This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Nancy C. Jordan, TESOL International Association, John R. Hayes, James B. Hogan, Jennifer L. W. Fink, Nicole Hansen, Timothy Shanahan, Diane Stark Rentner, Mary E. Pilgrim, and Jessica Rodrigues.
(2012). A Population of Assessment Tasks, Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College. We propose the development of a "population" of high-quality assessment tasks that cover the performance goals set out in the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics." The population will be published. Tests are drawn from this population as a structured random sample guided by a "balancing algorithm." [More] Descriptors: Test Items, Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction
(2016). Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects for English Language Learners, TESOL Press. This volume in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Learners series was designed to deepen teacher's knowledge and provides instructional approaches and practices for supporting grades 6-12 ELLs as they meet the ambitious expectations of the CCSS for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. This book, like the others in this best-selling series provides specific pedagogical practices, strategies, and ideas for teachers to reflect on the kind of instruction that is possible for making the demands of language use explicit. Contents include: (1) Introduction (Luciana C. de Oliveira); (2) Examining Cause and Effect in Historical Texts: An Integration of Language and Content (Luciana C. de Oliveira); (3) Building Historical Thinking Competencies Through Image Analysis (Sarah Drake Brown); (4) The Past Is Only Slightly Less Murky Than the Future: Corroborating Multiple Sources From Art and History (Rhoda Coleman and Jeff Zwiers); (5) Engaging in Phenomena From Project-Based Learning in a Place-Based Context in Science (Okhee Lee and Emily Miller); (6) Writing to Achieve the Common Core State Standards in Science for ELLs (Kristen Campbell Wilcox and Fang Yu); (7) Guided Visualization: Promoting ELL Science Literacies Through Images (Alandeom W. Oliveira and Molly H. Weinburgh); (8) Reader-Culture-Text Mergence: Seven Pedagogical Principles (Ann M. Johns); (9) Writing Arguments in World Languages: Scaffolding Content and Language Learning Simultaneously (Pamela Spycher and Thierry Spycher); and (10) Conclusion (Luciana C. de Oliveira). [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, English Language Learners, Literacy Education, History Instruction
(2016). Preparing for Algebra by Building Fraction Sense, TEACHING Exceptional Children. Fractions are troublesome for many children, especially students with learning difficulties and disabilities in mathematics. To address this serious educational concern, this article recommends the use of number lines to build fraction sense. Math activities that center on the number line build fraction concepts as early as third grade. A number line approach for teaching fractions is supported in the Common Core State Standards, and this approach has proved helpful for advancing low performing students' fraction understanding. This article provides examples of how to integrate the number line into fraction activities to address common fraction misunderstandings and to prepare students for later algebra courses. [More] Descriptors: Fractions, Mathematics Instruction, Mathematical Concepts, Teaching Methods
(2013). Open up the Ceiling on the Common Core State Standards: Preparing Students for 21st-Century Literacy–Now, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is the latest effort to reform education through standards. This article examines how the Standards promise to prepare students for the changing world of the 21st century, yet do not consider the changing nature of literacy–especially the centrality of the Internet as a 21st century text, and online reading comprehension as a problem-based experience. States and districts have begun to adopt and adjust the Common Core Standards as their own. This article seeks to inform teachers' understanding of the Common Core State Standards, so they can be active players in shaping literacy education based on the Standards. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Literacy Education, Literacy, Educational Change
(2013). Year 3 of Implementing the Common Core State Standards: State Education Agencies' Views on the Federal Role, Center on Education Policy. This report, based on a winter/spring 2013 survey of 40 Common Core State Standards-adopting states, examines state education agency (SEA) officials' views on the federal role in implementing the standards. The report finds that, although a direct federal role in implementing the Common Core State Standards has been controversial, a majority of states in the survey support legislative and/or regulatory changes to the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act to help them with their implementation efforts. The report also addresses the issue of within-state opposition to standards and finds that the vast majority of survey states do not anticipate their state's decision to adopt the standards will be reversed, limited or changed in 2013-14. A section on study methods is appended. [This report was written with the assistance of Nancy Kober.] [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, State Departments of Education, Federal Government
(2014). Addressing the Standards for Mathematical Practice in a Calculus Class, Mathematics Teacher. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) provide teachers with the expectations and requirements that are meant to prepare K-12 students for college and the workforce (CCSSI 2010b). The Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) emphasize the development of skills and conceptual understanding for students to become proficient in mathematics and prepared for mathematics at the postsecondary level. These SMPs are the focus of this article: (1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them; (2) Reason abstractly and quantitatively; (3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others; (4) Model with mathematics; (5) Use appropriate tools strategically; (6) Attend to precision; (7) Look for and make use of structure; and (8) Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010a, pp. 6-8). Herein, the author discusses SMPs in the context of a particular activity designed for a first-semester calculus course at a state university in which the typical student is pursuing a career as an engineer or a scientist. The SMPs align well with the expectations of students in a first course in calculus at the postsecondary school level, raising the question: Why not design course materials that could be implemented in both high school and college calculus courses that reflect these practices and promote active learning? [More] Descriptors: Calculus, Mathematics Education, State Standards, Active Learning
(2014). Preparing Teachers for the Common Core: Aligning Preparation Program Curricula. Ask the Team, Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. Implementing new college and career readiness standards, along with readying teachers and students for new assessments, is a monumental undertaking by multiple national, state, and local education leaders and organizations. One critical policy area for states to consider is supports for educator preparation programs to ensure that new teachers entering the classroom are well prepared to help their students achieve the Common Core State Standards. To help share information and resources across states, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders' partner, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), asked the team leads of its 30-member State Consortium on Educator Effectiveness to share how they are helping teacher preparation programs in their state align preparation program curricula to the Common Core State Standards. In addition, expert staff working with the new student assessment consortia provided examples of leading practices. Based on the information collected, four common approaches states have taken to align teacher preparation curricula to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics were identified: (1) Align teaching standards and licensure requirements to Common Core; (2) Support faculty through professional development; (3) Integrate Common Core into program approval and accountability requirements and (4) Integrate Common Core into state teacher licensure assessments. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Alignment (Education), Preservice Teacher Education
(2012). Common Core: Victory Is Yours!, Instructor. In this article, the author discusses how to implement the Common Core State Standards in the classroom. She presents examples and activities that will leave teachers feeling "rosy" about tackling the new standards. She breaks down important benchmarks and shows how other teachers are doing the Core–and loving it! [More] [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Program Implementation, Academic Standards, Classroom Techniques
(2015). Can Cognitive Writing Models Inform the Design of the Common Core State Standards?, Elementary School Journal. In this article, we compare the Common Core State Standards in Writing to the Hayes cognitive model of writing, adapted to describe the performance of young and developing writers. Based on the comparison, we propose the inclusion of standards for motivation, goal setting, writing strategies, and attention by writers to the text they have just written. In addition, we propose that support materials for educators should include definitions of writing processes, ideas about how to support motivation, explanation of the role of writing schema, and a grade-by-grade list of useful technology skills. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Writing (Composition), Models
(2013). Overview of the Common Core State Standards Initiatives for ELLs. TESOL Issue Brief. The purpose of this issue brief is to provide a comprehensive overview of the policies behind the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and to outline some of the initiatives now in place to address the needs of English language learners (ELLs) in relation to the CCSS. This issue brief contains the appendices: (1) Assessment Consortia Time Lines; and (2) State Participation in Assessment Consortia as of February 2013. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Language Proficiency, English Curriculum, Educational Policy
(2015). Common Core State Standards for Students with Gifts and Talents, TEACHING Exceptional Children. As many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teachers can look to these standards as a framework for supporting students with gifts and talents. Differentiation of curriculum and instruction to address the CCSS will be necessary to meet the unique learning needs of learners with high ability and those with gifts and talents. This article provides background information about the CCSS and guidelines to align differentiated tasks with the unique needs of students with gifts and talents within the framework of the English language arts (ELA) CCSS. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Core Curriculum, Academically Gifted, Curriculum
(2015). A Method for Generating Educational Test Items That Are Aligned to the Common Core State Standards, Journal of Applied Testing Technology. The demand for test items far outstrips the current supply. This increased demand can be attributed, in part, to the transition to computerized testing, but, it is also linked to dramatic changes in how 21st century educational assessments are designed and administered. One way to address this growing demand is with automatic item generation. Automatic item generation involves the process of using models to generate items with the aid of computer technology. The purpose of this study is to describe and illustrate a methodology that permits the generation of huge number of diverse and heterogeneous test items that are closely aligned to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Test Items, Alignment (Education), Test Construction
(2015). Common Core State Standards: A New Role for Writing, Elementary School Journal. The Common Core State Standards for the English Language Arts, together with the new tests being developed to assess them, are placing a greater emphasis on writing in elementary schools than in the recent past. This article explores similarities and differences of the standards with past state standards, explaining the reason both for why things have been as they are and why Common Core is encouraging change. The biggest shift in writing instruction is claimed to be the new emphasis on writing about text, and ways of writing about text successfully in the elementary grades (summarization, analysis, synthesis, modeling) are described. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Language Arts, Elementary School Curriculum, Educational Change
(2012). A Grade 5 Common Core Exemplar: Teaching about the Bill of Rights, Social Education. A notable feature of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts is the attention given to the teaching of reading and writing in history/social studies, science and technical subjects. The Standards for Reading Informational Text that are included in the Common Core State Standards require students to read texts in depth, understand their principal ideas, identify their purpose and point of view, and trace and evaluate their main arguments. These requirements are also among the objectives of social studies education. In recent years, the analysis of documents has been an important focus of social studies. Important historical documents can be a good starting point for social studies instruction that aims to advance the Common Core State Standards. This article presents a document-based approach to implementing both the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) national social studies standards and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. It introduces the Bill of Rights to students in a way that takes them deeply into the text, and leads them to a greater understanding of the content and purposes of the Bill of Rights. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, English, Language Arts, Grade 5
(2011). Making It Happen: Common Core Standards. This one-of-a-kind guide identifies and highlights the ways in which NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) resources can support teachers as they implement and supplement the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) in their states. The guide and accompanying charts are tools to help educators as they continue to make high-quality mathematics happen in their classrooms and schools. This guide, designed to help teachers, teacher leaders, and supervisors make sense of CCSSM and implement the vision that NCTM and CCSSM share, is divided into five sections: (1) A shared vision; (2) Interpreting the Common Core State Standards; (3) Emphasizing mathematical practices and processes; (4) Implementing the Common Core State Standards; and (5) Using NCTM resources to implement CCSSM. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Charts, Mathematics Teachers, Teacher Leadership