Jana Stidham, LMS, Creekmoor Elementary
Heather Poland, LMS, Timbercreek Elementary
*Creekmoor and Timbercreek are both located in the Raymore Peculiar School District
 Created
so that every kid in each state has
the same level of expectations as other
countries that are high performing
 Once they graduate they will find success in
college and around the world, called College
and Career Readiness.
 Library’s
teaching should balance classroom’s
teacher priorities and students’ needs and
interests
 CCSS is all about student-centered discovery.
Inquiry is the heart of common core.
Each week on Monday post a random question,
preferably something related to a holiday coming
up or a unit students are studying.
 Students have till Friday to try to guess the
correct answer. Keep track of all the students
who get it right per grade level. Have a
competition between grade levels and keep a
chart next to the question to show each grade
level’s progress.
 The LMS Could also draw out a few names each
week that get it correct and give away an extra
book checkout or prize.
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Is like a museum discovery room where students work on
hands-on projects. Great to start lab with a presentation
of topic and then let exploring begin.
Lab Ideas
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Artists—students learn about famous artists and how they
created some of their works. Then students can go to
different artist centers to try to create work like that artist.
Inventors—students learn about some inventors and what they
created. Then students can go to different centers to try to
create an invention like the inventor.
Dinosaurs—students start by learning about different dinosaurs.
Then they go to centers to learn how paleontologists hunt for
bones, size comparison activity station, and bone observation
to determine what dinosaur bones are being shown.
Musical artist—students learn about a musical style. Then they
go to different centers to create their own masterpiece.
Paleontologist Center #1 – Dinosaur Dig
Paleontologist Center #2 – Fossil Art
“I am a Paleontologist!”
 Spent
a month in the library doing lessons
with the Caldecott books (lessons
encompassed Common Core)
 To complete the challenge students had to
read 5 other Caldecott books not read in the
library and rate illustrations 4, 3, 2, or 1 on a
record sheet
 If they completed the challenge the girls
participated in a Fancy Nancy Party and the
boys participated in a Super Hero party.
 Common
Core Connection RL.2.7: Use
information gained from the illustrations and
words in print or digital text to demonstarte
understanding of its characters, setting, or
plot.
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Use the book Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin
Henkes. The kitten thinks the moon is a bowl of
milk. Discuss why. Afterwards discuss what is
similar in the characteristics of the moon and the
bowl of milk. Lastly discuss how the kitten
learns the moon is not milk and how the pictures
indicate that.
Cute song over parts of a story located at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLn_VYodqa4
 Common
Core Connection RL 2.3: Describe
how characters in a story respond to major
events and challenges.

Use the book Smoky Night by Eve Bunting.
Discuss major event, 1992 Los Angeles riot and its
aftermath. Looks at how 2 people and their cats
who previously disliked each other had to work
together and get along during the riots.
Common Core Connection RL.2.2. Recount
stories, including fables and folktales, from
diverse cultures and determine their central
message, lesson, or moral.
 Common Core Connection RL.2.9. Compare and
contrast two or more versions of the same story
by different authors or from different cultures.

Use the book Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story
from China by Ed Young. Review what a fairy tale is
and complete a info chart about classic Red Riding
Hood. Then read Lon Po Po and complete the chart
about it.
 Discuss the message: If you keep your wits when in
danger, you can survive and triumph.
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 Fiction
and Common Core with 1st grade!
Common Core connection RL.1.9: Compare
and contrast the adventures and experiences
of characters in stories.
Following a unit of study comparing and contrasting different
versions of There was an old lady..., the students were able to
write their own version!

Vocabulary and Common Core with Kindergarten
Common Core connection RL. 1.4: With
prompting and support, ask and answer
questions about unknown words in a text.
Key Vocabulary – tuffett, whey, dame, lane,
cupboard, etc.
Kindergarten - Common core connection RL; 1.7 with prompting and support, describe the relationship
between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g. what moment in a story an illustration
depicts)
First grade – Common core connection WS: 1.8 with guidance and support from adults, recall
information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
 Common
Core
connection RL. 2.1,
Ask and answer such
questions as who,
what, where, when,
why, and how to
demonstrate
understanding of
key details in a
text.
 Common
Core Connection RI.2.8: Describe
how reasons support specific points the
author makes in the text.

2nd Grade Mount Rushmore Inquiry Unit:
Students learned about Mount Rushmore through
books and discussions. We discussed why those 4
presidents were chosen to be on Mount
Rushmore. Students then used database Facts 4
Me and looked at each president’s leadership
skills. Each student wrote an opinion piece
about who they would add to Mount Rushmore
and use specific points from the Database Facts 4
Me that was used.
 Common
Core Connection RI.1.7: Use the
illustrations and details in a text to describe
its key ideas.

1st Grade Seasons Inquiry Unit: Students began
by matching clothes with the seasons they would
go with. Then using Pebble Go database they
took notes over what to wear, what the weather
is like, and what to do in each season. Notes
included pictures and words to aid
understanding. Eventually students created a
scene depicting their favorite season as well as a
paper doll wearing clothes that represents that
season.

Common Core Connection RI.4.1: Refer to details and
examples in text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Use the book Snakes by Nic Bishop. Put students into pairs.
With their partner students will read a certain section and
create questions. After they create questions for their section
they will categorize their questions according to Taffy
Raphael’s Question-Answer Relationships:
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Right There Questions-answers can be found in 1 place in the text
Think and Search Questions-answers are formed by gathering
information from multiple places in the text
Author & You Questions-answer is related to the reader’s own
knowledge and experience
On Your Own Questions-answer is found from student’s experience
Groups of partners exchange the questions created. The
groups read the section of the book corresponding to the
questions and try to find the answer. In addition they have to
determine if the question was put in the correct type of
category.
 Common
Core Connection RI.4.4: Determine
the meaning of general academic and
domain-specific words or phrases in a text
relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject.

Use the book The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins.
Read aloud to students. Then partner students
up and the partners create a list of a domainspecific words like thorax and puppa. Students
create some type of challenge presentation for
other students to complete with the words
chosen. They could create a crossword puzzle,
jeopardy game, or a word scramble matchup.

Common core
connection WS. 3.7
Conduct short
research projects that
build knowledge
about a topic
**This project was completed during
our Chocolate Fever
by Robert Kimmel Smith book study.
 Become
familiar with the Common Core
standards
 Understand that the Common Core standards
will change
 Figure out how to teach the standards
 When you have the “how to teach the
standards down”, share with others
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Bentall, Karen. “Develop the Habit of Questioning: One
School Perspective,” School Library Monthly, December
2012, p. 49.
Caldecott in the Classroom. (November 2012). Book Link,
4-14.
Common Core and Informational Science Texts. (November
2012). Book Link, 30-35.
Fontichiaro, Kristin. Engaging Research Projects that Meet
the Common Core Standards, K-5. Ann Harbor, Michigan:
Cherry Lake Publishing, 2010. Print.
Kendall, John S. Understanding Common Core State
Standards. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011. Print.
Knodt, J. (2010). Teaching for Creativity: Building
Innovation through Open-Inquiry Learning. School Library
Monthly, 26(6), 41-44.
Naylor-Gutierrez, E. (2013). Making the Common Core
Work for School Libraries. Young Adult Library Services,
11(2), 13-16.