For teachers who are confused about what to believe about the Common Core State Standards, Greg Berry has written a common-sense approach that will answer many of their question. Cultivating Adolescent Literacy: Standards, Strategies, and Performance Tasks for Improving Reading and Writing is an important book that discusses the pros and cons of the CCSS and also provides a much-needed explanation of the CCSS's various components. Berry also includes practical strategies that help teachers implement the Standards. This book would be a great suggestion for teacher study groups as well as for individual teachers. -- Susan J. Lenski, EdD, professor, Portland State University Cultivating Adolescent Literacy is a book that bridges the gap between the Common Core Standards and strategies for the classroom while also demonstrating that creativity can embrace rigor. This book delivers wisdom on so many levels and should be mandatory reading for new teachers entering the profession. It is also invigorating for veteran teachers who crave strategies to meet the needs of our changing populations, and it has a plethora of ideas for curriculum connoisseurs. Dr. Berry's writing style makes us feel as if we are sitting down in an intimate coffee shop discussing his class. He is a phenomenal teacher who empowers students to reach their potential through differentiated assignments and strategies. He shares those assignments along with student models in this book. This book will not sit on a shelf gathering dust; rather, it will sit prominently on your desk, dog-eared and filled with numerous post-it notes due to use. If Dr. Berry's first book, Literacy for Learning, was the appetizer for useful teaching strategies to empower student learning, then this book is the savory main dish to devour. -- Karri Gordon, English teacher, North Salem High School, Salem, Oregon Dozens if not hundreds of books have been published in the past decade exploring the educational implications of teaching academic literacy in the era of the Common Core. Yet, through this synthesis of key contributions from renowned colleagues, Berry offers a volume of resources, providing a concise set of invaluable practices for educators. Cultivating Adolescent Literacy presents a collection of diverse and practical tools that any educator can use daily to grow the thinking of students, aiding them with the most rigorous of texts. -- Barbara Dehm Bamford, PhD, Educational Consultant & AVID District Director, Salem-Keizer Public Schools A timely book providing a great review of the literature supporting reading and writing, with instructional strategies for the novice teacher as well as for the experienced educator. In this book, Dr. Berry showcases with clarity and passion his years of experience teaching English to adolescents. A book for all to reflect on best practices to support learning. -- J. A. Morales, PhD, High School Administrator