TDA Toolkit

The Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) grade-span Learning Progressions (LPs) are designed to be used as an instructional tool. The TDA LPs are structured in grade spans (3-5 and 6-8) with four levels, Beginning, Emerging, Developing, and Meeting. The levels describe the typical path seen in student responses as the student moves toward demonstrating more sophisticated understanding of analysis. The LPs include descriptions of student work which characterize each level from the beginning TDA writer to one who is meeting the expectations of text dependent analysis essay writing. The TDA LPs can be used by teachers to identify student strengths and needs based on what a student can do at a specific point in time. This informs the teacher's instructional decision-making about moving student comprehension, analysis, and writing to the next level.

The Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) grade-span Learning Progressions (LPs) are designed to be used as an instructional tool. The TDA LPs are structured in grade spans (K-2, 3-5 and 6-8) with four levels, Beginning, Emerging, Developing, and Meeting. The levels describe the typical path seen in student responses as the student moves toward demonstrating more sophisticated understanding of analysis. The LPs include descriptions of student work which characterize each level from the beginning TDA writer to one who is meeting the expectations of text dependent analysis essay writing. The TDA LPs can be used by teachers to identify student strengths and needs based on what a student can do at a specific point in time. This informs the teacher's instructional decision-making about moving student comprehension, analysis, and writing to the next level.

The Text Dependent Analysis Instructional Prompt Guides contain the following sections: text complexity, instructional text-dependent analysis prompt, example proficient student response as written by the teacher, grade-level text, annotated student work, and possible instructional next steps. The guides should be used in conjunction with the Learning Progressions. The Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) Close Reading Lessons are designed to be an example pathway for teaching comprehension and analysis of the reading elements. The Close Reading instructional plan guides teachers through the planning and teaching of each lesson, as well as modeling the response to a TDA prompt. The close reading lessons focus on the text excerpt and corresponding prompt in each grade-level Instructional Prompt Guide with Annotated Student Responses. The Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) Replacement Units are intended to supplant units that do not move beyond superficial understandings, knowledge, and skills of English language arts. This is not to suggest that the selected texts in current units of instruction are not complex or appropriate. In fact, there are many high-quality texts in anthologies and other resources that are currently used in classes, schools, and districts. Replacement units provide teachers with a way to reshuffle the texts in order for students to dive deeply into comprehension and analysis of a small set of reading elements using a variety of texts, and to demonstrate the ability to respond to a TDA prompt.