Common Core Standards for Education Week

Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School Kindergarteners in Amy Raymond’s class Piper Stephan, left, and Delaney Lane, right, read to each other. Amy Raymond, kindergartener teacher at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School in Glenelg, Maryland — part of the Howard County Public School System — utilizes Common Core Curriculum to teach her students Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Her class is the first generation of students taught under the new national standards, emphasizing subject mastery.

Thanks to Education Week, I had one of the most adorable assignments I’ve had since leaving my staff newspaper job at The Patuxent Publishing Co. But as it turns out, Common Core is anything but …cute. It’s a big deal in the business of public education. Here’s a link to the article, but unless you’re a subscriber you can only read the first few paragraphs. Don’t worry. Here’s the Common Core Standards State initiative page, the Wikipedia page, and — get this! — there’s an iPhone ap, too! At the end of the post are some newspaper .pdfs “clips.”Students in Amy Raymond’s kindergarten class at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School in Glenelg, Maryland play “Try To Go Home,” a number game utilizing common core curriculum K.CC.4a & K.CC.4b. (how’s that for wonky?) The way it works is, a pair of students roll dice to move a figurine. They used dinosaurs this week because the letter of the week is “D.” The purpose is to emphasize “one to one” number correspondence and improve operational and algebraic thinking. The students are (L-R) Marisa Lamb, Sierra Collis, Caroline Zdrale, and Dylan Ma. Maggie Metz raises her colorful finger-tipped hand.You know me… I really like to put myself in my work. In front of his classmates, Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School kindergartener Austin Wagner pauses before turning over the date “30″ on the calendar. Daily rituals like this help Amy Raymond’s class develop number proficiency. As I left the office, this Labrador mascot statue made me jump a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of dogs, I just wasn’t expecting a dog in a school. … And out the corner of my eye, this thing looked super-real.Maggie Metz, left and Austin Wagner, right, work on assignments.

The nice thing about kindergarteners is that there are moments all over the place. Amy Raymond plays “Try To Go Home,” with Sierra Collis.Ethan Sutch writes his class’s attendance on the board. This daily exercise utilizes math skills learned in Amy Raymond’s kindergarten class.…as in, “and why not make this picture?”Amy Raymond and her students (L-R) Dylan Ma, Gregor Lesho, Ethan Sutch (standing), and Gouri Gupta.I MADE THE COVER!!!