Common Standards Drive New Approaches to Reading Schools across
the country are undergoing huge shifts to satisfy the state-led
literacy and math initiative The Common Core State Standards
aren't exactly new; it's been two years since most states
adopted them. But it took those two years for the standards to
trickle down from abstraction to daily practice, from a sheaf of
papers in a state capital into a lesson plan on a teacher's
desk. Now they're reshaping reading instruction in significant
ways. Whether the standards are shining a bright new light on
reading or casting an ominous shadow over it remains a point of
debate. But without a doubt, the shifts in literacy instruction
envisioned by the common core are among the biggest in recent
decades. And they're far-reaching: All but four states have
adopted the literacy guidelines. The standards paint an
ambitious picture of what it means to be literate in the 21st
century, said P. David Pearson, a professor of language,
literacy, society, and culture at the..