One person I’ve gotten to know well and admire this year is Dr. Myra Zarnowski, Professor of Children’s Literature at Queens College School of Education, part of the City University of NY.
Myra, Can you explain, in a nutshell, what the Common Core Standards are about and how they will change the educational culture in this country?
The stated goal of the CCSS is to prepare students to be college and career ready. To get the skills they need, students in every grade will be spending more time reading nonfiction literature and thoughtfully responding to it—50% of all reading in elementary school and 70% in high school. That’s the exciting part. Nonfiction is going to be central to much of what we do. Teachers at all levels will be using more nonfiction, and they will be using it to study selected topics in depth. It is our green light to dig deeply into topics in math, science, and history. We’ll be doing some close reading--comparing, integrating, synthesizing, and evaluating books and related materials. We’ll be looking at the craft of writing as well as the content. Above all, we’ll be supporting students as they develop their own evidence-based ideas.
What are some of the problems teachers articulate about using children’s nonfiction in the classroom?
The biggest problem teachers talk about is that they don’t know nonfiction books. As they strive to provide a better balance between fiction and nonfiction in their classes, teachers will be on the lookout for quality nonfiction. That means that we all have to do our part to help teachers find the books they need. The curriculum isn’t going away. Teachers will still be teaching math, science, and social studies. So what they need is a means of finding nonfiction literature that can enhance what they are already doing. They also need to understand the wide range
8 Comments on There's a Sea-Change Coming to Education, last added: 5/5/2012
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Thank you, Myra and Vicki, for a most informative interview.
Wow. I've been wondering what this new Common Core Standard was all about. Thanks for giving us such a nice, concise summary.
Congratulations and a big thanks to Vicki and Myra for this timely and fascinating post. Here's hoping that a few teachers out there will latch onto some of Myra's teaching strategies with the Common Core Standards in mind. I especially like the way she contrasts and compares 2 or more very different nonfiction books that cover the same material because this approach helps students learn to think on their own and to realize that there's more than one monolithic way to approach a given subject. I also think it's great advice to focus on a single compelling book to teach multiple topics.
If teachers don't know nonfiction books, they should run, not walk, to the school library! Every I.N.K. author is already on the shelves in the libraries in my school district, and we're focused on adding more.
I'm sure my elementary experience is not unique. K-2 boys want to read nonfiction. A student will carefully work his way through the dinosaur books, move on to astronomy, or snakes, etc. He'll excitedly tell me all the facts he learned as he returns each book. Then a well-meaning teacher says, "You have to check out a chapter book." By 4th grade, this boy who read nonfiction avidly assumes he's not a reader, because he doesn't enjoy fiction. The emphasis on nonfiction reading in the CCSS may help us keep those boys identifying themselves as readers!
Remember, teachers, authors and librarians make a great team when transitioning to the Common Core! Your library staff should be able to make great suggestions for incorporating nonfiction into your lessons.
Vickie and Myra,thank-you.This interview is a primer for teachers as well as writers of non-fiction for young readers. We are there to inspire, as well as inform our students/readers. We also have to be aware of the changes in education in America, along with the very real problems.
Thank you so much for this timely post. I've been reading Marc Aronson's "Nonfiction Matters" as well, and between the two of you, I feel I am starting to understand the Common Core. It is truly an exciting time for nonfiction writers! Kirsten W. Larson
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