Common Core State Standards
- The Common Core State Standards expects children to know a substantial amount of words, and their meanings.
- The Standards build on the notion of learning as developmental progression, designed to help children develop and revise their knowledge and abilities throughout their schooling.
- According to the Common Core State Standards students need to know about 80,000 words in order to be college or career-study ready by the end of high school.
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Anchor Standards
Links to the CCSS for Vocabulary Acquisition by specific grade level can be found here:
Kindergarten
Grade One
Grade Two
Grade Three
Grade Four
Grade Five
Grade Six
Grade Seven
Grade Eight
Grade Nine-Ten
Grade Eleven- Twelve
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6 Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
Links to the CCSS for Vocabulary Acquisition by specific grade level can be found here:
Kindergarten
Grade One
Grade Two
Grade Three
Grade Four
Grade Five
Grade Six
Grade Seven
Grade Eight
Grade Nine-Ten
Grade Eleven- Twelve
Common Core Shifts in ELA Assessments
Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Texts.
Passages will be authentic, and will be balanced between informational and literary texts.
Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines.
Assessments will contain knowledge-based questions about the informational text; students will not need outside knowledge to respond.
Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity.
Passage selection will be based on text complexity that is appropriate to grade level per Common Core.
Shift 4: Text-based Answers
Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence based conversations about text.
Shift 5: Writing from Sources.
Questions will require students to marshal evidence from the text, including from paired passages.
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary.
Students will be tested directly on the meaning of pivotal, common terms, the definition of which can be discerned from the text. Academic vocabulary will also be tested indirectly through general comprehension of the text.
Shift 1: Balancing Informational & Literary Texts.
Passages will be authentic, and will be balanced between informational and literary texts.
Shift 2: Knowledge in the Disciplines.
Assessments will contain knowledge-based questions about the informational text; students will not need outside knowledge to respond.
Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity.
Passage selection will be based on text complexity that is appropriate to grade level per Common Core.
Shift 4: Text-based Answers
Students engage in rich and rigorous evidence based conversations about text.
Shift 5: Writing from Sources.
Questions will require students to marshal evidence from the text, including from paired passages.
Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary.
Students will be tested directly on the meaning of pivotal, common terms, the definition of which can be discerned from the text. Academic vocabulary will also be tested indirectly through general comprehension of the text.