Monday, September 22, 2014

Sample Teacher Learning Targets with Student-Centered ELA Common Core Standards

There's a formula with which you can change Common Core standards to teacher-centered learning targets:

Students will (concept and skill) by (cognitive application from Hess DOK) as demonstrated by (type of cooperative group activity).

The following are the teacher learning targets for a  month-long unit (seven units per year) for ELA fourth grade Common Core standards:


Student Learning Targets Changed to Teacher Learning Targets using DOK (depth of knowledge) and collaborative learning.



RL 5            I can refer to structural elements to explain major differences among poems, and prose.

Students will be able to refer to structural elements to explain major differences among poems, and prose by comparing a selection of one with the other demonstrated by jigsaw.

RL 7            I can make connections between the written text of a story and a visual or oral.

Students will be able to make connections between the written text of a story and a visual or oral by naming elements of narration/description in the image and matching them with text in the story as demonstrated by pair share.


RI 5             I can describe the structure used in a piece of informational text.

Students will be able to describe the structure used in a piece of informational text by identifying the organizational pattern (description, problem solution, chronological, compare/contrast and cause/effect) and recording the content of the structure on the appropriate graphic organizer.

RI 7            I can interpret information that is presented orally.

Students will be able to interpret information that is presented orally by explaining phenomena in terms of concepts from an science text in their own words as demonstrated by three-step interview .
(In step one the teacher presents an issue about which varying opinions exist and poses several
questions for the class to address. Step two, the students, in pairs become the interviewer and the interviewee. Step three, after the first interview has been completed, the students’ roles are switched. After each student has had a turn, the pairs read their interviews to the class.

W 3             I can write a real or imagined narrative piece where:
a. establish a situation, introduce a narrator, and organize an appropriate sequence.
b.  use dialogue and descriptions to develop events and characters,
c.  use transitional words and phrases to manage sequence of events.
d.  use concrete words and phrases and sensory details
e. provide some sense of closure.


Students will be able to write a fictional or nonfictional narrative by formulating story elements on a step-by-step brainstorming worksheet  the content of the presentation in their own words as demonstrated by peer editing.

W 6            I can use digital tools to produce and publish my work.

Students will be able to use digital tools to produce/publish work by organizing edited content including title, author, narrative content and printing it out as demonstrated by cooperative groups.

SL 2            I can paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or presented visually.

Students will be able to paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or presented visually by using vocabulary words as  context cues as demonstrated pair share.

SL 3            I can identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives to support points.

Students will be able to identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives to support points by constructing a graphic organizer that match each point with a reason and/or evidence.

              SL 4            I can speak clearly and audibly while reporting on a topic or telling a story or experience in an organized manner.

Students will be able to speak clearly and audibly while reporting on a topic or telling a story or experience in an organized manner by drawing conclusions of reading selections demonstrated by jigsaw group reporting.

AND/OR

Students will be able to speak clearly and audibly while reporting on a topic or telling a story or experience in an organized manner by recalling a topic or story covered in class as demonstrated corners (Each student moves to a corner of the room representing a teacher-determined alternative. Students discuss within corners, then listen to
and paraphrase ideas from other corners.)


SL 5            I can add audio recordings or visual displays to enhance a presentation.

Students will be able to add audio recordings or visual displays to enhance a presentation by critiquing books/stories/informational text read as demonstrated by class presentation.

SL 3            I can identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives to support points.

Students will be able to identify the reasons and evidence a speaker gives to support points by summarizing the points as demonstrated by round table (are simple cooperative learning
structures that cover much content, builds team spirit, and incorporates writing. The roundtable has three steps to it. In the first step, the teacher poses a question that has multiple answers. Step two, the first student in each group writes one response on a paper and passes the paper counterclockwise to the next student. Finally, in step three, teams with the greatest number of correct responses gain some type of recognition.)

L 1b            I can form and use progressive verb tenses.

Students will be able to form and use progressive verb tenses by combining each of the progressive tenses with a subject before the verb and a prepositional phrase after it for given verbs as demonstrated by pair sharing sentence strips.

L 1d            I can use adjectives in conventional order; small, red bag NOT red, small bag.

Students will be able to use adjectives in conventional order small, red bag NOT red, small bag by identifying the patterns in conventional adjective noun sentences and state of being sentences as demonstrated by coop groups.


L 1f            I can produce complete sentences.
I can correct inappropriate fragments and run ons.

Students will be able to  produce complete sentences by comparing independent clauses with dependent ones as demonstrated by roundrobin with group leader calling on a group member to change a fragment and/or run-on on a list into a complete sentence.


L 1g            I can correctly use homonyms.

Students will be able to correctly use homonyms by constructing sentences for ten sets of homonyms and having a partner read them aloud and vice versa as demonstrated by pair sharing.


L 2a            I can use correct capitalization.

Students will be able to use correct capitalization by creating a travel brochure to a California destination using correct capitalization demonstrated by jigsaw, with each group working on the same destination.


L 2b            I can use quotations and commas to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.

Students will be able to use quotations and commas to mark direct speech and quotations from a text by modifying text that includes dialogue as demonstrated by peer editing.


L 2c            I can use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.

Students will be able to use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence by categorizing a mixed list of sentences that contain two independent clauses and one dependent clause with an independent clause and sentences that are not compound sentences (simple/compound subject+verb clause) as demonstrated by peer editing.

L 2d            I can spell fourth grade words appropriately and consult references as needed.

Students will be spell fourth grade words appropriately and consult references as needed by using a choice of online dictionaries as demonstrated by peer checking.


L 3a            I can choose words and phrases to precisely convey ideas.

Students will be able to choose words and phrases to precisely convey ideas by modifying descriptive text each as demonstrated by jigsaw, each group working on a part of a reading selection composed of vague phrases and words.


L 3b            I can choose punctuation for effects.

Students will be able to choose punctuation for effects by comparing connotations with sentences that don't use punctuation for effects as demonstrated by pair sharing using the same text (a poem).


L 3c            I can differentiate between contexts that call for formal English and informal discourse.

Students will be able differentiate between contexts that call for formal English and informal discourse analyzing dialogue written in dialect by combining each of the progressive tenses with a subject before the verb and a prepositional phrase after it for given verbs as demonstrated by pair sharing sentence strips.


L 4a            I can use context clues to figure out word meaning.

Students will be able to  use context clues to figure out word meaning by hypothesizing a meaning of an unfamiliar word using words/phrases around it by pair share of predetermined unknown words identified in first step of close reading.


L 4b            I can determine the meaning of a word by using the affix or root.

Students will be able to determine the meaning of a word by using the affix or root differentiating these affixes in a word (separating them from the root word) as demonstrated by jigsaw (each group getting a list of words to analyze).


L 4c            I can determine the meaning or pronunciation of a word by consulting reference materials.

Students will be able to determine the meaning or pronunciation of a word by consulting reference materials by reciting the word after hearing it being pronounced (using an online dictionary) as demonstrated by pair sharing.


L 5a            I can explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors.

Students will be able explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors modifying banal adjectives in a descriptive/narrative writing assignment as demonstrated by peer editing.


L 5b            I can recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

Students will be able to recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs by identifying them in literature to define them using visuals/realia/TPR  as demonstrated by coop groups.