What Common Core ELA Instruction Might Look Like by Mike Schmoker and Carol Jago

This is a great take on CCSS and Instruction in the ELA classroom. At first glance the CCSS can seem incredibly overwhelming to a first time teacher. How can I possibly teach everything I want my students to gain while also adhereing to ALL of these standards? It's difficult, frustrating, and frightening. In this article, Schmoker and Jago say it's OK to miss some of the standards.

What is MOST important is that students are spending enough time on material (but not too much time) that they are able to make important connections. We need to ask our students carefully planned and executed questions that make them think. Students should be involved in rich debate, intensive writing exercises and explore other forms of texts (poems, non-fiction, speeches) that allow them to think about a novel on multiple layers.

Last semester, I student taught in a private school so conversations of CCSS disappeared from faculty meetings. Though the curriculum I participated in was extremely engaging and interactive, I had to think long and hard about how each lesson may apply or translate to a CCSS curriculum.

The beauty of NOT having the standards was that teachers are allowed to be a bit more creative. Students are not as confined to material and the stress of a common core "to do" list is eliminated. What Schmoker and Jago have explored is the perfect balance of these worlds. As teachers we can do it all, we just have to assess what is most important and engages our students the most.