The Common Core Coaching Book
Strategies to Help Teachers Address the K-5 ELA Standards
Laurie Elish-Piper and Susan K. L'Allier
Request a free digital professor copy on VitalSource ?This title is part of the Teaching Practices That Work Series, edited by Diane Lapp and Douglas Fisher.
“A unique, insightful addition to the literature on the Common Core. Coaches, teachers, reading specialists, and school curriculum leaders will all benefit from the authors' distinctive perspective. The authors are experts in literacy coaching, and their knowledge and practical experiences permeate each chapter. The book details what coaches need to know about the CCSS in very practical terms and provides numerous supportive tools.”
—Maureen McLaughlin, EdD, Reading Department, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania; President (2013-2014), International Reading Association
“Elish-Piper and L'Allier offer literacy coaches many practical suggestions for integrating the CCSS into their work with teachers. They have designed valuable tools that literacy professionals can use in different coaching situations. Clear examples show how real coaches have applied the book's strategies to help their own schools transition toward implementation of the CCSS. An important addition to any literacy coach's toolkit.”
—Joanna Lieberman, MEd, District Literacy Coach, Cambridge (Massachusetts) Public Schools
“Based on research and peppered with common sense, this book is respectful, timely, and easy to follow. The authors have artfully incorporated seminal work on teaching adult learners throughout the book—information that literacy coaching books often lack. This is a wonderful addition to the field and a great resource for teacher leaders in the era of not-enough-time.”
—Enrique A. Puig, EdD, Director, Morgridge International Reading Center, College of Education and Human Performance, University of Central Florida
“With pressure growing to implement the Common Core well, this book is a superb, hugely practical addition to the field. It offers insightful at-your-fingertips material that will jump-start beginning coaches who want to quickly be successful. Seasoned coaches also will benefit greatly from the book's specific coaching strategies—whole school, small group, and individual—along with examples of how they are put into practice. I am very excited to engage in the discussions and efforts this book will spark. For those in coaching roles who care deeply about nurturing both teachers' and students' learning, I believe this book will quickly become a 'must-have' resource.”
—Nancy L. Shanklin, EdD, Literacy, Language and Culturally Responsive Teaching Program, University of Colorado Denver
Table of Contents
I. Coaching toward the Common Core1. Getting Ready for Coaching
2. Tools for Effective Coaching
II. Large-Group Coaching toward the Common Core
Strategy 1. Establishing a Climate for Literacy Coaching
Strategy 2. Building Shared Understanding and Language
Strategy 3. Conducting an Article Study Group
Strategy 4. Providing Professional Development at Faculty Meetings
Strategy 5. Unpacking the Common Core Standards
Strategy 6. Examining the Vertical Alignment of the Common Core Standards
Strategy 7. Presenting Powerful Professional Development
III. Small-Group Coaching toward the Common Core
Strategy 8. Developing Implementation Guides for the Common Core Standards
Strategy 9. Reviewing Assessment Data to Plan Instruction
Strategy 10. Examining Student Work
Strategy 11. Reviewing Units of Study
Strategy 12. Conducting a Lesson Study
IV. Individual Coaching toward the Common Core
Strategy 13. Setting Goals
Strategy 14. Modeling
Strategy 15. Co-Planning
Strategy 16. Co-Teaching
Strategy 17. Observing
Strategy 18. Implementing the Coaching Cycle
V. Putting It All Together: Profiles of Highly Effective Literacy Coaches
Profile 1. Establishing and Maintaining Administrator Support
Profile 2. Getting into Classrooms
Profile 3. Working with Hesitant Teachers
Profile 4. Staying the Course
Profile 5. Embedding Coaching into Other Assigned Duties
Profile 6. Organizing for Success
Final Thoughts
About the Authors
Laurie Elish-Piper, PhD, is Distinguished Teaching Professor, Presidential Engagement Professor, and Director of the Jerry L. Johns Literacy Clinic in the Department of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University, where she also serves as Deputy Provost. Dr. Elish-Piper's research and teaching focus on literacy leadership and coaching. She has published and presented widely with Susan K. L'Allier on literacy coaching at the elementary level. She has worked extensively with school districts to develop and implement literacy coaching programs at the elementary and middle school levels, and she teaches graduate courses related to literacy coaching and leadership. Dr. Elish-Piper has coauthored seven books. Prior to joining the faculty at Northern Illinois University, she worked as an elementary teacher, a middle school reading teacher, and an educational therapist in a clinical setting.Susan K. L'Allier, EdD, is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Reading Program in the Department of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University. She and Laurie Elish-Piper have conducted multiple research studies to examine the relationship between literacy coaching and student literacy achievement. In addition to their journal articles, chapters, and presentations about literacy coaching, they also have published a video “workshop in a box” titled The Literacy Coaching Series, which enables viewers to see and analyze interactions between literacy coaches and teachers. Prior to joining the faculty at Northern Illinois University, Dr. L'Allier worked as an elementary teacher, a lead teacher, and a principal.