Reading Topics

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Common Core Standards | PARCC Assessments Released Items

PARCC Prototype Test Items for Common Core Assessments | PARCC Assessments Released Items | PARCC Released test sample ELA Grade 3, 6, 7, 10 |  PARCC Released test sample MATH Grade 3, 4, 6, 7, High School

ELA/Literacy Sample passages, items and rubrics
GR 3 PARCC ELA Item 1.pdf
GR 3 PARCC ELA Item 2.pdf
GR 6 PARCC ELA Item 1.pdf
GR 6 PARCC ELA Item 2.pdf
GR 6 PARCC ELA Item 3.pdf
GR 6 PARCC ELA Item 4.pdf
Gr 7 PARCC ELA Item 1.pdf
Gr 7 PARCC ELA Item 2.pdf
Gr 7 PARCC ELA Item 3.pdf


  • Grade 7 Prose Constructed Response from Research Simulation Task (Summary)




  • Grade 7 TECR from Research Simulation Task



  • Grade 7 Prose Constructed Response from Research Simulation Task (Analytical Essay)


  • GR 10 PARCC ELA Item 1.pdf
    GR 10 PARCC ELA Item 2.pdf
    GR 10 PARCC ELA Item 3.pdf
    GR 10 PARCC ELA Item 4.pdf
    Mathematics sample items.
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_GR3_Frac-Num-LineV2.pdf
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_GR3FluencyV2.pdf
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_GR3_The Field_PartAV2.pdf


    PARCC Model Content Frameworks for Mathematics.

    Prototype Items
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_GR6_SliderV2.pdf


  • Grade 6 (Slider Ruler)



  • Prototype Items


  • PARCC Math Sample Problems_GR7_SpeedV2.pdf


  • Speed



  • Prototype Items 


  • PARCC Math Sample Problems_HS-FunctionsV2.pdf
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_HS-QuadEquation.pdf
    PARCC Math Sample Problems_HS-SeeingStructureV2.pdf

    Generic Rubrics - ELA/Literacy


    The CRCT is a good Practice Test To Prepare for the PARCC CCSS

    1st Grade LANGUAGE ARTS:ALL DOMAINS
    GRAMMAR & MECHANICS
    RESEARCH PROCESS
    SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & REVISION

    MATH:ALL DOMAINS
    COMPUTATION & ESTIMATION
    GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT
    NUMBER SENSE & NUMERATION
    PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS/ALGEBRA
    PROBLEM SOLVING

    READING:ALL DOMAINS
    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
    READING FOR LOCATING & RECALLING INFORMATION
    READING FOR MEANING
    READING FOR VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENT

    2nd Grade LANGUAGE ARTS:ALL DOMAINS
    PARAGRAPH CONTENT & ORGANIZATION
    GRAMMAR & MECHANICS
    RESEARCH PROCESS
    SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & REVISION

    MATH:ALL DOMAINS
    COMPUTATION & ESTIMATION
    GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT
    NUMBER SENSE & NUMERATION
    PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS/ALGEBRA
    PROBLEM SOLVING

    READING:ALL DOMAINS
    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
    READING FOR LOCATING & RECALLING INFORMATION
    READING FOR MEANING
    READING FOR VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENT

    3rd Grade LANGUAGE ARTS:ALL DOMAINS
    PARAGRAPH CONTENT & ORGANIZATION
    GRAMMAR & MECHANICS
    RESEARCH PROCESS
    SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & REVISION

    MATH:ALL DOMAINS
    COMPUTATION & ESTIMATION
    GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT
    NUMBER SENSE & NUMERATION
    PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS/ALGEBRA
    PROBLEM SOLVING
    STATISTICS & PROBABILITY

    READING:ALL DOMAINS
    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
    READING FOR LOCATING & RECALLING INFORMATION
    READING FOR MEANING
    READING FOR VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENT

    4th Grade LANGUAGE ARTS:ALL DOMAINS
    PARAGRAPH CONTENT & ORGANIZATION
    GRAMMAR & MECHANICS
    RESEARCH PROCESS
    SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & REVISION

    MATH:ALL DOMAINS
    COMPUTATION & ESTIMATION
    GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT
    NUMBER SENSE & NUMERATION
    PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS/ALGEBRA
    PROBLEM SOLVING

    READING:ALL DOMAINS
    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
    READING FOR LOCATING & RECALLING INFORMATION
    READING FOR MEANING
    READING FOR VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENT

    5th Grade LANGUAGE ARTS:ALL DOMAINS
    PARAGRAPH CONTENT & ORGANIZATION
    GRAMMAR & MECHANICS
    RESEARCH PROCESS
    SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION & REVISION

    MATH:ALL DOMAINS
    COMPUTATION & ESTIMATION
    GEOMETRY & MEASUREMENT
    NUMBER SENSE & NUMERATION
    PATTERNS & RELATIONSHIPS/ALGEBRA
    PROBLEM SOLVING
    STATISTICS & PROBABILITY

    READING:ALL DOMAINS
    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
    READING FOR LOCATING & RECALLING INFORMATION
    READING FOR MEANING
    READING FOR VOCABULARY IMPROVEMENT

    Tuesday, August 21, 2012

    Problems with the Common Core Standards


    Problems with the Common Core Standards

    The Common Core Standards are being adopted by 47 states the next few years and most of these states could not meet the easier NCLB standards and mandates. The Common Core Standards are a great idea in principle but implementing them is the problem. The same old bloated districts, and fat cat educational publishers are going to do what they always do, give us the top down bloviated decision making model, that makes the teachers accountable, parents and students mad, lost, or confused, then they blame everyone else when things fail. The same people that have made the last 20 years of educational reform a disaster are in-charge of the new Common Core Standards reforms. The Common Core are part of the GERM! Global Education Reform Movement!

    The Biggest Problem Implementing the Common Core State Standards
    • No money for the transition and implementation
    • No parent and student buy in
    • No genuine support for teachers
    • Reading standards that are not attainable with an alliterate society

    Monday, August 20, 2012

    Reading Boot Camp | Too Cool For School

    Reading Boot Camp has something for every child, even the kids that are too cool for school! Many kids get jaded about school or have already shutdown and stopped participating in the academic learning because they are too cool for school. Reading Boot Camp tries to break down those attitudes with fun camp style learning activities. Many kids at the beginning of Reading Boot Camp stay on the side lines when we do something silly like sing and dance to pop songs but when you show them these videos many will join in the silliness and have fun and learn.

    Tuesday, August 7, 2012

    Common Core Standards Lexile Range and approximate NWEA RIT range

    Common Core Standards Lexile Range and approximate NWEA RIT range

    This is the CCSS Text Lexile reading ranges that are the new standards starting this year and an approximate NWEA MAP Reading RIT range 

     Grade 2 Lexile Range 450-620    NWEA MAP RIT RANGE 200-205
     Grade 3 Lexile Range 620-790    NWEA MAP RIT RANGE 205-210
     Grade 4 Lexile Range 770-875    NWEA MAP RIT RANGE 210-215
     Grade 5 Lexile Range 875-980    NWEA MAP RIT RANGE 215-220
     Grade 6 Lexile Range 955-1021  NWEA MAP RIT RANGE 220-225

    Friday, August 3, 2012

    Harry Potter Book Club | Harry Potter Reading Club


    J.K Rowling's new Harry Potter Book Club | Scholastic's Harry Potter Reading Club

    Scholastic and J.K Rowling have launched a new Harry Potter Reading Club website, hpread.scholastic.com! J.K. Rowling will be participating in a live webcast on Thursday, October 11, 2012 12pm ET/ 9am PT/ 5pm GMT. You can register your class for this LIVE webcast from Edinburgh, Scotland! The exciting news for me, is the Harry Potter Reading Club website is using some of my ideas! Sean Taylor The Reading Sage 


    Common Core State Standards | No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

    The Failure of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Race to the Top, and inevitably the Common Core State Standards.

    45 plus years of School Reform, what do we have to show for all that time, effort, and money? We have an education system that is 20 years behind the times, one of the worst graduations rates in the developed world, and soon a place most teachers and students will find lacks any imagination, quality, common sense or wisdom. Socialist states like Finland made fundamental changes in academic expectations (modernity and equality) and overhauled their public education systems over 20 years ago, using the most powerful agents of change in education, the classroom teachers. Today school reform is a political shell game, for profit schema that is disguised to rebrand bad ideas. Charter schools, vouchers, high stakes testing, student and teacher accountability are just ways to distract everyone from the simple fact that the wrong people are in charge of our children’s education. We don’t actuality fix anything we just shuffle the problems from one place to another, or if that doesn’t work they just fudge the data.

    We love to blame teachers for students results, even when they have no real voice in creating academic standards, modifying school schedules, designing curriculum, choosing grading policies, mandating parental involvement or the quality of the incoming students. Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, and Michelle Rhee all say they are the denizens of quality education, or the modern sages of school reform, but they will give us another 45 years of high dropout rates and more teacher blaming.  

    Wednesday, August 1, 2012

    NCLB Waivers | More states seek waivers from NCLB

    NCLB Waivers | More states seek waivers from NCLB
    State Seek Flexibility, Relief, from NCLB School Reform | Accountability Movement

    Why are all but a few states seceding (NCLB Waivers) from the biggest school reform movement in the history of the United States?

    Teacher, parents and students have lived under the false pretext that academic performance would and will improve with student accountability and modern school reform (NCLB, AYP, CCSS, ESEA and PARCC). The idea was, and is, reform schools with a Top Down educational model, to educate a greater number of students. The last 20 years we have seen the opposite with the highest numbers of students dropping out of school and overall literacy on the decline. We have left more and more teaching decisions to the publishers, politicians, billionaires and Wall-Street carpetbaggers the last 20 years, and at the cost of teacher and student liberty. Our schools have turned into institutes of student measurement, not bastions of reasoning and erudite academic discourse. Seeking and receiving an education used to grant its recipients with wisdom, freedom and a better chance at prosperity. Today, students see schools for what they truly are defunct testing factories that neither offers a path to wisdom, freedom or prosperity. Teacher liberty and freedom will only come when the Top Down educational reform model is seen as the problem not the solution. Most school reforms and student accountability ideas are like a rocking chair, they give you something to do but they don’t get you anywhere.

    "These states have joined in a nationwide movement toward state-led education reform now embraced by 24 states," said Secretary Arne Duncan. "Their plans are the product of bold, forward-thinking state and local leaders who have moved beyond the tired old battles and partisan bickering to roll up their sleeves and start working together." The leaders are not named but as always no classroom teachers.

    Imagine having accountability and reform for politicians and the Wall-Street elite!

    100% peace
    100% employment
    100% safe non GMO food
    100% environment friendly products
    100% equality and opportunity for all citizens
    100% reduction in global warming
    0% poverty
    0% lies
    0% of corporations are people

    “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its sharp edge." Tyrion Lannister