ELA Common Core Resources

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been overwhelmed by the transition to Common Core ELA standards. I do see and understand the need for exposing students to more complex texts and giving them the chance to really dig into and interact with what they are reading. I'm just struggling with how to handle the transition, especially for my 5th graders who have not had previous exposure to the standards and are just being "thrown in". Not only am I not totally sure how to "unpack" and teach the new standards, but it's difficult to know how to build in the prerequisite skills and experiences they are missing while moving them forward.

What follows is nothing that I have created-- I claim no ownership to the websites, blogs, or activities-- I have merely made a collection of resources that I have found useful. 

STUDENT RESOURCES (**FREE** STUFF TO USE WITH YOUR STUDENTS!!)

•  Newsela- This site is A-MAZING, and I'm not exaggerating. It not only provides nonfiction/informational texts in the form of current event news articles BUT it provides the article on multiple Lexile levels! It does the differentiation for you! AND.... many of the articles come with a quiz or discussion questions, which also are differentiated based on the level of the article selected. Told you-- amazing, right??
• The Learning Network- This site is linked to the New York Times, and provides teaching and learning materials. Includes NYT articles as well as lesson plans and activity ideas.
• FCRR's Student Center Activities- Use this link to access TONS of graphic organizers that are matched to specific CC standards, objectives, and lesson ideas. Activities are organized by grade level, CC Standard, and then lesson/activity title. Because this website and resources are from Florida, they align with Florida's CC Standards, but each is categorized by CC standard, so everyone can use them and easily tie them to their state's specific standards.  

WEBSITES/BLOGS

• "Five Close Reading Strategies to Support the Common Core" blog entry at iTeach.iCoach.iBlog.'s blog. This blog gives some great strategies to teach and use with (intermediate elementary and above) students to help them learn how to access complex texts. The strategies can be first taught, and then used independently by students. They are simple, yet quite brilliant. 

• Hello Literacy's Blog & Website- If you have never checked out this blog or resources by Jen Jones, take 10 minutes and do it now! It's that good. She has great ideas, information, and activities to share, and she shares them in a clear and enjoyable way. If it has to do with literacy and the Common Core, she'll have something about it :)

• School Improvement Network's Common Core blog- I just found this blog, but it looks chalked full of resources. It advertises itself as, "A resource guide to Common Core Standards tools". 
• Create-Abilities: Top Notch Common Core Activities- Although this blog is what many would consider "a regular teacher's blog", the majority of the posts and resources are about Common Core. I especially found the (several) posts about Close reading helpful.

BOOKS

• Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman

        There is a brief introductory and a summary of a section on how to help all students access complex texts at The Teacher Studio blog.  

• Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kyleen Beers and Robert E. Probst

         I am actually reading this book right now, and I am happy with my purchase. I purchased the book after reading a review at Teaching in Room 6's blog. She also includes some activity ideas and the way she implemented it in her classroom.

Teaching Character Traits

Whether you're teaching second graders to simply identify and describe characters or you're having fifth graders compare and contrast characters between the beginning and end of the story or between two stories, they need to have a good grasp of character traits.

Like with any skill, repeated practice and exposure is the key to your students truly understanding and mastering the skill. As I'm planning for the week ahead, I'm racking my brain and resources for character traits ideas and activities. After coming up a wee bit short, I turned to Pinterest and the world wide web. What follows is simply a collection of resources, ideas, and activities I have found and plan on tweaking to meet the needs of my kiddos. I do NOT take credit for any of these great ideas, simply passing along some great resources in one location.

Starting with a Mentor Text

 At Lesson Plan SOS there is a great activity use the story Bad Case of the Stripes. Her blog not only contains info on this great idea, but also several other mini-lessons and activities using the same book. Here is a link to her Camilla Character Trait FREEBIE!!

Providing Hand-outs & Resources for Students

 Although you don't want students to become dependent on a list of traits, it is definitely a great thing to use in the beginning and to serve as a reference throughout the application of the skill. It's also a great writing resource to help them expand their vocabulary. 

Here is one such Character Trait list. It's from the blog Workshop Classroom, and I especially love this one because it breaks the traits up into categories and categorizes them. I think that this would be great for ELL students and those who need a little extra support. Here's a direct link to the FREEBIE.

 

Here is another list. This one is from Totally Terrific in Texas' blog. She includes the list and a character map via a google doc. (Also a FREEBIE!)

 Interactive Notebook Fold-able for Hands-on Practice

 One your kiddos have learned how to use a character's words, thoughts, and actions to infer a character trait, it's time for them to practice. We are currently reading the novel Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, so I am going to have my kids analyze the characters in the chapters we are reading. Instead of just giving them a worksheet, I'm going to have them do a fold-able to put in their interactive reading notebook. Here is an example of one possible foldable to use by Teaching in Wonderland. (Bonus: It's a FREEBIE!)

Fun "Skill to Self" Connection Activity

Over at Adventures of Room 129's blog, there's a super cute idea for kids to  create a frame that gives them the chance to display some of their own character traits. I' m thinking that after kids create their frame, I'll give them a chance to pick one trait that describes them to share with a partner and then give 'evidence' from their life to prove that it's an accurate trait to describe themselves. For further connection and rigor, kids can then think of a character from a story they have read that shares the same character trait. 

Do you have any other great ideas? I'd love to hear them and "borrow" them for my classroom :) Feel free to put them in the comments below.