Common Core Standards for English Language Arts K-5

In this lesson, you'll look at the Common Core Standards for writing. You'll explore the 10 anchor standards for writing and review how their broad goals are consistent throughout all grades—kindergarten through 12th grade. You'll look at how those broad goals are articulated for each specific K-5 grade level and also take a peek at the writing exemplars from the CCSS Appendix C. By the end of the lesson, you'll be prepared to study the Writing strand grade articulations that will be relevant to your own classroom!

In this lesson, you'll look at the Common Core Standards for Speaking and Listening. You'll learn how the speaking and listening anchor standards relate to comprehension, collaboration, and presentation of ideas. You'll also examine how these broad goals are articulated for each specific K-5 grade level. Afterwards, you'll go over a few tried-and-true techniques for maintaining control in a conversational classroom!

Here you'll explore the Common Core Standards for Language, the fourth and final ELA strand. You'll learn how these anchor standards relate to the conventions of standard English, how language functions in different contexts, and how young people acquire and use vocabulary. You'll also review how the broad goals of the anchor standards are articulated for each specific K-5 grade level. You'll look at some practical examples of classroom activities that encourage students to play with language and examine how "playing with language" helps students actually understand language!

In this lesson, you'll learn how each anchor standard and grade articulation is identified by a simple-to-understand abbreviation. You'll look at all four strands and discuss the many ways technology and literacy work together in the 21st-century classroom. You'll also be presented with lots of great web resources—for you, your students, and your students' families. Integrating technology into the classroom and curriculum can be a great way to reinforce literacy skills and improve learning!

In this lesson, you'll come to understand how integrated literacy, curricula, classroom lessons, and homework fit together to create a CCSS-aligned learning experience. The lesson will provide you with some strategies for integrating literacy across the curriculum, and then you'll look at some ways to bring homework back into the classroom! You'll also be given a tool for examining your school's curriculum to ensure that it's aligned with CCSS. By the end of this lesson, you'll have the tools and knowledge you need to create a 21st-century classroom.

This lesson discusses assessments. These are a significant concern for many teachers—the changes to assessments aligned with CCSS, as well as the administration of the new assessment. This lesson will discuss summative assessments and the two new assessment consortia, PARCC and Smarter Balanced. It will also discuss formative assessment strategies that you can implement throughout your lessons and units. You'll be relieved to discover that you can still exercise a lot of control over the assessments you use in the classroom!

In the final lesson, you'll see how you can make CCSS come alive in the classroom. The lesson will talk about some strategies that will help you determine which lesson plans are already working well and align with the CCSS goals, and which you might consider replacing with new and improved lessons. It will also talk about ways you can differentiate your classroom instruction to meet CCSS goals and also meet the needs of your individual students. Finally, you'll look at some helpful resources for involving parents, family members, and the community in your 21st-century classroom!