CCR Standards: ELA/Literacy Foundational Units
CCR Standards-based professional development (PD) English Language Arts/Literacy materials made for adult educators.
The College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards ELA/Literacy Foundational Units 1-4 were produced by StandardsWork Inc. as part of the Implementing CCR Standards in Adult Education project, under contract to the U.S. Department of Education (Contract # ED-VAE-13-C-0066). These training materials replicate four key activities created for adult educators who participated in three CCR Standards Implementation Institutes offered in 2014 and 2016. Taken together the activities that make up Units 1 – 4 will help participants explore what it means to implement the CCR Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy in adult education. Participants will receive a practical and transferable understanding of the fundamental advances in instruction embedded in the CCR Standards, which are crucial to preparing adult students to meet the real-world demands of college and careers. At the heart of the instructionaladvancesis a careful examination of the texts that students read and the kinds of questions students should address as they write and speak about them.
- Foundational Unit 1 Connecting CCR Standards to Key Advances explores the fundamental elements, structure, and meaning of the CCR Standards.
- Foundational Unit 2 Selecting Texts worth Reading introduces text complexity, the central role it plays in the CCR Standards, and the complex texts students need to read.
- Foundational Unit 3 Identifying Questions worth Answering focuses on the value of building students’ ability to draw evidence from texts and teachers’ ability to use text-based questions.
- Foundational Unit 4 Creating High Quality Prompts focuses on teaching instructors how to build a culminating writing assignment that assesses student knowledge.
Each ready-to-use unit includes a facilitator’s guide, an annotated PowerPoint presentation, and participant materials.
This resource supports States’ and programs’ efforts to implement adult education content standards that are aligned to college and career readiness in an effort to support rigorous and high quality instruction.Usage of the ELA/Literacy Foundational Units 1-4 will strengthen the capacity of adult educators to implement CCR standards to better prepare adult students for success in college and careers. These activities provide the field with opportunities to dig into the CCR standards and to explore what it means to adopt CCR-aligned standards and how to do so in a sustainable manner. Understanding how the CCR Standards differ from previous sets of standards—and the necessary shifts or advances they call for—is essential to implementing the CCR standards well.
Engagement in these four units of activities will enable adult educators to identify the most significant elements of the CCR Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy and to determine how best to integrate them in instruction and curriculum. The goal of Units 1 - 4 is for participants to leave with specific ideas, resources, and actions they can implement immediately. Designed primarily for group-use, these units also support independent study.
There are four units that should be worked through sequentially. The units can be facilitated during a single daylong training or in multiple trainings over several weeks or months. Eachready-to-useunit contains all the materials required to facilitate these training activities, including a facilitator’s guide, an annotated PowerPoint Presentation, and a packet of participant materials. Each facilitator’s guide includes a similar set of features:
- Background and Purpose: presents the origin and rationale for each activity.
- Overview: reviews what each unit covers, the basic steps and the expected outcomes.
- Materials: lists the resources needed to implement the activity.
- Time Frame: suggests the approximate amount of time needed to prepare for and implement each activity.
- Guidelines for Implementation: provides directions and details the steps needed to implement each activity.
- Reflections: frames questions to reflect on and discuss the unit’s activities.
The participant materials include the directions, charts, worksheets, answer keys and other resource materials that guide the use of each unit. The PowerPoint presentations are a digital aid for presenters/facilitators who lead the CCR English Language Arts/Literacy training activities. Notes are provided within the PowerPoint presentations to help you prepare for each session. This information accompanies the information offered in the facilitator guides—including the research base, rationale, advice, and other guidelines—to provide the support and guidance you may require.
While training is not required prior to use of this resource, a fundamental awareness of the CCR Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy is recommended.
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