Tuesday Tips and Tricks: Common Core

Common Core State Standards

What are they?  Where do they come from?  What does it mean?  These are the questions all of the NBE teachers had when we first heard about this new document.  The Common Core State Standards (or CCSS for short) are the new learning standards that the state of Illinois has adopted.  Before the CCSS, each state had their own learning standards and system for creating and assessing them.  In contrast to that, 45 states have adopted the same CCSS.  Before, each state decided the content they wanted their schoolchildren to learn and at what grade level.  The CCSS is the same for every state that adopts it.  Currently, 45 states have adopted the CCSS (all but Alaska, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Virginia).  The learning standards for children are the same in all 45 of these states.  You can move to New York or California or Florida or Montana tomorrow and your child will learn the same content and skills as he or she is learning at NBE.

The CCSS are more rigorous and advanced that Illinois' past standards.  They are also clearer, more concise, and straight-to-the-point.  These standards describe what students should be able to do at the end of the school year.  Students work all year towards meeting these standards.

  Some notable standards for 2nd grade include:

• W.2.6. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
• W.2.8. Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
• SL.2.3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
• 2.OA.2. Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.² By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers.
• 2.MD.7. Tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m.
• 2.MD.8. Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately. Example: If you have 2 dimes and 3 pennies, how many cents do you have?

During School Improvement Days and staff meetings, the teachers at NBE have started deconstructing these standards and making plans for how we will integrate them into our classrooms.  In addition, I have been studying these standards as part of my masters degree coursework. 

The ISAT and other state assessments will reflect the CCSS in the future.  Currently, Illinois estimates that new assessments specifically designed for the CCSS will be rolled out in 2014.  Nevertheless, the standards are in effect in our classrooms!

If you would like more information on the CCSS, two great resources are the Common Core State Standards Initiative website or the Illinois State Board of Education.  The actual standards are available on both of these websites.