Smart implementation of the Common Core State Standards requires both an overall understanding of the standards and a grasp of their implications for planning, teaching, and learning. This Quick-Start Guide provides a succinct, all-in-one look at

* The structure, terminology, and emphases of the Common Core mathematics standards at the high school level, including the areas that represent the most significant changes to business as usual.

* The meaning of the individual content standards, addressed by domain and cluster, within all five conceptual categories—Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability.

* How the content standards, practice standards, and designated modeling standards connect across domains, categories, grade bands, and traditional course boundaries to help students develop both deep conceptual understanding and functional, real-world application skills.

Here, mathematics teachers and teacher leaders will find information they need to begin adapting their courses and practices to ensure all students master the new and challenging material the standards present and graduate ready for college or career. A practical lesson planning process to use with the Common Core, based on Classroom Instruction That Works, 2nd Ed., is included, along with three sample lessons.

LEARN THE ESSENTIALS OF THE COMMON CORE

The grade-level and subject-specific Quick-Start Guides in the Understanding the Common Core Standards series, edited by John Kendall, are designed to help school leaders and school staffs turn Common Core standards into coherent, content-rich curriculum and effective, classroom-level lessons.