So Why Common Core?

1. Reading and Writing The Common Core Way in grades 6-12Presented by Marcia BaxterSouth Carolina Virtual Charter Schoolmbaxter@scvcs.org

2. So Why Common Core? • the United States is in 14th place • 25 years ago 95% of jobs required low skills • today low-skills jobs constitute only 10% • During 1997-2002 the amount of new information produced in the world was equal to the amount produced over the entire previous history of the world.

3. The Beauty of the Standards • focus on student achievement • common to all states participating (46) • based on college and career readiness • address 4 basic strands: • reading • writing • speaking and listening • language

4. Anchor Standards • 10 anchor standards in Reading • 10 anchor standards in Writing • 6 anchor standards in Speaking and Listening • 6 anchor standards in Language These are the same in grades K-12

5. So what changes? • text types • purposes • text complexity • rigor • equal weight on reading and writing Growth takes time; it can’t be the job of any one teacher to be sure students reach the expectations for that grade level.

6. emphasis on students learning to read and • write complex texts independently at high • levels of proficiency and at a rapid rate to be • effective • literacy is EVERYONE’S work • every state on same measuring stick • what all students should know… • NOT ABOUT “HOW” TEACHERS SHOULD TEACH

7. Instructional Shifts • focus more on informational texts • text complexity three point model: qualitative quantitative reader and task considerations

8. Shifts…cont’d • citing evidence • reading/writing integration • authentic(engagements and texts) • inquiry based

9. College/Career Ready Students • demonstrate independence • build strong content knowledge • respond to the demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline • comprehend and critique • value evidence • use technology and digital media strategically and capably • understand other perspectives and cultures

10. Argumentative Writing • begins in grade 6 (persuasion/opinion K-5) • must be taught • often requires research • citing evidence to back claim

11. takes several forms: • writing in response to literature • argumentative essay • editorial • business letter • speech • website review • formal proposal

12. Writing in response to literature • a book review -begins with a thesis statement… that encourages others to read the book is a personal reflection shares an opinion looking at parts of the work, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to the whole.

13. Writing in response to literature • literary analysis -starts out with a summary of what the writer read -gives a brief description of the main ideas of the plot and important characters -includes a claim-which states the writer’s opinion of the story -details support the claim -an interpretation of the literature

14. Argumentative Essay • in 6th grade it expresses a writer’s opinion and tries to convince readers to agree with the writer • it builds to claim/counter-claim • includes good reasoning and evidence • written to convince, to inform or to state a position

15. Editorial • expresses the author’s opinion • sometimes is problem-solution • often published in newspapers or magazines • organized in three parts • introduction-problem stated • body-presents one or more solutions • conclusion-calls to action

16. Editorial • often has counterclaims- There are two sides to every issue • evidence needs to address every side or viewpoint • should include details, facts, and examples to back up beliefs • builds credibility

17. Business Letter • a formal letter written to a person or company to express an opinion or convince the readers to consider that opinion • letter form has 6 parts: 1. heading 2. inside address 3. greeting 4. body 5. closing and 6. signature

18. Business Letter • not long-so must be organized and efficient • direct focus • formal language • evidence-supporting details

19. Speech • integrates with Speech and Listening standards • a spoken expression of a person’s opinion • tries to convince the audience to believe in or support a message or cause • begins with a claim or call to action-the purpose of the speech • must include evidence

20. Speech • must have a convincing tone-using strong, calm statements that rely on evidence rather than hype or loaded words • think about questions the audience would have and answer them in your speech • do not plagiarize-give credit for someone else’s thoughts and opinion or quotes used

21. Website Review • a report about a particular website • tells the reader how the website works, and it either recommends or discourages use of the site • organize using pros(good features) and cons(bad features) • start with a claim-acts as the main idea • includes details as evidence

22. Formal Proposal • science connection • used by researchers to convince committees to support their research • a formal offer to do or change something For example, you may write a proposal to conduct a special experiment or a research project, or conduct a fund raiser.

23. Formal Proposal • organized in three parts • introduction-presents the proposal or position and states the writer’s goal • body-provides details of the project and sometimes includes a timeline • conclusion-summarizes the project. • often uses heading and subheadings

24. In Conclusion • Think of the Common Core standards as a way to improve the quality of education that our students are receiving as we prepare them to meet the challenges of the 21st century.