by Kathy G. Short
Young children understand the world through making connections to their lives and experiences within their families and communities. Some educators believe that their need for connections means that young children are egocentric and unable to understand cultures outside of their immediate life experiences. We believe that story provides a way for young children to see themselves as connected to children around the world. They may not understand where that specific community is located–seeing the other side of the globe as a nearby city–but they can still feel connected to children living in communities that differ from their own. Continue reading
The Common Core State Standards put a major emphasis on the close reading of texts, recommending that students find and cite evidence in the text as they discuss key ideas and details, craft and structure, and knowledge and ideas. Text analysis is viewed as bringing rigor to reading with an emphasis on higher level critical reading skills. Any text read to or by students is used for instructional purposes, to teach something. If students respond to a text by talking about what it reminds them of from their lives, teachers are to steer students back to the task and ask them to talk about what the story is about—to get the details and to support their statements by citing evidence in the text. Text-dependent questions and evidence, not connection, are valued. 
One aspect of the Common Core State Standards that has received a great deal of attention is the increased focus on informational texts. The CCSS document calls for 50/50 split between informational and literary texts in kindergarten, gradually increasing to a 70/30 split in high school.
