“Before you turn to the ins and outs of curriculum and the face of education today, the new standards and old standards and best practices, pause for a moment to picture the face of a child. One small someone you know well. When you see her running up to you, does it make you smile? When you picture him walking slowly with his head down, backpack slumped over his shoulder, do you want to reach out, maybe call him back? And when you think of all of them, their quirky, tousled, grubby beautiful faces looking up at you expectantly, I know you feel the tug in your chest. that tug of feeling we are so responsible for them all. We feel it deeply. And this is what I want to say: that is the core of all that matters in teaching. Without that care, the greatest curriculum in the world is only paper and a little dry ink.”
~ Lucy Calkins (A Guide to Common Core Writing Workshop)
AMEN SISTA! This blog is dedicated to share the journey that we are taking as educators. At the core of our study is the heartbeat of the classroom. The student reactions and the teachers knowledge to capitalize on the nuggets of brilliance that are shared. At the forefront of changing to Common Core Standards is reading and writing workshop. But now we are preparing our children to be thinkers and use the tools of technology as well as to express themselves and form their own opinions that contribute to our world. Take this trip with me as I will share classroom trials and discoveries.
For starters, I found this resource online tonight. Lucy Calkins and the teachers college have videos and sample lessons posted on vimeo. You can create your own cohort and observe some of the best practices happening in classrooms across the country. There are over 23 videos of lessons from Calkins Common Core Units of Study. Click this link to find the lessons that are best for your classroom.
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