COMMON CORE ELA STANDARDS AND TEACHER PREPARATION TIMOTHY SHANAHAN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO

1. NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RIGOR Past standards development started with kindergarten and added years of work on top of those standards Past standards have focused heavily on existing curricula and teachers’ notions of development (what could students learn?) The common core standards began with college and career readiness standards and then backmapped from there This means that the standards demand growth designed to ensure that students reach graduation targets (rather than depending so heavily on what we have done in the past)

NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RIGOR (CONT.) Implications: The common core standards are harder and more honest than past standards Larger percentages of students likely to fail to meet these standards (greater need for interventions) Important for teacher candidates to understand this if they are to successfully join into schools (they need to have this contextual knowledge to contribute to the changes that schools need to undergo with the new standards)

2. NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE STRUCTURE State standards have been somewhat random lists of skills, knowledge, and strategies The common core state standards have very strong progressions and an organization that requires attention (e.g., reading comprehension has 10 standards at each grade level, and these standards are analogous from grade to grade, meaning it is worthwhile to consider all of the #1s, #2s, etc.) The reading and writing standards are connected The organization of the standards provides: a). Memory aid b). Valuable explanation c). Hints about the pedagogical response

NEED TO UNDERSTAND STRUCTURE (CONT.) Implications: Candidates need to examine the standards structure and they need to review the progressions across grade levels (do not respect the elementary, middle, high school boundaries) Candidates should learn the standards of a grade level Candidates need to know how to design lessons that successfully address multiple standards (across reading, writing, speaking and listening) Candidates need to know that most of these standards do not divide by report card marking Different kinds of learning entailed by the different parts of the standards

3. NEED TO UNDERSTAND CHALLENGING TEXT Item #10 in all of the reading comprehension lists focus on text difficulty and specify the Lexile range that has to be the target Unlike current standards the major emphasis is on texts rather than on the cognitive skills included in the standards The specified Lexile levels will match students to harder texts than in the past (and schools are discouraged from teaching students at easier levels—new PARRC test will evaluate reading against those levels)

NEED TO UNDERSTAND CHALLENGING TEXT (CONT.) Implications: Candidates need to learn to establish text levels Candidates need to learn to identify text features that might add to the complexity of text (e.g., presupposition of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammar, organization, cohesion, literary devices, graphics, etc.) Need to learn how to scaffold challenging reading (without reading it to students or telling them what it says)

4. UNDERSTANDING DISCIPLINARY LITERACY Research reveals unique reading demands of the various disciplines (reading history is not the same thing as reading literature, etc.) The common core state standards requires specialized reading emphasis for literature, history/social studies, and science/technical subjects

DISCIPLINARY LITERACY (CONT.) Implications The ELA standards need to be studied by the middle and high school teaching candidates who are to teach science, history, vocational education departments – not just English Content teachers will need to emphasize aspects of literacy that they have not in the past (these are disciplinary standards, not content area reading standards—the idea is not how to apply reading skills and strategies to content subjects but how to teach the unique uses of literacy required by the disciplines)

5. NEED TO UNDERSTAND INFORMATIONAL TEXT Past standards included both literary and informational texts However, this emphasis left the distribution of this emphasis to the teachers The common core standards requires the teaching of comprehension within both informational and literary texts and emphasizes that they be treated as co-equal and will be in the upcoming testing

INFORMATIONAL TEXT (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to understand how to identify/select quality informational text Teacher candidates need to understand the structures, graphics, text features that are common in informational texts Teacher candidates need to know how to craft reading lessons around informational texts

5. UNDERSTANDING CLOSE READING Common core promotes the idea of close reading Idea is that lessons need to focus on the text rather than on the students Less pre-reading, more re-reading, text dependent questions What does text say?, How does text work?, What does text mean? Emphasis on text evidence

UNDERSTANDING CLOSE READING (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to have experience in engaging in close reading of challenging text (weighing of author’s diction, grammar, and organization to make sense of the text, engaging in critical evaluation, etc.) Teacher candidates need to learn how to plan multi-day reading lessons that require rereading and deep analysis of the text and its meaning and implications

TEXT DEPENDENT QUESTIONS Questions are text dependent if they can only be answered by reading the text (the evidence must come from the text and not from other sources) How did Frederick Douglass’ ability to read contribute to his emotional struggle for freedom? Cite examples from the text to support your answer. After reading Frederick Douglass’ narrative, in what ways does America represent the hope for freedom that lived in the heart of Frederick Douglass?

6. UNDERSTANDING MULTIPLE TEXTS Past standards have emphasized the reading of single texts: students had to learn how to make sense of a story, article or book (with perhaps an occasional emphasis on multiple texts) The common core state standards emphasize the interpretation of multiple texts throughout (at all grade levels, and in reading, writing, and oral language) Students will still have to be able to interpret single texts, but much more extensive emphasis on reading and using multiple texts (about 15% of the ELA standards mention multiple texts explicitly)

UNDERSTANDING MULTIPLE TEXTS (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to learn how to select combinations of texts that can be used together They need to know how to teach students to carry out comparative analysis and evaluation and how to synthesize texts (and non-texts)

7. UNDERSTANDING WRITING ABOUT TEXT Past standards have emphasized writing as a free-standing subject or skill Students have been expected to be able to write texts requiring low information (or only the use of widely available background knowledge) The common core puts greater emphasis on the use of evidence in writing Thus, the major emphasis shifts from writing stories, journals, or opinion pieces to writing about the ideas in text

UNDERSTANDING WRITING ABOUT TEXT (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to know how to craft and deliver lessons that integrate reading comprehension and writing (e.g., writing to models, summarization, critical analysis/evaluation of text, synthesis) Teacher candidates will need to know how to evaluate the quality of such writing and how to give feedback to students so they can improve these products

8. UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTATION Past standards have tended to treat text as being just a form of neutral information The common core state standards begin with the theoretical premise that texts (and other forms of language) are a form of argument Arguments depend upon the use of evidence and reason

UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTATION (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to be able to discern the arguments underlying a text or presentation (and they need to know how to teach students to engage in this kind of reading/listening) Need to know how to teach students how to make an effective argument (putting forward one’s own position, providing rationale and evidence, anticipating and refuting counterarguments, engaging in debate, etc.)

10. UNDERSTANDING TECHNOLOGY The emphasis on technology has been minimal in past English language arts standards The common core state standards reflect a much heavier emphasis on how to take advantage of the affordances provided by technology

UNDERSTANDING TECHNOLOGY (CONT.) Implications Teacher candidates need to know how to search, read, and use information drawn from the Internet; how to use word processors and other technological supports in their writing; how to use presentation software in their oral presentations; and how to use various online references Need to know how to guide students’ use of these tools

COMMON CORE ELA STANDARDS AND TEACHER PREPARATION TIMOTHY SHANAHAN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO