ELA Weekly:
November 30 - December 4
Curriculum Manager Announcements
ELA 6-12 Webinars
Instructional Toolbox Added to the Hub
Step 1: Curriculum Corner/ELA Folder
Step 2: Instructional Toolbox Folder
Step 3: Strategy Folders
ELA 8-10 Campus Observations
- Campus Managers, please review the Google Document schedule shared. It will designate the specific date for each campus.
Course Specific
6th Grade ELA
SpringBoard:
Students will work through a close reading workshop this week, focusing on informational texts. The SpringBoard Close Reading Workshop provides several texts for students to analyze, but teachers can supplement with different texts for the lessons as well. The texts provided might be challenging for struggling readers; and since the goal for this workshop is for students to master the TEKS, teachers may choose to use less challenging texts so students are not bogged down with decoding and comprehension. Teachers may also choose to use more complicated texts for whole class instruction, and provide different texts for independent practice. This workshop is key to providing explicit instruction around nonfiction texts, specifically author’s purpose, text organization, main ideas, and vocabulary practice.
Do-Nows:
This week's Do-Nows emphasize Revising skills, with 6.17(A) Effective Introductions and Conclusions as the focus. Remember that the Do-Nows are an introduction to a skill; students should receive repeated practice with skills in their own writing (through revision and editing opportunities) and through homework practice. All Do-Nows for Bundle 4 have been posted to the Hub, in the "Do-Nows" folder within "Quarter 2." Make sure to follow the sequence of the Do-Nows for the remainder of Quarter 2 in order to expose students to all tested TEKS. In Quarter 3, teachers will choose the focus TEKS for the Do-Nows that meet the needs of individual classrooms.
Archived Webinars: Please visit the links below to view previous webinars.
- November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Okg/
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kvp/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8E2z/
- September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8AMZ/ (SpringBoard 1.14/Expository Rubric and exemplars for EA 2)
7th Grade ELA
SpringBoard:
Students will continue Unit 4, which focuses on the revision process. Several of the lessons this week provide “anchors” for students to use as they engage with the revision process. Teachers should create anchor charts from the lessons for students to reference as they are working through an expository essay. As students revise their essays, they must understand the difference between revising and editing, wordiness, and “dead” words. They are revising to create vivid, clear, concise compositions. Thursday is a flex day, designed to give teachers time to review informational text reading skills in preparation for BWA 6: Reading.
Assessments: Students will take Bi-Weekly Assessment 6: Reading this week. The scanning deadline is Friday, December 4th.
Do-Nows:
Students will practice with effective introductions and conclusions (7.14A). Remember that the Do-Nows are an introduction to a skill; students should receive repeated practice with skills in their own writing (through revision and editing opportunities) and through homework practice. Make sure to follow the sequence of the Do-Nows for the remainder of Quarter 2 in order to provide direct instruction to students on all tested TEKS, and to align instruction to BWAs and IA 2. This Quarter's Do-Nows are specifically aligned to all of the skills students will need to master for success on the 2015 STAAR Released that was used to build IA 3. In Quarter 3, teachers will choose the focus TEKS for the Do-Nows that meet the needs of individual classrooms.
Archived Webinars:
November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Okf/
October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kw6/
September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8E2D/
September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8AN7/ (Strategies for teaching mythology)
September 2nd: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zrR/
August 19th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zrU/
8th Grade ELA
ELA 8 Webinar: Please make arrangements to attend the ELA 8 Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, December 2 from 4 pm to 4:45 pm. If you are experiencing any technical errors, please contact your campus manager and submit a helpdesk ticket as soon as possible. It is expected that all webinar norms are followed. Provided below is the Bluejeans link to the meeting:
SpringBoard: SpringBoard Activity 2.11 and 2.12 are this week's critical lessons.
- SB 2.11: This activity challenges students to create a RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, and Topic). This strategy allows the students to take a stance from a different point of view and creatively produce a product. When done correctly, this strategy can cover many critical areas including how audience and purpose affect writing.
- Note: Use the RAFT folder found in the Instructional Toolbox to get a strong foundation of the strategy. As the teacher, preparing for this strategy is key to ensuring the success of your students.
- SB 2.12: This activity is broken into two parts. As the teacher, planning is key to ensure maximum coverage of material on each specific day.
- Part A: Start at TE Step 1 and end at TE Step 8. Have students mark the text for purposeful annotations and not simply underline for the sake of underlining. Also, challenge them to connect their inferences and claims to the textual evidence they have identified within the text.
- Part B: Start at TE Step 9 and end at TE Step 13. Have students continue mark the text for purposeful annotations and not simply underline for the sake of underlining. Also, challenge them to connect their inferences and claims to the textual evidence they have identified within the text.
Assessments: Bi-Weekly Assessment 6 will be administered and scanned to GradeCam on Friday, December 4, 2015. BWA6 is a 45 minute multiple choice exam.
Grammar Focus/Do Now: The focus for this week is transitions (8.17Av). Ensure students can articulate two key items in their response: 1) What is the error and 2) What should this change be made.
- Suggestion: You can add additional errors for the student to correct in order to spiral in previous grammar TEKS covered.
- For example, you can lowercase the beginning of the sentence, remove the punctuation, and add in additional errors to challenge the students to recall previous TEKS as well as use academic vocabulary.
- The Grammar Focus/Do Now slides are a foundation to support the specific TEK in the Unit Road Map; however, you can add to the slide to ensure continuous coverage of prior material.
- Note: Create a running anchor chart and add specific transitions covered to the visual. This will allow students to engage with the material and make transitions a permanent part of our classroom environment. This will also help in student writing as transitions are needed in all aspects of their academic, professional, and personal lives.
Archived Webinars: Please visit the links below to view previous webinars.
- November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Oln/
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kvb/
- October 14th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kva/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8D_S/
English I Pre-AP
ELA 9 Webinar: Please make arrangements to attend the ELA 9 Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, December 2 from 4 pm to 5:00 pm. Please make arrangements to stay on the webinar until 5 pm as there are critical announcements for IA2. If you are experiencing any technical errors, please contact your campus manager and submit a helpdesk ticket as soon as possible. It is expected that all webinar norms are followed. Provided below is the Bluejeans link to the meeting:
SpringBoard: Embedded Assessment 2 is the focus for this week.
- EA2: This assessment challenges students to take multiple steps in order to get to a sound product. From pre-planning, researching, outlining, rehearsing, and presenting, this type of assessment provides the skills students will need for their STAAR and AP/IB exams, as well as prepare them for true practices that will take place when they enter a college/university.
- During student presentations, plan to have all students participate by giving them a task to complete when they are watching their partners present. This will help ensure 100% engagement and accountability during the presentations.
- Remember to hold students accountable to the written and verbal expectations set by the IOP Rubric. Eye contact, posture, tone, and confidence are learned actions that must take place through practice and presentations. If you see a student is not meeting your expectations, pull them aside and use positive reinforcement to push them to the expectation.
- Note: This is also an observational look-out for Quarter 2 and will continue to be a focus for the entire academic year. Both written and verbal responses are crucial to our student's long-term success and should be taught right the first-time.
Assessments: Bi-Weekly Assessment 6 will be administered and scanned to GradeCam on Friday, December 4, 2015. BWA6 is a 45 minute multiple choice exam.
Grammar Focus/Do Now: The focus for this week is transitions (9.15Aii). Ensure students can articulate two key items in their response: 1) What is the error and 2) What should this change be made.
- Suggestion: You can add additional errors for the student to correct in order to spiral in previous grammar TEKS covered.
- For example, you can lowercase the beginning of the sentence, remove the punctuation, and add in additional errors to challenge the students to recall previous TEKS as well as use academic vocabulary.
- The Grammar Focus/Do Now slides are a foundation to support the specific TEK in the Unit Road Map; however, you can add to the slide to ensure continuous coverage of prior material.
Note: Create a running anchor chart and add specific transitions covered to the visual. This will allow students to engage with the material and make transitions a permanent part of our classroom environment. This will also help in student writing as transitions are needed in all aspects of their academic, professional, and personal lives.
Archived Webinars: Please visit the links below to view previous webinars.
- November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Oln/
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kvb/
- October 14th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kva/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8D_U/
- September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Av6/
- September 2nd: https://bluejeans.com/s/8D_V/
English II Pre-AP
ELA 10 Webinar: Alma is currently on her campus field lesson and will be unable to conduct this week's webinar. As a result, please make arrangements to attend the ELA 9 Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, December 2 from 4 pm to 5:00 pm as they will be covering the same content. Please make arrangements to stay on the webinar until 5 pm as there are critical announcements for IA2. If you are experiencing any technical errors, please contact your campus manager and submit a helpdesk ticket as soon as possible. It is expected that all webinar norms are followed. Provided below is the Bluejeans link to the meeting:
SpringBoard: SpringBoard Activity 3.21 and 3.22 are this week's critical lessons.
- SB 3.21: This activity is broken up into two parts.
- Part A: TE Steps 1 to 3. This activity uses the key strategies of SIFT (Symbol, Imagery, Figurative Language, Tone and Theme) and TP-CASTT (Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, Title Revisited, and Theme). In order to make these strategies successful, review student expectations to ensure communication is clear. Ensure students provided evidence from the text (can be page numbers to save time and space) to better support their inferences. This same skill is what students will complete on their STAAR Reading MC and OER SS and CO sections.
- When planning questions, review IA2 and create questions that mirror the language of the exam.
- Note: Use the SIFT and TPCASTT folder found in the Instructional Toolbox to get a strong foundation of the strategy. As the teacher, preparing for this strategy is key to ensuring the success of your students.
- Part B: TE Step 4 (TE Step 5 can be given as an assignment for the Assign Yourself. Friday's BWA is revising and editing and usually does not take the full 45 minutes provided. If students finish beforehand, you can possibly use this time to allow them to present their material to each other.
- SB 3.22: This activity focuses on character perspectives and dramatic irony. It is critical that students understand this term as it used by many author's to build anticipation.
Assessments: Bi-Weekly Assessment 6 will be administered and scanned to GradeCam on Friday, December 4, 2015. BWA6 is a 45 minute multiple choice exam.
Grammar Focus/Do Now: The focus for this week is transitions (10.15Aii). Ensure students can articulate two key items in their response: 1) What is the error and 2) What should this change be made.
- Suggestion: You can add additional errors for the student to correct in order to spiral in previous grammar TEKS covered.
- For example, you can lowercase the beginning of the sentence, remove the punctuation, and add in additional errors to challenge the students to recall previous TEKS as well as use academic vocabulary.
- The Grammar Focus/Do Now slides are a foundation to support the specific TEK in the Unit Road Map; however, you can add to the slide to ensure continuous coverage of prior material.
Note: Create a running anchor chart and add specific transitions covered to the visual. This will allow students to engage with the material and make transitions a permanent part of our classroom environment. This will also help in student writing as transitions are needed in all aspects of their academic, professional, and personal lives.
Archived Webinars: Please visit the links below to view previous webinars.
- November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Ols/
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kvb/
- October 14th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kva/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8D_X/
- September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Avc/
- September 2nd: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Avb/
AP Language
SpringBoard:
Students will begin Unit 3: The Power of Persuasion this week. This series of lessons is designed to prepare students for Embedded Assessment 1, which is the creation and delivery of a persuasive speech. Students will explore best practices associated with public speaking, practice embedding quotes in an oral presentation, examine syntax in a text and apply their own style to an oral presentation. Students will end the week reviewing rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos) and apply rhetorical appeals as they write a speech. These lessons will directly impact students’ argumentative essays, providing specific strategies they can use in their own writing. Teachers have data from BWA 5 (the argument essay), and have identified areas of growth for each student in preparation for IA 2. Teachers can use the lessons this week to focus on specific skills students will need to refine in order to write effective argument essays, with two model texts that provide opportunity for analysis.
Archived Webinars: Please use the links below to view previous webinars:
- November 11th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Okk/
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8Kwa/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8E2G/
- September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8ANu/ (Norming the Synthesis Essay for IA 1)
- September 2nd: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zsh/
- August 19th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zsi/
AP Literature
SpringBoard: Students will continue their study of critical perspectives in Unit 2. They will begin the week exploring allusions in a model critical perspective essay. As the week continues, students will dig deep into Feminist Criticism, through the analysis of a popular children’s book, The Giving Tree. The end of the week moves into cinematic interpretation, with a focus on film techniques that students will analyze for purpose and effect. Students will look at how film techniques influence the viewer’s understanding of the story. Students will write the first essay for IA 2 next week (prose analysis), so teachers should also be working with students to target specific skills they need to refine, based on BWA 5 data.
Archived Webinars: Please use the links below to view previous webinars:
- October 28th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8KwI/
- September 30th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8E2W/
- September 16th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8ANI/ (Implementing timed writings in class/Integration of poetry during prose lessons)
- September 2nd: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zsn/
- August 19th: https://bluejeans.com/s/8zsm/