Understanding/Implementing CT Core Standards in the Classroom - SESS

General Overview of the Common Core State Standards

• Human Resources’ Role in the Successful Implementation of the Common Core State Standards (battelleforkids.org in partnership with the American Association of School Personnel Administrators)
• What are the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts? How are they different? (Common Core Illinois)
• What Makes Instruction Aligned - The Instructional Practice Guide suite of tools focus not on every pedagogical move in the classroom, but on the specific actions teachers and students take to address the Key Shifts required by the Standards. To understand aligned practice, you must first understand the Key Shifts. (achievethecore.org) 
• The Common Core Shifts—This video focuses on the Common Core shifts in mathematics  (achievethecore.org)   
• Parent FAQ Sheet—designed for use with parents to provide information about the Common Core  (achievethecore.org)

Common Core State Standards

ELA/Literacy

• Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (corestandards.org)
• Spanish Language Version of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/ Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects  (commoncore-espanol.com)
• ELA K-5 Standards Progression ( PCG in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education)
• ELA 6-12 Standards Progression  PCG in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education)
• Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards Glossary of Key Terms  (corestandards.org)
  • Information for Teachers About Text Complexity, pgs. 2-16
  • Reading Foundational Skills, pgs. 17-22 (Gr. K-5)
  • Writing—Definitions of the Standards’ Three Text Types: Argument, Informational/Explanatory, and Narrative, pgs. 23-25
  • Speaking and Listening: The Special Role of Speaking and Listening in K-5 Literacy, pgs. 26-27
  • Language Overview and Progression Across Grades, pgs. 28-31
  • Acquiring Vocabulary, pgs. 32-35
  • Glossary for Key Terms, pgs. 42-43
• Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks – Table of Contents (listed by grade level K-12), pgs. 4-13  (corestandards.org)
• Appendix C: Samples of Student Writing—Table of Contents (listed by grade level K-12), pgs. 3-4  (corestandards.org)

Mathematics

• Common Core State Standards for Mathematics K-12  (corestandards.org)
• Spanish Language Version of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (commoncore-espanol.com)
• Common Core Standards for Mathematics: Glossary of Terms Pgs. 85-90  (corestandards.org)
• Mathematics Content Emphases by Cluster (achievethecore.org)
• Mathematics Progressions Documents for the Common Core Math Standards (ime.math.arizona.edu)
• Mathematics K-2 Standards Progression (compiled by Dewey Gottlieb, Hawaii Department of Education)
• Mathematics 3-5 Standards Progression (compiled by Dewey Gottlieb, Hawaii Department of Education)
• Mathematics 6-8 Standards Progression (compiled by Dewey Gottlieb, Hawaii Department of Education)

Common Core Implementation for All Students

• Why Social and Emotional Learning is Essential for Students –Today's schools are increasingly multicultural and multilingual with students from diverse social and economic backgrounds. Educators and community agencies serve students with different motivation for engaging in learning, behaving positively, and performing academically. Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances students' ability to succeed in school, careers, and life. Read this article for tips to successful SEL. The article is co-authored by Roger Weissberg, Joseph A. Aurlak, Celene E. Domitrovich, and Thomas P. Gullota. (edutopia.org) 
• How Social-Emotional Learning Helps Children Succeed in School, the Workplace, and Life — Download the free book at this site. CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (casel.org) 
• English Learners Resources from the CT State Department of Education  
• Language Demands and Opportunities in Relation to Next Generation Science Standards for ELLS: What Teachers Need to Know – a paper by Helen Quinn, Stanford University Okhee Lee, New York University Guadalupe Valdés, Stanford University that highlights challenges and opportunities as English Language Learners engage with the Next Generation Science Standards. These new standards represent a major shift in science instruction, toward an explicit focus on scientific sense-making, language use, and scientific practices. (ell.stanford.edu) 
• An Innovative High School CCSS Lesson for ELLS: Letters from John Smith – This blog posted on colorincolorado.org by Diane Staehr Fenner describes some innovations that provide strategies for all teachers of ELLs. (colorincolorado.org) 
• Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for English Learners by Jennifer Himmel - This article provides an overview of how to use language objectives in content-area instruction for English learners and offers classroom-based examples from different grade and subject levels. (colorincolorado.org) 
• ELL Reading Tip Sheets- Colorín Colorado and the American Federation of Teachers have collaborated to develop tip sheets focused on reading instruction for educators of English language learners in grades 4-12. These tip sheets include information on what to do first, vocabulary instruction, and age-appropriate reading strategies. They are available in English and Spanish. (colorincolorado.org) 
• Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas: Supporting ELLs in Mathematics - The goal of these materials is to illustrate how Common Core aligned math tasks can be used to support math instruction and language development for ELLs at three grade spans (elementary, middle, and high school). The resource includes sample annotated math tasks that can be downloaded. 
• WordSift 2 is a tool designed to help teachers manage the demands of vocabulary and academic language in their text materials – as well to support English Language Learners. It easily sifts through texts to quickly identify important words. This function is widely available in various Tag Cloud programs on the web, but this particular tool has the added the ability to mark and sort different lists of words important to educators. (ell.stanford.edu) 
• Reading Tip Sheets for Parents – These one-page Reading Tip Sheets offer easy ways for parents to help kids become successful readers. Although these tips are divided by age, many of them can be used with children at various ages and stages — parents are encouraged to choose the ones that work best for their own child. On the website, the Tip Sheets are available in eleven languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Korean, Dine (Navajo), Russian, Tagalog, and Vietamese. (colorincolorado.org with support of the American Federation of Teachers) 
• ELL Early Literacy Instruction - Providing a solid foundation for literacy is critical for young children who are already bilingual or are learning a second language.  These resources provide guidance on how to build that foundation as well as guidance on using a child's native language as part of their literacy development. Information is available in Spanish as well. (Colorincolorado.org)
• NEA - How Educators Can Advocate for English Language Learners: ALL IN! 2015 Advocacy Guide (nea.org and colorincolorado.org)  
• Video: Teaching ELLs Literacy Through Creative Dance – ELL teachers, this activity is a great example of TPR (Total Physical Response) and how it can be used to help teach abstract concepts in literature. In this short video, high school students analyze literary elements of a poem in order to then create and perform dance movements that interpret its meaning. (teaching channel.org) 
• Using Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to Implement Common Core—This white paper encourages schools to embrace the needs of ALL students, and recommends implementing the standards within a framework of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that will help ensure that all students succeed.  (cgcs.org)
• Understanding Language—Language, Literacy, and the Content Areas--Teaching resources that exemplify quality instruction for ELLs across three content areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards. (Stanford University)    
• Common Core-Aligned Interventions for Adolescent Readers – This resource package is designed to help school leaders, instructional coaches, general education teachers, special education, and intervention teachers think and plan together about strategic ways to best use additional support time beyond the typical ELA block. The suggestions here could certainly be applied to all learners, but are targeted particularly for students who aren’t meeting grade level standards during a standard class period. Once you get to the linked site, you will need to scroll down to this resource.  (commoncoresuccess.elschools.org) 
• Common Core Perspective: The Positive Impact for Kids With LD (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
• The Center on Technology and Disability: This is a free, new resource for state and local education leaders that focuses on assistive and instructional technology and that supports learners with disabilities; it is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, OSEP. (ctdinstitute.org) 
• Understanding Accessibility in Digital Learning Materials: Simply Said --The National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials and PACER Center have released a video explaining Accessibility in Digital Learning Materials in easy to understand language. This fully-captioned video is designed to increase awareness of digital learning materials and how we can work together to increase the demand for accessible materials. (ctdinstitute.org/library)  
• CONNECTICUT SEED: Student and Educator Support Specialists Guidance Document - Speech/Language Pathologists (ctserc.org) 
• CCSS and Students with Hearing Loss Speech Language Pathologists  (asha.org)
• CCSS, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Occupational Therapists  (The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.)
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Common Core and Gifted Education  (nagc.org)
• Common Core Standards for English Language Learners (colorincolorado.org)
• English Language Proficiency Development Framework— This framework outlines the underlying English language practices and uses found in the CCSS and the NGSS; communicates to ELL stakeholders the language skills that all ELLs must acquire in order to successfully engage the CCSS and NGSS. (ccsso.org)
• The English Language Development Standards : The 2012 Amplification of the ELD Standards, Kindergarten through Grade 12 is available for free download on this website. (www.wida.us)