ABC Zoom Documents

We love using the book Zoom by Istvan Banyai to remind ourselves that sometimes we need to zoom in on an issue to make sure we understand the details and other times it is important to zoom out, to make sure we see an issue in context of the bigger picture.

Use this great wordless book to set a common vocabulary term with your group! ZOOM!

What are Zoom documents?

It is our way of combining important information from the Common Core Literacy Standards, the CC ELA Appendices A-B-C, and Arkansas' high-stakes test, the ACT Aspire, to create a one-stop guide to help with curriculum development and delivery at each grade level. This document is NOT meant to replace careful reading and study of the documents themselves! This is provided as a way for us to Zoom! in and out to see if we have all the right pieces in place!

There is nothing worse than working really, really hard... on the wrong stuff!

How to use these documents...

We suggest that teachers complete this document over the course of the year. Each grade has their own document.

Write down the texts and tasks that are used each grading period on the appropriate table/category. This will allow everyone to better "see" what areas are being covered well and where there might be holes in the taught curriculum.

Are students reading the appropriate kind and number of texts? Extended? Short? Lexile level? Balance?
Do teachers know the minimum and maximum passage length for their grade level?
Are students experiencing the routine writing and analytical writing that is expected at their grade level? How many?
How many extended research projects were completed? Are the grade level expectations (as well as those from previous grades) used to assess student work?
What technology has each student used?
Which next-generation assessment task types have been modeled and used as instruction or assessment in the classroom? How often?

You may wish to add items to the spreadsheet to document other focus areas as needed, but be sure you don't delete information. These documents must be reviewed not only by grade level, but by grade band. The vertical alignment is very important within a grade band AND as transitions occur grade-to-grade.

Please contact your ABC Coach for further clarification and information. We are happy to help facilitate this conversation!

These documents are password protected for our ABC Partners. If you are not an ABC Partner you can download a sample and then contact us if you are interested in the other documents.

QUICK LINKS:

Common Core English Language Arts Standards

Password Required:

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Sixth Grade

Seventh Grade

Eighth Grade

Ninth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eleventh Grade

Twelfth Grade

Each grade level Zoom document includes these components:

Complex Texts

What types of texts and quantity of texts should students should be engaged with? We set our form up for six units during the year and calculated the numbers based on information from the testing consortiums (PARCC and Smarter Balance). If you are using a different number of units, then the numbers will need to be recalculated. The number of units isn't really a factor, it is whether we are getting the right pieces in them! The number of GRADING PERIODS you have isn't a factor in this calculation.

Writing Expectations

This section lists the type of writing students are expected to do at this grade level. Also included is the suggested frequency from the testing consortiums (PARCC and Smarter Balance). Note that routine writing, analytic writing (analyses), and narrative writing all have their own information and expectations. Make sure you get the right balance!

Routine Reading and Writing with Technology Expectations

This table outlines the kind of routine work that should be going on regularly in the classroom. These should be done often, if not daily!

Research Expectations

Basic information about the research process and what students at this grade level are expected to do.

"Next-Generation" Assessment Tasks

This section lists task types that students should become very familiar with. While these are taken from PARCC's Blueprints and Test Specs for item development (which is no longer a factor for Arkansas), it still outlines the type of tasks students may be asked to complete on other next-generation assessments.

Reference:

PARCC Blueprints and Test Specs at http://www.parcconline.org/assessment-‐blueprints-‐test-‐specs