This document is based on an analysis that determined the sub-skills students need to achieve in each of the Foundational Skills (K–5) in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). It contains five sections, each targeting one grade level in: Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition, and Fluency. It also includes instructional examples aligned to the sub-skills, giving teachers samples of activity types that facilitate acquisition of the sub-skills. Each chart includes up to three grade levels to inform instruction for students who are either struggling and need extra support or intervention, or for students performing above grade-level expectations and require enrichment, to allow a teacher to see which skills should have been mastered in the previous year and what students are preparing for in the upcoming years.

"The Civil War in Art: Teaching and Learning through Chicago Collections" is intended to help teachers and students learn about the Civil War—its causes and effects—and connect to the issues, events, and people of the era through works of art.

Web resource explores the Civil War through over 120 zoomable images from Chicago collections, with text and questions for students. The site presents essays about: The Civil War and American visual culture, the causes of the war, the military experience, emancipation and the meaning of freedom, the northern homefront, Lincoln, and remembering the war.

Other resources include classroom projects for teacher use, an in-depth glossary of art and historical terms, and links to additional Civil War resources.

This 14-minute video for educators introduces working with Common Core standards for English and math. How will teaching to the Common Core affect teaching practice in the classroom? Teachers and Principals discuss the opportunities Common Core offers to their students and to their own focus and teaching practice.

This 14-minute video lesson for high school educators introduces working with Common Core Standards. How will teaching to the Common Core affect teaching practice in the classroom? How can teachers help students learn to apply math and think about problem solving outside the math classroom? What does an emphasis on “depth” look like in practice? How can teachers make adapting to the Common Core a reflection point in their own practice? Teachers and principals discuss the opportunities Common Core offers for their students and for their own focus and teaching practice.

This 14-minute video lesson for middle school educators introduces working with Common Core State Standards. How will teaching to the Common Core affect teaching practice in the classroom? See how Common Core has affected teaching and learning at two pilot schools where they have already been adapted. Does the dialogue in the pilot school math classroom sound like your classroom now? What has the culture shift been like for teachers and students? How will the shift in emphasis on non-fiction reading and expository and persuasive writing benefit students? Teachers and principals discuss the opportunities Common Core offers for their students and for their own focus and teaching practice.

This is my tutorial and presentation on Scratch, a multidisciplinary tool through which students grades 3-11 can design interactive stories, games, and animations.

This is a unit plan frame for the text I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and "Letters from a Birmingham Jail." It is designed to address the Common Core standards grade band 11-12 and inlcudes suggested activities, supplemental texts, and assessment ideas.

This 1-2 hour module provides participants with an introduction to the key shifts required by the Common Core State Standards for ELA / Literacy.

This 1-2 hour module provides an introduction to the key shifts required by the CCSS for Literacy in the content areas: history / social studies, science, and technical subjects.

Key Design Principles for Teaching with the Open Access Common Core Collection for Mathematics and English Language Arts

This resource describes the guiding principles behind the Open Access Common Core Collection for Mathematics and ELA. Inspired by the latest research on student motivation and engagement, as well as teaching and learning, the key design principles support student mastery of standards within the classroom.

This paper points out three different ways that language is involved in the standards: language requirements in the content standards, English language arts standards, and language-convention-specific standards. It calls for a thoughtful integration of these three dimensions.The authors also frame language in the context of the Common Core, focusing on what students can accomplish using language rather than on whether or how students use specific language features. This broader definition encourages the development of cognitive, linguistic, and affective strengths in ELLs and gives students the opportunity to take valuable actions toward academic success.

Rather than focusing exclusively on literacy skills, the Common Core State Standards set expectations for the complexity of texts students need to be able to read to be ready for college and careers.

This resource outlines three steps that will help teachers choose texts that are on grade level for the CCSS.

Keri McAllister uses technology, workstations, and a lot of choice to turn her students loose on a unit on poetry. In workstations students watch "poetry in motion" videos, create a podcast about their chosen poet, and post reflections on a chosen poem on their class blog.

This lesson will introduce students to postcolonial literature--the major players, unifying themes, and major debates surrounding the classification of this genre. It also contains links to readings, discussion questions, and a collaborative project aligned to multiple Common Core standards.

This paper opens a larger conversation about what must be done to realize opportunities presented by the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and the literacy standards in other subject areas. It emphasizes the simultaneous challenges and opportunities for ELLs.The paper emphasizes that texts are approached differently for different purposes. Students need opportunities to approach texts with these varied purposes in mind. It also highlights how ELLs may be well served by opportunities to explore and justify their own textual hypotheses, even if their initial interpretations diverge from those of the teacher.

In this strategy guide, you’ll learn about Partner Talk—a way to provide students with another learning opportunity to make learning their own through collaboration and discussion. Partner Talk can be used for assessing classwork, making connections to prior knowledge, discussing vocabulary, or simplifying concepts.

One of the main goals of the English Language Arts Common Core Standards is to build natural collaboration and discussion strategies within students, helping to prepare them for higher levels of education and collaboration in the workforce. In today’s classrooms, students are using complex texts and are being asked to use a variety of strategies and provide evidence-based responses. Partner Talk is a best practice that gives students an active role in their learning and scaffold the experience for students.

This module is suitable for K-12 ELA / Literacy instructors, as well as teachers of history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

Through close examination of the Publishers’ Criteria in ELA / Literacy for Grades 3-12, this 1-2 hour module intends to give teachers and administrators a deeper understanding of the Standards and their implication for instructional resources. This information will help educators judge classroom materials and reflect on the appropriate use of existing resources and strategies.

This paper addresses the implications, for ELLs, of the new standard's requirement that students be able to read and understand complex, informationally dense texts. The authors discuss the types of supports that learners need in order to work with complex texts. They also provide a sample of what academic discourse involves, using an excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail. They demonstrate how English learners can be provided with strategies for accessing complex texts, such as closely examining one sentence at a time. The authors argue that instruction must go beyond vocabulary and should begin with an examination of our beliefs about language, literacy and learning.