This practical book shows how veteran, justiceoriented social studies teachers are responding to the Common Core State Standards, focusing on how they build curriculum, support students' literacy skills, and prepare students to think and act critically within and beyond the classroom. In order to provide direct classroom-toclassroom insights, the authors draw on letters written by veteran teachers addressed to new teachers entering the field. The first section of the book introduces the three approaches teachers can take for teaching for social justice within the constraints of the Common Core State Standards (embracing, reframing, or resisting the standards). The second section analyzes specific approaches to teaching the Common Core, using teacher narratives to illustrate key processes. The final section demonstrates how teachers develop, support, and sustain their identities as justice-oriented educators in standards-driven classrooms. Each chapter includes exemplary lesson plans drawn from diverse grades and classrooms, and offers concrete recommendations to guide practice.