There are 3 key changes or instructional shifts that impact delivery of instructional content with the implementation of the California Common Core State Standards (CCCSS) for Language Arts. In order for students to demonstrate mastery of the CCCSS, they must practice and demonstrate mastery with the skills required by these instructional shifts.

1. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

While focusing on the skills of reading, writing and communication, the Standards highlight the growing complexity of the texts students must proficiently read to be ready for the demands of college and careers. The Standards build a staircase of text complexity so that all students are prepared to read, comprehend, analyze and evaluate college- and career-level texts upon graduation from high school. In addition, there is a focus on academic vocabulary which is closely related to text complexity and inextricably connected to reading comprehension.

2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational

The CCCSS require students to demonstrate content mastery orally and in writing by using evidence from texts to present careful analysis, well-defended claims, and clear information. Rather than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior knowledge or experience, the CCCSS expect students to answer questions that depend on their having read the information closely. The CCCSS also require students to demonstrate writing proficiency with a grade level appropriate command of sequence and detail essential for effective argumentative and informational writing. Likewise, the CCCSS reading standards focus on students’ ability to read carefully and grasp information, arguments, ideas, and details based on text evidence. Students must be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions in which the answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text.

3. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction

Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction plays an essential role in literacy and in the CCCSS. The majority of reading and texts at the college and career level are nonfiction or informational. In order to ensure students are prepared for the demands required for college and career readiness, the CCCSS require a 50–50 balance between informational and literary reading for students in grades TK-5^th. Informational reading primarily includes content-rich nonfiction in history/social studies, science, and the arts. In grades 6–12, the balance between literary and informational reading increases to 30-70 as students approach college and career readiness.