By: Harvey Silver R. Thomas Dewing Matthew Perini

This book is NOT a guide to the Common Core…it’s a resource that is best used to support your grasp and understanding of the new national standards. A resource or toolkit that provides strategies to address Common Core-related difficulties in the area of teaching to enable students to become more independent as well as prepare them for college or future careers. It focuses on six research-based strategies to improve what is “core” to our instruction and “core” to student learning: Reading for Meaning Compare and Contrast Inductive Learning Circle of Knowledge Write to Learn Vocabulary’s CODE It provides guidance on the development of a central focus for schools and their efforts to improve performance and increase the engagement of students.

These strategies meet the needs of teachers and students in shifting successful. They are proven to increase student engagement and achievement if utilized correctly. The thinking is embedded in the strategies. Discussion and questioning techniques presented extend student thinking. Students are asked to synthesis and transfer their learning. These particular strategies leave time for reflection. It’s a way to facilitate individual, self-initiated student performance to enable challenges that will be faced in the future.

Strategy to help readers build their skills in understanding challenging texts – before, during and after reading Comprehension instruction that leads to exposure in text complexity, evidence, and the core skills of reading Requires teachers to teach comprehension and not assume their students are “getting it” – to build deep understanding, teachers must develop processing skills Forces students to analyze information, make an interpretation, and provide evidence to support their view

Strategy that teaches how to process information and make comparisons Four steps to developing this ability: Describe each item using criteria Record key similarities and differences Discuss findings and draw conclusions Synthesize learning by completing a task

Examine, group, and label information to look for patterns in which students can develop and refine their hypothesis regarding content that is to be presented Requires students to make inferences by collecting information and evidence – often done by introducing vocabulary that will help them to analyze, organize, and develop conclusions It’s a shift from teacher-given information to student- discover based on conclusions, predictions, or inferences of key details

Promotes and develops effective communication Requires high-level thinking skills that students will need to participate in discussions Builds collaborative and interpersonal skills

Develops higher order thinking Writing in different text types (arguments, informative texts, and narratives) Makes writing a daily habit – providing opportunity to experience different writing tasks, development of self- assessment skills, and collaboration with peers to improve written work Three types of writing tasks: Provisional – quick write Readable – organized written piece that is intended for an audience Polished – full writing process that requires the development of an idea, first draft, second draft, and final draft

C – Connecting with new words O – Organizing new words into meaningful categories D – Deep processing the most important terms E – Exercise the mind through review and practice Direct vocabulary instruction is crucial to higher achievement, increased learning potential and greater academic opportunities Vocabulary is the foundation for improved literacy, at the core of the Core, and fuels learning by tapping into prior knowledge

Strategies are not specific to one subject area…they benefit all teachers and students in all content areas…by providing strategies and presenting this information to faculty, students will be able to develop better reading, communicative, and writing skills…all of which will benefit them in the 21 st century. Strategies presented are good for teachers, good for students, and good for schools!