In conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and governors across the nation, the initial drafts of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were introduced in 2009 with the final draft being released in 2010. With a goal of eliminating stagnant academic progress, the Standards were written to outline precisely what "students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level (NGA, CCSO, 2010h, About the CCSS section, para 1.). "To ensure students are meeting the learning objectives set forth by the CCSS for mathematics, teachers must understand each of the standards, understand the progression of learning students take through grade levels, and implement instructional practices that encourage student learning. The purpose of this qualitative document analysis and descriptive study was to explore the extent to which the CCSS for fifth grade mathematics supported contextualized learning, how fifth grade teachers are interpreting and implementing the Standards, and the extent to which these teachers are planning contextualized learning opportunities. Data collected included a document analysis of the CCSS for fifth grade mathematics, a survey to determine understand of the Standards, and individual teacher interviews. Results indicated that teachers interpret the Standards different, have differing definitions of contextualization, and therefore do not all plan contextualized lessons into their instruction. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]