3AB. Helping Struggling Readers Conquer Complex Texts, Close Reading, and Challenging Tasks: A Continuum to Get There

Description: With the roll-out of the Common Core standards, both teachers and students have had to redefine the work of the classroom space in order to ensure college and career readiness.  This session will examine how to employ grade-level texts and challenging tasks, and how teachers can "throw the ladder down" to scaffold and support students along the way.  Through intentional lesson/unit design which includes opportunities to engage students in close reading, annotation, and argumentation (oral and written) activities, reaching and exceeding these grade level expectations is made possible. Teachers will learn more about an exciting opportunity to participate in Project READI (reading, evidence, argumentation in disciplinary instruction) part of the Reading for Understanding Project funded by the US Dept. of Ed. to look at how 6th-12th grade students construct evidence-based argumentation across multiple texts in the content areas of literature, history and science.

Presenter: Rick Coppola has been a CPS middle-school teacher (Grades 7 & 8) for the last 5 years at John B. Drake Elementary School on the south side of Chicago. Though Rick works with students who often read below grade level, last year 96% of his class met and exceeded on the ISAT. As a career changer, Rick came to earn his Master's Degree in Instructional Leadership at UIC because of a belief in his ability to understand and relate to the challenges students face during adolescence.  As a 2010 Drive Award Winner, and a 2011 Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction, Rick understands how to create a dynamic learning environment that empowers students to think deeply, not only about their own lives, but the larger contexts we live in.  He credits a large part of his success with students to a close partnership with UIC (Partnership Read, Global Ed II, Project Readi) for giving him continual access to the latest research in best practice and researchers who are experts in the field of Education/Psychology. 

Handouts:

• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Collaborate%20Chicago.pptx
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Black%20Cat%20%28Heavily%20Annotated%29.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Black%20Cat%20%28Little%20Annotation%29.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Black%20Cat%20%28Medium%20Annotated%29.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Modeling%20with%20Cultural%20Data%20Sets%20by%20Carol%20Lee.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Reading%20Apprenticeship%20Materials%20%28WEST%20ED%29.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Sample%20Lesson_Unit%20Plan%20Templates%20%28Assorted%29.pdf
• https://dl.dropbox.com/u/84684763/3AB%20-%20Hillocks%20Argument%20Writing%20copy.pdf