Four Myths About the ELA Common-Core Standards

From Teacher Leaders Network, two teachers attempt to set the record straight on the instructional shifts required by the common standards. Middle school English teacher Dina Strasser and teacher education instructor and consultant Cheryl Dobbertin tackled some of the critical aspects of implementing the ELA standards that have been obscured by polarizing debates.

Strasser and Dobbertin have identified four myths that often appear to be accepted as fact (and are sometimes delivered to teachers that way) but are not actually aligned with the spirit and intention of the ELA common-core standards.

Myth #1: Text complexity is a fixed number.

Myth #2: All prereading activities are inappropriate.

Myth #3 Answering text-dependent questions is what teaches students to be analytical readers.

Myth #4: The common core abandons fiction.

They conclude that it's important for educators to embrace the common-core standards, but to do so in a way that honors students' needs and the wisdom of great teachers. “We must keep "mythbusting" our own practices and what we are hearing so that the common-core standards can live up to their full potential. After all, the intention behind these rigorous standards—to prepare all students for careers and college—is at the heart of our work.”

To read the complete article at Education Week, go to http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/07/10/tln_strasserdobbertin.html?tkn=SRWF0kZ%2FhojAvTz6K2vS5iUIQ5hoSPvvblWB&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

Looking for Nonfiction?

If you're looking for more nonfiction selections to meet the new Common Core State Standards requirements, look no further than the related readings offered in EMC's Access Edition Readers. The additional selections included within the books help students make connections with the literature and the time and place in which it was written. The related readings add relevance to the literature by providing students with background information and context, and by helping them see relationships between literature, informational texts, and primary source materials.  Over forty additional informational/nonfiction selections are included in the Access Editions series!

For example, the Access Edition novel Night, by Elie Weisel, includes the following nonfiction related readings:

• New York Times coverage of the Holocaust. 
• “My Sorrow,” from Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz by Holocaust survivor Isabella Leitner 
  
• “Anti-Nazi Movement Still Inspires: Germans recall rare courage of ‘White Rose,’” Newsday article by Bob Keeler
• “The Perils of Indifferences,” speech by author Elie Wiesel

 EMC's Access Editions provide thought-provoking, relevant nonfiction related readings to engage your students and help them connect with literature!