William E. Lewis & Sharon Walpole 
Cracking the Common Core 
Choosing and Using Texts in Grades 6-12

This book guides teachers in grades 6-12 to strategically combine a variety of texts–including literature, informational texts, and digital sources–to meet their content-area goals and the demands of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). It presents clear-cut ways to analyze text complexity, design challenging text sets, and help students get the most out of what they read. Provided are practical instructional ideas for building background knowledge, promoting engagement, incorporating discussion and text-based writing, and teaching research skills. Appendices offer sample unit plans for English language arts, history/social studies, and science classrooms. More than 20 reproducible coaching templates and other tools can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2′ x 11′ size.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword, Jeffrey Menzer and Jacob Nagy

1. Embracing the Common Core

2. Understanding Adolescent Readers

3. Understanding Challenging Texts

4. Designing Challenging Text Sets

5. Building Background Knowledge

6. Supporting Students during Reading

7. Implementing High-Quality Discussions after Reading

8. Text-Based Writing to Support Understanding

9. Research in the Content Areas

10. Leading for Change

Appendix 1. Text Set Examples from English Language Arts

Appendix 2. Text Set Examples from History/Social Studies

Appendix 3. Text Set Examples from Science

Über den Autor

William E. Lewis, Ph D, is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in content-area literacy, English language arts methods, writing, and young adult literature. Before going to the University of Delaware, he taught secondary English language arts for 20 years in the Pennsylvania public schools. Dr. Lewis has served as a consultant to both the Delaware and Georgia education departments and presents a range of professional development seminars on content-area literacy at the local and state levels. His research interests focus on persuasive writing and argumentation and secondary content-area reading and writing.

Sharon Walpole, Ph D, is Professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. She has extensive school-based experience designing and implementing tiered instructional programs. Dr. Walpole has also been involved in federally funded and other schoolwide reform projects. Her current work involves the design and effects of schoolwide reforms. She has coauthored or coedited several books, including
How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction, Second Edition: Resources for Grades K–3;
The Literacy Coach’s Handbook, Second Edition; and
Organizing the Early Literacy Classroom. Dr. Walpole is also Series Editor, with Michael C. Mc Kenna, of
The Essential Library of Pre K–2 Literacy. She is a recipient of the Early Career Award for Significant Contributions to Literacy Research and Education from the Literacy Research Association and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Delaware.

Michael C. Mc Kenna, Ph D, was Thomas G. Jewell Professor of Reading in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia until his death in 2016. He authored, coauthored, or edited more than 20 books and over 100 articles, chapters, and technical reports on a range of literacy topics. Dr. Mc Kenna also served as Series Editor, with Sharon Walpole, of
The Essential Library of Pre K–2 Literacy. His research was sponsored by the National Reading Research Center and the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. He was a corecipient of the Edward B. Fry Book Award from the Literacy Research Association and the Award for Outstanding Academic Books from the American Library Association, and a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.