Common Core for the Not-So-Common Learner, Grades 6-12

English Language Arts Strategies

"Honigsfeld and Dove's latest book recognizes the challenges that teachers of diverse secondary students face in implementing the CCSS. It offers timely, practical, research-based strategies for teachers of our often misunderstood student population to use so that all students are positioned to achieve under the new framework of the CCSS. Honigsfeld and Dove present a multifaceted vision for implementing the CCSS that draws upon the power of collaboration while recognizing the strengths and challenges diverse learners present in today's changing schools. With the CCSS, all teachers must become language teachers. This book offers essential strategies so that diverse students' teachers have tools to help these students develop the language they need to reach the new standards. I recommend this book to anyone who works with diverse learners at the grade 6-12 level."

"Educators can turn to this book for theoretically sound and eminently practical information about approaches and strategies to support English Learners' complex language use, critical thinking, and deep engagement with the Common Core."

"From the first quote in chapter 1 to the final word, this book struck a chord. A veritable treasure trove of useful classroom practices and scaffolding techniques are identified and carefully explained by the authors, including solutions to help academically and linguistically diverse pupils meet the Common Core State Standards, as well as collaborative practices that help to create inclusive schools where educators share responsibilities to prepare students for college and careers. Student diversity creates challenges for teachers implementing the Common Core. The valuable information in this book provides the information teachers have been seeking to be successful at implementing the Common Core with their diverse, not-so-common, learners."

"Academic language is at the heart of effective content instruction for all children, and this book connects it to Common Core and other standards for easy classroom use.  In Common Core for the Not-So-Common Learner, Grades 6-12, Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove supply educators with a valuable tool that helps school personnel meet academic language and content learner needs in all student populations in middle and secondary schools. This book, rooted in language theory and best practice, will be a hit among teachers and teacher trainers looking for strategies for teaching all students for content mastery!"

"Honigsfeld and Dove artfully interweave a myriad of strategies derived from and related to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. For example, the features of academic language expressed at the word/ phrase, syntax, and text/discourse levels are skillfully matched to ways to enact the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards. In bridging theory to classroom practice, the authors consider the characteristics of a spectrum of adolescent students who are challenged by the linguistic and conceptual expectations of these rigorous standards in hopes of directing them onto pathways to success."

"While the Common Core calls for greater text complexity, more advanced academic language, higher-level comprehension skills, and increased independence, the reality is that many of our students will struggle to meet these goals.  Despite all the rhetoric, teachers will continue to face the challenge of helping ELLs, students with disabilities, and other learners who just need a different approach to the same outcome.  Luckily for us, Honigsfeld and Dove combine their extensive experience and expertise to provide thoughtful ideas and solutions to having not-so-common learners in each and every classroom.  Targeted to the secondary classroom, the scaffolds they suggest will provide any teacher a vast repertoire of tools to choose from as they design the “just right” challenge for all of their learners.  My own practice will improve as a result of reading this thorough treatment of instruction for diverse learners.  Thanks, Andrea and Maria, for providing a much-needed resource for practitioners looking for support during these challenging times."

"Uncommon learners are more common in classrooms than you think.  These uncommon learners have the right to a high quality education, based on the Common Core State Standards, that ensures that they achieve success. Anything short of that compromises access to college and meaningful careers.  Thankfully, Honigsfeld and Dove show us the way.  They pave a path to high expectations that actually shows us how to get there.  Filled with examples and ideas, this book will contribute in significant ways the success that all learners have for decades to come."

"Common Core for the Not-So-Common Learner offers teachers what few other books do: A coherent look at the Common Core State Standards through the lens of English language and other uncommon learners. Each chapter is logically organized with many instructional routines or approaches explained and described. Teachers and teacher educators will find that they can succeed with rigorous and relevant learning based on research with students who can most benefit from a nuanced and thoughtful approach to their needs relative to the Common Core.  I found the (Un)Common Reflection Questions especially useful as I think about teaching practices, and the examples provided by teachers who are working to implement the Common Core with diverse learners in their own classrooms contextualized the approaches, templates, and instructional routines so that others may implement them effectively."

"For years, teachers who teach in grades 6-12 have had little to choose from in terms of ESL professional development, and little to nothing with regard to CCSS. This publication represents a significant advancement in the field on both counts. By combining research-based theory to specific classroom activities, the authors give their readers a comprehensive picture of the topic at hand with significant, usable strategies. This combination allows teachers to use their own professional judgment in adapting strategies to their own classroom needs—there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. The Anticipated Outcomes section in each chapter also gives teachers a great method of anticipating what these strategies will accomplish for them.  The sections on Instructional Challenges will help mainstream teachers see issues that might not be clearly visible in their native English-speaking population. Finally, the emphasis on collaboration is a key component. It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child, and if we are to be successful with the CCSS we must work together as professionals within our educational communities. As more and more responsibilities are heaped on our schools, teachers, administrators, and students, we must create successful collaborations within our communities that bring everyone’s skills to the fore to ensure the academic achievement of all our students."

"This is a must have resource for every teacher.  Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove have 'connected the dots' between the Common Core State Standards and the tools to address the needs of diverse students in actual classrooms.  This brilliantly straightforward framework is exactly what teachers have been pleading for.  Building blocks and rigorous models are provided with clarity, thereby empowering teachers to build/adapt their own individual lessons.  Teachers are provided with both exemplars and checklists so they can be creative while knowing they are securely on the correct path.  I have yet to meet the accomplished teacher who didn’t embrace all the tools available to assist them in becoming a more intentional teacher. Common Core for the Not-So-Common Learner, Grades 6-12 is such a tool. "