Why hands-on learning matters in science

A knowledge board, a child examining a geode, and a hand holding a geode in front of colorful geode art illustrate personalized learning through hands-on science exploration.

Science should be more than just reading about concepts—it should be something students can see, touch, and explore. When students actively engage with science through hands-on activities, technology, and even literature connections, they develop not only essential science skills, but also deeper understanding and lasting curiosity.

Bringing science to life: Hands-on activities

Perhaps the most effective way to engage students in science is to combine a high-quality curriculum with an interactive teaching style to make it experiential. In my classroom, we use the Amplify CKLA Geology unit to dive into earth science concepts. While these strategies can be applied across grade levels and scientific topics, the following is an example from my fourth-grade classroom’s geology lessons:

  • Examining geodes: Students predict what they will find inside before breaking geodes open. Then they analyze the crystal structures, connecting their observations to Amplify CKLA’s science concepts.
  • Writing about Earth’s layers: After learning about the Earth’s structure, students reinforce their understanding by writing creative descriptions or short stories from the perspective of different layers.
  • Diagramming volcanoes and the rock cycle: Drawing detailed diagrams, students visualize how rocks change over time and how volcanic eruptions shape the Earth’s surface.

Connecting literacy skills to science skills

Incorporating literature deepens students’ understanding of science. I use a mix of trade books and digital resources to bring concepts to life through storytelling and informational texts. These books help students connect scientific ideas with real-world applications, fostering both literacy and science skills.

Literacy skills like reading comprehension and critical thinking are key to understanding complex scientific ideas. When students dive into science-related materials, they practice making sense of data, thinking critically about evidence, and building arguments. These practices boost students’ overall literacy, expanding their vocabulary, sparking their curiosity, and developing their media literacy.

Digital resources for students: Exploring science with Google Earth

To further engage students, I integrate Google Earth into our lesson plans. This allows them to explore real-world scientific phenomena—such as geological formations, ecosystems, and weather patterns—making abstract concepts more tangible. Students love zooming in on famous landscapes, discussing how they were formed, and identifying scientific features. This interactive approach using relevant digital tools helps make science feel relevant and exciting.

Final thoughts: The power of engagement in science

By combining hands-on activities, literature, and technology, I’ve helped my students develop a genuine curiosity about science. As the school year progresses, they ask more questions, make deeper connections, and take ownership of their learning.

Engaging students in science doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to be meaningful. By making learning interactive, Amplify (through Amplify CKLA and Amplify Science) helps students connect with scientific concepts in meaningful ways. I encourage other educators to bring Amplify’s lessons to life with interactive approaches that spark wonder and excitement in young scientists.

Explore more

  • Let’s keep the conversation going! Join the discussion in our Amplify learning communities.
  • Looking for inspiration? Watch Teacher Connections, a video series featuring practical advice and tools straight from fellow educators—our very own Amplify Ambassadors.
  • Dive into our podcast hub to hear from top thought leaders and educators and uncover cross-disciplinary insights to support your instruction.

The power of data: From literacy assessment to action

Two educational documents are displayed, focusing on early literacy and literacy assessment for grades K-8. Images of children learning are included on the front page, highlighting their journey in language comprehension skills.

Teaching literacy is a balancing act. Your classroom may have students who soar through grade-level reading lessons and others who need additional support—or even intensive intervention—to keep up. And you may feel like there’s never enough time to meet everyone’s needs.

But with data, you can do it. By leveraging assessment data strategically, making the most of core instruction, and integrating intervention and personalized learning, you can give every student the support they need—without adding extra hours to your day.

Let’s break it down.

Types of data, defined

This you know: Not all assessments are created equal. Universal screeners help identify which students need extra support. Formative assessments track ongoing progress. Summative assessments measure overall learning. Each is a tool that equips you with the right information at the right time to adjust your instruction.

  • Before core instruction: Universal screening and diagnostic assessments enable you to see where students are starting from and plan accordingly.
  • During instruction: Formative assessments (e.g., quick checks, observations, and exit tickets) catch misunderstandings early so you can reteach on the spot.
  • After instruction: Summative assessments measure progress; progress monitoring during intervention helps you know if students are on the right track before final assessments.

The goal isn’t more testing—it’s using the data from the assessments you have to make smarter instructional decisions.

Making the most of Tier 1 instruction

You spend most of the school day on core instruction. Making it as effective as possible benefits all students, not just those who are struggling. The key? Teach explicitly; use high-quality materials grounded in the Science of Reading; and keep instruction aligned to grade-level standards while allowing flexibility for different learning needs. Specifically:

  • Model first, then guide, then let them try. Clear explanations and step-by-step modeling give students confidence before they work independently.
  • Use formative assessments to adjust in real time. If an exit ticket shows most students didn’t grasp a concept, a quick reteach the next day can prevent gaps from growing.
  • Group students for targeted support. Small groups during core instruction can help address specific skill gaps without taking students away from grade-level learning.

When core instruction is strong and built around what students actually need, intervention becomes more about fine-tuning rather than catching up from major gaps.

An MTSS framework: The right help at the right time

When assessment data shows that a student needs extra support, targeted intervention helps prevent small struggles from turning into bigger ones. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) can ensure that interventions are structured, data-driven, and matched to student needs.

  • Intervention blocks and small groups: Some classrooms use dedicated intervention blocks to provide students extra support without missing core instruction. Others incorporate targeted small-group instruction during the literacy block. Either way, intervention works best when it’s built into the schedule, not squeezed in as an afterthought.
  • Progress monitoring: Once students enter intervention, regular check-ins track their progress and allow you to make adjustments as needed without waiting for the next big assessment.

Small shifts, big impact

For students who are on track or need more challenge, personalized learning tools—such as adaptive reading programs—can provide meaningful independent practice. High-quality programs adjust automatically based on student performance, so each student gets exactly the right level of support or enrichment without adding extra prep for you.

In other words, teaching literacy well isn’t about working more—it’s about working strategically. By using assessments to inform your instruction, strengthening core teaching, and providing structured support or intervention when needed, you can position every student for success, no matter where they start.

More to explore

Creating lasting change in K–5 math and literacy instruction

Two women seated at a table engage in a lively conversation. One is using a laptop, likely discussing innovative teaching practices. Bookshelves filled with resources for empowering students are visible in the background, perhaps hinting at their dedication to star awards in education.

Transforming math and literacy education takes more than just tips and tricks—it requires vision, commitment, and the right support. Whether you’re rethinking early literacy skills instruction, refining math core curriculum, or fostering a culture of collaboration, you need strong leadership and proven strategies for real change to occur.

“Sustained, meaningful change doesn’t happen overnight,” said Kymyona Burk, Ed.D., a senior policy fellow at ExcelinEd and the keynote speaker at our recent Leading With Vision symposium. “It requires commitment, collaboration, and a clear vision for supporting both educators and students.”

At the symposium—which included keynotes, panels, and math and literacy tracks—education experts from across the country shared experiences navigating instructional shifts, leading curriculum implementation, and setting schools up for success. From building buy-in to making data-driven decisions, their actionable insights can empower you with the knowledge and tools to create lasting change in your district.

Read on for a recap of the core presentations. You can also watch or listen along—and, for extra credit, download the workbook to deepen your learning.

Opening keynote: Key Factors for Successful Transformation in Literacy and Math

Kymyona Burk, Ed.D.
Senior Policy Fellow, ExcelinEd

In her session, Kymona Burk made the case that real student learning progress in literacy and math doesn’t come from policy alone—it requires systemic, research-based change in classrooms. Too often, schools focus on interventions for struggling students instead of strengthening core instruction to prevent gaps in the first place. She pointed to Mississippi’s success in narrowing achievement gaps as proof that evidence-based teaching, teacher support, and family engagement drive meaningful, lasting improvement.

A key factor in that success, she argued, was a firm commitment to the Science of Reading. “We have decades of research on how children learn to read, and we can’t afford to ignore it,” she said.

Burk also stressed math’s similarities to literacy when it comes to effective teaching methods. Just as students need structured, research-backed reading instruction, they also need math teaching and instructional materials that build deep understanding rather than rely on rote memorization. Achieving this, she said, requires strong materials, better teacher training, and a commitment to using data to refine strategies. The path to better outcomes isn’t a mystery—what’s needed is leadership and persistence.

Key takeaways:

  • Tier 1 instruction is the foundation. Schools must prioritize high-quality core instruction to prevent learning gaps.
  • Literacy and math both need urgent attention. Math reform has lagged behind literacy efforts, but both require evidence-based teaching and structured support.
  • Teachers need more than just training. Professional development must be paired with coaching, collaboration, and access to the right materials.
  • Sustained effort leads to results. Mississippi’s success proves that achievement gaps can be closed with consistent investment in people, resources, and accountability.

Leadership Lessons Learned in Baltimore City Schools That Impact Change Everywhere

Janise Lane
VP of Customer Transformation, Amplify; former Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, Baltimore City Schools

Janise Lane’s talk centered on Baltimore City Schools’ multi-year effort to implement a more effective literacy curriculum, highlighting the importance of managing both the logistical and emotional aspects of change. While the district had strong, committed educators, student performance remained stagnant, prompting a curriculum audit and a shift toward evidence-based instruction.

Lane described how to build buy-in and sustainability by ensuring that change is not dictated solely by district leadership. “We had to shift from a system where decisions were made at the top, to one where teachers, families, and community members were true decision-makers,” Lane said.

She also emphasized the need to recognize and address resistance. “Everybody approaches change differently, and it’s our job as leaders to attend to all of those emotions,” Lane said. The key to success, she noted, is creating structured pathways for implementation while remaining adaptable and open to feedback and real classroom experiences.

Key takeaways:

  • Balance structure with flexibility. A clear plan is necessary, but it must adapt based on feedback, data, and the realities of implementation.
  • Small wins build momentum. Celebrating early progress helps shift mindsets from skepticism to belief in the change.
  • Trust and transparency matter. Educators need to see that leadership is engaged, responsive, and committed to making change work for everyone.

Making Math People: Key Shifts in How We Think of Math Assessment

Patrick Callahan, Ph.D.
Educator; Founder, Math ANEX

During his talk, Patrick Callahan emphasized the ways that asset-based assessments measure not just what students don’t know, but the depths of their mathematical thinking. Instead of relying on traditional multiple-choice tests, his approach encourages open-ended responses, allowing teachers to analyze how students arrive at their answers.

Callahan noted that by looking beyond correctness to understand reasoning, teachers can better target instruction. “If all I see is that 37% of my students got an area problem right, I might think I need to reteach area,” Callahan explained. “But if I analyze responses, I see that some kids are correctly multiplying but misunderstanding overlapping rectangles, while others are actually calculating perimeter instead. That tells me exactly where to focus my instruction.”

His research also shows a correlation between students who demonstrated conceptual understanding (such as interpreting remainders in division problems) and higher performance on standardized tests—evidence that fostering deep thinking supports both engagement and achievement.

Key takeaways:

  • Assessments should focus on thinking, not just accuracy. Open-ended questions provide deeper learning opportunities.
  • Targeted teaching saves time. Knowing why students struggle prevents unnecessary reteaching.
  • Classroom discussions boost comprehension. Encouraging students to explain their thinking deepens understanding.

Creating a Supportive Environment for Educators During Times of Instructional Change

Ricky Robertson
Educator; author; consultant

“The number one influence on team effectiveness is psychological safety,” Ricky Robertson said during his symposium session. “Not how talented the individuals are, but how they interact with one another.” His talk focused on how the knowledge that one can speak up without fear of punishment or humiliation affects school culture, educator well-being, and student success, citing research such as Google’s Project Aristotle that demonstrates how high-performing teams thrive not on individual expertise but the quality of interactions among team members.

He also noted that toxic workplace dynamics—such as fear-based leadership, cliques, and bullying—contribute to burnout, disengagement, and resistance to change. Stressing that “strategies don’t transform schools, systems do,” he shared case studies of schools that changed their culture by fostering open communication, restructuring leadership teams, and implementing clear decision-making processes. Creating a safe environment isn’t just about being nice, Robertson said. Robertson noted that creating a safe environment isn’t just about being nice, but about building systems that allow educators to collaborate, support one another, and better serve their students.

Key takeaways:

  • Psychological safety boosts performance. Schools that report a high sense of psychological safety see increased collaboration, innovation, and teacher retention.
  • Structured collaboration matters. Schools with clear communication protocols and leadership structures create more productive teams.
  • Change starts with educators. Supporting teachers’ well-being and professional growth is the foundation for student success.

More to explore

Meet the 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards finalists

Three ribbons on a blue background: a yellow ribbon with paper symbolizing personalized learning, a blue ribbon with a rocket representing MTSS strategies, and an orange ribbon with a star.

Celebrating the 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards finalists

Every day, teachers and education leaders across the country are guiding students toward a future lit up by literacy.

It’s not always easy—especially when they’re the ones championing and implementing shifts toward literacy programs grounded in the Science of Reading.

That’s why we’re thrilled to celebrate the finalists of the 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards!

These awards recognize the educators who go above and beyond to make evidence-based reading instruction a reality for students learning in their schools and districts. Whether they’re rolling out new district-wide literacy programs, coaching fellow educators, or introducing innovative teaching practices, these education leaders are making a real difference for students.

And just like the light from distant stars, the impact of their efforts reaches far and wide, shaping futures for years to come.

Empowering students through literacy

The Science of Reading Star Awards aim a beacon on the champions of literacy—teachers, administrators, and education leaders who are putting the best literacy research into action.

Studies show that systematic phonics instruction—one of the key components of the Science of Reading—leads to significantly higher reading achievement than alternative methods, particularly for struggling readers. Literacy instruction grounded in the Science of Reading strengthens critical thinking by systematically building the language comprehension skills—like vocabulary, syntax, and background knowledge—that students need to make meaning, draw inferences, and evaluate ideas in complex texts. And when you teach knowledge in tandem with literacy, you inspire students to become confident readers, writers, and thinkers.

But shifting to instruction aligned to the Science of Reading isn’t just about swapping one program for another or bringing innovative teaching methods into one classroom—it’s about leading change, engaging stakeholders, and being an inspiration to others.

These awards celebrate the educators, schools, and districts whose innovative approach to literacy is doing just that. Here’s a look at this year’s categories and finalists:

  • District: The District Captain For the leaders bringing Science of Reading practices to life across entire districts
    • Puyallup School District, WA
    • Celina City Schools, OH
    • Waukegan CUSD #60, IL
    • Madison County School District, MS
  • School: The Literacy Legend For the school that has seen significant reading gains among their students school-wide when using the Science of Reading
    • Angie Grant Elementary School, Benton School District, AR
    • Bataan Memorial Primary School, Port Clinton City School District, OH
    • Bruin Point Elementary School, Carbon School District, UT
  • Individual: The Changemaker For showcasing exemplary Science of Reading routines and practices, and serving as an inspiration to others on the journey
    • Stephanie Wilcox, District Elementary School Improvement Specialist, Redmond School District, OR
    • Emily Tessalone Garcia, Grade 8 Teacher, Passaic City Public School District, NJ
    • Reena Mathew, Literacy Coach, Suffern Central School District, NY
  • Individual: The Language Luminary For outstanding success in developing the skills and strengths of multilingual/English learners
    • Johanna Quinde, Teacher, The Nancy DeBenedittis School, NY
    • Dayana Orozco Rojas, Kindergarten Dual Language Teacher, Kannapolis City School District, NC
    • Eimy Maria Galindo Medina, Grade 2 DLI Teacher, Denver Public Schools, CO
  • Individual: The Background Knowledge Builder For showing the world that the Science of Reading empowers students with knowledge, context, and vocabulary from elementary through middle school
    • Ann Ingham, Grade 3 Teacher, Cedarburg School District, WI
    • Katie Chappell. Grade 5 Teacher, Rome City School District, GA
    • Demi Grosely, Teacher, Clarkston School District, WA
  • Individual: The MTSS Maestro For implementing a data-driven Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework that creates a thriving and robust literacy ecosystem
    • Samantha Umali, Special Education Teacher and Elementary K–4 General Education Teacher, Bering Strait School District, AK
    • Kylie Altier, Grade 1 Teacher, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, LA
    • Erin Custadio, Elementary Literacy Manager, Falmouth Public School District, MA
    • Victoria Green, Reading Specialist, Roswell Independent School District, NM
  • Individual: The Science of Reading Rookie For a teacher in their first year already making strides with the Science of Reading
    • Miracle Austin, Kindergarten Teacher, Guilford Preparatory Academy, NC
    • Pei-Ching Peng, Instructional Apprentice, Uplift Elevate Preparatory, TX
    • Todd Payne, Elementary Teacher, Renaissance School, WI
  • Individual: The Cross-Disciplinarian For skilled weaving of literacy practices across subject areas in the classroom
    • Katie Kirkpatrick, Teacher, Graham Dustin Public Schools, OK
    • Laura Horvath, K–12 Science & Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, Harrison School District 2, CO
    • Christina Miller, Lower Elementary Teacher, South Bend Community School Corporation, IN
  • Individual: The Writing Whiz For integrating writing instruction with the Science of Reading and cultivating articulate and confident writers through innovative and effective practices
    • Michelle Luebbering, Grade 5 Teacher, Jefferson City School District, MO
    • Jennifer Dove, Grade 3 Teacher, Rockingham County Public School District, VA
    • Daphne Long, Teacher, St. Clair County School District, AL

From districts undergoing transformations to educators supporting professional development on the ground, these finalists are proving that with the right approach—and the right support—every child can become a strong reader.

Congratulations, finalists! We know the long hours, extra effort, and deep belief in your students that fuels your work. You’re making the future brighter, one reader at a time!

Learn more on our Science of Reading Star Awards page.

Using the Science of Writing to support literacy instruction

There are plenty of creative and effective ways to inspire and teach students to write. Many teachers tap into their own experiences, insights, and talents to help students learn how to communicate with the written word.

And there’s also science behind how kids become effective written communicators. Just as the Science of Reading has transformed literacy development and instruction, the Science of Writing offers research-backed strategies to help students learn to write with clarity and confidence.

Here’s how the Science of Writing can help you support student learning.

The Science of Reading and Writing, defined

The Science of Reading represents the large and ever-growing body of research into how students best learn to read—and, therefore, how best to teach them. (You might call it the Science of teaching reading.) It emphasizes the principle that kids don’t learn to read just by being immersed in words on pages around them. Rather, instruction must be structured, explicit, and systematic.

Likewise, the Science of Writing is a research-based approach to effective instruction that emphasizes structured, explicit, and systematic methods to help students develop strong and confident writing skills. While the Science of Reading focuses on how students decode and comprehend text, the Science of Writing addresses how students construct and communicate meaning through written language.

Reading and writing are deeply connected. Strong reading skills support strong writing skills, and vice versa. A simple example: When students are expressly taught to identify the characteristics and purpose of a given text structure (say, the presentation of a problem and its solution) while reading, they are better able to replicate that structure in their writing; they can continue to improve their writing by analyzing additional and more advanced texts with that structure.

A Science of Reading curriculum and Science of Writing curriculum—that is, a comprehensive literacy curriculum—must integrate both, ensuring that students are not only able to understand texts but also to articulate their own thoughts clearly and effectively. By aligning high-quality instructional materials with these proven frameworks, educators can significantly enhance student learning outcomes.

How to bring the Science of Writing into your core curriculum

Effective writing instruction requires a comprehensive approach that addresses transcription skills and composition skills, both of which require explicit teaching and practice. If you’re looking to improve writing instruction in your classroom or district, there are five critical shifts you need to consider. Below, we’ll give you a peek at two of them. Note that we’re not asking you to add more to your plate every day; each of these approaches will actually allow you to sunset some others.

1.  Develop both transcription and composition skills, not one or the other.

Skilled writing is a product of transcription skills (such as handwriting and spelling) and composition skills (such as developing and expressing ideas). Both are best taught through an integrated reading and writing approach that recognizes reading and writing as reciprocal processes.

By working on the development of both skills, you’ll be able to shift away from:

  • Focusing exclusively on handwriting and spelling at the expense of composition practice.
  • Free writing time without explicit guidance or goals.

2.  Teach transcription skills in tandem with phonics, not in isolation.

As you know, reading and writing are reciprocal and strengthened when taught together. Some specifics:

  • Transcription skills—such as handwriting and spelling—are best taught and practiced in alignment with a phonics scope and sequence.
  • Research shows that building automaticity in handwriting supports the neural pathways associated with reading.

By working on transcription and phonics in tandem, you’ll be able to shift away from:

  • “ABC” handwriting instruction, focusing instead on instruction aligned to sound-spellings students are learning.
  • Asking students to spell words without explicit instruction in the sound-spellings.

Making this shift means moving away from phonics instruction that occurs on an “as-needed” basis and ensuring that all students receive the foundational skills necessary for fluent reading and writing.

These are just two of the essential shifts you can make to transform your literacy, and specifically writing, instruction. By focusing on evidence-based strategies, educators can make sure that students receive the support they need to become strong, independent writers.

More to explore

Want to learn all five key shifts and how to implement them in your classroom? Download our full guide to discover how the Science of Writing can help improve student learning and long-term literacy success.

Also:

The case for grade-level ELA instruction in middle school

Teaching middle school comes with unique challenges—especially in ELA, where a single classroom may include students from all walks of life and all reading levels. Recent data shows that more than 30 percent of middle school students struggle to read at grade level. So a teacher’s instinct might—understandably—be to match students with texts at their individual reading levels.

But research shows that’s not the best approach for meeting student needs. In fact, a critical way to help middle schoolers read at grade level is … to teach them at grade level.

All students benefit when they are challenged with grade-level content, along with the necessary support and scaffolding to promote their growth.
This approach ensures that no student—whether below, above, or on grade level—is left behind or held back from their full potential.

The problem with the “remediation trap”

Providing struggling students with simpler texts seems like a logical way to build confidence. But this approach often reinforces learning gaps instead of closing them. When students aren’t exposed to grade-level material, they miss out on critical opportunities to:

  • Build knowledge and vocabulary necessary for long-term academic success.
  • Engage in meaningful discussions that deepen comprehension.
  • Develop confidence in their ability to tackle complex texts and new concepts.

But when students interact with rigorous content and new information alongside their peers, they gain the skills, exposure, and engagement they need to improve—no matter where they start.

Scaffolding in education: Why does it matter?

If students need help reaching grade-level standards, rather than focus on lowering expectations, focus on providing the right scaffolding. Scaffolding refers to instructional supports that help students engage with challenging content without simplifying it. Effective scaffolding techniques in ELA include:

  • Pre-teaching key vocabulary to support comprehension.
  • Breaking down complex texts into smaller, digestible parts.
  • Using guided questions and discussion prompts to deepen understanding.
  • Encouraging peer collaboration, so students can learn from each other.
  • Incorporating visual aids (for example, diagrams, charts, and graphic organizers) to clarify concepts and support comprehension.

By using these strategies, teachers can keep students engaged in grade-level work while addressing skill gaps in a way that fosters real growth.

How grade-level instruction works for every student

  1. Grade-level instruction builds confidence and motivation. Middle school students are deeply social learners who thrive when they feel included. When struggling students are placed in remedial groups with lower expectations, they can feel discouraged. But when they read and discuss the same challenging texts as their peers, they’re more motivated to participate and push themselves.
  2. Grade-level instruction develops critical thinking skills. Grade-level texts expose students to richer vocabulary, more complex sentence structures, and deeper themes. This helps all students—whether they’re working above or below grade level—develop essential thinking and analytical skills that prepare them for high school, college, and beyond.
  3. Grade-level instruction prepares students for real-world literacy. Success in the real world depends on the ability to read and comprehend challenging material. If students aren’t exposed to complex texts in middle school, they’ll struggle in high school, the workplace, and life. Providing grade-level instruction ensures that they develop the reading stamina and skills they need for the future.

Bridging skill gaps without lowering expectations

Some students may need additional support in decoding, fluency, or foundational skills. However, this doesn’t mean they should be separated from grade-level content. Instead, they should receive targeted interventions alongside their core instruction.

Here’s how to bridge skill gaps while keeping all students on track:

  • Use structured reading supports—such as read-alouds or guided reading along with explicit fluency practice—so struggling students can follow along with grade-level texts.
  • Incorporate explicit vocabulary instruction to help students understand and use new words.
  • Provide sentence starters and discussion frameworks to support writing and comprehension.
  • Encourage independent reading at different levels to build fluency while keeping classroom instruction rigorous.

With these strategies, students receive the help they need without missing out on the rich, challenging materials that promote deeper learning.

Teach up, not down: The best approach for middle school ELA

While scaffolding allows struggling readers to access the same grade-level content as their peers, advanced learners can benefit from opportunities to go deeper with discussions, analytical writing, and extension activities—all within the same instructional framework.

Key takeaways for middle school ELA success:

  • Every student should engage with grade-level content, regardless of their starting point.
  • Scaffolding in education helps all learners access complex texts and grow as readers.
  • Effective literacy instruction prepares students for the demands of high school, college, and beyond.

More to explore

If you’re looking for research-backed strategies to support all students with grade-level instruction, check out our free ebook, Every Student at Grade Level: The Case for Grade-Level ELA Instruction in Middle School. It’s packed with actionable insights for teaching middle school ELA effectively and implementing powerful scaffolding techniques.

Download the ebook here.

Meet the Science of Reading superstars at Windber Elementary

Hardworking teachers, schools, school leaders, and school districts deserve applause every single day. We try to honor educators and their outstanding contributions in as many ways as we can at Amplify—which is why our annual Science of Reading Star Awards is one of our biggest events of the year! We’re currently accepting nominations through Jan. 31. Apply now!

This annual educator awards program is a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the teachers, administrators, and entire schools working to improve student literacy outcomes in communities across the country—just like 2024 Science of Reading Rookie winner Windber Elementary in Windber, PA.

We hope their positive impact on student learning inspires you in your work—and inspires you to nominate a teacher or school for an award next year!

The challenge: Driving success in early literacy skills

Windber Area School District is a small, rural district in central Pennsylvania. Its preK–5 elementary school is Title One and has just over 620 students, 54% of whom are economically disadvantaged.

The district has been dedicated to helping its diverse student population succeed for years, but getting young learners to excel in literacy has always been a challenge.

That’s why, when Principal Charles Beckley stepped in to lead the way, he adopted a fresh approach to early literacy learning experiences. Principal Beckley has worked in education for a decade, first in North Carolina then at Windber Elementary as classroom teacher, dean of students, and now principal. Under his guidance, Windber’s educators worked together to transform the school’s reading program—and offer inspiration for literacy educators everywhere.

Best practices: Embracing a Science of Reading curriculum

Principal Beckley’s leadership did what truly powerful leadership does: inspire and equip others to lead, too.

First, he and his colleagues had to clarify the why of science-based literacy education. “We had to understand the literacy research and the rationale behind why we needed to make the shift,” he recalls. They collaborated with outside experts to get the information they needed, then they focused on teamwork.

“The original stakeholders who led the push for the Science of Reading, they talked to their colleagues, they collaborated. They were understanding of their teams’ needs and wants. It was a team effort and a team approach,” he says.

They knew they were on the right track when the school board offered their full support, aligning everyone behind their vision for research-based literacy education.

Individual teacher awards: Also deserved!

The most powerful drivers of this change, says Beckley, were the teachers: “Our teachers and coaches had the biggest lift because they had to learn the [CKLA] curriculum.” He affectionately calls them “the neurosurgeons of our school,” and emphasizes their ability to pinpoint areas of need and build the grade-level foundational skills students need most, as well as their readiness to embrace change and dedication to professional growth.

Beckley further emphasized his school’s collective effort, which other districts can look to as a model: “Our community has been on board with this,” he says, “and our students have been great.”

The adoption of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) was also crucial, providing the teachers with a framework and instructional materials that skillfully combined both skills and content knowledge.

The results have been undeniable. “If you look at our kindergarten,” Beckley says, “at midyear, [we] were 72% on or above benchmark through DIBELS®.”

Windber’s progress is proof of the power of an evidence-based curriculum that nurtures capable and informed readers—and of a community willing to deliver innovative literacy approaches. Their story is one of commitment to research, dedication to student success, development of shared leadership, and access to the right tools and support.

“We know that we’ve done the best for our kids,” Beckley says. “And that’s the most important thing.”

Inspired? Nominate a teacher, school, or district for an award.

We’re looking for our shining 2025 Science of Reading leaders now! Find the specs, our nomination deadline, and more on our Star Awards page. Nominate a teacher for an award.

How problem-based learning can transform the math classroom

With test scores and student engagement on the decline, it’s clear that traditional teaching methods aren’t meeting the needs of all of today’s math learners.

One solution that’s gaining momentum is problem-based learning. By focusing on real-world problems and structured approaches, this approach develops critical thinking, reasoning, and application—skills that are essential for math success.

But making this shift isn’t easy. For math teachers and educators, it requires careful planning, a clear strategy, and community commitment.

That’s why we’re here to help.

The decline in test scores and engagement

The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results show a sharp decline in math proficiency across grade levels. Only 26% of eighth graders performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level in 2022. These results represent the largest score declines in NAEP mathematics at grades 4 and 8 since initial assessments in 1990. The pandemic didn’t help, but it’s not the only factor.

This downward trend is compounded by a sense of disengagement. According to YouthTruth’s report Making Sense of Learning Math: Insights from the Student Experience, only half of students feel that what they’re learning in math connects to the real world. Recent survey data also shows that less than half of U.S. students feel that they “often” or “always” work on interesting problems in math class.

When math feels irrelevant or intimidating, students disengage—and the learning gaps that follow can be difficult to close.

An opportunity to grow

But the data also includes opportunities. According to NAEP research, more than 70% of students report that they enjoy activities that challenge their thinking and thinking about problems in new ways.

Problem-based learning helps give those students what they want.

And in a world that relies increasingly on data, analysis, and innovation, students need to learn not just how to follow steps and apply formulas, but how to think mathematically. In other words, problem-solving skills need to be part of student learning. This is particularly important in elementary and middle school math, where foundational concepts are built—and where students have the chance to forget their identities as “math people.”

That’s why working to infuse problem-based math learning into your district’s instruction can help reverse negative math and engagement trends.

What does problem-based learning in math look like?

Let’s go back and define this approach more fully. Research shows that math instruction is most effective when it encourages students—individually or grouped with peers—to grapple actively with math problems. When instruction gives students the opportunity and freedom to solve problems, rather than dictating solutions and then having them practice, students are more motivated.

For example, instead of memorizing the formula for calculating area and then practicing it in a series of disconnected problems, students might tackle a problem-solving challenge like:

How much paint is needed to cover our classroom walls?” Or they might work on a broader question such as: “How can we design a park, taking into account constraints like space, cost, and accessibility?

At its core, problem-based learning values mathematical thinking and reasoning. Rather than focusing on procedures and memorization, problem-based learning encourages students to:

  • Explore open-ended problems.
  • Ask questions and make connections.
  • Develop strategies to solve problems collaboratively.
  • Build curiosity and perseverance.
  • Reflect on their reasoning and process.

In the problem-based learning classroom, students are positioned as active participants in their math experiences, building a deeper understanding of concepts as they work through challenges. This is particularly critical for ensuring students don’t just learn math, but understand why it works and how to apply it. These approaches can transform math classrooms into spaces where students build both foundational and real-world math skills—and a healthy dose of math confidence, too.

Critical factors in making the shift

Integrating problem-based learning into traditional math teaching can feel like (and is!) a big change—in lesson-planning, mindset, and more.

To make it work for administrators, teachers, and students alike, schools do best when they focus on a few critical factors. These include:

  • Clear vision: Understand (and communicate) why the shift matters and what it looks like in action.
  • Leadership buy-in: Gain commitment from school leaders and administrators.
  • Teacher support: Offer professional development, resources, and ongoing guidance specific to math instruction.
  • Structured approaches: Establish a well-defined plan for implementing problem-based learning in math classrooms effectively.

What problem-based learning can look like in the classroom

While problem-based learning offers proven benefits, it can be difficult to integrate into the classroom without a clear structure. Teachers need tools and strategies to guide students through the process and ensure that learning goals are met.

A structured approach to problem-based learning in math should include:

  1. Defining the problem: Present a clear, engaging math challenge connected to real-world scenarios.
  2. Student inquiry: Encourage exploration, discussion, and different solution paths.
  3. Collaboration: Support teamwork to share ideas and reasoning.
  4. Reflection: Allow students to evaluate their process, solutions, and learning.

This structured approach not only improves students’ conceptual understanding, but also aligns with Amplify’s research findings, which show that students who engage in active learning outperform their peers in more traditional settings.

By embracing problem-based learning in math classrooms, educators can:

  • Boost student engagement and confidence.
  • Improve student problem-solving and mathematical reasoning skills.
  • Help reverse declines in math achievement over time.
  • Empower students to see the value and relevance of math in academics and in their lives.

Ready to learn more?

If you’re ready to explore how your school can make the shift to problem-based learning in math, our new change management ebook is the perfect place to start. It offers practical guidance, real-world examples, and a deeper look at the strategies highlighted above.

Download the ebook now to discover actionable insights and strategies to help make problem-based learning come alive in your math classrooms.

Navigating the shift to three-dimensional science teaching and learning

Students need science. They need it to succeed in school, and they need it to navigate the world around them—whether interpreting a weather forecast, perfecting a recipe, or troubleshooting the Wi-Fi.

But only 22% of high school students are proficient in science, and students in grades K–5 get an average of just 20 minutes of science instruction each day. For middle and high school students, access to advanced science courses is often limited. We’re not giving students all the tools they need to succeed in a world that’s increasingly shaped by science and technology.

Three-dimensional learning can help us solve that. This approach moves science education into the realm of discovery—where students learn to think and act like scientists.

But unlike hot water melting ice, shifting to this approach won’t happen in an instant! Don’t worry—we’re here to help.

Science learning: a pivotal moment

Many of us were taught science the traditional way: learning about the scientific world and how it works. (And many of us did ok!) But we know now that there’s a better way. Students need to figure out science the way scientists do.

This hands-on, problem-solving, three-dimensional approach (sometimes nicknamed “3D learning”) builds critical thinking, collaboration, and curiosity—all skills that are vital across school subjects and in life.

With content and lesson plans that focus on Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas, this model equips students with critical thinking skills and a deep understanding of scientific principles.

This shift started with the 2012 publication of A Framework for K–12 Science Education, which introduced the concept of three-dimensional learning. These principles, now embedded in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), focus on three major changes:

  • Helping students move from simply learning about science to actively figuring it out.
  • Encouraging them to explain natural phenomena.
  • Aligning science learning with English language arts and math goals.

By embracing these changes, educators can help students make meaningful connections across disciplines, setting them up for success in real-world challenges.

Driving and supporting systemic change

Transforming science education isn’t a quick fix—it’s a cultural and systemic change. To make it work and make it last, schools and districts need to focus on three key drivers: process, practice, and people.

  1. Process: Pinpoint challenges, create clear plans, and track progress.
  2. Practice: Build the infrastructure for three-dimensional learning, including aligning curriculum, offering professional development, and updating teaching practices.
  3. People: Communicate effectively, support teachers, and highlight science champions who can inspire others.

Real change takes time and deliberate effort. But with these elements in place, schools can establish lasting improvements and build elementary and middle school programs that benefit every student.

Amplify Science’s playbook to guide you

To help educators navigate this shift, our new Science Change Management Playbook offers practical, evidence-based resources for transitioning over time to three-dimensional learning. Here’s what you’ll find inside:

  • Evidence-based practices: Learn structured approaches to problem-based learning, backed by research that highlights their benefits for students and teachers alike.
  • Practical tips: Explore actionable steps for driving meaningful change, from crafting a shared vision to delivering effective professional learning.
  • Real stories: Read testimonials from students and educators who have experienced the transformative power of curiosity-driven, collaborative learning.

With this playbook, schools can build K–8 and/or middle school science programs that truly engage students, equipping them with skills they’ll use for a lifetime.

The move to three-dimensional science teaching and learning opens the door to deeper understanding, better problem-solving, greater curiosity, and—more and more—a world built by students who know how to think like scientists.

More to explore

  • Dive deeper into the shift to three-dimensional teaching and learning with our Science Change Management Playbook to help you navigate the shift to three-dimensional science teaching and learning.
  • Discover how to be a changemaker for science through additional change management resources.
  • Learn more about Amplify Science.

Your Beyond My Years 2024 recap!

In August of last year, our teaching podcast Beyond My Years took its first steps—and in no time we were exploring a lot of new territory on our journey to soak up teacher advice and wisdom from seasoned educators across the globe. Their experiences became our experiences. So let’s recap some of the top moments of 2024.

In 2024 on Beyond My Years we:

Traveled 3,469 miles to Stasia, Alaska.

We ventured all the way to the northernmost part of Alaska alongside Patti and Rod Lloyd to teach in a rural indigenous community. Joining such a rich and unique culture as outsiders taught Patti and Rod the importance of learning from their students.

“Even though they’re coming to me at five and six years old, they are coming with a lot of rich knowledge that I don’t have. And if I remain open and work with them, I’ve got a lot to learn.” —Rod Lloyd

Went back to school at the age of 80.

When the United Kingdom put out a call in 2020 for retired educators to return to aid a national shortage, Eric Jones knew he still had more left to teach, even at the age of 80! He knows that to stay in the education field as long as he has you need to celebrate and honor all areas of what a teacher does. When you honor every piece of the work you can do, you can make sure every moment stays aligned with your goals and serves your students.

“I like teaching kids things they didn’t know before and now they’re excited about. I love the idea that they will then move on into realms of industry and economic success that I would never dream of.” —Eric Jones

Shared our first Amplify podcast episode entirely in Spanish.

We even had our first bonus episode entirely in Spanish with Luz Selenia Muñoz. She taught us that some things transcend language—like the importance of knowing the “why” behind student behavior. According to Luz, whether your classroom is monolingual or multilingual, it is important to make connections with your students. You will see what they need and know what their triggers are. Behavior improves when you understand what your kids are going through.

“Yo creo que le diría que tenga paciencia. Paciencia. Que respire. Que las cosas van a mejorar cada día.” —Luz Selenia Muñoz

“I think I would tell them to be patient. Be patient. Breathe. Things will change for the better with every passing day.” —Luz Selenia Muñoz

Took time for ourselves.

Kamphet Pease called out the overachiever in all of us educators. An important piece of teacher advocacy: We all took a hard look at our school to-do lists together and recognized that we have to do better at prioritization—including prioritizing self-care.

“Make sure you take care of yourself as well. Take the time to go for a walk, take the time to take a bubble bath, cook for yourself, whatever you find enjoyment in.” —Kamphet Pease

Want even more of the best of the best from season one of Beyond My Years, which is brought to you by the team that produces Science of Reading: The Podcast? Download our key takeaways, a curated collection of invaluable wisdom and practical guidance from our lineup of inspiring educator guests.

More to explore:

Power up your Science of Reading knowledge: 2024 podcast recap

Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Podcast won both Silver and the Listeners’ Choice Award in the education category at the 2024 Signal Awards! If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll join those who have helped catapult the podcast to more than six million downloads.

You’re welcome to binge-listen all 29 podcast episodes released in 2024, but here, we’ve selected a few to highlight for you.

The power of the Science of Reading

Some context: As you probably know, the Science of Reading is a much-researched area alongside the science of learning. Applying cognitive, neuroscience, and educational principles, it helps us understand and improve how students acquire and develop reading skills. This knowledge is essential because, while humans typically learn to speak naturally, reading (and writing) require formal instruction. According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of both decoding and linguistic comprehension. So kids must be taught the relationships between sounds and letters, and how to decode words. Systematic instruction presents these skills in a logical order, explicit instruction goes beyond just “exposing” kids to words and texts, and cumulative instruction builds on skills learned before.

The episodes below are a great start to exploring the fundamentals of evidence-based instruction beginning in early literacy. You’ll hear about the importance of knowledge building, the symbiosis between reading and writing, and the power of multilingual learning, just to name a few topics.

The power of knowledge

Season 8 focuses on why knowledge is so critical for literacy development and how educators can empower students to build it.

Many of us (as students and educators) were taught or trained with comprehension framed as a skill. But award-winning researcher and author Sharon Vaughn, Ph.D., says (spoiler!) that comprehension is not a skill to be taught in a vacuum, but rather an outcome—of strong decoding, vocabulary, and background knowledge. “If students can’t read words or don’t know what they mean, emphasizing comprehension is just the wrong priority,” she says. Vaughn stresses the importance of systematically building background knowledge through coherent, high-level informational texts and relevant content lessons, enabling students to connect ideas and deepen understanding. By focusing on these foundational elements, educators can support comprehension and meaningful learning.

Episode 11: Cognitive load theory: Four items at a time, with Greg Ashman, Ph.D.

Drawing from his book A Little Guide for Teachers: Cognitive Load Theory, deputy principal and professor Greg Ashman argues that students need to build a strong foundation of knowledge in order to think and learn effectively. He challenges the idea of leaving students to “figure things out” on their own. “Kids are not little scientists,” he says, and advocates instead for structured instruction to build the schemas necessary for deeper learning.

Ashman also recommends reducing extra cognitive load—distractions that overwhelm working memory—and cautions against overrelying on approaches like “productive failure,” which can frustrate students who happen to lack relevant foundational knowledge. His advice: Use evidence-based methods and prioritize clear, incremental instruction.

The power of evidence-based literacy instruction

Season 9 dives deep into the key principles of and latest developments in the Science of Reading.

Episode 3: Know the non-negotiables in a program aligned to the Science of Reading, with Kari Kurto

Kari Kurto, national Science of Reading project director with the Reading League, discusses the organization’s curriculum evaluation tool designed to assess research-based practices in reading programs. Drawing from her experience teaching students with dyslexia, Kurto emphasizes the necessity of explicit, systematic instruction in phonics and (like Ashman) the importance of reducing extraneous cognitive load.

She says one must-have for any effective, evidence-based curriculum is explicit instruction in phonics through a clear scope and sequence, which ensures that students build foundational skills, such as phonemic awareness, in a systematic way. “No program is perfect, but understanding both its strengths and areas for improvement allows schools to maximize its impact,” she says.

Episode 4: Comprehension is not a skill, with Hugh Catts, Ph.D.

Hugh Catts, like Vaughn, continues to challenge us to rethink reading comprehension. “Comprehension isn’t the purpose of reading,” says Catts, a professor at Florida State University. “The purpose of reading is whatever you’re reading for.” Whether scanning for a fact, grasping the gist, or diving deep into a complex topic, comprehension varies based on the reader’s intent and context. He also urges educators to do what the evidence asserts: Move beyond isolated skill drills to content-rich instruction that builds knowledge and engages students meaningfully. Catts notes that comprehension grows over time, as students develop mental models and apply critical thinking in a variety of reading contexts.

The power of multilingualism

In this special miniseries, our podcast focuses on how the Science of Reading serves multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs).

Episode 1: Language is always an asset, with Kajal Patel Below

Kajal Patel Below, Amplify’s vice president of biliteracy, highlights why language is such a powerful asset, and how multilingualism is not a barrier, but a gift. “Literacy in a new language builds from literacy in the home language,” she says.

But that’s not—yet—the prevailing view. Multilingual and English learners often face challenges like being left out of research or misidentified in assessments. Below also notes schools focus too much on phonics and foundational skills, sometimes overlooking the equally important elements of language comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking skills.

With the number of multilingual learners growing fast in the U.S., Below calls for schools and educators to embrace bilingual education, create stronger resources, and celebrate the unique strengths these students bring to the classroom.

More to explore

Reading and Writing: How the Simple Views can help you teach

The processes of learning to read and write are so complex, they’ve inspired an entire body of research called the Science of Reading (along with its newer cousin, the Science of Writing). Luckily, literacy experts have distilled these processes into their simplest components.

The result? Two models that help educators understand how students learn to read and write, and the best ways to teach them.

These frameworks—the Simple View of Reading and the Simple View of Writing—align with what reading research tells us about the brain’s processes for decoding, understanding, and creating text. Together, they can support your instructional practices and help all your students become proficient readers. Let’s take a closer look.

What is the Simple View of Reading?

The Simple View of Reading is a model that breaks the capacity to read into two main components:

  1. Decoding: The ability to recognize words in print, which includes phonics and phonemic awareness.
  2. Language comprehension: The ability to understand and interpret the meaning of those words.

It’s important to note that reading is not the sum of these parts—it’s the product. Reading success results from decoding multiplied by language comprehension. Both are crucial. If either one is weak or nonexistent, the ability to read with understanding collapses. Even if a student can decode every word on a page, they won’t truly be reading if they don’t understand what the words mean. Likewise, no matter how good their comprehension skills, if they can’t decode, they can’t access the text.

Are you curious for more detail? Explore the framework known as the Reading Rope, which breaks these components down further, showing how skills such as phonological awareness, vocabulary, and background knowledge intertwine to create skilled reading. Understanding these connections helps educators develop effective instruction and address specific gaps in literacy skills.

Why is the Simple View of Reading framework so powerful?

The Simple View of Reading gives teachers a clear roadmap.

Instead of wondering why a student is struggling with reading, we can look at their decoding and language comprehension skills separately. Are they having trouble sounding out words? That’s a decoding issue. Struggling to understand a story’s plot? That’s a language comprehension issue.

Once you know where the challenge lies, it’s easier to intervene and teach students effectively.

This model also aligns with the principles of structured literacy. By focusing on explicit, systematic instruction in both decoding and comprehension, educators can build a strong foundation for all learners and support everyone in accessing grade-level text.

The Simple View of Writing: A logical extension

Just as the components of reading can be broken down into two parts, so can writing. They are:

  1. Transcription: The physical act of writing, including handwriting, spelling, and typing.
  2. Composition: The ability to generate ideas, organize them, and express them effectively in written form.

Transcription ensures that students can physically put words on a page, while composition helps them turn those words into meaningful text. Writing success equals transcription multiplied by composition. A student may have great ideas (strong composition) but struggle to write them down (weak transcription), or they may write neatly but lack substance.

Putting it together: How these models transform literacy instruction

Reading and writing are closely intertwined. As students improve their decoding, their transcription often follows because both rely on an understanding of letters and sounds. Similarly, language comprehension and composition share a connection—when students build vocabulary and understanding through reading, they’re better equipped to express themselves in writing.

These models allow educators to:

  • Pinpoint needs. Are students struggling with spelling? Focus on transcription. Do they have difficulty understanding what they’ve read? Strengthen language comprehension.
  • Measure progress. These models provide clear benchmarks for assessing growth. Success in one area (like decoding) can lead to noticeable improvements in another (like comprehension).
  • Individualize support. No two students are the same. One child may need help with phonics, while another needs to build vocabulary. The Simple Views let teachers tailor instruction to each learner.

The Simple Views of Reading and Writing remind us that literacy is a combination of distinct yet interconnected skills. By breaking these processes into manageable parts, we can better understand how to help students thrive. And when we focus on both the mechanics and the meaning, we’re not just teaching kids to read and write—we’re giving them the tools to communicate, imagine, and succeed.

More to explore

Check out our infographic for a visual breakdown of these powerful frameworks and how they work together to support literacy success.

Plus:

Meet Science of Reading changemaker Altramez Simone McQuaige

Awards for teachers—we should probably give them out every day. We try to honor teachers and their exceptional contributions in as many ways as we can at Amplify. That’s why our annual Science of Reading Star Awards is one of our biggest events of the year!

We’re currently accepting nominations through Jan. 31. Apply now!

This annual award program is a great opportunity for us to shine a spotlight on the classroom teachers, school administrators, and educators who are improving student literacy outcomes in schools and communities across the country—like 2024 Changemaker Award winner Altramez Simone McQuaige. We hope her significant contributions inspire you in your work—and inspire you to nominate a teacher for an award next year!

A leadership role: Experience and experimentation

Altramez Simone McQuaige has spent more than 30 years in education, so it’s probably safe to assume she knows what she’s doing. But she’s not afraid to embrace change, or even take risks. “We didn’t go into this profession to do the same thing every day,” she says.

As supervisor of elementary reading and English language arts at Prince George’s County Public Schools, McQuaige took on the challenge of improving literacy instruction in her district by focusing on the Science of Reading.

Foundational skills: Noticing the problem

Several years ago, McQuaige and her team noticed a specific issue with foundational skills instruction, especially in first and second grades. “We were seeing a population of students that we weren’t seeing progress with consistency,” she says.

Under McQuaige’s leadership, a team of coaches, reading leaders, and administrators met to discuss how to improve their foundational skills instruction and student outcomes, asking themselves questions like: Should they shift their curriculum? Their classroom methods? Their entire literacy approach?

Then the pandemic hit.

Coming together: Exploring a new approach

Despite pandemic disruptions, McQuaige and her team convened and launched a cohort of 240 teachers, central office personnel, and reading leaders to learn more about the Science of Reading.

Openness to change was key. The cohort had to be willing to look at the latest research and see—as McQuaige puts it— that “some of the practices that may have been used from yesteryear were not effective.”

Their decision? Start to shift from a balanced literacy environment to a structured literacy approach involving explicit, systematic teaching of the elements of reading and a strong emphasis on phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies.

Varied stakeholders building energy for change

There was “energy around the shift,” she recalls. The excitement coming from that large team of varied stakeholders helped build further buy-in—and success.

“We wanted to ensure that our reading leaders and our central office personnel with ESOL teachers and special educators had an opportunity to engage in these conversations,” she says. “That led us to have teachers practice or pilot programs before we chose the best products to meet the needs of our teachers.”

“We were building capacity across our district,” she says, “and building leaders and allies to talk about why the shift is necessary, and what they noticed as they started to embed those practices in their instruction.”

Professional development: Continued improvement and support

The result? The district successfully moved to a structured literacy approach in just three years, and improvements in student performance data demonstrate the effectiveness of the changes. “Even those who were once reticent are seeing the shift in their students,” McQuaige says of the teachers around her.

She also acknowledges the essential role of their partners: “Amplify’s support was crucial as we shifted. We know that as you make the shift, it will never be one and done. The continuous learning across our district, using our Amplify team, is invaluable.”

But McQuaige knows that even if the shift in approach is technically complete, she—like her students—must always be learning. “Let’s follow the research,” she says. “I know research is always changing, and that means we’re always changing.”

Here’s your nomination form!

Inspired? We’re looking for our shining 2025 Science of Reading leaders now! Visit our Star Awards page for information like our submission deadline, and nominate a teacher for an award today!

Connecting science and literacy: The power of language

We’ve talked about how scientists need literacy skills in order to be scientists. They can’t do their jobs without reading, writing, listening, and communicating.

Our recent webinar Science Connections: Science and Literacy explored this intersection from a broader level: the power of language in the science classroom.

How can science teachers remove language barriers to make sure all students are able to access prior knowledge—and acquire more? And how can teachers leverage language to create optimal learning conditions for their science students? Why should they?

Let’s find out what webinar co-hosts Eric Cross and Susan Gomez Zwiep, Ph.D., had to say!

Language and science sense-making

Contrary to stereotype, scientists aren’t just loners in labs. Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator at BSCS Science Learning, credits a colleague with this pearl: “If I’m just doing science myself, and not talking to anybody, that’s not science. That’s just me in my head.”

So science teachers need to give students every possible opportunity to get out of their heads. And if language is a barrier—whether students are learning English, or challenged by science vocab—teachers can help remove it.

This principle is especially important in the context of phenomena-based learning, says Gomez Zwiep. “Rather than telling students ideas, and then proving those ideas correct by showing them a phenomenon, we show them the phenomena and engage them in science sense-making to develop that understanding,” she says. “Language is central to science sense-making and communicating that sense-making.”

Students also bring their prior knowledge to scientific sense-making. And, as Gomez Zwiep points out, prior knowledge is often embedded in the language a student uses at home, or just their own non-scientific vernacular. “I have to use that when I first engage with the phenomenon,” she says. “Otherwise, I’m limiting the resources that kids bring to the learning environment.”

Language in a “safe” science classroom

“If I had to learn science in my second language, I would be struggling with not only everyday vocabulary, but also content-specific vocabulary,” says Eric Cross, host of Amplify’s Science Connections podcast. “You would never actually know what I knew or what I was bringing to the table.”

The goal is to create an environment where students feel comfortable exploring, using whatever language is accessible to them, and then guiding them to conclusions—and precise scientific language. “A classroom requires trust. It requires relationship building,” says Gomez Zwiep. “If a student is worried about saying something a particular way, that’s where all their cognitive energy is going instead of actually talking about the science.”

The key? Put scientific ideas first, and the language will come. “We used to wait until kids had English in order to learn science. And now we’re starting to see that language emerges from learning experiences,” says Gomez Zwiep. “So it’s a product of learning, not a prerequisite.”

Literacy in your science classroom

You can integrate science and literacy right away, starting with free science and literacy lesson samples from Amplify Science.

Explore more:

Amplify Science

Science blogs

Science Connections podcast episodes

Suite success: How we support early literacy

Educators are expected to balance and deliver assessment, differentiated curriculum, opportunities for higher-level thinking, and remediation—not to mention engaging content that holds student interest and hones early literacy skills. We’ve got to become efficient in numerous systems and platforms in order to pull it all off and help students succeed in early reading. It sounds nearly impossible—and I can honestly say that earlier in my career, it felt that way, too.

What changed that? The Amplify literacy suite. These products have not only fostered incredible growth among our students, but also transformed my experience as a teacher and, now, a literary coach.

I started my journey with Amplify products as a seasoned mCLASS® DIBELS® customer, where I put a lot of stock in the reading foundations’ measures and the data this system offers. The program led to rich data discussions and conversations around appropriate interventions and necessary classroom supports, yet it sometimes felt out of alignment with the curriculum content we used at the time. Our students weren’t always able to put their skills into practice in real time.

Then, a couple of years ago, the Science of Reading became a priority and we adopted Amplify CKLA. This program brought us worldly topics to expand our learners’ experiences, levels of rigor, differentiation, cyclical units of study, and science-based methods. This was the systematic, explicit early literacy curriculum we needed to connect skills and content!

Extending that connection, we found that mCLASS DIBELS paired with Boost Reading provided another layer of support for our students. This combo creates a personalized pathway to strengthen and challenge each learner at their level through engaging, interactive play. Together, these programs provide the perfect blend of actionable data and customized learning.

And just when I thought one platform could never meet the needs of all my students, we added mCLASS Intervention—the culminating piece to the suite, which serves our Tier 3 students (a group that includes even those who have received the Dyslexia Indicator through the mCLASS DIBELS assessment).

Balancing the needs of our readers can be overwhelming. We’re operating in a time of heightened need for proper reading instruction. Our world has never been more connected, and communication has never been a more important skill. The Amplify literacy suite is truly the most effective, balanced approach I have found. It meets your needs from start to finish—whether you’re the student, educator, interventionist, administrator, or parent.

More to explore

Change management with the Science of Reading: Data is your compass

We know how children learn to read, and we know how to teach children to read—all thanks to the Science of Reading. That’s why it’s so important to use literacy programs grounded in data. But we also know that the process of shifting to data-supported literacy instruction is a whole science unto itself!

Fortunately, we know not only how to use data to drive instruction, but also how to use it to manage and drive successful educational change. In this post, we’ll explore the role data can play in implementing a new curriculum, which data to study at each phase of integration, and which assessments you can use to capture the data you need.

The power of data-based instruction and change management

“The Science of Reading represents a big shift in what folks are doing,” says Sara Thornton, a reading interventionist with Denver Public Schools in Colorado.

It’s a shift at the teacher level, it’s a shift at the school level, and it’s a shift at the district level. It takes a whole system.

—Sara Thornton

That’s why data is crucial.

To successfully navigate this seismic a shift, you need to anchor yourself in all kinds of data: literacy data, professional practice data, implementation data, and student performance data.

This data allows you to personalize instruction, track development, and evaluate your teaching strategies at the classroom level—and your implementation at the school or district level. It also guides decision-making, ensuring that your new curriculum is not just well-intended, but well-executed and effective.

Using data to drive instruction, implementation, and more

Here we’ll give you a glimpse at the types of data that can guide you through each stage of change.

Stage 1: Exploration. This is where stakeholders gather information, make the case for change, and begin to build buy-in.

To guide your efforts, you’ll need to collect the following types of data:

  • Baseline literacy data that shows where students are starting from, specifically in these foundational skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
  • Professional practice data to help you gauge educators’ current methods and understanding around the Science of Reading. This data can come from knowledge surveys, classroom observation forms, and more.
  • Resource analysis data to help you understand the instructional tools you’ll need, in the context of relevant budget constraints.

Stage 2: Adoption. At this stage, you and your teams will evaluate, purchase, and pilot programs aligned with Science of Reading standards. We recommend tracking the following essential data measures alongside rubric-based resource evaluations:

  • Literacy skill acquisition data such as unit tests, universal screening assessments, and formative daily/weekly assessments that will help you gauge the effectiveness of your piloted program.
  • Stakeholder feedback that reflects the school community’s response to the program such as surveys; interviews; and conversations with teachers, family members, and district-level educators.
  • Usage data, which is readily available in curricular resources with digital components, e.g. How are teachers and students using the program? How often do they log on, access given resources, etc.?

Stage 3: Initial implementation. Here, the newly adopted resources are in place and teachers begin to shift their practices. The right data in this phase will help you monitor the fidelity of implementation and track student growth. The following types of data are key:

  • Instructional practice and delivery data such as lesson plan analyses, observation, usage logs, and more to show how classrooms are applying the new curriculum and practices.
  • Student performance outcomes to measure student mastery. Data types include formative and summative unit assessments and progress monitoring.

Stages 4–5: Full operation, innovation, and sustainability. Here’s where you see the Science of Reading come to fruition, and where you build systems to maintain student growth. The data collected in earlier stages remains essential for guiding you through these final phases. It will serve as a touchstone as you gather and analyze additional data to help you make regular adjustments and modifications to your programs. We recommend continuing to monitor student progress, deepen your growing knowledge base—and celebrate how far your whole community has come.

More to explore

For more information, check out our comprehensive guides to literacy change management and the data that will guide you!

Nurturing young children’s curiosity and wonder in the math classroom

Based on my experience in math education, I find that many pedagogical structures or moves sound great in theory, but are often easier said than done. Because of the complexity, asking students to construct mathematical arguments has been one of those things for me. Fortunately, over the years, I have had the joy and privilege to work with Jody and Chepina, whose thinking around math argumentation is grounded in theory and paired with practical and actionable advice and structures. I am so excited for others to share in their deep thinking and look forward to seeing the impact their work will have in classrooms.

—Kristin Gray, Executive Director, Math suite, Amplify

Mathematical argumentation as an opportunity for curiosity

Students bring curiosity and wonder to the classroom every day. When we’re attending to their ideas, we can find more opportunities for mathematical argumentation in our math lessons. Let’s look at how these opportunities arise in a first-grade classroom.

The lesson and card sort activity

The purpose of the lesson was for students to identify equivalent addition expressions by sorting cards, each with a different expression. Students quickly noticed that there is more than one way to get the same value. They could even begin to see the commutative property in action when shown cards with addends in opposite order: 4 + 3 = 3 + 4.

While sorting addition expressions, rather than organizing the cards in piles by their value, one student named Jenna organized the cards in columns. This student-led creative modification to the card sort structure allowed for different noticings and wonderings to emerge. She started by creating a row across the top with cards showing one addend of 0. At first, she wasn’t consistent with the top card being 0 + x or x + 0, but over time changed them so that they were all 0 + x. Then she filled in the last column with expressions equal to 10. As she added cards, she started to change the order so that the first addend on the cards increased going down the column and the second addend decreased.

Math lesson and card sort activity.

As Jenna added each card to her organizational structure, the teacher asked where that card would go and how she knew. When asked about the 2 + 6 card, for example, Jenna said, “Because this is counting to 8, and this”—she pointed to a gap—“has to be 7, because [the 6 is] 2 less than 8. It fits here because these are all twos” (in the row). Jenna was coordinating several characteristics of rows and columns within the structure of the chart.

As Jenna continued to fill in the chart, she noticed yet another pattern. Pointing to the step pattern, Jenna noticed that, “There is a stair step. The pattern keeps going. There’s one more way to make the total as it gets bigger.”

Rows of flashcards with math lessons.

We could state this conjecture more precisely as: “For any whole number n, there are n + 1 ways to add two whole numbers to get a sum of n.” Jenna was making sense of big math ideas and noticing structure embedded in arithmetic.

Reflecting on the experience

As we step back and reflect on what we experienced with Jenna, we wonder what could happen next. How might Jenna justify her thinking? She noticed the stair-step pattern and multiple ways to arrive at the total. What might she say if we asked her, “Why is that happening?” Or if we gave her a tool such as linking cubes and asked if she could use the cubes to show why that works? Are there other questions that could have nudged her to extend her thinking, such as, “Will that always work?” or “What numbers does it work for?” Is there a tool or representation that would help her continue her reasoning?

We can also think about what might happen if we shared Jenna’s idea with the other students. How might they respond to Jenna’s noticing? Would her ideas lead others to see and use structure in similar ways? How would they make sense of her ideas? Perhaps this is an opportunity to engage students in each other’s ideas.

Opportunities for curiosity

The opportunity for Jenna and her classmates to make sense and explore their natural curiosity emerges from a classroom environment that’s playful and filled with wonder—where children are given time to explore and interact with materials and each other. We noticed that as Jenna progressed through the cards, she refined and added on to her thinking. This is evident in the first row of cards. She grouped cards with 0 as an addend, then began to sequence them, and later considered the positioning of the addends to 0 + x. As we might infer from the interaction of the teacher, there isn’t one right way to think about the task, nor one way for the teacher to encourage students to think about it. We hear the teacher ask Jenna to share her reasoning: It’s not a question posed to evaluate Jenna’s thinking, but rather to gain insight into her thinking—something the teacher is genuinely curious about.

In addition to the classroom environment, the card sort also presented an open-ended opportunity. Students made sense of the sort in many different ways, some finding related pairs and starting to identify (not yet naming) the commutative property, others grouping problems with a common addend in piles. All students had access to the task and time to make sense of it.

We share the story of Jenna as one of many instances where young children have shared their brilliance with us. Their wonder and curiosity inspired us to explore their ideas along with K–2 teachers. We saw students notice, wonder, conjecture, justify, and extend ideas that led to a deep understanding of key mathematical concepts while integrating mathematical argumentation.

We share ideas like the brilliance from Jenna in our new book, Nurturing Math Curiosity with Learners in Grades K–2, where we also make connections among instructional routines, center, and card sorts. Our book also discusses supporting students in curious exploration, building on what they already bring to the classroom as a way to bring opportunities for mathematical argumentation into our lessons.

Rumsey, C., & Guarino, J. (2024). Nurturing Math Curiosity with Learners in Grades K–2. Solution Tree. Bloomington, IN. ISBN: 9781960574367

Explore more

Advice for next year—for teachers, from teachers

It’s that time of the year again—when the trees are blooming, summer is coming, and already teachers are peeking ahead to next fall!

It’s also a strategic time for educational leaders, who are already beginning to set professional development goals for teachers for the coming school year.

There are lots of excellent educational resources for teachers and leaders to access at this time—including, of course, other teachers and leaders!

That’s why we took this moment to ask Amplify Ambassadors: What advice would you offer to educators just starting their journey with Amplify?

Here’s what they had to say, both about Amplify products and about teaching in general.

Teacher-to-teacher advice about Amplify products

—Darcey Linton, Teacher, Student Support, Wissahickon School District, Pennsylvania

“Approach Amplify with the same wonder and enthusiasm as the children in your classroom! Take advantage of the fact that everything is new to all of you, and explore and adventure through each lesson together. One of our best resources is a working document we share that is filled with ‘notes for next year,’ something that we add ideas, links, and lab ideas to each year to make them easier to retrieve and implement the next time through.”
—Kim Eich, 6th-Grade Teacher, Anoka Hennepin ISD #11, Minnesota

Amplify ELA: “Don’t skip the Quests! Especially in 7th grade, I love doing the Poe Quest and Perception Academy in [the] Brain Science [unit].”
—Christine Wallace, Teacher/Reading Specialist, North Lakeland School District, Wisconsin

“Gather read-alouds about the CKLA knowledge domain topic. The recommended trade books listed on the Family Take Home page are a great way to start. I’ve borrowed them from our school library, and asked for donations. I display the books for students to see. Students are able to grab them and read them throughout the day. Having themed, content-rich books readily available to students allows them to build on their knowledge in a meaningful way.”
—Alyssa Villalobos, 2nd-Grade Teacher, Riverside Unified School District, California

“I encouraged teachers to walk through both levels of the demo account offered in order to preview the student experience in Boost. This allowed them to see the progression of skills and expectations to know the base of what is being developed, and what they are working toward in the more advanced components.”
—Elizabeth Sillies, District Literacy Coach and Title I Supervisor, Three Rivers Local School District, Ohio

Try it with fidelity first to see what works best for your teaching style and student needs. Once you have a grasp of the curriculum, then you can better supplement or modify it for you and your students’ needs.

—Ashley Carter, Science Teacher, Indian River School District, Delaware

Amplify CKLA: “When pre-teaching vocabulary words before the Read-Aloud, come up with a simple hand motion or facial expression for each word, [for example] hugging your body for the word ‘embrace.’ Have the kids do the motions along with you and then listen for the words as you read. When they hear one of the vocabulary words, they should do the motion with you. The physical response helps cement language acquisition, especially for the majority of my students who are learning English, and listening for the words and motions keeps all students engaged. Plus, it adds a micro-movement break.”
—Kathe McCormick-Evans, 1st-Grade Teacher, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia

“For Amplify CKLA, read the Intro section of each unit!! These are so full of professional development for the teachers. It will help you understand the why behind each theme and also explain some of the phonics rules you will be teaching to the students.”
—Allie Appeal, Instructional Coach, School District of Arcadia, Wisconsin

“Don’t rush through the program to get it done. You won’t love it and your kids won’t love it. Take your time and enjoy the journey! The kids and you will appreciate [it] so much more!”
—Stephanie Schuettpelz, Teacher, Marion School District, Wisconsin

mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition: “Try to progress monitor as often as possible. Weekly or every two weeks would be a great time frame based on the needs of the students.”
—Shennoy Barnett-Bell, Teacher, Johnston County Public Schools, North Carolina

Teacher-to-teacher advice about teaching (and more)

—Melba Jordan, Teacher, Richmond County School System, Georgia

“Trust the process, especially in the upper grades when you cannot yet see the end result.”
—Maria Fadden, PreK–8 Literacy Coach, Belle Plaine Public Schools, Minnesota

“Set a timer every time you allow students to work independently or in groups. This allows them to start to use and understand time management. It makes everyone work with purpose and work quietly. I also play relaxing music as a white noise in the background.”
—Kerri Lintl, Teacher, Merrimac Community School, Wisconsin

Make it fun! Your interest gets the students more involved than any fun activity you plan.

—Jadyn Kramp, 4th-Grade Teacher, Wayne County School District, Kentucky


Amplify CKLA: “Don’t be afraid to read word by word. You don’t have to memorize the script.”
—Denise Sandoval, Literacy Coach, Catch Up & Read partnered with Dallas ISD, Texas

“Enthusiasm and positivity are contagious!”
—Stacey Smart, Reading Specialist, Romeo Community Schools, Michigan

10 ideas for summer math professional learning

How many servings of coleslaw do you need for the picnic? What, on average, is the coolest time of the day? Exactly how likely is a lightning strike?

Math doesn’t stop when summer starts. This season is ripe with opportunities for challenging and stretching your math brain. It’s also the perfect time for math teachers to dive into professional learning without the time constraints of the classroom. Our recommendation? Kickstart your summer learning and set yourself up for even greater success in the new school year with our free professional development opportunities for math educators!

Check out our curated list of on-demand professional development and resources. Whether you’re seeking ways to incorporate more problem-based learning methods, wanting to learn more about implementing an instructional approach, or simply looking for fresh activities to bring to the math classroom, you’ll find a variety of options here that will fit any agenda and schedule.

Best practices and inspiration for math fluency, student agency, and more

Addressing math anxiety

Collaboration in class

More math resources

Still more to explore (as you head into fall, too) 

Top professional development picks for the summer

First priority for your summer? A bit of a break, and maybe a beach read. But summer is also the perfect time to prepare for the year ahead, and to invest in your professional growth.

During summer PD, you can take your time exploring the research-backed strategies essential to effective literacy instruction. There are lots of opportunities out there to dive deeper into everything from foundational skills and evidence-based practices to instruction based on the Science of Reading. Investing this time in your professional growth will help you not only align your methods with the most current research, but also equip you with tools to meet the individual needs of your students and create supportive learning environments in the fall.

Summer school for you: Teacher professional development

That said, we know you’d probably rather spend your summer building sandcastles than digging around for the right PD. That’s why we asked Amplify Ambassadors—educators like you—to share their top teaching resources and professional development picks for the summer. Keep reading to hear their excellent recommendations!

Danielle Hawkins, former principal of Newfane Central School District in New York, shares the value of professional development opportunities offered by Amplify for educators.

“To support the teachers I coach and deepen my knowledge of the Science of Reading, I joined the beta test of Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Learning Lab courses to monopolize on the flexibility that summer provides.”
—Miracle Foster, Literacy Coach, Armada Area Schools, Michigan

“If you haven’t listened to the Sold a Story or Knowledge Matters podcasts, they are great places to start! I purchased The Knowledge Gap and The Writing Revolution books before the school year was even over! I have Shifting the Balance in my cart as well.”
—Stephanie Schuettpelz, Teacher, Marion School District, Wisconsin

If you have a chance to participate in curriculum development, it’s a wonderful way to dig deeper and get to know different features of each unit better.

—Kim Eich, Grade 6 Teacher, Anoka Hennepin ISD #11, Minnesota

“Any online PD from The Reading League or Cox Campus is good. There are a TON of great podcasts out there, including Amplify’s Science of Reading podcast, and also Shanahan on Literacy, Melissa and Lori Love Literacy, and All for Literacy. Some great books are the Shifting the Balance books, The Knowledge Gap, Speech to Print, or Structured Literacy Interventions with Spear-Swerling.”
—Lori Gray, Program Coordinator, Office of Student Learning, Yelm Community Schools, Washington

“A book study.”
—Carla Cruse, Teacher, Rock Falls Middle School, Illinois

Back to school for teachers: Webinars to get you ready

Join our Amplify experts as they walk you through all of your program essentials and share their guidance on everything from getting started in the new school year to leveling up your implementation. These series are for everyone—whether this is your first or fourth year with Amplify, you’ll walk away having learned something new. There will be a webinar for each of the following Amplify programs:

  • Amplify Science
  • mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura
  • Amplify CKLA and Caminos
  • Amplify ELA
  • Boost Reading and Boost Lectura
Register here

Top 5 back-to-school tips for math teachers

Math teachers: What’s the formula for a successful year? As you know, there are plenty of variables, but here’s one constant: being prepared for back-to-school season. 

We’re here to help! 

From fun math activities to positive tone-setting to professional learning opportunities and more, our strategies are designed to help you enter your math classroom for the new school year feeling energized, inspired, and supported by your math community.

1. First-day fun: Plan interactive math classroom activities.

Before launching into back-to-school math lessons, how about a few rounds of Icebreaker Bingo? Create a Bingo card inviting students to find classmates who can answer “yes” to math-related descriptions (e.g., “Enjoys cooking or baking,” “Plays a musical instrument,” “Likes to play board games”). Activities like these motivate students by helping them uncover common interests and reminding them that math is an integral part of “real life.”

2. Student success: Work with school colleagues and leadership toward shared goals. 

Review what systems may already be in place and consider adding more. You might: 

  • Schedule regular team meetings to set and work toward common goals.
  • Establish a professional learning community to share math resources for teachers. For example: Consider hosting a Learning Lab to encourage collaborative professional learning from within the classroom.
  • Amp up the use of data to inform decisions. Ask your team: What student performance data and assessment results can we use to see where improvements are needed?

3. Set the tone for the year: We are here to make mistakes.

As Math Teacher Lounge podcast co-host Dan Meyer says, “Students spend the majority of their learning in class [being] wrong.” That’s not only normal, it’s actually good—as long as students know that. Start the year by reminding them that making mistakes is not only inevitable, but also essential. Normalizing being “wrong” encourages students to overcome fear of failure, take risks, and build confidence—in school math activities and beyond.

4. Grow together: Establish a math community.

Build a math ecosystem connecting students to one another and creating a continuum between the classroom and their everyday lives. You might: 

  • Establish math routines in your classroom to build a classroom community focused on collaborative learning. 
  • Collaborate with students on writing a weekly math blog or math newsletter with classroom updates.
  • Create simple but engaging math challenges for students and caregivers to do together, such as building toothpick towers or budgeting for a fantasy birthday party.

5. Use free professional learning opportunities for teachers from the math team at Amplify.

Explore our upcoming math webinars, designed to support you—along with your schools and districts—in using collaborative, effective, and engaging math practices in the classroom.

You can also check out our on-demand math webinar library on your own time. From quick tips to longer continuing education (CE) credit options, our library is sure to have just what you need.

Finally, our free toolkit of math resources will:

  • Help you craft a dynamic math curriculum during the crucial first weeks of school.
  • Support student engagement and spark new inspiration in your classroom practices and activities.
  • Offer learning opportunities you can access now or on demand whenever you need them.
  • Make it even easier for you to implement the tips above setting math students up for success from day one of the school year!

5 strategies to transform your math classroom

Want to shift your math teaching practices this year, but not sure where to start? That’s a good problem to have! 

You can boost your instruction this fall with problem-based learning, technology in the math classroom, and more—all in ways that put students at the center. 

“All students need the opportunity to feel like they can figure out mathematics,” says Jennifer Bay-Williams, Ph.D., an author and professor of mathematics education at University of Louisville. “That’s where they develop a math identity, [the idea] that they can do math. And they start feeling like, ‘I can figure this out.’” 

Bay-Williams spoke at our 2024 Math Symposium, along with other thought leaders and expert educators. Keep reading to see how their key takeaways can help you shift your math instruction this school year!

Center student ideas in a collaborative math classroom

Amplify Math Suite Executive Director Kristin Gray had great tips for teachers looking to center student ideas in the classroom. Simply put, it’s all about helping them make several types of connections. These can include any of the following: 

  • Connecting students’ classroom math experiences to real life
  • Connecting math ideas to one another
  • Connecting their ideas to the ideas of their classmates 

How do teachers foster these important connections? That’s where problem-based lessons come in. Rather than teaching a concept or formula in isolation, then having students practice it, try inviting students to collaborate on a real-life problem that will lead them to that math idea. (For example, you might ask them to work on designing a small traffic or subway system that requires developing ideas about distance, rate, and time.)

As a result, students build problem-solving skills collaboratively, feel their ideas are valued, develop their own ways to make math make sense, and learn from and with each other. Teachers also get to know and appreciate the different backgrounds and styles students bring to the classroom, opening up new opportunities for engagement—and connection. 

Reimagine student engagement

No matter how engaging you are as a teacher, it’s typically students who drive engagement—and that’s actually good news. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel or do somersaults to get their attention. In fact, a lot of engagement comes from creating routine and familiar opportunities for connection. And it can also come from allowing students to make mistakes. 

“We want all students to have an entry point into [math] tasks,” notes Amplify STEM Product Specialist James Oliver. “Those students that seem to always feel like they don’t fit or don’t have the identity in that math classroom, we want them to immediately have successes and have their curiosities tested.” Successes—and productive failures. “What we’ve learned is, you are not firing any synapses, nothing’s happening if you’re just getting it immediately correct.”

Nurture student curiosity

Which is better: letting students dive into a box of LEGO pieces to see what happens, or providing a step-by-step guide to building the airplane? 

It’s actually a tie. In both structured and loose approaches, the key is to spark curiosity and communication. “If we want them to be mathematicians, we should let them talk about math,” says Amplify Director of 6–12 Core Math Curriculum Kurt Salisbury, Ph.D. Here’s his 3D approach:

DISCOVER
Discovering the relationships among mathematical ideas is a key part of mathematical thinking. 

DESCRIBE
Students communicate their mathematical thinking by describing the processes, procedures, or relationships needed to work with a concept or pattern. 

DEVELOP
When students develop a strategy they can apply to a variety of contexts, their math thinking gets validation and purpose.  

So whether you lean into a more structured approach or prefer to let kids figure the LEGOS out themselves, small mindset changes like these can create more space for your students to discover, describe, and develop as mathematicians.

Make math fluency fun 

As with someone fluent in a language, someone fluent in math is able to think and calculate mathematically without struggle or effort—that is, with fluidity. 

In order to think and calculate fluently, students need to build a toolbox of strategies—and games are a great way to do that. 

While you’re making the learning fun, students are absorbing tools they’ll use throughout their lives. “When we ensure that every student has access to a range of strategies, and has regular opportunities to choose among those strategies, that’s what games do for us.” says Bay-Williams.

Elevate student voices 

When student thinking isn’t explicitly invited into the classroom, students may begin to narrow their focus, providing merely what they think their teacher wants to hear. But given genuine invitations to share, students are more likely to follow their thought process wherever it leads them, taking a more organic approach to problem-solving.

“Taking a step back as a teacher, and inviting students to take a step forward, [activates] students getting started with finding the answer,” says Stephanie Blair, vice president of Desmos Coaching. “And all of them might take a different step forward, which is okay.”

It’s time for math that does more for students

“All students need the opportunity to feel like they can figure out mathematics,” says Bay-Williams. We need to connect with our students, nurture their curiosity and comfort with math, and welcome their unique ways of thinking.

We hope the thought leaders and speakers from our Math Symposium have inspired you to do just that!

Back-to-school teacher resources

The good news? There are TONS of free back-to-school resources available to dedicated teachers who want to start the year off right. How do you sift through every educators’ resource to find the ones that are right for you and your students? We’re here to help!

Role of teachers during back to school: What the research tells us

Recent studies, such as one published in Educational Leadership (2022), emphasize that the first few weeks of school are critically important in establishing trust and setting behavioral norms. A good start can lead to higher engagement and better academic outcomes. 

A 2021 Gallup survey on student engagement found that teacher enthusiasm and planning have a long-lasting impact on student motivation and achievement.

And according to a 2021 study in the Journal of School Psychology, students who start the year with clear objectives and a positive mindset are 30% more likely to meet or exceed benchmarks by the end of the school year. 

This research proves something you already know all too well—that the role of an educator isn’t just to impart knowledge, but to get students ready to learn all year long.

How Amplify can help with free resources for teachers

Whether you’re teaching Amplify in your classroom or onboarding our programs in your school or district, we’re here to support you.

Teacher Central: Educators can visit start.amplify.com/teaching/ to explore a variety of helpful tools and resources, including product highlights, guides to getting started, grade-level resources, and on-demand training videos.

A diverse array of downloads: While we used to drop resources into our free downloads library one at a time, you can now access the whole library all at once! The get-to-know-you activities activities and name tags will help you build a connected classroom at the start of the year—and the seasonal, cultural, and program-specific offerings will help you plan out the rest. 

Product-specific guidance: Program-specific guidance: Our webinars, hosted by Amplify experts and tailored to each individual product, will help you level up your implementation and start the new year off right. Topics include Amplify Science, mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura, Amplify CKLA and Caminos, Amplify ELA, Boost Reading, and Boost Lectura. Learn more and register here to access them on demand. 

A professional community, 24/7. Join our Facebook groups for peer engagement and weekly giveaways during the back-to-school season. Our groups include: Amplify CKLA, Amplify ELA, Amplify Science, and Boost Reading + mCLASS. 

Brand new podcast! Ana Torres knows firsthand how hard it is to be a teacher—that’s why, as the host of our new podcast Beyond My Years, she’s seeking out seasoned educators to share their stories and insights from inside the classroom. They’ll make you cry, make you laugh, and may even change the way you think about teaching. 

Log into your Amplify platform today to start preparing for the upcoming school year!

Science of Reading principles that guide early literacy

Our understanding of the natural world is grounded in basic truths or laws we call scientific principles.

And we’ve got a similar set of principles for the Science of Reading.

In science, we have things like gravity, buoyancy, and the laws of motion, while the Science of Reading has universality, vocabulary, background knowledge, and so much more.

These principles, which are grounded in extensive Science of Reading research, inform our understanding of how children learn to read and guide educators in implementing best practices for science-based, effective literacy instruction.

These principles can support you in bringing the Science of Reading into your classroom and fostering literacy success for all your students.

Let’s take a look.

Science of Reading principles

We’ve identified 10 principles that touch on key Science of Reading components. Here’s a peek at the first five.

1. Science-based reading instruction supports all children.

Every child deserves access to high-quality instruction that can help them become proficient readers. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data shows that students’ reading scores are slipping, with 37% of fourth graders performing below the NAEP Basic level in reading in 2022. Fortunately, we have the research and tools we need to get to work reversing this trend—and more and more educators are using them. Science-based reading instruction channels decades of research into teaching methods that match the diverse needs of all students. Using the Science of Reading, we can raise those scores and support literacy development for this generation and the next.

2. Reading and writing must be taught systematically, explicitly, and cumulatively.

Humans typically learn to speak naturally, through social interaction. But reading and writing require formal instruction. According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the product of both decoding and linguistic comprehension. Kids must be taught the relationships between sounds and letters (phonemic awareness and phonics), and how to decode words. Systematic instruction presents these skills in a logical order, explicit instruction goes beyond just “exposing” kids to words and texts, and cumulative instruction builds on skills learned before. This structured approach is essential for laying a strong foundation in literacy.

3. Proficient reading requires word recognition and language comprehension, while proficient writing requires transcription and composition skills.

Proficient readers recognize words quickly and effortlessly, allowing them to focus on understanding the text rather than decoding each word. They are then able to comprehend language using a knowledge of vocabulary, an understanding of sentence structure, and the skill of meaning-making. Likewise, proficient writers possess transcription skills, including spelling and handwriting. And as in reading, these transcription skills eventually become automatic, allowing students to expend less effort on handwriting, typing, and spelling and redirect that energy toward creating text and sharing ideas.

4. Reading and writing are mutually reinforcing processes that should be taught through integrated instruction.

When students read a variety of texts, they absorb different writing styles, structures, and vocabularies, which also serve as models for their own writing. Writing about what they read also helps students deepen their capacity for both comprehension and expression. Integrated instruction might include activities like reading a historical novel and writing diary entries from the perspective of a character, or researching a scientific topic and creating an informative brochure.

5. Background knowledge and vocabulary are critical to both reading comprehension and writing composition.

Background knowledge is like Velcro to which new texts, and new knowledge itself, can stick. A robust vocabulary is crucial for reading comprehension, because it allows students to understand and engage with more complex material. In writing, a rich vocabulary lets students express their ideas more precisely and vividly. Integrated activities such as book clubs or writing workshops can build background knowledge, vocabulary, and the natural interplay between reading and writing, fostering a holistic—and science-backed—approach to literacy development.

You’re part of a larger community—one made up of educators and researchers invested in deepening our understanding of how kids learn to read and write, and how to bring those approaches into the classroom. Start every day inspired and grounded in this community with our Science of Reading principles placemat.

Engaging digital and print math lessons for K–12 educators

Remember memorizing? That is, being a student in a math classroom focused mainly on teacher lectures, repetitive problem sets, and rote memorization?

Fortunately for today’s students, educators are increasingly recognizing that when it comes to math curriculum, engagement must come first—and that when it does, better learning outcomes follow. This shift toward student-centered, engaging math instruction is paving the way for deeper understanding, greater retention, and even a lifelong love of math.

Engaged students develop a deeper understanding of math concepts, retain information better, think critically, and are more likely to solve problems creatively. They tend to have a more positive attitude toward math, which reduces potential math anxiety and helps them build confidence. What’s more, access to engaging math programs promotes collaborative learning and the development of communication skills, supporting students in all classrooms (and beyond).

That’s why it’s important to find math products, activities, and instructional materials that center student engagement. Students need tools designed to not just teach them how to calculate, but also actively involve them in their own learning journeys, making math both meaningful and fun.

Free math lessons and more: Meet Desmos Classroom

Built by a dedicated team of math educators, Desmos Classroom is a free teaching and learning platform packed with interactive lessons that place student engagement at the center of instruction.

What are Desmos Classroom activities like in practice? Well, for starters, students take control of their learning! Students learn by interacting with mathematical representations, illustrations of the world, and their classmates. They represent their developing ideas with sketches, text responses, card sorts, number responses, multiple-choice questions, and more.

With a free account, you can access both customizable and pre-made Desmos Classroom—with new content appearing frequently for you to add to your lesson plans. An easy-to-use dashboard and real-time visuals allow you to monitor and react to student work. Creative teacher facilitation tools also help you promote collaborative and intentional classroom conversations. For example, the optional Anonymize feature reduces self-consciousness and competition, encouraging all students to participate and interact freely. Check out more examples below!

K–5 Lesson: Awesome Aquariums

A laptop screen displays a bar graph comparing aquarium animal numbers (goldfish, frogs, shrimp) with the prompt "Compare: How are the representations similar or different?" This visual aid is an integral part of comprehensive math programs designed to enhance analytical skills.

In the Awesome Aquariums activity, students experiment with bar graphs and tape diagrams to represent and compare the quantities of various aquatic inhabitants. Teachers guide students in a Notice and Wonder activity, with an optional Think-Pair-Share.

6–12 Lesson: DinoPops

A computer screen displays an educational activity about making scaled copies of DinoPops in different box sizes. Perfect for math teachers, the activity involves completing a table for box width and height.

In the DinoPops activity, students use proportions to understand what size boxes will fit (proportionally) varying sizes of Dino Pops. They’ll understand how graphs can represent proportional relationships, use graphs to make predictions, and use communications skills to describe and defend their work.

How you can get started

Create a free Desmos Classroom account at teacher.desmos.com, then check out the on-demand webinar Intro to Desmos Activities to learn how to assign a free pre-made lesson to students and use features such as anonymizing the class, pacing students during a lesson, and pausing classroom work to facilitate conversation. You can also register for another upcoming Desmos Classroom webinar to learn more about our full suite of math offerings, including our new, curiosity-driven K–12 program, Amplify Desmos Math.

The Science of Reading and middle school: A perfect match

Perhaps you’re familiar with the Science of Reading—the large (and still-growing) body of research that details how children learn to read and informs instructional best practices to get them there.

And perhaps you also know how important it is to provide kids with evidence-based practices for reading instruction—and how, as the most effective way to make sure that every kid can learn to read, it’s truly a matter of equity in education.

But did you know that the Science of Reading is not just about building foundational skills like phonological and phonemic awareness? It’s not just about how the littlest kids learn to recognize letters and words on a page. The need for research-informed instruction doesn’t go away once kids make the initial shift from not reading to reading. In fact, it’s essential throughout their reading journey—from the earliest years through grade school, and most certainly in the middle school classroom.

Let’s explore why middle schoolers need research-based literacy instruction, and take a look at how teachers can deliver it.

The Science of Reading and middle school literacy

Our brains are wired to learn spoken language, but they are not automatically wired for reading. They don’t just know that certain marks on a page are designed to represent sounds or meanings. That’s why—as the Science of Reading confirms—we have to teach reading explicitly and systematically. Learning to read actually rewires the brain by creating new neural connections and enhancing existing ones.

And when it comes to brain development, middle school is a big moment. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher-order thinking and executive function, is still maturing. It’s flexible, adaptable, and perfectly situated to receive the explicit instruction provided by research-based reading instruction.

Students in middle school have typically reached a certain level of automaticity with encoding and decoding. They’ve got the full—and finite—set of phonics skills under their belt, and they’re able to apply them across new and different contexts, even as vocabulary becomes more complex and unfamiliar.

But although this decoding practice remains important, students in middle school are typically able to shift more cognitive energy toward language comprehension.

And we know that background knowledge is crucial for language comprehension—the more prior knowledge you bring to a text, the better you understand it. That’s why middle school presents a major opportunity to deliver strategic and specific instruction in both language comprehension and background knowledge.

Leveraging the power of the Science of Reading

How might you take advantage of this unique developmental moment to accelerate student literacy? Here’s a glimpse at some of the approaches Amplify Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of ELA Deb Sabin explores in this webinar:

  • Choose complex grade-level texts that help build students’ background knowledge and expose them to a variety of structures and genres. Exposure and access to grade-appropriate content is crucial for educational equity and helps all students stay on target toward reading goals.
  • Provide explicit comprehension instruction to help students interpret texts and build mental models for understanding. You might employ graphic organizers or encourage performance for deeper understanding and engagement.
  • Incorporate writing prompts into core instruction. More and more research shows that writing has a strong impact on comprehension, helping students crystallize their understanding while also exposing gaps.
  • Focus on fluency. Research connects oral reading practice to improved comprehension. You might have students practice reading specific passages aloud, encouraging them not only to work on rate and accuracy, but also to reflect on which words they choose to emphasize and why.

That’s just a peek at how you can bring the power of research-based reading instruction to your middle schoolers. To learn more, check out the following resources:

Meet Amplify Desmos Math

Meet Amplify Desmos Math, a new, curiosity-driven K–12 math program that builds students’ lifelong math proficiency. Lessons in Amplify Desmos Math are standards-aligned, easy to use, and fully customizable by educators. And every Amplify Desmos Math lesson includes suggestions for differentiation that support, strengthen, and stretch student understanding.

“Engagement is a real challenge in math classrooms,” said Jason Zimba, Amplify Chief Academic Officer of STEM. “Knowing this, we created a program with interesting problems that students are eager to solve, one that keeps them engaged and learning. Amplify Desmos Math achieves rigor and delight, motivating all students to explore new horizons and develop new understanding.”

We believe that math class is a place where teachers can elicit, celebrate, and build on their students’ interesting ideas. Those ideas fuel meaningful classroom conversations and drive the learning process. Read on to learn more.

Meet Amplify Desmos Math. This is math that motivates.

A structured approach to problem-based learning

The program combines the best problem-based lessons with tightly aligned personalized practice, assessments, and intervention, creating an integrated experience for teachers and students. Data informs instruction. Comprehensive student profiles provide full data on students’ assets and skills, empowering teachers to provide just-in-time scaffolds and targeted intervention when needed.

Amplify Desmos Math is a powerful suite of math resources that includes:

  • Core instruction: Amplify Desmos Math lessons provide a structured approach to problem-based learning, where each lesson builds on students’ curiosity using a Proficiency Progression™ to develop lasting grade-level understanding for all students.
  • Screening and progress monitoring: mCLASS® assessments and daily formative checks measure what students know and how they think. The asset-based assessment system provides teachers with targeted, actionable insights, linked to core instruction and intervention resources.
  • Integrated personalized learning: Boost Personalized Learning™ activities help students access grade-level math through engaging, independent digital practice. The program’s signature Responsive Feedback™ adjusts to students’ work, providing item-level adaptivity to further support their learning.
  • Embedded intervention: Integrated resources like Mini-Lessons and math fluency games provide targeted intervention on specific concepts or skills connected to the daily lesson. Extensions are also available to stretch students’ understanding.

Amplify Desmos Math expands on the Desmos Math 6–8 curriculum, which is featured in a recent efficacy study led by WestEd that demonstrates increased math achievement across more than 900 schools in nine states.

Delightful digital activities and tools

To complement robust printed materials, Amplify Desmos Math leverages a digital platform that enables educators and students to connect with one another as they work through lessons, engage in personalized learning, and check for understanding. The interactive platform and facilitation tools foster mathematical discussions and allow educators to see student thinking in real time.

“Right now, teachers have to jump between platforms to access meaningful data, understand it, and use it,” said Alexandra Walsh, Amplify Chief Product Officer. “By combining instruction, assessment, and differentiation on the same digital platform, we’ve made student data more accessible, so educators can spend less time toggling and more time responding to student needs.”

Amplify Desmos Math is available:

  • Kindergarten–Algebra 1
    • As a beta release for the 2024-2025 school year, for pilot implementations and early adoptions
    • As a commercial release for the 2025-2026 school year
  • Geometry, Algebra 2, Integrated 1, Accelerated Grades 6 and 7
    • As a beta release for the 2025-2026 school year
    • As a commercial release for the 2026-2027 school year
  • Integrated 2 and 3
    • As a commercial release for the 2026-2027 school year

Try a free lesson.

Hundreds of free math lessons and activities from Amplify Desmos Math are available on Desmos Classroom, a free teaching and learning platform that places student engagement at the center of instruction. Desmos Classroom features free lessons, lesson-building tools, sharing features, and more. Built by math educators, the platform makes leaning into good pedagogy easier for teachers—which makes the lesson a more interactive experience for students.

You can teach these free lessons, but also customize them, or even build your own from scratch. Visit teacher.desmos.com to create a free account.

Learn more!

The Science of Writing: Key to mastering reading

Book cover titled "Science of Writing: A Primer," with colorful scientific and handwriting illustrations in the background.

We know that “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic” doesn’t cover all the core skills students must learn in school. Still, it’s easy to sense in our gut why reading and writing come first—and together. Reading and writing reinforce each other.

The way we now understand these two skills and how kids learn them is connected, too. That is, the Science of Reading and the Science of Writing are also linked, and invaluable. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 27% of 12th graders achieved a proficient level in writing in 2011.

The key to unlocking literacy success resides not just in understanding the Science of Writing, but also in acknowledging its dynamic connection to the Science of Reading.

Connecting writing with literacy development

The Science of Reading refers to the vast collection of evidence-based practices that explore and explain how kids learn to read and form the foundation for literacy instruction that works. It emphasizes key components such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It stipulates that—no matter what magical worlds reading unlocks—reading instruction must be systematic and intentional.

The Science of Reading clearly indicates how best to support students as they learn to read. But reading is only half of the literacy equation. What about writing?

Akin to the Science of Reading, the Science of Writing refers to the body of research that examines effective writing instruction and the processes involved in developing writing skills. It emphasizes explicit, systematic teaching of writing structures, strategies, and conventions—again, similar to the Science of Reading’s approach. This includes understanding the cognitive processes behind planning, drafting, revising, and editing, as well as the development of handwriting, grammar, and composition skills.

The Science of Writing also highlights the importance of integrating writing with reading instruction. It enhances comprehension and communication abilities by reinforcing language skills through practical application.

Using instruction based on the Science of Writing can transform student communication, making it clearer, more effective, and more creative—opening up new worlds of connection, expression, and opportunity. Indeed, the 2024 survey by The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 73% of employers look for written communication skills when selecting candidates to hire.

Effective instruction: Why teach writing and reading in tandem

This doesn’t mean that we should use evidence-based methods to teach reading in the morning, and then evidence-based methods to teach writing in the afternoon.

An integrated approach to reading and writing isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential. These two facets of literacy are interwoven processes that enhance each other. The more students read, the more they know. And a robust knowledge base helps students become not only stronger readers, but also stronger writers.

When students read a variety of texts, they absorb different writing styles, sentence structures, and vocabularies, which can serve as models for their own writing. Reading instruction based in the Science of Reading can also help students address writing problems and challenges. And writing about what they read also helps students deepen their capacity for both comprehension and expression.

Explicit and structured writing instruction is necessary for all students to be successful writers, as well as successful readers. When students write, they employ the same comprehension skills they use in reading.

How to teach writing and reading together

Here are just a few strategies to consider:

  • Inspiration through imitation. Use reading materials as models for writing assignments. Encourage students to mimic sentence structures or vocabulary from texts they read.
  • Read and respond: After reading, have students engage in response writing. This practice not only sharpens writing skills, but also reinforces comprehension by encouraging reflection and analysis.
  • Instruct on structure. Introduce students to the writing process: prewriting/outlining, drafting, revising, and editing. These steps parallel the cognitive processes students use when understanding complex texts.

To learn more about reading, writing, and realizing every student’s full potential, check out:

Small district, big change: Patrick County’s journey with the Science of Reading

In rural southwest Virginia, Patrick County Public Schools—a small district with big ambitions—has redefined early literacy through a transformative approach to reading instruction.

Teachers and leaders are shifting long-held instructional practices and embracing a Science of Reading-based framework. With the dedication of instructional coaches like Sara Vernon and Callie Wheeler, this district is building classrooms full of proficient readers and shaping a new culture of reading.

This commitment to reimagining literacy instruction has earned Patrick County Public Schools the Science of Reading Star Awards District Captain award—a testament to the district’s vision for improved student reading outcomes.

Before: Reading instruction challenges

Before this shift, reading instruction in Patrick County matched familiar approaches across the country, grounded in programs like Jan Richardson, Lucy Calkins, and Fountas and Pinnell. Educators like Wheeler and Vernon initially relied on balanced literacy and whole language techniques, believing that increased exposure to texts alone could help children learn to read.

However, especially during the pandemic, they began to see students struggle—including, in Wheeler’s case, her own child—and begain to wonder if there might be a better way.

Vernon and Wheeler found their approaches lacking—until they found each other. When their paths crossed in Patrick County, they realized a shared need to re-evaluate their instructional approaches. Conversations with colleagues and research into the Science of Reading framework opened their eyes to new possibilities, sparking a commitment to overhaul literacy instruction in the district.

Building a coalition for change

Vernon and Wheeler were not alone in their vision. District leaders and teachers became eager collaborators. Together, they built a coalition for change, advocating for professional development and resources to support a district-wide implementation of evidence-based practices grounded in the Science of Reading.

Recognizing the need for expert training, they secured ESSER funds to attend the Plain Talk about Literacy and Learning Conference, which deepened their understanding of structured, evidence-based reading practices. This journey transformed not only Vernon and Wheeler’s methods but also those of their colleagues, building a strong foundation for the new approach.

Embracing Science of Reading-based best practices

With district support, Vernon and Wheeler led the selection and adoption of Amplify’s CKLA curriculum, which aligns with the Science of Reading. To extend teachers’ understanding, they offered podcast studies, professional development sessions on the research behind reading instruction, and LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training.

Teachers throughout the district quickly saw the benefits, with kindergarten students making tangible reading progress. The new curriculum emphasizes background knowledge, foundational skills, and a diagnostic approach that ensures each student’s needs are met.

Teachers previously grounded in balanced literacy practices began to embrace the change. Many began to see that teaching phonics and sound-first strategies brought faster and more meaningful progress in reading.

As Wheeler explained, they wanted teachers to fully understand the research behind CKLA and the Science of Reading—empowering them to support students more effectively.

Sustaining a culture of literacy and growth

Today, Patrick County is witnessing an inspiring literacy transformation. Continuous feedback sessions, classroom observations, and data-driven discussions are all part of an evolving system where educators feel encouraged to explore new ideas and take calculated risks.

The district’s openness to change and the collaborative spirit among teachers have been instrumental in creating a culture where educators feel empowered to enhance student learning outcomes.

Reflecting on their achievements, Vernon and Wheeler emphasize the profound impact of this district-wide change. As their assistant superintendent put it: “The worst thing we could ever do is to know that what we were doing wasn’t working and not change.”

Patrick County’s journey is a testament to what’s possible in even the smallest districts when leaders and teachers commit to bold, research-based reforms that truly put students first.

Dyscalculia: What educators should know

Two children seated at a table engage with colorful number cubes and a pencil beside a worksheet—a delightful way to explore math. This playful setup subtly acts as an informal dyscalculia screener, helping spot characteristics of dyscalculia in young learners.

Some kids love math. Some kids like math. Some kids struggle with math, or struggle with math anxiety. And some kids have dyscalculia, a specific learning disorder that affects one’s ability to understand numbers and learn math facts.

As awareness has continued to grow, educators today are curious to know: What are the characteristics of dyscalculia? How can I help a child with dyscalculia? What should I know about dyscalculia screeners? We’re here to provide some answers.

Dyscalculia: What it is and is not

According to the Child Mind Institute, dyscalculia (sometimes called “developmental dyscalculia”) is a term used to describe specific learning disabilities that affect a child’s ability to understand, learn, and perform math and number-based operations.

Honora Wall, Ed.D., founder of the Dyscalculia Training and Research Institute, calls it “a type of neurodivergence: A difference in brain development or function.”

That’s an important distinction: Dyscalculia is a neurological condition that affects numerical cognition and processing. It has nothing to do with being “bad at math” or not “trying hard enough.”
Between 5 and 7% of elementary school-aged children may have dyscalculia, which is believed to affect girls and boys equally.

It is important to note that not all difficulties in math are caused by dyscalculia. Dyslexia, ADHD, and other conditions can also pose challenges for math students.

Nor is dyscalculia simply “math dyslexia.” Dyscalculia and dyslexia are entirely separate learning disorders that affect different areas of cognition and involve distinct difficulties.

How dyscalculia might present itself

Dyscalculia manifests in various ways in the math classroom. Here are some examples of how it can appear:

  • When engaging in activities like games involving dice, students may need to count the individual dots to recognize a number rolled, rather than intuitively recognizing it.
  • Students might have difficulty connecting the numerical symbol “5” (for example) to the word “five.” Making this connection is essential for associating numbers with their meanings.
  • Students may be delayed in learning to count, or lose track or rely on visual aids (like their fingers) when they count.

Such students may also have a hard time:

  • Solving math problems.
  • Recognizing or creating patterns.
  • Learning basic math functions.
  • Estimating how long a task will take.
  • Processing visual-spatial ideas such as charts and graphs, or even telling left from right.
  • Remembering phone numbers or zip codes.
  • Playing games that involve counting or keeping score.
  • Telling time.

The connection between mathematics anxiety and dyscalculia

Math anxiety is an emotional response to math that presents as apprehension or fear. Some call it mathematics phobia. It may include physical symptoms such as sweating, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and other physical symptoms of anxiety. It’s similar to other types of anxiety, but it’s exclusive to math.

But, most important in this context, it’s not itself a neurological or cognitive condition.

So dyscalculia and math anxiety are not the same, but they may go hand in hand—perhaps with one exacerbating the other. Students with dyscalculia might develop math anxiety due to repeated challenges and frustrations in learning math.

Understanding this connection—and working to alleviate math anxiety—is crucial for educators aiming to create a supportive learning environment.

Tips for assisting students with dyscalculia

Here are some practical strategies educators can use to support students with dyscalculia:

  • Teach positive self-talk and persistence: Encourage students to develop a “growth mindset,” reinforcing that effort and persistence (as well as making mistakes) are essential to overcoming challenges.
  • Provide organizational aids: Use graph paper to help students line up numbers correctly, which aids in precision during calculations.
  • Use manipulatives: Tools like counters and blocks can make math feel more tangible, helping students grasp abstract concepts.
  • Focus on singular tasks: Present one math problem at a time to prevent students from feeling overwhelmed and allow for focused attention.
  • Allow more time: Give students the opportunity to work at their own pace, acknowledging that they may need more time to process numerical information.
  • Grant calculator access: Allowing calculators can reduce stress and help students solve problems more efficiently.
  • Make math fun and engaging: Incorporate interactive platforms such as Desmos Classroom to create an enjoyable and interactive learning experience.

More to explore