Making Difficult Simple

Vigor not Rigor shared an enlightening analogy to help put the Common Core Standards in perspective.

The Common Core is a standard staircase , with a standard slope, a standard number of steps, each rising a standard distance, and it is designed to challenge the climbing skills of “standard” students.

 Since the CCSS are a cumulative K-12 program that functions like a ladder or staircase of learning, they must be taught in sequence as acquisition of each new skill is dependent on mastery of skills learned during the prior school year. 

Each anchor standard is broken into sustainable skills for each grade level to build upon.  It sounds manageable until a student misses a grade level skill mastery.  Now what?  They move onto the next grade level, expected to move onto to the next stair step, jumping past the last they missed.  While this provides a bit of a challenge, it seems do able.  These are the students that probably need additional support within the classroom, and may even qualify for Tier 2 support or Title.

The challenge becomes how?  What do we do to help them bridge the gap between the skills they are missing to be successful in mastering the more vigorous skill.

There is still a good chance we can catch them up a "stair" (skill) or two if we are strategically planned and ready to take a step back.  

Prerequisite Skills

Whether you are working with general education students that are a "stair" level (skill) behind or working with SLD students that are multiple grade levels behind--understanding the prerequisite skills for each standard will help that child bridge the gap.  

For example, let's use a standard like:

RI 4.6: Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

This can be simple if students understand point of view, text-based information, and comparing text, but what about the ones who aren't there yet? What about the ones that haven't mastered those prerequisite skills?

The first step to identify which prerequisite skills are linked with the anchor standard from which it was formed. 

RI 4.6 ANCHOR STANDARD:  Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Then comes breaking down each standard leading up to the grade level expectation.  What skills are required from the previous standards that must be mastered before reaching grade level expectations.

Anchor Standard Broken Into Bite Size Chunks

This standard requires students to:

• understand point of view:  first introduced in 2nd grade (RL 2.6-RL 4.6)
• pull out important information from the text:  4th grade skill (RI 4.6-RI 4.6)
• analyze text content:  begins in 3rd grade (RI 3.6-RI 4.6)
• compare two texts over the same topic—provided different accounts (RI 4.6) 

Click here to purchase this set of prerequisite skill organizers to implement in your classroom!

I have used this "stair step" strategy to work with students in small groups and whole group.  It helps me as the teacher realize what is making the skill so challenging--maybe it's not the skill at all!  Maybe it's the prerequisite skills that just haven't been mastered yet!

What have you tried when your kiddos just aren't ready for the grade level standard?  Comment below to share your strategies!