Early Childhood Education and Common Core--Resources and Information

One of the major points of focus of the new Common Core State Standards is a seamless connection from early childhood education all the way to higher education and career preparation. But many people have questions about how CCSS can work with very young children. How can early childhood educators align their instruction with Common Core and make sure that they're maintaining developmentally appropriate practices and helping prepare the littlest learners for a transition into elementary school?

Here are a few great blog posts, articles, and resources directed toward early childhood educators. They represent different perspectives and are worth examining for anyone who works with young children, and who wants to learn more about how Common Core will impact the world of early childhood education.

Check out THIS POSITION PAPER from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which discusses both the benefits and the challenges of the Common Core for early childhood education.

Take a look at THIS COMPREHENSIVE INTRODUCTION to a pre-kindergarten foundation for the Common Core, developed by the New York State Education Department. It includes a vetted sample instructional unit as well!

Watch THIS PRESENTATION by Professor Gillian McNamee as she discusses what it means to have high-quality PreK-3rd grade education in the context of Common Core.

Prof. McNamee's talk was the wrap-up for a conference held by the Erikson Institute of Chicago, focused on pre-k and early childhood education and the impact of Common Core. CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE for a complete list of talks, papers, and resources.

Common Core Rubric Creator! FREE!

Many times, educators need to use rubrics to evaluate student performances and assess different kinds of activities that may not lend themselves to more traditional forms of assessments.

Rubrics also can help students better understand what the expectations are for an assignment, and give both students and teachers clear criteria when it comes time for grades to be given. In short, rubrics can be fantastic classroom tools--but educators may be wondering how to ensure that the rubrics they create mesh with Common Core.

Check out this FREE tool to help create Common Core-friendly rubrics! It's fully customizable, and you can choose the elements to introduce into your rubric, and revise it anytime you want to update or make changes. You can also share it easily with others, which makes it great for collaborating with team teaching units.

TAKE A LOOK HERE

to see the tool for yourself--no registration needed!

Common Core and Languages Other Than English--Ideas and Conversations!

In today's global, connected learning environment, learning multiple languages can provide enormous practical and personal benefits for students. In addition to offering horizon-expanding cultural growth and development, languages give students an advantage when it comes to college and career-readiness.

Much of the focus with Common Core has been on ELA and Math, the first areas in which CCSS will be implemented. Yet it's critically important for students and educators alike that the principles that guide and structure Common Core are present and connected throughout the learning environment. Here are a few great places to look for ideas, resources, and conversations about CCSS and Languages Other Than English (LOTE)!

With the emphasis on developing "globally competent citizens" at the heart of Common Core, there are obvious intersections with LOTE. Take a look at the
se blog posts and essays from Education Week to get your wheels turning!

Where World Languages and the Common Core Intersect

Common Core: Preparing Globally Competent Citizens

Check out the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) website for a number of helpful resources, including this crosswalk,

Alignment of the National Standards for Learning Languages with the Common Core State Standards

Finally, take a look at this fascinating World Languages Skills Map, developed by the ACTFL. You'll see the emerging trends in language education, and get great ideas and interdisciplinary strategies for your LOTE classroom! 

Common Core Resources for Special Education

Calling all special education teachers and administrators!

This wonderful website from the California Department of Education collects tons of great information about special education and Common Core. From webinars to presentations, resources to FAQs, this site can help you find what you need to know about making the transition to Common Core with your special education students.

CLICK HERE to go to the website, and be sure to take a few minutes to see what's offered!

FREE WestEd Webinar--Personalize Learning to Meet the Common Core

For educators who work with special education students, there are a number of questions about how Common Core State Standards will work in their classrooms. How can you balance the diverse needs of your students and meet the standards? How can you create personalized learning environments within your classroom?

This free 30-minute webinar from experts at WestEd can help you answer these questions and give you a better understanding of how personalized learning can support the Common Core.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WEBINAR and make sure to check out the supporting resources and PDFs as well.

Finding the Right Math Content for your Common Core Aligned Lessons!

The good news is that there are already thousands of great resources to be found online for math teachers who want to create fantastic lessons that are aligned to CCSS. The bad news is that there are thousands of great resources out there! How should you sort, sift, and dig through them all to find the resources and lesson ideas that are exactly right for your students and your classroom?

Check out ck12.org, a website run by the CK-12 Foundation, a non-profit committed to creating and aggregating top-quality STEM content. They have developed a Common Core Math Standards browsing tool that allows teachers to browse the standards and find aligned concepts, and then mine free, vetted resources to build out lesson plans for those concepts.

It may take a bit of practice to get comfortable with the tool, but it's a powerful resource that can help teachers find exactly the content they want to teach!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A LOOK!

Digital Storytelling--Technology, Creativity, and Common Core

No teacher or parent can deny the power that storytelling has for children. In fact, children's fantasy author Philip Pullman writes, “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Stories help us make sense of the world around us, teach us to find meaning and purpose, and convey information in beautiful and sometimes unexpected ways.

What is digital storytelling? At its simplest, it just means using a variety of audio and visual technologies to share personal narratives, to illustrate and present the stories of others, and to expand on creative ideas. It can be a fantastic tool for helping students develop skills and capacities that are integral to the Common Core State Standards.

Students involved in a digital storytelling project can learn how to locate key themes in a narrative, develop deeper and richer vocabulary, and examine and compare different narrative perspectives. They can hone communication and collaboration abilities, as well, and gain confidence in public presentation skills.

Don't let the technology part of digital storytelling intimidate you! Check out this list of great websites for ideas on how to get started with digital storytelling in your classroom!

Edtechteacher.org -- Take a look at their digital storytelling page for tools, examples, and media resources!


Yesalliance.org -- This group (Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance) has a set of fantastic short briefs that show you how digital storytelling explicitly aligns with CCSS for grades K-6 and 7-12.

Shrockguide.net -- This page from ed tech specialist Kathy Shrock's blog offers an enormous set of links and resources, all related to digital storytelling. It can take a little effort  to find the things that will be most helpful, but it's worth it!

Over 300,000 Teacher-Created, Teacher-Vetted Resources--FREE!

Sharemylesson.com is a website that brings educators together to share their winning classroom and professional development resources with each other.

Intended to inspire and facilitate collaboration among teachers, this site includes an enormous number of Common Core-aligned lesson plans and resources, all of which you can access for free.

Searching can be a little bit of a challenge, but there are a few short, easy-to-follow tutorial videos on the homepage that will help you learn to navigate the site. And it's worth it! The site includes a Common Core hub, with news, information, updates, and forums to help you as prepare for the move to CCSS.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

Digital Learning Activities and Educational Games -- Free!

As every teacher knows, not all educational games are created equal! Some have genuine value and can serve as wonderful reinforcements for student learning, or can expand student learning beyond the classroom. Yet how do you find educational games and digital learning activities that have been vetted and curated without spending hours of your own time testing them, or paying for memberships?

Check out this fantastic website: Powermylearning.org! It's a free digital learning platform with resources for teachers, students, and parents alike, and was developed by the well-respected national education nonprofit CFY. If you're looking for games, videos, interactives, and other digital resources to incorporate into your Common Core lesson plans for the classroom, then this is the website for you.

Each resource in Math and ELA is aligned directly to a Common Core standard. Plus, there are countless resources for science, social studies, the arts, technology and more. You'll need to create an account to access all the material on the site, but once you do, you'll be able to tap into hundreds of carefully-vetted, free digital resources.

Unpacking Common Core State Standards: ELA

Without a doubt, if you're a teacher in a Common Core state, you're already aligning your instruction to the Common Core, and have been thinking about ways to implement new lesson plans, formative assessments, and other fantastic strategies for meeting your students' needs.

But sometimes it can be helpful to get back to the basics before you start the new school year, and reinforce your understanding of the standards in your area. This free resource from LearnZillion shows you three simple steps to understanding Common Core ELA standards. It also includes links to other helpful resources, and can serve as an introduction to the standards for those who may not have worked with them yet, or as a refresher for teachers who are planning for the next year.

CLICK HERE to check out the website. And by the way--if you create a user profile with LearnZillion, you can access a list of webinars, lesson plans, and other great, free, resources!