Introducing the Common Core for Parents

Modified from a presentation by Achieve.org

Common Core Across the Nation

What are the Common Core State Standards? The Common Core State Standards set grade-by-grade learning expectations for students in grades K-12 for Mathematics and for English Language Arts and Literacy.

While states have had standards for more than 15 years, this set of standards is more focused on preparing students for success in college and career. They set clear, consistent and high learning goals.

Common Core: It Takes All of Us!

School Districts and Administrators Teachers Parents Community members Colleges and universities

The Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland PTA 2013 Common Core State Standards Public Forums October 1 Charles Herbert Flowers High School 10001 Ardwick-Ardmore Rd., Springdale, MD 20774 7:00-8:30 PM
Highlights of the evenings include

* Your chance to get answers to Common Core questions

* Remarks from Dr. Lillian Lowery, State Superintendent of Schools, and Ray

Leone, Maryland PTA President

* A teachers perspective on Marylands new academic standards .
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What Should I Expect with CCSS?

More time to focus on preparing students for college and career readiness. - Students need to know how to think critically. - Students need to know how to analyze information. - Students need to know how to solve problems.
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The Shifts in ELA/Literacy

1. Building knowledge through content-rich

nonfiction

2. Reading, writing and speaking grounded in

evidence from text, both literary and informational

3. Regular practice with complex text and its

academic language

How can you help your child in literacy?

-Ask your child specific questions about what they read. -Encourage children to read, then write and speak about, nonfiction text such as newspapers, magazines, and biographies. -Encourage children to research topics of interest and read series that relate to a central topic. -Have your child follow step by step instructions or a set of directions in order to accomplish a task, such as building a sandcastle or operating a game.

Web-based Activities to Reinforce ELA Skills

Common Core Book Lists and Nonfiction Text Types | Scholastic Inc. http://www.scholastic.com/commoncore/common-core-book-listnonfiction.htm K12 Reader Instruction Resources for Teachers and Parents www.k12reader.com ReadWorks Reading Comprehension Passages and Question Sets http://www.readworks.org/ The Reading Educator Families Reading Together http://www.readingeducator.com/family/index.htm English for Everyone http://englishforeveryone.org/ Guide to Grammar and Writing http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm A Writers Guide to Sentence Sense Online Textbook http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/sensen/index.html
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The Shifts in Mathematics 1. Focus: Focus strongly where the standards focus 2. Coherence: Think across grades, and link to major topics

3. Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with equal intensity

How can you help your child in math?

-Help children practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.

-Encourage children not to give up while solving problems, to build stamina and develop their critical thinking skills. Dont give them the answers - ask them to think of different ways they can solve problems.
-Have children illustrate the math they were thinking in their head and discuss it out loud. -Have children apply their math knowledge to a real-world scenario at home, such as doubling a recipe or calculating the area of a room.

Web-based Activities to Reinforce Math Skills

Homeschool Math http://www.homeschoolmath.net/curriculum_reviews/scope_se quence.php Scope and Sequence Chart of what is taught and when. Includes links to online videos, lesson plans, guides and worksheets. Math Play - Free Online Math Games http://www.math-play.com/ Online learning games organized by grade level. Helping with Math http://www.helpingwithmath.com/ Easy to Use Practice Activities organized by subject, standard, grade level and state curriculum.

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Web-based Activities Across Content Areas

Scholastic Parents - Teachable Moments Videos http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtCDOmMCDvapsNVMF2JE0wx9x4PCUs6 Qj&feature=mh_lolz Examples of making learning in everyday experiences. The Inquiry Page http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/index.html Resources to support inquiry based learning through questioning. Thinkfinity http://www.thinkfinity.org/community/thinkfinity-resources Find Resources in all content areas by key word, grade level and standard search. Internet4Classrooms http://www.internet4classrooms.com/common_core/index.htm Print the I CAN Statements and Practice CCSS Assessment Tasks Teacher Created Webpage with Downloadable Resources https://sites.google.com/a/printworksheetsfree.com/printworksheetsfree/ Sample Common Core Resources | TIME For Kids http://www.timeforkids.com/minisite/sample-common-core-resources
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Additional Resources
Council of the Great City Schools Parent Roadmaps: Math http://www.cgcs.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=244 ELA / Literacy http://www.cgcs.org/Page/328 National Parent Teachers Association (PTA)
http://pta.org/parents/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2583

Achieve the Core www.achievethecore.org Common Core State Standards Text Exemplars http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_B.pdf
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Links to Downloadable Documents

Top 10 Things Parents Need to Know about the Common Core http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/Audiences/Parents/ind ex.html Engage NY Parent Resource Page Parent and Family Resources | EngageNY
Toolkit provides guides, how to help, educational activities and videos

the Common Core Practical Blog http://commoncorestandards.com/

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