Common Core in Action: Writing for an Audience

What is new and different in the Common Core? When it comes to the writing standards, a heavy emphasis on audience for one thing, and this is very good news. The "audience" for student writing was once the lone teacher sitting after school with her cup of coffee, a red pen, and a stack of essays or other writing projects. And sadly, she might have been the only one, besides the student writers, that ever read them! Let's take a look at the Common Core Anchor Standard in Writing that highlights audience. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4: Produces clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. When asked, many kids, and even adults, might tell you the main difference between "school" writing and real-life writing is that the latter has an audience and the other does not. Keeping It Real Back to anchor writing standard 4. So let's consider then some ways to engage students in real-life writing, starting in second grade:

d_mulder: @alicekeeler An ecard I made... MrsStraitsClass: #worksheetsdontwork #edchat... Primary_Ed: A simple & effective... dandesignthink: hot-thinking poster for RWBA,... Five-Minute Film Festival: Digging Into the Common Core It's been nearly two years since I first wrote up "Resources for Understanding the Common Core State Standards," Edutopia's roundup page for all things Common Core, and the demand for tools and resources only grows as we get deeper into implementation. Like any major (and mandated!) educational initiative, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have their fans and their detractors, but if you're in one of the 45+ states that have signed on, they are here to stay. I highly recommend reading an excellent recent opinion piece from The New York Times, by Charles M. Blow, "The Common Core and the Common Good," which provides a compelling and succinct summary of the potential problems and the opportunities around the Common Core. Edutopia's team of bloggers have been exploring every corner of the Common Core. Video Playlist: Digging Into the Common Core State Standards Keep watching the player below to see the rest of the playlist, or view it on YouTube. see more see less

Five Visual Dictionaries and Thesauri for Students Like all teachers I have found that the right visual aids can make all the difference between students understanding a term or walking away shaking their heads. This pattern is carries over to learning new vocabulary words and or seeing the connections between similar words. Here are five visual dictionaries and thesauri that can help your students learn new vocabulary words. Got Brainy is a site that I've used since it launched a few years ago. Snappy Words is a free visual dictionary and thesaurus. Image Dictionary is a Chrome extension that enables users to right-click on a word and quickly find an image that is representative of that word. Word Sense is a neat little service that is one part dictionary and one part thesaurus. Visuwords uses a web design to show users the definitions of words and the connections between words.

Talking to Parents About the Common Core For K-12 educators, “back to school” means not only back to the classroom and students, but also back to the questions and concerns of parents. Educators in states adopting the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) may encounter questions, apprehension, or even skepticism from parents about the new standards. Above all, parents will want to know how the new Common Core standards will impact their children. To help educators answer parent inquires, we’ve compiled a list of eight probable questions and potential answers to help you discuss the Common Core State Standards with parents. 1. Often, parents think educational standards are the same as curriculum; they may be concerned that standards dictate exactly what is taught and how it is taught every day. Educational standards are important because they provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn and know. 2. 3. 4. Check out one of my previous posts for more details on these consortia. 5. 6. 7. 8.

25 Question Stems Framed Around Bloom's Taxonomy 25 Question Stems Framed Around Bloom’s Taxonomy While critical thinking is a foundation rather than a brick, how you build that foundation depends on the learning process itself: exposing students to new thinking and promoting interaction with that thinking in a gradual release of responsibility approach. Question stems can be a powerful part of that process no matter where the learner is. Assessment (pre-assessment, self-assessment, formative and summative assessment), prompting and cueing during discussion, etc. Image attribution flickr enokson; 25 Question Stems Framed Around Bloom’s Taxonomy

5 Ways To Open Up Learning & Engage Students “Dave Price casts a penetrating light on how the new dynamics of digital culture are transforming not only on how we work and play but how we think, feel and learn.” -Sir Ken Robinson When my eldest son was 13, I used to drag him out of bed each morning to go to school. Inspired by what I observed with my son, I wrote OPEN: How We’ll Work, Live & Learn In The Future in which I argue that formal education is struggling to keep up with the ways we now learn socially. What then can the concerned educator do to stave off the rising tide of disengagement which is being seen in classrooms and training rooms? Here are five strategies: Think ‘Outside-In’. Our organisations and institutions are facing the inevitability of ‘going open’. David Price is an author, speaker and Senior Consultant at the Innovation Unit, England

CaldiesTandL: Calderstones School's 'Deep... Easy Ways to Improve Grammar and Writing Skills One of my frustrations as a junior high teacher is using classroom time to work on basic grammar skills. With NoRedInk, I can set up practice lessons for students specific to the needs I’ve pre-assessed. I can target certain skills for either the whole class or specific students. Students can then work on them at home or when time allows. Students can personalize the sentences by choosing topics of interest. A teacher developed this site, and it is continually growing and improving. If you are a tablet user, consider Tap to Learn’s Grammar App HD (99¢), with over 200 tutorials and 1000 questions. CC Connection: Sites and applications such as these will allow students to address and master the ELA standards in Language, specifically Conventions of Standard English1.