A Stakeholder’s Guide to Common Core

1. A Stakeholder’s Guide to Common Core 2013-2014 School Year

2. Who are Education Stakeholders? • Parents • Students • Employers • Community Members • Organizations • Churches

3. What Should Stakeholders Know? Introductory Video 3:11 45 states have adopted Common Core Common Core standards will prepare our children for the work expected of them in today’s colleges and jobs.

4. How Will the State Tests Change? The Focus on LEAP and iLEAP will shift to PARCC and the ACT!

5. How Will the State Tests Change? PARCC is an online test that will go “beyond the bubble” • PARCC: • Tasks will cover multiple standards at once. • Students will answer questions and construct diagrams on the computer. • PARCC Technology is designed to reduce “Process of Elimination” and “guessing” the right answer

6. Grade 3: Sample PARCC Item Notice that students must read an informational passage, then work with vocabulary from the reading! Click here for More Sample PARCC Items!

7. Middle School Math: Sample Item

8. Elementary Math: Sample Item

9. Elementary Math: Sample Item

10. Middle School ELA This is a 7th Grade item. Students will read an informational text about Amelia Earhart. Students must type an essay about Amelia Earhart using specific details from a biography about the challenges Earhart faced in her life.

11. Curriculum Shifts: What Will Schools be Doing?

12. Reading Old Curriculum Common Core Students will read more nonfiction texts: History/Social Studies, Science &The Arts. Teachers will ask questions that require students to give details from texts they have read carefully. • Focused on reading literature, especially fiction. • Teachers asked students questions about texts that they could answer from their background knowledge.

13. Writing Old Curriculum Common Core Focuses on teaching students to write detailed answers using evidence from their reading of nonfiction texts. Students will be expected to learn challenging vocabulary. Students will be expected to write in response to complex texts. • Focused on teaching students to write stories about themselves, their opinions, or descriptions of places/events. These are skills identified as critical by most U. S. colleges and fortune 500 companies!

14. Math Old Curriculum Common Core Teachers and students will focus deeply on fewer topics. Math topics will build on each other year after year. Math topics will connect to each other and apply to the real world. • Teachers and students “raced” through to cover as many math topics in nine months as possible. • Math topics taught in one year did not always “connect” to each other.

15. 10 Ways to Support A Child’s Success in Common Core • Find out the requirements for the next level of a child’s schooling (middle, high, college). Find out the GPA and test achievement levels needed. • Parents, stay on top of how your child is performing in class via Home Access Center. • Get a game plan together early in the school yearif a child starts to struggle with Common Core standards. Set a schedule for homework, study, and tutoring. • Make contact with classroom teacher(s). Be sure to attend open house and parent conferences! 5. Be aware of the subjects and concepts children struggled with last year. Expect this year’s class work, homework, and tests to get tougher!

16. 10 Ways to Support A Child’s Success in Common Core 6. Not all children like to read and write. Remind kids that “Language is Power”. Have a plan to motivate students and be sure to mix up the rewards and praise for progress! 7. Children should be reading at home nightly, Encourage reading time during weekend/after school programs. 8. Provide more challenging books for kids especially on Science and Social Studies topics. 9. Ask questions “How do you know? What evidence have you read?” 10. Help students learn basic math facts. This is often boring, so look for ways to turn fact practice into a game!

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