CCR ANCHOR STANDARDS

CCR Anchor Standards

Reason for Picking the Anchor Standard
The anchor standard that I chose is C CSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1 : Ask and answer
questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for
the answers (College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, 2020). I picked this
anchor standard because it is the first standard for third grade. Anchor standards are read
vertically from one to ten. The first standard sets the pace and is the starting point. It is as
important as the tenth standard, but it is a critical point for every teacher. It opens the chapter and
allows the teacher and the student to view the big picture of what needs to be taught and where
instruction will begin. Thus, I chose the first anchor standard in third grade because I think that it
is the focal point for students at this level. When planning for instruction for third graders, I start
at this point. The anchor standard, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1 provides necessary information
key in planning for instruction. Besides, the anchor standard provides guidance for instruction
and assessment as well. As students respond to questions and use evidence from the text to
support their responses, I will get be in a position to gauge their level of understanding.
Depending on the response, I will readjust instruction accordingly to enhance the comprehension
of the text. This might include but not limited to rereading the text again with the students to
ensure that they get a glimpse of the text.
Rephrasing the Anchor Standard in Student-Friendly Language and Explain It to the
Students
When rephrasing this anchor student in student-friendly language, I will break it into
parts. I will start by asking questions from the text. When reading the text, I will let students

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understand that they will be answering questions related to the text, hence the need to pay
attention to the content of the text. After reading, I will ask questions related to the text, and give
students time to process the information as they respond to the questions. I will explain to them
that the questions are aimed at helping them understand the content of the text. When responding
to the questions, I will let the students know that they should support their answers with evidence
from the text to prove that they understand the text. Students will have fully understood the
anchor standard, and the text as well after responding to questions asked, and quoting textual
evidence from the text.
Challenges Encountered by Both the Teacher and the Students
One of the most challenging things about this anchor standard is explaining its contents to
the students in a language that is friendly and easily understood. Making the students understand
that an answer to a question is only complete if it is supported by evidence from a text can be
quite a task. Students might have gotten the answer correctly, but getting the right passage from
the text that supports the text might be difficult for them. For instance, when dealing with
auditory learners, these students might be able to understand the text during the read-aloud
session. They also will provide correct responses to questions asked but might take long
supporting the responses with the correct part of the text. In most cases, such students are better
at listening to content and instructions as opposed to content in written form. Thus, it is
challenging for the teacher to help such students understand how to identify whether their
responses contain textually explicit information.
Supporting Students to Master the Anchor Standard

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I will incorporate various strategies to ensure that students master this anchor standard. I
will start by defining what ‘mastery’ will mean so that it will be easy to know when the students
have mastered it. Students will receive the necessary support to perform authentic tasks that will
be crucial for mastery of the skill. One of these will include reading texts to understand. I will
take students through thorough reading sessions such as read-aloud, shared reading, and group
reading. This will be aimed at ensuring that understanding of the text is enhanced, and students
will be in a position to adequately respond to comprehension questions.
Secondly, I will show students how to answer questions and to refer to the text for
support by example. I will give three questions, provide answers to them, and cite evidence from
the text so that learners understand what they will be expected to do. During the read-aloud, I
will explain the meaning of vocabulary and show students how to look out for meanings of
unknown words. Ensuring that students can decode unknown words will foster their level of
understanding. They will be confident citing textual evidence from the reading passage as they
will have understood it already. Lastly, right from the beginning, I will let the students
understand that there will be questions related to the text. The information will make them pay
more attention to the text. I will insist that an answer is only complete if there is textual evidence
supporting it. Overall, the students will have mastered the anchor standard if they will effectively
and efficiently transfer learning to meet the authentic challenges related to their performance.

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References

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading. (2020). English Language Arts
Standards » Reading: Informational Text » Grade 3 | Common Core State Standards
Initiative. Retrieved 8 April 2020, from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-
Literacy/RI/3/