Questions about the Common Core?

In my district. we've been talking often about the Common Core. This past week I met with a group of teachers for an afternoon as we tried to develop a rubric to use to help us examine text complexity. The Common Core talks about three areas in evaluating texts: quantitative, qualitative, and reader and task considerations. Looking at existing models, we developed a draft of a rubric for our use. This weekend everyone in the group read a novel that has been used at the sixth grade level and completed the rubric. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet to compare notes, debrief on the process, and determine if the tool we have will work for the job at hand. I am excited we've moved the conversation beyond talking about Lexiles alone and are looking at works more holistically. 

Later this week, the seventh grade literature teachers, special ed department chair, and I (the school librarian) are going to work through a common novel taught at the grade level and delve into examining how the novel is taught and the kind of tasks being asked of student with an eye on the Common Core standards. 

The Common Core State Standards are a hot topic, and it behooves us to be up on what is happening and know the role the library can play in supporting teachers and learners. TLChat is exploring the topic Supporting Teachers with Common Core at 7pm Central on Monday, 12/10. Follow the hashtag #TLChat to participate in the conversation. 

Another really helpful resource that explores the school librarian and the Common Core is a livebinder put together by Carolyn Starkey. Wow! It is a rich collection of resources and articles. Ms. Starkey has done a tremendous job curating a huge collection of materials. There's no need to duplicate the work of the initial research, use the resource and start/continue learning!

Publisher Previews

There is nothing worse than walking through the bookstore and seeing the next book in the series of a super popular title sitting on the shelf.  You had no idea it was out.  How can you keep up with all the new choices coming out through the year?  Publisher previews are a great way to get ahead of the game.  This Thursday, December 6th, Lerner Publishing Group will have their spring preview; you can register here:   http://tinyurl.com/bntkedf


Scholastic already has their spring preview up and access is granted here:  http://tinyurl.com/d4r4ep6


Enjoy your chance to preview book titles that are scheduled to come out in the next season and choose the best books for your students!