Common Core

I have been volunteering with a local school for about a year now. It's been a great experience. I've planned a book festival, designed and hosted a survival discussion group with at risk teens and most recently gave a presentation on Common Core and the Dignity Act. Below are some highlights from the most recent presentation. 

 Keep these 4 ideas in mind and infusing Common Core into your classroom  will come naturally.

• Allow Students to be Wrong. Prepare lessons where there is no ‘right’ answer or solution. Allow students to come to their own conclusions, and use misunderstandings as learning tools. Common Core focuses on the learning process and mistakes are a huge part of learning.
• Increase Students Access to Nonfiction. Nonfiction is a major focus in the Common Core standards. As students progress through school, they are expected to read more and more nonfiction. Use the library as a resource!
• Focus on Student Expression. Effectively communicating with society through writing and speaking is another focus of the Common Core standards. Create assignments that students are passionate about and let their natural interest guide their expression.
• Deemphasize Textbooks. While some textbooks may wander your school halls like zombies for the next couple of years, make no mistake... the textbook as we know it is dead. Common Core calls for shorter, well-crafted texts that kids can consider more deeply. The focus is on primary (or maybe secondary) sources, not the predigested tertiary writing found in many of today’s textbooks. (Adapted from  Rebecca Hill’s article All Aboard!: Implementing Common Core offers school librarians an opportunity to take the lead.)

Project Basics

1.  Get Inspired to do something (I provided teachers with a list of books with bullying themes.)
2. Brainstorm & identify local problems to fix (I provided teachers with a list of brainstorming ideas.)
3. Research the problem and solutions (I provided teachers with a listing of online
1. Newsstand: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_ro_bml?db=STND
2. This I Believe Interviews: http://thisibelieve.org/theme/discrimination
3. Opposing Viewpoints: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_ro_bml?db=OVRC
4. Civil Rights Primary Resources: http://www.gilderlehrman.org
5. Stop Bullying Government Site: http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html
6. The Bully Project: http://thebullyproject.com/indexflash.html 
4. Create proposal to help solve the problem
5. Present proposal to teachers
6. Take it further?