Because the Common Core requires bold action Why The Common Core, an Uncommon Opportunity? Why now? Because it tackles a largely overlooked component of implementation: how to redesign your instructional delivery system, K-12. And you’ll have to; if you don’t, you’ll be subject to the very same failure and frustration so many other districts and schools are experiencing. What’s more, March and Peters describe how to integrate 21st Century Skills at the very same time. It will help district leaders Develop structured, consistent, and organized teaching and learning practices Make district-wide infrastructure adjustments for sustained reform Use best practices for sustained achievement and continuous curriculum review

Let’s face it, weak rivets notwithstanding, the Titanic wouldn’t have sunk if the iceberg had been spotted in time. And let’s face it, the CCSS won’t be classroom-worthy unless practitioners chart our course. Depend on Michael Smith, Deborah Appleman, and Jeff Wilhelm to help you navigate through some potentially treacherous waters. Uncommon Core puts us on high-alert about some outright dangerous misunderstandings looming around so-called "standards-aligned" instruction, then shows us how to steer past them—all in service of meeting the real intent of the Common Core. Smith, Appleman, and Wilhelm counter with teaching suggestions that are true to the research and true to our students, including how: Reader-based approaches can complement text-based ones Prereading activities can help students meet the strategic and conceptual demands texts place on them Strategy instruction can result in a careful and critical analysis of individual texts while providing transferable understandings Inquiry units around essential questions can generate meaningful conversation and higher-order thinking about those texts Selection criteria that consider interpretive complexity can take us so much farther than those that consider textual complexity alone Given the number of strategies, lesson ideas, and activities in the book, Uncommon Core is really less about the standards and more about timeless, excellent teaching and how to use it like never before to meet the Core ideals. Let’s put instruction where it belongs: back in the hands of the experts. "Finally! A book with more light than heat on the issue of standards and their implications for learning." --GRANT WIGGINS Coauthor of Understanding by Design

How the Common Core standardizes our kids’ education—and how it threatens our democracy. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is one of the most controversial pieces of education policy to emerge in decades. Detailing what and when K–12 students should be taught, it has led to expensive reforms and displaced other valuable ways to educate children. In this nuanced and provocative book, Nicholas Tampio argues that, though national standards can raise the education bar for some students, the democratic costs outweigh the benefits. To make his case, Tampio describes the history, philosophy, content, and controversy surrounding the Common Core standards for English language arts and math. He also explains and critiques the Next Generation Science Standards, the Advanced Placement US History curriculum framework, and the National Sexuality Education Standards. Though each set of standards has admirable elements, Tampio asserts that democracies should disperse education authority rather than entrust one political or pedagogical faction to decide the country’s entire philosophy of education. Ultimately, this lively and accessible book presents a compelling case that the greater threat to democratic education comes from centralized government control rather than from local education authorities.

" ... A practical guide designed to help early childhood teachers take advantage of the unique opportunity provided by the common core state standards. It offers strategies for planning and presenting vocabulary instruction and for monitoring children's word learning progress, along with helpful appendices that provide specific guidance on which words to teach"--Cover, page [4].

As high school math teachers shift to the Common Core State Standards, the question remains: What do the standards actually look like in the classroom? This book answers that question by taking you inside of real Common Core classrooms across the country. You’ll see how exemplary teachers are meeting the new requirements and engaging students in math. Through these detailed examples of effective instruction, you will uncover how to bring the standards to life in your own classroom! Special Features: A clear explanation of the big shifts happening in the classroom as a result of the Common Core State Standards Real examples of how exemplary teachers are using engaging strategies and tasks to teach algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, mathematics across the curriculum, and more A detailed analysis of each example to help you understand why it is effective and how you can try it with your own students Practical, ready-to-use tools you can take back to your classroom, including unit plans and classroom handouts

Mathematics and Multi-Ethnic Students provides detailed profiles of teachers across the nation who have implemented effective mathematics instruction for diverse student populations. In this revised edition, Yvelyne Germain-McCarthy expands upon the popular case studies and adds two new chapters to highlight the latest educational research and practices that are reflected in the case studies. A third new chapter introduces the concept of the Life-Long Learning Laboratory where courageous questions on issues such as the impact of race on student learning are discussed. Featuring useful framing tools including the Discussion with Colleagues and Commentary sections, Mathematics and Multi-Ethnic Students translates concrete instances of access and equity into generalized problem-solving methods for promoting ethnic diversity across grade levels. An important resource for pre-service and in-service educators, researchers, administrators, and policy makers, this volume highlights the work of teachers who have gone beyond mere awareness of reform recommendations in mathematics instruction. By uniting the goals of multicultural education with those of the mathematics curriculum, educators will learn to conceptualize and implement best practices for effective, equitable teaching and learning of mathematics for their students.

Essential reading for school leaders! With the Common Core State Standards adopted by the vast majority of U.S. states, educators face the challenge of translating the standards into successful, positive change within schools. Written for school leaders, this practical guide offers a blueprint for implementing and exceeding the new standards using very targeted professional development. Readers will find realistic strategies supported by examples from a diverse range of schools. Topics include Empowering teachers and staff as partners in planning for and implementing the new standards Adapting existing curriculum to meet goals for mathematics and language arts at each grade level Designing assessments that measure mastery of the standards Ensuring that the standards benefit learning for all students, including multicultural learners Lead your school or district in fulfilling the promise of the Common Core State Standards and preparing students for a competitive global economy. "This book looks at the implementation of CCSS within the context of all of the components that face public schools, and, in doing so, puts the CCSS in a proper perspective. This is a book that could actually help make a difference in the improvement of instruction in the public schools." —Martin J. Hudacs, Superintendent Solanco School District, Quarryville, PA "Making the Common Core Standards Work provides a detailed approach to systems thinking and how to manage a real-life paradigm shift." —William Richard Hall, Jr., Principal R. C. Longan Elementary School, Henrico, VA