Common+Core+Weekly+Updates

Here you will find a list of links to documents and websites collected and sent to members of the JPS, SUCCESS, and NEATC Communities each week by Dr. Jeanne Glover.
__**November 26****,** **2012**__ **-** A list of sample math and ELA items to assess CCSS for literacy and math. Also includes a tool for analyzing students responses to the tasks. Go to this site: http://coreupgrades.weebly.com/assessment.html __**September** **5****,** **2012**__- PARCC has released sample item and task prototypes for ELA and math. Follow the link [] to view items and commentaries about each one. __**August 27, 2012**__ - Common Core "WORD WALL" If you've gotten rusty over the summer, or if you are new to our schools, here's a "word wall" to help guide your thinking: __**April 30, 2012**__ - PARCC released prelimiary technology requiresments for the 2014-2015 online testing of CCSS in literacy and math: 1. Hardware - 1GHz or faster processor, 1 GB RAM or greater memory, 9.5 inch or larger screen size, 1024 X 768 or better screen resolution 2. Operating System - Windows 7, MAC 10.7, Linux (Ubanta 11.10, Fedora 16), Chrome OS, Apple iOS, Android 4.0 3. Networking - wired or wireless internet connection 4. Device Type - desktops, laptops, netbooks (Windows, MAC, Chrome, Linux), thin client, tablets (ipad, WIndows, Android) that meet hardware, OS, and networking specifications. Tablet usage for testing may require use of an external keyboard. 5. Security - All devices must have the administrative tools and capabilities to "lock down" the device to disable features such as Web browser access, cameras, screen capture, email, instant messaging, Bluetooth connections, application switching and printing. The best source of information about technology and testing will be on the PARCC website: [] __**March 26, 2012**__-[|Dr. Tracy Tucker, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Arkansas Department of Education, clarified curriculum content standards for all subject areas.] __**March 12, 2012 -**__ Melinda Smith at HWES keeps up with what's happening with Next Generation Science Standards. 1. For an overview of how the NGSS are being developed see this website: [] 2. To read about the standards development process and watch a webinar about NGSS go here: [] 3. Once the standards are completed in the winter of 2012, they will be availabe at this website: [] 4. At the Achieve Next Generation Science website, get an overview of the science standards development as well as links to ten related scienc topics: [] 5. Next year in Arkansas, science curriculum will still be using student learning expectations from the Arkansas Science Curriculum Framework. __**February 28, 2012**__ **-** [|Educators in Search of Common Core Resources] This //Education Week// article mentions resources being developed by states (Ohio, New York, Kansas); professional organizations; publishers; CCSS authors. One especially helpful document mentioned in the article is Common Core State Standards: Implementation Tools and Resources, a 13 page document prepared by the Council of Chief State School Officers. __**February 21, 2012**__ - [|Connecting PLC's to CCSS] Chris Jakicic, //PLC at Work// author recommends that teams get started on this work now by focusing on four steps: 1. Review the structure of the new standards. The idea of College and Career Readiness is an important thread tying them together. 2. Become familiar with the Appendices for each set of standards - A, B, and C for ELA and A for Math. 3. Identify the essential (Jakicic calls them "power") standards for your grade or course. 4. Begin writing common formative assessments for some standards. Become confident writers of constructed response questions. __**February 14, 2012**__ - [|Achieve the Core] The website is assembled by Student Achievement Partners whose founding members include David Coleman and Jason Zimba, both contributing authors of the CCSS for literacy (Coleman) and math (ZImba). The site has three categories of tools: //Steal these tools// - free resources especially useful for implementation this year, //You've got to read this// - articles, sites and research you should not miss, //By teachers for teachers// - voices of educators doing the work of the Core __**February 7, 2012**__ - [|What Every Arkansas Educator Needs to know about Common Core State Standards//] __**January 24, 2012**__ -[|New York City's version of CCSS Performance Tasks for CCSS in Math and Literacy] Scroll down the page to see a chart of literacy and math units for Pre-K through high school algebra and geometry. The performance tasks for math and literacy are embedded in units. Click on the name of the unit to get a pdf file that contains the performance task. __**January 17, 2012**__ - [|Short, plain English summary of the goals of the math and literacy standards.] The article ends with some thought provoking questions about how these standards will be translated into a curriculum that engages students and teachers all over the country in the next few years. __**January 10, 2012**__ - [|What do the Common Core Standards Mean for Pre-K?] __**December 12, 2011**__ - //**Understanding the Common Core State Standards**// webinar recording. Three strategies for implementing CCSS include (1) analyze the "gaps" between your current curriculum and the CCSS, (2) develop ways to promote the deep understanding the CCSS require, (3) determine how to implement CCSS systematically. [|View a recording of the webinar]. __**December 8, 2011**__ - [|Arkansas Common Core Strategic Plan, Institutes, and Subject Areas Portal] __**November 29, 2**__**011** - Global competencies includes //investigating// the world, //recognizing// perspectives, //communicating// ideas, and //taking// action. [|Read how the global competencies are woven into the CCSS for literacy and math]. __**November 15, 2011**__ - [|Common Core app for ipod or ipad] __**November 1, 2011**__ - [|Next Generation Science Standards] __**October 26, 2011**__ - [|Five Myths about the Common Core Standards]Author Robert Rothman dispels msyths about the CCSS: Myth #1 The Common Core State Standards are a national curriculum. Myth #2 The Common Core State Standards are an Obama administration initiative. Myth #3 The Common Core standards represent a modest change from current practice. Myth #4 States cannot implement the Common Core standards in the current budget climate. Myth #5 The Common Core State Standards will transform schools. __**October 11, 2011**__ - [|Arkansas Department of Education]common core website. It's a one-stop information site with all the information the Department has collected about the common core. Be sure to check out the video link on the right hand side of the page. The video is a little over seven minutes long and provides a great explanation for why common standards are needed. __**September 27, 2011**__ - Hunt Institute Common Core Video Series Titles [|Hunt Institute Common Core Videos] __**Sept**____**ember 20, 2011**__ - Maryann Wiggs Tips for Lit and Math
 * __September 12, 2012__** - SAS (the statistical software company) has developed a set of resources for middle and high school science, math, English Language Arts, social studies, and Spanish. Point your browser to [] and look around. You can also subscribe and get a username and password. There are resouces for math, science, social studies, English Language Arts, and Spanish, and a new online Algebra 1 course created by SAS (it's free) correlated to CCSS.
 * CCSS** - Common Core State Standards - student learning expectations ("standards") for grades K-high school in literacy and math along with reading and writing standards for history/social studies, science and technical subjects for grades 6-12.
 * AR Frameworks** - still the content standards for all subjects except math and literacy. See above for reading and writing.
 * Implementation** - Arkansas has adopted CCSS and they are now implemented in grades K-8. Grades 9-12 implement next school year.
 * PARCC** - (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers). A consortium of 23 states developing assessments for CCSS. Assessments happen for real in the 2014-2015 school year.
 * Complexity** - Students need regular practice with complex texts and academic language.
 * Evidence** - Students read and write providing evidence from text, both literary and informational.Knowledge - Students build knowledge through content rich non-fiction.
 * Focus** - Math standards focus in on key content, skills, and practices at each grade.
 * Coherence** - Math content in the standards builds across grades, and major topics are linked within grades.
 * Rigor** - On key content in math, the standards highlight conceptual understanding, procedural skill, fluency, and application.
 * CCSS for Mathematics replace AR Frameworks for Math in grades K-8 in 2012-2013.
 * CCSS for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects replace Arkansas Frameworks in English Language Arts in grades K-8 in 2012-2013.
 * CCSS ELA standards //**do not**// replace the AR content frameworks for English Language Proficiency, Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Library Media, Physical Education and Health, Science, and Social Studies.
 * CCSS English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects //**do**// deal with the //**literacy skills and strategies students need to make sense of the content in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects**//.
 * Go to [] to view the reading and writing standards students need to know for these three subject areas in grades 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12. Arrow down to the bottom of the page.