Leslie Blauman - The Common Core Companion: The Standards Decoded, Grades 3-5: What They Say, What They Mean, How to Teach Them

What Your Colleagues Are Saying

A classroom teacher who mixes it up with kids every day, Leslie Blauman teaches as if her hairs 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 35 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 Blaumana true master teacherpulls 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 35 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

The Common Core Companion
at a Glance

Example of a Filled-in Worksheet: Fifth Grade

Example of a Filled-in Worksheet: Third Grade

Example of a Filled-in Worksheet: Fifth Grade

Example of a Filled-in Worksheet: Third Grade

In loving memory of my mother, Alice Burch. And to my brother, Andy Burch.
Our parents raised two teachers to touch lives through words and music.

Copyright 2014 by Corwin

All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is authorized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial or nonprofit entities that have purchased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts Standards. Publisher: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington, DC. Copyright 2010. For more information, visit http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy.

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Clipart used with permission of clipart.com.

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-4833-4985-5

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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Contents

Jim Burke

Visit the companion website at www.corwin.com/thecommoncorecompanion for reproducibles, booklists, and other resources.

Note: For the complete Common Core State Standards document, please visit corestandards.org.

Preface

H eading into each new school year, we face the same challenges: lots of kids, lots to learn, lots to teach, and the feeling that there is never enough time. Really, its so often about time especially now, with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in place. I am sure you would agree with me that what we need most is time to decipher what the standards say, digest what they mean, and ultimately, figure out how to