5 Things Every Teacher Should be Doing to Meet the Common Core State Standards

Four Major Shifts in Literacy This video mini-series has been designed to provide an efficient pathway for understanding and implementing the most significant shifts in English/language arts and literacy instruction. Ranging from seven to ten minutes in length, each video tackles one important topic and then provides tools that educators can begin using in their classrooms immediately. The order in which the videos are watched in not critical, so please feel free to start with the one that seems the most intriguing. Major Shift 1: Emphasizing Informational Text The Common Core State Standards insist on the use of more information texts throughout the school day. Major Shift 2: Literacy Standards for All Content Areas Content-area teachers are not English teachers by training. Major Shift 3: Text Complexity Students must have opportunities to read challenging texts. Major Shift 4: The Special place of Argument Arguing and informing/explaining are crucial in the Common Core State Standards. Next Steps

9 Ways the CC Will Change Classroom Practice Harvard Education Letter Volume 28, Number 4July/August 2012 By ROBERT ROTHMAN Nine Ways the Common Core Will Change Classroom Practice, continued Nine Ways the Common Core Will Change Classroom Practice In a recent survey, William Schmidt, a University Distinguished Professor of education at Michigan State University, found some good news and bad news for supporters of the Common Core State Standards. Those teachers might want to take a closer look. In Mathematics 1. This is an excerpt from the Harvard Education Letter.

CC Key Expectations Explained - Vander Ark on Innovation How the Common Core Will Change the Way Teachers Teach and Students Learn Since the Common Core State Standards were introduced, there has been much discussion about what they mean for educators and students and how they will impact teaching and learning. While the standards have been adopted by 45 states and 3 territories so far, there is a lot of concern, anxiety, and debate around what is best for students, potential challenges for teachers, and what implementation should and can look like. The new standards are focused on two categories: English Language Arts and Mathematics. Since the 1960s, text difficulty in textbooks has been declining ( ). In order to be college-, career-, and life-ready, students need to be familiar and comfortable with texts from a broad range of genres and formats. In addition, students are expected to understand the presentation of texts in a variety of multimedia formats, such as video. The Common Core State Standards are not "test prep" standards.

Engage the Common Core Me in San Diego talking Common Core. I am finally (one month later) getting around to blogging some ISTE 2012 related information. Today I want to share a presentation I gave related to the Common Core State Standards. I’m embedding my slideshow from my ISTE Live presentation entitled “Engage the Common Core.” Within, you’ll find resources for finding information about the CCSS, great blogs and feeds to follow, sites to use to organize and curate CCSS info, and web tools to use to implement some of the tech-related standards. Spoiler alert! Sometimes you need a little more than the slideshow to tell the whole story. Photo Credit: Jennifer Bond (Thanks, Jennifer!) Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

5 BIG ideas from CCSS This post is a summary/adaptation from Wiggins/McTighe article on 5 big ideas. 1. Read carefully AH-HA Moment: DON'T turn directly to YOUR grade level. You'll miss the point. READ THE WHOLE THING! Long term outcomes are in mind so the components are intended to work together.Educators need to understand the internt and structure of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)Read the "front matter"What is the instructional emphasis? ASIDE: We are looking at "curriculum" wrong. We are looking at it as what is to be "covered," as opposed to what is to be LEARNED. 3. AH-HA MOMENT: This understanding of "cornerstone tasks" inspired me to write the next blog post pending. This "unpacking" is intended at a district or "macro" level as they call it. AH-HA MOMENT: Thinking of standards as discrete skills or concepts leads to "coverage mentality" and reveals a misconception that teaching bits in a logical and specified order will somehow add up to the desired achievements called for in the standards." 5.