Connecticut State Department of Education

Connecticut Core Standards

Understanding/Implementing CT Core Standards in the Classroom - Math

General Overview of the Common Core State Standards

  • This 14 minute video introduces the Common Core State Standards for Math (teachingchannel.org)
  • The Common Core Shifts — This video focuses on the Common Core shifts in mathematics.  (Student Achievement Partners)
  • Parent FAQ Sheet—This is designed for use with parents to provide information about the Common Core.  (Student Achievement Partners)
  • Common Core Math − A Grade-by-Grade View for Parents K-12 – This document provides a grade-by grade CCSS overview, followed by example activities, a discussion of the Big Picture of Common Core Math, General Tips for Parents, tasks on illustrativemathematics.org and a reference link to the Progressions Documents. This document was designed with events such as curriculum nights or parent-teacher conferences in mind. (Developed by Tricia Bevans and Dev Sinha of the University of Oregon Department of Mathematics)
  • Finding Overlap in the Common Core Math, Language Arts, and  National Science Standards (Education Week, October 2014)
  • Achievethecore.org
    • Unpacking Alignment – posts by panels of experts, literacy coaches, and teachers help build a deeper understanding of the instructional shifts that underlie the Common Core.
    • The Coherence Map shows the connections between Common Core State Standards for mathematics. It illustrates how to build student understanding by linking together concepts within and across grades, identifies gaps in a student's knowledge by tracing a standard back through its logical pre-requisites, and helps the teacher to visualize and understand how supporting standards relate to the major work of the grade. Standards are illustrated with tasks, lessons, and assessments, as well as excerpts from the Progressions documents.
    • The Structure is in the Standards (Grades K through High School) – An essay by CCSSM lead writers Phil Daro, William McCallum, and Jason Zimba that describes the importance of the structure of the Standards and cautions against fragmenting the Standards or taking them out of context.
  • Relationships and Convergences—This Venn Diagram shows how the practice standards overlap in Math, Language Arts, and Science (ell.stanford.edu)
  • Learning Trajectories for interpreting the CCSS-M describe how concepts, and student understanding, develop over time. A structural overview with Standards and Descriptors show how the evolving concepts of the trajectories are linked to the standards with many clarifying illustrations and explanations. (TurnOnCCMath.net)

Common Core State Standards

EQuIP Resources for Common Core Alignment

  • Achieve.org
    • EQuIP e-Learning Modules - The purpose of this e-Learning module is to develop the learner's knowledge and understanding of the EQuIP Quality Review Process, which is designed to increase the ability of educators – and educational leaders – to identify and create quality instructional materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Specifically, learners will explore what effective observations and criterion-based feedback look like and experience the process of reviewing instructional materials using the EQuIP Quality Review criteria, rating scales, and rating descriptors.
    • The EQuIP Student Work Protocol is designed to establish or articulate the relationship between student work and the quality and alignment of instructional materials that previously have been reviewed using the EQuIP quality review process. Focusing on this relationship enables educators to develop a common understanding of the challenging work required by the CCSS. (achieve.org)
    • EQuIP Rubric for Lessons & Units: Mathematics
    • EQuIP: Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products
  • An Introduction to the EQuIP Rubric – This webinar explores the development of the EQuIP rubric, how teachers use it to improve their practice and transition to the Common Core, and resources available to help teachers make this transition. (LearnZillion and Achieve)
  • Strengthening Lessons for the Common Core – This video explores the role of the EQuIP rubrics in instructional planning, calibration and what teachers might learn from evaluating lessons together. (Achieve and Teaching Channel)
  • Peer Review in Action: The Math EQuIP Rubric - This video shows a group of educators evaluating a math lesson using the EQuIP rubric (Teaching Channel in collaboration with Achieve)
  • Understanding Quality and Alignment: EQuIP Mathematics – This video provides an overview of Achieve’s EQuIP collaborative and the Tri-State Rubrics for evaluating the quality of instructional materials. (achieve.org/EQuIP)

Common Core Implementation for All Students

  • 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. (Council of Great City Schools)
  • Curriculum Resource Guides provide guidance for teaching the Common Core State Standards to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, provide examples for differentiating instruction for a wide range of students in multiple grade levels, and identify the necessary skills and knowledge students need to acquire/master the content. (ncscpartners.org)
  • Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas: Supporting ELLs in Mathematics - The goal of these materials is to illustrate how Common Core aligned math tasks can be used to support math instruction and language development for ELLs at three grade spans (elementary, middle, and high school). The resource includes sample annotated math tasks that can be downloaded. (ell.stanford.edu). 
  • Language Objectives: The Key to Effective Content Area Instruction for English Learners by Jennifer Himmel - This article provides an overview of how to use language objectives in content-area instruction for English learners and offers classroom-based examples from different grade and subject levels. (colorincolorado.org)  
  • Understanding Language: Supporting ELLS in Mathematics - This website provides teaching resources that illustrate how Common Core aligned math tasks can be used to support math instruction and language development for ELLs in grades k-12. (Stanford University)
  • Scaffolding Instruction for English Language Learners: Resource Guides for ELA and Mathematics - Guides provide a description of scaffolding strategies, and explain the research basis for such approaches with examples that include instructions for teachers, actions for students, and additional resources to facilitate implementing each scaffolding technique. (engageny.org) 
  • Common Core Math:  Differentiating for Special Education—This video is a sample of how a math teacher partners with an inclusion teacher to create a step-by-step method for solving equations and supporting every student in the classroom (one segment in the Engaging All students in Common Core Math Series. (teachingchannel.org). 
  • Content Conversations: Strategies for ELLs - This blog by Nicole Knight (on Tchers’ Voice on January 29,2016) highlights a three-part video series titled “Engaging ELLS in Academic Conversations.” Links to classroom videos on Using Number Talks to Develop Mathematical Thinking, Enhancing Reading Workshop, Encouraging Equitable Participation of ELLS in Class Discussions, and Preparing Students for Socratic Seminar are included.