LANGUAGE ARTS
LANGUAGE ARTS English Language Arts
On June 2, 2010, North Carolina adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in K-12 English Language Arts which were released by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. With this adoption, these Standards became a part of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The CCSS will be implemented in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The CCSS for English Language Arts are based on research and evidence that describe the competencies necessary for all students to become college and career ready by the end of high school. The CCSS outline a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the 21st Century.
Standards Design
Anchor Standards: “The College and Career Ready (CCR) Anchor Standards anchor the document and define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations that must be met for students to be prepared to enter college and workforce training programs ready to succeed” (CCSS, pg. 4).
Grade-Specific Standards: The K-12 Grade-specific Standards have a one-to-one correspondence with the College and Career Anchor Standards. “[They] define end-of-year expectations and a cumulative progression designed to enable students to meet college and career readiness expectations no later than the end of high school” (CCSS, pg. 4).
Individual grade levels are used K-8 to provide necessary specificity. Two-year grade bands are used in grades 9-12.
The CCSS are organized into four strands:
- Reading (Informational and Literary)
- Includes Reading Foundational Skills for K-5 students
- Writing
- Speaking and Listening
- Language
Though the standards are divided into strands, the standards support an integrated model of literacy.
*The full Common Core standards can be viewed at www.corestandards.org
Instructional Support Tools
- English Language Arts Unpacking Standards
- English Language Arts Crosswalks
- ELA CCSS Progression View
This interactive resource provides the viewer with the progression of the K-12 ELA Common Core State Standards. It allows the user to choose the strand and range to narrow or widen the scope – to focus attention on the standards needing review. This is a helpful tool for educators interested in seeing at a glance grade-by-grade expectations for students.