Leveraging the Common Core State Standards to Support Young Children’s Learning Dr. Lisa S. Goldstein Santa 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
PLUS: District of Columbia, Guam, CCSS Adopters 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 Areas 1. Explicit attention to role of development in learning 2. Holistic perspective 3. Support children’s language development 4. Focus on children’s thinking 5. See children as capable, active learners 6. Teaching as guidance, not telling 7. 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 Prompts 1. 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
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 Math Shifts Complexity Focus – Academic language – Emphasize key knowledge/ skills – Rich vocabulary Coherence Evidence – Content builds across grade – Support opinions levels with examples from text or other source – Links within grade levels Knowledge Rigor – Build content – Conceptual understanding knowledge using – Procedural skill/fluency non-fiction texts – Application to real-world problems
Simplifying the Shifts Integrate the ELA and Math shifts Align with preK-grade 3 practices And the result is: Richness Reasoning Rationales 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 discuss 1. An example of “richness” already present in your classroom and practice 2. 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 discuss 1. How teachers can access students’ reasoning 2. What new vocabulary students will need to learn to be able to explain their reasoning to a teacher and/or to a peer
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