Maryland School Library Media State Curriculum and Connections to the Common Core

1. Maryland School Library Media State Curriculum and Connections to the Common Core MASL Conference – October 15, 2010 Maryland State Department of Education Instructional Technology and School Library Media Program Division of Instruction

2. What is the Common Core? • The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. • Initially English Language Arts and Math – Kindergarten to Grade 12 and back mapped from Career and College Readiness Standards. These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. • The standards: • Are aligned with college and work expectations; • Are clear, understandable and consistent • Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills; • Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards; • Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and • Are evidence-based.

3. Why Now? / Importance? • Disparate standards across states • Student mobility • Global competition • Today’s jobs require different skills • Prepares students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and work • Ensures consistent expectations regardless of a student’s zip code • Provides educators, parents, and students with clear, focused guideposts

4. Maryland and Other States • 48 states, the District of Columbia, and two territories have signed on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative • State adopts 100% of the common core K-12 standards in ELA and mathematics (word for word), with option of adding up to an additional 15% of standards on top of the core. • A state will have adopted when the standards authorizing body within the state has taken formal action to adopt and implement the common core. • States are responsible for demonstrating that they have adhered to this definition of adoption. • Sharing in consortium development of Assessments – no single nationwide assessment

5. Maryland and Other States • The Standards are not a curriculum. They are a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. Local teachers, principals, superintendents and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms.

6. School Libraries - Connections Research and media skills blended into the Standards as a whole To be ready for college, workforce training, and life in a technological society, students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, and report on information and ideas, to conduct original research in order to answer questions or solve problems, and to analyze and create a high volume and extensive range of print and nonprint texts in media forms old and new. The need to conduct research and to produce and consume media is embedded into every aspect of today’s curriculum. In like fashion, research and media skills and understandings are embedded throughout the Standards rather than treated in a separate section. Common Core State Standards for ENGLISH LANGUAGE ART S & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, Introduction. p.4

7. School Libraries - English Language Arts Connections Speaking and Listening • The standards require that students gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex information, ideas, and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media. Language • The standards expect that students will grow their vocabularies through a mix of conversations, direct instruction, and reading. The standards will help students determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their repertoire of words and phrases. Reading • Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective. Writing • Research—both short, focused projects (such as those commonly required in the workplace) and longer term in depth research —is emphasized throughout the standards but most prominently in the writing strand since a written analysis and presentation of findings is so often critical.

8. School Libraries - English Language Arts Connections Media and Technology • Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty-first century, skills related to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are integrated throughout the standards. Language • The standards help prepare students for real life experience at college and in 21st century careers. The standards recognize that students must be able to use formal English in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed, skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language

9. School Libraries - English Language Art Connections • Gap Analysis – Summer 2010 – teams of teachers, R/LA specialists, curriculum writers, library media and technology specialists • Work focused on identifying connections – integration through online instructional toolkit targeting library media and technology skills w/ integration ideas for english language arts

10. School Library Media State Curriculum • Content Standard 4: Interpret Recorded Data/Information: Follow an inquiry process to interpret recorded data/information to create new understandings and knowledge related to the information need in an ethical manner. • Content Standard 5:Share Findings/Conclusions: Follow an inquiry process to share findings/conclusions in an appropriate format to support written, oral, and multimedia information products and evaluate the products and the processes in an ethical manner. • Content Standard 6: Appreciate Literature and Life-long Learning: Demonstrate an appreciation of literature and multimedia as a reflection of human experience and use the inquiry process for life-long learning. • Content Standard 1: Define and Refine Problem or Question: Follow an inquiry process to define a problem, formulate questions, and refine either or both to meet a personal and/or assigned information need. • Content Standard 2:Locate and Evaluate Resources and Sources: Follow an inquiry process to identify, locate, evaluate, and select resources and sources in a wide variety of formats to meet the information need in an ethical manner. • Content Standard 3:Find, Generate, Record, and Organize Data/Information: Follow an inquiry process to find, generate, record, and organize information relevant to the information need in an ethical manner.

13. For more information: • Common Core website: http://www.corestandards.org/ • CC English Language Arts Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards • Maryland and the Common Core http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/ccss/ • Maryland – Race to the Top http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/programs/race_to_the_top

14. For more information: • Jayne Moore – Director, Instructional Technology and School Library Media, MSDE jmoore@msde.state.md.us • Jay Bansbach – Program Specialist, School Libraries, MSDE jbansbach@msde.state.md.us