Speech/Language Services and the
Common Core Standards
in
Mississippi Schools
Office of Special Education
Gwen R. Buffington
The Common Core State Standards for English
Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social
Studies, Science and Technical subjects are the
culmination of an extended, broad-based effort to
fulfill the charge issued by the states to create the
next generation of K-12 standards in order to help
ensure that all students are college and career
ready in literacy no later than the end of high
school.
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The work led by the Council of Chief State School
Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors
Association (NGA) builds on the foundation laid by
states in their efforts of crafting high-quality
educational standards.
The standards draw upon research as well as
input from numerous sources including scholars,
State Departments of Education, assessment
developers, professional organizations, parents
and educators from K-12 to name a few.
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
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The Standards represent a synthesis of the best
elements of standards-related work to date.
As specified by CCSSO and NGA, the Standards
are:
1. Research- and evidence-based;
2. Aligned with college and work expectations;
3. Rigorous; and
4. Internationally benchmarked.
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The Standards are an extension of a prior initiative led by
CCSSO and NGA to develop College and Career
Readiness (CCR) standards in reading, writing, speaking,
listening and language as well as in mathematics. The
Standards were first worked on in 2009. While some
school districts in Mississippi have begun to use the
standards as a part of their curriculum, the mandate begins
with the 2013-2014 school year.
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So the question you might be asking is how
does this apply to speech/language?
Students who are proficient in these standards
develop those skills (skill set) necessary to
effectively communicate and have the foundation
for any creative and purposeful expression in
language.
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
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Although the Standards are divided into Reading, Writing,
Speaking and Listening and Language, strands for
conceptual clarity, the processes for communication are
closely connected as reflected throughout the Standards
document. While SLPs do not focus on the reading and
writing components, SLPs do focus on the speaking
and listening components. Case in point, while a
standard addresses the requirement that students be able
to write what they read about, likewise the standard also
sets the expectation that they are able to share their
information (speaking).
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There are certain strategies within the reading
component which have a connection to
speech/language abilities. SLPs should be able to
consult with the general education teacher on
additional strategies to facilitate word and sound
recognition (phonemic awareness). Again, please
note, the SLP is not the reading specialist but
the listening and speaking component of
language acquisition.
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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The SLP is the specially designed instruction (SDI)
to assist the student in accessing and making
progress in the general curriculum. They can
provide strategies for teachers to use in the
general classroom setting to support instruction
and the goals and objectives listed on the
student’s IEP.
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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It is strongly encouraged that the SLPs in your
district have access to the Common Core
Standards in order to ensure that the student’s IEP
is aligned with the curriculum. Keep in mind that,
while strategies can be used across all settings the
student’s IEP is unique to him/her and
implementing the IEP is individualized according to
the needs of the student.
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
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Let’s look at two subcategories of a standard:
Speaking and Listening: Flexible communication and
collaboration:
This includes, but is not limited to, those skills necessary
for formal presentations. This requires students to
develop a range of broadly useful oral communication
and interpersonal skills, to work together, express and
listen carefully to ideas, integrate information from oral,
visual, quantitative, and media sources, evaluate what
they hear (comprehension) to help achieve
communicative purposes and adapt speech to context
and task.
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Activity 1:
So let’s meet Nigel. He is six years old and in the
general education classroom. As a part of the
class assignment, every student was to bring in a
book for show and tell. Nigel likes Spiderman. So
then he brings in his book about Spiderman.
When the teacher asks him to tell about the book,
he starts talking about what “Batman” did. The
teacher asks him specific questions about
Spiderman. Does Nigel appear to have a problem
with the competency? Is this a situation where the
SLP needs to provide services or interventions?
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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Activity 2:
Again Nigel is 6 years old in the first grade. He
exhibits no difficulty with written language, he
understands and recognizes concepts and context.
His issues are that he can not clearly communicate
his understanding of a story. He has no
comprehension issues, just communication issues.
Based on this information, which competencies
should he be able to perform and how would the
SLP connect his communication issues to the
Standards?
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Language: Conventions, effective use and
vocabulary
This includes the essential use of spoken
English, approaching language as a matter of
craft, while vocabulary focuses on
understanding words and phrases, their
relationships, nuances, acquisition of new
vocabulary in particular general academic and
domain specific words and phrases.
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Activity 3:
Ms. Jones writes: “ The horse ran through the field.” She
then writes the following words:
1. Galloped
2. Swam
3. Sat
Her directions are to pick the word that is closely related to
ran.
Nigel choses an incorrect answer. This seems to be a
pattern with him. How can the SLP connect Nigel’s
language goals with the Standard?
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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Activity 4:
Nigel should be using words and phrases acquired
through conversations. What are some of the
strategies that can be used to assist Nigel in
reaching /mastering this competency as a
speech/language therapist/pathologist?
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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Language Standard Grade 1:
1. Use singular and plural nouns with matching
verbs in basic sentences. (e.g., I hop. We hop.
She hops.)
2. Use verbs to convey a sense of past, present
and future. (e.g., Yesterday I walked home.
Today I walk home. Tomorrow I will walk home.)
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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Activity 5:
Using the information from the previous slide
discuss at your table the following;
1. What would be a problem that the student
would have that would/could require the
services of the SLP? Would the problem be
articulation and/or language?
2. How would you implement the student’s IEP
based on the information and addressing the
CCS?
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Office of Instructional Enhancement and Internal
Operations/Office of Special Education
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Additional information on the Common Core
Standards and the standards themselves may be
found at: www.mde.k12.ms.us, under MDE Hot
Topics- Common Core State Standards.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• Tanya Bradley, Bureau Director, Monitoring and Technical
Assistance
• Desma McElveen, Ed. D., Division Director, Division of
Technical Assistance
• Gwen R. Buffington, Education Program Coordinator,
Division of Technical Assistance
Mississippi Department of Education
Office of Special Education
(601) 359-3498
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