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The Common Core Companion: Booster Lessons, Grades 3-5

Elevating Instruction Day by Day

By: Leslie A. Blauman

This sequel to the 3-5 Common Core Companion feature Monday-to-Friday connected lessons that provide a good dose of integrated, standards-aligned reading and writing instruction.

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Product Details

Grade Level: 3-5
ISBN: 9781483392745
Published By: Corwin
Series: Corwin Literacy
Year: 2015
Page Count: 280
Publication date: June 23, 2015

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Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

You can find hundreds of literacy lessons in hundreds of places—but none of them will do for students what the ones in this book do. What’s the magic bullet? Potent integration.

In this follow-up to her Common Core Companion, Grades 3-5, Leslie Blauman provides an ample supply of connected lessons you can use as booster shots when your students need a good dose of integrated reading and writing instruction. The 50+ lessons are divided into five learning sequences that span the ELA standards, bringing a Monday-through-Friday clarity to a process that often overwhelms teachers and coaches alike.

Follow each sequence and week by week, you’ll build the instructional potency to help students achieve a year’s worth of growth as you integrate:

1. Reading Craft and Structure with Opinion Writing

2. Opinion Writing with Evaluating Argument in Informational Text

3. Narrative Writing with Craft and Structure (words, phrases, key ideas, setting, character, and events)

4. Informative/Explanatory Text Writing with Reading for Key Ideas

5. Research to Build and Present Knowledge with Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Reading

Need a great kickoff to a unit of study or review/intervention lessons toward the end of a unit? Leslie’s booster lessons are eminently “dippable.” Or use her book and its companion website as a planner for deeper, longer-term instructional design. The Common Core Companion Booster Lessons, Grades 3-5, is the resource you’ll turn to again and again for various purposes throughout the year.

Author(s)

Leslie A. Blauman

Leslie Blauman has been teaching reading and literacy in the Colorado public schools for over 30 years. Leslie’s classroom is a working model for child/staff development in reading, writing, and critical thinking. Partnering with the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), her classroom is frequently the subject of professional workshops, classroom reading enhancement films, and education journals. While she works with teachers and students in a majority of the states and internationally as a consultant, her heart is in the classroom and she brings this to both her writing and her consulting. She speaks regularly at teacher/literacy conferences and workshops.

Table of Contents

Introduction

LESSON SEQUENCE 1: Integrating Opinion Writing With Evaluating Argument

What Teachers Guide Across the Week

What Students Do Across the Week

Booster Reading Lesson 1: Understanding Point of View

Adapting This Lesson for Other Text Types: Informational

Companion Writing Lesson 1: Launching Opinion and Persuasive Writing

Snapshot of a Turn-and-Talk Peer Conference on POV

Booster Reading Lesson 2: Co-Constructing and Close Reading

Companion Writing Lesson 2: Determine Structure and Essential Elements

Language Connections: Formal Versus Informal English

Booster Reading Lesson 3: Reading and Annotating Fairy Tales

Companion Writing Lesson 3: Planning and Drafting

Booster Reading Lesson 4: Compare/Contrast Writing

Companion Writing Lesson 4: Revision Focus on Transition Words

Booster Reading Lesson 5: Complete Compare/Contrast Piece

Companion Writing Lesson 5: Edit and Finalize Piece

Third-Grade Adaptation

Fifth-Grade Adaptation

NEXT INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

What Do I See? A Student Sample of Persuasive Writing

What Do I See? A Student Sample of Compare and Contrast

Authentic Assessment: Student Reflection and Evaluation

Peer Power: How to Use Student Work as Mentor Texts

If/Then Chart

Mentor Texts

Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks

LESSON SEQUENCE 2: Integrating Reading Craft and Structure With Opinion Writing

What Teachers Guide Across the Week

What Students Do Across the Week

Booster Reading Lesson 1: Explaining How an Author Uses Reasons and Evidence in Informational Text

Companion Writing Lesson 1: Expressing an Opinion in Response to Text

Booster Reading Lesson 2: Examining How Text Features Help With Main Idea and Evidence

Companion Writing Lesson 2: Modeling Opinion Writing

Language Connections: Determine or Clarify the Meaning of Unknown Words

Booster Reading Lesson 3: Using Essential Questions to Dig Deeper

Companion Writing Lesson 3: Launching Opinion Writing

Booster Reading Lesson 4: Moving to Independence

Companion Writing Lesson 4: Working Through the Writing Process

Booster Reading Lesson 5: Assessing Our Learning

Companion Writing Lesson 5: Wrapping Up the Writing

Snapshot of How to Move From a Written Opinion Piece to a Speech

Third-Grade Adaptation

Fourth-Grade Adaptation

NEXT INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

What Do I See? A Student Sample of Response to Reading

Authentic Assessment: Student Reflection and Evaluation

Peer Power: How to Use Student Work as Mentor Texts

If/Then Chart

Mentor Texts

Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks

LESSON SEQUENCE 3: Integrating Narrative Writing With Craft and Structure

What Teachers Guide Across the Week

What Students Do Across the Week

Booster Reading Lesson 1: Elements of Myths

Companion Writing Lesson 1: Starting to Envision an Original Myth

Adapting This Lesson for Other Text Types: Informational

Booster Reading Lesson 2: Co-Constructing a Summary and Independent Reading

Companion Writing Lesson 2: Planning a Myth

Booster Reading Lesson 3: Mini-Book Clubs

Companion Writing Lesson 3: Adding Character Description and Dialogue

Language Connections: Eavesdropping on a Book Club Conversation

Booster Reading Lesson 4: Looking at Language

Companion Writing Lesson 4: Rich Language Equals Rich Writing

Booster Reading Lesson 5: Wrapping Up and Assessment

Companion Writing Lesson 5: Finalizing the Myths

Langage Connections: Reading With Fluency

Third-Grade Adaptation

Fifth-Grade Adaptation

NEXT INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

What Do I See? A Student Response to Literary Elements

What Do I See? A Student Sample of an Original Myth

Authentic Assessment: Student Reflection and Evaluation

Peer Power: How to Use Student Work as Mentor Texts

If/Then Chart

Mentor Texts

Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks

LESSON SEQUENCE 4: Integrating Explanatory Text Writing With Reading for Key Ideas

What Teachers Guide Across the Week

What Students Do Across the Week

Booster Writing Lesson 1: Informative/Explanatory Text Makes the World Go 'Round

Companion Reading Lesson 1: Noticing Text Features

Adapting This Lesson for Other Text Types: Literature

Booster Writing Lesson 2: Grouping by Headings

Companion Reading Lesson 2: How Authors Use Headings

Booster Writing Lesson 3: Sequencing Information

Companion Reading Lesson 3: Close Reading a Text and Visuals

Language Connections: Vocabulary

Booster Writing Lesson 4: Vocabulary and Elaboration

Companion Reading Lesson 4: Assessing Understanding With Annotating and Summarizing Text

Booster Writing Lesson 5: Presenting the “All About” Pieces

Companion Reading Lesson 5: Presenting the “All About” Pieces

Snapshot of a Presentation

Fourth-Grade Adaptation

Fifth-Grade Adaptation

NEXT INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

What Do I See? A Student Sample of Informative Text

What Do I See? A Student Sample of a Topic Written in Two Different Formats

Authentic Assessment: Student Reflection and Evaluation

Peer Power: How to Use Student Work as Mentor Texts

If/Then Chart

Mentor Texts

Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks

LESSON SEQUENCE 5: Integrating Research With Presentation

What Teachers Guide Across the Week

What Students Do Across the Week

Booster Writing Lesson 1: Introducing Research and Questions

Companion Reading Lesson 1: Evaluating Print and Digital Content

Adapting This Lesson for Other Text Types: Literature

Booster Writing Lesson 2: Determining Importance and Note-Taking

Companion Reading Lesson 2: Becoming a Media-Savvy, Critical Reader

Snapshot of Student Collaboration

Language Connections: Words in Their Best Order

Booster Writing Lesson 3: A Focus on Note-Taking

Companion Reading Lesson 3: Analyzing Notes

Booster Writing Lesson 4: Drafting

Companion Reading Lesson 4: Re-Reading and Refining Drafts

Booster Writing Lesson 5: Putting It All Together

Companion Reading Lesson 5: Compelling Conclusions

Third-Grade Adaptation

Fourth-Grade Adaptation

NEXT INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS

What Do I See? A Student Sample of a Nonfiction Article

What Do I See? A Student Sample of a Nonfiction Research Piece

Authentic Assessment: Student Reflection and Evaluation

Peer Power: How to Use Student Work as Mentor Texts

If/Then Chart

Mentor Texts

Unit Planning: How to Build Out Three Weeks

References

Other Titles in: English/Language Arts Common Core | Reading (Primary/Elementary) | Writing (Primary/Elementary)

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Related Resources

Access to companion resources is available with the purchase of this book.
Teaching How an Author Uses Reasons and Evidence [Lessons and Strategies]