Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts
I feel as though there is a large stigma surrounding Common
Core. In the past few years, I have had teachers, students, friends, and adults
all speak their mind on how “terrible” Common Core is. Now that I have used
Common Core in lesson plans, I find them fairly useful as a future teacher. Not
that I have been exposed to any other type of standards initiative. When
writing a lesson, having a standard to base my lesson around helps me to
constantly think about how my lesson ties back to the standard and how I can
make sure my students will reach the learning target. Without a standard, I
would have a hard time creating a lesson that reaches a specific learning goal.
Some people may look at the standards and feel as though they are restricted in
what they can teach. The reality is that the standards are merely setting goals
for student learning. The way the standards are reached is left up to the
teacher, and or district. There is a lot of freedom in Common Core. I can use
any type of reading, writing, speaking, etc. to reach the Common Core Standards
in my classroom. Without these standards, I think my lessons would be less
effective.
Here are a few ELA standards for grades 11-12 that show how student-learning
goals are set, while still leaving room for the teacher to be creative in the ways
he/she will go about reaching those goals:
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the
text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires
distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant
(e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an
author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the
structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
Each
of these standards leaves room for the teacher to develop a lesson geared toward
their class. No class is the same, and having this freedom allows a variety of
ways for the learning goals to be reached. While there are still many negative
about CCSS, such as standardized tests, lack of clarity in areas of how to
reach the student learning goal, etc., I still find that these standards do
more good than bad when it comes to creating an effective lesson.
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