Common Core IRL: Frogs - discovering texts of increasing complexity

As I have thought about what it means to implement the Common Core State Standards, one of my real focuses is on how I can help children discover increasingly more complex nonfiction texts on subjects they are interested in. Five of us -- librarians and literacy experts -- are working together to show what the Common Core means for school libraries in real life. We’re calling the series Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries.

Kids are fascinated by the world around them. Our role, as adults who share books with kids, is to help them discover books that build on this interest, making them want to learn more and more. But we need to do so with books that build on their knowledge in a gradual way.

For our first topic, we chose to focus on frogs. Last month, each of us shared books on frogs that gradually increased in text complexity. We have pulled together our recommendations in one document, to share with teachers, librarians and parents. Please feel free to download this and share with your colleagues and friends.

Common Core IRL: Frogs by Mary Ann Placzek Scheuer

Common Core IRL is truly a collaborative effort. Many thanks to these friends and colleagues who have worked to put together these recommendations:

• Alyson Beecher, district literacy specialist: Kid Lit Frenzy
• Louise Capizzo, children’s librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives
• Travis Jonker, school librarian: 100 Scope Notes
• Cathy Potter, school librarian: The Nonfiction Detectives

We look forward to making Common Core IRL a recurring feature. Are there topics that you think your students would be interested in that we should cover? Let us know in the comments.

©2013 , Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books