Inside the Common Core Classroom ─ Practical ELA Strategies for Grades 3-5

An indispensable guide for all who teach in grades three through five, as well as curriculum directors, reading specialists, literacy coaches, and school administrators, Inside the Common Core Classroom: Practical ELA Strategies for Grades 3-5 presents research-based teaching ideas that integrate the Common Core Standards with the best teaching practices in the critical English language arts areas. Designed specifically for teachers of the pivotal third, fourth, and fifth grades, it includes suggestions for instruction and assessment, scenarios from real classrooms where the standards are being implemented every day, examples of authentic student work, and tips from expert teachers that bring the standards to life.

Brenda J. Overturf, Ed.D. is a former member of the International Reading Association Board of Directors and current co-chair of the IRA Common Core Standards Committee. She was a classroom teacher for 18 years before serving as coordinator of Reading Curriculum and Assessment for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, KY. Brenda also taught literacy courses and chaired the M.Ed. in Reading program at the University of Louisville. While at U of L, she directed the K-5 Kentucky Reading Project, the Adolescent Literacy Coaching Project, and was a partner in the Kentucky Striving Readers grant. Brenda’s most recent publications are The Common Core: Teaching K–5 Students to Meet the Reading Standards (IRA, 2013), The Common Core: Teaching Students in Grades 6–12 to Meet the Reading Standards (IRA, 2013), The Common Core: Graphic Organizers for Teaching K–12 Students to Meet the Reading Standards (IRA, 2013), and Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary (Stenhouse, 2013).