Common Core English - Gifted Issues Discussion Forum

Is anyone here familiar with common core English standards

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience�s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/9-10

Is there more to literary analysis than what the common core represents?

Do English teachers like common core?

Originally Posted by master of none

They had given an example that it doesn't matter what your response is to the question about the text, as long as you can SUPPORT it with evidence.

That was a prominent feature of my education in the subject. Literature is, after all, subject to interpretation, viewed through the lens of the personal experiences of the reader.

Originally Posted by master of none

So, I went home and looked up the standards for writing (which I associate with literary analysis) and found 25 percent seemed to pertain to literature:

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1b Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience�s knowledge level and concerns.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1c Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1e Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

I've heard that one new thing with Common Core is less of an emphasis on literature. It is possible that these writing standards are intended to apply not only to literature but also to other topics, such as history, science, etc.

My two kids (both 8th graders) are in a school where Common Core is just being introduced this year. They are seeing the literacy standards addressed in Language Arts, Social Studies and Science classes.

I haven't done a whole lot of research so can't separate out what is original common core and what is common core as implemented by our district. Our district just implemented common core this fall and was in the process of creating new curriculum this school year to be used this school year. However, one disturbing revelation from DS/DD's 5th grade teacher a couple of months back was the lack of material to teach grammar.

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Is there more to literary analysis than what the common core represents?

A book which may be of interest is The Death and Resurrection of a Coherent Literature Curriculum: What Secondary English Teachers Can Do, by Sandra Stotsky, one of the former committee members who did not sign off on common core.

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Do English teachers like common core?

Sandra Stotsky has co-authored a paper on How Common Core's ELA Standards Place College Readiness At Risk. As an educator, Sandra Stotsky has shared the following major flaws in Common Core's ELA standards:
A. Most of Common Core's reading standards are content-free skills.
B. Common Core's ELA standards stress writing more than reading at every grade level.
C. Common Core's writing standards are developmentally inappropriate at many grade levels and lack coordination with its reading standards.
D. Common Core expects English teachers to spend at least half of their reading instructional time at every grade level on informational texts.
E. Common Core reduces opportunities for students to develop critical thinking.
F. Common Core's standards are not "fewer, clearer, and deeper;" they often bundle several objectives into one statement and call it one standard.

Common Core Facts and Myths are discussed at a downloadable paper here.

Originally Posted by Quantum2003

I haven't done a whole lot of research so can't separate out what is original common core and what is common core as implemented by our district. Our district just implemented common core this fall and was in the process of creating new curriculum this school year to be used this school year. However, one disturbing revelation from DS/DD's 5th grade teacher a couple of months back was the lack of material to teach grammar.

The book The War Against Grammar may be of interest.

Originally Posted by Quantum2003

I haven't done a whole lot of research so can't separate out what is original common core and what is common core as implemented by our district. Our district just implemented common core this fall and was in the process of creating new curriculum this school year to be used this school year. However, one disturbing revelation from DS/DD's 5th grade teacher a couple of months back was the lack of material to teach grammar.

Yes-- this is what we've seen during the phased implementation of CCSS.

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Do English teachers like common core?

It isn't clear to me. Honestly, I think that it's not that much different from any other push into curriculum/classroom practices from on-high as far as individual classroom teacher opinions go.

I've not heard THAT much complaining from friends I know who are teachers in secondary. They like the standards, which offer a bulwark against administrative push to water down or push in more test-prep. Do they like the particulars of the selected curriculum? Well, it depends.

Some kids are going to find the switch to more non-fiction and "functional" reading to be a boon to learning, and others are going to find that it hampers them in terms of emerging literacy.

But that's not a CCSS problem, per se. It's a one-size-must-fit-all curriculum problem.

Anecdote, in any event.

Can we maybe not have three different threads related to the same CCSS complaints?

Oh, in most parenting fora these days, ALL the threads are about Common Core, Dude.

This is tame.

Thanks for the link!