In case you haven’t noticed, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA and Content Area Literacy place a heavy emphasis on text complexity (R.CCR.10). In short, the developers of the CCSS believe that college and career ready (CCR) students are able to read and make use of complex texts independently. Why the Obsession with […]
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5 Principles in Developing the Common Core
If you’re wondering how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed, this YouTube video featuring David Coleman begins to answer the question. It does not go into great depth, but it does provide some interesting food for thought. Principle #1: College-and-Career Readiness (CCR) When students aren’t ready for college-level work, colleges place them in […]
3 Ways to Start Implementing the Common Core Today
It’s not fun to learn that you’ll soon be expected to transform your curriculum to align with a 66-page document that you had no part in creating. And, although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a lot less unwieldy than the state standards I’ve taught under so far in my career, that doesn’t mean […]
A Helpful Document for Overviewing the CCSS with Parents
I found this document very helpful the other day. In its four well-designed pages, the PTA explains the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in high school English Language Arts to parents. My favorite parts are those in which the PTA describes “a sample of the work your child will be doing to become ready for college […]
Fahrenheit 451, the Butchery of Figurative Language, and the CCSS
Every time that I’ve taught Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, one of my opinions of the book remains the same: Bradbury horridly overuses figurative language. Once I finish reading Fahrenheit 451 each year, I don’t want to see another example of simile, metaphor, or personification for at least a few months. Why Teach a Book You […]