Topic: Reading Standards for Informational Text, K-5 (2).

10-second review: Selected highlight standards for information reading in grades 3, 4, 5. Main idea and supporting details. Use bold print, etc., to locate information. Prior knowledge. Compare and contrast. Summarize. Sequence of events. Eyewitness vs. second-hand accounts. Charts, diagrams, etc. Evidence to support claims. Two or more texts on same subject. Quote. Organization of information. Similarities and differences. Integrate information from several texts.

Title: “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010, p. 11. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.

Grade 3: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by the key details. Determine the relationship between historical or scientific events or ideas in a text. Use bold print, key words, topic sentences, hyperlinks to locate information. Compare what is presented in a text with relevant prior knowledge. Compare and contrast information from two texts on the same subject.

Grade 4: Use details and examples from a text to support statements about the text. Summarize the text. Describe sequence of events. Compare eyewitness and second-hand accounts of the same event. Interpret information in charts, diagrams, etc. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Describe how two or more texts on the same subject build on one another.

Grade 5: Quote from a text to support statements about the text. Explain the relationships between two or more historical events or scientific concepts using one or more texts. Describe how events, ideas are organized (chronology, comparison, cause and effect). Analyze two accounts of the same event, showing similarities and differences. Use information from multiple print or digital sources to answer a question quickly. Explain how an author uses evidence to support claims. Integrate information from several texts on the same subject.

Comment: Teachers will first need to interpret each standard. What does it actually mean in detail? What does it imply? Second, teachers will need to define how to use the standards in their classrooms. What materials will be needed? Third, they will need to determine how to apply the standards consistently throughout the year. One and done won’t do it.  RayS.