Family Information Night Topic: COMMON CORE Tuesday, September 16, 2014

AGENDA Common Core & Colorado Academic Standards CCSS Overview Video Purpose of the CCSS Key Shifts in the CCSS Assessment Supporting the Common Core at Home Questions

STATE STANDARDS State education standards have been around since the early 1990s. By the early 2000s, every state had developed and adopted its own learning standards that specify what students in grades 3-8 and high school should be able to do. Every state also had its own definition of proficiency, which is the level at which a student is determined to be sufficiently educated at each grade level and upon graduation. This lack of standardization was one reason why states decided to develop the Common Core State Standards in 2009.

COMMON CORE & COLORADO ACADEMIC STANDARDS 2009: The state-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards was launched in 2009 by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. August 2010: The Colorado State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards for mathematics and reading, writing, and communicating. December 2010 : The Colorado Department of Education releases the Colorado Academic Standards for mathematics and reading, writing and communication incorporating the Common Core State Standards.

COMMON CORE & COLORADO ACADEMIC STANDARDS While Colorado adopted the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics, the state continues to maintain “unique to Colorado” standards in those content areas. States could add up to 15% to the Common Core. Addressed perceived gaps and ensures that the rigor of Colorado’s existing standards would be maintained. District’s maintain autonomy to adopt their own curriculum to meet the standards and teachers retain the ability to design their instruction in ways that support students in meeting the standards.

THE CCSS IN 3 MINUTES

PURPOSE FOR THE CCSS Ensure that U.S. students are ready to succeed academically in credit-bearing, college-entry courses and in workforce training programs. Develop consistency from state to state. Content Rigor

AS A RESULT… The CCSS are: Fewer, clearer, and higher. Aligned with college and work expectations, so that all students are prepared for success upon graduating from high school. Inclusive of rigorous content and applications of knowledge through higher-order skills, so that all students are prepared for the 21st century. Internationally benchmarked, so that all students are prepared for succeeding in our global economy and society. Research and evidence-based.

KEY SHIFTS IN THE CCSS English Language Arts / Literacy Staircase of complexity design; the standards build upon each other A combination of literary and informational texts 3 types of writing: Informative/Explanatory, Narrative, and Opinion/Persuasive taught K-12 Emphasis on academic vocabulary Mathematics Narrow and deepen the scope Focus, coherence and clarity: emphasis on key topics at each grade level and coherent progression across grades Increase math fluency - speed and accuracy Connect content standards with mathematical practices Demonstrate application of concepts Anchored in College & Career Readiness

SHIFTS IN THE ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS Distribution of Literary and Informational Passages by Grade Grade:Literary:Informational: 450% 845%55% 1230%70% Distribution of Communicative Purposes by Grade Grade: To Persuade:To Explain:To Convey Experience: 430%35% 8 30% 1240% 20%

SHIFTS IN THE MATH COMMON CORE STANDARDS Math Domains: 1.Counting & Cardinality (K only) 2.Operations & Algebraic Thinking 3.Numbers & Operations in Base 10 4.Measurement & Data 5.Geometry 6.Numbers & Operations – Fractions 7.Ratios & Proportional Relationships 8.The Number System 9.Expressions & Equations 10.Statistics & Probability Mathematical Practices: 1.Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them 2.Reason abstractly and quantitatively 3.Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others 4.Model with mathematics 5.Use appropriate tools strategically 6.Attend to precision 7.Look for and make use of structure 8.Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

ASSESSMENT Colorado is a member of PARCC, a consortium of states working together to develop assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college and careers. PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers The PARCC assessments will be ready for states to administer during the school year. Common assessments aligned to the Common Core will help ensure the new standards truly reach every classroom.

ASSESSMENT Assessment Components: Performance-Based Assessment (PBA): The ELA/literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. The mathematics PBA will focus on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools. End-of-Year Assessment (EOY): The ELA/literacy EOY will focus on reading comprehension. The math EOY will be comprised of innovative, machine-scorable items.

ASSESSMENT – ELA PBA 7 th Grade Example Passage #1 “The Biography of Amelia Earhart” Amelia Earhart TM/® is a trademark of Amy Kleppner, as heir to the Estate of Muriel Morrissey, licensed by CMG Worldwide. “The Biography of Amelia Earhart” Passage #2 "Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found" by Rossella Lorenzi posted on the Discovery News website on October Courtesy of Discovery Communications, LLC. earhart-resting-place.html Passage #3 “Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance" (transcript in PDF format and video). WatchMojo. February 28, Web. Courtesy ofWatchMojo.comtranscriptvideohttp:// 83WatchMojo.com Part A Question: What is the author’s main purpose in “Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found”? Part B Question: Which sentence from “Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found” best supports the answer in Part A?

ASSESSMENT – ELA PBA 7 th Grade Example Question : You have read a website entry and an article and watched a video describing Amelia Earhart. All three include information that supports the claim that Earhart was a brave, courageous person. The three texts are: “The Biography of Amelia Earhart” “Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found” “Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance” (video) Consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart’s bravery. Write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments related to Earhart’s bravery in at least two of the three supporting materials. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas.

ASSESSMENT – MATH PBA 3 rd Grade Example

ASSESSMENT – ELA EOY 3 rd Grade Example

ASSESSMENT – MATH EOY 6 th Grade Example

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS? THINK DEEPLY The Common Core emphasizes critical and requires students to… Analyze more Discuss more Evaluate more Explain their thinking and understanding, especially in writing. TAKE AWAY: Thinking deeply is hard. Let it be hard but, help your child to talk it out. ww.helloliteracy.blogspot.com (CC , by Jen Jones & Katy Duty)

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS? INTEGRATE LEARNING The Common Core emphasizes learning across disciplines (reading with math & science standards combined into one task.) Students spend more time working in different settings, on different types of tasks, and with different tools that mimic real world scenarios. TAKE AWAY: Problems and solutions happen every day in the real world. ww.helloliteracy.blogspot.com (CC , by Jen Jones & Katy Duty)

HOW CAN WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS? SHOWING HOW THEY KNOW The Common Core emphasizes proof and evidence. Students need to be able to… Talk and write about their thinking and opinions Represent information in charts, graphs Cite evidence from text, compare and contrast multiple texts. TAKE AWAY: New tests will require students to explain how they know. ww.helloliteracy.blogspot.com (CC , by Jen Jones & Katy Duty)