1. California’s Common Core Content Standards for
English Language Arts and
Literacy in History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects
Audience: The audience for this PowerPoint is administrators and teachers and serves as a beginning overview for educators.
This is an introduction to California’s Common Core Content Standards so that you will be familiar with the organization and content of the standards.
We hope to:
Ease your mind; lower your heart rate.
Help you see that the current standards and the new standards are more similar than different.
Let’s take a look at our objectives for the session.
Session Requirements
Suggested time: The suggested time is provided as a guide for your planning. The entire overview can be completed in minutes.
Handouts:
Packet #1
PowerPoint slides copied two per page
The last page is the document titled “ELA Org for CCS ” (see slide 11 for picture)
Packet #2 (optional handout, used with optional activity on slide 15)
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading (this is found on the CCS website, see slide 33 for web address)
Reading Standards for Informational Text K-12
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

2. Objectives Overview Organization Similarities Shifts Areas of Emphasis
Key Design Considerations
Additional 15%
Organization
Similarities
Shifts
Areas of Emphasis
We’ll begin with a general overview to help you understand the key design considerations used by the “architects” as they crafted these standards, including the additional 15% California added to the Common Core.
Next, we’ll explain the organization of the standards and familiarize you with the terminology used in the new standards.
We’ll also highlight similarities between the two sets of standards as well as some of the shifts or differences.
Finally, we’ll point out the areas of emphasis in the new standards.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

3. The Standards
Build toward preparing students to be college and career ready in literacy by no later than the end of high school
Provide a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century
Develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening that are foundational for any creative and purposeful expression in language
The architects of the standards framed the work by keeping the following goal in mind: All students are college and career ready in literacy by no later than the end of high school.
The standards provide a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century and develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening that are foundational for any creative and purposeful expression in language.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

4. The Standards Set Requirements for Both...
English Language Arts (ELA)
Reading
Writing
Speaking & Listening
Language
Literacy in History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects
K-5: Embedded in ELA
6-12: Separate section
The design of the standards set requirements for English Language Arts AND Literacy in History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects (we’ll explore the details of these sections later).
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

5. Key Design Considerations
College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards
Grade levels for K-8; grade bands for 9-10 and 11-12
A focus on results rather than means
An integrated model of literacy
Research and media skills integrated into the Standards as a whole
Shared responsibility for students’ literacy development
Focus and coherence in instruction and assessment
Key design considerations are outlined in the Introduction of the Common Core State Standards. You can read more detail on your own at a later time if you download the document from the Common Core State Standards website (see last slide for web address). The Introduction was not included in California’s adoption.
College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards
The CCR standards anchor the document and define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations that must be met for students to be prepared to enter college and workforce training programs ready to succeed.
California did NOT include the anchor standards; however, they are the framework around which the standards are organized.
Grade levels for K-8; grade bands for 9-10 and 11-12
K-8 are grade-level specific.
9/10 and 11/12 are two-year bands.
A focus on results rather than means
Standards leave room for determination of how goals should be reached and what additional topics should be addressed.
An integrated model of literacy
Standards are divided into Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language strands for conceptual clarity, yet document reflects their interconnectedness.
Research and media skills integrated into the Standards as a whole
Research and media skills and understandings are embedded throughout the standards rather than treated in a separate section. We’ll show you some examples of this later.
Shared responsibility for students’ literacy development
Students’ literacy development is not only the responsibility of the ELA teachers; teachers in other areas have a role in this development as well. This expectation will become clearer as we explain the structure of the standards.
Focus and coherence in instruction and assessment
While the Standards delineate specific expectations in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, each standard need not be a separate focus for instruction and assessment. Often, several standards can be addressed by a single rich task.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

6. Intentional Design Limitations
Note what the Standards DO and DO NOT cover
The Standards DO…
The Standards DO NOT…
set grade-level standards
define the intervention methods or materials
allow for the widest possible range of students to participate fully permitting appropriate accommodations
define the full range of supports appropriate for English learners and students with special needs
define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations
define the whole of college and career readiness
The Introduction of the Common Core State Standards also describes what is NOT covered by the standards, the Intentional Design Limitations.
The Standards do…
set grade-level standards; they do not define the intervention methods or materials
allow for the widest possible range of students to participate fully permitting appropriate accommodations; they do not define the full range of supports appropriate for English learners and students with special needs
define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations; they do not define the whole of college and career readiness
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

7. Intentional Design Limitations
Note what the Standards DO and DO NOT cover
The Standards DO…
The Standards DO NOT…
define what all students are expected to know and be able to do
define how teachers should teach
focus on what is most essential
describe all that can or should be taught
establish a baseline for advanced learners
define the nature of advanced work
The Intentional Design Limitations continue with the following:
The Standards do…
define what all students are expected to know and be able to do; they do not define how teachers should teach
focus on what is most essential; they do not describe all that can or should be taught
establish a baseline for advanced learners; they do not define the nature of advanced work
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

8. California’s Criteria for the Additional 15%
Substantively enhance
Address a perceived gap
Be defensible to classroom practitioners
Keep the original standard intact
Ensure the rigor of California’s existing standards is maintained
States could add up to 15% to the Common Core State Standards developed by the State Standards Initiative consortium.
California added to the common core state standards based on the following criteria:
Substantively enhance
Address a perceived gap
Be defensible to classroom practitioners
Keep the original standard intact
Ensure the rigor of California’s existing standards is maintained
In order to identify what was added, the Commission presented a draft to the State Board of Education with California’s Additional 15% indicated in bold and underlined font.
The architects of the Common Core combined the best work of states. In fact, California’s standards played a large part in developing the foundation for the Common Core. Because of this, California did not necessarily add the full 15% that was allowed. In terms of word count for ELA, California added approximately 8%.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

9. California’s Additional 15% Examples of Additions
Analysis of text features in informational text (Gr. 6-12)
Career and consumer documents included in Writing (Gr. 8)
“Both in isolation and in text” added to the application of phonics and word analysis skills (Gr. K-3)
Penmanship added to Language (Gr. 2-4)
Formal presentations included in Speaking and Listening (Gr. 1-12)
Minor additions and insertions to enhance and clarify (e.g., archetypes, thesis)
California’s additional 15% includes the following:
Analysis of text features in informational text (Gr. 6-12): For example, in grade 6 ”Analyze the use of text features (e.g., graphics, headers, captions) in popular media” was added to Standard 5 to add specificity.
Included Career and Consumer Documents in Writing (Gr. 8): Career and consumer documents were not specifically called out in the Common Core. Therefore, “including career development documents (e.g., simple business letters and job applications)” was added to a CCS standard in order to add specificity.
Application of phonics and word analysis skills both in isolation and in text (Gr. K-3): This was added to ensure that students were expected to apply these skills BOTH in isolation and in text.
Penmanship added to Language (Gr. 2-4): CCS only included specific standards addressing penmanship in Kindergarten and Grade 1.
Formal presentations in Speaking and Listening (Gr. 1-12): CCS placed more emphasis on collaborative conversations, formal presentations were specifically called out in the additional 15% – “Plan and deliver an informative/explanatory presentation…”
Minor additions and insertions to clarify (e.g., archetypes, thesis).
Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list. Remember, in order to identify what was added, the Commission presented a draft to the Board with California’s additional 15% indicated in bold and underlined font.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

10. Standards Organization
Three main sections
A comprehensive K-5 section
Two content-area specific sections for grades 6-12
English Language Arts
History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects
Four strands
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening (K-12 ELA only)
Language (K-12 ELA only)
Let’s begin exploring the organization of the standards.
The ELA standards are organized into three main sections.
A comprehensive K-5 section; History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects are embedded in these standards since instruction is typically provided by one teacher.
Two content-area specific sections for grades 6-12
English Language Arts
History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects (this will be explained in more detail later)
There are four strands in the Common Core State Standards (the “strands” are called “domains” in the current CA standards):
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening (K-12 ELA only – not included in the History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects section)
Language: this strand includes conventions and vocabulary. (K-12 ELA only – not included in the History/Social Studies & Science and Technical Subjects section)
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

11. Strand Organization
Find the handout at the back of your packet which outlines the organization of each strand.
There are three sets of standards in the Reading Strand: Reading Standards for Literature, Reading Standards for Informational Text, and Reading Standards: Foundational Skills.
Subheadings are consistent across grade levels within each set of standards
Locate the handout at the back of your packet
In the first two sets, subheadings are consistent across grade levels:
Key Ideas and Details
Craft and Structure
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Range and Level of Text Complexity
The third set of standards in the Reading Strand is Foundational Skills, included in K-5 only.
The subheadings are:
Print Concepts
Phonological Awareness
Phonics and Word Recognition
Fluency
The Writing Strand includes one set of standards, and the subheadings are consistent across grade levels:
Text Types and Purposes
Production and Distribution of Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Range of Writing
Speaking and Listening is one set of standards as well. Again, subheadings are consistent across grade levels:
Comprehension and Collaboration
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Finally, the Language Strand is one set of standards with consistent subheadings across grade-levels:
Conventions of Standard English
Knowledge of Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
You may notice that Vocabulary is in the Language Strand of the Common Core, while in our current standards it is in the Reading domain. We’ll explore this shift later in the presentation.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

12. Here is a page taken from the K-5 section of the standards.
Instructor Note: Use the following questions to highlight important information on the slide.
The standards on this page are from which strand? Reading
Which set of standards in the Reading strand? Informational Text
How many standards are in the Reading Standards for Informational Text across ALL grade levels? Ten
What are the consistent subheadings? Key Ideas and Details; Craft and Structure; Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
What does the bold an underlined text in standard 4 and 10 indicate? Part of the 15% added by California
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

13. Organization of Standards Across Grade Levels
K-12 grade-specific standards define end-of-year expectations
A cumulative progression designed to enable students to meet college and career readiness expectations no later than the end of high school
Next, we’ll look at a standard to explore the organization of standards across grade levels.
Remember, the Common Core State Standards were developed to build towards College and Career Readiness, using anchor standards to guide the progression across grade levels. While California did not include the CCR anchor standards, they are central to the organization– they are the framework used to design these standards and you will see how the knowledge and skills develop across grade levels.
Remember the four strands identified on the handout. For each strand, anchor standards were used to organize the progression of standards across grade levels.
Reading: 10 anchor standards
Writing: 10 anchor standards
Speaking & Listening: 6 anchor standards
Language: 6 anchor standards
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

14. Reading: Informational Text
College and Career Readiness - Anchor Standard 2
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details.
Standard 2 - Note the progression across grade levels:
Kindergarten: With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
Grade 2: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.
Grade 4: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
What we’d like you to notice is how the numbers of the standards are consistent across grade-levels, with the purpose of developing a particular knowledge or skill. At the top of the slide is the anchor standard from the Common Core. Note how the development of this standard progresses across grade levels.
For example, In the Reading: Informational Text set of the standards, Standard 2 works toward the College and Career Readiness anchor standard “Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.”
Look at kindergarten, Grade 2, 4, 6, 8, and 11/12 on this and the following slide. You will see the progression across grade levels. While the anchor standards are not included in California’s adoption, the underlying structure remains. Therefore, the number used to reference each of the standards remain consistent across grade levels.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

15. Reading: Informational Text Standard 2
Note the progression across grade levels:
Grade 6: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
Grade 8: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
Grades 11-12: Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CONTINUED
Optional Activity (use packet #2)
Review the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading.
Choose one of the Reading Standards for Informational Text.
Trace that standard grades K-12. Also trace it grades 6-12 in the Reading Standards for Literacy for History/Social Studies AND Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects.
Share your observations with a partner.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

16. Similar Organization Current CA Standards DOMAINS
Common Core Standards for CA
STRANDS
Reading
Writing
Listening and Speaking
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Speaking and Listening
Language
Now, we’ll take a look at some of the similarities between California’s current standards and the newly adopted Common Core Standards for California.
California’s current standards are organized into four large categories called domains. The domains are:
Reading
Writing
Listening and Speaking
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
The Common Core Standards for California are similarly organized into four groups called strands. The strands are:
Speaking and Listening
Language
Let’s take a closer look at some of the standards and note their similar content.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

17. Sample Standards Comparison Grades 1 and 3
California Standard
Common Core Standard for California
1st Grade
Writing
2.1 Write brief narratives (e.g., fictional, autobiographical) describing an experience.
3. Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
3rd Grade
Reading
2.3 Demonstrate comprehension by identifying answers in the text.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to text as the basis for the answers.
Compare California’s current standards with the Common Core Standards for California on this and the following two slides. Note the similarities in the content of the standards.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

18. Sample Standards Comparison Grade 6
California Standard
Common Core Standard for California
6th Grade
Reading
2.7 Make reasonable assertions about a text through accurate, supporting citations.
Reading Standards for Informational Text (ELA)
1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
CONTINUED
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

19. Sample Standards Comparison Grades 9-10
California Standard
Common Core Standard for California
9th/10th Grade
Reading
2.1 Analyze the structure and format of functional workplace documents, including the graphics and headers, and explain how authors use the features to achieve their purposes.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
5. Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
a. Analyze the use of text features (e.g., graphics, headers, captions) in functional workplace documents.
CONTINUED
Point out the bold and underlined text used to indicate California’s additional 15%.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

20. Placement Shifts Standard California: Domain Common Core Standard
for California: Strand
Vocabulary
Reading
Language
Conventions/Grammar
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
While the content of the standards is very similar, the placement within the organization of the standards may have shifted.
You’ll note that in our current standards, vocabulary standards are found in the Reading Domain, while in the Common Core Standards for California, they are now in the Language Strand.
Standards addressing conventions and grammar are in the Written and Oral English Language Conventions Domain of our current standards. These standards are now found in the Language Strand.
It is important to keep these shifts in mind when comparing the two sets of standards.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

21. Writing Applications Common Core Standards for CA
Write Opinions (K-5); Write Arguments (6-12)
Write Informative/Explanatory Texts
Write Narratives
CA Standards
Narratives
Expository Descriptions
Friendly Letters
Personal or Formal Letters
Response to Literature
Information Reports
Summaries
Persuasive Letters/Compositions
Research Reports
Fictional Narratives
Biographical/Autobiographical Narratives
Career Development Documents
Technical Documents
Reflective Compositions
Historical Investigation Reports
Job Application/Resume
Let’s take a look at some shifts in Writing Applications.
While our current standards specifically identify various writing applications across grade levels, the Common Core Standards for California organize the writing applications into three categories:
Write Opinions (K-5); Write Arguments (6-12)
Write Informative/Explanatory Texts
Write Narratives
If you compare the two lists, you will see that the various writing applications found in our current standards fit into one of the three categories of the Common Core Standards for California.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

22. A Progression of Writing
The Standards cultivate three mutually reinforcing writing capacities:
To persuade
To explain
To convey real or imagined experience
Distribution of Communicative Purposes by Grade in the 2011 NAEP Writing Framework
Grade
To Persuade
To Explain
To Convey Experience 4
30%
35% 8 12
40%
20%
One reason for this shift in the organization of writing standards is to better prepare students for college and career writing. This shift matches the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) framework.
Notice the decreasing emphasis on writing to convey an experience (narrative) and the increase in writing to persuade or explain.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

23. Shared Responsibility for Teaching the Standards
Another shift is a more overt emphasis on shared responsibility for students’ literacy development. This was already part of California’s ELA and subject frameworks. These standards make the shared responsibility more overt. Our current History and Science frameworks already include many of the standards – so it is not really new to teach reading and writing in the subject areas. In fact, History and Science materials were recently adopted, so many districts have instructional materials in these content areas that do a good job of teaching and incorporating reading and writing.
A single K-5 set of grade-specific standards
Most or all of the instruction students receive comes from one teacher
Two content area–specific sections for grades 6-12
One set of standards for ELA teachers
One set of standards for history/social studies, science, and technical subject teachers
The literacy standards in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects are meant to complement rather than supplant content standards in those disciplines
Instructor Note: Paraphrase the following paragraphs from the Introduction p. 2.
The Standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared responsibility within the school. The K–5 standards include expectations for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language applicable to a range of subjects, including but not limited to ELA. The grades 6–12 standards are divided into two sections, one for ELA and the other for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. This division reflects the unique, time-honored place of ELA teachers in developing students’ literacy skills while at the same time recognizing that teachers in other areas must have a role in this development as well.
Part of the motivation behind the interdisciplinary approach to literacy promulgated by the Standards is extensive research establishing the need for college and career ready students to be proficient in reading complex informational text independently in a variety of content areas. Most of the required reading in college and workforce training programs is informational in structure and challenging in content; postsecondary education programs typically provide students with both a higher volume of such reading than is generally required in K–12 schools and comparatively little scaffolding.
Let’s take a look at who is responsible for which portion of the Standards.
In K-5, since most of the instruction students receive comes from one teacher, there is a single set of grade-specific standards for which the classroom teacher is responsible.
In grades 6-12, there is one set of standards for which ELA teachers are responsible.
Another set of literacy standards for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects includes standards for which responsibility must be shared between ELA teachers and teachers in other content areas.
The literacy standards in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects are meant to complement rather than supplant content standards in those disciplines; the point is that there are discipline-specific literacy skills that should be addressed in other content areas.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

24. Areas of Emphasis in the Common Core State Standards
Focus on text complexity
Address reading and writing across the curriculum
Emphasize analysis of informational text
Focus on writing arguments and drawing evidence from sources
Emphasize participating in collaborative conversation
Integrate media sources across standards
Let’s look at some areas of emphasis in the Common Core State Standards. As we begin looking towards new assessments in , we want to teach with an awareness of what is emphasized in the Common Core standards.
These standards:
Focus on text complexity
Address reading and writing across the curriculum
Emphasize analysis of informational text
Focus on writing arguments and drawing evidence from sources
Emphasize participating in collaborative conversation
Integrate media sources across standards
Let’s see what is meant by each of these statements.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

25. Emphasis on Text Complexity
Reading standards place equal emphasis on the sophistication of what students read and the skill with which they read
Standard 10 defines a grade-by-grade “staircase” of increasing text complexity that rises from beginning reading to the college and career readiness level
Reading Standard 10 references a text complexity band beginning in Grade 2.
Text complexity takes into account three factors:
Qualitative evaluation of the text: Levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands
Quantitative evaluation of the text: Readability measures and other scores of text complexity
Matching reader to text and task: Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed)
You will find more information on text complexity within the body of the standards (two pages that follow the K-5 and the ELA standards) and in Appendix A (research) and Appendix B (illustrative texts) which were not included in California’s adoption.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

26. Emphasis on Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
Writing, Grade 5
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Apply grade 5 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or a drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., how characters interact]”).
Apply grade 5 Reading standards to informational texts (e.g., “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point[s]”).
The standards emphasize reading and writing across curricular areas. You will see this reflected in these example standards from Grade 5 and Grades 9-10.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

27. Emphasis on Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
Writing, Grades 9-10
English Language Arts
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”).
Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”).
History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CONTINUED
Presenter note: Reminder of the organization of the standards
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects (two separate sections)
Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science and Technical Subjects (one combined section)
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

28. Emphasis on Informational Text
The Standards aim to align instruction with this National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) framework
Percentages do not imply that high school ELA teachers must teach 70% informational text; they demand instead that a great deal of reading should occur in other disciplines
Distribution of Literary and Informational Passages by Grade in the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework
Grade
Literary
Information 4
50% 8
45%
55% 12
30%
70%
An awareness of the emphasis on Informational Text is critical in ensuring student success.
The standards aim to align with NAEP in the distribution of literary and informational text. This emphasis on informational text must begin K-3, because as you can see, by Grade 4 the distribution is 50/50.
Note that literary non-fiction is included in the Literary category, and this includes essays, speeches, and biographies. Therefore, the actual volume of informational text may be even higher than what is outlined in this table.
It is important to note that the high percentages of informational text in high school is a shared responsibility between ELA teachers and teachers in other disciplines. This does not mean that all 70% of informational reading needs to happen in the ELA classrooms.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

29. Emphasis on Writing Arguments and Drawing Evidence From Sources
Writing, Grade 7
1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.
Establish and maintain a formal style.
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
This sample from seventh grade is just one example. As with all of the standards, there is a progression across grade levels.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

30. Emphasis on Collaborative Conversations
Speaking and Listening, Grade 5
1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.
Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussions.
California’s current standards place more of an emphasis on formal presentation. The Common Core Standards add an emphasis on collaborative conversations; a skill that one might argue is used on an everyday basis.
Here is an example of a Speaking and Listening standard addressing Collaborative Conversation. Take a moment to read the standard.
Presenter note: One formal speech is called out at each grade level.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

31. Emphasis on Integrating Media Sources
Grade 6 Examples Across the Strands Reading Standards for Informational Text 7. Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. Writing Standards 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting. Speaking and Listening Standards 5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
Another emphasis is on integrating media sources. Research and media skills are blended into the Standards as a whole.
INSTRUCTOR NOTE: Paraphrase the following paragraph from the Introduction.
To be ready for college, workforce training, and life in a technological society,
students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, and
report on information and ideas, to conduct original research in order to answer
questions or solve problems, and to analyze and create a high volume and
extensive range of print and non-print texts in media forms old and new. The
need to conduct research and to produce and consume media is embedded
into every aspect of today’s curriculum. In like fashion, research and media
skills and understandings are embedded throughout the Standards rather than
treated in a separate section.
Let’s take a look at this integration into the standards as a whole.
You’ll see from these Grade 6 examples, the use of media sources is integrated across the strands. Take a moment to read the example standards.
These are only a few examples from Grade 6. It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list; there are numerous examples of integration of media sources within each grade level across the strands.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

32. Not Included in California’s Common Core Content Standards
Introduction
College and Career Readiness Standards
ELA Appendices
Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards
Appendix B: Illustrative Texts
Exemplars illustrating the complexity, quality, and range of reading appropriate for various grade levels
Appendix C: Samples of Student Writing
Annotated writing samples demonstrating adequate performance at various grade levels
Throughout the presentation we have referenced the Introduction, College and Career Readiness anchor standards, and the Appendices, which were not included in California’s adoption. These documents may support your understanding of the organization and structure of the ELA standards and can be found at which is on the final slide.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

33. Wrap-Up and Questions Websites
Common Core State Standards
California’s Common Core Content Standards
Allow a moment for comments and questions.
© 2011 California County Superintendents Educational Services Association