When it comes to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), some educators may say they will be rigorous, while others talk about how challenging students could find them. One word that does not get thrown around much in relation to the CCSS is "fun." However, based on some of the lessons being used in one California school district, young learners appear to enjoy what they have seen of the Common Core.
In California's Pleasant Valley School District, the CCSS must be fully implemented by the 2014-2015 academic year, the Camarillo Acorn reported. Some educators, like kindergarten teacher Monica Bouweraerts, have already begun to introduce lessons aligned with the Standards.
For example, kindergarteners in El Descanso Elementary School are learning about three-dimensional shapes by building them. Before the Common Core came along, this type of activity would have been introduced for fun if time allowed. Now, however, it is the norm.
According to the CCSS' website, kindergarten students need to know how to identify, describe, analyze and create their own shapes before they progress to the first grade. As a result, the type of hands-on activities in use at El Descanso may become more common in other school districts across the country very soon.
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