Common Core Standards About Reading

The skill and ability to read is one that is important to people of all ages, ranging from every culture in the world. Reading is essential in order to properly function in society. However, unfortunately there is a huge percentage of individuals that have reading difficulties and cannot properly read. In fact, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that fourth and eighth grade reading levels are critically low. To fix this problem and ensure that all students from elementary through high school are adequately prepared for college in the future, the Common Core State Standards were established. These Common Core guidelines will help provide clarity about what is consistently required throughout the country as far as student learning. Until the Common Core Standards, most states had their own set of standards for ELA. However, with the establishment of Common Core, children across the world will be given equal opportunities in learning language in order to properly prepare them for their best future.

When looking for ways to teach students how to read properly, the first step is looking at the brain. Using technology such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, we are now able to track the brain activity and see the patterns of the child's brain, which can tell us if they are good readers or poor readers. The brain is a very complex and intricate organ with many parts to it. A brain is made up of two hemispheres and in each hemisphere there are many sections called lobes such as the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobe. Each part of the brain has a very specific function and job. Sally Shaywitz, an expert on the research of dyslexia found that good readers show the highest level of activity in the brain is in the occipital temporal area. He goes on to explain, that good readers activate the back of their brains and poor readers can't properly utilize the back of the brain. In order to change the brain activity in children who struggle with reading, phonics and evidence based instruction in phonemic awareness is used to help activate the back of these children's brains.

Educators need to use scientifically based reading instructions in order to make sure that their teaching methods are effective. There are three ways in which educators can know if the research is confirmed as effective. Firstly, if the research has been peer reviewed, and exposed to other se=scientists in the same field, it is deemed effective research. Secondly, if the research was copied and used by other researchers , who then came up with the same findings, it is an effective research method. Lastly, if the research is supported by other studies it can be considered an effective instructional practice.