Think Critically About: Aligned to the Common Core

What does Aligned to the CCSS mean?  Those of us who work/worked hard on backward design, curriculum mapping, or other serious school-wide alignment of ELA writing skills, core texts (sometimes), and reading assessments (eg: expectations) to local or state standards are/were already aligning.

Many of those lessons, units and activities mesh very well with the CCSS.  Many don't.

What you will find when you investigate units, programs, lessons, curricula that are billed as aligned to the CCSS is either itemized CCSS standards attached to republished lessons or activities OR activities/lessons/units generated to support specific CCSS lines [I like the word lines because that is really what they are].

The CCSS is not a curriculum. At any level. School curricula and packaged/purchased curricula can therefore not be aligned to it.

So please doubt and evaluate the credibility and value of any advertisement for CCSS Aligned curricular content.

Purchase or download IDEAS, not curriculum.  Better yet, create your own.  This is how we do an end run around the common.  And yes, creating your own curriculum, using your own texts, is fully supported by the CCSS.