English Language Arts K–12

English Language Arts K–12 English Language Arts: Introduction | Common Core Standards Initiative 1 DRAFT — 1/13/10 Introduction The Standards for EnglishLanguage Arts K–12are theculmination of anextended, broad-based effortto fulfill the charge issued by thestates tocreate the next generation of Englishlanguage arts(ELA)standards. Its companiondocument, Standards for Literacy inHistory and Science 6–12,extends thesame principle tocommunication skills inother content areas. The presentwork, led by theCouncil ofChief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the NationalGovernors Association (NGA),builds onthefoundation laidbystates intheir decades-long work oncrafting high-quality education standards.The Standards also draw upon the most important international modelsaswell asresearch and input fromnumeroussources,includingscholars,assessmentdevelopers, professionalorganizations,and educators from kindergartenthrough college. In their designand content, the Standards representasynthesis of thebest elements of standards-relatedwork to date and animportantadvance overthatprevious work. As specified byCCSSO andNGA, the Standards are(1)research and evidence based,(2)aligned with college and work expectations,(3)rigorous, and(4)internationallybenchmarked. Aparticular standard wasto beincluded in the document only when thebestavailable evidence indicatedthat its masterywasessential forstudents to becollege and careerready in atwenty-first-century, globallycompetitivesociety. As newand better evidence emerges, the Standards will be revised accordingly. The Standards are anextensionof a priorinitiative led byCCSSO and NGAto develop college and career readiness (CCR)standards inreading, writing, and speakingandlistening as well asin mathematics.The CCRReading, Writing, and Speakingand Listening Standards,released indraft form inSeptember 2009,served as a touchstonefor thepresent work. While theformat, structure,content, andpurpose of that earlier document differ insome ways from thisdocument, thebasicaims and concepts are clearly connected. The maindifferenceis that while theearlier CCR document defineda goal toward which educationefforts should aim—college and career readiness forall students—thecurrentdocument describes theprogressivedevelopment of skills and understandings across thegrades necessary for all students toreach thatgoal. Justas feedbackon the September 2009 CCRdrafthasgreatly influenced thedesign and development oftheK–12standards,so too will the responseto theK–12standardshelp guide subsequent revisionsto the CCRstandards. In theirfinalforms, both documents—CCR and K–12—will be tightly aligned and mutuallysupporting. While the Standards treat college and career readinessforall students as theend point—an ambitious goal inits own right—many studentswill reach this point before theend of high school. For them,advanced work in literature, composition, language, history, science, and so onshould beavailable.It is beyond thescope of the Standards to describe what such advanced work should consist of, but it needs to providethenext logical stepup from thecollege and career readinessbaseline established here. As a natural outgrowth ofmeeting thecharge todefine college and careerreadiness, the Standards also lay out a vision of what it means tobe aliterate person inthetwenty-firstcentury. Indeed, theskillsand understandings students must demonstrate have broad applicability outside of theclassroom or workplace. The Standards insist upon thesort of close, attentive reading that is attheheart ofunderstandingand appreciating theaestheticsof literature. They require thesort of critical readingthat is necessary tosiftcarefullythrough thestaggeringamount of information availabletoday inprintandonline. They demand thesort ofwide, deep, and thoughtful engagement with high-quality literaryand informationaltext that buildsknowledge, enlarges experience, andbroadens world views.They mandate thesortof cogent reasoningand use of evidence that is essential to both private deliberationand responsible citizenship in a democratic republic. In short, they promote the development of skills inreading, writing, speaking, and listeningthatare thefoundation forany creative and purposeful expression in language. English Language Arts: Introduction | Common Core Standards Initiative 2 DRAFT — 1/13/10 Key design considerations A blend of cross-cutting and specific standards The Reading,Writing,andSpeakingand Listening strands include two levels of standards. The cross-cutting Core Standards arethesameacrossthe two Standards documents, their commonality emphasizingthebroad responsibility within the school formeeting the standardsandalsofacilitating schoolwide professional development. Then thereare specific Standards thatareunique to agiven content area,which respects theparticular demands of reading, writing, speaking, andlisteninginELAand in other disciplines. A focus on results rather than means The Standards define what allstudents mustlearn, noteverything thatteachers areallowed to teach. Byfocusing on required achievements, the Standards leave room forteachers,curriculum developers,andstates todeterminehow those goalsshould bereached and whatadditional topics should beaddressed. The Standards require,forexample, thatall students beable toproduce writing in a variety of situations,includingthose that allowtime forrevision.The Standards do not, however, specify a particular writing process that students must use (although certain elements common to process-writingapproaches, particularlyrevision, are embedded in therequirements). Teachersarethus freed—and obligated—toprovidestudents withwhatever tools andknowledge their professional judgment and experience identify as most helpful forthose assignments thatallow for multipledrafts.Similarly, the Standards, with their emphasis on observable outcomes, do notenumerate various metacognitive strategies thatstudents may need to use to monitorand direct theirthinkingand learning. Shared responsibility for literacy The Standards for EnglishLanguage Arts K–12andthe Standards for Literacy inHistory and Science 6–12 togetherestablish therequirement that instruction in reading, writing,speaking, listening, and language usebe a shared responsibility. The Standards present readinginstruction inK–5 as fullyintegrative, includinga rich blend of narratives, drama, poetry, andinformational text. ELA-specific instruction ingrades 6 and above includes fiction, poetry, and drama but also a particular form of informationaltext:literary exposition and argument(e.g., speeches, essays, and historical documents with significant culturalimportance andliterarymerit).Teachersin othercontent areas must use their unique disciplinary expertise to help studentsmeet theparticular challenges of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use intheirrespective field. Progress towardcollege and careerreadinessand building a rich knowledge base require that at least half of thereading students do mustfocus on history, science and related disciplines. This distributed approach honorsthe unique placeof English language arts instructionin literacydevelopment while ensuringthat students have communication skillstailored tothedemands of otherdisciplines. It alsoreflectsthe reality that studentsmustcommunicate effectively in a widerange of disciplines, not justELA. Grade bands to describe growth, grades to focus instruction Evidence consulted in creatingthe Standards suggests that beyond theearliest grades,majordevelopments in students’ literacy skillstypicallyoccur across spansof grades rather than within individual grades.This document stays true to that evidence byorganizingstandardsafter grade 3into multiyear bands (grades4–5, 6–8, 9–10, and11–CCR).At thesametime, thework of educating students does proceed on a day-to-day, year-to-yearbasis.Anystandards document must therefore provideguidance to educators onwhat each year’sinstruction and assessment should look like. To make thegrade specific focuses forinstruction clear, afterthedescriptions ofthestandardsin eacharea of ELA,we providea onepage summary ofthegrade specific focuses foreach grade fromfourth grade onwards, includinghow thegrade specific focus in eacharea relates to thegrade band requirements. The Standardsofferthat focus through several grade-specific elements:  Single-grade standards inmanyareas of kindergartenand grades 1, 2,and3  Text complexity expectationsin Reading,beginningat grade2  Areas offocus inWriting,beginningat grade 4 English Language Arts: Introduction | Common Core Standards Initiative 3 DRAFT — 1/13/10  Areas offocus intheConventions section ofLanguage Development, beginningatgrade 4 ... - tailieumienphi.vn