English Language Arts Common Core State Standards

When I first heard about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was happy that I had some sort of standards to guide my lessons.  On the other hand, I felt overwhelmed. I had no idea how I was going to teach all of the given standards in an entire school year. After reading an article on the origins, goals, and challenges of the CCSS, I was relieved to learn that they do not specify how or what I teach. It is up to me, my colleagues, and the school district to develop the curriculum. In my opinion, this is the way that it should be. The people that should be allowed to determine what is taught in classrooms should be educators---individuals that work closely with students and know their needs and interests best.

Although simply looking at the CCSS can give you a headache, it is amazing how practically every lesson ever taught can tie back to at least one standard in some way, shape, or form. For example, the students in my practicum recently finished reading The Odyssey. At one point in time, I had them compare Helen in the book to Helen in the poem, "Helen" by Hilda Doolittle. The standard that I based my entire lesson on was "Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account" (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.7). While I had them compare/contrast how Helen was portrayed in the book and in the poem by using a Venn diagram and then writing a short statement, there are various activities that I could have asked them to do. Despite the fact that the CCSS appear daunting, there is  actually a lot of freedom when it comes to teaching the standards. As I have discovered,  the best lessons are usually the ones that are closely aligned with the CCSS.

While it is great that there are standards to guide teachers in creating lessons and developing curriculum, I agree that the CCSS are by no means perfect.  It is a difficult to expect students to meet the standards if they face economic problems or do not even speak English.  These kind of students will need a lot of assistance in reaching the standards. Otherwise, they will continue to fall behind their peers and the achievement gap will get even wider.