Guest Blogger! Featuring Yvonne Dixon from Sassy in Second

Hi everyone!  My name is Yvonne Dixon (from Sassy in Second) and I am SO excited to be the guest blogger today for …Two Tacky Teachers!  I just LOVE their blog name and want to thank Jayme and Val for asking me to join them to share some Common Core ideas and resources.  We are all in the same boat trying to come up with assessments and materials to support our new Common Core State Standards.  I am so thankful for all of the amazing educators out there posting ideas for us all to use!

                         

As a second grade teacher that has taught for 20 years in Georgia, I’ve seen the pendulum swing from Quality Core Curriculum (QCC’s) to Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), to what we now have…National Standards with the Common Core.  Unpacking and unwrapping standards is a tedious job and finding materials and units can be a little tricky.  Thank goodness we are in a blogging world where we can find resources at our fingertips!  If you haven’t already seen this, I would suggest you check out the amazing resources this Common Core for Educators article provides.  At the top of the list is the Common Core Initiative (a must for all teachers)!  It has everything you need from finding text Lexile levels to Common Core lessons on the Teaching Channel!

        

I realized a couple of years ago when my principal announced that we were moving toward National Standards that I would need to create materials that not only supported the standards but offered opportunities for differentiation as well.  I decided to design tiered math tubs that fit the levels of my kiddos while covering the expectations of Common Core.  Below is an example of one of my Tiered Math Tubs aligned with Common Core Standards.  I’d love for you to check them out on TpT!

 

 In addition, I’ve created a Common Core Notebook that is LOADED with pages that include:

Essential Question Posters, Domain Posters (notebook dividers), Word Wall Vocabulary Cards, Standards at a glance, a parent letter explaining about standards based notebooks, standard recording sheets, work sample evidence of learning sheets, and much more!

I am also reading books to help me design or implement units for Common Core instruction in my classroom.  I highly recommend you purchase the Common Core Curriculum Maps for your grade level.  I am participating in a book study on these “roadmaps to learning” for Common Core lessons and planning.  Many schools are implementing these across grade levels.

 

Thanks again to Jayme and Val for having me on their precious blog and I hope you can use some of this information as you implement CCSS in your school. Come visit me sometime at Sassy in Second!  Thanks friends!-Yvonne