Common Core Standards
Learn more about the Common Core State Standards and how they will shift English Language Arts teaching and learning, and discover links to classroom and professional development resources for K–3 teachers. You'll also find information for parents about the Common Core and and what parents need to know to support their children's learning.
Key resources for teachers
- The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts: The official site for the Common Core State Standards. Find detailed information about the specific standards for K–3 reading, writing, speaking & listening, language, and more.
- Achieve the Core: Free resources from Student Achievement Partners, a nonprofit organization founded by three of the contributing authors to the CCSS. Find professional development modules, implementation tools, and more.
- Share My Lesson: From the American Federation of Teachers, find aligned curricula and lesson plans, the latest news on the Common Core, videos, a community forum, and links to additional resources.
- The Teaching Channel: Browse more than 100 videos of real teachers in real classrooms. Watch lesson plans and best practices in action.
- English Language Learners and the Common Core: From our sister site, Colorín Colorado, learn about how the Common Core will impact English language learners and their educators, families, and districts. Also see Common Core in the Classroom, a multimedia professional development project featuring in-classroom video, conversations with experts and teachers, and lesson plans.
In our blogs
Sound It Out
- Using primary sources in the classroom
- Questions and answers about the Common Core
- A reader's confession (AKA the need to read widely)
- Matching media to the curriculum
- Text complexity: create connections
Page by Page
- Informational picture books in preK
- Is childhood being hijacked?
- What's a picture worth?
- Strong, vivid narratives inspire, in nonfiction, too!
The Common Core Classroom
- Key Shifts of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy
- A Primary Grade Science Unit Using the Language Arts/Literacy Common Core State Standards
- Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA
- Planning Curriculum to Meet the Common Core State Standards
- What Teachers Need to Know About the Common Core State Standards
Download and print
- Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Reading Time
- Preparing 21st Century Learners
- The Vocabulary of Science
- How to Read Nonfiction Text
- Share What You Discover! Publishing Your Work
Resources for parents
- Parent Roadmaps to the Common Core: From the Council of Great City Schools, these grade-specific K-3 guides explain what your child will be learning in ELA and literacy and offer tips on communicating with teachers about your child's work and how to support learning at home. (In English and Spanish)
- Parents' Guide to Student Success: From the National PTA, these two-page guides for each grade explain what parents should expect their child to learn in their English language arts and math classes, and suggest at-home activities to help reinforce school lessons. (In English and Spanish)
- A Parent's Guide to the Common Core Standards: A clear, simple two-page overview from Education.com. Also includes specific tips on how to support your child's learning. For example: As you read with your child, ask her in-depth why and how questions that encourage her to analyze and synthesize texts.
- Beyond Comprehension: We Have Yet to Adopt a Common Core Curriculum That Builds Knowledge Grade by Grade, But We Need To
- Advancing Our Students' Language and Literacy: The Challenge of Complex Texts
- 3.6 Minutes Per Day: The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade