Common+Core

The Big Picture: Five things every teacher should be doing to promote Common Core Standards Excerpts from article by Lauren Davis, Senior Editor, Eye On Education

• Lead High-Level, Text-Based Discussions Questions are grounded in the text, and that students refer to the text in their responses. Begin a discussion by focusing on an author’s word choice and then moving to the bigger picture. Set goals before a discussion:
 * Speak at least three times
 * Agree or disagree with someone else in detail
 * Ask a question
 * Keep an open mind

• Focus on Process, Not Just Content Stress the importance of student discovery Give students the opportunity to really understand the word and connect it to their own lives. Emphasize the learning process in relation to research Students will become “self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and using resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital reference materials”

• Create Assignments for Real Audiences and with Real Purpose Our goal is to prepare students for college and career readiness, use real audiences and give students more authentic experiences, like the ones they will have later? Require students to “develop an authentic goal” and use “authentic skills in which to achieve it”

• Teach Argument, Not Persuasion Persuasive writing might “appeal to the audience’s self-interest, sense of identity, or emotions,” whereas a logical argument “convinces the audience because of the perceived merit and reasonableness of the claims and proofs offered rather than either the emotions the writing evokes in the audience or the character or credentials of the writer” The CCSS favor argument over persuasion because it requires more logic and reason, and is more in line with the kind of writing that students will be expected to do in college. Teaching persuasive techniques such as bandwagon can be useful when doing a media literacy unit and having students analyze advertisements, for example. CCSS ask that teachers make argument a higher priority in the classroom.

• Increase Text Complexity Common Core State Standards hinge on students encounteringappropriately complex texts at each grade level to develop themature language skills and the conceptual knowledge they needfor success in school and life. Use a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures. Look for balance: material should be difficult enough that students are learning something new, but not so hard that they give up. If you like to play tennis, you’ll improve if you play against someone who is better than you. But if you play against Venus and Serena Williams, you’ll learn less because you are overwhelmed by their advanced skill level.

Raise the level of content in your classroom by using multiple sources of information. Providing multiple sources on the same topic can help students see a variety of perspectives, and it can help students adjust to texts at varying levels of difficulty. By exposing students to various sources on the same topic, you are adding more depth and perspective to the lesson.

The big picture. How are these five shifts happening in your classroom? What have you already been doing well? What would you like to change? Adjusting your lessons to cover the standards will take time and work. Stopping to ask yourself questions along the way can help you achieve success