Teaching Common Core

 “When you get to the end of your rope. Tie a knot and hang on.” 

― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Recently, at a district meeting I heard a union candidate actual say, "While middle and high school teachers may be exhausted from having to find and copy material to support common core standards, elementary teachers have had to do so for 4 subject areas.  So we are more tired than you." I found myself shocked that we were actually listening to an argument about who is more tired.  Needles to say, Common Core has been exhausting and here is why.  I am fully accepting of the change associated with Common Core Standards and the Mathematical Practices.  However, there have been numerous challenges.

• Lack of Materials
  
• The time spent at the copy machine
• Heavy workload of grading projects and (for math people unaccustomed to) writings.
• Students who are not prepared or used to being made to preserver 
• Parents who do not understand why a math teacher should be commenting/grading on writing.
• Parents who are not prepared to let their student struggle a little to learn perseverance.
• The different mindset of teachers across a campus:  those moving forward and those holding on to how it was done before.

While I probably seem negative, this is just a reality on campuses everywhere.  I think my time spent searching for materials, copying materials, and grading has depleted my conference period as well as most of my time at home with my family.  It is like being on a hamster wheel for 10 months.  In addition, the phone calls are endless as well as prep talks for students struggling.  Some teachers are rethinking their choice of employment or certain that it must be different elsewhere.  However, I have not seen a mass exodus.  So, since I assume that I will be beginning this journey again after a much appreciated summer vacation, I want to set the wheels in motion for a more manageable year.  These are some of my plans for the new year.

First, I plan to utilize the curriculum developed through our teachers over the past year.  This, along with the other resources our district is providing will eliminate significant amounts of the "searching" for materials.  Given that I am a perfectionist, I usually continue looking for something better when what I found was probably sufficient.

Second, I believe I will have devices for all my students.  That means that I will be able to scan or utilize materials online and deliver the material to my students on their devices thus cutting down on the amount of time spent at the copy machine.  Our district has also supported our use of TenMarks which is a curriculum for math available online.  Given that I am a strong believer in having students do their homework in class where they have support, this will support my students who do not have access to the internet at home.

Third, my parent information night and parent newsletters will prepare parents for the writing

 

expectations in my math class.  I will also help them understand the struggle students will face due to me teaching them to preserver.  I plan on providing parents with some guidelines for supporting their students.  

Fourth, I will follow the guidelines suggested by Melissa the author of Common Core Mathematics: How to Teach Perseverance in Solving Word Problems (http://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/blog/1186-common-core-mathematics-how-to-teach-perseverance-in-solving-word-problems):

1. Work in partners or small groups who can help when they get stuck.
2. Start students with problems they can easily solve. Once they feel success, progress to harder problems.
3. Model different strategies that can be used to solve problems, either by thinking aloud while doing a problem at the board, or by having students talk through the ways that they would solve a problem.
4. Design a classroom with a variety of tools that students can use in their problem solving.  This can include manipulatives that they can use during class or posters that provide hints and strategies.
5. Create a safe way for students to examine the problems they got wrong and explore how they might avoid those mistakes next time by using a math journal or comparing mistakes in pairs.