Common Core Resources

Vertical Progression Guide for the Common Core - English Language Arts (ELA) K-12

 Vertical Progression Guide for the Common Core - Mathematics K-12

These guides support school district’s implementation of the Common Core State Standards by facilitating collaboration between teacher teams working to develop curriculum that aligns with the Standards.  Vertical progression arranges the
Standards in an ascending staircase format by grade level and content type. This format allows educators to see the progression of the Standards within a grade level and to develop an in-depth understanding of how the Standards for each year lay the foundation for instruction in the next.


 Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts - PreK-2
-edited by Lesley Mandel Morrow, Timothy Shanahan and Karen K. Wixson

Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts - Grade 3-5
-edited by Lesley Mandel Morrow, Karen K. Wixson and Timothy Shanahan

These books serve as a practical guides and indispensable resources for teachers and teachers-in-training. Leading authorities explain each of the English language arts (ELA) standards and vividly shows how to implement them. Each book is filled with grade-specific classroom vignettes, instructional strategies and activities, sample lesson plans, and discussion questions. Chapters cover the major ELA
strands: reading (literature, informational texts, and foundational skills); writing; speaking and listening; and languages. Issues of assessment and technology integration are also explored. An appendix includes thematic units for each grade level demonstrating ways to embed CCSS/ELA standards into content-area instruction. --from back cover

Teacher Resources - Language Arts

Effective Read-Alouds for Early Literacy: A Teacher's Guide for PreK-1-Katherine A. Beauchat, Katrin L. Blamey, and Zoi A. Philippakos
"Sharing high-quality storybooks and nonfiction books is not only enjoyable for young children and teachers--it is also a powerful way to build crucial literacy skills. This engaging guide provides effective strategies for selecting books and using read-alouds to develop children's oral language, vocabulary, concepts of print, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and comprehension. Illustrated with rich examples from diverse classrooms, the book takes teachers step by step through planning and setting goals for read-alouds, as well as reflecting on each lesson to inform future instruction. Helpful planning templates can be reproduced for repeated use; the large-size format facilitates photocopying"-- Provided by publisher

Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work - Debbie Diller
Offers practical suggestions for over a dozen literacy work stations that link to instruction and make preparation and management easy for teachers.

Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children - Kathleen T. Isaacs

This annotated resource by veteran children's book reviewer Isaacs surveys the best 250 nonfiction/informational titles for ages 3 through 10, helping librarians make informed collection development and purchasing decisions.

Teacher Resources - STEM

 Integrating Engineering & Science in Your Classroom - Edited by Eric Brunsell"To help you blend authentic and meaningful engineering activities into your teaching, this volume's 30 chapters have been compiled from Science and Children, Science Scope, and The Science Teacher, NSTA's journals for elementary through high school. The activities apply to life and environmental science, Earth science, and physical science and work well in traditional classroomas as well as in after-school programs." --from NSTA catalog

 Math Work Stations: Indpendent Learning You can Count On, K-2 - Debbie Diller

A guide to math stations in kindergarten through second grade, providing math vocabulary resources; literature links; suggestion on materials to include; ideas for modeling, differentiating, and assessment; reflection questions; and other resources.

 

 The Everyday Science Sourcebook: Ideas for Teaching in Elementary and Middle School
- Lawrence F. Lowery
Fully updated with content selected to build on the AAAS and National Science Education Standards, this new edition is full of hundreds of entries that can spark your thinking the next time you need to fill in a gap in your curriculum, add a fresh element to your textbook lessons, or extend and enrich hands-on activities. Six broad content categories provide the framework for the main body of this book: Inorganic matter; Organic matter; Energy; Inference models; Technology; and Instructional apparatus, materials, and systems. --from back cover

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Everyday Engineering: Putting the E in STEM Teaching and Learning
- Richard H. Moyer and Susan A. Everett
A compilation of articles previously published in Science Scope. Includes fourteen activities that explore engineering's role in the office, kitchen, bathroom, electricity, and outdoor recreation.

New Picture Books

Infinity and Me - Kate Hosford - After the sight of a night sky filled with stars makes eight-year-old Uma feel very small, she asks people how they think about infinity and gets a variety of answers before realizing the comfort in knowing that some things go on forever.

The World is Waiting for You - Barbara Kerley - "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question kids get asked over and over. But very few connections are made for kids between the present and the future. This book shows kids a pathway from their current interests and talents to a future career or interest. And in so doing, it also encourages adventure, exploration, and discovery, three core principles of National Geographic's mission. It's a celebration of possibility--so simple and so profound.

 

A Sister for Matthew: A Story About Adoption - Pamela Kennedy
When Matthew's parents decide to adopt a baby girl from China he has many questions, but by the time she arrives, he is excited about his new sister.


Open This Little Book - Jesse Klausmeier
 Pages of decreasing, then increasing, size open to reveal different animals, each opening a book of a different color and reading about the next.

Brave Young Knight - Karen Kingsbury
Although not the speediest, strongest, or most intelligent, a kind, honest knight wins a bravery competition to become prince of the kingdom.

The Dark - Lemony Snicket
Laszlo is afraid of the dark which lives in the same big, creaky house as him, until one night the dark pays him a visit.

The Giant and the Beanstalk - Diane Stanley
In this version of the traditional tale, a young giant chases Jack down the beanstalk to rescue his beloved hen and meets other Jacks from various nursery rhymes along the way.

Sheila Rae, The Brave - Kevin Henkes
When brave Sheila Rae, who usually looks out for her sister Louise, becomes lost and scared one day, Louise comes to the rescue.

New YA Titles

Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl - Carolita BlytheFourteen-year-old Faye, an African American living in 1984 Brooklyn, New York, copes with her mother's abuse by stealing with her friends, but when robbing an elderly woman almost turns to murder, she gains an opportunity to learn new truths about life.

William and the Lost Spirit - Gwen de Bonneval and Matthieu Bonhomme
"In this graphic novel that combines medieval legends and folklore, the brutish feudal world, and devotion to family, William, the grandson of an elderly feudal lord in the thirteenth century, sets out on a labyrinthine journey to discover his father's killer"--Provided by publisher

Safekeeping - Karen Hesse
When Radley returns to the United States after volunteering abroad, she comes back to a country under military rule with strict travel restrictions, and she must find her way back to her Vermont home through the New England woods.

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Quintana of Charyn - Melina Marchetta
Book Three of the Lumatere Chronicles. Froi and his companions travel through Charyn to find Quintana and build an army to secure her unborn child's right to rule, an effort that culminates in an ultimate showdown with Isaboe of Lumatere.

Darius & Twig - Walter Dean Myers
"Two best friends, a writer and a runner, deal with bullies, family issues, social pressures, and their quest for success coming out of Harlem"-- Provided by publisher

Freaks Like Us - Susan Vaught
A mentally ill teenager who rides the "short bus" to school investigates the sudden disappearance of his best friend.

New DVDs

Math Challenge - Equations

Dr. Strangeglove creates a Number Juicer in space designed to transform all of the world's numbers into tasty beverages. By answering a series of interactive questions on equations involving a single variable, students can help Special Agent Matt Mattics save the day.

Math Challenge - Equivalent Fractions & Mixed Numbers
Dr. Strangeglove has created an electric Storm Cloud Blender with the ability to break every calculator within a fifty-mile radius. In order to save the day, Special Agent Matt Mattics must answer a series of questions relating to equivalent fractions and mixed numbers.

Math Challenge - Percentages
When Dr. Strangeglove activates an Electronic Numbers Net to remove calculations from the airwaves, secret agent Matt Mattics must use his knowledge of percentages to save the day.



Science Clips for Children - Electricity
This film discusses the source of electrical energy. Includes a description of batteries and circuits and shows a city's electrical grid.

Science Clips for Children - Temperature, Solids & Liquids
This film demonstrates the effects of heat on the atmosphere and on metals such as copper and aluminum. The viewer learns about temperature and the Celsius scale and discovers natural and man-made insulation.

VeggieTales - The Little House That Stood: The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders - The Three Pigs roll into town looking to build some new houses. Each pig has very particular ideas about what they want, but will their choices be good ones when the rains come tumblin' down? Find out in this pig's tale that shows kids that when we follow God's blueprints, we can make the right choices! PLUS: Before Humpty cracked he was the mayor of a quiet little town. He is literally driven up the wall with the town's problems! Will all the citizens help bring Humpty to his senses again?

VeggieTales - Sweetpea Beauty: A Gril After God's Own Heart
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who has the truest heart of all? Sweetpea Beauty knows that what's on the inside is what matters most, but insecure Queen Blueberry can't see past her own reflection! Will Sweetpea be able to help the Queen see beyond the lies the tricky mirror tells, and be able to see herself as God sees her? Find out the real meaning of true beauty.

Nonfiction & Poetry

Too Hot? Too Cold?: Keeping Body Temperature Just Right - Caroline Arnold
Explains how people and animals living in different parts of the world survive in hotter and colder climates using remarkable adaptive strategies and behaviors.

Bats: Biggest! Littlest! - Sandra Markle
In this latest addition to the Biggest, Littlest! series, award-winning author Sandra Markle explores the diverse world of bats. How does being big help one kind of bat? How does being little help another kind? Sometimes these extremes offer the key to survival. The biggest bat is the Flying Fox, which can have a wingspan as long as a bathtub. Its littlest cousin is the Bumblebee Bat, which weighs only as much as a penny. Stunning photographs from around the world invite young readers to investigate up close the features that make each bat unique.

Can I Tell You About ADHD?: A Guide for Friends, Family and Professionals - Susan Yarney

Meet Ben, a young boy with ADHD. Ben invites readers to learn about ADHD from his perspective. He helps children understand what it means to have ADHD and describes what it is and how it feels. Ben explains how he was diagnosed and what he has learned about ways to relieve his ADHD symptoms, and how friends and adults can help at home and school.


Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More!: Poems for Two Voices - Carole Gerber
Poems about the plant and insect world, designed to be read by two voices.

Nonfiction - Math

Graph It! Series by Robin Nelson
Each title in this series features simple text and illustrations to introduce graphing concepts to primary students, demonstrating with step-by-step instructions how to create the graph and how it is used to represent data.

Titles include:

Let's Make a Tally Chart

 

 

   

Let's Make a Picture Graph

 

Let's Make a Circle Graph

 

 

 

 

 

Let's Make a Bar Graph

 

Elementary & Middle School Fiction

Hold Fast - Blue Balliett
On a cold winter day in Chicago, Early's father disappeared, and now she, her mother and her brother have been forced to flee their apartment and join the ranks of the homeless--and it is up to Early to hold her family together and solve the mystery surrounding her father.

Almost Home - Joan Bauer

Sixth-grader Sugar and her mother lose their beloved house and experience the harsh world of homelessness.

P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man - Caroline Lawrence
"After escaping the ruthless desperados, master-of-disguise P.K. Pinkerton has now set up a Private Eye business in Virginia City and is ready when a young maid named Martha approaches him for help in escaping a killer"-- Provided by publisher

Mistakes Were Made - Stephan Pastis
Meet Timmy Failure, the founder, president, and CEO of the best detective agency in town, probably the nation. And his lazy sidekick, Total, a 1,500-pound polar bear.

Clementine and the Spring Trip - Sara Pennypacker
Third-grader Clementine's school field trip to Plimoth Plantation leads to all kind of discoveries, from fourth grade eating rules to the source of the stink on the bus.

Third Grade Angels - Jerry Spinelli
"George 'Suds' Morton competes with his third-grade classmates to earn the first 'halo' of the year for good behavior, but being good turns out to be more stressful than he anticipated"-- Provided by publisher


The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers series
Trust No One (Book Five) - Linda Sue Park

When seven members of their family were kidnapped, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, got ready for the fight of their lives. But their enemy, a terrifying group known as the Vespers, remained frustratingly elusive. They stay in the shadows, picking off Cahills one by one. And now the Vespers have landed their most serious blow yet - a blow that strikes at the very heart of the Cahill family. Because Amy and Dan discover that there's a Vesper mole in their innermost circle. Amy and Dan need to smoke out the traitor before the next hostage dies. They have just days to discover who has their back . . . and who wants to sink a knife into it.

Day of Doom (Book Six) - David Baldacci

It started with a kidnapping. A shadowy organization known only as the Vespers snatched seven members of the Cahill family and demanded a series of bizarre ransoms from around the world. Thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister Amy began a global treasure hunt, determined to bring back whatever Vesper One needed, so long as it kept the hostages safe. But when they deliver the last ransom, Amy and Dan discover Vesper One's terrifying endgame. The objects he demanded are vital pieces in a Vesper plot that will harm millions of innocent people. Now the two siblings and their friends are in an all-out sprint to stop Vesper One before the whole world goes boom!

Young Adult Fiction

Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare
Infernal Devices, Book 3. When seventeen-year-old orphaned shapechanger Tessa Gray is kidnapped by the villainous Mortmain in his final bid for power, the London Institute rallies to save her, but is beset by danger and betrayal at every turn.

The Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. When Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn't really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together. To break the spell, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic...and the growing romantic tension between them. -- publisher

The Fire Horse Girl - Kay Honeyman
When Jade Moon, born in the unlucky year of the Fire Horse, and her father immigrate to America in 1923 and are detained at Angel Island Immigration Station, Jade Moon is determined to find a way through and prove that she is not cursed.

Hattie Ever After - Kirby Larson
In 1919, seventeen-year-old Hattie leaves the Montana prairie--and her sweetheart Charlie--to become a female reporter in San Francisco.

A Corner of White - Jaclyn Moriarty
Fourteen-year-old Madeleine of Cambridge, England, struggling to cope with poverty and her mother's illness, and fifteen-year-old Elliot of the Kingdom of Cello in a parallel world where colors are villainous and his father is missing, begin exchanging notes through a crack between their worlds and find they can be of great help to each other.

If You Find Me - Emily Murdoch
"There are some things you can't leave behind... A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey's younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys. Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won't let her go... a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn't spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down"-- Provided by publisher

Scrivener's Moon - Philip Reeve
Book 3 in the Fever Crumb series. When she returns home after two years, Fever finds that her Scriven mother's creation, New London, the city on wheels, is nearly complete and ready to fight the nomad tribes of Britain--and Fever must journey to the north to find the ancient birthplace of the Scriven mutants and solve the mystery of her own past.

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater -
Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent's only gift seems to be that she makes other people's talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own--and that together their talents are a dangerous mix.