Find Core Ready Resources, Tips, Booklists, and More

By Suzanne McCabe, editor-at-large, Scholastic Inc.

Educators and parents are hungry for plain information about the new Common Core State Standards. How will the standards shape instruction in the coming years? How will we measure success for our children, who come to us with an array of talents — and an army of needs? There are no easy answers.

One recent evening, I visited a public elementary school in Brooklyn, N.Y. My goal was to introduce parents to the Common Core. A sea of weary—and wary—faces greeted me. Many of the parents had emigrated from Haiti and other Caribbean countries. Like generations of immigrants before them, they had come to America for one reason: to provide greater opportunities for their children.

“What do you know about the Common Core?” I asked. Not a hand went up. “It's okay if you're intimidated,” I said. “Everyone is.”

Smiles broke out across the cavernous auditorium.

We know what the Math and English Language Arts standards call for. But there is no blueprint for how to implement them. So perhaps it's best, as author Anne Lamott's father once advised about a last-minute science report, to take it "bird by bird." On this site, we offer Core-ready instructional materials and programs; tips for parents; sample lesson plans; nonfiction and literature booklists you won't want to miss; and a lot more. Visit us at scholastic.com/commoncore.