Model Lessons, Teaching Strategies, and High-Quality Texts: Supporting Common Core State Standards for Reading Grades 6 – 8

This comprehensive manual that covers informational and literary texts will empower teachers to guide their students as they analyze challenging texts. Each lesson leads students to focus on the “why” and “how” of what an author is saying rather than just the “what.” In addition to the detailed definitions and examples for dozens of literary techniques, Gisele Cyr includes teaching tips and talking points which will help teachers engage students in in-depth analyses of excerpts of classic, contemporary, and poetic works. With guided help, students will find the in-depth analyses enriching and foster an honest appreciation for the classics. The manual is designed to complement any school district’s selections chosen to achieve mastery of the Common Core reading standards.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Common Core Standards Initiative: College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading Part One: Facilitating Student Analyses of Literary Texts Lesson 1: Internal and External Conflict Lesson 2: Similes Lesson 3: Metaphors Lesson 4: Personification Lesson 5: Symbolism Lesson 6: Sensory Descriptors: Imagery and Onomatopoeia Lesson 7: Rhyme: Rhyme Scheme, Alliteration and Assonance Lesson 8: Allusions Lesson 9: Diction and Dialect Lesson 10: Inferences Lesson 11: Irony Lesson 12: Theme and Moral Poetry Lesson 13: Emily Dickinson, “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers” Lesson 14: David, “Psalm 23,”The Bible Lesson 15: Alan Cyr, “Childhood” Lesson 16: Katherine Lee Bates, “America, the Beautiful” Lesson 17: Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Sympathy” Lesson 18: John McRae, “In Flanders Fields” Lesson 19: Alfred Joyce Kilmer, “Trees” Lesson 20: Emily Dickinson, “I Like To See It Lap the Miles” Lesson 21: Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” Lesson 22: William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18” Narrative Writing Lesson 23: From J. M. Barrie, from Peter and Wendy Lesson 24: Two Fables from Aesop Lesson 25: Edward Connell “The Most Dangerous Game” Lesson 26: O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi” Lesson 27: Jane Austin, from Sense and Sensibility Lesson 28: Jules Verne, from Journey to the Center of the Earth Lesson 29: Jack London, from White Fang Drama Lesson 30: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, (from Aiken Drama Version) Part Two - Facilitating Student Analyses of Informational Texts Text Structures Lesson 31: Description Lesson 32: Sequence/Chronological Order Lesson 33: Problem and Solution Lesson 34: Comparison and Contrast Lesson 35: Cause and Effect Lesson 36: Fact and Opinion/Editorials Lesson 37: Propaganda Techniques Integrating and Evaluating Content in Diverse Media and Formats Lesson 38: Judging Bias in Diverse Media and Formats Classics, Historical Documents and Primary Sources Lesson 39: “The Preamble” to The Constitution of the United States Lesson 40: “The Athenian Oath” and “The Pledge of Allegiance” Lesson 41: from “The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850” Lesson 42: Endnotes from Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Lesson 43: Civil War Journal Entry: “Letter from a Union Soldier” Lesson 44: 1st Corinthians 13:1-7 Lesson 45: From “Meditation 17,” by John Donne Appendix A: Integrating and Evaluating Diverse Media Teacher’s Answer Key

About the Author :
Gisele Cyr, MEd, is a public school teacher at Lewiston Middle School, in Maine, and has been teaching for 33 years.

Review :
This book is an excellent and timely resource to support teachers as they navigate the new Common Core State Standards in middle school language arts. It provides coherent, practical, and engaging lessons and strategies, and is replete with fiction and nonfiction exemplars from the literary canon. An impressive set of materials, including talking points, specific strategies, activities, vocabulary lists, templates, literary excerpts, and more! This book would be useful for college students, curriculum directors, and teachers who want accessible support for aligning practices with the Common Core. Teachers can just grab this book and go! High quality literature, thoughtful commentary, specific teaching strategies, and talking points —combination that works for ELA teachers who want to facilitate their students’ ability to meet the rigors of the Common Core ELA reading standards. Gisele Cyr has created a powerful resource that will assist teachers in meeting the rigorous requirements of the Common Core. She has designed a practical, instructional tool for addressing reading comprehension, word study, and critical thinking skills. Model Lessons, Teaching Strategies, and High Quality Texts is a must read for any instructor wanting to implement teaching strategies through rich literature. This book should be an essential part of every middle school teacher’s Common Core resource library. Gisele Cyr has combined her years of teaching experience and her knowledge of the Common Core State Standards to create this resource for teachers looking for a way to get started with the reading standards of the Common Core State Standards. The lessons offer opportunities for direct instruction, guided practice and independent work while students are interacting with high quality literature. Model Lessons, Teaching Strategies, and High Quality Texts Supporting the Common Core State Standards for Reading Grades 6-8 is just what teachers and staff developers need to help implement the Literacy Common Core standards. It is a useful guide full of practical teaching strategies that educators can add to their toolbox. I recommend this book for educators seeking to approach the implementation of the Common Core standards with purpose and clarity. This book is a treasure trove of engaging activities to teach literary elements using the complex texts that the Common Core demands. The teaching tips and talking points are excellent tools to help teachers show students how to navigate challenging, classic works, and make those timeless texts relevant to 21st century adolescents. Cyr offers a wide array of literary excerpts from every genre, each expertly selected to support a specific concept and learning standard. This is a must-have resource for every middle school reading teacher.