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Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Education Opinion

Q&A Collections: Implementing the Common Core

By Larry Ferlazzo — July 12, 2019 4 min read
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During the summer, I will be sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past eight years. You can see all those collections from the first seven years here.

Here are the ones I’ve posted so far:

This Year’s Most Popular Q&A Posts

Race & Gender Challenges

Classroom-Management Advice

Best Ways to Begin the School Year

Best Ways to End the School Year

Today’s theme is on Implementing the Common Core. You can see the list following this excerpt from one of them:

* “Unlocking the Common Core” With English-Language Learners

Kevin Jepson, Elizabeth Iwaszewicz, Dr. Heidi Pace, Cathy Beck, Gayle Westerberg, and Julie Goldman contribute their thoughts on how English-language learners can meet the Common Core State Standards.

* ‘Every Teacher’ Has to Help ELLs Meet Common Core Standards

Tan Huynh, Stephaney Jones-Vo, Shelley Fairbairn, Bret Gosselin, Mary Amanda (Mandy) Stewart, Emily Phillips Galloway, Nonie Lesaux, Stela Radovanović, Pete Lawrence, and Betsy J. Tregar offer their responses to a question about ELLs and the common core.

* Common Core Moves Social Studies From ‘Memorization’ to a ‘Meaningful Place’

Sarah Cooper, Michael Fisher, Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath, Jody Passanisi, and Eugenia Mora-Flores share their thoughts on the impact of the Common Core State Standards on social studies classrooms.

* Response: Common Core in Social Studies Looks Like ‘the Work of Historians’

Jennifer Hesseltine, Kenny McKee, Erik M. Francis, Wayne Journell, and Dave Stuart Jr. contribute their ideas about the social studies connection to the Common Core State Standards.

* Close Reading Can Be ‘Fun or Awful’

Christopher Lehman, Cris Tovani, Pernille Ripp, Jan Burkins, and Kim Yaris contribute their thoughts.

* Close Reading Is a ‘Life Skill’

Sonja Cherry-Paul, Dana Johansen, Stephanie Harvey, Julie Goldman, Diana Sisson, and Betsy Sisson are the featured guests in this post.

* ‘Close Reading'—Part Three

Kimberly Carraway, Katherine S. McKnight, Harvey F. Silver, Amy Benjamin, Nancy Boyles, and Rita Platt—along with readers—share their ideas.

* Supporting ELLs in the Common-Core Era

Kathryn Haydon, Dr. Lindsey Moses, and Lori DiGisi contribute their thoughts.

* Teaching Literature Through ‘Choice’ & ‘Practice’

This post features responses from Regie Routman, Katherine S. McKnight, and Michael W. Smith.

* Literature Can Be a ‘Gateway for Understanding Everything’

Several educators—Nancy Steineke, Sean McComb, Nancy Frey, Doug Fisher, Bill Himmele, and Pérsida Himmele—provide responses here.

* A Good Reading Lesson Doesn’t ‘Put Standards Before Students’

In this post, guest responses come from educators Cheryl B. Dobbertin, Ilse O’Brien, Katherine S. McKnight, and Regie Routman.

* Ways to ‘Shrink the Change’ of Tech & CCSS in Your Classroom

Sonja Cherry-Paul, Dana Johansen, Mike Fisher, Andrew Miller, and Amy Roediger share their advice.

* ‘Slow & Steady Wins the Race’ for Making Changes in Teaching

Charlene Stone, Jeremy Hyler, and Harry Dickens contribute their suggestions.

* Ways to Teach Common-Core Math to ELLs

Bill Zahner, Ben Spielberg, Gladis Kersaint, Denisse R. Thompson, Maria Montalvo-Balbed, and Denise Huddlestun share their suggestions.

* ‘Teachers Know a Lot About Scaffolding’ for Complex Texts

This post includes three joint commentaries from Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher, Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan, and Aaron Brock and Jody Passanisi.

* Teaching Complex Texts Requires ‘Getting to Know Your Students’

Read responses from three educators: Wendi Pillars, Amy Benjamin, and Christopher Lehman.

* Writing Instruction & the Common Core—Part Three

This piece features commentaries from Amy Benjamin and Alice Mercer and from many readers.

* Preparing Students to Write Is ‘About Our Own Collaboration’

Heather Wolpert-Gawron, Kathy Glass, and Carol Jago share their ideas.

* Developing Student Writers by Letting Them Talk ...

This post shares commentaries from educators Mary Tedrow, Ray Salazar, and Tanya Baker.

* Best Ways to Prepare Our Students for CCSS in Language Arts

This post features commentaries from educator/authors Christopher Lehman, Amy Benjamin, and Ben Curran.

* ‘How on Earth Will I Implement’ Common Core for Language Arts?

Teachers Alice Mercer and Dina Strasser contribute their thoughts, as do many readers.

* Ways to Try Using the CCSS With English-Language Learners

This post includes responses from educators Diane Staehr Fenner, William and Pérsida Himmele, Debbie Arechiga, and Julie Dermody.

* Common Core & ELLs—Part Two

Along with comments from readers, this post features two special contributions: one from the Understanding Language team at Stanford and the other a joint response from educator/authors Maria G. Dove and Andrea Honigsfeld.

* Ways to Develop Creative Thinking in the Common Core

Three author educators—Amy Benjamin, Ben Curran, and Heather Wolpert-Gawron—contribute guest responses here.

I hope you’ve found this summary useful and, again, keep those questions coming!

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.