Facts. They are important. They are the basis of our educational system, the foundation of science and industry, and a clear emphasis in the Common Core State Standards. In both reading and writing, students will be expected to use fact based evidence of their comprehension and compositions. Yet our students are not always clear on [...]
April 4, 2013
Setting: When Where Matters–A CCSS Lesson Plan
When we ask students to analyze literature we often concentrate on the plot, character development, or sequence of events because they are critical to understanding the meaning of the story. But sometimes the setting of the book can be just as important as the characters. The setting can actually drive the plot of the story. [...]
March 8, 2013
Literary Non-fiction
The CCSS calls for students to engage in reading literary non-fiction text. At first glance that seems to be an oxymoron. Literary non-fiction? That’s not in the Dewey Decimal system. But it is in your library and your librarian knows which books fit this category. They are the non-fiction books that readers drool over. True [...]
January 23, 2013
Authors Work on Curriculum Guides for their Books
From the other side of the fence, authors of books for kids are working on curriculum guides, lesson plans, and other teaching materials that will align with the Common Core. In this 3-part series, Literary Agent and Writer Jill Cocoran gives authors advice on what to include in such teaching materials. Her articles have links [...]
December 14, 2012
The Hobbit: Common Core Literature Unit Falls Short
With the release of The Hobbit movie this weekend, the Georgia Department of Education is offering a Common Core literature unit for J.R.R. Tolkein‘s THE HOBBIT. Written by Dan J Rock, it is targeted at Grades 6-8. The Lexile is 1000L, perfect for this age range. There and Back Again: What Science Fiction Can Tell [...]
November 7, 2012
Enduring Topics: Build Knowledge Within and Across Grades
What “enduring themes” or topics are you identifying and working with? K-6 Enduring Topics or Themes. p. 33 of the CCSS requires the curriculum to build knowledge within and across grade levels. The example is a growing understanding of the human body and how it operates. “Building knowledge systematically in English language arts is like [...]
July 3, 2012
Technology Readiness Tool: Is Your District Ready to Test CCSS Online?
The web-based Technology Readiness Tool is a project that allows schools to survey their current state of technology. By 2014-25 school year, school who have adopted the Common Core must be ready to do online assessments. But do they have enough computers (laptops, netbooks, iPads) with the right operating system and right software? The first [...]
June 29, 2012
Close Reading: Not Required by Common Core, but Implied
“Close reading” is not required in the Common Core English Language Arts classroom, but it is implied when the standards say students should use evidence and justification for their answers. They can’t point to a section of text as evidence, unless they have done close reading. They can’t use an argument from a text unless [...]
