Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework

Introduction

The D75 Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework was developed in response to schools’ requests for instructional expectations connected to the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) for students in Alternate Assessment classes. Groups of teachers, administrators, and district content area coaches gathered for four weeks during the summer of 2013, and participated in a collaborative process to create an Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework. The process included a workshop at the beginning of each week to train the group in the leveled learner concept (Levels B, C, and D), resources available (developmental math skills progressions, Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, Common Core Essential Elements and Alternate Achievement Descriptors for Mathematics from the State Members of the Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment Consortium and Edvantia, Inc.), and final product expectations. Subsequently, small groups collaborated to develop the leveled learning plans and activities, culminating performance tasks, and the introductory contexts for the different modules.

The structure of the framework provides four modules in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies created in grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and High School). Four math modules have been developed as grade specific modules for K-8, while High School modules reflect specific conceptual categories.

Each module consists of:

  • a context overview
  • culminating performance tasks for each level
  • Common Core Learning Standards connections
  • Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) standards connections
  • Content standards connections
  • essential questions
  • key vocabulary
  • lesson strands with leveled learning plans and activities for each
  • Resources list
  • materials lists

Underlying the development of the activities included in this document is the profound belief that students with significant intellectual disabilities need high standards that are reasonable and achievable given sufficient and appropriate opportunities to learn. All students who participate in Alternate Assessment classes are expected to be provided with access and exposure to the content learning expectations of their general education peers at a reduced depth, breath and complexity. The presented tasks, while not reflecting the degree of higher order skills and comprehensiveness of expectations established for students participating in the general assessment system, do reflect reasonable and achievable expectations for students with significant intellectual disabilities. In addition, they maintain a necessarily broad connection with the Common Core Standards through a concentrated focus on salient features of specific Standards. These content area sample learning plans and activities are designed not only to elicit performances of content area thinking skills/behaviors but also to provide opportunities for students to engage with, read and/or use content understandings that are imbedded within the tasks.

The sample learning plans and activities for each strand have been divided into three distinct levels of student expectations based on cognitive abilities: Level D, Level C, and Level B.

Level D learning plans and activities are reflective of students who experience the most significant cognitive disabilities within our district. These students are typically working at the engagement level. Instruction is typically focused on developing the accessing skills that a student needs to possess. It is understood that for additional information processing to take place, engagement is a necessary first step. (Please refer to the Essential Thinking Skills and Behaviors Explanatory Notes document for further information regarding the concept of Engagement).

Level C learning plans and activities are reflective of students who demonstrate the essential thinking skill of conceptualization. These students can form mental representations of a concept and apply this knowledge. They exhibit intentional behavior in response to situations. They rely heavily on objects, picture cues, a print rich environment, and an exposure to content in multiple and modified formats to facilitate learning. These students typically work within Level one and two in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. (Please refer to the Essential Thinking Skills and Behaviors Explanatory Notes document for further information regarding the concept of conceptualization, and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge).

Level B learning plans and activities are reflective of students who demonstrate skill abilities closest to meeting the CCLS and content standards expectations as they are written. These are typically students who may participate in inclusion settings and students who may return to community based instruction programs. These students would be expected to work in all levels of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge.

The Revision of Modules

The Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework was developed to serve as a guide for schools. It is expected to be modified and adjusted in order to meet school-specific instructional goals and objectives.

To assist schools with understanding what the revision process entails, the district gathered a small group of teachers and administrators during the summer of 2014 to revise Math module 2 for third grade, sixth grade, and High School. These modules serve as guiding examples for schools to refer to as they consider revisions to the additional modules in all content areas. Along with these examples, a general revision protocol and a sample reflections document from the summer revision group regarding the revision process can be found at the end of this introduction.

Each revised Math module 2 (grades 3, 6, and HS) now consists of:

  • a context overview
  • culminating performance tasks for each level
  • sample rubric designs for the performance task at the varied levels
  • An IEP goal tracking rubric format
  • Common Core Learning Standards connections
  • Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) standards connections
  • Content standards connections
  • essential questions
  • key vocabulary
  • Sequenced lesson strands with leveled learning plans and sequenced activities
  • Resources list
  • materials lists
  • A sample lesson written related to one activity in one strand

It is hoped that the D75 Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework provides teachers and schools with a resource to better understand how students can be provided with opportunities to develop targeted skills through content-based instructional experiences that are also applied in the context of functional activity experiences.

Revision Protocol

The following is a step-by-step process that schools can reference when they begin the process of revising a module for their own use. These are generic expectations in the order they should occur to ensure an efficient and effective revision of a module. This is by no means the only way in which a module can be revised, but is intended to provide the essence of what the revision process should include and be focused around.

1. Understand the standards for the learners in your class/school.

2. Ensure the connection between the standards, the learning strands and the performance task.

3. Ensure that the learning strands and activities within the activities are sequenced correctly for your students.

4. Ensure that the learning activities are appropriate for each level (B, C, and D).

5. Determine and agree upon the specific considerations that must be accounted for when creating a rubric against the performance task for Level B, C, and D.

D 75 Alternate Assessment Curriculum 6-8 ELA Module 2: Biographiest'Rhyme, Rhythm and Repetition111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Page 1

A reflection Sample on “How to” Revise an Alternate Assessment Curricular Framework Module of Study (AACF) based on the guiding protocol.

1. How do you ‘unpack’ or understand the standards for the learners in your class?

Read the standards listed in the module and isolated the key nouns and verbs. Determined what the standard asking the students to know and do. Came to consensus regarding what the performance of these standards would look like for the students in alternate classes. Finally, the group translated the standard into actionable skills for the learners.

2. How do you ensure connection between the standards, the learning strands and the performance task?

One method the participants used was to use color-coding to ensure a connection. First, the group members color-coded each standard. Second, they looked at each learning strand and checked off, using the color system, where elements of each standard were contained in the strand. Last, they looked at the performance task, and highlighted or checked, using the color system, where elements of each standard were contained in the task. (These key elements were translated into actionable skills accessed in the rubric. See #5)

If connections were not achieved, group members made a decision to reorganize, omit, add, condense or adjust as needed.

3. How do you ensure that the learning strands and activities within the activities are sequenced correctly for your students?

Several resources were used, such as the CCLS Skills Progression at a Glance, Wisconsin Early Learning Skills, Equals chapter/skills sequencing, etc. (Note: please remember that the use of available resources such as language skills progressions, other content curricular models from various states, reading skills checklists, etc. should be referenced when revising other content area modules)

4. How do you ensure that the learning activities are appropriate for each level (B, C, and D)?

Participants referred back to Piaget’s Cognitive Levels of Development, their own students IEPs, as well as, keeping the individual needs of the learners in alternate assessment classes at the forefront of their minds When developing the learning activities for all levels.

5. What should you consider for creating a rubric against the performance task for Level B, C, and D?

Isolated key skills were identified in the standards and translated to actionable learning targets for the students when developing the Level C and B rubrics. Content expectations played a significant role in establishing the rubrics. Aspects of the rubric quantified skills for the B and C level learners and included a simple rating system (4-1, 3-1, etc.).

It was determined by the revision group that a specific rubric that could be used across the modules for the level D student would provide teachers with the ability to track skills related to engagement. This was determined to be the best approach to tracking progress for student who are cognitively young and require mastery of those skills related to engagement before any further content knowledge acquisition could be expected.

District 75 Alternate Assessment Curriculum Framework

Grades 6-8 ELA Module 2

Biographies

CONTEXT

Unit Topic:Biographies

"Our classroom reverberated with the stories of our lives as we wrote, talked, and reflected about who we were, what we did, what we thought, and how we thought about it. We became a community." This quote from Debbie Rotkow, a co-director of the coastal Georgia Writing Project, emphasizes the importance of writing skills for students, not only as a singular subject in academic institutions, but as an essential tool for developing communication skills and a sense of community in all aspects of life. The ability to take in and synthesize information from multiple sources and to then communicate this information through writing in a variety of formats is a necessary skill for success in the modern world. All students must be given the opportunity to practice and develop these skills that are fundamental for success in school, in the workforce, and ultimately in life.

The content-based samples of learning plans and activities that follow are designed not only to give students in District 75 access to writing and literacy skills, but to give them multiple means of demonstrating the results of having explored concepts and skills associated with those ideas.

The second module for ELA for grades 6-8 is designed to provide students with an understanding of the concept of biography (autobiographies are included as a subset of biography.) The activities are connected to CCLS in Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening and to CDOS (Career Development Occupational Studies) standards. The lesson plans and activities include multiple entry points and modalities in which to develop as explanatory/informative writers. Students are afforded the opportunity to improve their writing skills and gain a deeper understanding of their own experiences and/or the experiences of others. They are also given the opportunity to develop the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources into a coherent piece of writing. Through the development of these important skills students develop an awareness of themselves and of others and an ability to communicate information that is essential for success in the outside world.

ASSESSMENT

formative assessment evidence:

Performance data

Student work products

Data collection sheets

Pre/post assessments

Performance Based Assessment Task

Students will publish a biography/autobiography and review a peer’s writing piece. To prepare for this task, students will participate in a variety of writing activities that lead to the publication of biography/autobiography.

Level D:

Engage in creation of a picture-based autobiography and engage with/attend to completed autobiographies as they are shared with class.

LevelC:

Participate in creation of a picture and/or text biography.

(May elect to include clippings from newspapers/magazines/ the internet to illustrate included information. If appropriate, add simple words/phrases to caption pictures.)

Participate in a gallery walk or other sharing event of completed biographies.

Participate in peer review by selecting/generating a response to completed biographies.

Level B:

Re-write and illustrate a biography using photos or drawings; publish the biography. .

Write a review of a biography created by a peer using a rubric as a guide.

Standards

ELA Common Core Anchor Standards:

W.1: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

W.5: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

R.I.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

R.I.2: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

R.I.7: Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

SL.4: Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

S.L.5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, and sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

Career Development and Occupational Standards

Standard 3a.3 Universal Foundation Skills: Personal qualities generally include competence in self-management and the ability to plan, organize, and take independent action.

Standard 3b.2 Career Majors:Arts and Humanities (Communication)demonstrate the reading, writing, listening, speaking,graphic and multimedia skills necessary to participate effectively in one or more of the arts/humanities professions.

Essential Questions

  1. What is a biography (autobiography)?
  2. What is the purpose of a biography (autobiography)?
  3. What do we learn from a biography (autobiography)?

VOCABULARY

  • Biography
  • Autobiography
  • Details
  • draft
  • event
  • facts
/
  • life map
  • order
  • notes
  • outline
  • sequential
  • timeline

Lesson Strands Overview

  1. Choose a person to write about/ the subject of the biography. (E.g. My Person of Interest)
  2. Build awareness of the purpose of a biography/autobiography.(E.g. Participate in reading activities with biographies in order to demonstrate what an autobiography/biography is and its purpose).
  3. Gather information/details learned about the person/subject of biography (i.e. interview subject and/or research).
  4. Model the structure of a biography.
  5. Write a Draft; Publish the Biography.
  6. Making Comparisons/Connections (e.g. Compare how person you wrote about is similar/different from you or similar different from others written about by classmates. Identify lessons learned from the person written about.)

LEARNING PLANS AND ACTIVITIES

NOTE: Preferred Mode of Communication (PMC) should be considered for all students in all activities across all levels.

Lesson Strand 1:Choose a person to write about/ the subject of the biography.)

*D students will be creating autobiographies

Learning Plans and Activities Level D:

  • Engage with mirror.
  • Engage with photos of self and one or more classmates.
  • Attend to errorless selection of own photo to identify self as subject.

Learning Plans and Activities Level c:

  • Interact with photos, of self, classmate and/or other real person student cares about (IE teacher, family member, friend sports star, etc.)
  • Participate in selection of photo of person selected to be subject of biography.
  • Participating in using symbols or print to identify subject of biography by name or using appropriate nouns/ pronouns (E.g. he, she)

Learning Plans and Activities Level B:

  • Respond to questions or discuss “Who would you like to know more about?” and “Who would others like to know more about?”
  • Consider options (E.g. family member, friend, community worker, athlete, TV/movie personality, musical artist, hero, favorite author) and select the real person he/she would like to write about.
  • Complete an “interest inventory” to make final choice of person to be subject of biography.

Lesson Strand 2:Build awareness of the purpose of a biography/autobiography (e.g. Participate in reading activities with biographies in order to demonstrate what an autobiography/biography is and its purpose).

Learning Plans and Activities Level D:

  • Attend to an autobiography created by the teacher.
  • Engage with pictures/symbols that represent personal events/activities of the day or week (teacher can emphasis this is the story of your day).
  • Engage in delivering invitation to a family member inviting him/her to Memory Day at school. (Memory day is an opportunity for students to share personal information. Parents may attend. For students whose parents cannot attend pictures and information about school experience will be shared.)
  • Engage with own family member, or member of the school community, showing photos/videos and/or talking about events in student’s own life.
  • Engage with photos/images of self in family album/family video/photos of school events.

Learning Plans and Activities Level C: