Integrating the Common
Core Standards through
Storytelling
Ellie Shinham
Stories Work
2 October 2010
What are the Common Core
Standards?
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Commissioned by Nat’l Governors Asso & the
Council of Chief State School Officers
Most states
Written by a working group, many ACT people
Urban schools have already jumped
One realization from all this testing: states vary
widely in their standards for children’s learning
Literacy & Math Standards; Literacy in Content
Areas for older students
So we’ve got nat’l standards?
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Close
Texas & Alaska declined
VA may decline
Race to the Top money
They aren’t perfect…
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But they’re pretty good!
Children do move from state to state
Standards are not a program to adopt; more
like touchstones
Standards do not “tell teachers how to teach”
Categorical in nature, but with frequent
reminders to think of the whole: child,
curriculum
Aims of the Standards
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Students who are college/career ready in
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening &
Language:
Demonstrate independence
Build strong content knowledge
Respond to the varying demands of audience,
task, purpose & discipline
Comprehend as well as critique
Aims continued
Value evidence
 Use technology & digital media strategically &
capably
 Come to understand other perspectives and
cultures
This sounds like the kind of person I want to be!
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What’s also welcome
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Clarity
Focus on language
Focus on informational text
Focus on vocabulary
Text complexity
“Students’ ability to read complex text does
not always develop in a linear fashion.”
(Appendix A, p. 9)
Where can I find the Standards?
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http://www.corestandards.org
Print & dip in
Appendices are pretty helpful!
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A Text Complexity
B Exemplars: actual text, lesson ideas (long)
C Writing samples: student work (long)
ELL
Students with disabilities
Literacy = reading, writing, speaking & listening,
with integration of research & media skills
Using Telling
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Didn’t think I’d let my chance to tell go by, did
you now?
“The Rainhat”– Just Enough to Make A Story
by Nancy Schimmel
Connections
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Can children meet standards just by listening?
The telling needs to be turned over to the
children
What standards for “The Rainhat”?
Gr. 3 Reading Literature: recount
stories…determine the central
message…explain how it is conveyed through
key details
“Rainhat” COULD meet many
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Gr. 3 Reading Informational Text: Use
information gained from illustrations…and the
words to demonstrate understanding
Gr. 3 Writing: Write informative/explanatory
texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
Take learned folds & create new story; write
both narrative & directions for paper folds
Let’s play with Standards
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In small groups
Select your path
The Storyteller’s Path
The Teacher’s Path
We’ll have a few groups share…
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Please!
Big picture
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How will the specific storytelling lessons &
activities you brainstormed achieve those big
outcomes? The aims? Value evidence,
comprehend as well as critique, etc.
Here’s how I think my “Rainhat” plans will
help: It’s essential in telling that one “respond
to the varying demands of audience, task,
purpose & discipline.”
How do your plans connect?
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Chat with your group about how your
stories/lessons/plans/activities connect back to
the larger aims of the Standards?
Please share
For further discussion/work, please contact Ellie:
elliejo68@yahoo.com