“As challenging as it must have been to write and finesse the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, that accomplishment is nothing compared to the work of teaching in ways that bring all students to these ambitious expectations. The goal is clear. The pathway is not.”
—Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Christopher Lehman

The... more

The practices you will find in this book have been used effectively by many teachers. Here they are altered and redesigned with special attention to the CCSS—in a way that maintains the potential for teacher control and decision making in the best interest of learners.

—Gretchen Owocki

Whether it’s developing arguments, writing informational... more

“We open up the Common Core State Standards process and product, revealing that both are constructions—partial and value laden. With this understanding, we hope readers will step forward to take active roles in the discussion of why CCSS as well as how CCSS.”
—Patrick Shannon

Common Core is on everyone’s lips. We all want answers... more

Will Common Core switch my focus from students to standards?
Will it make my best units obsolete?
Will my students be able to meet its ambitious aims?

Cheryl Dobbertin’s Common Core, Unit by Unit answers these concerns and many more. It lays out in black and white how to plan instruction that addresses Common Core... more

What will students be asked to do when faced with the writing tasks on the Common Core State Standards assessments?  What are the instructional shifts teachers will need to make so that students can understand and master them?  Kelly Sassi and Anne Ruggles Gere unpack the PARCC and Smarter Balanced approaches to writing assessment, and provide... more

“Working effectively with the standards requires the critical understanding that the teacher-not the standard or the program-is the most important variable affecting adolescents' achievement.”
—Gretchen Owocki

The Common Core Reading Book, 6–8 makes the reading goals of the standards doable for teachers in every content area.... more