Leveraging the Common Core State Standards to Support Young Children’s Learning

Dr. Lisa S. GoldsteinSanta Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

lsgoldstein@scu.edu

Welcome! Today’s plan…

Getting to know the CCSS Common Core State Standards

– English Language Arts (& Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects)

– Mathematics Common Core State Standards

– Adopted by 45.5 states Common Core State Standards

– Meant to comprise 85% of the curriculum

CCSS AdoptersPLUS: District of Columbia, Guam,Puerto Rico, American Samoa,Northern Mariana Islands, US Virgin Islands, Dept of Defense schools

Why do we need the CCSS? Establish and maintain greater

consistency and continuity across states

Clear goal: all students will graduate from HS college and career ready

Benchmarked against the curricula of countries that have highest rates of literacy and numeracy

Increased rigor

How are they different from the HCPSIII?

Fewer Higher Clearer

Are the CCSS good for young kids in preK and primary grades? Yes! And no… It depends

– How the CCSS are framed and interpreted

– How K-12 educators implement the CCSS

CCSS are DAP-compatible Implementation of the CCSS should

not create a rush for “academic shovedown”– No long lists of content and skills to teach– No emphasis on testing testing testing

The CCSS are compatible with DAP– We could use the implementation of the

CCSS in K-12 to create space for DAP in preK and primary grade classrooms

CCSS-DAP Alignment Areas1. Explicit attention to role of development in

learning2. Holistic perspective3. Support children’s language development4. Focus on children’s thinking5. See children as capable, active learners6. Teaching as guidance, not telling7. Instructional decisions belong to teachers-

use DAP to enhance learning

1. Pay explicit attention to the role of development in learning Reflect respect for the developmental

realities and needs of young learners

This perspective appears in different ways in the CCSS-Math and the CCSS-ELA

Explicit attention to the role development plays in learning

CCSS- Mathematics

Young kids need more • Repeated exposure to new concepts• Focus on the most powerful knowledge

Explicit attention to the role development plays in learning

CCSS-English Language Arts

Certain anchor standards aren’t present in the kindergarten list

Holistic, integrated perspective Integration across academic disciplines

is expected Use of multiple forms of representation;

children have flexibility in showing what they know and can do

Similar habits of mind are presented in the CCSS-ELA and the CCSS- Math

• Leads to more coherent learning experiences

Emphasis on language development

Support English language development for all children in all content areas– Expressing ideas and opinions– Presenting evidence to support ideas– Communicating clearly– Using rich and precise language– Developing academic vocabulary

Deliberate English language development is not reserved for ELLs

Focus on student thinking and metacognition

Students are guided toward deep understanding of concepts

• Not just mastery of procedures or memorization of information

Explicit efforts to develop students’ awareness of themselves as learners, thinkers, and problem solvers

See young children as capable, active, sense-making learners

Student-directed investigations and presentation of findings begin in kindergarten– Provide evidence to support statements– Discuss rationale and reasoning

Standards demand higher order thinking Students pose questions, solve

problems

Understanding of teaching Teaching should involve

– More asking, listening, observing, reflecting• Less telling and talking

– Giving students opportunities to develop confidence in their own capabilities

– Fostering independence, perseverance– Guiding students as needed

Use lots of engaging, age-appropriate strategies to build students’ connections with the content

Acknowledge teachers’ expertise Acknowledge teachers’ right to use their

expertise to make principled, informed, intentional instructional decisions– Specify what students should learn, but not

how it should be taught– CCSS was designed to be 85% of the

curriculum in a given grade- room for additions and customization

– Teacher discretion is expected and desired…..

An example from the CCSS-ELA “The use of play with young children is

not specified by the standards, but it is welcome as a valuable activity it its own right and as a way to help students meet the expectations in this document.” (p.9)

How to teach the CCSS content to young learners?

You DO NOT need to make your young students do “grown-up” work– Sit at desks doing drill and kill worksheets– Focus only on academic skill development– Eliminate pretend play, art, dress-up,

blocks, hands-on activities, field trips

Use DAP to teach the CCSS

Use your professional expertise– Knowledge of your kids– Knowledge of the community– Knowledge of child development

Create age-appropriate learning experiences that enable students to learn the content through fun, engaging, meaningful experiences

Recap: CCSS-DAP Alignment Areas Explicit attention to role of development in

learning Holistic perspective Support language development Focus on children’s thinking Children are capable, active learners Teaching as guidance, not telling Instructional decisions belong to teachers-

use DAP to enhance learning

Small Group Discussion Prompts1. How much did you know about the

CCSS before today?2. What did you think about the CCSS

before today?3. How have your knowledge or feelings

about the CCSS changed?

CCSS Work Session #1 Work in grade level teams using your

CCSS-Mathematics document Consider and discuss the CCSS-M in

light of the issues on our CCSS-DAP Alignment Areas slide

Make note of ways in which you believe the CCSS-M is well-aligned with DAP and not well-aligned with DAP

We will share out in _____ minutes

CCSS-DAP Alignment Areas Explicit attention to role of development

in learning Holistic perspective Support language development Focus on children’s thinking Children are capable, active learners Teaching as guidance, not telling Instructional decisions belong to

teachers- use DAP to enhance learning

CCSS-DAP Alignment Areas Explicit attention to role of development

in learning Holistic perspective Support language development Focus on children’s thinking Children are capable, active learners Teaching as guidance, not telling Instructional decisions belong to

teachers- use DAP to enhance learning

DEBRIEF

Digging into the CCSS How are the CCSS different from the

Hawaii Content & Performance Standards?

What will this mean for me in real life? What adjustments will I have to make to

my teaching practice and my curriculum?

Shifts: Implementing the Common Core State Standards

ELA Shifts Complexity

– Academic language– Rich vocabulary

Evidence– Support opinions

with examples from text or other source

Knowledge– Build content

knowledge using non-fiction texts

Math Shifts Focus

– Emphasize key knowledge/skills

Coherence– Content builds across grade

levels– Links within grade levels

Rigor– Conceptual understanding– Procedural skill/fluency– Application to real-world

problems

Simplifying the Shifts Integrate the ELA and Math shifts Align with preK-grade 3 practices And the result is:

RichnessReasoningRationales

Beef up your curriculum and teaching practices to emphasize these elements

Richness Offer students both depth and breadth Provide lots of instructional variety

– Write and read all literary genres– Full range of mathematical experiences

Help students articulate their ideas using specific, precise language

Use and teach discipline-specific vocabulary and academic language

Build content knowledge and vocab by reading and discussing non-fiction texts

Elbow partners: Richness

Turn to an elbow partner and discuss1. An example of “richness” already

present in your classroom and practice2. How you could tweak your plans for

Monday to increase the richness of the experiences you offer your students

Richness?

Questions? Comments? Anyone want to share a tweak you

could use to heighten the richness of one of your lessons in the coming week?

Reasoning Model and encourage critical thinking Help students develop strategies for

recognizing and solving problems Expect students to explain their process

and thinking to the class– “Work alouds”

Push students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts, not just their ability to answer a question

Elbow partners: Reasoning Turn to a your other elbow partner and

discuss1. How teachers can access students’

reasoning2. What new vocabulary students will

need to learn to be able to explain their reasoning to a teacher and/or to a peer

Reasoning?

Questions? Comments? Anyone want to share some of the new,

reasoning-related vocabulary you plan to teach to your students in the coming week?

Rationales Help students become aware of and

articulate the reasons for their actions and decisions

Expect students to refer to evidence from a text to support their opinion

Ask students questions like– How did you make that choice?– What other possibilities did you consider?– How did you decide which was the best?– Are you sure? Why are you sure?

Elbow partners: Rationales

Turn to someone you haven’t elbowed with and discuss

1. What’s the difference between reasoning and rationale?

2. How can teachers push students to engage in more rigorous thinking without seeming mean or harsh?

Rationales?

Questions? Comments? Anyone want to offer some positive,

productive ways to push students to articulate their thinking processes?

CCSS Work Session #2

Work in grade level teams using your CCSS-Language Arts document

Consider and discuss your plans for teaching the CCSS-LA in terms of – Richness– Reasoning– Rationales

We will share out in _____ minutes

CCSS-LA Work Session Debrief

Ideas for increased richness?

Ideas for tapping into student reasoning?

Ideas for getting students accustomed to providing rationales?

Questions? Comments?

Concluding Q&A

Q: Are the Common Core State Standards great? Are they “meh?” Are they awful?

A: It doesn’t matter. The CCSS are already here (in 45.5 states).

Our most pressing task?

Determine how teachers can use the implementation of the CCSS as a way to strengthen and enrich the learning opportunities made available to young children in our classrooms.

Mahalo!

Contact me atlsgoldstein@scu.edu