Schools nationwide are transitioning to the Common Core--our advice to you: Be prepared, but don't go it alone! Our new book, Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources, 9-12, shows you that teaching the Common Core State Standards in high school doesn't have to be intimidating! This easy-to-use guide meets the particular needs of high school teachers. It provides model lesson plans for teaching the standards in reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language. Get engaging lesson plans that are grade-appropriate for teens, easy to implement, and include ready-to-use reproducible handouts, assessments, resources, and ideas to help you modify the lesson for both struggling and advanced learners. Our Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans are equally effective for both English and content-area teachers-the plans are designed to fit seamlessly into your high school curriculum. You get practical tips for revamping your existing lessons to meet the standards. High school students learn how to answer text-based questions, read informational texts, conduct research, write arguments, and improve their speaking and listening skills. We take the guesswork out of Common Core lesson plans with this practical, easy-to-use guide. All lesson plans are grade-appropriate, but every lesson plan includes... Common Core State Standards covered in the lesson Overview of objectives and focus of the lesson Background knowledge required and time required A detailed, step-by-step agenda for the lesson, plus a materials listDifferentiation ideas to adapt the lesson for different kinds of learners Assessment ideas, including rubrics and scoring guides A place for your notes: what worked; what can improve Bonus! We show you how to extend the lessons into longer units to suit your particular grade's curriculum, and even help you create more of your own lessons!

Part 1: Reading
Overview
Planning Checklist
Strategies to Help Struggling Readers
Lesson Plans at a Glance
Lesson Plan 1: One Word at a Time: Doing a Close Textual Analysis
Lesson Plan 2: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: Parallel Plots and Story Pacing
Lesson Plan 3: Foreign yet Familiar: Images of Culture in World Literature
Lesson Plan 4: Are You Convinced? Analyzing a Speaker's Rhetoric
Lesson Plan 5: Where's the Logic? Analyzing an Argument
Lesson Plan 6: What's the Spin? How Different Mediums Portray Things Differently
Lesson Plan 7: Time to Dig Deeper: Answering Text-Based Questions
Lesson Plan 8: This Is Not a Cardboard Cutout: Analyzing Complex Characters
Lesson Plan 9: Is This Satire or Serious? Determining an Author's Real Point of View
Lesson Plan 10: You Had to Be There: The Impact of Setting
Lesson Plan 11: A Director's Liberties? Comparing Film and Print Versions of a Text
Lesson Plan 12: Playing with Meaning: How an Author Defines and Refines Words
Lesson Plan 13: What's This All About? Tracing Central Ideas
Lesson Plan 14: Is This Structure Sound? Analyzing the Development of an Argument
Part 2: Writing
Overview
Planning Checklist
Strategies for Teaching Argument
Lesson Plans at a Glance
Lesson Plan 15: Strengthen Your Argument! Developing and Distinguishing Your Claims
Lesson Plan 16: Where Do I Begin? Creating a Focused Research Question
Lesson Plan 17: Don't Just Google: Using Advanced Search Terms to Find Information
Lesson Plan 18: Quote or Paraphrase? How to Incorporate Sources
Lesson Plan 19: What Comes Next? Using Colons Effectively
Lesson Plan 20: Collaborate in the Cloud: Contributing to a Class Wiki
Lesson Plan 21: Who's Reading This, Anyway? Describing Information for Different Audiences
Lesson Plan 22: Reflections of a Writer: Using Textual Evidence to Support Written Reflection
Part 3: Speaking and Listening
Overview
Planning Checklist
Strategies for Teaching Speaking and Listening Skills
Lesson Plans at a Glance
Lesson Plan 23: You're in Charge! Leading a Group Discussion
Lesson Plan 24: 'Dear Sir' or 'What's Up?' Language Depends on Audience
Lesson Plan 25: Teach, Don't Bore! Creating Engaging Presentations
Lesson Plan 26: Take Command of Your Audience! Presenting Your Findings
Lesson Plan 27: Sources, Sources Everywhere: Integrating Multiple Sources of Information
Lesson Plan 28: Good Evening, My Fellow Citizens: Evaluating a Speaker
Part 4: Language
Overview
Planning Checklist
Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary
Lesson Plans at a Glance
Lesson Plan 29: Are They Really Synonyms? Understanding Shades of Meaning in Words
Lesson Plan 30: Get Your Ducks in a Row: Creating Parallel Structure
Lesson Plan 31: Everything in Its Place: MLA Style
Lesson Plan 32: If You Don't Get This Lesson, Explain It to Me: Understanding Paradox
Lesson Plan 33: Are Those Words Working Together? Using Hyphens Correctly
Lesson Plan 34: Know When to Break the Rules: Issues of Complex or Contested Usage
Lesson Plan 35: Notice Me! Notice Me! Vary Syntax for Effect
Reading Handouts:
Identifying Logical Fallacies
How Does the Media Spin a Story?
Answering a Text-Based Question Step-by-Step
How a Character Helps Develop a Theme
Compare Two Distinctive Settings from American Plays
Writing Handouts:
Research Activity Sheet
Which Search Engine Is Best?
Ways to Incorporate Sources
Reflections of a Writer: Writing a Reflective Essay
Speaking and Listening Handouts:
PowerPoint/Prezi Activity Sheet
Presentation Activity Sheet
Different Forms of Media
Evaluate a Speaker and His or Her Speech
Language Handouts:
Identify Parallel Structure
Decipher Complex Conventions of Grammar Usage
Analyze Syntax in Complex Texts
Appendix:
Sources of Literary and Nonfiction Texts
Sample Topics for Argument Essays
Blank Lesson Plan Template
References