Looking for information on standards? This page has up-to-date information about the Common Core State Standards PLUS some resources that the CCSS Website doesn't even offer!!!
WHERE SHOULD I START?
Read the Standards. You can find them on the original Common Core State Standards Website as PDF files. Don't forget to read the Appendices!
WHERE CAN I FIND GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS?
- EngageNY has a helpful Common Core Toolkit.
- Also, check out AchievetheCore.org.
- The Literacy Cookbook Blog focuses primarily on how to meet and exceed the Common Core Standards. Please sign up for free and follow to receive the latest updates!
- MIddleWeb offers a frequently-updated CCSS Resource Roundup.
WHAT DOES TLC OFFER THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES?
- To make it easier to work with the Standards (in Excel vs. in PDF format), I've created a K-12 ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet, available in the Download Zone. Check out this FREE SAMPLE of a 4th-grade ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet.
- NEW as of 8-9-17!!! I have also matched this tracker with resources! Now you can also download Grades 2-12 ELA CCSS with Resources (all listed in the Download Zone). Check out this FREE DOWNLOAD of Grade 8 ELA CCSS w Resources!!! Many thanks to Anibal Garcia of Queen City Academy CS, who pushed for this idea and helped to make these resources possible. Here's the TLC Blog post about it. Please note: If you would like to suggest revisions/updates, please Email me directly at sarahtantillo@literacycookbook.com
- NEW as of 1-28-18!!! If you're trying to track students' grammar progress, see K-12 Selected Language CCS Tracker.
- If you teach history/social studies, science, or other technical subjects, you will also need the 6-12 CCS for Literacy in History, Science, Tech Subj Tracking Spreadsheet.
- I've also reformatted the ELA Standards into Trajectory Analysis Charts in Word documents, so you can easily see the grade-to-grade trajectory of each standard. Keep reading....
HOW CAN I ANALYZE THE TRAJECTORY OF THE STANDARDS? Check out this TLC Blog post, which explains the process, and also use this FREE download, "RIT Standard 1 Trajectory Analysis Chart." For a document that will help you analyze ALL of the RIT Standards, check out the TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Informational Text. See also the following files:
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Literature
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS Comparing RIT vs. RL
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Writing
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Speaking and Listening
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Language
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Foundational Skills
HOW CAN I UNPACK STANDARDS AND CREATE OBJECTIVES AND LESSONS TO MEET THEM? Check out this video training module!
Unpacking the ELA Common Core Standards MODULE This 17-min SELF-PACED video (ideal for viewing with a colleague so you can discuss questions that arise) addresses the following four questions: 1. What should we do with ELA Common Core Standards (CCS) proficiency data? 2. How and why should we unpack the CCS? 3. Once we’ve unpacked the CCS, what should we do? 4. What will this process probably cause us to do? For more information (including the accompanying handouts), check out the following links: |
ALSO: Read this TLC Blog post, which demonstrates a useful process (NOTE: This post provides both explanation and a model. My second book, LITERACY AND THE COMMON CORE: RECIPES FOR ACTION, provides additional materials to support this process.). For this process, you will need the Unpacking the Standards Organizer, rev 5-7-15, and you might find the Unpacking the Standards-RIT 6.1 Model rev 5-7-15 helpful. NOTE: These versions are updated to include relevant question stems that address the standard!
I'M WRITING CURRICULUM. WHERE SHOULD I START?
- As noted above, you should download the user-friendly K-12 ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet, and if you teach history/social studies, also the 6-12 CCS for Literacy in History, Science, Tech Subj Tracking Spreadsheet.
- Check out the Common Core Curriculum Mapping Project, which provides invaluable sample unit maps (6 per grade for K-12 ELA) based on the Common Core Standards. If you are trying to figure out how to tackle the Common Core Standards, you NEED to look at this page! Note: There is a nominal fee to join and access the materials, but you can view free samples HERE.
- Check out the TLC Templates for Lessons & Units page to see sample curriculum overviews and unit plans and download the necessary templates. Then take a look at the resources and links on the Curriculum Resources & Links page.
I TEACH HISTORY/ SOCIAL STUDIES. GOT ANYTHING FOR ME?
- You will absolutely need the 6-12 CCS for Literacy in History, Science, Tech Subj Tracking Spreadsheet.
- Check out The Alexandria Plan, which is "a sequenced framework that enables you to reprioritize the teaching of history. The Plan provides 72 detailed illustrations (36 each for lower and upper elementary) of how to use exemplary texts to meet the expectations of the CCSS and to address your state's social studies standards."
WHAT DO THE COMMON CORE ASSESSMENTS LOOK LIKE?
- Many states, including my home state of NJ, administer the PARCC Assessments. You should bookmark the PARCC Website and check it periodically. See also the TLC PARCC Prep page for updated instructional strategies and resources.
- NOTE: If your state has joined the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, click here. There are "New Practice Test Resources Available" here.
- EngageNY provides an array of Common Core Resources, including field-tested Sample Assessment Items for grades 3-8 (in ELA and Math). If you're trying to figure out what the PARCC assessments are going to look like, in addition to combing through the PARCC sample released items, you should definitely spend some time perusing the items NY has released.
I'M STILL CONFUSED about PARCC. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Check out my latest TLC Blog posts on PARCC here. Also, visit the TLC PARCC Prep page. This page on the PARCC Website also explains how sample items are being or have been developed.
HOW CAN I CREATE COMMON CORE-ALIGNED WRITING ASSESSMENTS?
Check out the LITERACY DESIGN COLLABORATIVE. Teachers are working together to design modules aligned with the Common Core. They note: "An LDC module establishes a teaching task, the skills and instruction students will need complete the task, and results in the form of student work. There are multiple templates available for each kind of writing, using varied layouts but all offering the key elements required for LDC Design." A good place to start is with the "1.0 Guidebook to LDC," which explains the templates, tasks, and modules and provides some models.
Also, in response to teachers I’ve been working with in New Orleans, I’ve created a packet of templates to support the creation of Common Core-aligned writing prompts. These are based on State-released materials for the LEAP (Louisiana Education Assessment Program) and should be particularly useful in preparing for that assessment, but educators in other states preparing for other Common Core-aligned assessments may also find them helpful. Download "Create-Your-Own Common Core-Aligned Writing Prompts for Grades 3-8."
WHERE ELSE CAN I FIND RESOURCES ON THE COMMON CORE?
- THE COMMON CORE CONVERSATION provides links to DOZENS of other Websites dealing with the Common Core.
- Check out the TLC Blog "COMMON CORE Online Resources: UPDATE 1-27-13" for more information.
- Utah DOE has some excellent links! (Thanks to Samantha Messer for this lead!)
- North Carolina DPI has created a useful set of PDFs to help unpack the Standards.
WHAT ABOUT SAMPLE UNITS AND LESSONS?
- Here is a sample unit for grades 7-8. As Ed Week noted: called "Persuasion Across Time and Space," the five-lesson unit is the first major classroom resource produced by the Understanding Language team, a group of English-language-learner experts led by Kenji Hakuta, an education professor at Stanford University, to help educators grasp the central role of language in the rigorous Common Core State Standards and to give teachers resources for providing higher levels of instruction and demanding content to ELL students.
- Check out LearnZillion for hundreds of user-friendly video lessons!
- Also, check out AchievetheCore.org for sample close reading lessons.
- BetterLesson has created a platform focused on lessons that meet the Common Core.
To order this book, click HERE! To order this book, click HERE! To order this book, click HERE!
Don't forget: If you are developing curriculum, check out Templates for Lessons & Units to see sample curriculum overviews and unit plans and download the necessary templates. Check out Recommended Reading for ideas about what texts to use with your students. Then take a look at the resources and links on the Curriculum Resources & Links page.
***FOR KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS*** |
K Language Arts Literacy Effective Curriculum Practices Using Common Core Standards |
IN THE DOWNLOAD ZONE for STANDARDS:
- K-12 ELA Common Core Standards Tracking Spreadsheet
- 6-12 CCS for Literacy in History, Science, Tech Subj Tracking Spreadsheet
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Informational Text
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Literature
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS Comparing RIT vs. RL
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Writing
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Speaking and Listening
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Language
- TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CHARTS-Reading Foundational Skills
- Create-Your-Own Common Core-Aligned Writing Prompts for Grades 3-8
- Unpacking the Standards Organizer rev 5-7-15
- Unpacking the Standards-RIT 6.1 Model rev 5-7-15
- Grades 2-12 ELA CCSS with Resources (available as individual files)
- K-12 Selected Language CCS Tracker
- Unpacking the ELA Common Core Standards Module PPT
- Unpacking the ELA Common Core Standards Module Handout