Softening the Edges. Katie White

from the sixth-grade English language arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS):

      Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas. (RI.6.5; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGA] & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010a)

      In this example, the students are being asked to analyze. Identifying and focusing on this verb is helpful in ascertaining how students will engage in the content that follows. It also allows us to be very clear about the type of assessment opportunity we offer students when it is time for them to show understanding. Consider another example from the fifth-grade mathematics CCSS:

      Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and

of what it represents in the place to its left. (5.NBT.A.1; NGA & CCSSO, 2010b)

      Here, students are being asked to recognize. This requires quite different processes and skills than analyzing, and it is vital to be clear about these differences from the outset. In analysis, students need to understand two or more ideas fully and then be able to explain the relationship between those things, supporting their explanation with details and examples. When students are, instead, being asked to recognize, it means understanding the attributes of something enough that it could be identified in an unfamiliar context. Sorting out the different processes and skills required for each standard or learning goal is the first step in clarifying proficiency.

      Clarify the Context of Key Verbs

      It is equally necessary to examine all information that follows the verb in a learning goal because this provides the context. Verbs, in and of themselves, do not portray the entirety of depth and breadth. Analyzing the causes of two world conflicts in social studies will require different kinds of knowledge and skill than analyzing game tactics in physical education. The context allows us to explore the depth of thinking required by the verb in each learning goal. We can ask ourselves, “Analyze what?” In the first ELA standard example, the answer is analyze the ways sentences, paragraphs, sections, or chapters fit into the structure of a text and contribute to idea development. Now that we understand what students are being asked to analyze, we can begin sorting out the parts of the standard that students must attend to. They will need to be able to recognize pieces of a text in various forms (sentences, paragraphs, and so on). They will also need to comprehend the text, identifying key ideas. They then need to consider the ways those smaller structures of a text develop the overall message; in other words, they need to consider how the text’s meaning is impacted by the way it is written.

      In the mathematics standard, students are being asked to recognize the relationship between the value of the numbers in a multidigit number and their placement within the number. So, when a number is given, a student will be able to recognize the value of each digit in relation to the digits next to it. As soon as we explore the deeper intention behind a standard, we can begin to imagine how this will look as it is being introduced, explored, and eventually fully understood. In other words, the continuum begins to unfold.

      Whether we use Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Bloom, 1956) or Norman L. Webb’s (2002) Depth of Knowledge model, it is important to understand the kinds of thinking required of students and what that thinking will look and sound like when it is lived in our classrooms. By considering this ahead of time, we are affording ourselves the confidence to design strong learning experiences and assessment events for our students that invite the practice and exploration they will need to reach proficiency.

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