Standards and Disciplines

"Math instructors at the Downers Grove high schools are developing a new curriculum based on the state's more difficult learning standards, one that will introduce some new courses. The Common Core Standards, which Illinois adopted in 2010, revamp learning expectations for students in English Language Arts and in Mathematics. Community High School District 99 officials plan to implement new curricula in the 2013-14 school year, while the statewide testing based on Common Core will start the following year"

"As districts nationwide scramble to translate the Common Core State Standards into concrete curricula and lesson plans, Principal Sue DeVicariis of Kate Sessions Elementary School in San Diego considers herself ahead of the game. Her school is one of 342 nationwide to follow the Primary Years Program of the Swiss-based International Baccalaureate organization. Earlier this school year, Ms. DeVicariis and teachers met with colleagues across grades throughout the district to use IB inquiry-style units to create mathematics and English/language arts common-core curriculum units for San Diego."

"When I was a student, watching a movie in class meant watching documentaries, literary adaptations, or informational filmstrips. " RL.4.8 / RL.5.8

"As states across the country implement broad changes in curriculum from kindergarten through high school, English teachers worry that they will have to replace the dog-eared novels they love with historical documents and nonfiction texts."

"he implementation of Common Core State Standards is intended to create change in our nation's public education system ... not put change in the pockets of the American publishing industry. "

"A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for TheAtlantic.com describing some of the problems with how math is currently being taught. Specifically, some math programs strive to teach students to think like "little mathematicians" before giving them the analytic tools they need to actually solve problems. Some of us had hoped the situation would improve this school year, as 45 states and the District Columbia adopted the new Common Core Standards. But here are two discouraging emails I received recently. The first was from a parent:"

"From our beginning in 2000, TextProject has supported teachers with research and practical advice about how to provide readers the right kinds of texts, with special focus on text complexity. Now, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represents the first time that a standards document has paid special attention to text complexity, as Standard 10 is devoted specifically to increasing students' capacity with complex text from grades 2 through 12. To support reading skills needed for college and career success as of high school graduation, the CCSS proposes a staircase of text complexity."

"Results from new state tests in Kentucky-the first in the nation explicitly tied to the Common Core State Standards-show that the share of students scoring "proficient" or better in reading and math dropped by roughly a third or more in both elementary and middle school the first year the tests were given."

SLO Guidelines for the State of Indiana

In a process managed by Achieve, 26 states are leading the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The science education community got a first glimpse of the NGSS draft when it was released during the first public comment period from May 11 through June 1. According to Achieve, the writers are now working to review all of the comments and develop a second draft to be released for public comment in the fall 2012. Achieve has removed the first draft from the web while it undergoes revision.

"Social studies supervisors and teachers across the country are revising their unit plans to meet their state's content standards, as well as, the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies. Simultaneously, many states are implementing new evaluation and observation frameworks. The performance ratings employed by the most popular evaluation models encourage a shift away from teacher-led direct instruction to more student-centered activities incorporating inquiry and synthesis. In social studies, primary source document analysis goes hand in hand with the 9-12 Common Core reading and writing standards. Here are five top resources to align your curricula to the Common Core with student driven lessons. "

"From the looks of this, Lord Fisher may have been the world's first teenage girl. Did he ever meet a sentence he couldn't end in an exclamation point? In addition to representing the first-known use of the phrase "O.M.G.", this 1917 letter from Lord Fisher to Winston Churchill has given us a new favorite catch phrase: Shower it on the Admirality!! (We think it means go on with your bad self.)"

"A standard is a statement that can be used to judge the quality of a mathematics curriculum or methods of evaluation. Thus, standards are statements about what is valued. -From 1989 standards released by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "

"The 10 percent summary strategy costs little in teacher time, and it prepares students for the common core state standards in literacy." Excellent article for sumarization.

"Next Generation Science Standards for Today's Students and Tomorrow's Workforce: Through a collaborative, state-led process managed by Achieve, new K-12 science standards are being developed that will be rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education. The NGSS will be based on the Framework for K-12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council."

"After decades of collaborating to increase child language vocabulary, Betty Hart and Todd Risley spent 2 1/2 years intensely observing the language of 42 families throughout Kansas City. Specifically, they looked at household language use in three different settings: 1) professional families; 2) working class; 3) welfare families. "

HHJ MTTC PP Handout 2012

"t's Crazy Hair Day at Marshall Elementary School in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood-which is perfect, because Tufts University researcher Bárbara Brizuela has brought a hat. In the stovepipe style and made from oaktag paper, the hat is one foot tall. Brizuela then asks, "If I'm five and a half feet tall, how tall will I be with the hat on?" Second-grader Jasmine, smiley in a pink sweatsuit, answers, "Six and a half feet." Rather than say, "Right!" Brizuela offers another question: "How do you know?""

Slides make great points that summarize needs to consider for CCSSM