Resources for Teachers
The CCRS program is developing a number of resources to help educators more completely facilitate college readiness in the classroom. Currently, resources in English language arts are available on this page. Resources for the mathematics, science and social studies are under development and will be made available through the TEA Project Share platform. All materials are TEKS and CCRS-aligned.
The table below identifies web-based resources that are useful for teaching various aspects of writing. A sample instructional strategy for each web resource is also included. This sample strategy can be a helpful guide for how to incorporate the web resource into classroom instruction.
| Resource | Resource Description | Writing Skills Supported | Sample Instructional Strategy | CCRS Addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strunk’s Elements of Style | Outlines principal requirements of plain English style, focuses on the rules of usage in literature, composition, and grammar. | All writing skills. | None | Writing A.1 – A.5 |
| Purdue Univ. Online Writing Lab (OWL) Starting the Writing Process page | Online assistance for all elements of the writing process and genres of writing, including K-12, academic, professional and technical. | All writing skills. | None | Writing A.1 |
| CollegeBoard SAT Skills Insight Writing page | Addresses writing skills such as grammar, punctuation, syntax, and editing | Editing, grammar, syntax. | None | Writing A.5 |
The CCRS project has teamed with university and high school teachers to develop a series of videos that model effective instructional techniques in various key writing skills. Each video is also accompanied by a full lesson plan.
| Instructional Technique |
Video | Video Description | Accompanying Lesson Plan |
Accompanying Student Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website Resources Search Strategy | Web Resources (4:18) | This video shows students in a lab setting accessing active links to appropriate writing websites. Students react to the contents of three different websites along with their peers the teacher. Many of these resources are available on the [Student Writing Resources] page and under the “Web Resources” tab of this page. | ||
| In Their Own Words: Students on Writing | Why is Writing Hard? (3:32) | This video features students sharing their thoughts and motivations about writing. Often, they are discussing why they find writing difficult as well as reasons why they might like to be a writer. | ||
| Freewrite/Quickwrite Instructional Strategy | Freewriting (6:48) | This video offers a detailed demonstration of a high school class using “quick write” strategies. The Quick Write is a version of free writing developed by Donald Graves and Penny Kittle and shared in their book, Inside Writing: How to Teach the Details of the Craft. In the demonstration, the teacher utilizes a video clip of American Poet Laureate Billy Collins reading his poem “The Lanyard” to stimulate student thinking prior to the writing activity. |  |
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| Mapping/Webbing Instructional Strategy | Mapping (5:16) | This video explores mapping, sometimes called webbing, as a prewriting technique that can be used for all types of subjects. In this demonstration, students are engaged in small groups generating keywords and phrases associated with a specific topic to create a prewriting graphic organizer. Students demonstrate how like concepts can be grouped to form paragraphs and topic sentences. These can possibly be used to determine a thesis statement for a piece of writing. | |
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| Brainstorming Instructional Strategy | Brainstorming (6:46) | This video demonstrates the use of brainstorming is a prewriting technique to help writers get started. This activity shows how using the whole class first to brainstorm or generate lots of ideas either about an assigned topic or one of choice helps writers “get their creative juices” flowing. Students then choose one of the subtopics and work in small groups to further refine their ideas. Each group then is instructed to take a “gallery walk” to view each group’s brainstorming noticing what is same, different or what powerful words are used. This can then be used to begin the rough draft of their assigned writing piece. | |
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| Storyboarding Instructional Strategy | The storyboarding lesson plan is a text explanation of the purpose and uses of the storyboard graphic organizer. The storyboard strategy can be used for many tasks, from pre-writing to drafting to editing and publishing. This strategy engages students making the process more inviting. | |
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| Peer Editing/Clocking Instructional Strategy | Clocking (8:27) | This video highlights a peer editing strategy called clocking. Peer editing is a powerful strategy used by many teachers in the writing process. Clocking is an engaging technique that can be done at any point during the writing process which involves students analyzing the writings of fellow classmates looking for specific writing errors. This video and lesson plan was adapted to fit the time constraints of the video for an interpretive essay of a literary text for peer editing focusing on subject/verb agreement. | |
A significant number of web-based resources exist to help teachers navigate instruction on the various steps in the writing process. The resources below have been selected by educators from the CCRS ELA vertical team and partner universities for their scope and depth. More resources will be added over time, and educator suggestions are welcomed by the CCRS team.
General Writing Resources
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
- National Council of Teachers of English
- National Writing Project
- International Reading Association
- Read, Write, Think
- Teachers and Writers Collaborative
Steps in the Writing Process
- Overview of Prewriting (OWL Purdue)
- Imagery in Poetry Exercises (OWL Purdue)
- Brainstorming (Univ. of North Carolina)
- Punctuation and Grammar Review (Gallaudet University)
- Subject/Verb Agreement (OWL Purdue)
Writing for Specific Situations
- Writing for the SAT - Test publisher’s guide to SAT essay writing
- Writing for the ACT - Test publisher’s guide to ACT essay writing
- Writing as a Journalist - Purdue OWL resource on journalistic writing
The College and Career Readiness Standards have been developed by educators from both K-12 and higher education. The standards cover the four core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. A fifth set of standards called cross-disciplinary standards has also been developed since many core student skills must be successfully applied across disciplines as well as within them.
- Compose a variety of texts that demonstrate clear focus, the logical development of ideas in well-organized paragraphs, and the use of appropriate language that advances the author’s purpose.
- Determine effective approaches, forms, and rhetorical techniques that demonstrate understanding of the writer’s purpose and audience.
- Generate ideas and gather information relevant to the topic and purpose, keeping careful records of outside sources.
- Evaluate relevance, quality, sufficiency, and depth of preliminary ideas and information, organize material generated, and formulate a thesis.
- Recognize the importance of revision as the key to effective writing. Each draft should refine key ideas and organize them more logically and fluidly, use language more precisely and effectively, and draw the reader to the author’s purpose.
- Edit writing for proper voice, tense, and syntax, assuring that it conforms to standard English, when appropriate.
Download
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing ELA TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
The table below identifies web-based resources that are useful for teaching various aspects of writing. A sample instructional strategy for each web resource is also included. This sample strategy can be a helpful guide for how to incorporate the web resource into classroom instruction.
| Resource | Resource Description | Reading Skills Supported | Sample Instructional Strategy | CCRS Addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word Focus Vocabulary Building page | Information on Greek and Latin word roots, oxymora, pleonasms, and links to vocabulary-related topics. | Understand new vocabulary and concepts and use them accurately. |
None | Reading B |
| Greece, NY ELA page | Offers information and opportunities to develop and practice reading process and strategies across genres. Skills are organized according to Bloom’s taxonomy. | Draw complex inferences; Describe and analyze information within and across texts; Explain how texts evoke personal experience. |
Use NY Times article “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?” to address annotation skills. [download] | Reading A, C, D |
The College and Career Readiness Standards have been developed by educators from both K-12 and higher education. The standards cover the four core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. A fifth set of standards called cross-disciplinary standards has also been developed since many core student skills must be successfully applied across disciplines as well as within them.
- Locate explicit textual information, draw complex inferences, and analyze and evaluate the information within and across texts of varying lengths.
- Use effective reading strategies to determine a written work’s purpose and intended audience.
- Use text features and graphics to form an overview of informational texts and to determine where to locate information.
- Identify explicit and implicit textual information including main ideas and author’s purpose.
- Draw and support complex inferences from text to summarize, draw conclusions, and distinguish facts from simple assertions and opinions.
- Analyze the presentation of information and the strength and quality of evidence used by the author, and judge the coherence and logic of the presentation and the credibility of an argument.
- Analyze imagery in literary texts.
- Evaluate the use of both literal and figurative language to inform and shape the perceptions of readers.
- Compare and analyze how generic features are used across texts.
- Identify and analyze the audience, purpose, and message of an informational or persuasive text.
- Identify and analyze how an author’s use of language appeals to the senses, creates imagery, and suggests mood.
- Identify, analyze, and evaluate similarities and differences in how multiple texts present information, argue a position, or relate a theme.
- Understand new vocabulary and concepts and use them accurately in reading, speaking, and writing.
- Identify new words and concepts acquired through study of their relationships to other words and concepts.
- Apply knowledge of roots and affixes to infer the meanings of new words.
- Use reference guides to confirm the meanings of new words or concepts.
- Describe, analyze, and evaluate information within and across literary and other texts from a variety of cultures and historical periods.
- Read a wide variety of texts from American, European, and world literatures.
- Analyze themes, structures, and elements of myths, traditional narratives, and classical and contemporary literature.
- Analyze works of literature for what they suggest about the historical period and cultural contexts in which they were written.
- Analyze and compare the use of language in literary works from a variety of world cultures.
- Explain how literary and other texts evoke personal experience and reveal character in particular historical circumstances.
- Describe insights gained about oneself, others, or the world from reading specific texts.
- Analyze the influence of myths, folktales, fables, and classical literature from a variety of world cultures on later literature and film.
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ELA Standards
Cross-Disciplinary Standards
All Standards
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing ELA TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
The table below identifies web-based resources that are useful for teaching various aspects of writing. A sample instructional strategy for each web resource is also included. This sample strategy can be a helpful guide for how to incorporate the web resource into classroom instruction.
| Resource | Resource Description | Speaking Skills Supported | Sample Instructional Strategy | CCRS Addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silva Rhetoricae website | Focuses on classical and renaissance rhetoric, providing detailed definitions and examples of rhetorical concepts and terms. | Formal oral presentations. Also useful for addressing ELA Writing CCRS. | Students use “Rhetorical Appeals” and “Rhetorical Figures” to see how rhetoric is used in outside sources. [download] |
Speaking A.1 |
| [View] the suggested instructional sequence for Speaking resources | ||||
| American Rhetoric website | Online library containing transcripts, audio, and video on 5,000 plus speeches given by U.S. rhetors. Also provides background information useful for understanding those speeches. | Formal oral presentation. | Students analyze a speech in the American Rhetoric website using the “Persuasive Appeals” and “Rhetorical Figures” sections of the Silva Rhetoricae website. [download] |
Speaking A.1, A.2 |
The College and Career Readiness Standards have been developed by educators from both K-12 and higher education. The standards cover the four core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. A fifth set of standards called cross-disciplinary standards has also been developed since many core student skills must be successfully applied across disciplines as well as within them.
- Understand the elements of communication both in informal group discussions and formal presentations (e.g., accuracy, relevance, rhetorical features, and organization of information).
- Understand how style and content of spoken language varies in different contexts and influences the listener’s understanding.
- Adjust presentation (delivery, vocabulary, length) to particular audiences and purposes.
- Develop effective speaking styles for both group and one-on-one situations.
- Participate actively and effectively in one-on-one oral communication situations.
- Participate actively and effectively in group discussions.
- Plan and deliver focused and coherent presentations that convey clear and distinct perspectives and demonstrate solid reasoning.
Download
ELA Standards
Cross-Disciplinary Standards
All Standards
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing ELA TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
The table below identifies web-based resources that are useful for teaching various aspects of writing. A sample instructional strategy for each web resource is also included. This sample strategy can be a helpful guide for how to incorporate the web resource into classroom instruction.
| Resource | Resource Description | Listening Skills Supported | Sample Instructional Strategy | CCRS Addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Univ. of Southampton Lecture Listening Skills website | Gives specific tips and steps for a student to use for taking notes on lectures. Includes suggestions to use before, during, and after lectures. | Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of a public presentation. |
Teacher directed listening exercise with a student independent component. [download] | Listening A.3 |
| American Rhetoric website | Online library containing transcripts, audio, and video on 5,000 plus speeches given by U.S. rhetors. Also provides background information useful for understanding those speeches. | Listening critically, listening actively in one-on-one settings, listening actively in group settings. | Teacher directed listening exercise with a student independent component. [download] | Listening B.1 – B.3 |
The College and Career Readiness Standards have been developed by educators from both K-12 and higher education. The standards cover the four core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. A fifth set of standards called cross-disciplinary standards has also been developed since many core student skills must be successfully applied across disciplines as well as within them.
- Apply listening skills as an individual and as a member of a group in a variety of settings (e.g., lectures, discussions, conversations, team projects, presentations, interviews).
- Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of a public presentation.
- Interpret a speaker’s message; identify the position taken and the evidence in support of that position.
- Use a variety of strategies to enhance listening comprehension (e.g., focus attention on message, monitor message for clarity and understanding, provide verbal and nonverbal feedback, note cues such as change of pace or particular words that indicate a new point is about to be made, select and organize key information).
- Listen effectively in informal and formal situations.
- Listen critically and respond appropriately to presentations.
- Listen actively and effectively in one-on-one communication situations.
- Listen actively and effectively in group discussions.
Download
ELA Standards
Cross-Disciplinary Standards
All Standards
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing ELA TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
The table below identifies web-based resources that are useful for teaching various aspects of writing. A sample instructional strategy for each web resource is also included. This sample strategy can be a helpful guide for how to incorporate the web resource into classroom instruction.
| Resource | Resource Description | Listening Skills Supported | Sample Instructional Strategy | CCRS Addressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation website | Documentation and style information for formatting and citing research materials; points to all the components of a well-written research paper. Companion site to Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age text. | Explore a research topic; Evaluate the validity and reliability of Sources; Use source material ethically; Design and present an effective product; Use source material ethically. |
Using the student’s revised draft, students will consult the sample paper to ensure correct formatting of their own final copy before publication. [download] | Research C.1, C.2 |
The College and Career Readiness Standards have been developed by educators from both K-12 and higher education. The standards cover the four core content areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. A fifth set of standards called cross-disciplinary standards has also been developed since many core student skills must be successfully applied across disciplines as well as within them.
- Formulate topic and questions.
- Formulate research questions.
- Explore a research topic.
- Refine research topic and devise a timeline for completing work.
- Select information from a variety of sources.
- Gather relevant sources.
- Evaluate the validity and reliability of sources.
- Synthesize and organize information effectively.
- Produce and design a document.
- Design and present an effective product.
- Use source material ethically.
Download
ELA Standards
Cross-Disciplinary Standards
All Standards
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing ELA TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
Resources
Mathematics instructional resources are under development and will be made available through the TEA Project Share platform.
Standards Gap Analysis
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing mathematics TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
Resources
Science instructional resources are under development and will be made available through the TEA Project Share platform.
Standards Gap Analysis
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing science TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
Resources
Social studies instructional resources are under development and will be made available through the TEA Project Share platform.
Standards Gap Analysis
This educator-developed analysis examines how effectively the existing social studies TEKS address the new college and career readiness standards. The gap analysis offers a fine-grained look at which skills may deserve additional instructional time in order to strengthen the academic readiness of students.
