How to Read Online

We teach kids how to read a physical texts. I remember watching Guided Reading and Reading Recovery at Eastridge Elementary. 

• both feet on the ground, sitting up straight
• book flat on the surface
• left hand at the bottom of the left page 
• right hand at the top corner of the right page, ready for a quick page turn.

We teach them how to follow along with a finger or a ruler or a colored gel. We teach them how to complete the return sweep and not get lost in the lines. But what have we taught them to do to read digital texts? Probably not much. Because WE (and the entire field of education) is just learning how that gets done. 

I've been thinking with Rebecca Robertson from Dumas Intermediate about how we can explicitly teach these skills.

How to Read Online

You'll find lessons on 

• Reader's Purpose and Z, F, E 
• Slowing the Scroll and Managing the Screen
• RTWS: Read the Whole Screen
• Using the Explore Tool in Google Docs
• Visual Cues and Supports

As I learn, I'll add more.

What techniques do you use?

 

 

Why We Don't Read the Questions First

 

First, annotating the questions before reading is bad because success on STAAR is based on comprehending the passage. Your purpose for reading depends on the genre and its characteristics, not the questions. By reading the questions first, students zoom in to look for specific things instead of understanding the passage as a whole. Because they are looking at a butterfly wing under a microscope, they can't tell what they are looking at: a butterfly wing. That's why kids do so poorly on inference and summary  - which is the majority of the test.  (Some kids don't even read the passage at all. They just skim for stuff.) They are looking for words and phrases and answers to questions that require a comprehensive understanding of the passage instead of a microscopic one. Reading the questions first is a microscopic approach. Their job is to make decisions about the text, not to act like it is some kind of seek and find on a Chilli's menu. Their job is to make meaning, not to find stuff. It won't be there because they have to make a decision about what's there. 

Second, reading the questions first is not going to work because the focus of the questions requires the whole question - the stem and the choices. You can't even tell what you are looking for in most of the "questions" because they aren't actually stated as questions, but as completion through reasoning. They are actually sentences, not questions. And you can't reason through something you have yet to comprehend.

Second Second: Reading the questions first actually puts misconceptions into their minds before they ever read. At least three misconceptions per question. Why would we do that to kids? That's why we don't support DOL. Why would you show kids wrong stuff and expect them to learn the right stuff?

Third, reading the question first won't help the kids because the questions are based on author's purpose/message and the organizational pattern they have used to deliver it. The correct answers will always reflect an overall gist of the meaning, suggest the purpose, and be written in a way that reflects the organizing structure. I've written more about it here:

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2020/01/reading-staar-prep-sometimes-it-isnt.html

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2020/01/close-mitt-cover-glove-in-language-arts.html

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2020/01/reading-review-for-reasoning-erros.html

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-problem-with-making-decisions-with.html

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2019/

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2019/11/support-for-types-of-staar-summary.html

https://www.bulbapp.com/u/questions-first

Fourth - That's not the way they write the test or what the trends in data tell us.

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2019/07/elar-staar-data-trends-from-tea_15.html

https://roseshona.blogspot.com/2019/07/elar-staar-data-trends-from-tea.html

What's gonna be on 2020-2021 STAAR?

 What will be assessed on STAAR in 2020-2021?  

The simple answer is: ONLY the 2017 standard that TEA has determined that match a standard from the 2009 standards. That's because the assessment division has items in the assessment bank that will still work with the new standards. They will be field testing items from our NEW standards that don't have a match with the OLD ones. *NOTE: This is the assessible curriculum. We are still responsible for ALL the TEKS. You can find the entire side by sides at the bottom of this link.

 Grade 3 Reading

Grade 3 Reading (Spanish) 

Grade 4 Reading

Grade 4 (Spanish)

Grade 4 Writing

Grade 5 Reading

Grade 5 (Spanish)

Grade 6 Reading

Grade 7 Reading

Grade 7 Writing

Grade 8 Reading

English I 

English II 

English III 

What will be readiness and what will be supporting in 2020-2021? 

The simple answer is this: if it was readiness in the 2009 TEKS and has a 2017 "partner", then the assessed item will be a readiness item. If it was a supporting standard in the 2009 TEKS and has a 2017 "partner", then the assessed item will be a supporting item.

Distilling what is important for writing and reading instruction

I went through the assessed curriculum document to see how TEA explained what they will be assessing. The language in the chart is directly from TEA and is organized by topic and the k3-12 Continuum. 

What's on the Reading and Writing Test?

 Hope this helps.

 

Imitating Grammar to Understand Purpose and Craft

Here is an example from Imelda Enriquez. As we collaborated for this assignment, we were really

able to capture how grammar intersects with Author’s Purpose and Craft. When we imitate sentences,

we are doing more than imitating a grammatical structure. We are also looking at why an author would

have used the sentences in this way to reveal character and theme. Another important distinction here

is that our work is not about correcting things that are wrong, but analyzing the impact on the reader. 

Students will read an excerpt from “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio.

“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.”

-Wonder by R.J. Palacio 

The excerpt has many short sentences. I would ask students why Palacio wrote it that way.

By using short sentences, how does Palacio give the reader information about the character?

Normally, we’d ask students to combine sentences to make them flow better. But Placio chose NOT to.

Let’s look at what happens when we combine them. 

“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things like eat ice cream, ride my bike, play ball, and play XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary, I guess. And I feel ordinary inside, but I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.”

How does your view of the character change? 

Here are some of my thoughts…

Original	Revision	Significance
I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox.	I mean, sure, I do ordinary things like eat ice cream, ride my bike, play ball, and play XBox.	By teasing the different items out in sentences on their own, they are each a punctuation of a list. They emphasize all the WAYS he is different. This becomes more important later in the paragraph because the whole point of this passage is that the kid ISN’T normal to other folks.
Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess.	Stuff like that makes me ordinary,I guess.	These are very different choices. In the first one, he makes a statement. The next sentence shows you that he disagrees with it. Or at the least that he’s not sure about it. In the second one, the “I guess” just sounds like an afterthought.
And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds.	And I feel ordinary inside, but I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds.	Wow. This one is shocking in comparison. Look how Palacio makes “inside” its own sentence. That fragment emphasized that Auggie feels about NOT being ordinary. And that it is a fragment is also significant because when people react the way they do, it must tear him into pieces.  This structure also begins to take us to where the author is headed with theme: what is ordinary? Should what is on the outside determine that?

Rules or Tools of Grammar

I just found the most wonderful example of how Jeff Anderson's Patterns of Power can illuminate how we apply Author's Purpose and Craft to Grammar. Tara Salmon, from Highland Park, and I have composed this lesson exemplar for you as an exemplar for the Region 16 Grammar Geeks course.

I know Jeff...and he would always agree that grammar is about how we craft language to impact the reader. Our standards require us to go beyond the grammatical structures and rules to explore how they help us as readers and writers. 

If you are skimming the article - look for when I change the font.

The lesson below is an exemplar of how grammar is connected to how we read and write with craft and purpose. 

Standard: Complex sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments. (Composition, Editing: Grades 6-12, Di)

Focus Phrase: I will write complex sentences using correct punctuation and subject-verb agreement. 

Invitation to Notice: Because he was small, Stuart was often hard to find around the house. Stuart Little, E. B. White

To Consider:   

• Rule: When the AAAWWUBBIS comes at the beginning of a sentence, a comma follows. If the AAAWWUBBIS comes in the middle of a sentence, there is no comma needed. 
• Craft: What is the impact on meaning and prosody when those structures are used? How is the author using those structures to develop the character, advance the plot, or express theme?

Invitation to Compare and Contrast:  

• Because he was so small, Stuart was often hard to find around the house.
• Stuart was often hard to find around the house because he was so small.
• Note the grammatical differences between the two sentences. Note when a comma is needed and when it is not.
• Note the impact each has on you as a reader. What changes in terms of the writer's emphasis? What changes in your visualizations and comprehension?

Invitation to Edit:  Compose the sentence in both ways and analyze the effect on character, theme, and meaning.

• When his best friend disappears from her nest Stuart is determined to track her down.
• Stuart is a lover of adventure although he's shy.
• Since he lives in New York Stuart is used to city life. 

Reflection: What did we learn about writing from this author? What changed? Name the effect of the change you wish students to consider.

What is the IMPACT of using the dependent clause first? What is the IMPACT if the independent clause is used first? For the example here, I would say that the author's purpose is to emphasize how SMALL Stuart is. The main point is not that he is hard to find - that's just an example. The main point - and emphasized throughout the book is that he is SMALL. This is important to establish his character traits when he is introduced because it is a huge contrast to the optimism he marshals despite the huge deck stacked against him. I guess what I'm saying is that we have to go beyond grammatical structures and rules to express how they give us vehicles for power and beauty in discerning the author's message and the ability to craft our own contributions.

Teacher's Application to Writing: Here's how I'm using it today: "Because I was already irritated before entering the building, I continued to find it difficult to focus throughout the rest of the day." I'm liking this better than the other way around: I continued to find it difficult to focus throughout the rest of the day because I was already irritated before entering the building. The second version makes it seem like the point was the difficulty in focusing instead of the CAUSE. It also delays the emotion until the ending of the sentence. I want my reader to feel my irritation way before the end of that sentence.

Advice on Modeling Technology, Skills, or Processes When You Are Live

Recently, I attended a meeting where the presenter was showing how to use a new technology tool. I felt far behind and couldn't keep up with the steps. I stopped paying attention and didn't feel very motivated to try the tool because I felt like such a failure. I stopped listening until the topic changed to something I felt capable of doing. (I knew I could go back later and figure it out.) But, I started thinking about how I usually learn how to use a new tool and what I've seen my kids do. How might that help me be a better "online" teacher?

Here's what I do:
First - I see an example of what it looks like in the final product - or I wouldn't be interested it in the first place.
Second - I open the tool and play around with it.
Third - If I can't figure something out, I google a video or look for a bulleted list of steps. Then I stop and start that video while I have the app open for myself. Or I go back and forth from the list to the tool and try one thing at a time. I try out the step or re-watch/re-read when it doesn't work.

If we are going to model how to do new things on a google meets - live, we aren't meeting the needs of how people learn if we just barrel through all the clicks. We are going to have to use different methods to show folks how to take notes, or practice with us. Here are some ideas:

* Show a model of the finished product. This takes care of the big picture folks and promotes relevance - which we know is one of the only ways to get through the hippocampus to long term memory.
*If you are going to model a new tool, tell students beforehand, so they can have it downloaded or play around with it before the meeting.
* If you are going to model an entire process, tell students that you are recording it so they can start and stop later. This will lower the affective filter and limit panic.
* Give students a little "inquiry" time to explore the tool to see what they can figure out on their own and share back before you model the extra stuff. It is likely that the students will show most of the things you want to teach and you will be able to focus on the deeper, more nuanced features or have more time for application and response. This will increase critical thinking, transfer, and application.
* Create a step by step click list and show on a split screen as you model. This will reduce the cognitive load and become a placeholder for memory until the process is automatic.
* Have a student share their screen and slowly walk through the process. This is like what you would do in a classroom with the fishbowl strategy - you try it out with a student and everyone watches. Then you can debrief about the learning. A wise person always told me that when you are teaching technology, you keep your hands off the mouse and keyboard so you don't take over their learning. This will allow you as the teacher to see common struggles in using the tool that you didn't anticipate. As such, you will be able to teach problem solving skills, such as RTWS (Read the Whole Screen) or ctrl+z to undo things that didn't work.
* Have students open the product in another tab or window while you are still live. Model one step, then wait for students to apply the skill and give opportunities to ask questions. This allows you to follow the principles of ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) and Guided Practice (Gradual Release of Responsibility) to ensure that students are active and involved in trying out the skills while you are still there to support them.

Learning Something New Online: Conditions for Learning

I've been hearing a lot of stuff about how kids can't learn new stuff online. I know that most of the world looks up stuff on youtube to learn how to just about anything. This one on caramelizing onions is one of my recent fav's:

And I'll tell you - kids are doing this kind of stuff all the time. My grandson loves some youtuber named DanTDM to learn walkthroughs about his games. But ok. I get that Minecraft isn't Algebra or Phonics. So I'll go with another example. 

Yesterday, I cut my hair. I know I know. I've seen the COVID memes about not cutting your bangs. Maybe I do need therapy.  But this trope serves well for what I'm trying to express. For most of you that know me, I don't go to the hair salon. Not often. I think it's been 3 years since my annual hair cut. At waist length, it had gotten fuzzy and crunchy on the ends, despite the coconut oil. And I'd started getting headaches from keeping it in a French twist.

So I fired up the youtube, pulled out the brass handled scissors Miles gave me from his father's estate sale and cut 8 inches of hair into long layers. Its not perfect. But it's not frizzy. And I don't have a headache today.

So. Like the rest of the world of people of all ages, I learned something new. Online. Alone. Cool.

What I didn't get was feedback. Feedback from a more knowledgeable peer or expert. (Where was Chloe when I needed her?) Nothing from a teacher. We've been saying for a long time that teachers shouldn't be the sage on the stage. Kids really don't need us to deliver facts and information. As we move online, perhaps why we are all struggling is that the situation demands the constructivist approaches researchers and experts have been espousing as the best way forward. The old way isn't going to work.

I'm reminded again of Cambourne. How can we apply his concepts in online learning? And online for literacy learning? 

• Immersion: How can we immerse students in sights, sounds, and content - meaningful and relevant content and context? 
• Demonstration: How can we give practical and concrete demonstrations of both procedures and explanations of content as well as the cognitive processes and self-regulatory awareness required for assessment capable and generative learning? How can we design learning that allows students to provide demonstrations of this learning? 
• Expectations: How can we provide clearly identified learning expectations and student exemplars for products and processes students should be able to complete? How does our online environment support and encourage high levels of success to reach these high expectations. 
• Responsibility:What are students doing to demonstrate the learning? How are we designing lessons that help students understand where they are in the stages of approximating the learning expectations and criteria? 
• Practice: In what ways can we manipulate time, support, place, groupings, complexity, and content to help students practice new knowledge, skills, attitudes, etc? 
• Feedback/Support/Celebrations: How do we provide feedback continuously during online learning that helps kids celebrate their successes, refine their learning products and processes, and set goals for the next stages? 

You see, what I needed was a teacher to guide me while I was cutting my hair. "No - try this angle. And when you finish that section, try..." And after I had finished, to review what I had done to help me fix the places that were - and still are - off. It's the feedback DURING learning and AFTER learning that houses the greatest potential for learning online. Can we learn new stuff online? Without a doubt. 

The learning will come when our platforms have addressed the conditions of learning combined with the processes of learning. Check out how Cambourne visualizes it:

The challenge for us now isn't simply getting stuff online for kids to do. The real work begins when we interact with students to provide feedback about what they have done and the way in which they have gone about doing so. 

Brian Cambourne