IRA's Common Core webinar series gives you access to field leaders and fellow educators in a convenient, affordable format — to help you strengthen your understanding of how CCSS affects you and your students, and to give you a forum for sharing your questions and ideas.

Did you miss a live webinar? No problem! You can purchase webinar archives now through June 1, 2012.

• Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp on "Addressing the Complexity of Matching Readers with Text" (March 2012)
• Dr. Timothy Rasinski on “Authentic and Effective Fluency Instruction” (February 2012)
• Nell K. Duke on “Informational Texts—Rising to the Challenge of the Common Core State Standards” (January 2012)
• Tim Shanahan on "Common Core Standards for the English Language Arts—and You!” (November 2011)

Advocacy Webinars for Local and State Leaders

Update on the Common Core Standards: What are the Issues? (Archive from October 3, 2011)
This webinar includes an overview by Rich Long and an in-depth perspective on the current status and issues for CCSS implementation by Brenda Overturf.

View the video | PowerPoint | Core Standards Update from Richard Long (ppt) 

Common Core Standards: What is the state of play and what can IRA State Councils do? with Rich Long and Looking “Within” the Lexile for More Guidance: Word Frequency & Sentence Length with Elfrieda H. Hiebert, TextProject (Archive from February 8, 2011)

View the video

From Reading Today, IRA's bimonthly membership magazine

• "The Common Core's Staircase of Text Complexity: Getting the Size of the First Step Right" by Elfrieda H. Hiebert
• "Common Core Standards: Are We Going to Lower the Fences or Teach Kids to Climb?" by Tim Shanahan
• "Common Core State Standards: Approaching the Assessment Issue" by Richard Long
• "Kentucky Leads the U.S. in Implementing Common Core Standards" by Brenda Overturf

Edutopia blogs:
Introducing the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-state-standards-1-virginia-goatley

Common Core: Seven Opportunities to Transform English Language Arts Curriculum
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-state-standards-2-virginia-goatley

Implementation of the ELA Common Core State Standards Across the Country
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-state-standards-3-virginia-goatley  

Common Core Standards
These pages are associated with the Common Core State Standards. Main website, www.corestandards.org, Frequently Asked Questions, www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions, and English Language Arts Standards, www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards.

PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of states working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers. These new K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from 3rd grade up, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support. The PARCC assessments will be ready for states to administer during the 2014-15 school year (from the PARCC website). For more information, visit www.parcconline.org.

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and that accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. The work of the Consortium is guided by the belief that a high-quality assessment system can provide resources and tools for teachers and schools to improve instruction and help students succeed. The Consortium involves educators, researchers, policymakers, and community groups in a transparent and consensus-driven process (from the Smarter Balanced website). For more information, visit www.k12.wa.us/smarter.

TextProject Website
This website is associated with the Feb. 8, 2011 webinar on Looking “Within” the Lexile for More Guidance: Word Frequency & Sentence Length by Elfrieda H. Heibert. The website also includes handouts/presentation information from a 2011 IRA Conference session Common Core State Standards.  For more information, please visit www.textproject.org.

Lexile Framework for Reading and Text Complexity
www.lexile.com/using-lexile/lexile-measures-and-the-ccssi/

How College Readiness Narrows Achievement Gaps in College Success
www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/MindTheGapsSummary.pdf

CCSSO and Hunt Institute Video Vignettes
The Common Core State Standards, the Hunt Institute and the Council of Chief State School Officers commissioned a series of video vignettes to explain the Standards. www.ccsso.org/Resources/Digital_Resources/Common_Core_Implementation_Video_Series.html

Information for Parents: National PTA Grade by Grade Guides for Parents on the Common Core Standards
www.pta.org/common_core_state_standards.asp