Common Core Standards in Diverse Classrooms

Incredible book, it will change the way you view language in the classroom. The authors take you to a deeper level of understanding pedagogy, with or without the Common Core State Standards. If we taught all students in every classroom across America according to the principles laid out in this book, we would be cranking out multitudes of rocket scientists!

Excellent information as we transition to CCSS and think of ALL of our students needs.

Really good information, but the guy is really hard to read.

Great

Great book!

CCSS, WIDA, Next Generation Science standards, state content area standards…. educators face the challenge of understanding and integrating the many aspects of a curriculum, WHILE providing supports for all learners to engage in the discipline-specific and comprehensive use of academic language.Zwiers, Pritchard and O’Hara establish the purpose for Common Core Standards for Diverse Classrooms with their opening quote, “Language yearns to be used in meaningful ways”. If (as stated by the authors) the goal is to “…focus on helping students put the pieces together”, then this text is an ESSENTIAL guide to support educators in their focus on putting together all of the “pieces” of an effective curriculum. Teachers, Directors, Principals, and other School Leaders will find this text comprehensive, yet accessible. Chapters include research-based strategies for using complex text, fortifying complex output, and fostering academic interactions. Most importantly, the authors provide chapters with clear, “real-world” examples of application across content and grade levels.Educators, who have been reading and applying Zwiers’ approach to academic language through his Building Academic Language and Academic Conversations texts, will continue to benefit from Common Core Standards for Diverse Classrooms with the inclusion of NEW strategies aligned with the Common Core State Standards and encompassing all domains of language learning. District and school leaders will benefit from the information on how to build capacity and support effective instructional practices, in the chapter, “Coaching, Collaboration, and Capacity”.As a district curriculum leader, this text is the foundation of my curriculum development, professional development offerings, and district supports this year across disciplines and grade levels. After sharing Common Core Standards for Diverse Classrooms with a cross-district Professional Learning Community of principals, participants advocated for purchasing this text as a core resource to support their leadership in addressing the specific needs of their English Language Learner subgroup.In addition to purchasing this core text, I also recommend using the authors’ website: http://www.jeffzwiers.org/ for further complementary resources, including sample videos.

Great resource for all teachers!

On and off, I have been reading this book for some time. Its information can be dense, so one needs to break off to reflect on the authors' excellent ideas. We have our own versions(s) of the Common Core in the UK, some of which was introduced in the 1990s and then forgotten.What I particularly like about this text is its examples, tools and protocols, all based on up-to-date research. I teach literacy and how to build students' academic language and thinking skills in the UK and I regard the writers as leaders in this field. Their bibliography is a valuable as their clearly written advice and ideas. This book must have been a great challenge to write.If you are looking for a book which will help you teach key literacy skills for the 21st century, not just for diverse learners but for mainstream ones as well, this text sets a standard in this field which will be hard to surpass; that is, until research gives us new insights into how we can help our students achieve their potential as learners.