Welcome to Literacy Leader | Literacy Leader. Understanding The Common Core - With 80 Links To Important Resources : 50 Important Links for Common Core Educators. Educators across the nation are working hard this summer to begin developing updated curricula that will fit into the new Common Core State Standards, which will be fully applied in 45 U.S. states (Texas, Alaska, Nebraska, Virginia, and Minnesota have opted out of statewide participation) by 2015.
Yet despite the hubbub about the new standards, which were created as a means of better equipping students with the knowledge they need to be competitive in the modern world, many teachers still have a lot of unanswered questions about what Common Core will mean for them, their students, and their schools. Luckily, the Internet abounds with helpful resources that can explain the intricacies of Common Core, offer resources for curriculum development, and even let teachers keep up with the latest news on the subject.
We’ve collected just a few of those great resources here, which are essential reads for any K-12 educator in a Common Core-adopting state. Groups and Organizations Useful Resources. Resources for Understanding the Common Core State Standards. Common Core State Standards: A Good Fit for Gifted Education? Jennifer G. Beasley, Ed.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas. She will be presenting at ASCD’s Common Core Professional Development Institutes which you can learn more about and register for here. With so many states committing to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) many educators of the gifted and talented are wondering what the CCSS might mean and whether these new standards will be a good fit for the students they serve.
What is Common Core? In order to address whether it is a good fit for advanced learners, we need to know just what is at the heart of the standards. “Are aligned with college and work expectations;Are clear, understandable and consistent;Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order skills;Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; andAre evidence-based.” Sources: Common Core Checklists. Our common core standards checklists are just what you need to help you keep track of the standards taught in your classroom. Use these to make sure you are addressing all that you need to teach throughout the course of the school year.
Keep track of when you have introduced, retaught and assessed each indicator. The most important parts of the common core are the anchor standards that carry through from kindergarten to high school. These have been included with each language arts checklist so that you don’t lose sight of your essential goals for teaching and learning. ***Please keep in mind that this checklist is more to be used as a system of checks and balances in your teaching for the year and not so much a “check off” sheet for these indicators to be checked and thought of as “done”. Reading Writing Language Speaking & Listening Math Reading Writing Language Speaking & Listening Math Reading Writing Language Speaking & Listening Math Reading Writing Language Speaking & Listening Math. Common Core State Standards Toolkit. Get2Core | Watch: The Case for Common Core.
Partner in Education | Educational Consulting & Instructional Coaching. Three-Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards. Kid And Parent Friendly Common Core Standards For Middle School and High School |
Partner in Education | Educational Consulting & Instructional Coaching. Common Core Curriculum Maps | Membership. Common Core’s ELA Maps have been in use by teachers for over two years. During this time, the non-profit organization has established an unparalleled reputation for creating high-quality, low-cost curriculum tools based on the Common Core State Standards. Our Common Core Curriculum Maps, released in August 2010, were the first new, CCSS-based curriculum tools to come out after the standards were finalized.
Written by teachers for teachers, our ELA Maps are detailed guides for creating CCSS-aligned lessons that delve deeply into key core knowledge content and utilize the best and most important literary and informational texts. These carefully crafted maps include all of the new standards. The Maps are comprised of 76 units covering Kindergarten through 12th grade, and include: At Common Core, we recognize that implementing a new curriculum demands a significant investment of time and resources. 30% off (plus free shipping) the extended print edition of our maps published by Jossey-Bass. The Common Core Conversation - Common Core Conversation. Mathematics Vision Project | MVP - Mathematics Vision Project (MVP)
The Other 21st Century Skills. Many have attempted to identify the skills important for a learner today in this era of the 21st century (I know it is an overused phrase). I have an affinity towards the skills identified by Tony Wagner: Critical thinking and problem-solvingCollaboration across networks and leading by influenceAgility and adaptabilityInitiative and entrepreneurialismEffective oral and written communicationAccessing and analyzing informationCuriosity and imagination Today I viewed a slideshow created by Gallup entitled, The Economics of Human Development: The Path to Winning Again in Education. Here are some slides from this presentation. This presentation sparked my thinking about what other skills and attributes would serve the learners (of all ages) in this era of learning. GritResilienceHope and OptimismVisionSelf-RegulationEmpathy and Global Stewardship Grit Students can develop psychological resources that promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance.
Resilience. Common Core State Standards | Institute for a Competitive Workforce. What are the Common Core State Standards? The Common Core State Standards are a set of high-quality academic expectations in English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics that define both the knowledge and skills all students should master by the end of each grade level in order to be on track for success in college and career. They were created through a state-led initiative and have been adopted by more than forty states. The Common Core State Standards have replaced previous state standards. The standards establish consistent learning goals for all students – regardless of where they live – so that children will stay on track in school when moving from one state to another. With a clear roadmap of academic expectations, students, parents, and teachers can work together toward shared goals.
This three-minute video explains how the Common Core State Standards will help students achieve at high levels and help them learn what they need to know to get to graduation and beyond. Myths vs. Infographics and the Common Core. Information is all around us, but very little of what we digest daily is in the form of a traditional textbook. Advertisements make use of large images designed to catch our attention followed by product information. Social networks, like Pinterest, and Instagram capitalize on our attraction to images as sources of information. My biology textbook is three times the size of old textbooks from the 70′s, and a quick scan reveals that the pages are bigger, brighter and filled with colorful images. I’m always disappointed when a class discussion reveals that many of the students aren’t even looking at these pictures.
Analyzing text structures is a major theme of the common core literacy standards. Check out some of these infographics at Images can be powerful and convey ideas in a brighter, bigger way than text can. 1) A daily or weekly infographic can be used to spark analysis and discussion. 5. VennDiagram-CommonCore-Framework. VennDiagram-CommonCore-Framework. Coded_to_common_core_20110627_133855_75.docx. Common Core Standards - English LA and Literacy. Common Core: Now What?:Making the Shifts. December 2012/January 2013 | Volume 70 | Number 4 Common Core: Now What?
Pages 24-27 Here we are at the end of 2012. Who would have thought just three years ago that education would be in the position that it is in today—that 46 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia would have voluntarily agreed to share a set of standards for English language arts and literacy and mathematics? One would be hard-pressed to identify another initiative that has a greater potential to affect the teaching and learning that take place in so many classrooms across the United States.
That being said, the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards has, to date, done little to change education. So, here we are as U.S. educators, 46 states, thousands of districts, and millions of teachers, all with the task of implementing these standards. As we put the standards into practice, it is important to focus on a few shifts that have the most significant effect on students. 1. 2. 3. Three Minute Video Explaining the Common Core State Standards | Map without Borders. Seeing_the_future.pdf.
50 Common Core Resources For Teachers. 50 Common Core Resources For Teachers Groups and Organizations These links will take you to essential reading materials from the institutions and organizations behind Common Core. Common Core State Standards Initiative:This is the official site for the CCSSI, featuring information about the standards, news, resources, and answers to frequently asked questions.National Governors Association: The NGA played a major role in the development of Common Core, so their website is a great place to look for answers about the standards.Council of Chief State School Officers: The other major group behind Common Core is the CCSSO, an organization you can learn more about by visiting their site. Useful Resources Read up on Common Core, find out more about what it will mean for your classes, and get some help from educational providers and groups by following these links.
Curriculum Development These sites offer a wealth of resources for helping you develop curricula that meets Common Core standards. Blogs. Comprehensive List of ELA CCSS Implementation Resources. My school is starting to accelerate our ELA implementation. We’re asking ELA teachers to: carefully look over the Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) standards compare them to existing curriculum maps, unit plans etc. understand the major differences start to develop an understanding of the technology expectations in the CCSS and begin appropriate modifications to curriculum maps, and start working their way through unit plans and lesson plans. In addition, all the subject matter teachers (NOT ELA) will review their maps and add in specific CCSS details about how Writing Anchor Standard #2: Write informative /explanatory texts , will be supported via their maps, too.
We have a team of teachers responsible for pulling together an initial set of resources - source info (the standards themselves), a few how to’s (videos to help understand how to unpack the standards, and so on), some sample lessons (typically, short videos) and a start at lesson plan sources. CCSS Information Resources. PracticesVennDiagram. Easy to use CCSS ELA Matrices. 10 Excellent Resources to Help you Align your Teaching with Common Core Standards. There is now a heated discussion going on in the States about the Common Core Standards. Everything has been reshaped to meet the requirements of Common Core Standards including technology integration at least in the 46 states that have already adopted it. To help you better align your teaching practices with the CCS, Educational Technology and Mobile Learning pooled several resources to curate for you the list below.But before you start exploring these links , let me briefly wrap up what CCS is all about : The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.
The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. 1- Common Core State Standard Information Center 2- Status of Adoption of CCSS 4- Pathways to CCSS 5-Launching Writing Workshop with CCSS. Video: Common Core Literacy Standards and the PARCC Assessments. Reform to support Common Core | If the Common Core initiative is to have a chance to take off, a new strategy of professional development, coupled with thoughtful evaluation is necessary.
This is according to Peter Youngs, writing under the auspices of the Center for American Progress. This new strategy requires reform of the current system of teacher evaluation and needs the buy-in of principals and other school leaders. In the introduction to the report, Youngs provides the following background: The Common Core State Standards Initiative, in its aim to align diverse state curricula and improve educational outcomes, calls for K-12 teachers in the United States to engage all students in mathematical problem solving along with reading and writing complex text through the use of rigorous academic content. Until recently, most teacher evaluation systems in this country did not measure or promote the ability of teachers to practice in these ways. Common Core State Standards Initiative. We have a lot to say about CCSSI’s treatment of fractions, which starts tentatively with 1.G.3, but we’ll initially hone in on Grade 3, which is where Common Core begins its big push.
We’ll discuss Common Core’s sequence, and compare or contrast it to our own preferences for how fraction concepts should be introduced, and if we differ, provide a (hopefully justified) rationale for our choices.3.NF.1 states, ``Understand a fraction 1/b as the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts; understand a fraction a/b as the quantity formed by a parts of size 1/b.’’Certainly when formally introducing fractions and fraction notation, understanding the meaning of a fraction comes first. In 3.NF.1, though, CCSSI is already on the wrong track, for it assumes fractions only refer to parts of whole objects. Students in Grade 3 already understand cardinality, so using counting as an entry point into fractions makes sense, but Common Core ignores this obvious segue. 3. YouTube. Newkirk_Speaking_Back_to_the_Common_Core. Building the Promise of the Common Core Together. Around the Nation - The Common Core Conversation.
Common Core: Now What?:Making the Shifts. 50 Important Links for Common Core Educators. Shifts: Common Core Standards: Lessons, Ideas, and Discussions #ccchat. LiveBinders ELA and Math by standard SEA.
Links ASCD PARC SB Achieve. Shifts. CC: Where to Start: Unpacking the CC five resources.