Name: Rebecca Daun-Widner Date:2/1/20

Standards & Framework Part 1

California Science Standards (Next Generation Science Standards),

California History/Social Science Standards,

California Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics (Common Core),

and Curriculum Frameworks for the above subjects.

My goal is for you to know where to locate these, the difference between each, and what is necessary for you
as a classroom teacher to refer back to when planning lessons. You will continue to study these throughout
your education in the Be A Teacher program.

Visit the CA Department of Education website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ to find in depth information on

the Standards and Frameworks.

Directions: This assignment requires that you document a comment, question, observation,
and concern for one grade in each content area cited above. Take time looking at each area
and reflecting on the four items that you noted in each section.

Common Core State Standards

California English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards

Curriculum Frameworks
Guidelines for implementing the content standards adopted by the California State Board of Education that are
developed by the Instructional Quality Commission.

California’s Standards Documents and Framework Documents will be referenced to complete the following:
Comment: 3-5 sentences as a reflection. What you learned, what surprised you, etc.
Question: What are you wondering after reading these?
Observation: How have you seen these standards applied well in classrooms?
Concern: What is something that you are still unsure of?

Grade: K English Language Arts

Comment- This is my first exposure to the CA CCSS. The ELA standards seem straightforward
and very well rounded (as one would expect). I was glad to see the explicit
Standards expectation of support and prompting for most sections. It is so important to have
these standards to guide our instruction! Both the standards and the framework
were more challenging to get through than I expected - so dense!
Comment- I appreciate that the FRAMEWORK gives guidance on the HOW of implementing
the state standards. It is great to see such an emphasis placed on the importance
Framework of play in learning for TK-1st Grade. I was also pleased to see the emphasis on
using independent reading of whatever type of genres students prefer for
themselves to spark their desire to read and learn more. I’m thankful cultural
sensitivity and responsiveness is addressed. I am a bit overwhelmed by the scope
of this information (!), but am excited to put it to use.

Question Why are CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/ excluded from the Phonological
Awareness standard to “Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final
sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC)
words.:*?

Observation The teachers at our (tiny) school are thorough and diverse in their integration of
the standards in their classrooms. It excites me that there are as many ways to
make the standards applicable to our students as there are people teaching them.
Our Kindergarten teacher has been especially fun to observe while reading an
informational text/story - watching her stop to elaborate on new vocabulary, and
then use the vocabulary over the next few days in lessons and on the yard is
inspiring.

Concern I am concerned about the lack of coverage regarding students with learning
disabilities. The conclusion touched on the inability of the framework to meet the
learning needs of every child, because each child is unique. I hope we will be
learning more specifically about how to meet the needs of children with 504s and
IEPs.

Grade: K Mathematics

Comment- I learned the specific scope of what is expected in Kindergarten. I love that the
Mathematical Practices list includes ”Make sense of problems and persevere in
Standards solving them,” coupled with the idea that math problems can be thought about
in multiple different ways. This resonates with personal and observed
experiences of difficulty with the one way a problem was described or
approached in school. It gives me hope that fewer people will walk around
feeling inadequate or just “bad at math”.
 Comment- The standards are supposed to be explored again and again throughout the year,
rather than progressing through them one by one in a linear fashion. The
Framework Cluster-level emphases are easy to access and understand. Again, I appreciate the
multiple ways in which the standards are approached and spoken about.

Question “In kindergarten, instructional time should focus on two critical areas: (1)
representing, relating, and operating on whole numbers, initially with sets of
objects; and (2) describing shapes and space. More learning time in kindergarten
should be devoted to number than to other topics.” This statement is unclear. I
think it means spend more time working with numbers than working with
shapes. It could also mean work more with numbers and math concepts than
with other subjects.

Knowing what you do, how do you interpret this statement?

Observation Our K-5 teachers held a math night for parents a few weeks ago, with the
purpose of explaining how Common Core is taught and how the objectives and
methods differ from what most of us were exposed to as students. I could see
the lights go off for parents (and felt the same for myself!) as I watched our team
explain how a concept would be covered and worked through with the kids in
class. It was eye-opening for all of us!

Concern None currently - this all seems very clear and I can visualize implementing all of it
in class. I suspect that concerns may arise as I learn more about the standards.

After reviewing the California Standards and the California Framework Documents, please share your
current understanding of how these documents might support you as a classroom teacher. I think the CA
Standards and framework documents will serve as guidelines to refer back to as I am mapping out my year and
building my weekly lessons. As I am not yet consistently in a classroom, I am thankful to be exposed to them
each now, and to be able to use them to guide my understanding of what is expected of me as a CA teacher as
I am navigating the process. They will be resources to draw on and refer back to as needed.

How do you feel the needs of Special Education Students are addressed in these documents? From what I
have read so far, the needs of Special Ed students are not addressed enough. Because the needs of children in
special education are so varied and specific, and carry such weight both for the student and for the teacher
and school, I hope we will have some explicit guidance in this area.