Although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are rife with suggested texts and text types, there are several parenthetical remarks within the grade-specific reading standards that aren’t examples; they are to be included. Required titles RI.11-12.9 — that is, the ninth standard within the Reading Informational texts strand for grades 11 and 12 — is an example of what I’m talking about: Analyze […]
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Common Core R.CCR.10 Explained
R.CCR.10 — that’s the tenth (and final!) College/Career Readiness anchor standard within the Reading strand of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA/Literacy — reads as follows: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. All right, let’s dive into this bad boy. It’s all about complex texts Grade-appropriate text complexity is […]
Common Core R.CCR.9 Explained
R.CCR.9 — that’s the ninth College/Career Readiness anchor standard within the Reading strand of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA/Literacy — reads as follows: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. There are two key teacherly tasks […]
Common Core R.CCR.8 Explained
R.CCR.8 — that’s the eighth College/Career Readiness anchor standard within the Reading strand of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA/Literacy — reads as follows: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. This is a […]
5 Ways to Make Rigorous Arguments Fun
“Argument,” mentions Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), “is the soul of an education” (p. 24). Why? According to Neil Postman, argument forces the arguer to consider the strengths and weaknesses of multiple perspectives (p. 24, CCSS Appendix A). In other words, arguing helps you see the complex nature of things; it […]