Created specifically for middle school teachers, Pam Allyn’s dynamic Core Ready Program provides a complete toolkit for navigating and thriving with the core standards. In it teachers see clearly how to take complex concepts of the literacy standards and turn them into practical, specific, everyday instruction. The series is organized around the author’s Four Doors to the Core: The Journey to Meaning: Comprehension and Critique The Shape of Story: Yesterday and Today The Road to Knowledge: Information and Research The Power to Persuade: Opinion and Argument   Each book in the series includes powerful reading, writing, speaking, and listening sets; assessment rubrics; support for ELLs and diverse learners; and tips for doing high tech variations for literacy instruction for grades 6, 7, and 8.   Visit http://pdtoolkit.pearson.com to purchase access to the PDToolkit for Pam Allyn's Core Ready Series. The PDToolkit access does not come with the print book.   PDToolkit for Pam Allyn's Core Ready Series is a supplemental online subscription-based resource that provides the tools that educators need to implement the Common Core Standards effectively, fluidly, and successfully. The PDToolkit, together with the texts, provides the tools you need to ensure a standards-aligned year of joyful, effective, research-based literacy curriculum.

Table of Contents:
About the Author iii About the Core Ready Series iii Acknowledgments iv Welcome xii Walk Through a Lesson Set xv FAQs About the Core Ready Lesson Sets xxiv Grade 6 Packing a Punch: The Art and Craft of Short Stories 2 Introduction 3 Common Core State Standards Alignment 4 Core Questions 5 Lesson Set Goals 5 Choosing Core Texts 6 A Note About Addressing Reading Standard 10: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 7 Teacher’s Notes 7 Questions for Close Reading 7 Building Academic Language 7 Recognition 7 Complementary Core Methods 8 Core Connections at Home 9   Reading Lessons 10 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Reading Instruction at a Glance 11 Lesson 1 Readers engage in meaningful conversations to explore short stories. 12 Lesson 2 Readers describe how a short story unfolds. 14 Lesson 3 Readers determine a central idea of a text. 17 Lesson 4 Readers explore the denotative and connotative meanings of words in a short story. 21 Lesson 5 Readers analyze how a variety of narrative techniques enhance short stories. 23 Lesson 6 Readers determine the narrative mode of a short story. 27 Lesson 7 Readers examine how a narrator conveys point of view in short stories. 30 Lesson 8 Readers compare and contrast how short stories across different genres approach a similar central idea. 33 Lesson 9 Readers apply knowledge of short stories to plan a reading discussion. 35 Lesson 10 Readers facilitate a reading discussion. 38   Writing Lessons 41 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Writing Instruction at a Glance 42 Lesson 1 Writers choose their words wisely. 43 Lesson 2 Writers share their thoughts on their reading with others. 46 Lesson 3 Writers reflect on key components of their reading through literary commentary. 49 Lesson 4 Writers include quotations from the text to support and strengthen their written literary commentaries. 53 Lesson 5 Writers revise and edit literary commentaries for strength and clarity. 56 Lesson 6 Writers compose a strong written literary commentary of their reading in a single sitting. 58 Lesson 7 Writers use their reading and analysis of short stories to inspire their own writing. 60 Lesson 8 Writers purposefully incorporate specific narrative techniques to enhance their short stories. 62 Lesson 9 Writers revise and edit their short stories with a peer. 63 Lesson 10 Writers share their short stories in authentic ways. 66 Glossary 68   Grade 7 Examining Past Perspectives: Historical Fact and Fiction 70 Introduction 71 Common Core State Standards Alignment 72 Core Questions 73 Lesson Set Goals 73 Choosing Core Texts 74 Teacher’s Notes 75 Questions for Close Reading 76 Building Academic Language 76 Recognition 76 Complementary Core Methods 77 Core Connections at Home 78   Reading Lessons 79 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Reading Instruction at a Glance 80 Lesson 1 Readers build background knowledge on a time period by examining historical photographs. 81 Lesson 2 Readers identify the elements of historical fiction in a model text. 83 Lesson 3 Readers identify the narrative mode of a story and analyze how the author develops characters’ points of view. 88 Lesson 4 Readers compare and contrast a fictional portrayal and a historical account of the same period to examine how historical fiction authors use history in their writing. 91 Lesson 5 Readers analyze how an author uses the historical setting to shape character and plot. 93 Lesson 6 Readers compare and contrast point of view in a print version of a historical fiction text to a film version. 96 Lesson 7 Readers evaluate the effect filmmaking techniques have on a story. 99 Lesson 8 Readers determine point of view in historical accounts and analyze its development over the course of the text. 101 Lesson 9 Readers consider how authors shape an argument to their advantage. 103 Lesson 10 Readers reflect on the ways historical fiction can connect us to real- life events. 107   Writing Lessons 110 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Writing Instruction at a Glance 111 Lesson 1 Writers craft questions to focus their topic and guide their research. 112 Lesson 2 Writers of historical fiction conduct research to prepare to write. 114 Lesson 3 Writers research factual details to create accurate historical settings. 117 Lesson 4 Writers choose characters whose perspectives offer the most powerful story. 119 Lesson 5 Writers compose a story from three different perspectives. 122 Lesson 6 Writers use dialogue to emphasize point of view. 124 Lesson 7 Writers plan author’s notes to describe and reflect on their historical fiction writing experience. 126 Lesson 8 Writers compose author’s notes to describe and reflect on their historical fiction writing experience. 128 Lesson 9 Writers collaborate on revision and editing. 130 Lesson 10 Writers share and celebrate their work. 133 Glossary 135   Grade 8 Revealing Character: The Hero’s Journey 136 Introduction 137 Common Core State Standards Alignment 138 Core Questions 139 Lesson Set Goals 139 Choosing Core Texts 140 Teacher’s Notes 140 Questions for Close Reading 141 Building Academic Language 142 Recognition 142 Complementary Core Methods 142 Core Connections at Home 142   Reading Lessons 143 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Reading Instruction at a Glance 144 Lesson 1 Readers define and describe the meaning of “hero.” 145 Lesson 2 Readers discover key events and characters in Greek mythology. 147 Lesson 3 Readers search for the archetypal hero’s characteristics in mythological texts. 150 Lesson 4 Readers search for the archetypal hero’s journey in mythological texts. 154 Lesson 5 Readers develop understandings about the characteristics of Greek heroes through collaborative discussion. 157 Lesson 6 Readers preview contemporary novels to search for evidence of the archetypal hero and the monomyth structure. 159 Lesson 7 Readers search for the archetypal hero’s characteristics in independent novels. 162 Lesson 8 Readers search for the archetypal hero’s journey in independent novels. 165 Lesson 9 Readers recognize the importance of secondary characters in fantasy novels. 167 Lesson 10 Readers reflect on connections between mythology and modern literature by comparing and contrasting a novel to the filmed version. 170   Writing Lessons 174 The Core I.D.E.A. / Daily Writing Instruction at a Glance 175 Lesson 1 Writers determine the characteristics of a literary essay. 176 Lesson 2 Writers reflect on their research of an archetypal hero’s characteristics in independent texts. 179 Lesson 3 Writers reflect on their research of the archetypal hero’s journey in independent texts. 182 Lesson 4 Writers create thesis statements and outline their literary essay. 185 Lesson 5 Writers craft introductory paragraphs for their literary essays. 187 Lesson 6 Writers develop body paragraphs with evidence to support the thesis of their essays. 189 Lesson 7 Writers draft conclusions for their literary essays that follow and support their thesis. 190 Lesson 8 Writers add and cite a direct quote from their fantasy novels as evidence in their literary essays. 192 Lesson 9 Writers revise and edit and title their literary essays. 194 Lesson 10 Writers reflect on final drafts and provide feedback to others. 196 Glossary 199   Appendixes Grade 6 Appendixes Appendix 6.1 Elements of a Short Story Graphic Organizer 201 Appendix 6.2 Common Central Ideas in Middle School Literature 202 Appendix 6.3 Different Genre, Same Central Idea Group Discussion Guide 203 Appendix 6.4 Sample Short Story Discussion Guide: “The Last Leaf” by O’Henry 204 Appendix 6.5 Microblog Paper 205 Appendix 6.6 Written Literary Commentary Checklist 206 Appendix 6.7 Writing Prompts for Written Literary Commentaries 207 Appendix 6.8 Sample Short Story Version #1 and Version #2: The London Eye 208 Appendix 6.9 Short Story Checklist 213 Appendix 6.10 Clip-Apart Milestone Performance Assessment Checklists 214 Appendix 6.11 Core Ready Reading Rubric 219 Appendix 6.12 Core Ready Writing Rubric 224   Grade 7 Appendixes Appendix 7.1 Analyzing a Photo Graphic Organizer 228 Appendix 7.2 Elements of Historical Fiction Graphic Organizer 229 Appendix 7.3 Narrative Mode Definitions 234 Appendix 7.4 Informational Text and Its Influence on Historical Fiction 235 Appendix 7.5 Sample Informational Text: The Freedom Riders 236 Appendix 7.6 Selecting a Topic Graphic Organizer 237 Appendix 7.7 Sample Historical Fiction Text: Riding for Freedom 238 Appendix 7.8 List of Transitional Words and Phrases 241 Appendix 7.9 Revising and Editing Checklist 242 Appendix 7.10 Clip-Apart Milestone Performance Assessments 243 Appendix 7.11 Core Ready Reading Rubric 250 Appendix 7.12 Core Ready Writing Rubric 256   Grade 8 Appendixes Appendix 8.1 Greek Gods and Goddesses Graphic Organizer 260 Appendix 8.2 Sample Myths 261 Appendix 8.3 Hero’s Characteristics Graphic Organizer 264 Appendix 8.4 The Stages of the Hero’s Journey Defined 265 Appendix 8.5 Hero’s Journey Graphic Organizer 267 Appendix 8.6 Film vs. Text Analysis Graphic Organizer 268 Appendix 8.7 Common Archetypes in “The Lion King” Sample Essay 269 Appendix 8.8 Deconstructing the Literary Essay Questionnaire 271 Appendix 8.9 Hero Literary Essay Outline 273 Appendix 8.10 Perseus and Percy: Classic and Contemporary Heroes Model Literary Essay 274