The CMC South Common Core State Standards Committee has developed "Common Core Circles" for mathematics teachers to engage in tasks at each grade span, to explore the content and practice standards in a collegial setting, as adult learners, and to prepare to use such tasks in productive ways with students.   See the links below for materials shared in conference presentations. For more information about Common Core Circles, please contact CMC South through "Ask Us."

Common Core Circles 2015
CMC-South Annual Mathematics Conference 2015
Three presentations at the 56th Annual Mathematics Conference in Palm Springs, November 6-7, 2015.
Session #105: Choosing a Task for Orchestrating Classroom Discussions
How do I select a task to teach common core math to my students? Join us as we investigate criteria for choosing a math task to engage students in the common core. We will use number line tasks for K-12 to illustrate.

Session #207: Enacting a Task for Orchestrating Classroom Discussions
What does teaching under Common Core look like? Experience a model for teaching with Common Core tasks. Using Smith and Stein’s 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions, we will enact & discuss teaching under the Common Core.

Session #306: Monitoring a Task for Orchestrating Classroom Discussions
What does a teacher do while students are engaged in a Common Core task? What role does questioning play in monitoring students during such an activity? We will engage participants in creating questions to probe and deepen student thinking.
PowerPoint Monitoring a Task
Candy Jar Problem
Candy Jar Student Solutions
Candy Jar Mathematics
Candy Jar Variations by Grade Level

CMC-South Leadership Conference
The presentation on February 21, 2015, focused on monitoring student learning while enacting a Common Core Circles task.
Common Core Circles 2014 CMC-South Conference
Session #307: Common Core Circles: Selecting Awesome Tasks
Select awesome, worthwhile tasks to engage students and teach common core math. Investigate criteria for rigorous and grade-level appropriate task. We will illustrate using number line tasks for K-12.

Session #406: Common Core Circles: Enacting Awesome Tasks
OMG! What is teaching/learning within Common Core? Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I get my students to communicate about the math we are studying?” Join us to experience the Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussion.


Common Core Circles 2012 CMC-South Conference

The link above is to a power point updated for use with "Common Core Math Circles" Winter/Spring 2013.
The link above is the power point presented at the Sept. 29, 2012 Leadership Conference.
An opportunity to analyze a student teacher who is trying out problem solving.
Holistic problem that can be used at various levels.  On the right are the modified versions of the same problem.