Understanding the
New Standards
Learning Objectives
will answer these Essential Questions:
What are Common Core Standards?
Why is Common Core necessary?
What do these standards mean in the context
of my school, my classroom, my students?
What is “text complexity,” and how can I
implement it in my teaching?
What are text-dependent questions?
Why is it necessary?
WHY???
“A large gap still exists between how high school teachers
perceive the college readiness of high school graduates and
how college instructors perceive the readiness of their
incoming first-year students. This suggests a lack of
curricular alignment between the K-12 and postsecondary
educations systems that may be hampering the efforts of K12 to prepare students for life after high school.”
Policy Implications for Preparing for Higher Standards
(ACT National Curriculum Survey 2012)
How did it all begin?
Previous state standards did not improve student achievement.

Gaps in achievement

Gaps in expectations

NAEP results

ACT 2012 data – College Readiness Benchmark
All 4 subject areas:
3 subject areas:
2 subject areas:
1 subject area:
None

25%
15%
17%
15%
28%
College remediation rates
7
Beginning in the spring of 2009, Governors and state
commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories
and the District of Columbia committed to developing a
common core of state K-12 English-language arts (ELA)
and mathematics standards.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is a
state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors
Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School
Officers (CCSSO).
www.corestandards.org
Standards:
A clear set of
shared
goals
and
expectations
Narrowed focus
Strong emphasis on foundational basics
Text complexity
Skill reinforcement
Common Core will focus
more on process with
less emphasis on
rote memorization.
Deeper knowledge
is required for students
to be properly
equipped for the
technologically-advanced
jobs of the future.
Teachers will cover
fewer standards more
thoroughly.
Domain
Cluster
Standard
12
Define what students
should understand
and be able to do.
A big idea that
bridges across grade
levels.
Domain:
Operations & Algebraic Thinking (OA)
14
Groups of
related
standards
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The Math standards stress not only procedural skill but
also conceptual understanding, to make sure students
are learning and absorbing the critical information they
need to succeed at higher levels ‐ rather than the current
practices by which many students learn enough to get by
on the next test, but forget it shortly thereafter, only to
review again the following year.

Having built a strong foundation K‐5, students can do
hands on learning in geometry, algebra and probability
and statistics. Students who have completed 7th grade and
mastered the content and skills through the 7th grade will
be well‐ prepared for algebra in grade 8.

The high school Math standards call on students to practice
applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and
challenges; they prepare students to think and reason
mathematically.

The high school standards set a rigorous definition of college and
career readiness, by helping students develop a depth of
understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel
situations, as college students and employees regularly do.

The high school standards emphasize mathematical modeling,
the use of mathematics and statistics to analyze empirical
situations, understand them better, and improve decisions.

The ELA standards establish a “staircase” of increasing complexity in
what students must be able to read so all are ready for the demands of
college‐ and career‐level reading.

The standards require the progressive development of reading
comprehension so that students advancing through the grades gain
more from whatever they read.

Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature
(classic myths, American literature, and Shakespeare) as well as
challenging informational texts in a range of subjects (foundational
U.S. documents), students build knowledge, gain insights, explore
possibilities, and broaden their perspective.

The standards are building blocks for successful classrooms.
Reading
Language
Literary
Standards
Speaking
&
Listening
Writing
1. Building knowledge through contentrich nonfiction
2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded
in evidence from text, both literary and
informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and
its academic language
The 1st Major Shift in CC
Build knowledge using informational text
50/50 narrative/informational
elementary
45/55 narrative/informational middle grades
25/75 narrative /informational
high school
•
Students are required to read very little
informational text in elementary and
middle school.
•
Non-fiction makes up the vast majority of
required reading in college/workplace.
•
Informational text is harder for students
to comprehend than narrative text.
•
Supports students learning how to read
different types of informational text.
Literary Text
• Fiction
Informational Text
• Exposition
• Literary nonfiction,
such as essays,
speeches, and
autobiographies or
biographies
• Argumentation and
persuasive text
• Procedural text and
documents
• Poetry
Source: Reading Framework for the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress, September 2010
The 2nd Major Shift in CC
Reading, writing, and speaking
grounded in evidence from text,
both literary and informational
Asking students to make connections to
themselves, other texts, and the world
guides them away from the text
and does not lead to a deep
understanding of it.
Students expend excessive
time and energy answering
low-level questions rather than
meaningful, text-specific
questions that will incite a deeper understanding.
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are only answered correctly with careful attention to
the text.
extend beyond recalling facts.
often require inference.
require no outside sources.
allow students to gather evidence and build
knowledge.
provide access to increasing levels of complex text.
necessitate thoughtful teacher preparation.
require time for students to process.
are meaningful.
Not Text-Dependent
In “Casey at the Bat,” Casey strikes
out. Describe a time when you failed at
something.
In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr.
King discusses nonviolent protest.
Discuss, in writing, a time when you
wanted to fight against something that
you felt was unfair.
Text-Dependent
What makes Casey’s experiences at bat
humorous? Find examples from the
text to support your answer.
What can you infer from King’s letter
about the letter that he received?
28
Content Shift #2
Which question is text-dependent?
In “The Gettysburg Address, “Lincoln states
that the nation is dedicated to the proposition
that all men are created equal. Why is
equality an important value to promote?
or
“The Gettysburg Address” mentions the year
1776. According to Lincoln’s speech, why is
this year significant to the events described
in the speech?
The
rd
3
major shift in CC
Regular practice with complex text and
its academic language
What is “text complexity”?
and
Why is text complexity
important?
Text Complexity IS a concentrated effort to
expose our students to more difficult texts.
Transport them to realms outside of their
comfort zones.
Expose them to a vast assortment of genres,
prompting them to become
“literary entrepreneurs”
who are willing
to take risks.
“Complex text is typified by a combination of
longer sentences, a higher proportion of
less-frequent words, and a greater number
and variety of words with multiple
meanings.”
PARCC Model Content
Frameworks
Why is Text Complexity important?
“The Common Core Standards hinge on students encountering
appropriately complex texts at each grade level in order to
develop the mature language skills and the conceptual
knowledge they need for success in school and life” (p. 3).
1. Quantitative measures – readability and
other scores of text complexity often best
measured by computer software.
2. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning,
structure, language conventionality and
clarity, and knowledge demands often best
measured by an attentive human reader.
3. Reader and Task considerations –
background knowledge of reader, motivation,
interests, and complexity generated by tasks
assigned often best made by educators
employing their professional judgment.
Reader and Task
AGAIN….... Why is it important?
“A large gap still exists between how high school teachers
perceive the college readiness of high school graduates and
how college instructors perceive the readiness of their
incoming first-year students. This suggests a lack of
curricular alignment between the K-12 and postsecondary
educations systems that may be hampering the efforts of K12 to prepare students for life after high school.”
Policy Implications on Preparing for Higher Standards
(ACT National Curriculum Survey 2012)
introducing background
knowledge
immersing students in more complex
language exposure and usage that
makes a difference in their ability to
access knowledge
engaging students with carefully selected or
constructed graphic organizers that make the
structure of the text visible
modeling how to interpret the meaning of texts that
use more complex approaches, like satire or rhetorical
argument
engaging pairs or teams of students with more challenging texts as
“buddies” and giving them opportunities to reflect on those texts
through discussions with each other or through “buddy” journals
making 20 percent of their class reading “stretch” texts that help them
reach beyond their reading level
37
Thinking Maps
For defining in context
An Overview of all 8 Thinking Maps
The Circle Map
Defining in Context
While at your desk, you should sit with your spine
straight.
The Backbone;
Spinal Column
The spines of A pointed,
hard
the cactus
really hurt me. growth on a
The hinged
SPINE back of a
book
plant, as a
thorn
A pointed,
hard growth of
an animal; as a
porcupine’s
quill
Evaluating
Sources
A student uses a circle map to display
knowledge of the Renaissance.
For describing things
Bubble Map Accommodations
bright
round
is
is
The
sun
is
yellow
is
hot
The sun is bright. The sun is hot.
For comparing & contrasting
Mice
Step
daughter
goose
Step
Daughter
Younger
Mean
Step
sisters
Step
Daughters
Older
Cinderella
Fairy
God
Mother
Prince
has
party
Mei Ping and
The Silver
Shoe
Lost
shoe
Magic
Wand
Prince
Went
house
to house
Old
lady
Magic
Goose
Feathers
Married
prince
Shoe In
hut
By Marisa
For classifying things
For seeing events in sequence
For understanding cause & effect
For seeing parts of a whole
“Teaching word parts enhances a
student’s
understanding of terms.”
Robert Marzano, Classroom Instruction
That Works
for seeing analogies
Tom went to the store and bought lunch.
jogged
went
Hardees
the store
hotdog and
French fries
lunch
Relation Factor: is more precise than…
Tom jogged to Hardees and bought a hotdog and french fries.
CASINO : GAMBLER
A) TROPHY : UMPIRE
B) BUNGALOW : VOYAGER
C) SCHOOL : TRUANT
D) DEFEAT : COMPETITOR
E) GYMNASIUM : ATHLETE
as
DIRGE : LAMENTATION
A) LYRIC : MEDLEY
B) EPIC : HISTORY
C) MYTH : HEROISM
D) ANTHEM : PRAISE
E) ROMANCE : REALISM
as
BANISH : OUTCAST
A) CAPTURE : PRISONER
B) DESTROY : ENEMY
C) DISCOVER : SNIPER
D) ACCUSE : CRIMINAL
E) DEFEND : VICTIM
as
“Creating a new theory is not like destroying an
old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place.
It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining
new and wider views, discovering unexpected
connections between our starting points and
its rich environment. But the point from which
we started out still exists and…forms a tiny
part of our broad view gained by the mastery
of the obstacles on our adventurous way up.”
Albert Einstein
Official Common Core website:
http://www.corestandards.org
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Resources for All Domains
http://commoncoreconversation.com
http://achievethecore.org
http://www.khanacademy.org/
www.kids.gov
www.teachingchannel.org
http://www.neok12.com/
http://www.flocabulary.com/
http://americanrhetoric.com