Supporting Students in a Time of Core Standards

Wessling, a high school English language arts teacher, explains how to address the Common Core State Standards in English language arts in grades nine through 12 while staying true to student-centered teaching. She overviews key features of the standards and common questions they raise, and details examples of literacy instruction in her and other classrooms, with description of how teachers developed practices for reading, using viewing to elicit complex thinking, integrating active listening and speaking strategies, and writing as a thinking process shared with others, with charts of how the standards interact with these practices. She ends with professional development suggestions for planning, working collaboratively, and becoming a teacher advocate. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)