The Common Core Curriculum lists standards for grades k–12. These are in four areas: Reading Literature, Reading Informational Text, Writing, and Speaking and Listening. These are the Reading Literature standards (source):
The grades 6–12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of
each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards below by number. The CCR and
grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing broadstandards, the latter
providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual
evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details
and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Craft and Structure
Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative
meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a
section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well
as in words.*
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as
the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the
approaches the authors take.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Responding to Literature
11. Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of American
and world cultures.
So we have eleven standards. One thing missing in this whole list is the word appreciate.
These are standards entirely based on text analysis, something that most readers do not do with literature except to help with their understanding of a story. The weakness here is that if these become the standards on the whole the we're creating a group of readers who are accustomed to looking at text through a magnifying glass. (Of particular concern here are standards 4, 5, and 8.)
I see many things missing from these standards. The biggest, which is sort of addressed in standard 11, is to make students independent readers. That is one of the biggest goals of a reading or English teacher. Strong readers not only excel in English but also most other classes too. Unfortunately, with this close text reading so emphasized, these standards may have a “turning off” effect, especially with weak readers.
Standard 8 seems out of place in a discussion of literature, or, if used, is a very minor point. Most literature makes claims of truth, but unless you're dealing with issues of unreliable narrators this seems much more appropriate for informational text.
On the whole, the complexity of these standards are a stumbling block to the building of reading skills.
So we have eleven standards. One thing missing in this whole list is the word appreciate.
These are standards entirely based on text analysis, something that most readers do not do with literature except to help with their understanding of a story. The weakness here is that if these become the standards on the whole the we're creating a group of readers who are accustomed to looking at text through a magnifying glass. (Of particular concern here are standards 4, 5, and 8.)
I see many things missing from these standards. The biggest, which is sort of addressed in standard 11, is to make students independent readers. That is one of the biggest goals of a reading or English teacher. Strong readers not only excel in English but also most other classes too. Unfortunately, with this close text reading so emphasized, these standards may have a “turning off” effect, especially with weak readers.
Standard 8 seems out of place in a discussion of literature, or, if used, is a very minor point. Most literature makes claims of truth, but unless you're dealing with issues of unreliable narrators this seems much more appropriate for informational text.
On the whole, the complexity of these standards are a stumbling block to the building of reading skills.
