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

Using NGSS for Students’ Deeper Understanding

Dr. Terry K. Talley, of Rice University, is offering a free course on the Next Generation Science Standards through the Coursera platform. From the overview: This course is designed to guide science educators towards an understanding of the NRC Framework … Continue reading

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Social Studies Close Read Exemplars Get a New Link!

Periodically, Edmodo switches things up and the links to the social studies close reading exemplars change. If you have been struggling accessing, a) it’s not our fault –at least we don’t think it is and b) you can now use … Continue reading

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Broad Knowledge Drives Literacy

In a piece (here) included in the The Herff Jones Achievement Series, the case is made for how a “broad academic knowledge base” leads to strong literacy development. To make the point, the following example is shared: If a hunter … Continue reading

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UNR Students Explore the Instructional Shifts and IPGs

Students at the University of Nevada, Reno explored content, matched to the Common Core, in order to develop an understanding of the “role of the teacher in curriculum development and implementation.” Dr. Margaret Ferrara’s preservice teachers worked through David Coleman’s … Continue reading

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Social Emotional Learning

In a TEDx speech shared at the University of Nevada, Reno, Trish Shaffer describes the importance and value of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Shaffer highlights studies that demonstrate the academic value of using SEL strategies in the classroom. Shaffer argues … Continue reading

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CCSS and Skills Based Reading Instruction

As we move deeper into Common Core implementation, knowing the position of skills instruction and how to build a “coherent body of knowledge” becomes paramount. This was the focus of Friday’s professional learning with video from Dr. Tim Shanahan and … Continue reading

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Valuing the ‘Non-Cognitive Dimensions’ of Students

In January, College Board President David Coleman shared a vision for making sure more low-income students are allowed to take part in higher education. The video is linked here and you can hear Coleman outline this effort as part of … Continue reading

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Our New Site: www.63000resources.com

A popular request from teachers and admin is to organize all of the literacy resources that are included in Core Task Project, professional development trainings and blog postings. We’ve done this and they can be found at www.63000resources.com. Educators will find … Continue reading

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New Close Reading Exemplar: We are the Ship

Cathy Schmidt, Elementary Training Coordinator with Striving Readers, has written the following close reading exemplar for an excerpt from Kadir Nelson’s book, “We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.” We currently have the exemplar tagged to the … Continue reading

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Common Core Exemplar Videos and Free Lesson Plans

Washoe County School District teachers Loree Gerboth and Sara Holm were filmed for a project developed by America Achieves with videos being created to provide examples of what Common Core looks like in the classroom. The videos by Gerboth and … Continue reading

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