Standards in teaching come and go — what remains constant is the need to stay true to what really works in teaching reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This no-nonsense book advocates going beyond the basic standards by:

• increasing the amount of reading and writing children are doing
• balancing rigorous, high-quality literature and nonfiction with high-interest, student-selected titles
• using modeling to enrich students' writing skills in the prewriting, drafting, and revision stages
• continuing to utilize narrative and imaginative reading and writing
• planning lessons that move beyond curriculum expectations

This important book reminds us that instruction should be anchored around a single guiding question: What is in the best interest of our students?