Author Archives: Aaron Grossman

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About Aaron Grossman

I am a 5th grade teacher at Roy Gomm Elementary in Reno, Nevada. I started working with elementary students as part of the Montana Reads program and AmeriCorps. In 2001, after graduating from the University of Montana and moving to Reno, Nevada, I student taught at Rita Cannan Elementary before receiving a 6th grade position at Veterans Elementary. I moved out of the classroom to be a Literacy Coordinator, then an Instructional Coach, and finally a School Improvement Program Coordinator. In 2011, I began working on the Nevada Academic Content Standards in the district’s Curriculum & Instruction Department. I returned to the classroom for the 2015-2016 school year to teach 4th grade at Huffaker Elementary. Before returning to the classroom, I helped develop the Core Task Project that has been featured by National Public Radio, the Gates Foundation, American Radio Works, Eduwonk, the Fordham Institute, Vox, and the Center for American Progress. In 2014, I received the Leader to Learn From Award for my teacher-centered initiative and work to bring college, career, and civics ready outcomes into Northern Nevada classrooms (here). In 2015, I was appointed by Governor Sandoval serve on the Statewide RPDP Council. The same year, Nevada’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Canavero placed me on the state’s State Improvement Team. This year I will be part of the National Council on Teacher Quality’s Teacher Advisory Group. I am Google Certified Educator and a Nevada Teacher Ambassador. I believe strongly that teaching content is teaching reading and I make sure my students have ample opportunities to work with social studies, history, science and art outcomes. I do what I can to blend the learning for my students and this blog is part of that effort. You can contact me at coretaskproject@gmail.com

Spanish Springs HS Students Explain SBAC and Field Testing

Students at Spanish Springs High School created a terrific video to explain the new Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia (SBAC) test. The video is clear and on point in helping all stakeholders understand the implications of SBAC and the field testing … Continue reading

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‘Deliberate ELA/Literacy Redundancies and Repetition’

The Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education has shared the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education report to help practitioners with CCR outcomes. Included in the report is a description of how the Common Core … Continue reading

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Additions to www.63000resources.com

A number of resources and materials have been added to http://www.63000resources.com. Like everything else at the site, the items are free and well aligned to the shifts and the Instructional Practice Guides. The “Year at a Glance” planning tool for … Continue reading

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Complex Text and Annotating with Technology

Tracy Watanabe has created a post describing strategies to help students navigate complex text. The post begins with an overview of text complexity followed by resources to scaffold students to successfully working with this outcome–with suggestions for integrating technology. She … Continue reading

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Performance Tasks, an Overview (samples linked)

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has produced a video tutorial describing Performance Tasks. A Performance Task “measures capabilities such as depth of understanding, research skills, and/or complex analysis with relevant evidence.” There will be one Performance Task per content area … Continue reading

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Writing Instruction and the Common Core

If you have questions about writing and the Common Core, the following LearnZillion webinar will help. Joey Hawkins, the founder of the Vermont Writing Collaborative and author of Writing For Understanding: Using Backward Design To Help All Students Write Effectively, … Continue reading

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Common Core ELA Shift Song

Shawn Leer, an Implementation Specialist in Area 5, has written and recorded the following song about the Common Core. Titled, “You Gotta”, Shawn has cleverly managed to describe the instructional shifts and the Instructional Practice Guides (IPG) in lyrical form. … Continue reading

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Nevada’s 5th Family Engagement in Education Summit

At Nevada’s 5th Family Engagement in Education Summit, teachers, school administrators, parents, elected officials and community members learned more about the Nevada Academic Content Standards (including the Common Core). Participants worked through a study from MetaMetrics, the instructional shifts, and … Continue reading

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Showcase Nevada Presentation Materials

At the 5th Annual Showcase Nevada—the Afterschool Experience, educators worked with the Instructional Practice Guides (IPG) to bridge their efforts with the Common Core State Standards. Personnel, from throughout the state, reviewed the instructional shifts and the IPGs and then applied … Continue reading

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Common Core Site Updated

If it has been some time since you visited http://www.corestandards.org, it is worth returning. The website has been revamped and now includes more targeted areas including a specific section for parents. Further, the site is more comprehensive with answers to … Continue reading

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