Your Literacy Standards Companion, Grades 3-5. Leslie Blauman

the following:

      A one-page overview of all the anchor standards. Designed for quick reference or self- assessment, this one-page document offers a one-stop place to see all the English Language Arts Common Core Standards. In addition to using this to quickly check the Common Core anchor standards, grade-level teachers or the whole faculty might use them to evaluate which standards they know and are addressing effectively and which ones they need to learn and teach.

      Side-by-side anchor standards translation. The CCSS College Readiness anchor standards for each category—reading, foundational skills, writing, speaking and listening, and language—appear in a two-page spread with the original Common Core anchor standards on the left and, on the right, their matching translations in language that is more accessible to those on the run or new to literacy instruction.

      A new user-friendly format for each standard. Instead of the two reading standard domains—literature and informational text—spread throughout the CCSS document, here you will find the first reading standard for grades 3–5 and the two different domains all on one page. This allows you to use Your Literacy Standards Companion to see at a glance what Reading Standard 1 looks like in grades 3–5 across literature and informational texts. The design makes it easy to look at how the standard plays out across grade levels, so you can plan with teachers just how to increase complexity as students move from grade to grade.

      Parallel translation/what the student does. Each standard opens to a two-page spread that has the original Common Core standards on the left and a parallel translation of each standard mirrored on the right-hand page in more accessible language (referred to as the “Gist”) so you can concentrate on how to teach in ways that meet the CCSS instead of how to understand them. These Gist pages align themselves with the original Common Core, so you can move between the two without turning a page as you think about what they mean and how to teach them. Also, beneath each translation of a standard appears a list of They Consider. These are brief practical questions that will help students “crack open” the thinking and comprehension skills being asked of them. Ultimately, students pose these questions for themselves—both unconsciously and deliberately—as they engage in the endeavor. But because metacognition is something children grow into, you can use these questions as comprehension questions to pose to students after you model how to approach them. The goal is to provide ample practice with these questions so that students internalize them and own them as readers, writers, and thinkers. So be sure to incorporate them into the fabric of your instruction each and every day, having students talking, listening, and writing off them.

      Instructional techniques/what the teacher does. In the “What the Teacher Does” pages, you will find a great many suggestions. Although I don’t always say “Put your students in groups” or “Put your students in pairs,” I can’t emphasize enough that the goal is to demonstrate less and have students do more. Periodically you will see references to online resources that provide graphic organizers, visuals, book lists, and other tools that support the teaching of the standard.

      Preparing to teach templates. These templates serve as reminders, too, that teachers should be considering all these kinds of work every day when they plan. This page is divided into five sections—a place for you to plan, make notes, and so on. Examples of how it might look are shown in the beginning of the book. The sections are as follows:

       Preparing the Classroom: Where you can consider room arrangement (e.g., Will the students be working in groups? Do you have an area where you can meet with a group of students? A place for large group activities?) and the physical tools and materials you will need. For example, chart paper, graphic organizers, or multiple copies of material.

       Preparing the Mindset: Here is where you brainstorm ways to intellectually ready and engage your students for the standard.

       Preparing the Texts to Use: A place to think about books (or book bundles), magazines, short passages or mentor texts, online resources, and so on that you could use for this standard.

       Preparing to Differentiate: This is for you to think about your learners who need additional support. You might consider texts that are accessible, different supplies, and differentiation. You may choose to differentiate and include how you will extend the lesson for students working at the upper level.

       Connections to Other Standards: A place to draw your own connections between the standard in question and other standards.

      As you use these pages, they should become a resource for future lessons and a record of instruction. They are also beneficial for collaboration with colleagues.

      Academic vocabulary: Key words and phrases. Each standard comes with a unique glossary since words used in more than one standard have a unique meaning in each. Any word or phrase that seemed a source of possible confusion is defined in detail.

      Planning to teach templates. This is another template for you to record your notes and your planning. This page is divided into three sections: Whole Class, Small Group, and Individual Practice/Conferring. These templates serve as reminders that you should be considering these kinds of work every day when you plan.

      How to Use This Book

      Every school, district, instructional team, or teacher will pick up Your Literacy Standards Companion and have different ideas about how to use it as a tool. And, of course, there is no one right way to use it. Here are some possible ways, which you should adapt, adopt, or avoid as you see fit:

       Provide all teachers on a grade-level team or school with a copy to establish a common text to work from throughout their planning and instructional design work.

       Use it in tandem with the K–2 version by Sharon Taberski to dig into the standards in a whole-school initiative.

       Use it along with the K–2, 6–8, and 9–12 volumes for district-level planning and professional development work.

       Bring your Companion to all meetings for quick reference or planning with colleagues in your school or on your grade-level team.

       Use your Companion to aid in the transition from what you were doing to what you will be doing, treating the planning pages that accompany each standard as a place to note what you do or which standard corresponds with one of your district or state standards you are trying to adapt to the Common Core.

       Use your Companion as a resource for revisiting your curriculum plans in Year 2 (or beyond!) of implementing the standards to help you develop, refine, and deepen instruction.

       Begin or end meetings with a brief but carefully planned sample lesson based on a teaching idea in this book. Ask one or more colleagues in the school to present at the next meeting on how it might apply to other grade levels.

       Use the Companion in conjunction with your professional learning community to add further cohesion and consistency between all your ideas and plans.

      References

      National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Washington, DC: Authors.

       Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York, NY: Random House.

       Pearson, P. D. (2013). Research foundations of the Common Core State Standards in English language arts. In S. Neuman & L. Gambrell (Eds.), Quality reading instruction in the age of Common Core Standards (pp. 237–262). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

      Key Principles and Additional Teaching Strategies for English Language Learners 3–5

      You may have students who are English