ABSTRACT
The common core state standards are a set of learning skills that all American students should achieve, not a federal curriculum. They set the benchmarks and guidelines for what each student should learn, not how or what teachers teach. This chapter reminds a few practices that really work. It breaks down the elements of good, meaningful writing so that any teacher can begin to incorporate writing as a foundational expectation for his or her students. In the introduction of this book, the author likes about the Common Core Standards and the assessments to come. However, regardless of what the Common Core (CC) assessments may ask of us, the fact is that we should have more flexibility in our own classroom assessments. In other words, no matter whether we are facing having to hit a list of specific state standards, national standards, Common Core Standards, 22nd century global standards, or mythical intergalactic standards, good teaching practices work.
