Information Technologies
Understanding/Implementing the CT Core State Standards in the Classroom
General Overview of the Common Core State Standards
- Implementing the Common Core State Standards, The Role of the School Librarian, November 2013 (A Joint Brief by Achieve and the American Association of School Librarians)
Common Core Implementation for All Students
- NEA - How Educators Can Advocate for English Language Learners: ALL IN! 2015 Advocacy Guide (nea.org and colorincolorado.org)
- Linking Assessment with Reading Instruction for ELL Students (lexile.com)
- Using Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to Implement Common Core—This white paper encourages schools to embrace the needs of ALL students, and recommends implementing the standards within a framework of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that will help ensure that all students succeed. (cgcs.org)
Video Resources
Exemplary Video Lesson Samples
- Follow the Digital Trail (teachingchannel.org)
- Teaching Email Etiquette (teachingchannel.org)
- Understanding “Fair Use” in a Digital World (teachingchannel.org)
- Using Critical Thinking to Find Trustworthy Websites (teachingchannel.org)
- Exploring the Concept of Online Privacy (teachingchannel.org)
- Understanding the Impact of Digital Footprints (teachingchannel.org)
- The Good and Bad of Using Different Online Personas (teachingchannel.org)
- Educating Digital Citizens (teachingchannel.org)
- Text Set Project: Building Knowledge and Vocabulary - This professional development module from Student Achievement Partners focuses on the Text Set Project: Designing and Integrating Expert Packs. The training is for teachers, those who support teachers, librarians, and media specialists to build understanding and experience with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)-aligned instruction and materials. Within the module, there are materials, activities and discussions to enable participants to begin creating and using Expert Packs to support students in building knowledge, vocabulary and the capacity to read independently. (achievethecore.org)
Classroom Resources
Text Complexity Considerations- Matching Readers with Targeted Text (Lexile.com)
- Lexile Framework for Reading Map [English] [Spanish]
- Lexile Measures in the Classroom [English] [Spanish]
- iConn Dashboard for State Department of Education-provides all students, faculty and residents of Connecticut with online access to library and information resources including licensed databases and specialized research information. (iconn.org)
- Open Professionals Education Network - This website provides openly licensed education content that can be used in whole or in part. It includes links to photos, videos, audio/music, general recorded lectures & video tutorials, open textbooks, simulations and animation, as well as modular course components and complete courses. (open4us.org)
- CommonLit—This website offers teachers a free collection organized by theme and Lexile level of news articles, poems, short stories, historical documents, complex nonfiction texts (including paired texts), related multimedia (videos, audio, and interactive websites, teacher guides, parent guides, text-dependent questions, and discussion questions. A new text view allows students to interact with the text on laptops and other one-to-one devices.(commonlit.org)
- Tween Tribune – This news website by the Smithsonian provides daily news articles for students. Articles are selected by professional journalists working in collaboration with teachers and students. As a Smithsonian resource, it has a plethora of science and history focused articles. There are also articles in Spanish, different lexile levels, technology, a junior version for grades K-4 and more. (tweentribune.com)
- International Society for Technology in Education--This site provides information and resources for students, teachers and administrators implementing Common Core State Standards. (iste.org)
- SELA website provides teachers and students nonfiction articles that are Common Core aligned. Each article offers a choice of five different Lexile levels, making it easy for an entire class to read the same content, but at level that is just right for each student. High interest articles are updated daily on such topics as: War and Peace, Science, Kids, Money, Law, Health and Arts. (newsela.com)
- FYI for Kids is a collection of engaging and high-quality magazine articles designed to enhance the Common Core classroom’s reading repertoire. The objective of this project is to demonstrate a type of text that is essential for increasing students’ engagement in and proficiency with complex texts—short engaging articles that communicate critical information. (textproject.org)
- The Hartford Courant Newspaper in Education Program is an online interactive classroom resource to help teachers connect students to the news. Many of the resources list Common Core Standards. Programs have been specifically designed to address the needs of Connecticut students in social studies, geography, science, math, and language arts. Resource pages are written by educators, museums, nature centers and other professional organizations. Current offerings include: Cartoons for the Classroom, Front Page Talking Points, Geography in the News, Green Room, News Video, Pulse of the Planet, This Week in History, Use the News and Words in the News. (nieonline.com)
- The Washington Post Newspaper in Education Program allows all teachers to access topical NIE Curriculum Guides on a variety of topics in all subject areas. Common Core Standards aligned to the suggested activities are listed at the end of the most recent curriculum guides. (nie.washingtonpost.com)
- Grand and Important: Books for Beginning Readers—Kevin Henkes, September 2014 (hbook.com)
- Children’s Technology Review—September 2014 (hbook.com)