Goldie--Chp+1+Demystifying+The+Common+Core+State+Standards

**STANDARDS** **English Language Arts Grades 6-8**
 * SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN A TIME OF CORE**

After reading this chapter, I thought that I should have read the CCSS because it keeps referring to different aspects of the document. Anyways, I am really anxious to see how the CCSS plays out when all 50 states have adopted the standards and how the media will report on its success or failure over time. Chapter 1 states, “CCSS [Common Core State Standards] focuses on student achievement rather than time spent in classroom or materials used. Also, proponents of these standards have different viewpoints on how the standards are to be used” (5). When I first read that last sentence, my first thought was “Huumm, various people came together to write a set of unified standards, but did not write a unified plan of some sort on how the standards should be used.” Just a thought. But as I read on I see that this book assumes that ELA teachers will use the standards to examine and improve the //what// and //how// of their instructions (6).
 * Chapter 1 Demystifying the Common Core State Standards**

There were other thoughts and questions I had before buying and reading this book. I wondered if there was going to be an assessment that correlated with the CCSS. Well, I found my answer on page 6. To paraphrase what the authors wrote, those new assessment tests that will accompany the CCSS will be ready in 2014. I can’t wait to see how the test scores will look as the new standards and their accompanying tests are finally united as one.

Speaking of standards and tests, I am hoping to find information in this book or another book that will discuss the professional development training on how the CCSS wants teachers to prepare students for taking the tests.

Continuing on, I will highlight some points that I find to be very interesting in terms of CCSS and literacy.
 * Grade 6 ELA standards address four basic strands—reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language (6).
 * **Implementation** of CCSS is an ongoing process (8).
 * **Relationship** between CCSS and states—can supplement the CCSS with up to 15 percent of state standards (8).
 * **Differences** between CCSS and state—CCSS is intended to be used by all states. CCSS includes literacy standards for history, science, social studies, and technical subjects in grades 6-12 (8).
 * CCSS will not create a **national curriculum** but will focus on results . . . what students should take away from schooling, but will stipulate that teachers should decide what to teach, how to teach it, and when and for how long to teach it. CCSS comes to that conclusion about teachers and teaching because it knows that the teachers are the ones who know the teaching environment (9).
 * CCSS do want the students to be able to read text/books that demonstrate //text complexity//. Definition page 10-“. . .//level of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, knowledge demands, word frequency, sentence length . . .”//


 * CCSS offers up some examples of books that demonstrate the text complexity, but leaves that choice up to the teacher to decide what is appropriate for their students.
 * Instructional shift—CCSS spell out what student will be expected to do rather than mandate how teachers should teach (17).