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Aligning Your Curriculum to the Common Core State Standards

By: Joe Crawford

Foreword by Karen Young

This hands-on guide takes you through a proven process for implementing the new Common Core State Standards and includes access to Internet-based software for curriculum mapping.

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-12
ISBN: 9781452216478
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2011
Page Count: 248
Publication date: November 03, 2011

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Description

Avoid "analysis paralysis" and just get started!

Now that most states have adopted the new Common Core State Standards, the next major challenge is to simplify and implement them by 2014. That is why it is important to begin this work now. Joe Crawford, Milken Award-winning educator and author of Using Power Standards to Build an Aligned Curriculum, shares his proven process for building a viable local curriculum based on the CCSS. Readers will find:

A system for creating local standards from the CCSS
Methods for connecting the common, formative assessments to quarterly instructional objectives
Ways to scaffold learning expectations
Examples taken from districts where CCSS is currently implemented

Included are helpful charts and graphs plus access to Internet-based software for mapping the CCSS to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Schools cannot continue to do what they have always done and expect a different result. This book explains how to facilitate learning for all students while taking advantage of the new culture, technology, and norms of today's learning environment.

Watch Joe Crawford's webinar on Aligning Your Curriculum to the Common Core State Standards.

Key features

- Free internet-based software which will allow readers to create curriculum documents to ensure mastery of the concepts presented in the book.

- Each chapter begins with brief chapter expectations to orient the reader

- Each chapter includes a substantial list of Action Steps that detail the steps and considerations that instructional leaders need to follow in order to successfully implement the CCSS

- Each chapter will end with a summary and a process checklist to ensure that instructional leaders have thoroughly considered the outlined tasks

- Resource A includes collated feedback on past CCSS work to help inform future CCSS work

- Resource B contains nine forms to aid instructional leaders in this work

Author(s)

Joe Crawford

Learn more about Joe Crawford's PD offerings

Joe Crawford spent 36 years in public education at the high school, junior high, middle school, and district level as an English teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent focusing on improving student performance. He has been recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education in the Those Who Excel program and by the Carnegie Foundation in the National Systemic Change Award. Additionally, he was principal of a twice-recognized National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and met two presidents as part of that recognition. He was also chosen by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Milken Family Foundation as a National Distinguished Educator. He has also been active in the Total Quality Management and continuous improvement, and his work reflects the tenets of these industry-standard approaches to improvement. While doing this work, his district received a Silver Award from the Baldrige Foundation.

Following the work of Larry Lezotte, Doug Reeves, Mike Schmoker and others, he works with local districts to apply this invaluable work and research in the real world of public schools and kids—making the transition from research to reality possible and even pleasant. He works with teachers and districts to build capacity and to create a common sense of mission through shared ownership of solutions. By involving those who will implement decisions in the actual decision-making process, he helps create a sense of buy-in and a much deeper understanding of state standards and the improvement process, leading to sustainable, long-term improvement in student performance.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Karen Young

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Author

partners4results Software Availability

1. Overview of CCSS and Associated Leadership Issues

Chapter Expectations

Aciton Steps

Leadership Challenges for Implementing CCSS

What Are Standards?

Develop and Use a Standards-Based Curriculum

Align the Curriculum

Think of Content as a Means to a Performance End

Staff Development Issues

Build Undersanding of the CCSS

Use What Has Already Been Developed as a Basis for Moving Forward

Defining and Creating Local CCSS

Understand Local CCSS (Power Standards)

How to Read These Samples

What Are Instructional Objectives?

Why Are Instructional Objectives So Important?

System Thinking

What About Using National Assessments as Formative Assessments?

What About Accountability?

What About Using the Data?

What About Monitoring?

System Thinking Summarized

Process Summary

Process Checklist

2. Curriculum Issues and a National Curriculum Model

Chapter Expectations

Action Steps

What Is a Curriculum?

Consider Your Options for Defining Curriculum

A New Model for a National Curriculum

New National Model Defined

Process Summary

Process Checklist

3. The Development and Use of Local CCSS, Quarterly Instructional Objectives, and Common Formative Assessments

Chapter Expectations

Action Steps

Build Local CCSS

Design Quarterly Instructional Objectives

Develop Common Formative Assessments

Addressing Formative Assessments Within the Assessment Development Cycle

Address Issues in Creating Common Formative Assessments

Designing Local Assessments

Process Summary

Process Checklist

4. A Sample K-12 Curriculum

Chapter Expectations

Action Steps

Read and Understand the New Model

Accept the Realities of a Sample From Several Districts

How to Read These Samples

Sample K-12 ELA Curriculum

Sample K-12 Math Curriculum

Process Summary

Process Checklist

5. The Journey Ahead

Chapter Expectations

Action Steps

Summary of Issues

Some Specific Issues

Current Reactions

Final Thoughts

Resource A: Collated Feedback on CCSS Work

Resource B: Suggested Forms for Developing Local CCSS (Power Standards) and Instructional Objectives and Feedback Forms

B1: Standards to Local Standards

B2: Follow-Up Process Guidelines for Local CCSS

B3: Quarterly Instructional Objectives, Critical Attributes

B4: Follow-Up Process Guidelines: Instructional Objectives

B5: Initial Distribution Feedback

B6: Local CCSS/Instructional Objectives Quarterly Feedback

B7: Quarterly Assessments Feedback

B8: End-of-Year Feedback

B9: Curriculum Audit: What the Research Tells Us

References and Suggested Readings

Index

Reviews

“At a time when all of us are seeking clarity and simplicity about the Common Core State Standards (less is more!), Joe Crawford’s book makes a helpful and practical contribution to the work of implementation. His real-school examples help us to see that standards can and must be reduced to be useful.”

Mike Schmoker, Author, Speaker, and Consultant

"Our teachers are eager to take ownership in curriculum development, and our district looks forward to updating other content areas using the Power Standards model."

Denita Scott, NCLA Coordinator
Dolton School District 149, Calumet City, IL

"The process and methods that Joe Crawford implemented with our teachers, and his ability to customize the process while working with three different school districts, speaks volumes to the scalability of his Power Standards approach. His work is not just transactional, but truly transformational."

Scott Kuffel, Superintendent
Geneseo Community Unit School District 228, IL

"From developing a system for connecting different assessments and objectives to understanding how CCSS currently works in the real world, this is packed with guidelines suitable for any education collection."

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief

"This readable title is directed toward the implementation leader and is designed as a guide for putting the CCSS into operation. This book is an excellent road map to guide schools and districts beginning to create workable local CCSS."

Susan McNair, Library Media Specialist
Lugoff Elgin High School, South Carolina

Other Titles in: Standards & Accountability | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles | Learning Styles

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