Understanding
Cognitive Rigor and Depth of Knowledge - Use the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrices curricular examples with most close reading or listening assignments or assessments.
Common Core ELA: Appendix B - Find exemplars of reading text complexity, quality, and range & sample performance tasks related to the CCSS.
Common Core Implementation Videos - Watch a series of video vignettes commissioned by the Hunt Institute and the Council of Chief State School Officers that explain the Standards.
Common Core State Standards Initiative - Review the process used to select the standards, facts and myths concerning Common Core content and resources to explore the Standards.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Scaffolding Documents - Provides teachers with a deeper understanding of the Standards as they plan for classroom instruction.
Edutopia - Provides a comprehensive list of resources for understanding the CCSS.
From Common Core to Curriculum - Explore five big ideas about the CCSS and possible misconceptions that happen when teachers are using them to design curriculum with Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins.
Explore the Iowa Core Literacy Standards
Iowa Academic Standards K-12 ELA Vertical Progression - Provides a vertical view for educators to see how each standard changes and builds from grade-to-grade as students progress towards career and college readiness.
Sarah Brown Wessling: Let’s Chat Core Series - Visit the ongoing Teaching Channel series designed to help educators understand and implement the Literacy Standards.
- Skinnying the Standards - Read Wessling’s blog post on making the Standards accessible on a day-to-day basis for teachers and students.
Key Shifts
Engage NY Common Core Shifts - Describes in detail the six instructional shifts needed to implement the CCSS effectively.
Engage NY Video Series: Common Core in ELA/ Literacy - Gain a deeper understanding of the rationale behind the CCSS and what it means for students.
Key Shifts and Impact on EL Instruction - Discusses the critical implications for English learners.
The Shifts - Describes how the CCSS raise expectations across multiple areas of the educational experience.
Research
'Both and' Literacy Instruction (Grades K-5) - Discusses foundational literacy practices, reading comprehension, and volume of reading.
Cognitive Science Behind the Common Core - Offers a review of the research base of the Standards and findings that the CCSS promote higher student learning.
Student Achievement Partners - Find critical research supporting the CCSS.