Ways to Migrate Any Curriculum to Common Core

The key to aligning any curriculum to the new Common Core standards is reflection. Think about what worked well, what flopped, and what you can do differently to ensure more student successes not in only in teaching that lesson again, but for building better lessons overall.

When you're teaching Common Core, everything will flop. When reflecting, know what flopped (which was everything) and don't implement Common Core.

Go to as many seminars, trainings, or webinars as possible. Professional Development will provide teachers with methods to deliver instruction in this "newer model of thinking and learning" Many teachers were not taught the way that Common Core is requiring teachers to present materials to students, so some training will be necessary to ensure children are receiving the higher-order thinking skills they will need to possess to be successful and college ready.

Common Core wasn't made under professional development, it was developed by a group of drunk people bent on destroying America.

Look at the standards for the grade below and the grade above in which you are teaching. Doing so will fill the teacher in on where the students should be and where you need to take them in order to be ready for the following year. Knowing the standards for the previous year will also allow the teacher to see any gaps the students may possess so they can address those accordingly. This allows for better differentiated instruction in the classroom.

Common Core Standards are intended to apply across the curriculum. Collaborate with your team of teachers so that students are not just learning science, they are reading and gaining a deeper understanding of non-fiction texts. Ensure all teachers on team have a deeper understanding of the content and how to teach it so that students are learning all material.

Learn all material... except Common Core!

Create or talk about a place where all teachers can share ready made lesson plans and resources that all teachers have access to. While the seventh grade teacher may not be able to use the same lesson plan on fractions that a fourth grade teacher shared, the seventh grade teacher can adapt or differentiate the lesson to fit the needs of his or her lesson. As Common Core becomes fully implemented it would be a great tool to have a place where teachers can discuss practices and what may not have worked for them when starting Common Core.

Common Core being fully implemented would be a disaster. No. Just please no. It's not a great tool, it's bad.

Common Core Standards require ELLs students and students with disabilities to be held to the same standards as all students. This must be kept in mind when creating lessons and incorporating curriculum into the classroom. Think about resources available to educators when identifying the services, accommodations, classroom support and resources that will be needed to make Common Core standards accessible to special education and ELL students.

Common Core should not be accessible to students in general.

Look at various crosswalks, comparing TN State Standards to the new Common Core standards. Notice the standards that have shifted grades, the standards that have been left out, new standards, and standards that remain. This allows teachers to see what materials or resources they have already available and what resources they need to be on the look out for.

Keeping tabs on the development of the PARCC assessment, as well as the CRA and writing assessments will help you build lesson plans that more closely align with the requirements set forth by these assessments. There are resources, webinars, and newsletters that keep teachers up to date on what the PARCC will be like so that when it becomes implemented, you can be more prepared.

Teachers are not the only ones who need to be involved in the transition to Common Core, district leaders, administrators and parents must also be included. Ensuring everyone is on the same page will make bringing every child up to Common Core standards much easier

Of course, not everyone will be on the same page when implementing this horrible curriculum. The people who agree to implement it are just... just... I don't even know WHAT.