district iii a rkansas f oreign l anguage t eachers a ssociation har-ber high school

Foreign Language and the

Common Core: Not So Uncommon

Dr. Freddie A. BowlesMr. Stephen R. Adamson

District III

Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers AssociationHar-Ber High SchoolSpringdale, Arkansas

June 5, 2012

Common Core State Standards

Fact ?or

Fiction?

The CCSS were created by the U. S. Department of Education.

FICTION

The CCSS were created by astate-led effort coordinated by the National Governor’sAssociation and the Councilof Chief State School

Officers.

Only a few states have adopted the CCSS.

FICTION

45 states and 3 territories(Guam, Northern MarianaIslands, and U.S. VirginIslands)have adopted CCSS.

The CCSS offer a prescribed way to teach.

FICTION

Local educators will decidehow to meet the standardsand teachers will decidehow to develop lesson plansand tailor instruction for

theirown classrooms.

The CCSS will replace the current state standards for math and ELAs.

FACT

—though many of thestandards already align withthe CCSS.

The CCSS focus on skills and not on content.

FICTION!

ELAs include Classic mythsand stories from around theworld, America’s FoundingDocuments, foundationalAmerican lit, andShakespeare by using thefour skills. (Seehttp://www.corestandards.org/assets/Publishers_Criteria_

or_3-12.pdf for publishers’ criteria)

The CCSS don’t include a reading list.

FACT!

The CCSS include sampletexts that demonstrate thelevel of text complexity withthe learning demands set outin the Standards. Teacherscan decide what texts to use.

I will have to teach social studies and science in addition to language.

FICTION!

The CCSS state that inmeeting the literacystandards in grades 6-12, abalance of texts across thecurriculum include 1/3 eachof literary, social

studies/history,and science.

The CCSS are a national curriculum.

FICTION!

The standards are a clear setof shared goals andexpectations for whatknowledge and skills will helpour students succeed. Localeducators decide how CCSSwill be met.

References• Arkansas Department of Education

(2012). Common Core in Arkansas: FAQ, http://www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions .

• Common Core Standards Initiative (2012). FAQ, http://www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions .

• Common Core Standards Initiative (2012). Myth v. Fact, http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CoreFacts.pdf .

For More Information

Stephen Adamson (Ricky)stephen_adamson@rocketmail.com

Freddie A. Bowles (Freddie)fbowles@uark.edu