One time, I went to a session where Lakesha Ball started the session out by cooking bacon. Y'all. She's amazing. Even without bacon. Here's my transcript and notes.
Literacy in Motion
Cleaned session transcript — sponsor remarks by Newsela; keynote by Dr. Lakisha Ball
About this transcript
Source: Automated transcription (Otter.ai) of a live virtual session of Literacy in Motion — a Texas reading-language-arts leadership series — sponsored by Newsela and presented by literacy consultant Dr. Lakisha Ball.
How it was cleaned:
Session participants
Speaker 3 | Ms. Robinson | Moderator |
Speaker 4 | — | Unidentified (brief interjection; music during an activity) |
Speaker 5 | Elise K. | Attendee |
Speaker 6 | Kirsten Sabatka | Newsela |
Speaker 7 | Nikki Dunlap | Newsela |
Speaker 8 | Dr. Lakisha Ball | Speaker — literacy consultant |
Names were inferred from context in the audio.
Opening and sponsor remarks: Newsela (3:07–9:45)
Ms. Robinson (3:07): Welcome, everyone. We are going to continue to keep this train on time — I don't want to mess up President Gray's track record. Kirsten or Nikki, I'm not sure which of you is sharing your screen — go ahead and get started, and I'll get you off and running.
For this session, welcome to Literacy in Motion. Your speaker today will be Dr. Lakisha Ball. Before she gets started, the sponsor for this session, Newsela, will have a couple of words to say to you all, and then we'll jump into the session afterwards. Ladies, take it away.
Kirsten Sabatka, Newsela (3:50): Hi, y'all. I'm Kirsten Sabatka from Newsela, joined by my fantastic colleague and dear friend Nikki Dunlap. We are excited to be with you here today to talk a little bit about Newsela and the various products we offer, and how we can best support districts in Texas. We're friends with many of you already — you may recognize us — but we come with quite a few solutions. You may know us already for Newsela: the articles, the Lexiles, the quizzes, the write prompts — we're there with you. But we've also added to the family. We also represent Formative, which is our balanced assessment program, and Schoolytics, which is our unified data and tracking program for school districts. So you have us for instruction, assessment, and data — we're like the full picture now. Think of us as here to support you at all ends of that perfect instructional feedback cycle.
Because you already know what's coming your way with Newsela, we just want to share why you love us and why you should stay around. Of course, you know we have Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, our newly relaunched Newsela STEM in partnership with Generation Genius, and our very favorite, Newsela Writing — all supported by our AI-powered teaching assistant, Luna. You love us because of the content and the collections, right? The curriculum complements that support McGraw Hill StudySync and even Bluebonnet this year. And you know we have the capacity for those assignments with quizzes, write prompts, and student polls. But you've probably hung around because we've added a lot of cool features over the last year and a half. Our Luna translation feature now translates articles into 40-plus languages. We also have customizable graphic organizers for teachers to plug into the assignments, plus our standards-based lesson planner — all you have to do now is give us up to three of your standards, and we can create a whole "move and groove" lesson in Newsela for you to support close reading and literacy practices, no matter the subject area.
We've also really done a great job listening to your feedback as instructional leaders and boots on the ground in the classroom, and we wanted to elevate your Newsela experience. You see that with Newsela Writing: you can now create writing assignments in Newsela Writing and attach them to very specific rubrics — STAAR, ACT, SAT, AP, multi-genre. You get automatic feedback through Luna to really support students in that writing process. And brand new — fresh out of the gate — we have our fluency practice lessons as well. Now you can turn every article, no matter the Lexile, into a fluency practice for your students, so they can take control and practice with their phonics a little bit. So that's the Newsela umbrella. Here's Nikki to talk about what we're also doing with Formative.
Nikki Dunlap, Newsela (7:01): Some more fun here. We know about all the upcoming changes to the STAAR assessment, and we know how important formative assessments will be — they are now, but they will be even more as the future continues down the road. So we are so excited to share what Formative can offer, in addition to the Newsela content piece. Formative is our instruction and assessment platform: we've got 30-plus question types and TEKS-aligned assignments and assessments. Within Formative, you get real-time data immediately after students take assessments — there's no need to pull and request reports from someone else, or wait for a nightly sync; it is available immediately. And the cool thing is, as Kirsten talked about the Newsela content, you can actually pull the Newsela content into Formative and build broader assessments within the Formative platform with all the different question types. So — super, super excited.
Then, building on Formative — Kirsten, if you want to jump to the next slide — is our Schoolytics by Newsela platform. This really rounds out our offerings. It is a unified data platform: it ingests data from all of the different platforms you're using across your campuses. Think SIS, LMS, behavior, attendance, STAAR data, any other assessment reports — we can ingest that data and allow you to take it and do whatever you want with it. You can pull reports at the building level or at the district level. It is a truly flexible solution, and I love this image on the screen — it shows just a sampling of some of the systems we can talk to.
One of my favorite things about working with Schoolytics: we have what we call educational data analysts — people who were in the classroom and in the district office — and they're an extension of your team. No more need for support tickets. I know a lot of platforms require you to submit a support ticket if you want a report or you need help; we have someone in-house who will do that for you. So it really is a very hands-on approach. This is our newest offering to our family, and I'm so excited to share it with you all today.
I think that rounds out all the things we can do for you. We would love to hear from you — I see some familiar faces in the room, and I know Kirsten does too. Thank you again so much for having us. Our contact information is on the screen; if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Kirsten and myself. Thank you all again.
Kirsten Sabatka (9:45): …all right — enjoy your day!
Introduction of the speaker (9:48)
Ms. Robinson (9:48): Thank you so much. Yeah — thank you for joining us. I have very fond memories of using you [Newsela] in my classroom years ago, so it's good to see the updates.
All right, team: if you do have any questions, we do have the slides in the chat — I will reshare them in case you did not get that contact information. And now, for the main event: Dr. Lakisha Ball. She's a literacy consultant who has spent over two decades educating students, supporting schools, and helping reading language arts teachers and leaders take the guesswork out of literacy instruction. I know for a fact I've enjoyed her in-person presentation, so I know it's going to be a treat. She has a doctorate in education, multiple teaching certifications, and experience spanning the classroom, higher education, campus administration, regional consulting, and statewide education support — this is someone who understands all the purviews around education. She specializes in transforming complex literacy challenges into practical, research-based solutions that strengthen instruction and accelerate student learning. So I know you're in for a treat. Dr. Ball — it is on you.
Keynote: Literacy in Motion (11:23–1:05)
What hasn't changed (11:23)
Dr. Ball: All right — Ms. Robinson, you give me that glowing, glowing, glowing welcome, and I'm over here like, "Unmute myself, unmute myself." Welcome, welcome, welcome, literacy educators! It is so good to be back in the room with you, to see your faces — and yes, we are here for Literacy in Motion.
Now, I truly believe that just because we're virtual does not mean that we cannot interact, like we've been doing all day with the room. So I'm going to ask you, at times, to put your fingers to the keyboard and respond to some of the things you are hearing and engaging with. I'm also going to check out the chat. There are going to be times where I may say something and I can't look at the chat for the sake of staying on time — because I know Ms. Robinson expressed that, and I'm not messing up this staying-on-time train either.
So, before we start this whole idea of literacy in motion — we've been talking about change, and we understand there is always a thing called change in education. I'm curious: when you think about what's been going on in our classrooms from 50 years ago up until now — and probably what will be happening 10 years from here — what hasn't changed as far as expectations within the literacy classroom? What are we still expecting and holding true for all of our learners? Put your fingers on the keyboard. Let me know what you're thinking, because I'm ready to come to the chat and see what your mindset says around what actually hasn't changed for our readers, our writers, our thinkers. What's been constant for us?
Shona — I love it, I love it, I love it: "The joy for literacy." If you're with me, go ahead, come into the chat. I'm curious about your thinking, because in this piece for the next hour I want you to jump in. We're going to jump into a text. We're going to jump into sample literacy [lessons], and we're going to talk around some things — because there are some things that have changed, and there are things that remain solid, tried and true. It doesn't matter if we're in Texas, Dubai, or whatever beach we might want to be on: there are some things that will always change, but there's constant — constant, for sure.
[Reading from the chat:] Tony — "the way explicit instruction and students' practice looks." "Students need to be in real text and justify thinking." "That consistent making of connections." "The skills required for comprehension." Now I'm going to come out of this chat, because if I stay in there, believe me, we won't move forward — and that won't be okay. I want to make sure that same thinking you've already brought into the chat, you keep it with me entirely.
Now, Ms. Robinson, I'm going to also ask if you would do me a grand favor: if there are questions that come through the chat, please, please, please collect them and let me know — so that by the time we end, I will not have left an educator or a leader here without having an answer for what they may have questions about.
I also want to make sure you have the resources you need in order to fully engage. You have a handout — maybe you already have it printed; maybe you're like, "Wait, I have to print something?" Nope — Ms. Robinson is also going to drop that in the chat just in case. And if you would like links to these slides I'm reviewing with you — by all means, look in the chat; that's coming your way as well.
Now I need you to know: in this time of change, we also know we can't get all the things at one time. One of the things I want you to be aware of is that the learning we're engaging in during this hour is an abbreviated version of the learning I share with educators throughout the state of Texas — because despite the change, literacy in the classroom, authentic literacy opportunities have to remain constant in our classrooms. Our standards are our anchor. They tell us that our students should be reading, writing, listening, thinking, and speaking on a daily basis — and so that hasn't changed. That won't ever change.
Defining the destination (15:26)
Dr. Ball: No matter where we are, we're expecting the same things in order to have literate citizens, literate young adults. So for our hour, here's what our destination is going to be.
First off, I want to make sure that — if we're saying that, to keep literacy in motion, there are some things that have remained constant — we also have to make sure we're aware of what the destination is every time a student sits in that seat, in any teacher's classroom, across this great state. So we're going to start by saying: let's define the destination. We don't just define a destination. I can't say I'm going to El Paso with Cara — who I heard from first in the chat after lunch — I can't say I'm going to El Paso and then not determine how do I get there. I have to plan the route.
Not only do I need to make sure I'm clarifying my learning through the TEKS — the TEKS tell me where I'm going; my TEKS give me my destination — that's not enough, though. I have to be able to plan the route explicitly. I have to make sure every day, when my kids come into the classroom, there's a destination for them. My learning intentions will get me there. I also need to make sure that if they're saying, like regular riders in the car, "Miss, are we there yet? Miss, are we there yet?" — that I can answer that question for them, but they are not tethered to me trying to get that answer. There should be success criteria set long before I ever step foot in that classroom or my students cross the threshold. So we're going to look at how we make certain our learning intentions — the criteria for success or mastery — are clear before students sit in the seat.
We're also going to explore a little bit of checks for understanding. Remember, we only have an hour together — we have more time if you like, but we can talk about that later. We're going to look at how we make the thinking visible. Because I saw you in the chat saying, "Oh, that thinking has to be there." The thinking is always critical in a reading language arts classroom. You see Ms. Robinson nodding her head over there — if she's nodding her head, I don't know if she's making her grocery list for later or if she's engaging with the content. And the reality is, that's the same case for the kids in our classrooms. We have to externalize it. At some point, I need to ask Tonja, "Tell me what you're thinking about X." I need to hear it. I need to see her write it. I need to see her illustrate it. There is something I need her to externalize, so I can see what's going on inside that big brain of hers.
Not only are we going to check progress — we've got to go a little bit further. We're going to talk about the experiences students have from the moment they step foot in our classroom. Because guess what — PSA out there: change, change, change is everywhere. But one thing that has to remain constant in our classroom is that the moment our students take that seat, the experience that's created for them allows them to think deeply about whatever the content is that we set before them, in order to ensure TEKS mastery.
When I say that, I'm saying students are always making meaning — of whatever text they read or view, whatever we put before them. Not only do they make meaning, they have to explain their thinking: through writing, verbally, to peers, to me as their teacher. And not only that — they also have to go a little bit deeper. We want them to analyze the reasons why an author chose to do the things he or she chose to do. Now, with all that being said, we've got to pause — because, of course, I want to give you access to the things you heard me say were coming, in the chat.
Wanderer, planner, or navigator? (19:10)
Dr. Ball: I didn't look at the chat, so I don't know if Ms. Robinson's over there multitasking — she has it all down — but I also want to put it on the screen for you. Now, these slides, or Bitly links — as we all know, they are case sensitive. If for whatever reason you don't type something the way it's typed on the screen or entered in the chat, you're going to call me like, "Wait, that didn't happen. You told me — I'm bamboozled. I don't have access." And I certainly don't want that, right? So you have access. You have access.
Now I want you to put your mind in the brain of where we're going for the learning. You've been seeing maps, and I've talked about going to El Paso — like, yeah, I probably have you in a mindset of, "Where are we traveling? What day of the week is this? Is it time to go somewhere already?" Think about yourself as a traveler. Feel free to come into the chat: which one best represents you? Are you a wanderer, a planner, or a navigator?
When I say wanderer, I'm saying, "Hey, I just want to go for the ride." You can hop in a car and let me take you wherever — you're not concerned, because you're like, "I know we're gonna have a good time." Are you a planner, where you're like, "No, I need to preview the route, because I'm gonna anticipate if things happen — I need to be that person. I know where I'm going. I'm good." Or are you the navigator? "I know the destination, but I also know all the stops. I know the times we're going to be there. I know if I need to monitor and adjust — I know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to monitor every bit of this route. I can tell you what time we're making it in there. If something happens, I can tell you how we're going to get back on track to make up for that time."
Now I'm seeing these responses in the chat — I see you. Some of us are very similar. I'm like, "I'm not getting in the car with you unless you tell me where we're going." That's just me. All right — I need to know. I need to know.
But now I want you to think the same thing and tell me: who do we want our teachers to be? Who do we want the leaders in our classrooms to be, when we're thinking about effective classroom learning? Same — wanderer, planner, navigator. Which type of traveler works best for effective classroom learning? Because when a teacher stands before that classroom, or navigates that classroom space, the teacher truly is driving students somewhere. That destination could be unknown — the students might know exactly where they're going, depending on what that teacher says or how that teacher takes them to the destination.
Truly, we want our teachers to live in the navigator's lane. We want them to live in that space. We're not saying don't enjoy the ride — we're saying they need to know the end destination. They need to make sure they're monitoring and adjusting as students are getting to that destination — so that we're not dragging kids outside the car, all right? We have to take everyone, and everyone should hear, "You have arrived."
Now, when we think about this effective classroom learning, let's go further. Because when students sit in that seat and they start that car — just like if I tell you "start your car," you're like, okay — you hear all the kids: ready. They are ready for this. If I tell them "begin driving," they're like, "Miss, I was ready." They're probably going to ask me some questions, very much like you are probably asking me now: You told me to start my car. You're asking me to begin driving — where am I going? "Oh, you making it pretty?" That doesn't change what I need to know. Just because I make something pretty doesn't mean I'm getting closer to my destination, either. The reality is, our students take the seat in every class, every day.
Students shouldn't be held hostage (22:51)
Dr. Ball: They should not be held hostage. They should know where they're going. And when we say "keep going" — keep going where? Keep doing what? Oftentimes, they may even ask why: "Why are we doing this?" When students sit down, they shouldn't just be along for the ride. It should be clear where they're going. They should know whether or not they're making progress. They should know whether or not they're there.
So I'm going to ask you — when we think about our next few minutes, when we go into this classroom (because we're going to): when I ask students — or when I ask you — to take a seat, it's almost like I'm asking you, "Start your car." You came in ready from lunch — you're fueled up, you're ready. I shouldn't have to say "begin driving" or "hey, begin learning," and you're like, "Okay, what are we doing? Where are we going?" And I shouldn't keep saying, "Come along with me. Just trust me — we're gonna get there." That shouldn't be the case. It should be clear where we're going.
So, as we jump in — remember, I said we're going to jump into literacy classrooms. I'm going to ask you leaders to go with me into two classrooms. I'm going to first drop into Dr. Ball's class, and then I'm going to drop into Ms. Carr's class. We're going to drop in briefly — about seven minutes in each class. I want you to keep your literacy leader's hat on, but I also want you to put your student thinker's hat on. Play both roles for me for just a moment. When you go into both classrooms, experience it as a thinker. I always say: follow the thinking — it tells you where the growth is. Who's doing the work here?
So I'm gonna stop talking, and I'm gonna ask you: drop into Dr. Ball's class with me. The door is already covered, so I'm already wondering what's going on on the other side of that door. But we're about to go in now. When we go into this classroom, in your handout you are going to see the selection you're going to experience — not the full selection, because remember, this is an abbreviated version of a six-hour learning, simply for [unclear — best guess: "literacy"] leaders. In your handout, look at page two — that's exactly where we're going to go. In Dr. Ball's class, [we'll look at] a selection titled Way Too Cool by Brenda Woods.
We all have our materials — I would hope. Ms. Robinson, if they're blowing you up about me asking for things, I know you've got them taken care of. So we're just gonna drop on back into this classroom. You walked into the class and you see the things you see on the board here — all right, you see these things. Now, the selection we're getting into today, friends, is Way Too Cool by Brenda Woods. I'm already wondering when I see this, "Way too cool" — like, it's too cold in the room? Or I know "too" is "too much" of "way too cool" — like, "I'm too fly"? I'm not so sure. But I need to keep reading. I need to read this thing now.
In order to do today's work, you hear Dr. Ball tell students they're going to use an annotation guide. That annotation guide is on the last page of your handout, just so you're aware, and it tells students, while they're reading, the things they're going to think about, the ways they'll annotate. Now I'm just giving you what she's giving students, and we're gonna keep on moving.
All right, now — scholars, we're gonna go ahead and read this selection. Now, as I read this selection, remember that I have my annotation bookmark that's going to guide me as I go along. So if you will put your weapons in hand — those writing utensils; remember, they're very powerful — when we're reading, we're going to use our annotation guide and our weapon to leave tracks of our thinking on the paper. All right, follow along as I go: if I annotate, you annotate too.
Visit 1 — Dr. Ball's class (26:41)
Dr. Ball [reading]: "He was 13 with chocolate-colored skin, taller than most men, and — as he often told anyone who would listen — way too cool. It was the Friday before Christmas break, and he was looking forward to two weeks of freedom. He grinned as he opened the door."
Now I'm pausing for a moment, because it feels like I'm seeing who might be my main star here, and I'm seeing Aston as his name. I'm seeing Aston as his name — but I'm also noticing it says that my star is "way too cool." He tells anybody who would listen that he's too cool. He's 13, chocolate-colored skin, taller than most men. I'm like, "Boy, you've got a lot going on for you, if these are the things we're comparing you to, right?" All right — I'm noticing: Aston is confidence. I'm gonna annotate that.
But then it goes on with the reading: "Do you have your inhaler, Aston?" his mom called out from the kitchen. The same question came from her lips every morning. Every morning, his grin vanished as he fingered the inhaler in his jacket pocket. "Yeah, I got it," he replied. He gave the screen door a gentle push, stepped outside, and headed to school.
Now I'm going to pause again — pause with me, because I'm seeing something pop up as my setting here. It's Friday before Christmas break. I would think there's a lot that's about to happen, because this kid has to be excited. Everybody knows everybody wants to go on Christmas break — there are two weeks we know we're going to automatically get. So when I see this setting, I'm like, "Okay, so how's that gonna work in here?" It's Friday before Christmas break — my brain says it must be cold outside.
But then I'm also noticing another conflict, another thing that's happening. Mom asked Aston — this confident kid — every day, "Do you have your inhaler? Do you have your inhaler?" And when she said that, his grin vanished. So I have a question here, because I'm wondering: why doesn't Aston seem happy about carrying his inhaler?
Now, I don't know about you, but me being a Mississippi girl, and being the person whose parents raised her pretty tough — I noticed he says, "Yeah, I got it." He gave the screen door a gentle push. I'm like, "Hmm, his parents must be disciplinarians — because if his grin vanishes, he obviously doesn't like that Mom is asking him about the inhaler, but he doesn't slam that door. So he knows something." I'm seeing a lot about this confident character, Aston.
Now, as I continue, I know I'm going to continue using my annotation guide — but I'm not going to continue. I want you to be able to continue, and I want you to read to the bottom of that very first page, using your annotation guide. Here's what I need you to annotate for — very much like I was doing: if it seems important, I want you to notate it, annotate it. Educators, I'm going to ask you — just like you would see Dr. Ball do in her class — keep the judgment out [of it] right now. We don't know. Just follow along as she asks her students: simply read to the end of that page and annotate whatever stands out for you, according to what she told her students. Annotate what seems important.
I'm going to turn my voice off and give you about two minutes to simply continue reading, continue annotating using your annotation guide for what seems important. Let's go for it. …30 seconds, and we'll move forward.
All right, literacy leaders — come back up for me. Come up for air. I don't know if you're like me, but when I first read this, I'm like, "Wait a minute — where are the other pages?" What stood out for you? What stood out for you, Brian? You are hilarious. What did you annotate? What did you notice? Come into the chat — put your fingers on that keyboard so you can put your thinking in the chat. What stood out based on your reading?
Debrief: so what was the destination? (32:56)
Dr. Ball: Now, when Dr. Ball brings that class back, she's asking students the same thing: "What stood out?" Some students know the protagonist as Aston. They pinpoint the dialogue. She brings attention to the tone — the conflict we see: Aston needs an inhaler; he throws the inhaler away. Like, "What are you doing?" He's so focused on this girl named Nikki. They're about to go into the school. I'm looking at Aston lying — and one piece of it says, "You sure you should do that?" — after he throws the inhaler away. And he says, "Ain't nothing." I'm like, "Cool, Aston. Okay, cool kid — I hope you don't need that inhaler."
We even talk further in Dr. Ball's class about the setting and how it's so important right now. As we continue with the reading, Dr. Ball continues to go further and further and further down. Now, here's the thing: as Dr. Ball discusses all these different things with the students, she asks them to now go into a stop-and-jot. She asks them to predict what they think will happen next — and to explain why. Now students write their responses, and — I hate to tell you — we have to go at 1:45, right? The bell has to ring. So I am asking us to come out of Dr. Ball's class for a second.
Now, put your literacy leader's hat on. Let me ask you: what are students supposed to be learning, based on what you saw in those five to seven minutes? Hmm. Based on what you saw, based on what you witnessed — what should students be learning? I don't know if you're like me: I'm like, "I really don't know." They're reading. There's an annotation guide. It's not really about the protagonist — I don't think we know just yet.
[Reading from the chat:] Shona — "just to interact," maybe. I hear you. Jackie — I see you: "I really don't know how to closely read… interact deeply." Cara — "there wasn't a focus." There was a lot going on in that room, though, Cara — there's a bunch of discussion, characterization. [Chat:] "I was just reading the story, to be honest." Okay — so what's the destination in this class? Characterization, like you guys are telling me you're thinking. But the reality for me is, I don't know the destination — and Cara's already calling it out: "There's a lot to really look at here."
Okay, we've got to come out of Dr. Ball's class. You're gonna go right across the hallway and check out Ms. Carr's class. Now, I hate to tell you this: when you go into Ms. Carr's class, she's using the same text. She's using the same bookmark as an annotation guide, and she also uses a stop-and-jot — she's on the same team with Dr. Ball. Now I just wonder what we're gonna see in that class, because I told you before we started: the destination has to be clear.
And when I ask you where Dr. Ball's students were going, you all gave me different answers. And I'm not here to tell you your answers were wrong — because you were not wrong. I saw your answers in the chat. Like, yes, there are a lot of elements to look at. Let's see, there was one more comment that came through, and I don't want to miss it: "A lot of ideas connected together in this passage that are difficult to navigate for many, many students." Yes, I would agree with that. No one's wrong. But the reality is, we don't absolutely know at this point what the destination actually is, because I don't have a focus. And if I don't have a focus, how can I tell you if students are truly growing and moving in the direction we need them to go in with the thinking?
There are so many standards in our reading language arts TEKS where I'm like, "I don't have time to waste just to be all over the place." I have to use my minutes of instruction wisely. Verdict is out. But let's go across the hallway, to Ms. Carr's room. What is it about these windows being covered? I can't see what's going on in here. All right, Bridget, I don't know — but it looks like you're like, "What's happening?" We're about to see.
Visit 2 — Ms. Carr's class (37:14)
Dr. Ball: Let's go into Ms. Carr's class now. When you go into Ms. Carr's class, you see a learning intention: "We're learning to analyze how character qualities affect what happens in a story." Same selection, same author.
Now, here's the thing. Ms. Carr tells her students they're using this annotation guide — but she also tells them: take a sticky note, which she provides to them. Take a sticky note — break that one sticky note in half. Budget cuts, my friends. Budget cuts. And she immediately tells her students to cover theme and setting [on the guide], leaving the focus on characters and events. So during this reading, she's telling students they're only going to focus on characters impacting the plot.
Even the annotation piece — you hear her say: "We're not on a hunt. If it's something that's worth thinking about, we're going to annotate it. We're not hunting for symbols, and we're not loosely putting [in] symbols that don't share our thinking. Everything that we annotate has to connect back to the learning intention."
And then we hear: "What kind of person is a firefighter?" You're already with me — you know I want you to interact with me in the chat. I absolutely do. And if you're like, "But wait, my lunch is kicking in" — come on, we've got to kick back against that lunch. We want to win here. What kind of person is a firefighter?
The teacher starts by saying this, and she starts to hear: "Brave." "They're courageous." "Loyal." "Confident." "Tough." "Strong." It's like, "Okay, baby, okay — I see what you're thinking here." The things the students are saying are the words a firefighter would use — like I've never heard a firefighter actually talk [like that]. So if they talk, what might they say? "Where's the fire?" "Anyone trapped?" They're not like, "Ooh, where'd you get that outfit from, Ms. Bridget? Ooh, I kind of like that — did that come from Amazon? Did it take two days?" They're not saying any of those things. They're strategic with their words, their actions. They're running inside of places we're oftentimes running out of.
So the teacher is asking students: "What made you say the firefighter is brave, courageous, or loyal?" The students are talking about the firefighter's decisions, right? Or even — guess what — their reactions as well. Because there are some things that may scare us — the way we react lets us know we're scared. But for a firefighter, the way they react lets us know: "Oh, they may be scared, but they're brave — because they're doing something in spite of it."
So the same skill that Ms. Carr tells her students — "you're doing these, [so] you can tell me what kind of person a firefighter is" — these are the same type of skill I want you to use today. You've seen a firefighter in real life. You have your perception of a firefighter based on their words, actions, reactions, and decisions. You're taking that same learning into today's work. And so today, we're learning to analyze how character qualities affect what happens in a story.
Now, if you hear me say that, you're probably like, "Qualities, Ms. Carr? What does that mean?" When I think of qualities, it's very much like what you did when you saw the firefighter: you look at the words, the reactions, the decisions. All of those things help us determine qualities, right? They signal qualities for us — because an author doesn't just come out and say, "Oh, Ms. Robinson is prideful." No. The author is going to paint it for us — paint that picture of those qualities through Ms. Robinson's words, her reactions, her actions, even her decisions. So in today's lesson, those are the things you're going to look for.
And you even hear Ms. Carr say: "So, what type of questions should you be able to answer, to let me know that you have met this learning intention — that you're being successful? What are some of the things you should hear in this lesson?" Feel free — I want you to come into the chat and tell me: based on this learning intention, if Ms. Carr is focused, what are some of the things you ideally want to hear students say, or think about, or do?
Success criteria: what should we see? (41:27)
Dr. Ball: What should we see in Ms. Carr's classroom in order to see that she's successful? What should we see? [Chat:] "What characters say — that showed you what they are like and how they solve or cause problems." Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. "Annotating for words, actions, reactions, decisions" — spot on. All right. I should also notice how it says analyze how a character's qualities, right? Qualities. So all of these things — but how does it affect what happens in the story, right? So they're connecting those qualities to events that are actually happening.
So now, all of the things you're hearing are things Ms. Carr is asking her students, too: "What should I hear or see you doing? What should I hear or see you saying, to make sure that you know you're successfully moving toward or meeting this learning intention?" Now we've got to stop talking about her learning intention and jump into her lesson, to see how aligned she is to it — since she tells them up front, "This is what we're learning."
Now we're gonna read the selection Way Too Cool by Brenda Woods. As we read, I want you to make sure we're on the lookout for qualities of a character and how those qualities might affect what happens in the story. All right — weapons in hand. We already know we're reading with our annotation guide. We don't annotate just everything. If we see a character quality — or something that lends itself to the quality — we're going to pause for a minute and think about that, and then we're going to see if we can see how it affects what happens. Let's jump in.
"He was 13 with chocolate-colored skin, taller than most men, and — as he often told anyone who would listen — way too cool. It was Friday before Christmas break, and he was looking forward to two weeks of freedom. He grinned and opened the front door. 'Do you have your inhaler, Aston?' his mom called out from the kitchen. The same question came from her lips every morning."
Every morning. So let's pause for a second, because I'm noticing: chocolate-colored skin, taller — like, I'm seeing he's handsome here. It matters why we bring attention to this, right? And he seems to also tell anyone who would listen that he's "way too cool." I don't just walk up to a person — anybody who would listen to me — and say, "Hey, you know what? I love literacy, and I can teach it. I would love to teach." Like, "Who are you, lady, and what is your problem, right?" So if Aston's doing this, that lets me know Aston must be a confident kid — because even if he would say this to anybody who would listen, that signals confidence. It could signal cockiness. What does it signal to you?
But it doesn't stop there. I even see "way too cool" — it makes me think about that connection back to the title, and I'm like, "Huh — will this come up later?" So I'm going to underline that. But I'm also noticing another quality, possibly: I'm seeing he's confident, but because his mom asked him every morning, "Do you have your inhaler?" — I'm wondering: is he forgetful, or just plain stubborn? Does he ignore his asthma? Now, I have a daughter who has a peanut allergy, and every morning I'm asking her, "Sanaya, do you have your EpiPen?" Because guess what — she's forgetful, and I don't want her to have an episode at school. So I'm putting my exclamation point there, but I'm also noting that quality: forgetful. Stubborn.
It goes on: I'm seeing his grin vanish. His grin vanished — he wears his emotion, so he's definitely an emotional person. But we've got to keep reading. So let's pick up:
"His grin vanished as he fingered the inhaler in his jacket pocket. 'Yeah, I got it,' he replied. He gave the screen door a gentle push, stepped outside, and headed to school. Rosa Parks Middle School was a mile from his house, and unless someone gave him a ride, he walked. 'Take the bus,' his Pops said, sighing, when it was cold. 'The bus ain't cool,' Aston replied. 'You have asthma,' his Pops would say. 'Tell me something I don't know,' Aston wanted to say."
Confident, forgetful, stubborn (45:44)
Dr. Ball: Now I'm going to pause there just for a moment, because I'm noticing his grin is vanishing, possibly because he has to take an inhaler with him. Like, that's weird to me. My daughter wants her inhaler — she doesn't want to go to school without it, because she's had a reaction to peanuts before, and she knows how deadly and serious it is. So it makes me wonder: is he embarrassed about needing an inhaler, or does he not think that inhaler is cool? What is this kid's issue?
So right now, I have to agree with Ms. Tonja: he cares too much about being cool right now, right? And so I'm seeing that quality in him. Even when his dad says, "Hey, take the bus" — and why? Because it's cold outside — instead of him saying "Okay," he says, "The bus ain't cool."
So I see that Aston is confident. He's possibly forgetful. I see he's stubborn, based on what he says back and forth to his dad. But I'm also seeing that — hmm — this Aston, he's so wrapped up in his image. He's concerned about what he looks like or how others perceive him.
Now, at this point, ladies and gents, I'm going to ask you to read to the end of the page. We're going to keep reading — we're constantly looking at qualities. Notice how I didn't stop at paragraph two, about Friday before Christmas break: that didn't tell me anything about his qualities, right? Because we're looking at qualities and how those qualities may impact what's happening. So I want you to continue reading to the end of the page. I simply want you to read with a peer, and I want you to determine: what qualities does Aston show us, and how might those qualities affect what happens?
Now, Ms. Carr gives students a few minutes to read. She plays a little music in the background after a while, and then she comes back and has a discussion with students: "We already talked about Aston being confident — we saw that in the first line. Now I'm seeing some other qualities [from] when you were reading and discussing. What other qualities are you seeing that Aston is showing us?" We see: concerned about his image. She's annotating on the board some of the things students are saying: he's carefree; he's stubborn; he's desperate — desperate for Nikki's attention; we're getting details. He's also irresponsible — because he doesn't want to take that inhaler; but he takes it, and then he throws it away, right?
And so now the teacher also layers in a thinking stem, to ask students to share with a peer: based on what you see of Aston, how do you think that quality is going to impact what he does later? Students pause, turn and talk — and then finally, again, a stop-and-jot. Ms. Carr asks students: "How might Aston's qualities eventually help solve — or make worse — the conflict?"
Now, here's the thing: we have to leave Ms. Carr's class as well. But we stayed in both classes around the same amount of time. We saw both teachers reading the same selection. We saw both teachers using the same annotation guide. We saw both classes reading, listening, writing, speaking, talking. But here's the question, as we come out of that class and debrief as leaders: what were students supposed to learn in Ms. Carr's class — and why was there a difference in those classes? Come into the chat; let me know what you're thinking.
What were they supposed to learn in Ms. Carr's class? Why was there even a difference — [when] they used the same text? So imagine — hey, they clearly didn't plan together, but there was a difference. [Chat:] "I noticed it too." Why was there a difference? This is what teachers need to see. [Chat:] "From beginning to end." I'm right there with you, Angela. From the beginning, Ms. Carr told the students what the learning intention was. We couldn't easily say, "Okay, Ms. Carr — Dr. Ball, I need you to put the learning intention on the board." But that doesn't solve the problem.
"The target says everything" (50:05)
Dr. Ball: Latanya — here's the thing. It is so funny how that target — Cara, you nailed it; you all are nailing it in the chat — the target says everything. If I don't know the destination, I'm just taking all the kids for a ride. And I hate to tell you — I love that Dr. Ball has "Doctor" in front of her name — but the reality is, I don't know where she's taking her students. They're gonna wander in the wilderness, and I hope for not 40 years, simply because she has no destination.
It is clear that Ms. Carr tells her kids from the beginning. She launches based on what they already know, to help them tap into those same skills before applying them to the text. She's not cherry-picking and hunting with that annotation tool; she's using it as a resource to guide. She says, "Hey, we're not annotating everything — we're annotating for our focus." So although both teachers are trying to read for comprehension, one teacher is going to go further and faster, because there is focus. There is a target. There is a target.
So we want to also make sure every second of instruction is aligned to that target. So now we're gonna keep on going with our time. When we ask students in Dr. Ball's or Ms. Carr's class, on that same campus, to take a seat, they should know where we're driving them. It shouldn't be just, "Stay with me — you're gonna find out. I'm excited about the lesson." It doesn't matter how excited I am about the lesson: I'm wasting instructional time if there is no clear destination. Students should know: "We're learning to analyze how character qualities affect what happens in a story."
Now we've got to keep this train moving, because I already know I've got a time limit — it's 1:34, and we only have about 10-ish minutes left. So let's keep this ride moving.
So: we see the destination, and we see what it looks like when there is no clear destination. It's like there is learning happening in here — and as an instructional leader, as a previous administrator, I can tell you: it's easy to walk into a classroom — a literacy class, any class — and see stuff happening. Notice I said stuff. We can see stuff happening, and it could be the wrong stuff. We can walk into a literacy classroom and see students reading, writing, listening, thinking, speaking, and automatically say, "Oh, they were so engaged." But if they were not headed to the right destination, they're just doing stuff. They're just "task" at that point — because there is very limited growth that could possibly happen in a classroom that doesn't have a destination.
All right. So when we talk about this destination, we map it out. We look at the TEKS — they tell us where we're going. We also have to create clear learning intentions. Now, on page two in your handout, you're going to see a self-assessment. I always like to put a self-assessment in front of our teachers — because guess what? It's another check for understanding. We're going to talk about check progress next, but I want to see where we are now. Due to time, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on the self-assessment, but I want you to check it out: indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement. And this is something I always tell teachers: I don't care if you box it, highlight it, underline it — do whatever works for you. I am not your boss, all right. But do you agree or disagree with each statement?
And then — I often tell teachers, "I'm not hovering over your shoulders." That's a lie. I do, when I'm in a room training. If I'm on a campus, I do walk around, because I want to see what they're thinking. On one side, it says: "Before you learn about learning intentions, success criteria, [and] checks for understanding" — these are our foundations for what we do in a classroom. They are our tenets for literacy instruction. I need to know where I'm going, because a bulk of our literacy work rests inside kids' brains.
Self-assessment (54:07)
Dr. Ball: So that makes it even more complex for us — so we've got to be clear. Based on the self-assessment, I ask: do you agree or disagree with each statement? I even want to know which statement gives you the most pause. So I'm gonna play a little music and give you about one minute to just skim. And which question — which number, out of the seven — do you think will give your teachers the most pause? Which one do you think would trip them up?
Music plays — "Fast Car," Tracy Chapman
What a learning intention is — and isn't (55:07)
Dr. Ball: All right — only because time is chasing on my heels, I've got to pause there. I'm curious: based on what you thought, which statement would possibly be the hardest for your teachers — or cause your teachers, or even you, to pause?
All right. When I think about that assessment — I'm thinking about Angela: you [said] "wording them in such a way that kids understand the target." They're — oops, they were supposed — oh, I need to keep going [in the chat]. All right, I need to keep going. I think number two would give teachers the most pause. I even think about number one — Susan, I would agree with you. Number four, Angela. I even think about number one.
Look at number one: "A learning intention should tell students exactly what they will do during the lesson." It's like — watch out, watch out, watch out — because learning intentions are not about what you're doing; it's what [you're learning]. Because [otherwise] you're going to complete some task: "We're going to read a selection." "We're going to use an annotation tool." That's not a learning intention. It's not. A learning intention tells me exactly what I am going to learn during that class period.
So when I think about a learning intention, I want to be explicit. I don't want to assume that if I go from one district to the next in the state, everybody's on the same page with what we're saying — because even our acronyms change. [Take] the TEKS Resource System — you could confuse it with TRS, the Teacher Retirement System. And there are a ton of acronyms in education. A learning intention is that statement of exactly what students are expected to learn.
So when I think back to our standards — I showed you a vertical alignment of just the standards that are operating for this lesson, Way Too Cool, on pages four and five of your handout — you see the essential TEKS as well as the bundled TEKS. Throughout the lesson — for that full training — teachers get to see how instruction stays aligned to that learning, to that essential TEKS, while those bundled TEKS are also brought in.
But the real question that gets teachers: could students truly master everything that's described in the [readiness] student expectation in one typical class period? Here's what gets them. And Tonda — you are over there, and I don't want you to get whiplash whatsoever, because you are absolutely correct: it is very difficult for a teacher to say they're going to accomplish mastery for this particular standard or that particular standard — especially when we have standards bundled. And I didn't even bring in the foundational standards that support what we do every single day. Typically, it is not possible. So we free teachers by sharing that with them: it is not possible, right? It is not possible. We have to be strategic.
So even based on what we're seeing in the learning intention alone — if I throw that vertical alignment out there, after showing the full sequence — I see, here's my first day in blue; here's the second day added, because it's a two-day lesson, right, in purple. I see the vertical alignment for the standard. Based on what this teacher is doing, you should be able to even tell me what grade level teacher Ms. Carr or Dr. Ball is. You should be able to tell me based on what we see alone. If you're like, "I want to take a stab at it," feel free — don't put it in the chat; I don't want you to feel like, "Oh, they saw my answer and I was right or I was wrong." You can — it's totally up to you.
But the reality is, this is a seventh-grade teacher that we're seeing. We don't want the teacher to overshoot the destination: don't drive past it — drive to the destination. And definitely don't stop short. Because if I only talk about internal and external responses, it's like I didn't get to the destination. I need to talk about how characters' qualities influence the events and the resolution of the conflict. Otherwise, I stop too soon.
Unpacking "analyze" (58:58)
Dr. Ball: [Otherwise] I stop short of my drive — and I don't want to have some great instruction and still not meet mastery. So when I think about the expectation you saw in that little short piece of learning, I also have to ask myself: how did I get there? I need to unpack what's expected of me. I need to ask: what am I expecting students to learn during the lesson?
If I see "analyze," I know that is not just an isolated thing that happens — oh, this is a process. It takes students being able to take one plus next plus this, to be able to show me analysis. What do I mean by that? When I see this, I should be able to tell what a character's thoughts, feelings, words, and actions are — plus, I should be able to go further and say how those responses move the story forward. That's how I get my learning intention: "We're learning to analyze [how] characters' thoughts, feelings, words, and actions move the story forward."
I even have to ask myself: if I saw this in the classroom, would they be on day one or day two? Where would they be in the sequence of learning? All right — I don't see that they're just [at the beginning], that they're going to the resolution. So it's like, "Oh, so this is just the practice one?" "Yeah, this is what they did last year. I can build off of what they did last year. I'm not starting from scratch — but I need to take them further than last year, right?"
You can turn this into a question, too. Of course — I can turn learning intentions into questions. You may say, "I don't want to give it all away to them." Turn it into a question that they have to answer before that class period is over.
When it all boils down, learning intentions truly have to be accessible, student-friendly — I already saw it in the chat. It should be clear to everyone. It should be accurate to what the TEKS actually [say]. And it should be actionable learning that our students can absolutely do in that class period.
So, if you look back over what were some of those things you saw in Ms. Carr's class — you'll see that, as she continues to move forward, she has to get to the level of "we're learning to analyze how character qualities affect what happens in a story." So the learning can't stop there. She has to move forward. And with her moving forward, she continues to ask students to read the selection, annotate that selection — but she's not continuing to guide them. She's allowing students to work with partners. She's monitoring instruction within the classroom. She's looking for students catching subtle details that show what that character's qualities are — but not only the qualities: how those qualities impact what happens.
The teacher even pulls out — if you are looking at my visual — an old-school character doll. You're like, "What? These still exist?" Tried and true. Thinking is always what we want. But not just a character doll — she's asking students: "What do you notice about the character? Give me evidence. What do those details reveal about the character — and how does the character quality affect what happens?"
So, in one paragraph, we're noticing a student [note]: "Oh — Aston tipped his head to the side and smiled at Carlita. He didn't even speak when she spoke to him; he just showed his teeth." Okay, so what does that reveal? "Oh, he's confident." "Oh, or he's cocky." Okay. So what happens — how does the character quality affect what happens? Because Aston wants us to see him as cool, he just smiles confidently. You are also seeing additional examples happen in that room with Ms. Carr.
Now, as we continue to read, Ms. Carr is, of course, supporting her students with sentence frames — very similar to what you saw in her class earlier. Now, sentence frames are not just "hey, it's the solution to the thing, and then we get to just move forward." She shows students how to use those frames in order to take that thinking deeper — before she ends with an exit ticket for that day.
Checks for understanding, and day two (1:02:58)
Dr. Ball: [The exit ticket asks:] "Which quality of Aston's makes his conflict more difficult to overcome?" — which quality — and then they have to support their answer with evidence from the selection.
Now, when it all is said and done, Ms. Carr has many different checks for understanding she could do within that classroom to see whether or not students are making progress toward the learning. And the reality is, there are quite a few things she can continue to do even on the second day. Just to give you a glimpse before we close this thing out and transition to our next presenter: on day two, she even takes students further, so that they can analyze through the author's eyes. She wants students to be able to use what they learned on day one — pulling those character qualities, talking about how they impact or affect the selection. But then: okay, let's look a little bit further at how it brings resolution. But not just how it brings resolution — how does the setting enhance that? How does the language? The point of view that's used? Even the purpose — why did the author even write this? What message does the author have for us?
So we're asking students to go a little bit further — asking them to look at the setting, looking at how that setting actually impacts what we get within the selection — so that students eventually can get to the ultimate writing task for this learning: explaining how Aston's qualities influence the events and the resolution of the conflict.
Now, the reality is, with our abbreviated time, you were able to see students go from literal thinking to — [us] leading students to — inferential thinking. Just like in the real world: we see lights on a car — "Wait, is he pulling me over?" "Wait, somebody's speeding." Or, "Oh, I can infer there is an emergency. I'm glad it's not me — somebody else better than me." And two — just like we would do in the real world: if we saw additional service vehicles, we're like, "Something serious is going on." And if you're like me, I'm like, "Let me stop and pray — or let me keep rolling and pray with my eyes open — because there is something serious happening here."
We want students to tap into these same skills in our classroom, to ensure that they get to TEKS mastery. We want all of our students to be successful in the classroom. And in order to be successful, they have to have a clear destination. We have to plan the route for them. We have to make sure that those learning intentions and success criteria align to what our standards say. We're consistently checking their progress and always creating experiences — oh, how I wish we could have stayed in Ms. Carr's class — but we're creating experiences that allow them to be successful.
Now, ladies and gents, I appreciate you hanging with me. Chris, thank you for the opportunity. If there are additional questions, feel free to put them in the chat — I'll hang back as well. But information is on the screen; you know how to reach me based on my contact information in your handout. Thank you so much for all that you do leading literacy across our great state of Texas.
Closing (1:05:58)
Ms. Robinson: Dr. Ball — this has been an incredible session. Incredible. And I promise, when I'm repeating some of your quotables, I will give full credit. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you all for your time and attention. We will reshare the links and the slides that Dr. Ball so graciously shared with us. The next session will start at 2 p.m. — I have put the link for that session in [the chat] for you. We will open the room probably three to four minutes before that session starts. Please enjoy your break. But I know, if y'all are like me, I'm full and I'm gonna need to go walk off some of this extra energy. It was amazing. Thank you all. Enjoy your break. Dr. Ball — for real. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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