Common Core Literacy Shifts

1.

1 point

Which of the following statements describe the intent of the staircase of complexity? (Select all that apply.)

Text get progressively more complex across a year.

Texts get progressively more complex across reading groups.

Text get progressively more complex across subject areas.

Texts get progressively more complex across multiple years.

2.

1 point

Which of the following statements about academic vocabulary are true?

Direct instruction in academic vocabulary is not important.

Students who read widely tend to have richer academic vocabularies than students who do not.

Close reading is the single best way to build academic vocabulary.

Students will learn academic vocabulary primarily through speaking and listening to peers.

3.

1 point

You are working with a team to plan a product for their expedition focusing on how the Great Depression impacted residents in their community. The team has connected with a local retirement community and plans to have their students interview residents to learn about this period of history. They have come up with four product ideas. Which of these ideas has the potential to be both engaging for students while also requiring students to read for and write with evidence (meeting the requirements of the CCSS)?

A report detailing the impact of the Great Depression on the local community based on historical research (secondary sources and primary sources).

A collection of short stories that highlight the impact of the Great Depression on children in the local community, based on interviews with residents and incorporating factual details from historical research (secondary and primary resources).

A gallery opening at the retirement home with students’ pen and ink portraits of residents and a poem based on students’ interviews of residents.

A book of memoirs, written from the interview transcripts, focusing on each resident and accompanied by a photograph of each person.

4.

1 point

Read the following question about the Gettysburg Address and answer the question that follows
“Abraham Lincoln said that this nation was ‘conceived in liberty.’ Why is liberty an important value to pursue?”
Select the answer that best describes whether this is question is text-dependent.

This question is not text-dependent. It does not require students to read the text in order to answer the question.

This question is not text-dependent. It is about a speech, rather than about a written fiction or non-fiction text.

This question is text-dependent. It is specifically about the Gettysburg Address, and cannot be about any other text.

This question is text-dependent. It requires that students read the Gettysburg Address closely in order to answer it.

5.

1 point

Which of the following sets of texts best fulfills the intent of the shift for ELA toward a balance of fiction and non-fiction?

An ELA unit that asks students to read a novel, a poem, and two speeches, all with similar themes or ideas.

An ELA course that asks students to read an article, two speeches discussed in the article, and a memoir by one of the speech writers.

An ELA unit that asks students to read a novel, a biography of that author, and an article about the author.

6.

1 point

Select the best criterion for a question to be text-dependent.

To be text-dependent, a question should ask for a student’s perspective on the topics explored in the text.

To be text-dependent, a question should require a student to go back to the text to answer it.

To be text-dependent, a question should require a student to utilize a depth of background knowledge about the text to answer it.

To be text-dependent, a question should have the phrase, “according to the text” appended to it.

7.

1 point

Which of the following increases the complexity level of a text? (Select all that apply.)

Longer sentences

Non-traditional structure

Longer chapters

Non-fiction

More difficult vocabulary

None of the above

All of the above

Varied syntax

8.

1 point

You are giving feedback on an assessment for Grade 6. To group the standards strategically, which of these would you remove?

RI.6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.6.8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
W.6.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
SL.6.3: Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

SL.6.3

W.6.3

RI.6.8

RI.6.1

9.

1 point

What makes a quality assessment?

Precision in assessing standards, appropriate and engaging text selection, students required to use background knowledge

Format appropriate to assessment and purpose, precisions in assessing standards, multiple questions assessing the same standard, students required to draw on personal experiences

Precision in assessing standards, appropriate and engaging text selection, format appropriate to assessment purpose

Appropriate and engaging text selection, multiple choice/selected response questions, alignment of questions to state tests/assessments

10.

1 point

You are working with a team of teachers whose scaffolding plan shows careful scaffolding that will help students create a really high-quality product. But in their STA, you notice that there are no/few other assessments beyond the product itself. In order for the team to have a sense of students’ independent mastery, what would you encourage them to formally assess? (Select all that apply)

Content knowledge

Writing skill

Reading skills

Speaking and Listening skills

11.

1 point

Which of the follow writing tasks best fulfills the intent of the shift “writing from sources?”

Students read a book of choice, then write a review of the book for their friends.

Students read about the pros and cons of gun control, then develop an argument regarding the issue which they support with specific details from the texts.

Students read several informational pieces about the causes of global warming, then write a PSA in which they explain why they believe global warming should be prevented.

Students read a novel, then connect the experiences characters are going through to their own lives.