IMPLEMENTING THE COMMON CORE IN CONNECTICUT LEADING FOR CHANGE

“When we see the need for deep change, we usually see it as something that needs to take place in someone else. In our roles of authority, such as parent, teacher, or boss, we are particularly quick to direct others to change. Such directives often fail, and we respond to the resistance by increasing our efforts. The power struggle that follows seldom results in change or brings about excellence. One of the most important insights about the need to bring about deep change in others has to do with where deep change actually starts." — Robert E. Quinn

CCSS DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA Align with expectations for college and career successAre clear and consistent Articulate both the knowledge and the skills students need to succeed Build upon lessons from top state, national, and international standards Internationally benchmarkedEvidence- and research-based

WHICH STATES ADOPTED CCSS? MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC Standards adopted Adopted ELA standards only Standards not adopted

STATE PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENT CONSORTIA MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC PARCC governing state PARCC participating state Smarter Balanced governing state Smarter Balanced advising/affiliate state State advising/participating in both consortia

WHY COMMON CORE IN CT? Connecticut’s Competitiveness While 82% of CT high school students graduate in 4 years… …Fewer than half of working-aged adults have 2- or 4-year degrees By 2018, an estimated two- thirds of jobs will require postsecondary education Connecticut has some of the largest achievement gaps in the nation

WHAT IS COMMON CORE? What ELAMath Science Social Studies

WHAT THE CCSS IS NOT ? HOW Whether ELAMath Science Social Studies

INSTRUCTIONAL SHIFTS ELA Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary Math Focus strongly where the Standards focus Coherence : think across grades, and link to major topics within grades Rigor : require conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with intensity. Science/ Social Studies Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational text Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

MYTHS & MISCONCEPTIONS Common Core is a national curriculum. Common Core ELA standards require high school literature teachers to devote 70 percent of their instructional time to informational text. Common Core math standards promote low-level, “fuzzy” math. Common Core requires a single national test.

LEADING CCSS IMPLEMENTATION

OCCAM’S RAZOR Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. --Albert Einstein

DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION Curriculum Professional Development Assessment Evaluation/ Accountability

FIRST THINGS FIRST Curriculum Professional Development Assessment Evaluation/ Accountability

FIRST THINGS FIRST The first thing we do, let’s kill all the publishers. --Shakespeare (ish)

GATHERING THE FACTS Know where you arePlan where you want to beIdentify the gaps and roadblocks

KNOW WHERE YOU ARE PoorFairGoodGreat

BE REALISTIC PoorFairGoodGreat

GATHERING THE FACTS Know where you arePlan where you want to beIdentify the gaps and roadblocks

CONCRETE, REALISTIC GOALS Poor to Fair “tightly control teaching and learning processes from the center because minimizing variation across classrooms and schools is the core driver of performance improvement at this level.” Good To Great “provide only loose guidelines on teaching and learning processes because peer-led creativity and innovation inside schools becomes the core driver for raising performance at this level.”

GATHERING THE FACTS Know where you arePlan where you want to beIdentify the gaps and roadblocks

RISKS AND PITFALLS Focus is very hardStandards alone don’t change teaching and learningEveryone will claim alignmentTalking the talk is different than walking the walkNatural resistance to change

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER What are your instructional and planning/curricular strengths? Where are your instructional and planning/curricular strengths? What are the gaps between where you are and where CCSS requires you to be? Where are the gaps between where you are and where CCSS requires you to be?

WHAT DOES THE CCSS LOOK LIKE?

UNDERSTANDING THE RESEARCH SIMULATION TASK Session 1: – Students begin by reading an anchor text that introduces the topic. EBSR and TECR items ask students to gather key details about the passage to support their understanding. – Then, they write a summary or short analysis of the piece. Session 2: – Students read two additional sources (may include a multimedia text) and answer a few questions about each text to learn more about the topic so they are ready to write the final essay and to show their reading comprehension. – Finally, students mirror the research process by synthesizing their understandings into an analytic essay using textual evidence from several of the sources.

GRADE 7 ANALYTICAL PROSE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM #1 Based on the information in the text “Biography of Amelia Earhart,” write an essay that summarizes and explains the challenges Earhart faced throughout her life. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas. 26

FINAL GRADE 7 PROSE CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM #2 You have read three texts describing Amelia Earhart. All three include the claim that Earhart was a brave, courageous person. The three texts are: “Biography of Amelia Earhart” “Earhart's Final Resting Place Believed Found” “Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance” Consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart’s bravery. Write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments about Earhart’s bravery in at least two of the texts. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas. 27

GRADE 6 PROSE CONSTRUCTED- RESPONSE ITEM In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her. Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her next.

GRADE 6 TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED SELECTED-RESPONSE ITEM Choose one word that describes Miyax based on evidence from the text. There is more than one correct choice listed below. A.reckless B.lively C.imaginative* D.observant* E.impatient F.Confident Find a sentence in the passage with details that support your response to Part A. Click on that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below. Find a second sentence in the passage with details that support your response to Part A. Click on that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below.

GRADE 3 TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED CONSTRUCTED-RESPONSE ITEM Drag the words from the word box into the correct locations on the graphic to show the life cycle of a butterfly as described in “How Animals Live.” Words: 30 Pupa Adult Egg Larva

GRADE 7 ILLUSTRATIVE SAMPLE ITEM 31