New teacher evaluations.
New State Tests .
New Standards .
The myriad of educational changes may seem overwhelming at times, especially for teachers who are trying to juggle the typical demands of a classroom, all the while adjusting their instruction and practice to reflect the continual educational shifts.
And although the extra time and effort needed to make these changes are unavoidable to a certain extent, there are resources available to help make the transition smoother.
Resources can generally be broken into four main categories:
Few of the General Resources sites are:
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium provide information regarding what to expect on their website
http://www.parcconline.org
http://www.smarterbalanced.org
Achieve the Core
Corestandards.org
Scholastic
http://commoncore.scholastic.com
The Teaching Channel
https://www.teachingchannel.org/
The National Education Association (NEA)
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/14047-CommonCore_Toolkit_14.pdf
Videos. Check out the many videos at:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/sca/ppt/gears/
Note: If you are not an educator in New Jersey, visit your state’s website from the Department of Education for state-specific PARCC information.
The Common Core Professional Learning Series.
http://www.isbe.net/common_core/pls/
Online Professional Learning.
http://www.parcconline.org/professional-learning-modules-parcc-assessments
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES
Heinemann resources.
http://www.heinemann.com/search/searchResults.aspx?s=all&q=PARCC
Close reading articles.
PARCC Implementation: Curriculum and Model Content Frameworks for ELA
http://www.parcconline.org
http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks
MATH RESOURCES
Achieve the Core Modules.
Achieve the Core provides online modules to assist educators, with the following mathematics professional development sessions:
“Introduction to the Math Shifts” and “Deep Dive into the Math Shifts.”
http://achievethecore.org/page/680/professional-development-list-page
ASCD Webinars.
http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/common-core-webinars.aspx
Education World Articles.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/archives/boxcars.shtml
NCTM Workshops for Elementary & Middle School Teachers.
http://www.nctm.org/profdev/default.aspx?id=39870
NCTM Workshops for High School Teachers.
http://www.nctm. org/conferences/
Marzano Training.
http://www.marzanoresearch.com/professional-development/workshops-conferences
TEST PREPARATION
The below sites help in preparing the student for upcoming exams
PARCC practice questions. From the makers of the test itself, PARCC’s website now offers test-type questions in its intended environment. Click on http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes and http://parcc. pearson.com/pearsonaccess/ to view not only the types of questions your child may encounter but also the format of the test itself.
Online Test Practice Rehearsal.
Several vendors have products to help students experience new question types in an online format such as
Practice books.
The students could use the following resources to review and master the topics included in the Common Core State Standards, as well as practice for the PARCC test.
For more practice, you can take advantage of Lumos Learning’s StepUp Program. This provides four practice tests, 2 PBAs and 2 EOYs, which give students opportunities to answer PARCC-like questions, along with getting used to the test format, directions, and simply taking a computerized test. Additionally, students will have access to hundreds of questions by standard for additional practice. For more information on how to access the program, visit:
Computer-based PARCC Practice Program for Schools
Online PARCC Practice for Students
The above article is an excerpt from PARCC Guidebook: Success Strategies for Teachers: Professional Development.
To learn more about the book, click here.
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Technology Tools Available to Help Elementary and Middle School Students Write Better Essays and Stories – by Julie Lyons
Maximize Your Summer: Ideas for Principals
Maximize Your Summer: Ideas for Principals (Part II)
A Closer Look At the Common Core State Standards: A Middle School ELA Teacher’s Perspective – Julie Lyons
Understanding the PARCC Math Score Report
