The Common Core Companion: The Standards Decoded, Grades 6-8

A longtime English teacher, Jim Burke is the author of more than 20 books and senior consultant for the Holt McDougal Literature program. Jim has received several awards, including the 2000 NCTE Exemplary English Leadership Award. In 2009, he created the English Companion Ning-the largest online community of English teachers in the world. More recently, Jim has served on the AP English Course and Exam Review Commission and the PARCC Consortium.

Acknowledgments Introduction: Getting to the Core of the Curriculum Moving Forward--Together A Brief Orientation to The Common Core Companion: The Standards Decoded, Grades 6-8 How to Use This Book Accepting the Invitation Quick Reference: Common Core State Standards, 6-12 English Language Arts Quick Reference: Common Core State Standards, 6-12 English Language Arts in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects The Complete Common Core State Standards: Decoded Part 1. Reading Key Ideas and Details Craft and Structure Integration of Knowledge and Ideas Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity Part 2. Writing Text Types and Purposes Production and Distribution of Writing Research to Build and Present Knowledge Range of Writing Part 3. Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Part 4. Language Conventions of Standard English Knowledge of Language Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Resources Resource A. Common Core Recommended Reading Lists Resource B. Text Complexity Tool Resource C. Planning Calendar Templates Teacher Notes About the Author

"I love what Jim Burke has done to make the Standards less threatening and more useful for teachers. In particular, the indicators for what students and teachers should be doing, given the Standard, are extremely helpful; as are such a clear glossary and illuminating examples. All in all, The Common Core Companion is bound to be enormously useful and thus dog-eared!" -- Grant Wiggins, President "Fundamentally different from other Common Core books, The Common Core Companion is s a user's guide designed by a teacher who actually uses the standards in his daily work with students. Jim Burke gently demystifies the Common Core State Standards and offers a practical tool for curricular alignment. I think you will find The Common Core Companion helps schools help themselves." -- Carol Jago, Member "I have never read a book for teachers so well laid out and highly useful. I predict administrators across the country will purchase this book for their secondary teachers to use in their staff meetings, individual department meetings, their PLCs, and for individual teachers to use as Burke puts it as 'a personal compass to navigate the complexities of the Common Core Curriculum.'" -- Debbie Silver, Ed.D., Author of Drumming to the Beat of Different Marchers and Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 "I must say, I am duly impressed. This book gives the kind of 'hands-on' support classroom teachers and curriculum committees really need in doing the work of 'unpacking' the standards and interpreting those standards into curriculum documents. The very detailed, complete discussions of the standards and the breakdowns that the Burke does are, in my opinion, exemplary . . . Well done!" -- Joe Crawford, Author of Aligning Your Curriculum to the Common Core State Standards "This very practical guide makes a complex topic easier to understand and less formidable. Schools will want to purchase copies for all teachers and personnel working with the Common Core." -- Library Media Connection, August/September 2014