1. “Cutting Through the
Common Core”
STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
&
STANDARDS FOR LITERACY IN
HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, AND
TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

2. AGENDA
 Introduction to standards document
 Five strands of ELA
 Shifts in teaching literacy, vocabulary,
teaching

3. Common Core Claims For ELA
Grades 3-8: Students can demonstrate progress
toward college and career readiness in ELA
and Literacy
Grades 9-12: Students can demonstrate college
and career readiness in ELA
Claims are important in preparing for instruction
and for assessment. The 4 major claims should
drive what you do in your classroom every day
in order to assure success for your students.

4. Claim #1 - Students can read closely and analytically to
comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and
informational text. (Reading Claim)
Claim #2 – Students can produce effective and well-grounded
writing for a range of purposes and audiences. (Writing Claim)
Claim #3 – Students can employ effective speaking and listening
skills for a range of purposes and audiences. (Speaking and
Listening Claim)
Claim #4 - Students can engage in research/inquiry to investigate
topics, and to analyze, integrate, and present information.
(Research Claim)

5. ELA COMMON CORE
Document organization
 Comprehensive K-5 Section
 Content Area 1: ELA Grades 6-12
 Content Area 2: History/Social
Studies, Science and Technical
Subjects 6-12
 A Set of 3 Appendices

6. Common Core has 2 sets of
Standards:
COMMON CORE ANCHOR STANDARDS:
* Broad
* Transcends the grade levels
* Heads each strand
* Foundational standard for grade specific standard
* Are the same for both content areas
COMMON CORE GRADE SPECIFIC STANDARDS:
* More specific
* Unique to each grade level
* Corresponds to the anchor standard
* Has grade appropriate end of year expectations

7. Who is responsible for
teaching these standards?
 ELA Content Area- English Language Arts
Teacher
 History, Social Studies, Science and
Technical Subjects- Teachers of History,
Social Studies, Science, and Technical
Subjects

8. The Common Core standards follow NAEP’s lead in
balancing the reading literature with informational texts,
including texts in history/social studies, science and
technical subjects.
GRADE LITERARY TEXT INFORMATIONAL TEXT
4 50% 50%
8 45% 55%
12 30% 70%

10. Reading Standards for Literacy
(Fictional Works of Art)
 The expectation now moves to the
expected learning outcome for a student,
not how he arrived there.
 Literacy now becomes everyone’s job, not
just the English teacher.
 Complex text must be read independently
and proficiently in EVERY discipline.

11. Reading Standards for
Informational Text
 Focus on non-fiction and technical reading
 Integration of the subject matters in order to
incorporate a rich exposure to a variety of
informational text
 Growth of comprehension
 Increase the number of connections between the
different texts
 Wide range of textual evidence required
 Sound judgments made after locating
inconsistencies and logical fallacies in texts

12. Speaking & Listening
 Must evaluate what they hear
 Integrate information from a variety of
sources
 Use different visual and media
presentation modes in order to
communicate effectively
 Develop oral communication,
interpersonal skills and listening skills

13. The Role of Vocabulary
Key to student’s vocabulary development is building rich and flexible word
knowledge through multiple opportunities to use and respond to words they
learn through informal talk, discussion, listening, being read to and reading
themselves.
Three Tiers of Vocabulary
o Tier One Words: Common words of everyday speech
o Tier Two Words: General Academic
o Tier Three Words: Domain Specific Words

14. Academic Vocabulary
Vocabulary that transcends specific disciplines but appears
regularly in complex text.
o Teaching must be intentional and purposeful and the
vocabulary selected for use must be as well.
o Silent Sustained Reading is invaluable in vocabulary
building and should be done daily.
o Reading 14 minutes per day means reading over
1,000,000 words per year.
o Vocabulary is learned through both reading and talking.

15. o Each teacher should generate their own word list for domain
specific vocabulary and each school/district should have a
specific list of Tier 2 academic vocabulary.
o Word lists should not be used as a check list where students
may define from rote memory but should be intentional and
purposeful in an attempt to help them later comprehend
written text.
o Tier 2 words are critical to understanding academic texts.
o Students may learn and comprehend deeply approximately
300 words per year, roughly 60 per subject area and 8 to 10
words per week.

16. Reading Standards for Literacy
in Social Studies and Technical
Subjects
 It is important for ALL content area teachers to
teach literacy
 Students will be expected to read all textbooks in
a way that is both independent and proficient
 Students will be required to distinguish between
primary and secondary sources along with
providing evidence to support their analysis of
these sources
 The standards will ultimately define literacy
expectations in all classes in order to create a
comprehensive school-wide literacy program
which will lead to more career/college readiness
for all students

17. What students who meet
Common Core standards are
able to do
 Demonstrate independence
 Comprehend as well as critique
 Build strong content knowledge
 Cite evidence

18. Helpful documents that assist
with Common Core
Standards..
 Appendix A
* Contains supplementary information for the 5
strands for ELA
 Appendix B
* Shows examples of different text complexities
for the different grade level
 Appendix C
* Shows examples of different writings that are
adequate for the different grade levels
 ELA Connections Document
* Shows the relation between the S.C
Curriculum standards and the common core
standards