Text Complexity and Emergent and Early Readers

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Are you curious about increasing rigor and text complexity for emergent and early readers? Core Shift Blast 6 offers some help in this area and includes field notes from Sun Valley kindergarten teacher Laurie Johns. Click here to read the blast and here to retrieve previous emails.

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6th Grade Teachers Train on Shift 1 and the BAP

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

On Election Day, 6th grade middle school teachers gathered to learn more about Shift 1—building a coherent body of knowledge—and the Basal Alignment Project.

The 6th grade BAP code for Edmodo is 4k33tz. If you are unfamiliar with Edmodo, you may want to use the directions document below. Other materials used are also linked.

10 Steps to Access BAP Materials on Edmodo

November 6th PowerPoint Presentation

Content Knowledge Graphic Organizer

First Lady of Flight BAP Rewrite

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The BAP in Boston Public Schools

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

The following post is written by Sandra Bergantz, a 5th grade teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Sandra worked in Washoe last year and attended the Title Core Task Project trainings in May. She is using the Basal Alignment Project (BAP) resources and the close reading strategy with her students at William Blackstone Elementary School.

The Common Core shift is well underway in Boston Public Schools and accompanying this shift is the Close Reading instructional approach. As a former teacher of the Washoe County School District, I had attended seminars regarding the close read approach, observed them in action and performed them myself.

Continue reading →

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North Carolina’s Live Binder

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

With some frequency, this blog links to resources developed by North Carolina. For example the Progression View (here), the ELA Text Exemplars document (here) and a letter from David Burleson (here) are all items that support the move to the CCSS.

North Caroline has compiled all of these materials and useful links in a LiveBinder (here.) You will find webinars, video, graphic organizers, lesson designs, and documents that support the “instructional shifts” and the implementation of the Common Core. Thanks North Carolina!

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New College Board Keynote Address

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

David Coleman gave his first public address as the new College Board President on October 26th (video link here). In the speech he outlines the “work worth doing” and the importance of focusing on “what matters most.” If you are interested in his vision for Advanced Placement and the role of the SAT, his speech may be of particular consequence.

At minute 25:50, Coleman describes the value of focusing on things done well and the work that matters most. He gives an autobiographical sketch at 35:50 and connects his educational history to his conclusion that if standards are too broad, assessment becomes superficial. “Work worth doing” is explored at minute 54:23 and Coleman argues that we should a) focus on what matters most b) make sure work is not narrow and includes all content areas and subject and c) is not for some but for all students.

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Common Core Champions Now Linked to Blog

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Washoe County recently identified 15 Common Core Champions. These are classroom teachers who are implementing the CCSS with an emphasis on what has to shift instructionally. You can contact them directly, through the frame at the top of this page “Core Champions,” to ask questions and learn from their experiences. Their willingness to challenge what they are doing instructionally is informing the work of the CTP and keeping the CTP grounded in authentic field experience.

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CTP Shared at San Francisco Bay Area CCSS Summit

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Contra Costa County Office of Education hosted the San Francisco Bay Area Common Core State Standards Summit. The conference, titled, “Next steps to the Common Core: Approaches to Implementation,” focused on critical topics related to the CCSS. You can click here and access presentation materials from key speakers Dr. Hung-Hsi Wu, Bill Honig, and Kathy Glass as well as resources shared during the CTP breakout sessions.

Continue reading →

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Urban Collaborative Learns about the CTP

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Washoe County was afforded the opportunity to share the Core Task Project with the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative in Pittsburg. The Collaborative’s fall 2012 conference focused on meeting the needs of diverse learners and “the challenges of the Common Core State Standards for Students with Disabilities.”

Continue reading →

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District Personnel Train on Shift 1

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Instructional coaches from throughout the district gathered to review the importance of building a coherent body of knowledge. Attendees watched the following review of the MetaMetrics study measuring what children read from high school to college to career (here). This was followed by watching Robert Pondiscio’s presentation describing the importance of building a content-rich curriculum (here and here).

Pondiscio Notetaker

Shift 1 Presentation PowerPoint

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Curious about the Next Generation Science Standards?

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Aaron Grossman

Stephen Pruitt, Vice President for Content Research and Development for Achieve, Inc. and a lead developer of the Next Generation Science Standards shares insights into these new outcomes at the NSTA conference in Indianapolis, Indiana (video link here). He emphasizes understanding over memorization (minute 16:25) and the importance of learning to think about the world (17:00).

At minute 17:33 he notes that these standards have to “coordinate” with the Common Core State Standards. That is, there is overlap between what is expected in CCSS and NGSS which leads to using time economically.

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