Foundational Overview of the
Common Core State Standards
for English Language Arts
Jeannie Feldman
Field Services Specialist
Pearson School Achievement Services
Session Objectives
• Participants will develop a deeper
understanding of the CCSS (Common Core
State Standards) for ELA.
• Participants will examine the developmental
progression of the CCSS for ELA.
• Participants will identify the implications of the
CCSS to instruction, assessment, leadership
and professional development.
Key Ideas of the CCSS for ELA
The goal of the CCSS for ELA is college and career
readiness for all students.
The CCSS for ELA are more than a re-hash of the
standards that we are now working towards. They are
“higher, clearer, and fewer.”
Understanding the CCSS for ELA documents requires
studying the organization of the standards document
and the relationship of Appendices A–C to the
standards themselves.
Portrait of College- and
Career-Ready Students
Make a list of what you consider would be the
characteristics of college and career-ready students.
Share your list with your elbow partner.
Career Readiness
Over the last twenty
years, there has been
a marked shift in the
skills that employers
demand.
Employer Needs
• Critical thinking and
problem solving
• Effective
communication
• Collaboration and
team building
• Creativity and
innovation
Characteristics of College- and
Career-Ready Students
Read the text from page 7 of the CCSS for ELA
document. Annotate or highlight the text using the
following marks:
 On my list
+
Add to my list
!
This surprises me
?
I have a question about this
O
This word or term needs clarification
The CCSS for ELA
• K-12 Standards in
reading, writing,
speaking, listening and
language
• Standards for literacy and
content areas
• Standards that define end
of year expectations and
a cumulative progression.
Standards Organization
A comprehensive K–5 section with four strands
- Reading strand (includes Foundational Skills)
- Writing strand
- Speaking and Listening strand
- Language strand
Two content area-specific sections for grades 6–12
with four strands
- ELA
• Reading strand
• Writing strand
• Speaking and Listening strand
• Language strand
- History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
• Reading strand
• Writing strand
Standards Organization
Three appendices
- Appendix A: contains research and
supplementary material on reading, writing,
speaking and listening, and language, as well as
a glossary of key terms
-
Appendix B: consists of text exemplars in the
genres and accompanying sample performance
tasks
-
Appendix C: includes annotated samples of
student writing demonstrating at least adequate
performances at various grade levels
Reading Standards
10 standards per grade level clustered under 4 bands that
remain constant up through the grades
1. Key Ideas and Details
2. Craft and Structure
3. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
a. Types of text:
Literature
Informational
b. Complexity
What Does Reading Instruction
Look Like in Your Schools?
Grade
4
8
12
Literary
Informational
NAEP Reading Framework
Distribution of Literary and Informational
Passages
Grade
Literary NAEPInformational
by Grade
in the 2009
Reading
4
50%
50%
Framework
8
45%
55%
12
30%
70%
The Standards aim to align instruction with this framework
so that many more students than at present can meet the
requirements of college and career readiness.
College and Career Readiness
Reading Standards
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual
evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze
their development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop
and interact over the course of a text.
College and Career Readiness
Reading Standards
Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including determining technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and explain how specific word choices shape
meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific
sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a
section, chapter, scene or stanza) relate to each other and
the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and
style of a text.
College and Career Readiness
Reading Standards
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented graphically,
visually, orally, and multimodally as well as in words within
and across print and digital sources.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in
a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the
relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or
topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the
approaches the authors take.
College and Career Readiness
Reading Standards
Range and Level of Text Complexity
10.Read and comprehend complex literary and informational
texts independently and proficiently.
11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of
literary language, textual features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts
from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of
American and world cultures.
Foundational Premises of the CCSS for ELA
• Premise #1: Increasing text complexity
• Premise #2: Progressive development of
reading comprehension
Foundational Premise #1
Research shows that the ability to read and comprehend
complex text is the best predictor of college success.
–Many of the books students read in K-12 became easier
after 1962.
–Instruction in K-12 texts is highly scaffolded.
–Students in high school read significantly less than is
required in college.
Text Complexity Grade Bands and Associated
Lexile Ranges (in Lexiles)
Text Complexity
grade band in the
Standards
Old Lexile Ranges
Lexile Ranges
Aligned to CCR
Expectations
K-1
N/A
N/A
2-3
450-725
450-790
4-5
645-845
770-980
6-8
860-1010
955-1155
9-10
960-1115
1080-1305
11-CCR
1070-1220
1215-1355
Premise #2
Activity
• With a partner, review the reading standard for
informational text from kindergarten to grade 12.
• Focus on the progression of skills students are
expected to acquire as they move across grade
levels in this standard.
• Underline each new grade level expectation.
• Discuss the following question:
– What stands out to you in terms of the
progression in what students need to know
and be able to do from grades K-12?
Reading Standards for Informational Texts
Kindergartners
With prompting and
support, ask and answer
questions about key
details in a text.
Grade 3 Students
Ask and answer questions
to demonstrate
understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the
text as the basis for the
answers.
Grade 1 Students
Grade 2 Students
Ask and answer questions
about key details in a text.
Ask and answer such
questions as who, what,
where, when, why, and
how to demonstrate
understanding of key
details in a text.
Grade 4 Students
Grade 5 Students
Refer to details and
examples in a text when
explaining what the text
says explicitly and when
drawing inferences from
the text.
Quote accurately from a
text when explaining what
the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences
from the text.
Reading Standards for Informational Texts
Grade 6 Students
Grade 7 Students
Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn
from the text.
Cite several pieces of
textual evidence to
support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn
from the text.
Grade 8 Students
Cite the textual evidence
that most strongly
supports an analysis of
what the text says
explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the
text.
Grades 9-10 Students
Grades 11-12 Students
Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text, including
determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
Informational Text Exemplar (Appendix B)
Grades 4/5
Lauber, Patricia. Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms. New York:
Scholastic, 1996. (1996)
From “The Making of a Hurricane”
Great whirling storms roar out of the oceans in many parts of the world. They
are called by several names—hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are the three
most familiar ones. But no matter what they are called, they are all the same
sort of storm. They are born in the same way, in tropical waters. They develop
the same way, feeding on warm, moist air. And they do the same kind of
damage, both ashore and at sea. Other storms may cover a bigger area or
have higher winds, but none can match both the size and the fury of
hurricanes. They are earth’s mightiest storms.
Like all storms, they take place in the atmosphere, the envelope of air that
surrounds the earth and presses on its surface. The pressure at any one place
is always changing. There are days when air is sinking and the atmosphere
presses harder on the surface. These are the times of high pressure. There are
days when a lot of air is rising and the atmosphere does not press down as
hard. These are times of low pressure. Low-pressure areas over warm oceans
give birth to hurricanes.
Reading Informational Text- Grade 5
• Craft and Structure
– Compare and contrast the overall structure
(e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect,
problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts
or information in two or more texts.
[RI.5.5]
Sample Performance Task (Appendix B)
• Students identify the overall structure of
ideas, concepts, and information in
Seymour Simon’s Horses (based on
factors such as their speed and color) and
compare and contrast that scheme to the
one employed by Patricia Lauber in her
book Hurricanes: Earth’s Mightiest Storms.
[RI.5.5]
Table Talk
• What are the implications of the Reading
Framework:
–
–
–
–
for you?
for principals?
for teachers?
for students and parents?
What Does Writing Instruction
Look Like in Schools?
Grade
4
8
12
To Persuade
To Explain
To Convey
Experience
NAEP Writing Framework
Distribution of Communicative Purposes by Grade
in the 2011 NAEP Writing Framework
Grade
To Persuade
To Explain
To Convey
Experience
4
30%
35%
35%
8
35%
35%
30%
12
40%
40%
20%
Writing assessments aligned with the Common Core should adhere
to the distribution of writing purposes across grades outlined by
NAEP. Classroom assignments/instruction should address all three
writing types.
Overall Organization- Writing Standards
• 10 standards per grade level
• clustered under 4 bands that remain constant up
through the grades
(4 bands)
– Text Types and Purposes
– Production and Distribution of Writing
– Research to Build and Present Knowledge
– Range of Writing
Text Types and Purposes
• Text Types
1. Narrative
– Fictional
– Personal
2. Informative/Explanatory
1. Opinion
Argument
– Grade K-5: Opinion/Evidence
– Grade 6: Claim/Evidence/Reasoning (warrant)
– Grade 7-12: Claim/Evidence/Reasoning/Counterclaim
2. Response to Literature (NY State)
College and Career Readiness Writing
Standards
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and
convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective selection, organization,
and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences
or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
College and Career Readiness Writing
Standards
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization, and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning,
revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and
publish writing and to interact and collaborate with
others.
College and Career Readiness Writing
Standards
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short, as well as more sustained research projects
based on questions, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital
sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source,
and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
College and Career Readiness Writing
Standards
Range of Writing
10.Write routinely over extended time frames (time
for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter
time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a
range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Responding to Literature
11. Develop personal, cultural, textual, and
thematic connections within and across
genres as they respond to texts through
written, digital, and oral presentations,
employing a variety of media and genres.
Activity: Reviewing Writing Standards for
Opinion
• With a partner, review the writing standard for argument
from kindergarten to grade 12.
• Focus on the progression of skills students are expected
to acquire as they move across grade levels in this
standard.
• Underline each new grade level expectation.
• Discuss the following question:
– What stands out to you in terms of the progression in
what students need to know and be able to do from
grades K-12?
From Standards
for Writing Opinion
Kindergartners
Grade 1 Students
Use a combination of
drawing, dictating, and
writing to compose opinion
pieces in which they tell a
reader the topic or the
name of the book they are
writing about and state an
opinion or preference
about the topic or book
(e.g., My favorite book is .
. .).
Write opinion pieces in
which they introduce the
topic or name the book
they are writing about,
state an opinion, supply a
reason for the opinion, and
provide some sense of
closure.
Grade 2 Students
Write opinion pieces in
which they introduce the
topic or book they are
writing about, state an
opinion, supply reasons
that support the opinion,
use linking words (e.g.,
because, and, also) to
connect opinion and
reasons, and provide a
concluding statement or
section.
From Standards
for Writing Opinion
Grade 3 Students
Write opinion pieces on familiar
topics or texts, supporting a point
of view with reasons.
a.Introduce the topic or book they
are writing about, state an opinion,
and create an organizational
structure that lists reasons.
b.Provide reasons that support the
opinion.
c.Use linking words and phrases
(e.g., because, therefore, since,
for example) to connect opinion
and reasons.
d.Provide a concluding statement
or section.
Grade 4 Students
Write opinion pieces on topics or
texts, supporting a point of view
with reasons and information.
a.Introduce a topic or text clearly,
state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure in which
related ideas are grouped to
support the writer’s purpose.
b.Provide reasons that are
supported by facts and details.
c.Link opinion and reasons using
words and phrases (e.g., for
instance, in order to, in addition).
d.Provide a concluding statement
or section related to the opinion
presented.
Grade 5 Students
Write opinion pieces on topics or
texts, supporting a point of view
with reasons and information.
a.Introduce a topic or text clearly,
state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure in which
ideas are logically grouped to
support the writer’s purpose.
b.Provide logically ordered
reasons that are supported by
facts and details.
c.Link opinion and reasons using
words, phrases, and clauses (e.g.,
consequently, specifically).
d.Provide a concluding statement
or section related to the opinion
presented.
From Standards
for Writing Opinion
Grade 6 Students
Grade 7 Students
Grade 8 Students
Write arguments to support claims
with clear reasons and relevant
evidence.
a.Introduce claim(s) and organize
the reasons and evidence clearly.
b.Support claim(s) with clear
reasons and relevant evidence,
demonstrating an understanding of
the topic or text.
c.Use words, phrases, and clauses
to clarify the relationships among
claim(s) and reasons.
d.Establish and maintain a formal
style.
e.Provide a concluding statement
or section that follows from the
argument presented.
Write arguments to support claims
with clear reasons and relevant
evidence.
a.Introduce claim(s), acknowledge
alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and evidence
logically.
b.Support claim(s) with logical
reasoning and relevant evidence,
demonstrating an understanding of
the topic or text.
c.Use words, phrases, and clauses
to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s),
reasons, and evidence.
d.Establish and maintain a formal
style.
e.Provide a concluding statement
or section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.
Write arguments to support claims
with clear reasons and relevant
evidence.
a.Introduce claim(s), acknowledge
and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and evidence
logically.
b.Support claim(s) with logical
reasoning and relevant evidence,
using credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of
the topic or text.
c.Use words, phrases, and clauses
to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and
evidence.
d.Establish and maintain a formal
style.
e.Provide a concluding statement
or section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.
From Standards
for Writing Opinion
Grades 9-10 Students
Grades 11-12 Students
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and create an
organization that establishes clear relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying
evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and
limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the
audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major
sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the
relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between
reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and
counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective
tone while attending to the norms and conventions of
the discipline in which they are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows
from and supports the argument presented.
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish
the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s)
from alternate or opposing claim(s) and create an
organization that logically sequences claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and
thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for
each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of
both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s
knowledge level, concerns, values and possible biases.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied
syntax to link the major sections of the text, create
cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s)
and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and
between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective
tone while attending to the norms and conventions of
the discipline in which they are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows
from and supports the argument presented.
Argumentation
Argumentation is a reasoned, logical way of
demonstrating that the writer’s position, belief, or
conclusion is valid.
Research shows that the ability to “write to argue or
persuade readers” was virtually tied with the ability to
“write to convey information” as the most important
type of writing needed by incoming college students.
Only 20 percent of those who enter college are
prepared to write reasoned arguments.
Some Definitions
Claim: the position or assertion that supports an
argument.
Evidence: the facts, reasons, evidence that
support the claim.
Warrant: the chain of reasoning that connects the
evidence to the claim.
Counterclaim: an opposing position or assertion.
Rebuttal: logical reasons for rejecting the
counterclaim.
67
Argument or Persuasion?
What are the key differences between
argument and persuasion?
Argument or Persuasion
Argument
• Convinces the audience
based on merit and
reasonableness of the
claims and proofs
Persuasion
• Uses persuasive strategies
that:
– Establish credibility,
character, or authority of the
writer
– Appeal to the self-interest,
identity, or emotions of the
audience
Activity: Looking at Student Work
(Appendix C)
• With a partner, review the piece of
student work.
• Use the writing standard for that grade
level (12) to determine how it meets the
standard.
• Check your analysis against the
annotation below the work.
Think, Pair, Share
• How does the student work(s) reviewed
compare to the writing produced by
your students?
• What are the implications for your
grade level?
• What are the implications for your
instructional practices?
Implications by grade level
• Take time to closely review the writing standards
for your grade level and adjacent grade levels, if
possible.
• Discuss with your colleagues the impact these
standards will have on your classroom practices
related to writing instruction.
• Generate recommendations for your grade level
to begin moving students toward meeting or
exceeding the CCSS.
Reflection by grade
• Implications for our instructional practices in
reading and writing
• What can we do to incorporate the CCSS for
reading and writing into our instructional
practices?
• By when?
IF
THEN
BY WHEN?
Websites with More Information
Your State Department of Education Website
Pearson www.commoncore.pearsoned.com
Educational Testing Service www.k12.center.org
Achieve www.achieve.org for Parc test
www.k12.wa.us/smarter/ for Smarter Balanced test