The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis. For more insight from Lauren Davis, check out her book series Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources.

Close reading is a hot topic these days. At IRA’s recent convention, there were countless sessions about teaching close reading for the Common Core. However, everyone seems to have a different understanding of what close reading entails. Here is how the authors of the Common Core describe it:

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis. For more insight from Lauren Davis, check out her book series Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources.

Lately, I’ve been hearing from a lot of parents who are angry about the Common Core. (I’ve been hearing personal/anecdotal stories as well as news stories on this topic.) They are upset about the testing and about the new rigorous curriculum. Teachers and school leaders can ease some of parents’ concerns by communicating with them honestly...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis. For more insight from Lauren Davis, check out her book series Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources.

The Common Core’s Anchor Standard 6 for writing in grades K–12 requires students to “use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others” (emphasis mine). Here are some ideas for meeting this standard (besides the obvious use of technology—word processing).

This eBook is adapted from Lauren Davis' online blog series Comments on the Common Core In this series, Lauren shares her insights and opinions on the Common Core State Standards and keeps readers apprised of new developments.

Readers are invited to provide their own opinions and comments in the comments section of each blog post, which goes live two Wednesdays a month.

Also Included: You'll get a print-ready version of the popular infographic 10 Tips for Teaching Grammar According to the Common Core.

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The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis. For more insight from Lauren Davis, check out her book series Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources.

Ten years ago, when I was in grad school studying education, the whole language approach was all the rage. I was taught that we didn’t need to teach phonics explicitly through drills; students would naturally pick up on consonant and vowel sounds and patterns through reading. But now the Common Core is bringing phonics back. According to the Common Core’s Reading Standards for Grades K–5, students need to learn...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

Creative writing is an endangered genre these days. Educators are focusing instead on informational and argument writing, which are emphasized by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Argument writing is particularly important for college and career readiness and is therefore described as holding a “special place in the standards” (CCSS, Appendix A, p. 24).

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

In the past year, there has been a lot of buzz about the Common Core’s argument writing requirements. The Common Core states that argument writing “holds a special place in the standards” (Appendix A, p. 24). I love teaching argument and agree that it’s important. However, let’s not forget about the other two genres required by the standards—informational/expository and narrative writing. Those genres are also fun to teach and important for students to learn. In this post, I’ll focus on informational writing. I’ll discuss narrative writing in a follow-up post.

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

When I first read the CCSS for English Language Arts, I was confused by the heavy focus on texts from U.S. history. I kept thinking I was accidentally reading the social studies standards instead of the ELA ones. For example, students in grades 9–10 are expected to “analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance. Students in grades 11–12 are expected to analyze “seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

When teaching reading, we can’t overlook visuals. We should show students how to read illustrations, photos, and charts, not just text. It’s easy for students to gloss over the bar graphs and pictures in an article and think of them as decoration. We need to show students how to understand those visuals and integrate the ideas presented with the ideas in the text...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

I often blog about how to teach the Common Core State Standards. There are many things I like about the standards, such as the emphasis on teaching students to discover knowledge and think independently. When I was in school, I was mostly just “given” knowledge. I memorized facts and then forgot them right after the test. I like how the standards emphasis research so that students learn how to find knowledge on their own. That gives them a tool they can use later in life.

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

The Common Core State Standards stress the importance of teaching grammar. The standards lay out which grammar rules should be taught at which grade levels. So you know what rules to teach… but how do you teach them? Here are ten tips for teaching grammar according to the Common Core...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

When I was in middle school, I had to prepare an oral presentation on a famous woman in American history. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor, surrounded by index cards. On each card, I wrote a few sentences about the person’s life. A few days later, I read my index cards to the class. That was it—that was my oral presentation. I don’t think I got much out of that assignment...

The following blog post is part of a blog series called "Comments on the Common Core," written by Eye On Education's Senior Editor, Lauren Davis.

During the past two years, educators have been transitioning to the Common Core with a big question looming over their heads: What will the assessments look like?

We’re finally starting to get at least a partial answer to that question...

Everyone’s been buzzing about the Common Core’s emphasis on argument writing (called opinion writing in the elementary grades). The standards are very specific about what aspects of this genre to teach at each grade level, K–12. In the elementary grades, students have to learn the basics about facts and opinions. This sets the foundation for the more sophisticated writing they’ll be required to do later. But how do we teach students those basics?

The Common Core State Standards aim to help students become independent learners and thinkers. Students should “become self-directed learners, effectively seeking out and using resources to assist them, including teachers, peers, and print and digital reference materials” (The Common Core State Standards, p. 7). Giving students questions with predetermined answers will not accomplish that goal. Instead, try to make your writing and research assignments more authentic and open-ended, so students can discover information on their own.