Professional Resources
As professionals, teachers continually grow and learn to enhance not only their own lives but, their precious charges; the students, as well. I believe, in order to provide the best education for our students we must be well-versed and knowledgeable to be strong advocates for every student. By thirsting for knowledge and becoming life-long learners as we expect children to be, we not only enrich our own lives but, are better prepared to open up new worlds and motivate even the most reluctant of students.
The resources I have here are just a small portion of the vast array of websites available.
Feel free to contact me if you have any additional resources you would like to share.
Thank you for being part of an amazing group of human beings.
"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." -Lao Tzu
The resources I have here are just a small portion of the vast array of websites available.
Feel free to contact me if you have any additional resources you would like to share.
Thank you for being part of an amazing group of human beings.
"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." -Lao Tzu
Here is information that I believe is pertinent regarding the changes in the ELA Exam. I read through the Educator Guide for Grade 5 Common Core English Language Arts Test, which can be found at http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade-5-ela-guide.pdf and have summarized the main points of the 13 page document.
The remaining Test Guides can be found at http://www.engageny.org/resource/test-guides-for-english-language-arts-and-mathematics
The better we prepare ourselves; the better we prepare our students for success.
I believe it is important to become familiar with the Common Core Shifts in ELA and Literacy as the Grades 3-8 tests will measure the students’ learning aligned with the instructional shifts. (p. 1)
Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Text
Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts.
Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines
Students build knowledge about the world (domains / content areas) primarily through text rather than through the teacher or other activities.
Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity
Students read the central, grade-appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers are patient, and create more time, space, and support in the curriculum for close reading.
Shift 4: Text-based Answers Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence-based conversations about text.
Shift 5: Writing from Sources Writing emphasizes use of evidence from sources to inform or make an argument.
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Students continuously build the transferable vocabulary they need to access grade-level complex texts. This can be done effectively by spiraling like content in increasingly complex.
· Students need to become familiar with a variety of literary and informational texts:
o Drama
o Poems
o Myths from diverse cultures
o Works from and about various time periods
o History
o Science
o Other disciplines such as art, music, etc.
· Students need to be able to write for various purposes
o Opinion pieces with evidence and support
o Real life experiences
o Narratives
o Fictional or imagined stories
o Demonstrate knowledge about topics they are studying
· Students need to be able to use the English Language Appropriately
o Analyze
o Synthesize
o Use accurate and relevant information
*Important Notes*
ALL Questions will be based on close reading of informational, literary, or paired texts.
Passages will be 700-800 words in length.
Please see the Table in the complete document for the Grade Level Lexile Levels for the passages. (p.6)
The types of materials used may similar to or include Roald Dahl’s, The BFG or Robert Coles’, The Story of Ruby Bridges. It was explained that students need to realize that some author’s write stylistically and at times their writing or characters are portrayed in such a way that there are grammatical and/or spelling errors in the reading materials. (p.7)
Parts of larger more complex works may be used as well. In other words, excerpts of texts for older students may be used as they may be enjoyable or appropriate for younger students.
See page 10 for Important information regarding question format.
Also included is a Grade 4-5 Writing Evaluation Rubric
Please also note that students’ responses that are copied directly from a passage without any student writing will receive a zero (0).
The guide also shows the time limits for each day of testing.
© Copyright 2014
The remaining Test Guides can be found at http://www.engageny.org/resource/test-guides-for-english-language-arts-and-mathematics
The better we prepare ourselves; the better we prepare our students for success.
I believe it is important to become familiar with the Common Core Shifts in ELA and Literacy as the Grades 3-8 tests will measure the students’ learning aligned with the instructional shifts. (p. 1)
Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Text
Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts.
Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines
Students build knowledge about the world (domains / content areas) primarily through text rather than through the teacher or other activities.
Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity
Students read the central, grade-appropriate text around which instruction is centered. Teachers are patient, and create more time, space, and support in the curriculum for close reading.
Shift 4: Text-based Answers Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence-based conversations about text.
Shift 5: Writing from Sources Writing emphasizes use of evidence from sources to inform or make an argument.
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary
Students continuously build the transferable vocabulary they need to access grade-level complex texts. This can be done effectively by spiraling like content in increasingly complex.
· Students need to become familiar with a variety of literary and informational texts:
o Drama
o Poems
o Myths from diverse cultures
o Works from and about various time periods
o History
o Science
o Other disciplines such as art, music, etc.
· Students need to be able to write for various purposes
o Opinion pieces with evidence and support
o Real life experiences
o Narratives
o Fictional or imagined stories
o Demonstrate knowledge about topics they are studying
· Students need to be able to use the English Language Appropriately
- Understand conventions
- Clarify meaning of words (vocabulary development)
- Understand non-literal meaning, shades of meaning
- Relationships to other words
- Expand their vocabulary
- Students need to be able to explain text, ideas, purpose, meaning
o Analyze
o Synthesize
o Use accurate and relevant information
*Important Notes*
ALL Questions will be based on close reading of informational, literary, or paired texts.
Passages will be 700-800 words in length.
Please see the Table in the complete document for the Grade Level Lexile Levels for the passages. (p.6)
The types of materials used may similar to or include Roald Dahl’s, The BFG or Robert Coles’, The Story of Ruby Bridges. It was explained that students need to realize that some author’s write stylistically and at times their writing or characters are portrayed in such a way that there are grammatical and/or spelling errors in the reading materials. (p.7)
Parts of larger more complex works may be used as well. In other words, excerpts of texts for older students may be used as they may be enjoyable or appropriate for younger students.
See page 10 for Important information regarding question format.
Also included is a Grade 4-5 Writing Evaluation Rubric
Please also note that students’ responses that are copied directly from a passage without any student writing will receive a zero (0).
The guide also shows the time limits for each day of testing.
© Copyright 2014