Enriching Geography Learning Through

Common Core Related Activities

Margaret LegatesDE Geographic Alliance

Preston ShockleyDE Department of Education

August 1, 2013

Essential Question

How will a better understanding of the CCSS in ELA inform

curriculum, instruction and assessment in Geography?

Common Core State Standards in Reading- Literacy History/Social Studies

Which words are the largest?What can you conclude?

What are the frameworks for Literacy?

Listening

SpeakingReading

Writing

PresentingViewing

Are you assessing all of these skills in

your classroom?

The Elephant in the Room• “It’s not my job to teach

reading and writing!”• “I’m not a literacy

specialist!”• “I don’t have the training

or the skills to teach literacy and writing!”

• “I have my own curriculum and don’t have time for anything else!”

Shared Responsibility“The grades 6–12 standards are divided into two sections, one for ELA and the other for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. This division reflects the unique, time-honored place of ELA teachers in developing students’ literacy skills while at the same time recognizing that teachers in other areas must have a role in this development as well.”

From the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, page 4.

How Should Teachers Prepare Now

Align Existing

Curriculum to the

CCSS

Assess Texts for Complexity Add writing, listening, speaking and

viewing to lessons and units

Develop Benchmark

Assessments that are

Text-Dependent Supplement and Pair Non-fiction texts with others

Become Familiar with the 6

Shifts in ELA

Require students to provide

evidence for all responses Become Familiar with the

National Assessment Performance Tasks

What is a SHIFT??

• A different way of thinking• A set of transformations that MUST happen

to achieve the demands of the CCSS• A shift is the transition from present work

based on state standards to the common core standards. There are SIX shifts in ELA.

6

1

5

2

3

4

DE Recommended Curriculum Unit-Ecosystems

We will use Lesson 1: Locating Ecosystems to demonstrate all 6 shifts in the ELA CCSS

http://www.degeog.org/

This is a Grade

5 Lesson from the

ChesapeakeWatersheds

Initiative

Shift 1-Increase in Non-fiction/Informational Text

Grade Literary Text Informational Text

K-5 50% 50%

6-8 45% 55%

9-12 30% 70%

The 70/30 split in grades 9-12 does not just refer to ELA/Literacy classes – it means the entire school

experience for students, across the day, week, year.

What are Critical Texts in Geography?• Advertisements• Artifacts• Bar/Graph Charts• Cartograms• Census reports• Digital media

(social media, websites, wikis, blogs)

• Documentaries• Exhibits• Fiction• GPS

• Graphic Novels• Letters• Map Coordinates• Maps of all types• Newspapers• Newspapers• Non-fiction• Novels• Petroglyphs• Photographs• Pie Graphs

• Podcasts• Political

Cartoons• Population

Pyramids• Posters• Research

Papers• Sound

recordings• Tax Codes• Timelines• Videos

WAY BEYOND TEXT

BOOKS!

Red =Literary

Blue= Non-fiction/Informational Text

Informational Articles

Photographs

Maps

Charts

Text Boxes

Case Study

GPS Description

Suggestion: Add a piece of Literary

Text

Pair Non-fiction with Fiction

• Provides students with the necessary background knowledge

• Peaks student interest• Exposes students to multiple genres. • Helps meet the needs of various reading levels• Increases student understanding of content

area material • Fiction/Narrative texts are easier to understand

and promotes confidence for reading non-fiction

Great Fiction Books for teaching Ecosystems

http://ecobooks.pbworks.com/w/page/4874773/Great%20Books%20for%20Teaching%20Kids%20In,%20About,%20and%20For%20the%20Environment

Shift 2-Content-Area Literacy

Content-Area Literacy in Geography IS NOT:

What IS Content-Area Literacy to you?

Using reading, writing, listening, speaking and viewing skills to enhance learning in

the Geography classroom.How do you

read a map? What information do titles and labels provide?

How do I read a chart?

How do I analyze a photograph?

Why did the

author use BOLD

print, Italics, BIG

TEXT?How do I

compare a map and

chart?

Before Reading Strategies KWL Chart Anticipation

Guides Guided Imagery Word Splash Vocabulary

Pyramid SQ3R QARs Word Sort T-Chart Sprint Writing Predict

Question Visualize Set Purpose Interactive

Notebook Reciprocal

Teaching KWHL Activating Prior

Schema Web Frayer Model DRTA Skim

Before Reading Strategy-Word Splash

topograph

y

Physical featuresclimate

Physical environmentmapped

patterns

human adaptations

vegetation soils

watersheds

ECOSYSTEMS

During Reading Summarizing Close Reading Three level

guides Word sorts DRTA Vocabulary

building Reciprocal

teaching Repeated

readings Metaphor/Simile

Cards Text Talk

Connect Two Say Something Check/revise

predictions Think-Pair-Share Silent Reading Writing

Connections Graphic

Organizers Reading Aloud Paired Reading Buddy Reading Echo Reading Choral Reading

During Reading Strategy-Sprint WritingDirections: When you see the word, respond by

writing as many words as you can think of that remind you of that word.

You cannot repeat any words. You cannot write abbreviations. You have 2 minutes.• Serves as a formative assessment• Spelling and grammar do not count• Makes the topic personal• Not graded-non-threatening• Encourage ssharing• Encourages reflection and summarizing

Why??

Sprint Writing-Locating Ecosytems

1. species2. waste3. landscape

Use this After reading

People and Ecosystems to check for

understanding

After Reading Strategies

Retelling newly learned information Connect Two Vocabulary building Connections to real world Reciprocal teaching Research projects Paper/pencil tests Poster sessions Culminating performances Language experience activities

Summary Recipe

Summary Acrostic

L Portion of KWL

Think-Pair-Share

Word Sorts Writing

Connections Graphic

Organizers Reading Aloud Reaction Guide Completing or

creating rubrics

Reader’s Theater

Erosion exposes fossils and undermines forests.C ypress swamps are one kind of ecosystem.O n the island of Assateague, erosion is a problem.S andy soil is a characteristic of a shoreline ecosystemY ou might even have something unexpected in your backyard!S horeline ecosystems are present on the Delmarva Peninsula.T earing down ecosystems results in the extinction of many species.E xisting together is important with crops and livestockM arsh and wetlands are one kind of ecosystemS ometimes ecosystems are home to thousands, even millions of different species.

After Reading Strategy-Summarize with an Acrostic

After Reading-3-2-1 StrategyExample for a Lesson on Ecosystems

• 3 facts you learned about Ecosystems• 2 things that can challenge an Ecosystem• 1 of the roles of the water and food cycles in an

Ecosystem

Shift 3-Increase Complexity of the Text

• ALL students should have regular practice with grade level appropriate complex text and its academic language (vocabulary and syntax).

• It is a Common Core standard (10)for students to read grade appropriate complex text at every point in school.

How do you choose Complex Text?Quantitative factors

◦ Readability measures using word length or frequency, sentence length, text cohesion (for example, Lexiles)

Qualitative factors◦ Levels of meaning◦ Text structure◦ Language conventionality and clarity◦ Knowledge demands

Reader and task considerations◦ Reader variables (motivation, knowledge,

experiences)◦ Task variables (purpose, complexity of the task

assigned)

Quantitative-Lexile Guidelines

Grade Band Former Lexile Ranges Lexile Ranges

K–1 N/A 100-500

2–3 450-725 450–790

4-5 645-845 770–980

6–8 860-1010 955–1155

9–10 960-1115 1080–1305

11–CCR 1070-1220 1215–1355

The CCSS require

that students

read more complex

texts.

How do I determine the Readability of a Text?

http://lexile.com/analyzer/

1. Upload your text in plain text

2. Press Browse

This is the Lexile Measure for the Ecosystems Lesson text, Shoreline

Parks

1060

What does this Lexile level mean?The

informational text,

Shoreline Parks is a 1060 Lexile

*Since the Lexile level is higher than grade 5, students may need support (Close Reading, Reading

Strategies) to comprehend it.

How can you scaffold Complex Texts?• Chunking• Reading and rereading• Read aloud• Strategic think aloud• Scaffolding questions• Heterogeneous small groups• Recording• Pre-prepping struggling readers to support confidence

and participation• Annotation strategies• Paraphrasing and journaling

Cap This!Caption:A title or brief explanation appended to the bottom of an article, illustration, or poster.

Summarizing Strategy-Have students create the captions for pictures in articles. This requires that they summarize the text to develop a caption.

Questions for creating and analyzing a CAPTION for a photograph.

Students need to think like the

writer or author.

The placement of Captions mattersAs written: This could

be confusing for students.

The captions are not directly under

each picture

Students must have background knowledge of rodent and mussel if they do not know Left

from Right

Shift 4-Focus on Text-Dependent Questions

Text-Dependent Questions: Require students to return to the text Responses are completely dependent on

text evidence Not based on readers experiences or

feelings Requires readers to state a claim, an

opinion, or a judgment and support it with evidence

Exist in conjunction with other types of question

1. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King discusses nonviolent protest. Discuss, in writing, a time when you wanted to fight against something that you felt was unfair.

2. In “The Gettysburg Address” Lincoln says the nation is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Why is equality an important value to promote?

What can you infer from King’s letter about the letter that he received?

“The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year 1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is this year significant to the events described in the speech?

Text -Inspired to Text-Dependent ?’s

Text-Dependent Questions• How are the

ecosystems at Death Valley National Park in the desert of southeastern California different from the ecosystems of Yosemite National Park in the mountains of northeastern California?

According to the map and the data in the chart, how are the ecosystems at Death Valley National Park in the desert of southeastern California different from the ecosystems of Yosemite National Park in the mountains of northeastern California?

Draw students back to the text

Shift 5-Writing with Text-Based Support

The Reading and Writing Connection

Text-Dependent Writing Prompt from Locating Ecosystems

Ecosystems Lesson 1 Strategy 3 Check for Understanding

Directions: Use the information from BOTH the map, California-National Parks Map AND the California-National Parks Data Chart to compare the National Park in Death Valley to the National Park in Yosemite.

This requires students to synthesize information from more than 1 text.

Shift 6-Focus on Academic VocabularyTier 3 – DOMAIN SPECIFIC, subject-specific(e.g., ecosystems, landscape topography)

Tier 2/ACADEMIC VOCABULARY –GENERAL WORDS; high utility across instructional areas(e.g., principle, relative, innovation, function, potential, style)

Tier 1 – EVERYDAY SPEECH, basic words most student will know at a particular grade level (e.g., injury, map, education, serious, nation)

Meaning of specific words◦Provide student-friendly definition(s)◦Read the word in text◦Discuss examples and non-examples of the word◦Create semantic maps◦Teach multiple meanings◦Link new words to words students already know

Word-learning strategies◦By using contextual cues◦By using their existing knowledge of words and word

parts

Vocabulary instruction for Tier II and III

Assateague Island National Seashore Park

National Seashore parks have two important missions: • to preserve the natural environment and the living things in the local ecosystem; • to provide recreation and educational programs for citizens.

Assateague Island, Virginia, is a narrow barrier island along the Atlantic coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. On the eastern side of the island, beach erosion is a constant problem, and coastal storms can sometimes cause major damage. The park is famous for its Wild Chincoteague ponies. The ponies sometimes join sunbathers and fishermen on the beach and in parking lots. They can cause traffic jams and distracted drivers. But most often they prefer to roam the wetland areas, forests and meadows of the island’s interior.

Boldface-Tier 2/Academic

Vocabulary that can be

determined in context

Underline -Tier 3/Content Area

Vocabulary that cannot be

discovered in context by

students.