What am I supposed to be doing!?

This week's assignment, exploring and unpacking Common Core Standards left me both energized and unsettled at the prospect of managing such a broad amount of information. Our work is not only to interpret and translate each standard into thoughtful, engaging lessons but also to ensure that those lessons meet the needs of a broad spectrum of learners.

I appreciate the scaffolded approach we took this week, starting by broadly considering a few standards, objectives and assessments, diving deeper into thinking about one or two specific standards and lastly thinking about specific objectives and assessments.  It is clear that any one particular standard can be broken into multiple lessons with layered objectives. While the unpacking exercise is helpful for understanding the different skills students need to acquire, my first impression during these lessons, is how do teachers have the time to figure this all out!?

In the small amount of research I did to get lesson ideas, it stood out to me that there are not a lot of lessons or curriculum immediately available to support Common Core Standards, particularly the California Common Core.  I came across a few summary-type documents, like this one

as well as teacher sharing sites like this one. The freedom to interpret is certainly exciting, but the part of me that appreciates structure and guidance also wonders what and where is our rubric for success? What else do we need to know to be successful in helping our students meet these standards? Moreover, what sort of support and resources from our school and fellow teachers are needed to be successful? Any amount of thoughtful planning can be derailed in an environment that is unsupportive or chaotic.

I have really appreciated the time we have spent focusing on classroom and group management, but as we move into the content of our teaching, I am wading into less familiar territory! I look forward to spending more time exploring this content as well as learning more about how the standards are implemented district/school wide. Do teachers plan together or is every class learning the skills in a different way? Does the district regulate how lessons are planned or taught?  I am sure every school is a bit different, so the next step is also figuring out what planning and learning environment best suits me!