1. English Language Arts Common Core Instruction at BLMS

2. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…

3. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.

4. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.

5. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.

6. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
Critique as well as comprehend.

7. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
Critique as well as comprehend.
Learn to value evidence.

8. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
Critique as well as comprehend.
Learn to value evidence.
Make good use of technology and digital media.

9. The chief objective of CCS instruction is to help foster “college and career readiness.” Children develop as students who…
Demonstrate independence.
Build strong content knowledge.
Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.
Critique as well as comprehend.
Learn to value evidence.
Make good use of technology and digital media.
Draw on prior experience and knowledge while learning new materials and skills.

11. Reading: Engaging with complex literary texts to build knowledge, and to compare, contrast, and critique

12. Reading: Engaging with complex literary texts to build knowledge, and to compare, contrast, and critique
Writing: Learning to use evidence in order to inform, argue, and analyze

13. Reading: Engaging with complex literary texts to build knowledge, and to compare, contrast, and critique
Writing: Learning to use evidence in order to inform, argue, and analyze
Speaking and listening: Working collaboratively to develop an understanding of multiple perspectives, and to articulate ideas

14. Reading: Engaging with complex literary texts to build knowledge, and to compare, contrast, and critique
Writing: Learning to use evidence in order to inform, argue, and analyze
Speaking and listening: Working collaboratively to develop an understanding of multiple perspectives, and to articulate ideas
Language: Using “academic language,” and developing language awareness

15. Reading: Engaging with complex literary texts to build knowledge, and to compare, contrast, and critique
Writing: Learning to use evidence in order to inform, argue, and analyze
Speaking and listening: Working collaboratively to develop an understanding of multiple perspectives, and to articulate ideas
Language: Using “academic language,” and developing language awareness

19. Sample writing assessment prompt circa 1990:
“Write an essay in which you explain how your life would change without the telephone. In what ways would it be better, and in what ways would it be worse? State your opinions clearly and give enough examples to support these opinions.”

20. Sample writing assessment prompt circa 1990:
“Write an essay in which you explain how your life would change without the telephone. In what ways would it be better, and in what ways would it be worse? State your opinions clearly and give enough examples to support these opinions.”

21. “Get off the phone this instant. ” Does that sound familiar to you
“Get off the phone this instant!” Does that sound familiar to you? It certainly should in most homes. As some believe, young people spend too much time on the telephone. If all the phones in America were destroyed, our lives would change considerably. I totally agree with that statement. Our lives would definitely change considerably.
First of all, I feel that without phones, children especially teenagers, would get more things done. For example, many teenagers talk on the phone constantly for hours. Usually they talk about useless things. Seldom do they talk about something important. Of course there are better things that they could be doing such as homework or studying…

22. “Get off the phone this instant. ” Does that sound familiar to you
“Get off the phone this instant!” Does that sound familiar to you? It certainly should in most homes. As some believe, young people spend too much time on the telephone. If all the phones in America were destroyed, our lives would change considerably. I totally agree with that statement. Our lives would definitely change considerably.
First of all, I feel that without phones, children especially teenagers, would get more things done. For example, many teenagers talk on the phone constantly for hours. Usually they talk about useless things. Seldom do they talk about something important. Of course there are better things that they could be doing such as homework or studying…
(Sample eighth grade response)

28. Common core writing assessment administered this year by the BLMS E/LA department:
Based on the materials provided, do you agree with Emily Dickinson that being a nobody isn’t so bad, or is fame worth the price one might have to pay? In what ways may popularity be a curse rather than a gift? Be sure to cite examples from the texts to support your claim.

29. Some celebrities are able to keep their emotions and behavior in check, while others snap under the pressure of fame. What Emily Dickinson says in her poem is very true. Being a nobody is not so bad. Fame can be a curse or a gift, depending on the way people handle the consequences. Most people do not automatically make outrageous claims or act wild and crazy. There is usually a cause for this behavior. Fame can change people for better or for worse…

30. Money and new experiences come with fame, but so does pressure and attention. Today, paparazzi watch celebrities almost all day…. When someone is famous there is practically no privacy. Every move is watched, and internet stories and photos circulate rapidly. Celebrities are the entertainers of the world with the pressure to please everyone.

31. Pressure from paparazzi and their jobs can make celebrities feel trapped. They may be led to act out or retreat into a shell. For some people, fame is not worth the price they might have to pay. As “The Psychological Consequences of Fame” states, a person’s talents can merit fame, but his or her personality might not be able to handle everything that comes with fame. For example…

32. Pressure from paparazzi and their jobs can make celebrities feel trapped. They may be led to act out or retreat into a shell. For some people, fame is not worth the price they might have to pay. As “The Psychological Consequences of Fame” states, a person’s talents can merit fame, but his or her personality might not be able to handle everything that comes with fame. For example…
(Sample sixth grade response)