Common Core Standards: Reading (Literature, Informational Texts, and Foundational Skills)

The purpose of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to be able to measure all our students in the United States against the same measure because we know that they are learning the same things. Across the country, they are learning the same skills and often using the same materials so we know that the kids in Nebraska and the kids in New Mexico have at least the minimum skills needed to function as adults. Here is how my middle school was introduced to CCSS: http://vimeo.com/51933492

The Common Core focuses on literacy. Each subject area will work on literacy (which is huge because just this last year, a large percentage of our students ranked two grade levels below where they should be. And literacy is such a huge part of adult life!) The standards for reading focus on "Literature", "Informational" Texts, and "Foundational Skills". In literature, students read and analyze different kinds of texts and use textual evidence to support their ideas. They need to know the difference between what is said and what is meant (something very applicable to life). They need to know point of view and how to compare and contrast. They need to choose theme (also applicable!), pull out specific evidence, and comprehend the denotation and connotation of words (also very useful). We don't want our students taking everything literally, do we? Everyday, my students ask me why we are doing what we are doing. From what I can tell, the CCSS actually align with skills and knowledge students will need to have in college if not in adulthood. We expose them to different types of texts: poems, short stories, novels, non-fiction films, memoirs, articles, etc. We want the to work with complex writing and to challenge themselves to learn more from the writer.

With informational texts, we ask our students to be able to cite where their ideas come from and to be able to draw connections between concepts and texts. This can be a struggle for my middle schoolers who think all information they get is free to use how they want. It can be difficult to see how two different lessons relate to one another. Then we ask them to analyze the separate sentences in the text we give them and the validity of the author's point. They evaluate which medium is best. I haven't even seen these kind of discussion go on in the university except in maybe a poetry class. But these aren't just skills they use in reading. They are skills they can use in thinking about many different problems. Overall, we have to realize that our classroom and our school is just a small chapter in the student's overall life. We have a short time to teach them the skills that will actually help them beyond graduation.

By fifth grade, our students need to know how to read. By that I mean, they need to know how to read words phonetically and use clues to figure out the pronunciation and meaning of words they struggle with. They need to be able to read aloud and to correct their reading as they go along. I know these are all skills I expect in my students. Yet, many of them score in two or more grade levels in reading below their actual level in school. We still ask our students to read aloud to the class and to read their Accelerated Reader books. Schools are employing remediation programs for these students. CCSS is making literacy a focus in every classroom. And as they catch up, hopefully they will become better in Chemistry class because they can understand the book and better in Mathematics because problem solving and analysis is more habitual. The challenge to teachers and students may be great but overall, I think CCSS contains the skills I truly expect my students to have.