Sam Caudill April 14, 2013 Nine Ways the Common Core Will Change Classroom Practice

Rothman, Robert. "Nine Ways the Common Core Will Change Classroom Practice." Harvard Education Letter 28.4 (2012): 1-2. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/543>.

In the article, the author, Robert Rothman, elaborates on nine different changes Common Core standards will produce in the classroom. Four changes are categorized under the Mathematic topic and the other four are under the English/ Language Arts. For Mathematics, the four changes are Greater Focus, Coherence, Skills, Understanding, and Application, and Emphasis on Practices. Greater Focus is detailed by focusing on fewer topics and going in-depth into these fewer topics. Coherence describes involving new topics from grade to grade. Skills, Understanding, and Application describe applying all knowledge to solve problems. Emphasis on Practices briefly tells about the eight criteria for math practices then proceed to describe the importance of having opportunities to learn. For English, the four results are More Nonfiction, Focus on Evidence, Staircase of Text Complexity, Speaking and Listening, and Literacy in the Content Areas. More Nonfiction describes the need for more non-fiction pieces of writing in schools. Focus on Evidence involves using examples from the text to exemplify an individuals understanding. Staircase of Text Complexity involves reading increasing difficult texts to reach a level of complexity resulting in better preparedness for college. Speaking and Listening describes making

teachers engage their class in group discussions to stimulate their speaking and listening skills. Literacy in the Content Areas describes that the Standard will allow students to judge credibility based on text. The author wants to show these nine results as noticeable under the implication of the Common Core Standards. He portrays these results as beneficial and an improvement to the education system. He provides in-depth information on the nine changes each under their respected category, Math and English. He lists the changes then talks about what the Common Core Standard will do to result in the changes. This strengthens his article because he provides detailed information about two categories and then connects them together through how the Common Core Standard will carry out the changes This article will help me understand the implication of the Common Core Standard. It will allow me to be more detailed when talking about some of changes resulting from the Common Core Standard. The Common Core Standards are intended to focus on fewer topics and address them in greater depth.- (Rothman) Students will need to know procedures fluently, develop a deep conceptual understanding, and be able to apply their knowledge to solve problems.- (Rothman) Students will be expected to use evidence to demonstrate their comprehension of texts- (Rothman)

Pros and Cons of the Common Core Standard

Meador, Derrick. "Pros and Cons of the Common Core Standards." About.com Guide. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://teaching.about.com/od/assess/f/What-Are-Some-Pros-AndCons-Of-The-Common-Core-Standards.htm>.

The author, Derrick Meador, describes some of the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards. He provides ten reasons for the pro side of the article and ten for the con side of the article. The main points are the Common Core Standards are going to be compared internationally with other countries education systems. Common Core intends to increase the difficulty of work in the classroom resulting in better, more intellectual students. Common Core will allow states to compare test scores accurately since all tests will become standardized. Test development, scoring, and reporting costs will decrease since everyones test will be the same. Also, since these test are the same it will benefit students who are constantly on the move. Teachers will also benefit from the standard because being on the same curriculum will allow for better teacher collaboration. Unfortunately, the new standards will make many books obsolete and make school buy new ones. It will also require an increase in spending to up the necessary technology for the assessments. Some reasons seem to be very vague. These reasons are listed briefly and only give a little description. Some of the reasons divulge more detail into what they will do and the reasoning behind it. He provides an adequate amount of information for the results of the Common Core Standards. The con side of the article covers the immediate

effects. Ultimately, this strengthens his argument because it provides an opposing side allowing for information to be collected from both sides of the argument. This article will help me understand a basic concept of the effects of the Common Core Standards. It will provide me with some useful reasons, both positive and negative, to use for my inquiry topic. It provides me with a brief look into possible negative effects of the Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards will enhance teacher collaboration and professional development. Teachers across the nation will be teaching the same curriculum.- (Meador) Standards will cost schools money to update the technology needed for the assessmentsThis will create many districts issues in that they will not have enough computers for all students to be assessed in a timely manner.- (Meador) The Common Core Standards will lead to the development of higher level thinking skills in our students.- (Meador)

Common Core State Standards

"Introduction Mathematics-Common Core State Standards." LearnNC. UNC School of Education, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ccss2010mathematics?p=3>.

This article discusses eight Standards for Math. These Standards set the boundaries for what students should be able to comprehend and exercises performed in math. They set goals but do not set a curriculum or teaching methods to achieve them. They all describe what a math proficient student should be able to do. The first of the eight Standards is Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. In this Standard, mathematically proficient students should be able to explain the meaning of the problem, evaluate their work progress, and check their work by using a different equation. The next standard is Reason abstractly and quantitatively; students should be able to understand their data and their relationships in problem at hand. Next, Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others involves students being to use and understand definitions and previously established results in their own argument construction. Next, Model with mathematics involves students having the ability to apply their knowledge of math in solving problems that may arise in their everyday life. Next, Use appropriate tools strategically describes students being able to successfully use the tools available to them. These tools could include a ruler, protractor, and calculator, ect. Next, Attend to precision involves a student being able to calculate numerical values to the degree of precision appropriate for the problem they are working.

Next, Look for and make use of structure describes student having the ability to notice patterns in equations. Lastly, Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning involves a student maintaining their overall view of a problem while still noticing essential details. The article provides a clear and constant view of the Common Core Standards for Mathematics. The author provides a brief overview of what the Standards do. Then, he proceeds to talk about the eight Math Standards in great detail. The amount of detail used is enough to acquire useful information and quotable lines from. At the end, he establishes a connection between the eight Standards. This strengthens the article because it connects all eight standards back to the Math section. Through the connection, the reader is able to understand Common Core reform for the math section. The overview of what the standards do is beneficial to me to a certain degree. It could be useful if I need to provide a quick overview. The eight Math Standards will be used extensively in my own work. I plan to elaborate on each of the eight and connect them to other similar aspects of Common Core. It is a very good source for the quotes and useable information. I plan to at least try to put all eight standards in my paper in a successful way. The Standards for Mathematical Content are a balanced combination of procedure and understanding (LearnNC) These Standards define what students should understand and be able to do in their study of mathematics (LearnNC) Older students might, depending on the context of the problem, transform algebraic expressions or change the viewing window on their graphing calculator

to get the information they need. Mathematically proficient students can explain correspondences between equations, verbal descriptions, tables, and graphs or draw diagrams of important features and relationships, graph data, and search for regularity or trends. (LearnNC)

English Language Arts Standards

"English Language Arts Standards." LearnNC. UNC School Of Education, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2013. <http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/ccss2010-english>.

This article provides an overview of the English/ Language Arts Standards set by the Common Core State Standards. The article begins by introducing where the concepts of the Standards came from and what is the emphasis of the standards. Then it proceeds to the goals of the standards and the ability students will have. According to this article, the goal of this standard is to ensure that all students are college and career ready in literacy when graduating high school. The standards mention a number of abilities a literate student should have acquired when they graduate. A student should be able to read attentively and enjoy literatures that are complex and challenging. They should have the ability to find the necessary sources for research within the vast amount of information online and offline. They pursue engagement that require with high-quality literary skills. These engagements are expects to expand the students own knowledge, experience, and perception of the world. A student should be able to use reasoning and provide evidence to support his claim in order to settle situations that may arise. It was factual information about the Common Core English/ Language Arts Standards. The author presented the information in an appropriate format. It was wellorganized and provided enough information to be used in an inquiry paper. The information given allows the reader to understand the English/ Language Arts Standards of the Common Core reform.

This information found in this article will help me provide information about English/ Language Art standards. I already had an article about the Math state standards so by acquiring this it helps piece together the whole concept of Common Cores state standard. Unfortunately, this text makes me wonder how exactly they plan to achieve their goals for Literacy. As of now, every state is at a different level so it would seem that some state would require more time achieve the goals than others. States may incorporate these standards into their standards for those subjects or adopt them as content area literacy standards. (LearnNC) The Standards also lay out a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century. (LearnNC) The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy are the culmination of an extended, broad-based effort to ensure that all students are college and career ready in literacy no later than the end of high school. (LearnNC)

Understanding Common Core State Standards

Kendall, John. Understanding Common Core State Standards. Denver, CO: McRel, 2011. Print.

This book provides a detailed account of the Common Core State Standards. First, it provides the history of how the Common Core State Standards came to be and where its origins were. Next, it describes what the Standards consisted off in a basic summarized form. Then he proceed to talk about the Benefits and Concerns of the standards in detail. Lastly, he talks about preparing for the Common Core. The author describes the standards as being split into two separate sets of standards, Language & Literacy and Mathematics. The Language set is divided into four sections, Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language. According to the author, Mathematics is divided into two sections, Mathematical Practice and Mathematical Content. Mathematical Practice is divided even more into eight standards. For Benefits & Concerns, he talks about the positive effects such as having a greater pool of resources. Having a single standard will result in educators sharing their lesson plans in an attempt to decide which combination works best. By doing this, websites will appear where teachers can trade information thus expanding the resources. One Concerns he mentioned was does one lesson plan work for all students. Since America is a very diverse place with lots of different cultures and economic backgrounds, it would be hard to find a standard fits everybody. The authors writing was easy to comprehend and was straight to the point. In the book, in each chapter (Section) each of the particular examples he used are underlined and are elaborated on in their own paragraph. Also, It appears he takes an unbiased

opinion for the Common Core Standards. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, she talks about both benefits and concerns to the standards. This book has provided me with the most useable information of all the sources. The information within the book will provide me with the necessary information I need for my inquiry question. I will elaborate on what the Standards consisted off and Benefits & Concern as they are what most relate to my topic. I plan to expand the concept of What the standards look like thus inevitably talking about how they are going to change education. Also, I plan to elaborate on the positive and negative effects of the Standards by using examples found in Benefits and Concerns section of the book. Students must be able to recognize their future in the standards they master, especially when those standards are challenging- (Kendall) The essence of the Common Core initiative can be induced from its name. The nature of the core is of an essential, irreducible set of knowledge and skills, while common suggests a social contract and all that it implies: shared benefit and equitable treatment- (Kendall) Students are more likely to grasp a lesson objective that builds on their prior experience- (Kendall)