 The abbreviation for Common Core State Standards “Educational standards are the learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful, while also helping parents understand what is expected of their children” (Core Standards.org).

 Adopted by 43 states so far  Represent the most sweeping reform of the k-12 curriculum that has ever occurred in this country  Emphasize much higher-level comprehension skills than previous standards  Emphasize reading complex texts

“CCSS are clear that the responsibility for interpreting and implementing these expectations rests on the shoulders of teachers and principals [as well as those of state leaders]” (Calkins 2). “The standards leave room for teachers, curriculum developers, and states to determine how those goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed…Teachers are thus free to provide students with whatever tools and knowledge their professional judgment and experience as most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the Standards” (CCSS Appendix 4).

25 years ago, 95% of jobs required low skills; whereas today, low skill jobs constitute only 10% of our entire economy (Darling-Hammond, 2008). New levels of literacy are required in the information economy of today

“Consider this statistic: During the four years between 1997 and 2002, the amount of new information produced in the world was equal to the amount produced over the entire previous history of the world (Darling- Hammond et al. 2008)”. New levels of literacy are required in the information economy of today

 Who is making the claim?  What is that person’s evidence?  What other positions are being promulgated?  How can I compare and contrast these differing views, think about the biases and assumptions behind them, weigh their warrants, and come to an evidence-based, well-reasoned stance?

 First, look at current literacy initiatives and set goals for how to improve them (done in department PLCs over the years)  Next, look at gaps in curriculum and plan for reform  Finally, focus on assessment as well as instruction

OVERVIEW:

 Close, attentive reading  Critical reading  Reasoning and use of evidence  Comprehend, evaluate, synthesize  Understand precisely, question, assess veracity  Cite specific evidence  Evaluate other points of view critically  Refer explicitly to the text  Quote accurately from the text  Objectively summarize  Determine, describe, explain, compare and contrast, and analyze

Students will need… A repertoire of strategies that undergird reading skills Skills broken down into manageable steps Practice of these steps with expert feedback

 Reading for key ideas and details  Reading for craft and structure  Reading to integrate knowledge and ideas

 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and make logical inferences from it  Cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the text  Determine central ideas or themes and analyze their development  Summarize key supporting details or ideas  Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop throughout course of a text

 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in the text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, AND analyze how specific word choices shape meaning and tone  Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole  Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text

 Integrate and evaluate the content presented in diverse formats and media  Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of evidence  Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge and compare the approaches the author takes

OVERVIEW:

1) Narrative Writing 2) Argument Writing 3) Informational Writing

1) Range of Types Personal narrative Fiction Historical fiction Fantasy fiction Memoir Biography Narrative nonfiction

2) Range of Types Persuasive letter Review Personal essay Literary essay Historical essay Petition Editorial

3) Range of Types Fact sheet News article Blog Website Essay report Research report Nonfiction book Directions, recipes, etc

Students should be able to: 1) Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing 2) Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two)

OVERVIEW:

1) Comprehension and Collaboration 2) Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

1) Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively 2) Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats 3) Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric

1) Present findings and supporting evidence so that listeners can follow the line of reasoning AND the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience 2) Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations 3) Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate

With standard emphasis also on visual supports, the CCSS open up the definitions of speaking and listening to include nonverbal forms of communication and viewing and interacting with multimedia.  SPEAKING is broadly defined to also include nonverbal communication and LISTENING to include interacting with multimedia.

According to Lucy Calkins, “The CCSS take a bold stance, making an expectation across the grades that students become savvy consumers and creators of media.” “New technologies have broadened and expanded the role that speaking and listening play in acquiring and sharing knowledge AND have tightened their link to other forms of communication. Digital texts confront students with the potential for continually updated content and dynamically changing combinations of words, graphics, images, hyperlinks, and embedded video and audio” (CCSS appendix, 22).

 Regard them as an invitation to explore, invent, and pilot some new ideas  Plan for rigorous, curricular-aligned conversations between students  Begin by modeling whole class, move to partner discussions, and then to small group discussions  Demonstrate strategies, teach conversational moves explicitly, and then allow students to experiment, flub up, and fix up