Common Core State Standards SMUSD

Melissa Jacobs-Israel profiles middle school librarian Christine Poser in this School Library Journal article, and gives several tips to make sure your library is THE resource for Common Core information at your school.

Christine began by educating herself about the standards, then sharing her knowledge with teachers, providing professional development on text complexity, giving informational text suggestions, etc.

Another good tip: analyze your collection so you can highlight what you have...

"Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought or an event." -- Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Educational Consultant, Curriculum Des...

Deb Brown, a good friend from the Shawnee Mission, Kansas district, shared a statement with me several years ago and it's rattled around in my head ever since. "Primary sources belong to everyone. ...

 Dave Stuart writes: "As Erik Palmer quickly points out in Well Spoken: Teaching Speaking to AllStudents, oral communication skills are tops on the list of what employers want (in recent NACE Job Outlook surveys, “the ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization” has consistently ranked in the top 4 skills employers most desire in job candidates). This is one reason I appreciate the Common Core: though there are still plenty of problems with the implementation process around the nation, they at very least make clearer that speaking and listening are crucial skills."

Glenn writes:  "You could have kids use the tool to summarize a specific historical person or event. Have kids work in small groups to develop a series of cards that demonstrate change over time in the relationship between different historical groups or to highlight foundational knowledge they will use for further research. The tool also comes with a series of lesson plans tailored for grades 3-12 that you can use right away or modify to fit your own needs."

Historypin is a way for millions of people to come together to share glimpses of the past and build up the story of human history

 "As the digital era has taken hold, portfolios have become a method of assessment and the collection and sharing of work has become much more common."

"The main point that I would add here — in a conversation about the common core, close reading, and the integration of technology — is that we, as teachers, can help our students cultivate active reading habits if we teach them how to use these tools efficiently."

This is a fascinating discussion between Olga Nesi and Nina Lindsay, working in the school library and public library fields respectively.

After reading it, I feel like it's time to sit down with our public library cohorts for our own Common Core discussion. There's some great stuff here about the pieces of the text complexity puzzles, because it's not all lexile levels.

Even simple things like public library card sign-ups at school, or coordinating the purchase of databases would be a bi...

Heather Wolpert-Gawron writes: "Call me bass-ackwards, but I don't design projects around the Common Core Standards. I design projects based on what I believe are engaging topics that encourage my curriculum. Having said that, I don't neglect them either. In fact, by the end of my design process, I would say that I've become rather intimate with the series of standards I'm trying to hit." (emphasis added)

Holly Clark writes: "As more and more Chromebooks hit the classroom, redefining instruction and instructional practices is getting easier and easier – you just have to know where to start. One step in the process is to rethink the way you gather crucial information about each student and their journey towards mastery of a concept." 

Christine Schepeler writes: "Determining the reliability of a source is important throughout all disciplines. I often ask students if something is a reliable source, but I don’t always feel like students have a basic understanding of WHY something is reliable."

If you’re like most English Language Arts teachers, you’ve probably reviewed the new informational text requirements and wondered: What books do I choose? And how do I know if I’m even doing this right? Sure, they sound intimidating, but satisfying these new guidelines doesn’t have to be complicated, or mean you have to throw out …

Josh Work writes: " I have found the most valuable school-based resource for brainstorming, discussing, planning and implementing anything to do with technology has been my school's media specialist."

"In Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury writes that the grandma's kitchen was warm, exciting, and full of "organized chaos." I like to think that my classroom environment is also like that."