This column provides an overview of the Common Core text exemplars and gives examples of ways teachers can group text exemplars and other trade books in ways that will support middle graders' understanding of complex texts. Building background by supplementing text exemplars with other titles is particularly emphasized. Suggestions for grouping exemplars and other books on topics like the Great Depression, slavery, art, and architecture are provided. Classic books by authors like Virginia Hamilton, Walt Whitman, and Frederick Douglass are featured, as are more contemporary titles by authors like Elizabeth Partridge, David Macaulay, and Russell Freedman.