Routledge Teaching the Common Core Literature Standards in Grades 2-5: Strategies, Mentor Texts, and Units of Study

Shifting your literature instruction to meet the Common Core can be tricky. The standards are specific about how students should analyze characters, themes, point of view, and more. In this new book, Lisa Morris makes it easy by taking you through the standards and offering tons of practical strategies, tools, and mentor texts for grades 2-5. She shows you how to combine the standards into effective units of study so that you can teach with depth rather than worry about coverage. Topics covered include: Teaching questioning, inferring, and author’s purpose; Guiding readers to look at themes and write summaries; Showing students how to recognize structural elements of literature; Teaching the craft of writing and vocabulary development; and Helping students analyse characters and character development. Throughout this highly practical book, you’ll find a variety of charts and other graphic organizers that can be easily adapted for classroom use. A list of suggested mentor texts is also available as a free eResource from our website, www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138856172. Review "I highly recommend this book! Lisa Morris provides teachers with so many fantastic ideas and activities to use in literature instruction that aligns with the Common Core State Standards. I felt like I was right there in Morris’ classroom as she described these instructional methods. This book also includes many mentor texts that teachers can use in their classrooms and even organizes those mentor texts based on the standards with which they are aligned. Both new and veteran teachers can certainly benefit from this resource!" --Sean Ruday, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English Education, Longwood University and author of The Common Core Grammar Toolkit books. "As a cheerleader for teachers, Morris gives readers an instant boost in curriculum confidence. Practical in every way, this book empowers educators to make the Common Core manageable and meaningful with the classroom-tested mini lessons and effective teaching sequences. Can't wait to share with my colleagues!" --Karina Nevers, Learning Strategist, Las Vegas, NV "Everyone needs someone in their “corner” to guide them and to motivate them. I found this book to be educationally motivating from beginning to end. What is unique about Morris’ book is that her suggested activities can be easily adapted or modified to meet each grade level." --Linda Biondi, MIDDLEWEB   About the Author Lisa Morris is a language arts teacher at Bluewater Elementary in Niceville, Florida and an adjunct professor of education at Northwest Florida State College. She is also author of Awakening Brilliance in the Writer’s Workshop: Using Notebooks, Mentor Texts, and the Writing Process (Routledge, 2012).