Common Core Standards - What are they?

You may have heard reference to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to which our learning standards in District 96 are directly aligned.  As indicated on the CCSS website (http://www,commoncorestandards.org/), the Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.  The CCSS are a more rigorous set of standards than previous Illinois State Standards which we have historically used to develop our learning standards and curriculum frameworks.  The chart below illustrates the standards in place for 3^rd graders prior to the 2011-12 school year, which is when the elementary schools began implementation of the new targets.  This list of reading standards was based on the past version of the Illinois State Learning Standards:

Reading Standards- 3rd Grade

Utilize contextual clues to determine meaning (within and across sentences).

Determine the answer to a literal or simple inference question regarding the meaning of a passage.

Draw conclusions or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.

Identify the author’s purpose for writing a fiction or non-fiction text (to inform, to entertain).

Identify setting (place and time period)

Identify the following forms of genres (tall tales, folktales, fiction, non-fiction, poetry).

Identify the main idea and supporting details of a selection.

Describe and compare character traits citing support from the text.

Identify events important to development of the plot including the problem and resolution.

The chart below illustrates our current standards for reading at the 3^rd grade level. The complexity of what we expect students to do is at a higher level than those in the past. These are the meets level, 3.0, targets for ALL 3^rd graders in District 96.

CCSS- Aligned Reading Standards- 3rd Grade

LITERATURE

Answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Answer inferential based questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Recount stories, including fables, folktales, or myths from diverse cultures

Explain how the central message, lesson, or moral from stories, fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures is conveyed through key details in the text.

Describe characters in a story (traits, feelings, or motivations)

Explain how a character's actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters.

INFORMATIONAL TEXT (NON-FICTION)

Answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Answer inferential based questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Determine the main idea and recount the key details of a text.

Determine the cause/effect of a historical event or scientific ideas/concepts. (From social studies)

Use information gained from text features and illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).