Common Core Standards

OK, standards ARE important!  I realize we shouldn't base everything around testing and what they say about us as educators, but I do feel it's important to understand them to help myself better teach.  This summer, I picked up the book: Focus on the Text: Tackling the Common Core Reading Standards The following are some take-aways from the book:

 

1. Students should be strong PARAPHRASERS & SUMMARIZERS

• This skill should be practiced at least 3 X's per week in writing, OR verbalized out loud.
• Sentence Starters & transitions will help students to write their responses.
• In Science, teachers can teach students to create a paragraph question for a peer to answer.
• Paired Reading Strategy activity (found on page 9)
1. First student reads paragraph
2. Partner Summarizes
3. optional 3rd partner answers if they "agree" with the summary and if they'd add or change anything.
4. Between subjects, WE SHOULD REQUIRE one PARAPHRASED paragraph per week - including academic vocabulary.

 

2. PREFIXES & SUFFIXES ARE important to vocabulary development:

• 1st-3rd graders should be familiar with the following:  re, un, im, ex, dis, mis, maxi, pre, non, mini, maxi
• 4-6th graders should be familiar with: co (con, com), syn (sym), in (en, inter), sub (sup), e (ex), a (ab), uni/bi/tri/quad/cent/ mil

3. 7 Strategies are ESSENTIAL to all Comprehension

1. Mental Images
2. Background Knowledge
3. ASK Questions
4. Make Inferences
5. Determine Themes and Central Ideas
6. Synthesize
7. Use fix-up strategies

These are NOTHING NEW, but are essential to students being able to read and should be at the center of our teaching when helping students to understand what they've read.

 

4.  Students should ALWAYS be asking 3 Essential Questions of themselves when They Read:

1. Am I understanding What I'm Reading?
2. How Do I know?
3. What Can I do When I don't understand?

 

As teachers, TIME IS BEST SPENT on analytical lessons that build skills of reading complex text, building background knowledge, and responding to standard based questions.