It’s the teaching around the standards that counts! What makes Sharon Taberski’s Common Core Companion “that version of the standards you wish you had?” It’s the way Sharon translates each and every standard for reading, writing, speaking and listening, language, and foundational skills into the day-to-day “what you do.” It’s all here: The standards for literature and informational texts put side by side for easier planning More than a dozen teaching ideas for each standard Recommendations on how to cultivate critical habits of mind A glossary of academic language for each standard An online bank of graphic organizers, reproducibles, charts, and more

This book explains what the standards say, what they mean, and how to teach them. The book is organized by the Anchor Standards in the following categories: Reading Literature Informational Text Foundational Reading Skills (This is a departure from the 6-12 standards that we will have to consider in design/format) Writing Speaking and Listening Language

With the click of a mouse, anyone has access to the standards. So aligning our instruction should be a snap. If only it were that simple . . . Jim Burke anticipated the challenges and developed the Common Core Companion series for K-12. In his next smart move, he deferred to the talents of Leslie Blauman to be author of the 3-5 volume. What makes Leslie Blauman’s Common Core Companion "that version of the standards you wish you had"? It’s the way Leslie translates each and every standard for reading, writing, speaking and listening, language, and foundational skills into the day-to-day "what you do": lesson ideas, best literacy practices, grouping configurations, adaptations for ELL, anchor charts, and so much more. The wisdom and how-to’s are all here, page by page: The standards for literature and informational texts put side by side for easier planning Teaching ideas for each standard Recommendations on how to cultivate the habits of mind that are critical to meeting the standards, including interpersonal skills, collaboration, and perseverance A glossary of academic language for each standard with adaptations for ELL students An online bank of graphic organizers, student reproducibles, sample classroom charts, rubrics, and photos Reproducible planning templates for each standard to help you map out lessons, select books, generate key questions, and more With 30 years of classroom experience and consulting in schools nationwide, Leslie Blauman brings to this book a keen eye for what teachers need in order to get students in the intermediate grades ready as readers, writers, thinkers, and learners capable of meeting the Common Core’s rising expectations in middle school. Leslie’s classroom is a working model for child/staff development in reading, writing, and critical thinking in collaboration with the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC). "When considering the CCSS, we need to remember that teachers do not teach standards. Teachers teach kids! A classroom teacher who mixes it up with kids every day, Leslie Blauman teaches as if her hair′s on fire" --STEPHANIE HARVEY Coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit

You can find hundreds of literacy lessons in hundreds of places—but none of them will do for students what the ones in this book do. What’s the magic bullet? Potent integration. Divided into five weeklong learning sequences, the 50 lessons span the ELA standards, bringing a Monday-through-Friday clarity to the sometimes mysterious process of skill-building through demonstrations and practice. Follow each sequence and week by week, you’ll build the instructional potency to help students achieve a year’s worth of growth as you integrate: Writing Narratives with Identifying Sensory Words in Text Research with Identifying Topic and Details Opinion Writing with Close Reading for Text Evidence Comparing and Contrasting with Publishing Using Digital Tools Informative Writing with Use of Text Features Each of the 50 lessons is eminently dippable. But if you want to do more extended instructional planning, there are lots of additional tools—including lists of mentor texts, and If/Then and Extending-the-Work charts—within the book and on the companion website: www.corwin.com/commoncorecompanion.

"The Common Core Mathematics Companion 6-8 offers a practical guide for implementing the CCSS Math Standards. Teachers will appreciate the misconception alerts and ideas for differentiation." — Jay McTighe, Author and Consultant When it comes to math, standards-aligned is achievement-aligned... In the short time since The Common Core Mathematics Companions, Grades K-2 and 3-5 burst on the scene, they have been lauded as the best resources for making critical math ideas easy to teach. With this brand-new 6-8 volume, middle school math success is at your fingertips. Page by page, the authors lay out the pieces to a cutting-edge curriculum, helping you to: Get the inside scoop on which standards connect, what key vocabulary means, and time-saving tables showing where to focus instruction for each grade Write curriculum for: ratios and proportional relationships, the number system, expressions and equations, functions, geometry, and statistics & probability Use the What to Teach pages to deliver powerful standards-based lessons Learn effective techniques to create an environment where all students can experience math break-throughs Incorporate the Standards for Mathematical Practice to improve students’ ability to problem solve, construct viable arguments, use tools strategically, attend to precision, and more The Common Core Mathematics Companion, Grades 6–8 has what every middle school needs to provide students with the foundation for the concepts and skills they will be expected to know in grade 9–12. Ruth Harbin Miles is a mathematics coach, with special expertise in developing teachers’ content knowledge and strategies for engaging students to achieve high mathematics standards. A serving member on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, Ruth is a co-author with Linda Gojak of The Common Core Mathematics Companions, K–2 and 3–5 (Corwin). Lois Williams, Ed.D., who taught mathematics in grades K–8 for 20 years, is currently an adjunct professor at Mary Baldwin College and an International Fellow with the Charles A. Dana Center, training teachers in the College and Career Readiness Standards She has been honored with a Fulbright Teacher Exchange and the Virginia Middle School Mathematics Teacher of the Year award.

Skill-building through potent instruction, day by day In these much-anticipated sequels to The Common Core Companion, Janiel Wagstaff and Leslie Blauman provide a collection of connected lessons and formative writing assessments that bring Monday-to-Friday clarity to the task of integrating reading and writing with ELA standards. In each volume, the 50+ lessons are divided into fi ve, week-long learning sequences addressing key literacygoals. A best-practice glossary, If/Then charts, unit-planning calendars, and other tools round out these essential references, both in book and online. Follow each sequence and week by week, you'll build the instructional potency to help students achieve a year's worth of growth as you integrate: Writing Narratives with Identifying Sensory Words in Text Research with Identifying Topic and Details Opinion Writing with Close Reading for Text Evidence Comparing and Contrasting with Publishing Using Digital Tools Informative Writing with Use of Text Features

Your User’s Guide to the Mathematics Standards When it comes to mathematics, standards aligned is achievement aligned... In the short time since The Common Core Mathematics Companions for grades K–2, 3–5 and 6–8 burst on the scene, they have been lauded as the best resources for making critical mathematics ideas easy to teach. With this brand-new volume, high school mathematics success is at your fingertips. Page by page, the authors lay out the pieces of an in-depth explanation, including The mathematical progression of each conceptual category, starting with modeling as a unifying theme, and moving through number & quantity, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics and probability, building from the 8th grade standards The mathematics embedded in each conceptual category for a deeper understanding of the content How standards connect within and across domains, and to previous grade standards, so teachers can better appreciate how they relate How standards connect with the standards for mathematical practice, with a focus on modeling as a unifying theme Example tasks, progressions of tasks, and descriptions of what teachers and students should be doing to foster deep learning The Common Core Mathematics Companion: The Standards Decoded, High School has what every high school teacher needs to provide students with the foundation for the concepts and skills they will be expected to know .

Your user’s guide to the mathematics standards In the 12 short months since the ELA versions of The Common Core Companions, Grades K-2 and 3-5, burst on the scene, they’ve already assisted tens of thousands of teachers with the day-to-day "what you do." Teachers’ one big criticism: what about mathematics? Luckily NCTM past-president Linda Gojak and mathematics coach Ruth Harbin Miles stepped up to the task. The result? That version of the mathematics standards you wish you had. Page by page, The Common Core Mathematics Companions clearly lay out: The mathematics embedded in each standard for a deeper understanding of the content Examples of what effective teaching and learning look like in the classroom Connected standards within each domain so teachers can better appreciate how they relate Priorities within clusters so teachers know where to focus their time The three components of rigor: conceptual understanding, procedural skills, and applications Vocabulary and suggested materials for each grade-level band with explicit connections to the standards Common student misconceptions around key mathematical ideas with ways to address them Don’t spend another minute poring over the mathematics standards. Gojak and Miles have already done the heavy-lifting for you. Focus instead on how to teach them, using The Common Core Mathematics Companion as your one-stop guide for teaching, planning, assessing, collaborating, and designing powerful mathematics curriculum.

"Too often, middle school and high school teachers say, ‘These students are lacking number sense.’ These books will help secondary teachers with good pedagogy to help build number sense in a creative way. John SanGiovanni and Eric Milou have created short routines that are teacher-friendly, with lots of examples, and easy to adapt to each teacher’s needs. These are the books that secondary teachers have been waiting for to help engage students in building number sense." Pamela J. Dombrowski, Secondary Math Specialist Geary County School District Junction City, KS Kickstart your middle school math class! Do your students need more opportunities do develop number sense and reasoning? Are you looking to get your students energized and talking about mathematics? Have you wondered how practical, replicable, and engaging activities would complement your mathematics instruction? This guide answers the question "What could I do differently?" by taking cues from some of the most effective types of routines commonly used to engage students in reasoning while developing and reinforcing their number sense. This book offers 20 different routines, all of which include content examples, extensions, and variations for grades 6–8. It includes a year’s worth of daily instructional material that you can use each class period to promote student reasoning and number sense. The routines in this book will help students Frequently revisit essential mathematical concepts Foster and shore up conceptual understanding Engage in mental mathematics, leading to efficiency and fluency Engage in mathematical discourse by constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others Reason mathematically, which can improve performance on high-stakes assessments Move learning beyond "correctness" by valuing mistakes and discourse to encourage a growth mindset From trusted authors and experts John SanGiovanni and Eric Milou, this teacher-friendly resource will give you all the tools and tips you need to reinvent those critical first five or ten minutes of math class for the better!

This book is modeled after Jim Burke’s successful Common Core Companion Series. It is the first of two books (K-2, 3-5) in the series. The book will include a clear explanation of the mathematics within each domain, cluster, and standard and suggested grade level appropriate visual models and representations. It is a book for math teachers who may or may not be math specialists. As teachers plan and develop their curriculum, this book will help them determine important mathematics in a cluster and how that mathematics connects from one grade to the next as well as within a grade.