English Language Arts
Module A
Overview of ELA Prioritized
Curriculum and the ELA
Common Core State Standards
Juley Harper, ELA Education Associate
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In the beginning…
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New Directions Curriculum Framework Content Standards and
Performance Indicators (PIs) were adopted in 1995
Original PIs were written for grade clusters (K-3, 4-5, 6-8,9-12),
NOT for individual grades
Original cut scores for the DSTP were set (1999)
Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) (well, below the standard,
below, meets, exceeds, distinguished) were created
NCLB led to an external standards review (‘04-‘05) by McCrel and
Achieve
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Reviews indicated that DE ELA Content standards were well written but
needed to be MORE RIGOROUS, DEFINED, CLARIFIED, and SCAFFOLDED
An ELA Design Team was formed and they wrote GLEs, model
instructional units, a clarifications document, model syllabi/course
description and model assessments
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Since then…
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The ELA Grade-level Expectations (GLEs)
have been prioritized to identify Essential,
Important and Compact Standards (Nov. ‘09)
 A Common Core Comparison Tool was
completed to align the DE ELA State
Standards and the Common Core State
Standards in ELA (June ‘10)
 PLDs were developed for the new Reading
DCAS Assessment
 Cut Scores were created for the DCAS
Reading Assessments
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ELA Content Standards
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Standard 1 (Writing Standard)- Students will use
written and oral English appropriate for various
purposes and audiences.
Standard 2 (Reading Standard)- Students will
construct, examine, and extend the meaning of
literary, informative, and technical texts through
listening, reading, and viewing.
Standard 3 (Research Standard)-Students will
access, organize, and evaluate information gained
through listening, reading, and viewing.
Standard 4 (Reading Standard)- Students will use
literary knowledge accessed through print and visual
media to connect self to society and culture.
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ELA Prioritized Standards
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The prioritization process provided DE educators with a new
opportunity to make sure our standards document maintained fidelity
to the tenets of the most up to date Scientifically Based Literacy
Research. While it is impossible to cover ALL tenets in EACH of the
latest literacy policy reports, the following research was given careful
consideration:
The National Reading Panel
Reading Next
Writing Next
The NAEP protocols
21st Century Literacy Skills
Time to Act
ELA Common Core State Standards (early drafts)
While written by various groups, for various purposes, several
common strands weave through all of the above reports. When
the ELA GLEs were written, largely in response to the McCrel and
Achieve recommendations and NCLB requirements, we attempted
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to address many of these strands.
Common Core State Standards for English
Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social
Studies, Science & Technical Subjects
The aim of the Common Core State Standards
in ELA is:
 to articulate the fundamentals, not to set out an
exhaustive list nor a set of restriction that limit
what can be taught.
 to inform teachers of the WHAT, not the HOW.
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The ELA Common Core
Standards…
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Represents a rigorous and reasonable continuum of
expectations
Are explicit connections between grade levels and
areas of literacy
Bring a level of rigor to middle school that is very
important
Place emphasis on non-fiction reading and writing in
elementary school
Provide a stamp of approval that DE is on the right
track
Use the College and Career Readiness (CCR)
Standards as a consistent frame of reference
throughout the document
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ELA Common Core Layout
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Standards for K-5/6-12
 Reading
 Text Complexity Chart
 Writing
 Speaking and Listening
 Language
 Progressive Skills Chart
Standards for Literacy in History/SS, Science & Technical
Studies
Appendix A- Research Regarding Key Elements and
Standards
Appendix B-Illustrative Texts
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Appendix C- Samples of Student Writing
ELA Language Progressive Skills by
Grade
This chart
demonstrates
the progression
of Language
skills by grade
level
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Common Core Reading Standards
10 Overarching Reading Standards
Further elaborated into:
 Reading Standard for Literature (DE standards 2 and 4)
 Reading Standards for Informational Texts (DE Standard 2)
 K-5 Foundational Skills (DE standard 1)
 Exemplars of Text Complexity (Chart within DE Standards 2
and 4)
The Reading Standards are divided into sections:
 Key Ideas and Details
 Craft and Structure
 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
 Range and level of Text Complexity
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Common Core Writing Standards
10 Overarching Writing Standards
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Writing arguments (persuasion)(DE Standard 1)
 Writing informative/explanatory texts (DE Standard
1)
 Writing narratives (DE Standard 1)
 Revising and editing (DE Standard 1)
 Using technology (DE Standards 1 and 3)
 Research (DE Standard 1 and 3)
 Range of Writing: Short, on-demand and extended
(DE Standard 1)
 26 examples of student writing, K-12
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Common Core Speaking and
Listening Standards
6 Overarching Standards:
1. Exchanging information to advance a discussion
2. Integrating information from multiple sources
3. Evaluation a speaker’s point of view
4. Presenting information, evidence and reasoning
5. Making strategic use of multimedia and visual
displays of data to express information
6. Adapting speech to a variety of contexts and
tasks, demonstrating a command of formal
English when indicated as appropriate
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Common Core Language Standards
6 Overarching Standards
Conventions of Standard English
1.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking.
2.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Knowledge of Language
3.
Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different
contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend
more fully when reading or listening.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
4.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and
phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting
general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
5.
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and
nuances in word meanings.
6.
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering
vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to
comprehension or expression.
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Common Core Standards for Literacy
in History/Social Studies and Science
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These standards:
 include kinds of evidence in history and science
 include domain-specific words, phrases, and
concepts
 include primary and secondary sources in
history/social studies
 include the use of diagrams and date in science
 are specifically written for 6-12th grade
 assume that literacy in these areas are already
specifically taught at the elementary level
 emphasize the importance of content area reading
and writing
 assume that literacy is the shared responsibility of all
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teachers
ELA Common
DE Content
Core Standard Standard 2.4bL
7-Reading
Reading Standards for
Literature
Grade 3, Integration of
Knowledge and Ideas
Comment
DE ELA Content
Standard/GLE 2.4bL (K-
DE ELA Content
Standards are more
12) Students will be able to rigorous. In this example,
demonstrate an overall
a student must develop a
understanding of literary
deep understanding of
texts by (b) identifying the
7. Use information from story elements (e.g.,
the setting, character and
illustrations and other
plot as opposed to only
characters, setting,
visual elements in a text and plot) and story
identifying and
with the words to develop structures (conflict,
describing those
an understanding of the resolution, cause/effect).
elements of a story as is
•Identify the main character in a story or poem
setting, characters, and
written in the ELA
•Identify other characters in a story or in a poem
•Identify the main setting (time and/or place)
plot.
Common Core
•Recognize that settings can change and identify
the changes in setting
Standards.
•Recognize that there is a main problem and
solution in a story
•Identify the beginning, middle and end of a story
•Identify significant details related to the plot to
determine the pattern of organization (simple
compare/ contrast) simple problem/solution,
simple sequence
•Identify simple point of view (e.g., narrator,
speaker)
Our GLEs unpack
the standard
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