“Cutting Through the Common Core”

STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

&STANDARDS FOR LITERACY IN

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, AND TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

AGENDA Introduction to standards document Five strands of ELA Shifts in teaching literacy, vocabulary,

teaching

Common Core Claims For ELA

Grades 3-8: Students can demonstrate progress toward college and career readiness in ELA and Literacy

Grades 9-12: Students can demonstrate college and career readiness in ELA

Claims are important in preparing for instruction and for assessment. The 4 major claims should drive what you do in your classroom every day in order to assure success for your students.

Claim #1 - Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational text. (Reading Claim)

Claim #2 – Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and audiences. (Writing Claim)

Claim #3 – Students can employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences. (Speaking and Listening Claim)

Claim #4 - Students can engage in research/inquiry to investigate topics, and to analyze, integrate, and present information. (Research Claim)

ELA COMMON CORE Document organization

Comprehensive K-5 Section Content Area 1: ELA Grades 6-12 Content Area 2: History/Social

Studies, Science and Technical Subjects 6-12

A Set of 3 Appendices

Common Core has 2 sets of Standards:

COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS: * Broad * Transcends the grade levels * Heads each strand * Foundational standard for grade specific standard * Are the same for both content areas

COMMON CORE GRADE SPECIFIC STANDARDS: * More specific * Unique to each grade level * Corresponds to the anchor standard * Has grade appropriate end of year expectations

Who is responsible for teaching these standards? ELA Content Area- English Language

Arts Teacher History, Social Studies, Science and

Technical Subjects- Teachers of History, Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

The Common Core standards follow NAEP’s lead in balancing the reading literature with informational texts, including texts in history/social studies, science and technical subjects.

GRADE LITERARY TEXT INFORMATIONAL TEXT

4 50% 50%

8 45% 55%

12 30% 70%

Reading Standards for Literacy(Fictional Works of Art) The expectation now moves to the

expected learning outcome for a student, not how he arrived there.

Literacy now becomes everyone’s job, not just the English teacher.

Complex text must be read independently and proficiently in EVERY discipline.

Reading Standards for Informational Text Focus on non-fiction and technical

reading Integration of the subject matters in order to

incorporate a rich exposure to a variety of informational text

Growth of comprehension Increase the number of connections between

the different texts Wide range of textual evidence required Sound judgments made after locating

inconsistencies and logical fallacies in texts

Speaking & Listening Must evaluate what they hear Integrate information from a variety of

sources Use different visual and media

presentation modes in order to communicate effectively

Develop oral communication, interpersonal skills and listening skills

The Role of Vocabulary

Key to student’s vocabulary development is building rich and flexible word knowledge through multiple opportunities to use and respond to words they learn through informal talk, discussion, listening, being read to and reading themselves.

Three Tiers of Vocabularyo Tier One Words: Common words of everyday speech

o Tier Two Words: General Academic

o Tier Three Words: Domain Specific Words

Academic VocabularyVocabulary that transcends specific disciplines but

appears regularly in complex text.

o Teaching must be intentional and purposeful and the

vocabulary selected for use must be as well.

o Silent Sustained Reading is invaluable in vocabulary

building and should be done daily.

o Reading 14 minutes per day means reading over

1,000,000 words per year.

o Vocabulary is learned through both reading and talking.

o Each teacher should generate their own word list for

domain specific vocabulary and each school/district should

have a specific list of Tier 2 academic vocabulary.

o Word lists should not be used as a check list where

students may define from rote memory but should be

intentional and purposeful in an attempt to help them later

comprehend written text.

o Tier 2 words are critical to understanding academic texts.

o Students may learn and comprehend deeply

approximately 300 words per year, roughly 60 per subject

area and 8 to 10 words per week.

Reading Standards for Literacy in Social Studies and Technical Subjects It is important for ALL content area teachers to

teach literacy Students will be expected to read all textbooks in

a way that is both independent and proficient Students will be required to distinguish between

primary and secondary sources along with providing evidence to support their analysis of these sources

The standards will ultimately define literacy expectations in all classes in order to create a comprehensive school-wide literacy program which will lead to more career/college readiness for all students

What students who meet Common Core standards are able to do

Demonstrate independence

Comprehend as well as critique

Build strong content knowledge

Cite evidence

Helpful documents that assist with Common Core Standards.. Appendix A * Contains supplementary information for the 5 strands for ELA Appendix B * Shows examples of different text complexities for the different grade level Appendix C * Shows examples of different writings that are adequate for the different grade levels ELA Connections Document * Shows the relation between the S.C Curriculum standards and the common core standards