Topic: Reading Standards: Foundational Skills, K-3.

10-second review: Basic features of print. Phonological awareness. Understanding spoken words, syllables and phonemes. Phonics and word recognition. Know and apply grade-level phonics.  Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 12, 13. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Basic features of print. Recognize and name all upper-and lower-case letters of the alphabet. Rhyming words. Blend and segment consonants and syllables. Phonemic awareness. High-frequency words. Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 1: Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables and phonemes. Spelling-sound correspondence. One-syllable words. Final –e. Syllables and vowels. Two-syllable words. Inflectional endings. Irregularly spelled words. Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 2: Long and short vowels. Spelling-sound correspondence. Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words. Common prefixes and suffixes. Inconsistent but common spelling sound (heat, head). Irregularly spelled words (through). Accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

Grade 3: Common prefixes and suffixes. Common Latin suffixes. Multi-syllable words. Irregularly spelled words (stomach). Accuracy, fluency ad comprehension.

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Reading Standards for Informational Text, K-5 (2).

10-second review: Selected highlight standards for information reading in grades 3, 4, 5. Main idea and supporting details. Use bold print, etc., to locate information. Prior knowledge. Compare and contrast. Summarize. Sequence of events. Eyewitness vs. second-hand accounts. Charts, diagrams, etc. Evidence to support claims. Two or more texts on same subject. Quote. Organization of information. Similarities and differences. Integrate information from several texts.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 11. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Grade 3: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by the key details. Determine the relationship between historical or scientific events or ideas in a text. Use bold print, key words, topic sentences, hyperlinks to locate information. Compare what is presented in a text with relevant prior knowledge. Compare and contrast information from two texts on the same subject.

Grade 4: Use details and examples from a text to support statements about the text. Summarize the text. Describe sequence of events. Compare eyewitness and second-hand accounts of the same event. Interpret information in charts, diagrams, etc. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Describe how two or more texts on the same subject build on one another.

Grade 5: Quote from a text to support statements about the text. Explain the relationships between two or more historical events or scientific concepts using one or more texts. Describe how events, ideas are organized (chronology, comparison, cause and effect). Analyze two accounts of the same event, showing similarities and differences. Use information from multiple print or digital sources to answer a question quickly. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Integrate information from several texts on the same subject.

Comment: Teachers will first need to interpret each standard. What does it actually mean in detail? What does it imply? Second, teachers will need to define how to use the standards in their classrooms. What materials will be needed? Third, they will need to determine how to apply the standards consistently throughout the year. One and done won’t do it.  RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Informational Texts, K-5 (1)

10-second review: Selected highlight standards for informational reading, grades, K, 1, 2. Main topic and main idea. Connection between two events or ideas. Ask about unknown words. Relate pictures to text. Similarities and differences between two texts. How texts group information into separate categories. Information in pictures and information in text. Cause and effect. Who, what, where, when, why and how. Focus of multi-paragraph text. Captions, headings, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes. Purpose of text. Questions the author answers. Images and text. Two texts on same topic.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 10. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Ask and answer questions about information in the text. Main topic and main idea of a text. Describe connection between two events or ideas in a text. Ask questions about unknown words in the text. Locate basic information in a text. Relate pictures to the text. Recognize basic similarities and differences between two texts.

Grade 1: Identify main topic, main ideas and key details of a text. Describe connection between two key events or ideas in a text. Describe how a text groups information into general categories. Distinguish between information in pictures and words in a text. Identify cause and effect in a text. Identify similarities and differences between two texts.

Grade 3: Answer questions like who, what, where, when, why and how. Identify the main focus of a mult-paragraph text. Describe the connection between two or more historical events or scientific concepts in a text. Know and use captions, headings, tables of contents, glossaries, indexes to locate key facts. Identify the main purpose of a text. What questions does the author aim to answer. Explain how images contribute to and clarify a text. Describe how specific causes link key events or ideas. Describe similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic.

Comment: Finding the materials in multiple copies will be difficult. Easiest solution will be a basal. RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Literature, K-5 (2)

10-second review: Selected highlights of literature standards for grades 3, 4 and 5. Lessons or morals for stories, etc. Main characters. Literal and figurative language. Common features of legends, etc. Compare and contrast. Summarize. Theme. Allusions. Poetry and prose. Structure of poems. Point of view. Quotes. Metaphor’s meaning. Drama and prose. Narrator’s point of view. Images and imagination.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 9. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Grade 3: Ask and answer questions using the text as the basis for the answers. Determine the lessons or morals for stories, fables, folk tales or myths. Describe the main characters in a story (traits, motivations, feelings). Distinguish literal and figurative language. Demonstrate common features of legends, myths, folk tales and fairy tales. Compare and contrast the plots, settings and themes of stories by the same authors.

Grade 4: Use details and examples to support statements about the text. Summarize a text.. Derive a theme of a story, drama or poem. Describe in detail a character, event or setting. Identify allusions to characters in mythology. Explain differences between poetry and prose. Explain structural elements of poems (stanza, rhythm, meter). Identify point of view in stories, first and third person. Compare and contrast thematically similar tales, myths and accounts of events from various cultures.

Grade 5: Quote from a text to support statements. Determine the theme of a text. Compare and contrast two or more characters, events or settings. Identify how metaphor, similes, rhymes and repetitions of sounds (alliteration) supply meaning. Explain differences between drama and prose. Identify how a narrators’ perspective or point of view influences how events are described. Compare treatments of similar ideas and themes. Explain how images, sounds and movements differ from the reader’s imagination when reading.

Comment: Heavy on the use of legends, myths, folk tales and fairy tales. Does not mention the hundreds of fine children’s books available. To be fair to the writers of these standards, they did say that the standards do not cover all that can and should be taught. Still, ignoring children’s literature is a significant omission. RayS.

Topic: Reading Standards for Literature, K-5 (1)

10-second review; Selected highlights of literature standards for grades K, 1, 2. Retell stories. Identify characters, etc. Types of text. Recognize unknown words. Author, illustrator. Pictures and story. Compare and contrast. Words for feelings and appeal to the senses. Who speaks? Who, what, where, when, why and how? Paraphrase. Core elements of stories. Change voice for characters.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 8. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Kindergarten: Retell familiar stories. Identify characters, settings and key events in a story. Ask questions about unknown words in a text. Recognize common types of texts, e.g., storybooks, poems. Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each. Relate pictures to the overall story. Compare and contrast adventures of characters in familiar stories.

Grade 1: Retell stories with emphasis on the central message. Describe characters, settings, and key events in a story. Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. Identify who is speaking. Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story.

Grade 2: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why and how for details. Paraphrase stories, fables, folk tales or myths. Refer to core elements of stories, including characters, settings and plots. Distinguish between characters by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading aloud. Explain how pictures contribute to a story. Compare and contrast characters or events from different stories with similar themes.

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Reading Standards, K-5.

10-second review: Explicit meaning. Inferences. Textual evidence. Main ideas or themes. Supporting details. Interpret  words and phrases. Technical, connotative and figurative meanings. Structure of texts. Point of view. Purpose. Information in diverse ways. Compare modes. Reasoning, rhetoric. Two or texts on same topic. Authors’ different approaches. Fluency. Concentration. Monitor comprehension. Reread.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 7. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

. Determine what the text says explicitly

. Make logical inferences

. Cite specific textural evidence to support conclusions

.Determine central ideas or themes

. Summarize key supporting details and ideas

. Interpret words and phrases

. Determine technical, connotative and figurative meanings

. Determine how specific word choices shape meaning or tone

. Analyze structure of texts

. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of the text

. Present information in diverse ways, e.g., through words, images, graphs and videos

. Compare modes of presentation

. Evaluate the reasoning and rhetoric within the text

. Assess whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the text’s claims

. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics

. Compare the approaches two different authors take

. Read complex texts independently and fluently

. Sustain concentration

. Monitor comprehension

. Determine when it is useful to reread

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

Topic: Standards Defined

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

10-second review: “The standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do but not how teachers should teach. The standards do not describe all that can or should be taught.”

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p.

Comment: The real problem will be how to measure the achievement of the standards. RayS. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.

Topic: Standards for Writing

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

10-second review: Throughout the grades students should write to persuade, to explain (exposition) and to convey real or imagined experience (narrative). By grades 9 – 12, student writing should focus on writing to argue and inform or explain.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 3.

Comment: Of course, in creative writing courses, students would continue to pursue narrative writing. And narrative writing plays an important part in expository writing as well. RayS. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.

Topic: Informational Reading

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/.

10-second review: Special emphasis on informational reading through the grades.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 1.

Summary/Quote: “…the need for college and career-ready students to be proficient in reading complex informational ext independently in a variety of content areas. Most of the required reading in college and workforce training programs is informational in structure and challenging in content; postsecondary education programs typically provide students with both a higher volume of such reading than is generally required in K-12 schools and comparatively little scaffolding.”

Comment: “Scaffolding” is an eduspeak buzz word that means helping students to learn. “Scaffolding” information books means teachers’ using the directed reading assignment for the purpose of training the students to use the same techniques themselves. The directed reading assignment involves the following steps:

. Building background information on the topic to be read.

. Pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary.

. Surveying the chapter: students read the first and last paragraph and the first sentence of intermediate paragraphs.

. Setting the purpose, first by the teacher in lower grades, then, in higher grades, students raising questions to be answered from reading the text.

. After reading, discussion of the questions that were answered and application of the information in some way.

By the beginning of high school, students should be able to use the same process them selves.

The implication behind increasing the amount of informational reading through the grades is less emphasis on literature, fiction and novels, that is, narrative material.

My experience has been that content teachers reject helping students learn to use the directed reading assignment because they feel that they are doing the work for the students, when, in fact, it is designed to help students learn to read efficiently themselves. RayS. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.

Topic: Federal Standards for English, K-12.

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

10-second review: An introduction to the standards that is riddled with grammatical mistakes.

Review: Ready for another abbreviation? How about CCSSI? And does CCSSI have anything to do with NCLB (No Child Left Behind)? First, CCSSI stands for Common Core State Standards Initiative. It has produced “draft standards developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, experts…to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.”

Are you ready for this? The standards are open for public review until April 2, 2010. They were released today, March 10, 2010 and will be finalized in May. Sounds like ramming the standards down everyone’s throat.

Quote: “These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school (sic.) able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and work force (sic.) training programs. The standards are: (sic.)

Aligned with college and work expectations;

Clear, understandable and consistent;

Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;

Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;

Informed by other top performing (sic.) countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy;

Evidence-based. (sic.).”

Comment: The outline above is not parallel. Are the people who wrote that outline the same people who have written the standards? If this is an example of the clear and correct English I can expect in the standards, I’m having feelings of concern already. What are “high-order skills”? Who are the other top performing countries and how are they doing the “informing”? What is the evidence on which the standards are based and how good is that evidence? RayS. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.

Topic: New National English Standards

NOTE: In my blog, English Updates, I will be completing an in-depth study of the new federal guidelines for English language arts. For other up-to-date reviews of professional articles in English education journals, please see my blog, English Education Archives at http://engedarc-rays.blogspot.com/

10-second review: National standards supported by 48 states, not including Texas and Alaska. Not built on consensus, as were state standards, which failed because people would not make difficult decisions. These national goals are stated, but it will be up to the individual states and school districts to decide how to teach to achieve those goals.

Title: “New National Math, English Standards Drafted.” Associated Press. Wall street Journal (March 10, 2010). Internet.

Comment: Over the next number of blogs, I will review the suggested national standards in English. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/. RayS.

Topic: Educational Reform

10-second review: Diane Ravitch says that she has changed her mind about school reform, especially school choice, charter schools and state standards or goals in reading and mathematics.

Title: “Why I Changed My Mind about School Reform.” Diane Ravitch. Wall Street Journal (March 9, 2010). Internet.

Summary: The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Law mandated that 100% of students would reach proficiency in reading and math by 2014, measured by tests given in each state.

Each state defined proficiency in its own way but NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) has revealed gloomy results in comparison to glowing reports of progress in state results. In addition, states drilled on the basic skills of math and reading and ignored everything else in the curriculum, including the arts, science, history, literature, geography, civics, foreign languages and physical education. And colleges still complain about the need for remedial skills.

17% of charter schools had higher test scores than public schools, 46% achieved the same as public schools [in spite of charter schools’ more selective school population] and 37% were significantly worse.

The idea of labeling schools as failing and firing all the teachers ignores the fact that “the best predictor of low academic performance is poverty—not bad teachers.” And in the mean time, the loss of failing schools in the neighborhood disrupts the community.

Comment: I think some good has come from No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The goal was clear. The problems in achieving it were made clearer—and the idea of states making up their own proficiency guidelines has proved to be fallible.

I think the people who originated NCLB failed to realize that the real problems in education are urban schools and to solve those problems is going to involve a great deal of social change.

I also think that since Kennedy set the goal of landing on the moon and scientists pulled together and achieved it, the assumption was made that setting any goal high would cause people to work together to achieve the goal. But the problems in science and technology that produced the moon landing are significantly different from the problems in society that so far have made NCLB very difficult. Urban problems that affect the schools are incredibly complex and difficult and so is education for children of immigrants whose native language is not English.

I think we need a different approach to problems in education. The problems need to be clearly defined, as complex as they are, and we might need to realize, as Kennedy eventually did, that reason will not solve all problems. RayS.

Topic: Neologisms

10-second review: Two websites that collect new words. Some examples: stu-com, gurgitator, mamarazzi, trout-pout, salvage, fangasm, climate porn, bozo explosion, poo X (poo cross), man cave, dog-collar worker, retrosexual.

Title: “New-Word Websites – Story Ideas.” M Peters. The Writer (December 2009), 26-27.

Summary: www.wordspy.com and www.doubletongue.org.

Answers: stupid comedy; competitive eater; moms taking too many photos of their kids; lips too pumped up by collagen injections; euphemism for assassination; trekkie-like joy; apocalyptic as in An Inconvenient Truth, useless employees trickling down from incompetent executive; mixed-poodle names like “Labradoodle”; area of house for men only; clergy person; little attention to grooming.

Topic: Habits of a Successful Writer.

10-second review: The author begins by saying that people around him are more knowledgeable, have more to say, have more talent, but they don’t publish and  he does. What are his habits for successful writing/publishing?

Title: “10 Habits of a Successful Writer.” DM Murray. The Writer (December 2009), 24-25. First published in 1992.

Summary: Awareness of the world around you. Reacting to the world around you. Connecting apparently disparate things. Writing in your head when not writing. Drafting: “Those who do NOT write wait until what they want to say is clear in their minds, and when they see it perfectly  they write it down.” That is what people do who do NOT publish.

Comment: Common sense about habits that encourage writing and publishing. RayS.

Topic: Advice from a Writer.

10-second review: Figure out how to make writing a permanent part of your life. Don’t worry about publishing. Just worry about how to keep writing. Janet Burroway.

Title: “Building from Ideas, Details and Honesty.” Alfrieda Abbe. Interview with Janet Burroway. The Writer (December 2009), 20-23; 55.

Quote: “Figure out how you are going to make writing a permanent part of you life. This is more important than getting published. Getting published  matters because it gives you the courage to go on…. All you can do is figure out how you’ll keep at it.” Janet Burroway.

Comment: I think that some pretty good advice. You learn to write by writing. Try different genres. But write every day. RayS.

Topic: Journals

10-second review: Suggests six different types of journals which offer the opportunity for “a first-rate writing exercise.”

Title: “Stay on Track with 6Types of Journals.” A E Cannon. The Writer (December 2009), 13.

Summary: Free-write Journal: pick a topic and write. Don’t correct. Idea Journal: put the idea down on paper before it “flits” away. Dream Journal. Record you dreams. “…writers who pay attention to their dreams have an easier time accessing the intuitive creative parts of themselves, and that, my friends, is a good thing.” Quotation Journal. Submissions Journal: keep track of submissions and their details—to whom and what you included. What-I-Wrote-and-How-I-Felt-About-It-Today Journal: Reflect on what you accomplished today and how you felt about it.

Comment: In teaching, I’ve always tried to stay away from personal journals. I’m no psychologist and I don’t want to spy on students’ personal affairs. It’s also the reason why I stay away from narrative writing, preferring expository writing. However, having students write about what they are learning—or not learning—in my class is, I think  a good idea. So is having students keep a journal about how they wrote their compositions and what they learned from the activity. RayS.

Topic: Book Orientation

10-second review: Helping students prepare to read a book. Sounds very much like the directed reading assignment.

Title: “Orientation to a New Book: More Than a Picture walk.” C Briggs and SO Forbes. Reading Teacher (May 2009), 706-709.

Summary: Go over the pictures and help students guess the story or plot line. Pre-teach unusual or difficult words. Set a purpose for reading.

Quote: Holdaway (1979): “It is always a good idea to leave children with one or two clear questions which will drive them into the text and serve as a continuing impulse to seek meaning as they read.”

Comment: Sounds very much like the directed reading assignment. This basic book preview in picture books for young readers can be expanded in later grades to books without pictures. If the book is fiction, students read for ten minutes near the beginning, half through the book, three-fourths through and near the end. After each sampling, ask students what they have learned and what questions they have. Consolidate the questions into two or three essential questions. Students then read to answer the questions.

Call it a book orientation or whatever you want. It’s a good way to motivate students to read a book. There’s very little new under the sun. RayS.

Topic: Literacy Instruction for ELLs

10-second review: Good literacy instruction for ELLs [English Language Learners, i.e., students learning English as a Second Language] looks very much like good literacy instruction for students in general.

Title: “Students Learning English and Their Literacy Instruction in Urban Schools.” WH Teale. Reading Teacher (May 2009), 699-703.

Summary: Good literacy instruction: clear learning objectives. Authentic practices in reading and writing Active student engagement. Extended explanations. Identifying and clarifying difficult vocabulary. Increase background information on content to be read. Have others paraphrase and summarize. Linguistic interactions with peers and teachers.

Comment: Try 10-minute essays. Each night ELL students write for ten minutes in English. The next night, the teacher corrects by changing spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, usage and interpreting idioms, if necessary. Students compare teacher corrections with what they have written, ask questions and then rewrite, inserting teacher corrections. Enables the students to visualize what their writing will look like as correct writing. RayS.

Topic: ELL Population in U.S. Schools

10-second review: “While over 70% of ELLs [English Language Learners, i.e., students whose native language is not English] are located in five states (CA, TX, NY, FL, IL), many states in the southwest and Appalachia (AL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA), the middle of the country (AK, CO, IN, NE [Nebraska]), and New England (NH) have experienced growth rates of over 200% between 1995 and 2005.” p. 696.

Title: “Ensuring Accommodations Used in Content Assessment Are Responsive to English Language Learners.” LS Willner, C Rivera, BD Acosta. Reading Teacher (May 2009), 696-698.

Comment: Statistics worth noting. RayS.

Topic: Fluency

10-second review: The importance of fluency in reading.

Title: “Laughing Through Re-reading: Using Joke Books to Build Fluency.” M Ness. Reading Teacher (May 2009), 691-694.

Quote: “Although fluency has been a traditionally overlooked component of reading development…, its inclusion in the Report of the National Reading Panel…has brought it to the forefront of conversations about effective reading instruction. Fluency is often defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression; fluent readers demonstrate accuracy in decoding, automatic word recognition, and prosody including intonation, expression and appropriate phrasing…. The instructional importance of fluency cannot be understated, as fluency is strongly correlated with reading comprehension….”

The author uses jokes in joke books to help students practice fluency. The jokes are short. The expression is vital to listeners understanding them.

Comment: Fluency is important. Re-reading jokes to improve expression sounds like a good idea. And it’s fun. RayS.