Another Voice on Common Core

Once again, I am fascinated with your blog. I teach the 6 syllable types to my kindergarten students. I teach explicit phonics and they read very well. I also use academic language with my students. My student teacher often uses things she has picked up while in my classroom for her assignments. Recently she used the academic vocabulary that is common in my room and she had points taken off her paper because, "the vocabulary was to advanced for the grade level." B.S.! I use advanced vocabulary with my students. This was from a professor at U.C.F. (Florida), the same school teaching whole language (that would be another can of worms I have opened up). Another professor told my student teacher, "your classroom teacher must be using Reading Recovery levels because Kindergarten students cannot read at those levels." You want to bet! OPen door policy, come listen to them read.