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

Six = Three: The Shifts Described Two Ways

When the Office of Academics shared the instructional shifts last October with K-8 principals, we used several items made available through EngageNY. EngageNY produced videos around the shifts that included interviews with lead ELA author David Coleman;  close reading exemplars; and … Continue reading

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Common Core “Bookmarks”

Macomb Intermediate School District, in Clinton Township Michigan, has posted “Bookmarks” that some of you might find helpful.  They have put all of the grade level standards on one half-page sheet so that teachers can quickly see what is expected … Continue reading

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ELA CCSS Progression View

North Carolina has put together an interactive resource that allows educators to see the progression of the K-12 CCSS. You can choose the strand and the grade range to focus on a specific set of outcomes. You can access here.

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Introduction to the Basal Alignment Project

The Council of Great City Schools has produced a video from the first Basal Alignment Project training. You can watch the video (here) and see first hand what was shared with state and district personnel that attended. For those who … Continue reading

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Brown Elementary Trains on the BAP Resources

Teachers from Brown Elementary were among the first to train on how to use the Basal Alignment Project resources. Click on the links below to access the materials that were included in the presentation. BAP Training PowerPoint Tomas and the … Continue reading

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SFA Aligns itself to the “instructional shifts”

Sad Sam sat. Sad Sam was happy. It was Ms. Tad’s birthday. If those sentences mean anything to you, then you were likely a Success For All teacher at some point. Thus, you may find it interesting to read that SFA has … Continue reading

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Washoe Educators Participate in the BAP

Last spring elementary school teachers, Implementation Specialists, and staff within the Office of Academics, worked through a process to more closely align the Houghton Mifflin Reading materials to the Common Core State Standards. A specific writing protocol was followed, developed … Continue reading

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Differentiation and the “instructional shifts”

If you are someone who has been trying to make the connection between differentiation and the Common Core, you may want to take the time to watch the following webinar by with Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson (here). If you don’t … Continue reading

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David Liben’s Keynote Address before the VSC

David Liben, in a keynote address (here) before the Vermont State Colleges (VSC), addresses a number of key parts of the Common Core including the history of the CCSS, the research on which it is based, and the importance of … Continue reading

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The Libens are Coming!

Mark your calendars, the Libens are coming. They will be presenting before Washoe educators on August 20th and to Striving Readers sites on August 21st. Workshop participants will build on the learning from the February 2012 visit by David and … Continue reading

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