Anchor Standards for Reading Scholastic Action

Key Ideas and Details

1Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

• Each issue provides engaging, age-appropriate content at an accessible reading level for struggling readers. The magazine provides a wide variety of nonfiction articles, including Mini-Reads, Celebrity Scoop, and True Teen Story features. Other formats include Readers Theater plays, debates, and visual text. The short texts are ideal for use during close reading lessons.

• Articles include follow-up activities in the magazine to support the content or skill. The Show What You Know reading comprehension test-prep activity requires students to recall explicit information and to make inferences.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide include reading comprehension strategies, including citing text evidence, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and more.

• Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill.

• More than 10 extra printable activity pages are available online with each issue. One of those activities, the Test Your Knowledge quiz, requires students to recall specific details.

605-WB-13-AC

Action helps teachers meet the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards. The authentic texts and specially-designed CCSS lesson plans and activities in this language-arts intervention magazine support anchor standards in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language.

Scholastic Action® Meets Common Core State Standards

Anchor Standards for Reading Scholastic Action

Key Ideas and Details

2Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

• Activities in the issue require students to determine the central idea or theme of a text.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide include reading comprehension strategies, such as identifying a central idea and how it develops in a text, as well as summarizing.

• Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill, including central idea and summarizing graphic organizers.

3Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

• Readers Theater plays provide ideal material for students to analyze how individuals, events, and ideas interact in a literary text.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on skills, such as character study and understanding story elements.

• Each lesson plan includes a reproducible activity page to use with the lesson to reinforce the skill, including character study and story elements graphic organizers.

• Activities in the issue and extra skills pages online require students to analyze story elements.

Craft and Structure

4Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

• Vocabulary words are defined in boxes on the first page of some articles. They are also boldfaced within each article.

• Other words and phrases are supported by embedded context clues.

• In the digital edition, students can click on the vocabulary word to learn its definition. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important nonfiction reading skills, such as using context clues and word parts to determine word meaning.

• More than 10 extra printable activity pages are available online with each issue. Two of those pages, Vocabulary Review, require students to complete sentences using vocabulary from two articles per issue.

5Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

• Articles in the magazine offer varying text structures, including sequence, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important reading skills, such as interpreting text structure and text features. Other lesson plans lead students to examine the purpose of sections in the text.

Anchor Standards for Reading Scholastic Action

Craft and Structure

6Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

• Articles in the magazine include first- and third-person point of view.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide teach essential reading skills, such as identifying author’s purpose and point of view.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

• In every issue, there are maps, charts, graphs, and other visual texts that supplement information presented in the articles.

• Text features such as headlines, subheads, photos, captions, and labels enhance articles.

• The back-page activity of each issue presents a visual text for students to practice interpreting information in various formats.

• In the digital edition, various multimedia sources are offered to extend articles featured in the issue. These include videos, interactive skill-building games, Text-to-Talk audio read-alouds of three articles per issue, web links, and slide shows.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide require students to compare and contrast information presented in an article with that presented in a video.

8Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

• Debates featured in the magazine present two sides of an issue, which students can analyze.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide ask students to practice skills, such as identifying reasons and evidence an author uses to support an argument, as well as evaluating the validity of an argument.

• Reading comprehension quizzes in the issue and activity pages online ask students to evaluate reasons and evidence.

9Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

• Paired texts on the same topic are included in each issue of the magazine.

• Readers can compare and contrast articles written on similar topics throughout the school year. All back issues for the school year are accessible on the Action website.

• Additional texts on an issue’s topics are located in the web links section of the digital edition. Students can compare and contrast the issue’s articles to these additional resources.

Anchor Standards for Reading Scholastic Action

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

• Action presents a wide range of texts throughout the year at different levels of complexity. Three articles in each issue are available on the Action website at three different Lexile® levels.

• One article in each issue comes with a corresponding Read 180 lesson available on the Action website.

Anchor Standards for Writing Scholastic Action

Text Types and Purposes

1Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address writing skills, such as persuasive and opinion writing.

• Activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra activity pages online prompt students to practice specific writing and reasoning skills, such as fact & opinion.

• The debate feature asks students to contemplate two sides of an issue. Teachers may ask students to write their own responses to the debate questions.

• Plan an Argument Essay, a regular online skills page, allows students to plan and write an argument essay.

2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide cover writing skills, such as writing informative or explanatory pieces based on texts in the magazine.

• Writing activities in the magazine require students to respond to prompts about the text.

• The nonfiction articles in the issues serve as exemplars of informative/explanatory texts.

3Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address writing skills, such as personal narratives, biographies/autobiographies, and fictional stories.

• First-person articles in the issue can be used as models for teaching personal narratives.

Production and Distribution of Writing

4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra online activity pages provide many opportunities for students to practice clear and coherent writing on interesting topics.

• These activities simulate real-world writing tasks, such as letter writing.

Anchor Standards for Writing Scholastic Action

Production and Distribution of Writing

5Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

• Writing activities presented in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra online skills pages can be further developed using the writing process.

• You Be the Editor, a regular online skills page, allows students to practice proofreading, editing, and revising skills.

• Articles in the issues can be used as exemplar texts of published writing.

• Read. Write. Win! is a writing contest featured in each issue of Action. Students can plan and write a persuasive essay and submit it to win a prize.

6Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

• The Action website, designed for use on an interactive whiteboard, digital projector, computer, or tablet, integrates a variety of media, including videos, games, web links, and slide shows.

• Teacher’s Guide activity pages and extra online skills pages are both available in printable and interactive PDF formats on the Action website.

• Action magazine holds a poetry contest each year. Students submit their work online for possible publication.

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

7Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address research skills, such as synthesizing information from multiple print and online sources.

• The web links section of the Action website suggests additional resources, which lend themselves to research and writing projects for students to complete.

8Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

• On Action’s website, students can gather additional information about an article’s topic by viewing videos and slide shows, as well as reading additional online only bonus articles.

• Students can compare information gathered from reading the articles in the issues with information they gathered from the web links.

9Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

• Students can draw information from high-interest articles in the issue for use in a variety of writing assignments.

Anchor Standards for Writing Scholastic Action

Range of Writing

10Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra online skills pages can be used during instruction to write for a wide variety of purposes to fit varying assignments and time frames.

Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening Scholastic Action

Comprehension and Collaboration

1Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

• High-interest articles lend themselves to discussions, which can be held as a class, in small groups, or in partnerships.

• Writing tasks can be modified for use in discussion groups.

• Debate features in the issues can be used to stage classroom debates or informal conversations in various group formats.

• Students can practice listening comprehension using the Text-to-Talk Listen and Read feature with select articles on the Action website.

2Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address important listening skills, such as analyzing information presented in videos and slide shows on the Action website.

• When a class participates in a Readers Theater play, students must listen to one another read.

• Students can practice listening comprehension using the Text-to-Talk Listen and Read feature with select articles on the Action website.

3Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.

• Articles can be used to spark moderated discussion among students.

• Debate features can be used to stage classroom debates or informal conversations in various group formats. Listeners can identify a speaker’s reasons and evidence for an argument.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

4Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

• Topics covered in the issues can be used as springboards for oral presentations about specific topics.

Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening Scholastic Action

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

5Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

• Videos, games, and slide shows on the Action website can be used as examples of digital media.

6Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

• Questions requiring written response can be modified and used for oral response in formal and informal settings.

• Articles in the issue can be used to stimulate discussion about given topics.

Anchor Standards for Language Scholastic Action

Conventions of Standard English

1Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address language skills, including conventions and usage.

• Articles in each issue contain embedded language skills, including parts of speech, singular/plural, possessives, contractions, and more.

• Exercises in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra activity pages provide students with many opportunities for writing and speaking using standard English conventions.

• More than 10 extra printable activity sheets are available online with each issue. One of those sheets, the You Be the Editor activity, requires students to identify and correct grammatical errors in writing.

• Interactive Common Core skill-building games allow students to hone grammar and usage skills.

2Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide address language skills, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

• Some articles in the issue contain embedded language skills, including spelling and punctuation.

• Exercises in the issues, Teacher’s Guide, and extra activity pages provide students with many opportunities for writing using standard capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

• More than 10 extra printable activity pages are available online with each issue. One of those sheets, the You Be the Editor activity, requires students to identify and correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

Anchor Standards for Language Scholastic Action

Knowledge of Language

3Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

• Articles in the issue provide examples of diverse writing styles.

• Readers Theater plays provide examples of language used in different contexts by a variety of characters.

• Writing activities in the issues, Teacher’s Guide activity pages, and extra online skills sheets require students to determine appropriate writing styles to respond effectively.

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

4Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

• Vocabulary words are defined in boxes on the first page of some articles and are also boldfaced within each article.

• Other words and phrases are support by embedded context clues.

• In the digital edition, students can click on the vocabulary word to learn its definition. Additionally, an audio option is available to hear the word and its definition.

• Some articles in the issue contain embedded language skills, including prefixes/suffixes/root words.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on important reading skills, such as using context clues and word parts to determine word meaning.

• More than 10 extra printable activity sheets are available online with each issue. Two of those sheets, Vocabulary Review, require students to complete sentences using vocabulary words from the issue. Other activity sheets provide further practice for specific skills.

5Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

• Lesson plans in the Teacher’s Guide focus on skills such as figurative language and multiple-meaning words.

• Some articles in the issue contain embedded language skills, including synonyms, antonyms, and figurative language.

• Games on the Action website target language skills such as synonyms and antonyms.

Anchor Standards for Language Scholastic Action

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

6Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

• Both informational and literary texts contain academic and topic-specific vocabulary words. The words are supported by definitions and context clues.

To order Scholastic Action, for additional editorial information, or to receive product samples:

Call: 1-800-387-1437 Fax: 1-877-242-5865 Email: magazineinfo@scholastic.com

Mail: Scholastic Classroom Magazines 2315 Dean Street, Suite 600 St. Charles, IL 60175