The Everything Parent's Guide to Common Core ELA, Grades K-5: Understand the New English Standards to Help Your Child Learn and Succeed

by Felicia Durden

Overview

Take the mystery out of Common Core ELA!

Designed to be a set of national educational standards, the Common Core has been adopted by 45 states across the nation. But if you're accustomed to traditional English courses, you may be having a hard time understanding what your kids are bringing home from school—and why.

With easy-to-understand examples, comprehension tips, and practice exercises, this complete guide help you understand:

• The reasoning behind the Common Core English Language Arts standards
• What your child will be learning at each grade level
• The types of books and passages your child will be reading
• The new requirements on nonfiction texts and the rationale behind them
• The focus on finding evidence and formulating arguments

The Everything Parent's Guide to Common Core ELA: Grades K–5 will give you the confidence you need to help your children meet the new ELA expectations for their grade level and excel at school.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440590566
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Series:	Everything® Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Felicia Durden, EdD, is an accomplished master teacher and a certified trainer for the Common Core ELA standard. She has trained more than 8,000 teachers in the K-5 ELA standards. Dr. Durden serves as the Assistant Director of Reading and Writing in a large urban school district in Arizona. She lives in Tempe, AZ.

Table of Contents

Introduction 11

01 Overview of the Common Core State Standards 13

What Are the Common Core Standards? 14

How Did We Get Here? 14

What Is the Instructional Aim of the Common Core ELA Standards? 19

What Does This Mean for Your Child's Classroom? 19

Helping Your Child Learn with the Common Core Standards 20

02 Instructional Shifts 21

What Is an Instructional Shift? 22

Shift 1 Increased Reading of Informational Text 22

Shift 2 Text Complexity 26

Shift 3 Academic Vocabulary 30

Shift 4 Text-Based Answers 31

Shift 5 Writing from Sources 32

Shift 6 Literacy Instruction in All Content Areas 33

03 Breakdown of the ELA Standards 34

Reading: Foundational Skills Standards 35

Learning the Alphabet and Letter Sounds 38

Reading: Literature Standards 39

Reading: informational Text Standards 40

Language Standards 42

Speaking and Listening Standards 43

Writing Standards 44

04 College and Career Anchor Standards for Reading 46

What Are Anchor Standards? 47

What Are the Key Ideas in Reading? 48

Key Ideas and Details 48

Craft and Structure 53

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 56

Range and Level of Text Complexity 58

05 College and Career Anchor Standards for Writing 60

What Are the Key Ideas in Writing? 61

Text Types and Purposes 62

Production and Distribution of Writing 67

Research to Build and Present Knowledge 71

Range of Writing 73

06 College and Career Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening 75

What Are the Key Ideas in Speaking and Listening? 76

Comprehension and Collaboration 76

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 81

07 College and Career Anchor Standards for Language 83

What Are the Key Ideas in Language? 84

Conventions of Standard English 84

Knowledge of Language 87

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 88

08 What Is Expected of Your Kindergarten Student? 93

Expectations in Reading 94

Foundational Skills 98

Literature 102

Informational Text 104

09 Expectations in Kindergarten Writing 106

Text Types and Purposes 107

Production and Distribution of Writing 113

Research to Build and Present Knowledge 115

Range of Writing 117

10 Expectations in Kindergarten Speaking, Listening, and Language 118

Comprehension and Collaboration 119

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas 122

Conventions 124

Sight Words 127

Support Activities 127

11 What Is Expected of Your 1st Grade Student? 130

Expectations in Reading 131

Print Concepts 133

Phonological Awareness 134

Phonics Instruction 136

Literature 139

Informational Text 141

12 Expectations in 1st Grade Writing 144

Text Types and Purposes 145

Closure and Different Writing Types 147

Production and Distribution of Writing 148

Digital Tools 149

Research Writing 150

13 Expectations in 1st Grade Speaking, Listening, and Language 153

Collaborative Conversations 154

Relevant Details 156

Clarifying 157

Character Analysis 158

Recalling Details 159

Visual Presentations 159

Sentence Types 160

Conventions of Standard English 160

Handwriting 161

Phonetic Spelling 162

Strategies to Read Unknown Words 162

Categorizing Language 163

New Words 164

Support Activities 165

14 What Is Expected of Your 2nd Grade Student? 167

Expectations in Reading 168

Foundational Skills 168

Literature 172

Informational Text 176

15 Expectations in 2nd Grade Writing 181

Text Types and Purposes 182

Narrative Writing 185

Explanatory Writing 186

Editing and Revising 188

Spelling 189

Reports 190

Gathering Information 191

Building Independence in Writing 191

16 Expectations in 2nd Grade Speaking, Listening, and Language 192

Comprehension and Collaboration 193

Recording Stories 196

Details Matter 197

Language Standards 198

Conventions 200

Word Meanings 201

Shades of Meaning 203

Support Activities 204

17 What Is Expected of Your 3rd Grade Student? 206

Foundational Skills 207

Reading Literature 210

Reading: Informational Text 214

18 Expectations in 3rd Grade Writing 218

Reasoning 219

Using Dialogue 221

Temporal Words/Transitional Words 222

Writing Across Content Areas 222

Planning, Revising, and Editing 223

Digital Publication 224

Research Writing 224

Note Taking 225

Extended Writing 226

19 Expectations in 3rd Grade Speaking, Listening, and Language 227

Preparation 228

Explaining Thinking 228

Vocabulary 229

Fact Hunting 231

What Is Relevant? 231

Public Speaking 232

Abstract Nouns 233

Simple Verb Tense 234

Word Choice 235

Support Activities 235

20 What Is Expected of Your 4th Grade Student? 238

Reading Fluency 239

Reading: Informational Text 244

21 Expectations in 4th Grade Writing 249

Narrative Writing 250

Range of Writing 252

Clear and Focused Writing 257

Audience 257

Extended Writing 258

22 Expectations in 4th Grade Speaking, Listening, and Language 259

Range of Conversations 260

Interpreting Charts and Graphs 260

Expressing Key Ideas 261

Pacing and Tone 262

Visual Displays 262

Formal and Informal English 263

Prepositional Phrases 264

Vocabulary 265

Concise Language 265

Antonyms and Synonyms 266

Support Activities 267

23 What Is Expected of Your 5th Grade Student? 270

Context and Comprehension 271

Morphology 271

Rereading 272

Quoting from Text 273

Character Analysis and Interaction 274

Narrator Focus 275

Graphic Novels 276

Informational Text 277

24 Expectations in 5th Grade Writing 280

Revision, Revision, Revision 281

Writing Arguments 281

Writer's Craft 282

A Narrative Is Just a Narrative, Right? 283

Task, Purpose, and Audience 284

Flexibility 285

Technology 285

Clear Focus 286

Research Writing 287

25 Expectations in 5th Grade Speaking, Listening, and Language 289

Be Prepared 290

Summarizing Information 291

Clarifying Claims 291

Presenting information 291

Prepositions, Interjections, and Conjunctions 292

Verb Tense 294

Presentations 295

Support Activities 296

26 Bringing It All Together 299

Next Steps 300

Integrated Model of Learning 300

Workshops and Online Resources 301

Talking to Your Child's Teacher 302

The Future of Common Core ELA State Standards 303

Moving Forward 304

Appendix A Glossary 305

Appendix B Short and Long Vowel Sounds 311

Index 313