Group items tagged

is a website launched by Student Achievement Partners, an organization founded by authors of the Common Core State Standards, to share free, open-source resources to support Common Core implementation at all levels. Resources currently available include the most recent edition of the English Language Arts (ELA) Publishers' Criteria (designed to guide publishers and curriculum developers as they work to ensure alignment with the K-2 and 3-12 standards in English language arts (ELA) and literacy for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects); Publishers' Criteria for the CCSS in Mathematics for Grades K-8; close reading exemplars; a guide to creating text dependent questions; and a series of tools for addressing the major instructional shifts in the CCSS, as developed by classroom educators.

"Timothy Shanahan defined the practice of close reading more succinctly, explaining that close reading "is an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means." So is it a rereading of text? Yes, but with a clearly defined purpose. Those of us who teach novels in the classroom know it can't be a rereading of the entire text; instead, it's a concentrated look at a selected excerpt in order to study a limited number of text attributes such as organization, sentence structure, vocabulary, symbolism, character development, plot advancement, etc. The purpose and focus of each close reading depends upon the text itself, thus leading to the CCSS push for more complex selections. Below I've provided six suggestions for making the most of close reading experiences with students."

"The Common Core State Standards call students to actively analyze texts of all kinds (CCSS: RL.9-10.1). Why not film? The first part of analysis is pulling things apart to see how they work. But students must also be able to evaluate these workings or interpret why the audience should care about them. I teach students to interact with texts in three ways:"

The Hunt Institute and CCSSO have created videos on Common Core implementation by target audience and topic, many of which feature remarks by the lead writers of the CCSS.

The Teaching Channel aims to provide innovative videos and resources to educators to meet its goals of building teacher-driven professional learning, deepening and improving opportunities for teacher learning, and elevating and celebrating teachers in society. The website includes a growing collection of videos that focus on the CCSS, some of which focus on the background of the Common Core in certain grades/subjects, while others highlight instructional practices aligned to specific standards.

The Illustrative Mathematics Project offers guidance to states, assessment consortia, testing companies, and curriculum developers by illustrating the range and types of mathematical work that students will experience in a faithful implementation of the CCSS. The website features a clickable version of the Common Core in mathematics and the first round of "illustrations" of specific standards with associated classroom tasks and solutions. **log-in required

Response to Andrew Hacker's New York Times Op-Ed essay "Is Algebra Necessary?" Includes examples and links to CCSS

"a shared close reading of a complex text in which students propose emerging understandings, supported by textual evidence, with occasional reminders and re-direction by teacher-facilitators."

"As I design a lesson or assessment, I ask myself if what I've designed, or what the students must master, correlates to the important skills of: Collaboration Communication Critical Thinking Creativity My lessons and tests must incorporate one or more of of the four Cs to, in my opinion, be worthy of spending precious instructional time in the classroom. On another note, the other short rubric I keep in my head is related to differentiating my lessons. Looking at teacher and education author Dr. Carol Tomlinson's list of ways to differentiate in the classroom, you'll notice that this aligns nicely with the four Cs above. Tomlinson explains that the four elements that lend themselves naturally to differentiation are: Process Environment Content Product"

"New York's educators are always investigating better ways to improve what is being taught, how it's being taught, and what to do about obstacles to student learning. It was with these concerns in mind that we designed the Content Areas that Network Teams, administrators, principals, and teachers will use to facilitate change in schools: Common Core standards The Data-Driven Instruction cycle (DDI) and School-Based Inquiry (SBI) Teacher/Leader effectiveness (performance management systems) As reform priorities grow and evolve over time, EngageNY will grow and evolve, too - so that you always have the resources you need to ensure success in your school. "

"I don't think anyone would teach using a unit on tolerance given to them by the enemies of civil rights. No teacher would put up with that. But yet, teachers (including myself) will start off this year fully supporting the Common Core in the classroom. I feel as though every day when I come home I need to take a shower, because I have spent my day in bed with the enemy."

"Great resources released for our PARCC Educator Leader Cadre on the last day of our first convening:"

"While the Common Core State Standards share many features and concepts with existing standards, the new standards also represent a substantial departure from current practice in a number of respects. Here are nine important differences:"

These might serve as good discussion pieces when working w teachers to consider CC lessons through lens of NL upgrade template. 10 Common Core Units in American History... "These are all skills and strategies that students must learn before they can gain academic independence. The guiding principle behind the following ten units is the development of these investigative and analytical skills in all students. All history students must be able to read a primary source document, understand the significance of the author's words, and write a critical analysis that examines that significance."

"Videos of teachers practicing the new Common Core State Standards. Teaching Channel is a video showcase online and on TV of inspired and effective teaching practices."

The individual clips are short, discipline-specific and include a few that focus on threads within specific standards. One of the strengths of the Hunt work is that it was done in collaboration with some of the chief architects of the Common Core.