Common Core Learning Standards

Common Questions What is the Common Core? What should my child be doing? Are they Important? Should I be concerned about the CCLS? What will teachers at LMG be doing now?

The World Has Changed Why Common Core?

“ You better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town.” - HAVEN GILLESPIE, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

What is the CCLS? Developed by experts to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. n Provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students across the country are expected to learn n Standards define the knowledge and skills all students (K-12) need to succeed in academic college courses and in the workforce.

The Standards: Are aligned with college and work expectations; Are clear, understandable and consistent; Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-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

“ Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we'll be seeing six or seven.” W.C. FIELDS, The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips & One-Line.

Where can I access the Common Core State Standards? n A: The final version of the standards, released June 2, 2010, is available at n An extensive general FAQ about the standards is available here: questionswww.corestandards.org/frequently-asked- questions n New York State has launched EngageNY.org to assist parents, teachers, and students with the CCLSEngageNY.org

Why is the CCLS Important? n Prepare all students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and work n Ensure consistent expectations regardless of a student’s zip code; n Provide educators, parents, and students with clear, focused guideposts; n Lead to new more rigorous assessments that will drive changes in curriculum and teacher practice.

Common Core: Literacy n Increased complexity from K-12, which help to articulate what students need to know and be able to do along this trajectory and assist with differentiation; n Literacy-building as a shared responsibility for all content area teachers; n Emphasis on teaching reading of informational text as the grades progress; n Emphasis on steadily increasing students’ ability to understand more and more complex text over time; n Integration of research skills across the standards and across all grades; n Emphasis on writing to argue and to inform or explain in the upper grades in order to prepare students for college-level writing.

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. SHIRLEY TEMPLE, Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion

Common Core: Math n Fewer topics and more generalizing and linking of concepts; Better alignment with how high achieving countries teach math; n Emphasis on both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency starting in the early grades; More time to teach core concepts and reinforce them over the K-12 progression; Later introduction of some concepts; n Focus on mastery of complex concepts in higher math (e.g. algebra and geometry) via hands-on learning; n Emphasis on mathematical modeling in the upper grades.

New York State and the CCLS n Content Standards stay in place n Regents Exams will begin to address CCLS on exams in 2012 n Federal funding is in place to support the CCLS

Common Core at LMG Curriculum alignment: Teachers are in teams working to plan units and lessons, around a theme and/or skill. Performance Task: Teachers develop projects for students in Humanities and Science and Math. One literacy task is dedicated to non-fiction Academic Rigor: Over the course of four years tasks and content increase in complexity

Sample Math Task (Requires depth of understanding of mathematical concepts and the ability to apply mathematics to real world problems). n A company that sells juice in small cartons like the one shown below has a problem. The straight straw attached to the outside of each carton keeps getting lost inside. Investigate how the problem could be fixed. Create a report for the company describing as many different solutions to the straw-and-juice-box problem as possible. Use mathematics to explore and describe the nature and cause of the problem faced by the company.

Common Core: Math n Fewer topics and more generalizing and linking of concepts; Better alignment with how high achieving countries teach math; n Emphasis on both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency starting in the early grades; More time to teach core concepts and reinforce them over the K-12 progression; Later introduction of some concepts; n Focus on mastery of complex concepts in higher math (e.g. algebra and geometry) via hands-on learning; n Emphasis on mathematical modeling in the upper grades.

I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark. DICK GREGORY, Judy Brown's The Funny Pages

Questions ?