The Series: This book is part of the Pearson Education series: Inside the Common Core Classroom: Practical ELA Strategies. This series has been written for in-service teachers to support their implementation of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts in K - 12 classrooms. The authors have organized the four books (K-2; Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12) so they can be used together –encouraging focused discussion and analysis. The purpose of the series is to help teachers create connections between the Standards and their school curriculums. Each book begins with an overview by the series editor, Donna Ogle, and includes chapters on comprehension, writing, research and language. Examples are provided of instructional strategies and tools that help address the standards. Teachers at different grade levels can read about the particular expectations for their level with appropriate examples and instructional suggestions. Then, in discussions together, each can learn from teachers at other levels and think through how to create the most supportive instructional sequence and organization by themes and content units. This authoritative new series focuses on the most important aspects of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). A testament to the series’ reliability, most of the strategies and tools have been tested by teachers and research studies, while others are variations on well-established instructional practices that reflect the new requirements of the CCSS.