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

Engaging Students with Complex Text

Torrey Palmer shared Core Shift Blast number 5 today and you can download it here. The focus this week is on engaging students with complex text.  Practitioners, who have been using “Text Talk Time” in their classroom, may find the … Continue reading

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Free is Good

Recently EdWeek reported on large-scale efforts to create and organize Open Educational Resources aligned to the Common Core (here).  For example, the Utah State Office of Education has created textbooks from OERs for English language arts, math, and science.  In … Continue reading

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Text Complexity: 7 Actions to Take Right Now

Through the following webinar (here), Dr. Freddy Hiebert, researcher and member of the Common Core State Standards advisory committee, outlines seven actions educators can take to engage children with complex text. She draws the listeners’ attention to the consciousness of … Continue reading

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Bishop Manogue HS Trains on the CTP

Staff from Bishop Manogue gathered today to review the Close Reading Strategy via video and a Close Reading Exemplar. Below are the resources shared with this audience. CTP Manogue PowerPoint Coleman Describing the Close Reading Strategy Notetaker Grades 9-10 Exemplar … Continue reading

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A Primer on “Close Reading of a Text”

This week the Aspen Institute published “Implementing the Common Core State Standards: A Primer on ‘Close Reading of Text’” (here). Coauthored by Sheila Brown and Lee Kappes, the primer defines close reading, provides strategies for its implementation, and connects this … Continue reading

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Charlotte Danielson and the CCSS

In a keynote speech before NY Educators, Charlotte Danielson links the Common Core State Standards to the Danielson Framework for Teaching. She argues that we cannot know what content students will need to know in 25 years. Thus, we have … Continue reading

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CC Shifts in ELA

Rose Marsh posted the following video describing the six “instructional shifts.”  For Shift 3, text complexity, the narrator notes that educators, when working with students—especially students well behind in reading—will have to be prepared to chunk text and read “a … Continue reading

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Guidance for the ELA Common Core

The International Reading Association recently released a document entitled “Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards” (here). The document was created to contend with “confusion” and “conflicting messages” governing the implementation of the CCSS. Among the recommendations: … Continue reading

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Washoe Educators Finish Day 2 of the CTP-ESL Pilot

K-12 ESL teachers finished Day 2 of the CTP-ESL pilot. Their hard work is allowing Curriculum and Instruction to integrate WIDA into Core Task Project trainings. Further, they are identifying appropriate scaffolds to allow all learners to engage in the … Continue reading

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Common Core ‘Essentials’

David Burleson, superintendent in Newland, North Carolina, highlights key aspects of the Common Core for his constituents. Burleson notes that parents and students will see teachers emphasizing a) academic vocabulary b) the use of evidence to support responses and c) … Continue reading

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