The Common Core Companion: The Standards Decoded, Grades 3-5

Leslie Blauman has been teaching reading and literacy in the Colorado public schools for over 30 years. Leslie's classroom is a working model for child/staff development in reading, writing, and critical thinking. Partnering with the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), her classroom is frequently the subject of professional workshops, classroom reading enhancement films, and education journals. While she works with teachers and students in a majority of the states and internationally as a consultant, her heart is in the classroom and she brings this to both her writing and her consulting. She speaks regularly at teacher/literacy conferences and workshops. 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.

Preface by Jim Burke Acknowledgments Introduction: Getting to the Core of the Curriculum Key Principles and Additional Teaching Strategies for English Language Learners 3-5 Quick Reference: Common Core State Standards, K-12 English Language Arts 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 Part 5. Reading Standards: Foundational Skills Phonics and Word Recognition Fluency Resources Resource A. Common Core Recommended Reading Lists Resource B. Text Complexity Tool Resource C. Planning Calendar Templates

"A classroom teacher who mixes it up with kids every day, Leslie Blauman teaches as if her hair's on fire. Years of experience and study have led her to teach students to think strategically within a workshop model framed by active literacy practices. The Common Core Companion, Grades 3-5, lays out a road map to incorporating these research-based practices so kids can perform at their optimum, meet and exceed the CCSS, and even more importantly, become lifelong, literate, thoughtful readers and thinkers." -- Stephanie Harvey, Coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit "Meeting the Common Core standards is a classic half-full/half -empty dilemma. We can either gripe about our un-favorite standards, or seize this manifest opportunity. Leslie Blauman seizes big-time. Her savvy guide to the CCSS in the intermediate grades overflows with wisdom, creativity, and energy. 'Your students are readier than you think to astound you,' she promises. Watch her prediction come true as your students rise to the challenge with the help of these smart and practical materials." -- Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, Coauthor of The Best-Kept Teaching Secret "Leslie Blauman--a true master teacher--pulls the CCSS off the shelf and puts them squarely in the classroom with one time-tested idea after another to make them come alive for students. She breaks down the standards while building teachers' confidence to incorporate them into their classrooms in thoughtful, effective, caring, and rigorous ways, always keeping at the forefront the importance of real reading, real writing, and rich discussion. This volume is an invaluable guide for teachers as they tackle the Common Core." -- Susan Zimmermann, Coauthor of 7 Keys to Comprehension and Mosaic of Thought, Second Edition "Having worked with numerous principals around the country as an executive coach, and hearing their concerns regarding teacher workload and their comprehension of Common Core instructional expectations, I count this book as a 'score' for education. The format used literally takes the guesswork out of what needs to be taught while allowing the 'art of teaching' to remain. Novice or veteran, teachers will find The Common Core Companion, Grades 3-5, a great source of support for their craft, which will ultimately lead to academic success for students." -- Trina J. Rich, Executive Coach for School Administrators and Retired Executive Director of Elementary Schools