Making Friends With the Common
Core State Standards:
A Primer for Kentucky Educators
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Learning Goals
• Explore the challenges facing teachers and students in the 21st
century and learn how Common Core State Standards are
designed to address these challenges, as well as other
challenges associated with standards-based education.
• Use a Learning Window to unpack Common Core State
Standards.
• Analyze the grade progression built into Common Core State
Standards.
• Learn how to use Learning with the End in Mind to help students
prepare for and succeed on CCSS performance tasks.
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What matters most?
• What does our investment in teaching students mean?
• What do we want students to walk away with from our
schools and classrooms?
• What should we teach?
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The Five-Minute University
What is Guido Sarducci telling us about 20th century learning?
4
BP Oil Spill: A Teachable Moment
What can we learn about the nature of the challenges our
students will face in the 21st century from this
ecological disaster?
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The challenges and problems our
students will face in the 21st Century
are:
• unpredictable. As in the case of the BP oil spill, we
can wake up facing new and significant challenges we
didn’t know we had yesterday.
• ambiguous. We may not have the knowledge we need
to solve the problems when they occur and will have to
acquire new knowledge as a result.
• interdependent. No single person or entity can solve
the problem of the BP oil spill. 21st century problems
are situated in a global economy in which individuals,
organizations, corporations, and governments often
have to work together to solve large-scale problems.
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Give One, Get One
What matters most to us today? In other words, what do
we need to do to prepare students for the 21st century?
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Give One, Get One
Here are the basic steps of “Give One, Get One”:
1. Generate two ideas. (You’ve already done this part!)
2. Stand up and find a partner. GIVE ONE of your ideas to your
partner. GET ONE of your partner’s ideas and add it to your list. If
you and your partner have the same ideas, work together to
generate a new idea and add it to your lists.
3. Find a new partner. Give one, get one.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have a total of six ideas.
Here are the basic rules of “Give One, Get One”:
•
* Do NOT huddle in groups—work with one partner at a time!
* Do NOT copy your partner’s entire list. Give one idea to your partner
and get one in return.
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A review of the design of the
Common Core State Standards
As you learn more about the design and structure of the
Common Core State Standards, think about what’s old
and new about them. How are they similar to
Kentucky’s State Standards? How are they different?
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COMMON CORE
STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE
What is the Common Core State
Standard (CCSS) Initiative?
• State-led initiative, led by the National
Governors Association and the Council of Chief
School Officers.
48 states, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands
What is the Common Core State
Standard (CCSS) Initiative?
• Collaboration based on multiple drafts and
feedback from school administrators, teachers,
experts, and the public.
Interesting fact: There were almost 10,000 responses when
the final draft was opened for public review.
What is the Common Core State
Standard (CCSS) Initiative?
• Draws upon the best practices of existing curricular
models in the United States, as well as internationally—
cognizant of the fact that we are preparing our students
to be active participants in a global society and economy.
• Designed with a focus on coherence and consistency,
rigorous content and its application through higher order
thinking skills—to best prepare students for college and
careers.
• Emphasis on literacy across the content areas.
How are the Common Core State Standards designed?
The CCSS are divided up into 2 categories:
ELA & Literacy in Science,
Social Studies/History, &
Technical Subjects
Mathematics
ELA Standards—An Overview
• K-12 Standards for
– Reading
– Writing
– Speaking and Listening
– Language
• Reading and Writing Standards for History/Social
Studies
• Reading and Writing Standards for Science and
Technical Subjects
ELA Standards—Structure
This hierarchy describes how to read the CCSS documents for ELA &
Literacy in Science, Social Studies/History, Science & Technical Subjects
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards
ELA
– 4 sets: Reading, Writing, Language, and Speaking and Listening
– Social Studies/History, Science, and Technical Subjects—2 sets: Reading and Writing
– All of the standards within the grade bands are linked to these anchors with building complexity as
the grades increase
Strands
Within each set, the anchors are divided into strands
Grade Bands
The ELA anchors are grouped K-5 and 6-12 (6-12 only for Social Studies, History/Science, and Technical Subjects)
Standards
The standards within grades and grade bands provide further specificity in a developmentally
appropriate progression toward meeting the expectation of the anchor
Appendices
Exemplar texts, performance tasks, student work
Strand
Grade Band
Standards
Appendices
Exemplar texts, performance tasks, student work
Mathematics Standards—Structure
This hierarchy describes how to read the CCSS documents for
Mathematics
Domains
•
Overarching concepts and topics (e.g. Operations
and Algebraic Thinking). There is a high degree of
continuity in the K-5 domains. As students
progress through middle and high school
domains shift to accommodate more advanced
mathematical concepts.
Clusters
•
groups of related standards within each domain.
Standards
•
define what students should understand and be
able to do.
Mathematical Practices
describe varieties of
expertise that
mathematics
educators at all levels
should seek to
develop in their
students.
Each Grade Level Begins with An Overview
Domains
Mathematical
Practices
(These are always
the same at all
grade levels)
Clusters
Standard
Domains
Each Grade Level Also Includes Focal Points
that Lay Out The Big Picture
For more information about
CCSS, go to:
www.corestandards.org
The CCSS website offers a wealth of resources,
including PDF versions of the standards
documents, text exemplars, sample
performance tasks, student writing samples,
research, presentation documents, and more.
Making Friends With the
Common Core State Standards
What, in your opinion, are some of the causes behind
this gradual “warming up” between people?
In other words, how does “being rubbed the wrong
way” evolve into a lasting friendship?
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If Common Core State Standards are the
answer, then what are the questions?
1. How can we streamline and clarify our standards to make them
more manageable?
2. How can we decrease the way standards sometimes promote
“teaching to the test” and increase the emphasis on preparing
students for college and the careers of the 21st century?
3. How can we better track students’ learning progression through
the grade levels?
4. How can we highlight the vital role that literacy skills play in the
disciplines?
5. How can we provide teachers with greater flexibility so they can
adapt the standards to the needs of their students and the
demands of their classrooms?
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What similarities can you find?
What differences do you notice?
Of the five questions, which is most
important to you and why?
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Looking at the Questions
How can we streamline and clarify our standards to make
them more manageable?
Simple overview provides all key information at a glance.
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Overview: The math
standards start with a onepage overview highlighting
what is most important.
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How can we streamline and clarify our standards to
make them more manageable?
Fewer standards to address
KY 4th Grade Math
5 big ideas
CCSS 4th Grade Math
5 domains
23 understanding standards
10 clusters
78 skill and concept standards
28 standards
15 pages
5 pages
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How can we streamline and clarify our standards to
make them more manageable?
Examples make standards more concrete
Represent and interpret data.
•Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in
fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Solve problems involving
addition and subtraction of fractions by using information
presented in line plots. For example, from a line plot find and
interpret the difference in length between the longest and shortest
specimens in an insect collection.
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How can we decrease the way standards sometimes
promote “teaching to the test” and increase the emphasis
on preparing students for college and the careers of the
21st Century?
Common Core State Standards
“are an extension of a prior initiative led by the Council of
Chief State School Offices (CCSSO) and the National
Governors Association (NGA) to develop Career and
College Readiness standards in reading, writing,
speaking, listening, and language as well as in
mathematics…As a natural outgrowth of meeting the
challenge to define college and career readiness, the
Standards also lay out a vision of what it means to be
a literate person in the twenty-first century.”
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How can we decrease the way standards sometimes
promote “teaching to the test” and increase the emphasis
on preparing students for college and the careers of the
21st Century?
Anchor
standards
serve as the
spine for all
ELA grade
levels
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A second investment in preparing students for the 21st
century can be found in the way Common Core State
Standards treat research and media skills:
An emphasis on research and media skills for the 21st century.
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How can we highlight the vital role that
literacy skills play in the disciplines?
Literacy skills are integrated into science, social studies,
and technical subjects.
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How can we provide teachers with greater flexibility
so they can adapt the standards to the needs of their
students and the demands of their classrooms?
Respect for teacher autonomy
The Standards do not mandate such things as particular
writing processes or the full range of metacognitive
strategies that students may need to monitor and direct
their thinking and learning. Teachers are thus free to
provide students with whatever tools and knowledge
their professional judgment and experience identify as
most helpful for meeting the goals set out in the
Standards.
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Turning Standards Into
Learning Goals
1. What do students need to know? (Knowledge goals)
2. What do students need to understand?
(Understanding goals)
3. What skills do students need to develop? (Skillacquisition goals)
4. What habits of mind do you want to foster in
students? (Behavioral goals/Habits of mind)
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A lesson on resistive forces
• Students will be introduced to three forces—gravity,
inertia, and friction—and will compose a journal entry
describing the forces at play in their daily lives.
• Here’s the Common Core State Standard that will be
addressed:
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and
other domain-specific words and phrases as they
are used in a specific scientific or technical
context.
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How do you think this standard should be
converted into learning goals?
Knowledge Goals
What key information and facts do students
need to know?
Students will know the definition of
gravity, inertia, and friction and how each
works in the world.
Understanding Goals
What big ideas, generalizations, or principles
do students need to understand?
Students will understand:
That different forces and phenomena have
specific effects on people and objects
That energy is required to overcome
resistance
Behavioral Goals/Habits of Mind
What habits of mind do you want to foster?
Students will develop these habits of mind:
 Thinking and communicating with
clarity and precision
 Applying past knowledge to new
situations
Skill-Acquisition Goals
What skills do students need to develop?
Students will be able to:
Read and interpret a science-based text
Explain physical forces in their own words
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Creating a Learning Window
Knowledge Goals
Behavioral Goals/Habits of Mind
What key information and facts do
students need to know?
Understanding Goals
What habits of mind do
you want to foster?
Skill-Acquisition Goals
What big ideas, generalizations, or
principles do students need to
understand?
What skills do students need to develop?
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How can we better track students’ learning
progression through the grade levels?
Standards have been designed to highlight the
progression through the grade levels.
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
1. Students (with prompting and support from the teacher) read “Garden
Helpers” in National Geographic Young Explorers and demonstrate their
understanding of the main idea of the text—not all bugs are bad—by
retelling key details.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
F. With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a
text. [RI.K.2]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
2. Students determine the figurative and connotative meanings of words such
as wayfaring, laconic, and taciturnity as well as of phrases such as “hold his
peace” in John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America.
They analyze how Steinbeck’s specific word choices and diction impact the
meaning and tone of his writing and the characterization of the individuals
and places he describes.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
C. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of
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a specific word choice on meaning and tone. [RI.7.4]
Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
3. Students interpret the visual chart that accompanies Steve Otfinoski’s The
Kid’s Guide to Money: Earning It, Saving It, Spending It, Growing It, Sharing
It and explain how the information found within it contributes to an
understanding of how to create a budget.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
H. Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively and explain
how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it
appears. [RI.4.7]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
4. Students provide an objective summary of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden
wherein they analyze how he articulates the central ideas of living simply
and being self-reliant and how those ideas interact and build on
one another.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
D. Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build
on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of
the text. [RI.11-12.2]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
5. Students read Aliki’s description of A Medieval Feast and demonstrate their
understanding of all that goes into such an event by asking questions
pertaining to who, what, where, when, why, and how such a meal happens
and by answering using key details.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
A. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how
to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. [RI.2.1]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
6. Students delineate and evaluate the argument that Thomas Paine makes in
Common Sense. They assess the reasoning present in his analysis,
including the premises and purposes of his essay.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
G. Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the
application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning and the
premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy. [RI.11-12.8]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
7. Students determine the purpose and point of view in Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech and analyze how King uses rhetoric to
advance his position.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
E. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. [RI.9-10.6]
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Moving From Standards to Tasks
Performance Task
8. Students trace the line of argument in Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears,
and Sweat” address to parliament and evaluate his specific claims and
opinions in the text, distinguishing which claims are supported by facts,
reasons, and evidence, and which are not.
Reading Informational Texts Standard
B. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing
claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
[RI.6.8]
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Working with your group,
focus on one task
•
•
•
•
•
How does the task meet the standard?
How does it support college and career readiness?
What are the implications for teachers?
What are the implications for administrators?
What are the implications for students? How can we
help students succeed on these kinds of tasks?
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What is it?
• A tool used to help students
analyze what they need to know
and be able to do to meet a
specific learning goal.
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What are the basic steps?
1. Communicate your learning goals to your students and identify how they
will be assessed at the end of the unit.
2. Discuss with your students the value of beginning a unit or approaching a
task with the “end in mind.” Also, explain to students what they will be
expected to produce to demonstrate their learning.
3. Distribute the Learning with the End in Mind organizer to your students.
4. Have students review the organizer and complete the first part, restating
the culminating task in their own words.
5. Ask students to identify what they think they will be required to know
and be able to do to complete the task.
6. Discuss the students’ analysis, the activities they’ll be completing along
the way, and what they will need to know and understand complete the
task.
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At the end of this unit, I will be
asked to…
Design and sketch a
monument for a new
math garden. The
section of the garden I
have to design is the
three-dimensional
figure section.
Here’s what I need to know:
•3-d figures
•How to calculate volume
•Vocabulary-bases, faces,
edges, vertices
Here’s what I need to be able to do:
•Draw 3-d figures
•Calculate volume
•Use the vocabulary terms
to describe my drawing
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At the end of this unit, I will be asked
to…
Here’s what I need to know:
How heat moves
What materials slow down heat loss
Design a container that has
the least amount of heat loss
What factors affect heat loss
If the material in the container can
be a solid or liquid.
Here’s what I need to be able to do:
•Measure temperature
•Calculate heat loss
•Design a container
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At the end of this unit, I will be
asked to…
Write an editorial that
explains the difference
between renewable and
nonrenewable energy and
takes a position on how to
address the energy crisis.
Here’s what I need to know:
•Differences between renewable
and nonrenewable energy
•Causes and effects of the
energy crisis
•What experts say about how to
solve the energy crisis
Here’s what I need to be able to do:
•Conduct a comparison
•Write a persuasive editorial
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Reflection
Three big ideas from our work
today:
Before today I thought:
Now I think:
Two questions I have are:
Here are some ways I might
apply what I’ve learned:
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