Anchor Texts: What are they? How can my book be one?
As an author, you might be either a) tired of hearing about the Common Core or b) still thinking, "What is it and what should I be doing about it?" Well, you're not alone. I'm both a middle school teacher AND a middle grade author. Nothing haunts me right now like the CCSS. But as an author--especially if you write picture books, nonfiction, or middle grade fiction--the Common Core can be an opening for you. First of all, teachers are LOOKING for new resources. And for the first time in years, there are funds to buy them. One of the buzzwords associated with the Common Core Language Arts standards is the concept of "anchor texts." An anchor text is a rich piece of literature or an engaging piece of text that a teacher can use as the centerpiece for bringing in other related resources (called text sets ), which students then read, analyze or synthesize to create something else: a piece of writing, a debate speech, a Socratic discussion, a PowerPoint pres...