The Common Core Standards

Parent Curriculum Night Third – Fifth Grades

6:30 – 7:15 p.m.

Background of the CCGPS

• Adopted by 46 states and territories

• Most sweeping reform of the K-12 curriculum in US history

• Created by the Council of Chief State Officers and the National Governor’s Association

• Upon Georgia’s adoption in July of 2010, the standards are referred to as the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS)

• Currently, only the Reading, ELA, and Math standards are being implemented. Science are set to be released by the end of this school year with training next year. Implementation year is 2014-2015.

• Before the CCGPS, each state had its variety of standards.

Why new standards?

• America has gone from providing our children with a world-class education to scoring far below other counties on international assessments, landing in fourteenth place on the most recent PISA (Program for International Student Assessment)

• Georgia is well positioned; it was determined that there was 90% alignment between the GPS and CCSS.

Why new standards?

10

90

Required Job Skills, 1987

high skills

low skills

95

5

Required Job Skills, Present Day

high skills

low skills

What are the standards?

(and what they are not)

• The standards were created to define objectives for all students to be college and career-ready.

• College-ready means being prepared for any postsecondary education.

• Career-ready means being prepared to provide a family-sustaining wage and a pathway to advancement..

How will the standards affect my child’s instruction? What will I notice?

• The standards set a progression of skills that students learn as they move through school.

• For example, the following ELA inference standards looks different depending on the grade:

How will the standards affect my child’s instruction? What will I notice?

Example: Reading Anchor Standard 1: Read closely to

determine what the what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.

• Kindergarten: with prompting and support, ask

and answer questions about key details in a text.

• 4th Grade: Refer to details and examples in a text

when explaining what the text says explicitly and

when drawing inferences from the text.

How will the standards affect my child’s instruction? What will I notice?

• In all subjects, evidence of thinking will be a goal. Students will need to back up their answers with evidence.

• Therefore, writing in all subject areas has come to the forefront.

Sample Question and Student Response

Two days after a flash flood and heavy rains in the desert, Mark

noticed that everything was as dry as it was before the

storm. Name and explain the process that caused the desert to

become dry again.

Evaporation is the process that caused the desert to become dry again. The sun in the desert is very hot. It shines on the land after the rain. The heat from the sun changes the water into a gas called water vapor. This vapor disappears into the sky. Soon the sun has caused all the

water to evaporate.

How will the standards affect my child’s instruction? What will I notice?

• Shifts in Math:

• Focus: Fewer standards taught to greater depth

• Math Fluency: Speed and accuracy with simple calculations

• Application to real-world situations

• Shifts in ELA/Literacy

• Students have a balanced “diet” of fiction and nonfiction

• Literacy is a shared responsibility across all content areas

• Close reading: Careful analysis of text

How are the teachers prepared?

Training for teachers began last fall to become familiar with the standards.

This year they will continue to be provided professional development and support in implementing the standards.

What about standardized testing?

• There are two comprehensive assessment groups that will develop CCSS assessments. Both are committed to implementation in the 2014–15 school year. These assessments are expected to be constructed response.

• Until then, the CRCT will be given as it has in the past. The format of the CRCT will remain the same, but aligned with the CCGPS.

START on SLIDE 14

FOR 3rd – 5th Presentation

For More Information The Marietta City Web Site contains many informative

links for explaining Common Core State Standards:

Third Grade Mathematics

In 3rd grade, your child will learn important new ideas and

gain important new skills. One of the most important topics

this year is multiplication and division. Another is fractions.

Multiplication, division, and fractions are the building blocks

for many life skills that students will learn in later grades, such

as percentages. Students also need to master these topics to be

ready for algebra and advanced math, so it is essential to get a

good start with these topics in 3rd grade.

Mathematics at Home:

Look for “word problems” in real life. Some 3rd grade examples

might include:

Notice those everyday occasions when you find yourself

using your times tables — such as to determine how many

days there are in four weeks. Ask your child for the answer.

Involve your child when you notice yourself using division

to “work backward” in the times tables — such as

determining how many candies each child will get if 36

candies are shared equally among nine children at a party, or

determining how many six-inch lengths can be cut from a

string 18 inches long.

Fourth Grade Mathematics

In 4th grade, your child will gain important new skills

while continuing to build on what he or she learned the

previous year. One of the main areas studied in 4th

grade is arithmetic and applying it to solve problems.

This is an important life skill, and your child should

make significant strides in this area during the year.

Your child will also build knowledge and skills with

fractions to prepare for mastering this topic in 5th and

6th grades. These skills will help ensure your child is

ready for algebra and advanced math.

Mathematics at Home:

Look for “word problems” in real life. Some 4th grade

examples might include:

Ask your child to compare numbers using phrases like

“times as much.” For example, if the family cat weighs 8

lbs. and the family dog weighs 56 lbs., how many times as

much does the dog weigh?

Ask your child to help you compare fractional amounts —

for example, if one recipe calls for 2⁄3 of a cup of oil, but

another recipe calls for 3⁄4 of a cup of oil, which recipe

calls for more oil? (In 5th grade, your child will learn ways

to determine just how much more oil.)

Fifth Grade Mathematics

Fifth grade is a milestone and a pivot point for students.

The classroom focus on arithmetic during the

elementary grades will develop into a more formal study

of algebra in middle school.

To be ready for algebra, students must have an

understanding of fractional arithmetic, in part because

even simple equations cannot be solved without

fractions. Because of this, whole-number arithmetic

comes mostly to a close in 5th grade, while multiplying

and dividing fractions becomes a major focus.

Mathematics at Home:

Look for “word problems” in real life. Some 5th grade

examples might include:

Doing arithmetic with decimals, for example when

balancing a checkbook.

Multiplying with fractions — for example, if you used

about 2⁄3 of a 3⁄4-cup measure of vegetable stock, then

how much stock did you use? About how much is left?

Using the length, width, and depth of a garden plot to

determine how many bags of garden soil to buy.

FRACTIONS MCC3.NF.2 Understand a fraction as a number on the

number line; represent fractions on a number line

diagram.

MCC3.NF.3 Explain equivalence of fractions in special

cases, and compare fractions by reasoning about their

size.

0 2 1 1/2 11/2

1/4 2/4 3/4 4/4 5/4 6/4 7/4 8/4

11/4 12/4 13/4

FRACTIONS MCC4.NF.2 Compare two fractions with different

numerators and different denominators, e.g., by

creating common denominators or numerators, or by

comparing to a benchmark fraction such as 1/2.

0 1 1/2

FRACTIONS

MCC4.NF.4 Apply and extend previous

understandings of multiplication to multiply a

fraction by a whole number.

6 x ½ = ?

FRACTIONS

MCC4.NF.4 Apply and extend previous

understandings of multiplication to multiply a

fraction by a whole number.

6 x ½ = ?

FRACTIONS

2 ½ ÷ ¼ = ?

MCC5.NF.3 Interpret a fraction as division of the

numerator by the denominator (a/b = a ÷ b). Solve word

problems involving division of whole numbers leading

to answers in the form of fractions or mixed numbers,

e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to

represent the problem.

2 ½ ÷ ¼ = ?

2 ½ ÷ ¼ = ?

2 ½ ÷ ¼ = ?

CCGPS is an ongoing process:

And remember……

It’s NUM-BER,

Not NUMB – ER!

Math is about thinking, explaining

and doing!