One teacher documents her experience with deconstructing the CCSS and improved student learning by using "The Core Deconstructed" process.

1. From
Good
to
Amazing!
A
Teacher’s
Reflec8on
on
The
Core
Deconstructed
sheronbrownphd.com

2. The
Reflec8ve
Prac88oner:
Heather
Simson
Heather Simson is a
Middle School English/
Language Arts teacher in
the District of Columbia.
She has taught 9th grade
for five years and at this
time is preparing to teach
7th grade ELA/Literacy
courses. Heather has
served as a lead-teacher
and team coach. Her
peers admire her as a
dedicated professional
and a reflective
practitioner.
sheronbrownphd.com
Page
i

3. TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Prologue:
The
Project…………………….….….…3
How
Did
I
Begin?
…………..…….…………..……..5
My
Process
-­‐
Deconstruc8ng
the
Core
…….…………….…....7
What
Did
I
Discover?
………….…………..…….10
My
Most
Significant
Discovery
……….……..15
Epilogue:
The
Clarity
……..……………………...17
Appendix
A
–
My
Student’s
A-er
and
Before
(unedited)
Wri7ng…19
sheronbrownphd.com

4. Part
I
Prologue:
The
Project
sheronbrownphd.com

5. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
Over
the
past
few
months
I
embraced
the
task
of
reflec8ng
on
the
process
of
breaking
down
a
Common
Core
standard
for
my
9th
grade
Language
and
Composi8on
class.
A_er
reading
Dr.
Brown’s
book,
The
Core
Deconstructed,
I
felt
that
I
had
all
the
tools
I
needed
to
begin!
Page
4

6. Part
II
How
Did
I
Begin?
sheronbrownphd.com

7. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
I
chose
the
Common
Core
standard,
RL
9-­‐10.3
–
Analyze
how
complex
characters
develop
over
the
course
of
a
text,
interact
with
other
characters,
and
advance
the
plot
or
develop
the
theme
–
as
it
reoccurred
in
a
few
units
I
taught.
As
this
was
such
a
“packed”
standard,
breaking
it
down
was
a
bit
challenging
at
first.
However,
I
found
that
crea8ng
my
own
version
of
deconstruc8on
matrix
was
the
easiest
way
for
me
to
visualize
how
this
standard
could
be
broken
down
into
objec8ves
to
use
throughout
my
unit.
Page
6

8. Part
III
My
Process
sheronbrownphd.com

9. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
I
modeled
my
table
a_er
a
few
from
Dr.
Brown’s
book
by
placing
levels
of
knowledge
down
the
side
and
levels
of
learning
across
the
top.
From
there,
I
found
it
very
intui8ve
to
scaffold
objec8ves
that
I
derived
from
the
standard
that
built
upon
each
other
horizontally
across
the
matrix.
Once
this
was
done,
I
took
it
a
step
further
and
numbered
each
box
on
the
matrix
with
the
idea
that
this
would
make
targeted
instruc3on
for
small
groups
easier
to
illustrate
in
my
lesson
plans
(i.e.:
HB
and
ME
work
on
cell#6,
MT
and
MG
work
on
cell#9,
etc.)
This
also
made
it
very
easy
to
track
student
progress
towards
mastery
of
this
standard
over
the
course
of
a
unit.
Page
8

10. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
Addi8onally,
I
used
the
Objec8ve
Builder
and
Dr.
Brown’s
sample
objec8ves
in
her
book
to
categorize
appropriate
thinking
skills
with
Bloom’s
cogni8ve
labels
in
order
to
make
the
process
of
deconstruc8ng
future
standards
quicker.
This
would
make
targeted
instruc8on
for
small
groups
easier
to
illustrate
in
my
lesson
plans.
“Page
9

11. Part
IV
What
Did
I
Discover?
sheronbrownphd.com

12. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
Overall,
I
found
that
this
system
makes
it
easier
for
teachers
to
see
the
big
picture
and
build
towards
the
Prac33oner/Expert
level
over
the
course
of
a
few
lessons
rather
than
overwhelm
students
or
uninten8onally
ins8ll
a
sense
of
defeat
in
them
if
an
objec8ve
were
not
met
in
by
the
end
of
a
class
.
Since
my
deconstruc8on
matrix
is
now
a
so_
copy,
over
8me
I
can
link
websites
with
enrichment
or
re-­‐teaching
exercises,
online
games,
web-­‐based
assessments
or
supplemental
texts
to
each
cell
in
the
matrix.
This
will
enhance
my
ability
to
more
effec8vely
target
instruc8on
in
my
diverse
classes.
The
beauty
of
this
system
is
that
each
teacher
can
tailor
the
results
of
the
process
to
their
own
teaching
style
and
the
needs
of
their
individual
students.
Page
11

13. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
This
visual
unit
plan,
as
I
call
it,
makes
it
easy
to
determine
which
objec8ves
can
be
taught
in
one
class
period
versus
those
that
should
be
ongoing.
This
helped
with
my
weekly
planning,
as
I
was
able
to
create
packets
for
my
students
with
scaffolded
lessons
and
resources
that
clearly
showed
progress
towards
a
final
performance
task.
(In
this
case
it
was
a
cri8cal
analysis
essay.)
Students
were
able
to
see
their
need
to
master
one
objec8ve
before
they
could
master
the
next
objec8ve
(which
all
fell
under
the
umbrella
of
one
CCSS).
Students
were
able
to
see
their
need
to
master
one
objec8ve
before
they
could
master
the
next
objec8ve
Page
12

14. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
For
example,
students
had
to
first
“recognize
themes
that
arise
throughout
a
text,”
then
“organize
rela7onship
between
themes
and
characters,”
before
they
could
“produce
a
thesis
on
the
connec7on
between
themes
and
characters.”
Na8onal
Center
for
Educa8on,
Profile
of
Teachers
in
the
U.S.
2011.
A
novice
teacher
might
not
necessarily
recognize
the
level
to
which
such
a
packed
standard
must
be
broken
down,
but
this
The
Core
Deconstructed
makes
the
process
very
intui8ve.
Page
13

15. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
Addi8onally,
being
able
to
pinpoint
exactly
where
students
are
struggling
in
the
process
of
mastering
a
standard
is
essen8al
not
only
for
a
data-­‐driven
school,
but
also
for
students.
Working
in
collabora8ve
groups
enabled
those
who
mastered
each
step
to
help
those
who
were
s8ll
working
toward
mastery.
It
also
led
to
great
reflec3ve
discussions
in
teacher-­‐
student
conferences,
as
students
were
able
to
see
their
progress
and
reflect
on
exactly
where
they
were
struggling.
Page
14

16. Part
V
My
Most
Significant
Discovery
sheronbrownphd.com

17. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
The
biggest
difference
I
have
seen
in
my
classrooms
is
in
the
area
of
metacogni8ve
knowledge.
Student
wri3ng
as
well
as
reflec3ve
thinking
was
much
more
detailed
and
students
demonstrated
more
investment
in
their
learning,
as
they
were
able
to
track
themselves
and
see
progress
on
very
specific
objec3ves
along
the
way.
(See
Appendix
A).
In
the
past,
I
thought
of
objec8ves
as
more
for
the
teacher
than
for
the
student,
but
this
process
has
made
me
see
the
importance
of
each
student
understanding
each
objec8ve
within
a
unit.
When
students
understood
and
tracked
their
progress
towards
mastering
each
objec3ve,
they
wanted
to
improve!
More
so,
they
were
able
to
see
how
all
of
their
work
from
the
unit
was
connected
and
scaffolded
which
made
lessons
much
more
engaging
as
they
saw
a
purpose
to
each
day.
Page
16

18. Part
VI
Epilogue:
The
Clarity
sheronbrownphd.com

19. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
The
clarity
I
received
from
breaking
down
this
single
standard
enabled
me
to
see
the
scope
of
my
unit
and
begged
the
ques8on,
“What
if
I
were
to
break
down
each
standard
of
this
unit,
not
just
one?”
Over
the
summer,
my
plan
is
to
create
a
deconstruc8on
matrix
that
encompasses
all
standards
for
a
unit
and
pull
scaffolded
objec8ves
to
teach
throughout
my
unit.
Page
18

20. FROM
GOOD
TO
AMAZING
Appendix
A:
My
Student’s
A?er
and
Before
(unedited)
WriCng
In
Student
A’s
essay
AFTER
going
through
The
Core
Deconstructed
process,
she
discussed
the
theme
of
different
rela8onships
in
life
that
significantly
impacted
an
individual’s
des8ny.
Here
she
discussed
an
individual’s
rela8onship
with
the
government
and
wrote:
“The government has control over individuals, but it’s
not strong enough to determine your destiny. Many
people think that the government controls them but in
reality, they make their own decisions without them
realizing. For example, in The House of the Spirits,
Pedro Tercero always made his own decision by
choosing his way instead of the governments’. In page
154 it says, “And so it was the one day Esteban Treuba,
who was resting on the terrace after lunch, heard the
boy singing about a bunch of hens who had organized
to defeat the fox.” This story, the fox and the hens,
represent those people who decided to make their own
decisions and go against the government, these people
don’t depend on the government at all and it doesn’t
influence their decisions or destiny.” !
Student
A’s
example
illustrated
a
clear
understanding
of
CCS:
RL
9-­‐10.3
-­‐
Analyze
how
complex
characters
develop
over
the
course
of
a
text,
interact
with
other
characters,
and
advance
the
plot
or
develop
the
theme.
Compara8vely,
the
same
student’s
essay
BEFORE
I
used
The
Core
Deconstructed
process,
showed
less
clear
thinking
and
explana8on:
“The Islamic Revolution affected Marjane as a female
in Iran. In the book Persepolis on page 3 panel 4 it
shows Marjane at a young age where she was forced to
wear a veil. It affected her as a girl because the veil
had to be worn by women all ages, whether they wanted
or not. Marjane was forced to wear something she did
not want to wear at a young age.” !
In
this
example,
there
was
no
explana8on
as
to
how
the
example
illustrated
the
theme
or
how
characters
interacted
with
each
other
to
develop
the
theme.
Page
19

21. It’s
Your
Turn!
Start
deconstruc8ng
with…
The
Core
Deconstructed:
How
to
Deconstruct
the
Common
Core
State
Standards
So
You
Can
Teach
Series
for
ELA/Literacy
for
Elementary
Prac7ce
Journal
ELA/Literacy
for
Middle
and
High
School
Prac7ce
Journal
“My
goal
is
to
see
1,000,000
empowered
educators
who
know
the
standards
in8mately,
collabora8ng
across
the
country
to
yield
the
true
success
for
students
we
all
know
is
possible
by
2015.
This
goal
can
only
be
accomplished
with
you.”
~Sheron
M.
Brown
Spread
the
word!
Share
“From
Good
to
Amazing”
with
your
colleagues
now.