Written by Teachers, for Teachers xi

Introduction by Lynne Munson xiii

How to Use the Common Core Curriculum Maps xvii

Grade 6 1

Unit 1 I Won’t Grow Up 3

Unit 2 Folklore: A Blast from the Past 13

Unit 3 Embracing Heritage 23

Unit 4 Courageous Characters 33

Unit 5 Figure It Out 43

Unit 6 Winging It 53

Grade 7 61

Unit 1 Characters with Character 63

Unit 2 Perseverance 73

Unit 3 Courage in Life and in Literature 85

Unit 4 Survival in the Wild 99

Unit 5 Science or Fiction? 107

Unit 6 Literature Ref lects Life: Making Sense of Our World 117

Grade 8 125

Unit 1 Urban Settings in America: ‘‘It Happened in the City’’ 127

Unit 2 Rural Settings in North America: ‘‘It Happened in the Country’’ 137

Unit 3 Looking Back on America 149

Unit 4 Authors and Artists 161

Unit 5 Dramatically Speaking 173

Unit 6 ‘‘The Road Not Taken’’ 183

About Common Core 193

Acknowledgments 195

Index of Suggested Works 197