaning, the meaning will reside in memory. If you don't, it won't.”

We remember what we think about.

The goal of any lesson plan is to get students to think.

Effective Teaching = Effective Learning

The goal of any lesson plan is to get students to think.

Students are thinking when they grapple with and persevere through complex tasks.

Guidance for Struggling LearnersDo the curriculum maps provide guidance to teachers on how to support the learning of academically fragile and/or diverse learners so that they successfully grapple and persevere through complex tasks?

FRPS Instructional Priorities

Instructional Shifts “101”

Instructional Shifts “201”

Academically Fragile

Build knowledge through content rich non-fiction

Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

Posing complex questions of complex text at the story, paragraph, sentence, phrase, and word level

Hold all students accountable for grappling with that complex question (e.g., evidence from the text, academic discourse)

Provide feedback and scaffold student thinking of the response to that complex question.

Retell/WIDA Academic Language Social Emotional Learning Skills RTI (Academic & Non-Academic Needs)

Choosing the Scope of the Work

What does your group want to tackle?

Assessments• Transition to PARCC• Eliminate, revise, or shorten

existing• Create more formative

Scope and Sequence• Revise Pacing• Add units/lessons to

address any GAPs• Remove units of study

Core Resources• Add or replace existing

lesson resources• Create model units• Include more engaging

resources (e.g., videos, blended learning, etc.)

Support for Academically Fragile•Add targeted resources (e.g., Word Generation to build academic language; Math Centers that target fractions)

•Embed WIDA rubrics into assessments

•Create model lessons/ units of studies for Ells (RETELL) in content areas

•Embed scaffolds for struggling learners that provide improved access to core content (e.g., graphic organizers, tasks that support multiple entry points, etc.

Logistics1. Team Facilitator2. Track Hours on Time Sheet (up to 30 hours per person)3. Final Products due on August 15th

4. Lead Supports