Lisa J. Mails Elementary PRO Series (Parents ‘R Onboard) Topic #3: The Shift to the Common Core Standards Language Arts Focus

Parents ‘R Onboard O Purpose O Our Hope for these Meetings O Future Meeting Topics

History of CCSS Sponsored by the National State Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers Work groups and feedback groups composed of representatives from higher education, K–12 education, business community, researchers, civil rights groups, and the states. Ensure students have a seamless transition from high school to college. Builds on the standards-based process.

Overarching Goals for K-12 CCSS Ensure that our students are Meeting college and work expectations. Prepared to succeed in our global economy and society. Provided a vision of what it means to be an academically literate person in the 21 st century. Provided with rigorous content and applications of higher knowledge through higher-order thinking skills. Provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn… Enables teachers and parents to know what to do to help.

Which States Have Adopted?

Business Support “State by state adoption of these standards is an important step towards maintaining our country ’ s competitive edge … will be better prepared to face the challenges of the international marketplace.” - Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO, State Farm Insurance Companies “America needs to remain globally competitive. This voluntary state - led effort will help ensure that all students can receive the college and career ready, world - class education they deserve, no matter where they live.” - Craig Barrett, Former CEO and Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation

The Changing Workforce: Top 10 Critical Job Skills O Critical Thinking O Complex Problem Solving O Judgment and Decision Making O Active Listening O Computers and Electronics O Mathematics O Operations and Systems Analysis O Monitoring O Programming O Sales and Marketing

The Focus of the New ELA/Literacy Standards O Rigor O Application of Learning to Real-World Situations O Technology and Media Sources O Justification and Evidence O Communication and Collaboration O Expository Reading and Writing O Research

The Six Key Shifts in Literacy ShiftKey Question for Parent Informational TextDo you encourage your child to read as much nonfiction as fiction? Do you discuss ideas in nonfiction texts? Close Reading of Complex TextsDo you read challenging texts with your children and help them see the value of the information? Text-based Answers and EvidenceDo you ask your child to show evidence from the text when answering questions? Writing from Sources with EvidenceDo you encourage your child to write using evidence and details from multiple texts? Academic VocabularyDo you talk to your children using academic language? Digital LiteracyDo your children use technology and media as a learning tool?

Informational Texts Students Must… Read more nonfiction. Know the ways nonfiction can be put together. Discuss the details of nonfiction. Handle “primary” source documents. Parents Can… Supply more nonfiction text. Read nonfiction texts aloud with children and discuss the details together. Find books that explain. Model reading of nonfiction texts.

Close Reading of Complex Texts Close Reading Video Students must... Reread. Read material at comfort level and work with more challenging material. Unpack text. Handle frustration and keep pushing. Parents can… Provide both comfort level and more challenging texts. Read challenging materials with children. Show that challenging material is worth unpacking through the discussion of new ideas.

Text-Based Answers with Evidence Students Must… Find evidence to support their arguments. Form judgments. Discuss what the author is “up to.” Parents Can… Talk about text or other media. (See Text-Dependent Questions) Ask for evidence in every day discussions/disagreements. Read aloud or read the same book and discuss with evidence.

Writing From Sources with Evidence Students Must… Make arguments in writing using evidence. Compare multiple texts in writing. Write well – in small and large contexts. Parents Can… Encourage writing at home. Write with children and model finding evidence and using details. Look at Appendix C: Appendix CAppendix C

Academic Vocabulary Students Must… Learn the words that they can use in college and career. Get smarter at using the “language of power”. Parents Can… Read often and constantly at all ages with your child. Read multiple books about the same topic and make note of repeated vocabulary. Know common academic vocabulary and use it in conversation/support.

Digital Literacy Students Must… Use technology strategically. Produce and publish documents. Research, interact, collaborate and communicate using web tools. Evaluate information presented in different media formats. Parents Can… Become familiar with technology. Monitor your child’s appropriate use of technology as a learning tool. Communicate with school for assistance with accessing technology.

Student Assessments O Students will be assessed in Grades 3 – 5 using the Smarter Balanced Assessments. O This assessment is adaptive and students take it on the computer. A process is in place to ensure that our technology is ready for this assessment. O Our current process of Universal Screening using the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and Scholastic Math Inventory (SMI) will help to prepare our students for this new assessment system. O You can find samples of assessment questions at:

What Makes Smarter Balanced Questions Different? O Moving beyond traditional multiple choice questions O Multi-part problems and performance tasks O Interactive response system and explanations Sample LA SBAC Questions

Questions? Resources: CA Department of Education Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium