With the click of a mouse, anyone has access to the standards. So aligning our instruction should be a snap. If only it were that simple . . . Jim Burke anticipated the challenges and developed the Common Core Companion series for K-12. In his next smart move, he deferred to the talents of Leslie Blauman to be author of the 3-5 volume.

What makes Leslie Blauman's Common Core Companion "that version of the standards you wish you had"? It's the way Leslie translates each and every standard for reading, writing, speaking and listening, language, and foundational skills into the day-to-day "what you do": lesson ideas, best literacy practices, grouping configurations, adaptations for ELL, anchor charts, and so much more.

The wisdom and how-to's are all here, page by page:

With 30 years of classroom experience and consulting in schools nationwide, Leslie Blauman brings to this book a keen eye for what teachers need in order to get students in the intermediate grades ready as readers, writers, thinkers, and learners capable of meeting the Common Core's rising expectations in middle school. Leslie's classroom is a working model for child/staff development in reading, writing, and critical thinking in collaboration with the Public Education & Business Coalition (PEBC).

"When considering the CCSS, we need to remember that teachers do not teach standards. Teachers teach kids! A classroom teacher who mixes it up with kids every day, Leslie Blauman teaches as if her hair′s on fire"
—STEPHANIE HARVEY
Coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit