To the legions of folks who see business opportunities in the common standards, add a new member: The New York Times.
The nation’s preeminent daily newspaper is promoting itself as a useful tool for teachers as they adapt their teaching to the common standards, which have been adopted by all but five states.
Through its Learning Network, which offers teachers materials and ideas for lessons based on Times content, the newspaper is suggesting ways that teachers can use the paper to address the standards’ emphasis on reading informational text. It notes that the standards’ definition of informational text “includes pretty much everything The Times publishes.”
In a blog devoted to this, the Times also seeks to offer itself as a resource in addressing other skills in the common standards, as well, including visual literacy, making connections between texts, and building research skills.
It’s not unusual for news outlets to play a role in classroom learning. The Learning Network has been offering lesson plans and other resources since 1998, and is now a Times blog. Time magazine’s “Time for Kids” is another prominent example.
As we’ve told you before, the marketplace of instructional resources for the common standards grows ever more crowded.