Our research
Amplify Desmos Math is a curiosity-driven K–12 program that builds students’ lifelong math proficiency. Our structured, problem-based approach builds on students’ curiosity while strategically developing math fluency and lasting grade-level understanding.
Learn more about the research behind our programs.
Amplify Desmos Math ayuda a los maestros a fomentar un aula con estudiantes entusiastas y cooperativos, partiendo de sus ideas y desarrollando diaria y firmemente los conocimientos del grado académico correspondiente de cada estudiante. For English version, please click here.
Para los grados K a 12.º
Gratuito
Una plataforma de enseñanza y aprendizaje que ofrece una colección de lecciones digitales gratuitas y herramientas para diseñar lecciones.
Más información en classroom.amplify.com
Para los grados K a Álgebra 2
De Pago
Próximamente: Un nuevo programa básico de prekindergarten a 12.º grado de Amplify y Desmos Classroom.
Amplify Desmos Math facilita tanto a los maestros como a los estudiantes la migración a un método basado en el planteamiento y la resolución de problemas, proporcionando actividades atractivas, eficaces herramientas de facilitación para el maestro y muchos apoyos para la diferenciación y la práctica.
Hemos combinado lecciones interactivas basadas en problemas con enseñanzas explícitas, refuerzos y prácticas para que los estudiantes dominen auténticamente las matemáticas. Las lecciones sientan una base sólida en cuanto a la fluidez en los procedimientos y cálculos, afianzan la comprensión de los conceptos y permiten a los estudiantes aplicar lo aprendido a situaciones del mundo real.
Amplify Desmos Math estará disponible a partir del curso escolar 2025–26. Los distritos interesados podrán probar la versión Beta a partir del otoño del 2024.
Aprovechamos los alcances tecnológicos y las lecciones de Desmos y añadimos simples pero fascinantes componentes impresos y digitales para crear un programa sin precedentes que simplifica la enseñanza.
Las lecciones digitales deben potenciar el razonamiento de los estudiantes y generar debates interesantes y productivos. Regístrese para obtener más información sobre cómo Amplify Desmos Math y Desmos Classroom incitan a los estudiantes a interesarse por las matemáticas.
Amplify presenta Math Teacher Lounge, un podcast con los presentadores Bethany Lockhart Johnson y Dan Meyer.
Feeling crunched for lesson-planning time? You’re not imagining it. A recent EdSurge report found that teachers get, on average, just 266 minutes of dedicated planning time a week—under an hour a day. And that’s before the meetings, paperwork, and “Got a minute?” queries start rolling in.
When teachers have so little space to craft high-quality interactive lessons, any tool that streamlines planning or teaching can make a huge difference.
Enter Amplify Classroom (formerly Desmos Classroom), launched for the 2025–26 school year and available for free! Already used by more than 300,000 teachers, this all-in-one platform brings together free resources for K–12 students; teacher guides and real-time teaching tools; and interactive lessons across math, literacy, and science—helping educators focus less on logistics and lesson plans and more on student engagement.
Amplify Classroom’s free teaching resources go far beyond static worksheets or “entertaining” electronics. The platform’s library of more than 1,000 lessons features a wide range of free K–12 resources, including K–5 activities, middle school science explorations, and high school math challenges. Highlights include:
These types of activities are not just engaging in the moment. They can also set the stage for lifelong math enjoyment. “I’ve been wary about making my kids not hate math,” says kindergarten teacher Martin Joyce. “No ‘drill-n-kill.’ [Now] they’re asking if they can do math on the computer before bed!”
Once you create a free teacher account, you can:
Here’s how it works in practice:
Grade 5 teacher Traci Jackson saw how these K–5 activities boosted collaboration and learning in her class: “After an audible groan when the activity was paused, students made sense of ordered pairs through a purposeful Amplify Classroom experience. One student pair wrote without any prompting!”
Amplify Science is a K–8 phenomena-based science curriculum that blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools. The result? Elementary and middle school students who think, read, write, and argue like real scientists.
Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all green by EdReports.
Each unit of Amplify Science engages all learners in a relevant, real-world problem where they assume the role of a scientist to investigate scientific phenomena, engage in collaboration and discussion, and develop models or explanations to arrive at solutions.
The research-based Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize instructional approach—developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science—provides students with multiple opportunities and modalities with which to access science instruction. Independent research proves that this model of learning benefits all learners, and our efficacy research shows improved student achievement.
In each unit, students take on the role of a scientist or engineer to investigate a realistic problem. These problems provide relevant contexts through which students investigate real-world phenomena that are seamlessly integrated throughout the unit. By positioning students as engineers or scientists, they are actively engaged in designing innovative solutions and making sense of the world around them.
Amplify Science integrates the NGSS—and state standards based on them—not just at a surface level, but throughout every lesson of the unit. Students engage with science and engineering practices, figure out disciplinary core ideas, and make connections when they apply Crosscutting Concepts across thoughtfully structured, multimodal lessons.
Amplify Science was developed by The Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley in partnership with Amplify. It reflects state-of-the-art practices in science teaching and learning.
Amplify Science includes hands-on activities, print materials, and powerful digital tools to support online and offline teaching and learning. Highly adaptable and user-friendly, the program gives schools and individual teachers flexibility based on their technology resources and preferences.
Our flexible resources work seamlessly together.
Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including:
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks provide space for students to:
Age-appropriate Student Books allow students to:
Developed exclusively for the Amplify Science program, these engaging digital tools:
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science. Each unit kit contains:
Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including:
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks provide space for students to:
Available with full-color article compilations for middle school units
Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science. Each unit kit contains:
Students access the digital simulations and Modeling Tools, as well as lesson activities and assessments, through the digital student experience. Students can interact with the digital student experience as they:
The middle school science articles serve as sources for evidence collection and were authored by science and literacy experts at the Lawrence Hall of Science.
Our programs are designed to support and complement one another. Learn more about our related programs.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
| Lorem Ipsum | Lorem Ipsum | Lorem Ipsum |
|---|---|---|
| Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. |
| Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. |
| Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. | Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. |
| Lorem Ipsum | Lorem Ipsum | Lorem Ipsum |
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
George Washington
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
George Washington
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups. Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used in the graphic, print, and publishing industries for previewing layouts and visual mockups.
We know you seek the best research-tested methods for your students—and want to start applying them as quickly and easily as possible. Whether you’re looking to improve your students’ writing or understand how to boost their comprehension, here are a few resources designed to save precious time!
Looking for a roundup of the latest research on key topics? Look no further! Our Science of Reading Essentials episodes can unlock insights that can truly transform your instruction. Each episode is just over 30 minutes. You can also download our discussion guides to fuel your own professional learning sessions.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Discover the captivating journey of writing with our new guide, Science of Writing: A Primer. Explore the history of writing to understand the crucial link between reading and writing instruction—and why handwriting still matters in today’s digital world.
Looking for ways to bring Science of Reading: The Podcast into your professional learning communities? Here’s one starting place: Share a presentation of top takeaways to jump-start your discussions.
Science of Reading: Learning Lab offers unparalleled research-backed instruction crafted to the standards of the International Dyslexia Association. Explore enriching activities, curated resources, and guidance from Susan Lambert, Chief Academic Officer of Literacy and Host of Science of Reading: The Podcast.
Teachers know that multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are an important and fast-growing population in today’s classrooms. In 2021, more than 10% of students enrolled in public schools across the U.S. were identified as English language learners, with some projections suggesting this number could reach 40% by 2030.
But when it comes to partnering with the families of ML/ELs for student success, we’re just beginning to tap into what’s possible.
I’m an ML/EL teacher and former homeroom teacher at a school serving many ML/ELs.
Here’s what I’ve learned about best practices for bridging the school-to-home communication gap and partnering with families (all families!) to ensure their child’s success.
In my experience, three common barriers can stand in the way of strong family engagement and student success:
Supporting multilingual learners starts with recognizing these barriers not as signs of disconnection, but as invitations to shift our approach. There are best practices we can adopt to help bridge the gap—and build the trust and relationships our students need to thrive.
If you want to communicate with families who speak a variety of different languages, the first step is finding the method of contact that works best for each of them. My school uses an auto-translating app called ParentSquare for home communications—but not all families I’ve worked with respond to ParentSquare messages. So if a family isn’t responsive to one mode of communication, try another!
It’s a good idea to ask families on Back-to-School Night—or whenever your students first arrive—if they have a preferred mode of communication. I’ve found I get the best response rate by creating a Google Voice number and communicating via text, first translating through an app if needed.
Keep a log of this information so you have it on hand when you need it. In the long run, this will be easier for both you and your students’ caregivers than you chasing them down to get them to download, log into, or check a specific app.
The important thing is to consider making contact essential, and to keep trying until you find the mode that works for both you and the parents of your ML/EL students.
If you want to forge a strong family-school partnership (and you should!), you also need to set the tone. When families have a different cultural understanding of school engagement than what you’re used to, I’ve found that it helps to explicitly solicit parent input, explaining how a partnership between caregiver and teacher will help support their child’s success.
Let them know how and why they should get in touch with you, and make it easy by reaching out proactively with brief, positive updates.
Perhaps most importantly, ask families what they want to know! I’ve attended many parent-teacher conferences—both for my own students and as an interpreter—and I’m frequently struck by how many multilingual families respond when I ask what questions they have. Many families who haven’t previously reached out are suddenly overflowing with questions.
The most common one I get is how they can support their child’s academic journey at home. Parents also frequently request updates about behavior. Understand that just because a family isn’t asking these questions proactively doesn’t mean they don’t care. When I explicitly ask parents what they need, their responses make it abundantly clear that they are deeply invested in their child’s schooling and success.
I’ve also learned that many families—especially those who speak a language other than English at home—may not know that there are many ways to support their child’s growth, even if classroom instruction is not in their home language.
Think about what tips and resources you can most easily provide: Do your students’ parents know that reading or reciting poems, songs, or chants in their home language helps literacy growth? Could you send home simple board games from the classroom to reinforce key skills? Would signing up for a library card give them access to resources they didn’t know were available? Many caregivers of ML/EL students have told me they lack the tools to get involved—but are eager to engage once given tangible strategies.
In order to give our students and their families the support they need, it’s critical that we challenge our internal biases and assumptions. If we assume parents are uninterested or uninvolved, we avoid an opportunity to think creatively about how to bridge communication gaps and facilitate family involvement. We also cut off a world of possibility for our students and limit their access to the academic success that comes from parent involvement.
Working with the families of ML/ELs may bring added responsibilities—but it’s also a unique privilege, full of new opportunities. In teaching ML/ELs, I’ve found that I get to be a cultural bridge—one of the people providing warmth, stability, and welcome to families navigating a new culture. School can be overwhelming in a new country or different language—but a teacher who goes the extra mile can ensure success for both students and families.
Many of today’s math classrooms are facing a perfect storm: declining scores, widening learning gaps, and growing pressure on teachers to deliver solutions. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, students are experiencing the steepest drop in math scores since 1990. EdWeek Research Center reports that a persistent gap between educational theory and day-to-day practice is putting added stress on teachers, often leaving them to navigate complex pedagogical demands without adequate support.
So how can we provide both students and teachers with the tools they need to succeed? How can math assessments and math intervention programs provide real help and drive student progress—without piling on more work?
One promising answer lies in rethinking how we assess what students know.
Traditional assessments tend to focus on correctness alone. Did the student get it right or wrong? How many points did they earn?
But this binary approach misses a lot. A skipped question could mean a tech hiccup or a moment of confusion—not a lack of understanding. A wrong answer might come at the end of otherwise solid problem-solving.
An asset-based assessment approach shifts the focus from mistakes to meaning. It looks beyond outcomes to understanding how students think—their strategies, reasoning, and partial understandings. And when teachers can see that thinking, they gain far more useful data to guide instruction and inform their math intervention program.
This approach doesn’t lower expectations—it raises the quality of insight and gives struggling students (and really all students) a better shot at meeting standards with instruction that’s tailored to their actual needs.
Every student thinks differently. Asset-based assessments help reveal individual thinking, often through short-answer or open-response formats that ask students to explain how they solved a problem.
But this shift isn’t just for students. Teachers can benefit enormously when assessments are designed to surface trends in student thinking. If 30% of a class misinterprets the same concept, that result reveals a teaching opportunity. Rather than reteach an entire unit, teachers can adjust with focused, targeted support. That means less time spent diagnosing, and more time actually helping.
And when technology in the math classroom makes this data easy to collect, analyze, and act on, teachers get a level of consistent insight that is not only helpful, but actionable.
The ultimate goal of asset-based assessments isn’t to replace performance data—it’s to enhance it. Knowing how a student got to an answer (or why they didn’t) can make all the difference in determining what to do next.
Here’s an example involving a division problem:
When real students were given this problem, they responded with answers like:
Traditional grading might stop at “correct” or “incorrect” for these responses. But when students are asked to explain their thinking, teachers can uncover a range of reasoning—from successful multiplication strategies to misunderstandings about remainders.
These glimpses into student thinking aren’t just informative—they’re transformative. They can illuminate the performance of students in a deeper, more actionable way. They can help teachers take smarter next steps, and they can help students feel understood, capable, and more like “math people” every day.
I’d like to share a favorite success story from my ELA class that brings home the true power of differentiation.
There was one boy—let’s call him Dipper. (It’s not his real name; I just really like the show “Gravity Falls.”) Dipper was the sweetest, kindest, most wholesome eighth grader I have ever met. He was absolutely precious.
Dipper also suffered from fairly severe academic struggles. He was well below his middle school reading level, struggled to express ideas in writing, and took longer than other students to break down basic concepts. When Dipper first came to me, he couldn’t start or complete a written sentence. He was easily frustrated and often overwhelmed to the point of tears.
Spoiler: By the end of the school year, Dipper was writing multiple paragraphs and starting to connect them with transition sentences.
Here’s how he got that much closer to grade level.
My school district had recently adopted Amplify ELA (6–8). At the outset, I placed Dipper at the differentiation level with the most support. When we talked about how a character reacted to a moment in the story, Dipper had corresponding smiley, frowny, and disgusted faces to identify feelings. He had his own lesson plan with example quotes, shortened readings, alternative questions to spark thinking, and sentence starters to help him focus on comprehension instead of getting stuck at the start.
All of these supports helped him comprehend, share his responses, and contribute to discussions.
So far, so good.
But putting those thoughts to paper—or text box—was a completely different hurdle.
I can’t talk about Dipper without talking about his one-to-one aide. Let’s call her Ms. Mabel. (Again, “Gravity Falls.” I’m telling you, check it out.)
Ms. Mabel had sat beside Dipper during every ELA class since sixth grade. She helped him stay focused and generate ideas, and she even transcribed his answers when needed. Ms. Mabel’s devotion to Dipper’s success was profound and inspirational.
And it made all the difference when it came to Writing Prompts. At first, the prompts were met with tears and tantrums, panic and disdain, all the joyful wholesomeness ripped from Dipper.
Ms. Mabel would console him and redirect his passions to the work. She would point out the sentence starters, help him copy and paste them to the text box, and have him fill in the blanks. Again and again.
And then, little by little: Less panic. Fewer tears. Sentence starters, fill in the blank. Progress.
Sentence starters, fill in the blank. Success.
Day by day, Dipper, stacking wins like pancakes at an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, found confidence in himself, his reading, and his writing. He went from barely being able to complete a sentence to writing multiple paragraphs with evidence to support his ideas.
We had seen Dipper grow from a tiny sixth grader into a less tiny eighth grader and had watched his initial tenacity meet with stagnation, frustration, and defeat—until this year. This year with Amplify was different.
Obviously, you can’t pin success on one factor. Dipper had many supports in place: two blocks in the resource room, a dedicated aide, supportive peers and family, and—above all—a fierce drive and work ethic.
But if you asked Ms. Mabel, she would tell you that Amplify helped, too. She found that the way the questions were broken down allowed her to teach Dipper what he misunderstood better than she had been able to in previous years. We discovered very quickly how much autonomy was built in. It wasn’t rigid. It gave us structure and trust. It made differentiation easier, clearer, and more meaningful.
Sure, maybe Dipper was also maturing. Maybe I’m just an awesome teacher. Or maybe, just maybe, we need every little bit of help we can get to do the hard work in life. Maybe we need someone to push us in the right direction. Maybe we need those guardrails to keep us on course. Some of us can start our own engines, but we all need to be able to race.
Sometimes, we need someone who can help us start our sentences so we can learn how to be the ones to finish them.
Ever heard of bidialectalism? It means the ability to fluently switch between two dialects.
It was a new word for me when I first started teaching in the U.S.—but I figured it out fast, just by opening my mouth in the classroom.
Bringing my own Australian dialect to teaching six-year-olds deepened my capacity to help struggling readers and multilingual readers. It has also strengthened our classroom community and provided surprising, even amusing opportunities to learn—for all of us.
When I first entered an American classroom, I was nervous about teaching phonemes to kids. I kept wondering, “What if they get an Australian accent?” (That never happened.)
I remember my first year teaching Amplify CKLA, standing in front of my students and trying to figure out why the word “from” seemed tricky. For me, it sounded exactly how it was spelled. I kept saying “from,” but my students said: “/f/ /r/ /u/ /m/.”
That was the first of many times I realized how different my dialect really was.
The next one came during our Animals and Habitats unit. We were deep into the lesson when I casually said what sounded like “Pythin,” and a student turned and said, “Don’t you mean PythOn?”
Then came the r-controlled vowels. (R-controlled vowels, also called r-influenced vowels, are vowels that change their sound when followed by an “r” in the same syllable. Instead of sounding short or long, the vowel is “controlled” by the “r”—like in “car,” “bird,” “corn,” “turn,” and “her.”)
Because of my accent, when I said those sounds, they almost always came out as “uh.” (I think that’s why I’ve been told Aussies were responsible for the schwa!) While that got a good laugh—and gave students lots of chances to mimic my accent—it drove home the real importance of phonological awareness.
I spent the rest of that first year going over the phoneme videos on the Amplify resources hub, practicing my r-controlled vowels. I did my best to learn to switch between the Australian and American dialects. I even started challenging my students to correct me more often. (“Wait, did I say that right?”)
That led to more intentional practice when teaching grade-level spelling patterns for those individual sounds. I started adding silly actions to go with each one. For example, we’d say, “‘e’ and ‘r’ are friends and together they go ‘errrrr,’” and we’d pretend to turn a key into either side of our cheeks.
Those small quirks helped my students remember the sounds—and they helped me just as much.
So, to any teacher who’s dreading teaching phonemes or teaching kids to read because of their speech or dialect—don’t!
Learning with your students, blending Amplify’s tools with your own quirks and personality, builds classroom memories and creates powerful literacy instruction.
You don’t have to erase your accent to be effective. In fact, embracing your uniqueness might just make you a better teacher.
From one teacher to another: Don’t be afraid of the greatness you already have.
To close out, here’s my favorite use of what I believe is the greatest phoneme/diphthong of all time: Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Amplify’s middle school literacy programs were designed to prepare students in grades 6–8 for high school and beyond by immersing them in complex texts and teaching them to think for themselves about everything they read. Learn more about Amplify ELA (our core English language arts curriculum) and Boost Close Reading (our supplemental reading program).
Amplify ELA is a blended English language arts curriculum designed for grades 6–8. With Amplify ELA, students learn to tackle any complex text and make observations, grapple with interesting ideas, and build connections.
Boost Close Reading is an immersive supplemental reading program that engages students with an interactive graphic novel. Through high-interest storytelling and guided instruction, students build their close reading skills.
Our early literacy suite programs based on the Science of Reading are designed to support and complement each other. Learn more about integrated programs below.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
The latest end-of-year data show improvement in early literacy across grades K–2. Overall, insights suggest:
BOY: Summer instructional loss highlights the importance of quality core instruction for the youngest grades.
MOY: Early literacy gains offer hope for COVID recovery, though broader literacy challenges persist nationwide.
EOY: Reading scores rise overall; gender disparities present a complex picture.
Amplify’s high-quality programs benefit millions of students every day using methods that are evidence-based, ESSA-aligned, and showing efficacy in a variety of contexts. Read more research and case studies and see more briefs on early literacy.
Understanding student thinking is the key to accelerating student performance.
Welcome to mCLASS® Math, the benchmarking and progress monitoring system for grades K–8 that measures proficiency, reveals underlying mathematical thinking, and informs instructional support for every learner. Analyzing student responses to reveal valid underlying mathematical thinking—even in wrong answers—helps better target individualized instructional recommendations that build grade-level proficiency.
mCLASS Math’s research-based benchmark and progress monitoring assessment system tracks performance against grade-level expectations to help predict later growth outcomes.
With screening and diagnostic capabilities and empirically established cut scores to assess risk, mCLASS Math reporting helps educators pinpoint strengths and areas of growth for individualized instructional support for every student. Together, these establish a strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
This powerful assessment is digitally assigned to the whole class three times annually: beginning-of-year (BOY), middle-of-year (MOY), and end-of-year (EOY). The open responses of the assessment give more robust data-points gathered from each item, and it only takes 30 to 40 minutes to complete.
Designed to target critical grade-level skills that predict success, the rich data can be used as a diagnostic tool for Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention and flags for the potential risk of dyscalculia.
mCLASS Progress Monitoring assessments help teachers chart students’ progression between benchmark assessment windows. For students receiving targeted support, mCLASS Progress Monitoring determines if intervention is effective or adjustments are needed to enhance student learning.
These short yet effective assessments enable teachers to monitor a student’s math performance between mCLASS Benchmark assessments. mCLASS Progress Monitoring assessments can be assigned to a select group of students needing targeted support in a specific skill or Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention, and are aligned around crucial math domains for each grade level.
With the groundbreaking digital analysis of student thinking, mCLASS Math teachers can rely on the predictive validity of assessments in less time.
The powerful Student Response Analysis of open-ended questions provides deep insight into what and how students think—faster and with fewer questions.
mCLASS Math’s dynamic data reports offer a window into student thinking, reliably guiding intervention across Tiers 1–3.
The more teachers understand how their students think, the better they can support their growth. The assessment system recognizes students’ individual strengths, experiences, understandings, and strategies—or assets, as we collectively refer to them—to inform the robust data that powers mCLASS Math.
Empirically established cut scores and domain-specific measures help teachers plan for tiered intervention with classroom, school, and district-level performance reports set to predict end-of-year outcomes.
To reinforce learning at home, Home Connect letters provide caregivers with easy-to-use reports on their child’s math development.
The Student Thinking Report gives teachers actionable recommendations tailored to how individual students or groups of students approach problems. By understanding the different ways of thinking in skimmable, yet robust, reports, teachers have the tools they need to efficiently plan differentiation to achieve instructional targets.
Actionable recommendations enable teachers to quickly differentiate with intervention resources aligned to common misconceptions.
Based on decades of research for best practices in math, mCLASS Math efficiently assesses students’ skills and thinking to give teachers instant recommendations for small group and individualized instruction.
Following research from leading math experts and an in-depth validation analysis through WestEd, a technical report will be released summer 2025.
A dedicated team at Amplify with over 500 combined years of classroom teaching, school leadership, and assessment experience thoughtfully created mCLASS Math with teachers and students in mind.
Following research from leading math experts and an in-depth validation analysis through WestEd, data will be continuously released starting in spring 2025.
Sandra Pappas
Associate Director of Research
Patrick Callahan, Ph.D.
Educator and Founder of Math ANEX
Jason Zimba, Ph.D.
Chief Academic Officer of STEM
at Amplify
The mCLASS Math K–5 assessment system is designed to provide educators with reliable and valid measures to identify students needing additional support in mathematics and to inform instructional decisions. Preliminary data presents evidence supporting the psychometric quality of the assessment using the technical standards outlined by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) and state requirements for screening measures.
mCLASS Math works alongside your core instruction, differentiation, and intervention. The data model behind mCLASS Math provides comprehensive data for each student across grades K–8, easily connecting teachers to the immediate next steps that will support, strengthen, and stretch all learners.
Boost Personalized Learning accelerates student growth with daily, targeted 15-minute digital activities. Supported by a virtual tutor, students tackle individualized tasks linked to daily lessons, receiving just-in-time support to foster grade-level success.
Teacher-led, 15-minute Mini-Lessons can build grade-level proficiency by providing research-based, targeted intervention to small groups of students who need additional support.
Reinforce students’ understanding of concepts through collaborative, hands-on Centers (grades K–5). These student-led routines provide additional practice with vertical alignment across grade levels.
Fluency Practice uses spaced repetition, an evidence-based approach to promoting memory retention, to teach basic facts. The adaptive nature of the practice allows students to focus less and less on the facts they already know. We’ve partnered with Math for Love to iterate on the popular Multiplication by Heart to create Division by Heart and Addition and Subtraction by Heart I & II. These proven fluency decks—plus Skills Fluency for supporting procedural fluency practice—help students practice crucial skills independently.
Item Banks provide space for teachers to create custom practice and assessments by using filters and searching for standards, summative-style items, and more.
All students should have access to fun and challenging problems. Extensions are 10- to 15-minute activities aligned to the most critical topics for the grade, providing flexible, low-lift activities for the whole class or targeted intervention to small groups of students ready for an extra challenge.
As part of Amplify Desmos Math, Amplify’s comprehensive math suite, mCLASS Math provides a strong foundation of actionable data to help teachers diagnose and capitalize on student strengths. Amplify Desmos Math ensures that you have all the core, intervention, and personalized instruction you need to support each stage of a student’s math journey.
Welcome Catholic school educators,
Amplify Desmos Math thoughtfully combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Each math lesson is designed to tell a story by posing problems that invite a variety of approaches before guiding students to synthesize their understanding of the learning goals.
Amplify Desmos Math supports teachers in building students’ lifelong math proficiency. The program:
Amplify Desmos Math combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.
Data informs instruction. Comprehensive student profiles provide full data on students’ assets and skills, empowering teachers to provide just-in-time scaffolds throughout core instruction and targeted intervention when needed.
Ready to explore as a teacher? Follow these instructions:
Ready to explore as a student? Follow these instructions:
Click the links below to explore our interactive digital lessons, where you’ll also find print Teacher Edition and Student Edition pages for each lesson.
For helpful navigation tips and more program information, download our Grades K–5 and Grades 6–Algebra 1 program guides.
You can also watch a product expert walk through a lesson and the available program components with a lesson walkthrough video.
Amplify Desmos Math includes digital, adaptive practice that provides the personalized support a student needs to access grade-level math every day. Boost Personalized Learning activities target a skill or concept aligned to the day’s core lesson, with each student receiving personalized scaffolds based on what they already know. This technology complements daily learning and provides another layer of support to the in-lesson differentiation and instructional guidance provided to teachers. Click here to try a Boost Personalized Learning activity. More activities coming soon!
The Fluency Practice of Amplify Desmos Math uses an evidence-based approach to memory retention—spaced repetition—for the basic operations. Students around the world have answered more than 120 million multiplication questions within our application. Try it now!
Support is always available. Our team is dedicated to helping you every step of the way. Contact your dedicated Florida representative here for program access, samples, and additional information.
Jeff Rutter
Field Manager
Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties
jrutter@amplify.com
(727) 407-5801
Amanda Shelley
Account Executive
Broward County Schools
ashelley@amplify.com
(321)-693-3518
Tom Gantt
District Manager
Miami Resident
tgantt@amplify.com
(305)-546-2979
Pilot educator,
Thank you for taking the time to sample Amplify’s Spanish language universal and dyslexia screener with personalized instruction. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.
This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to better understand your students and help them grow as confident, life-long readers.
Thank you for all you do,
—The Amplify team
Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot programs:
Then review the following implementation guidance for what to do before, after, and between benchmarks. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of the mCLASS suite.
Gather Materials
Integrate Boost Reading into your classroom routine
Biliteracy considerations
(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)
Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine
Pilot educator,
Thank you for taking the time to sample Boost Lectura – Amplify’s new personalized Spanish literacy instruction program for students in grades K–2. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.
This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to help your students grow as confident, life-long readers.
Thank you for all you do,
—The Amplify team
Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot program:
Then review the following implementation guidance for what to do before, during and towards the end of your pilot. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of Boost Lectura.
Develop your plan for integrating Boost Lectura into your classroom routine
(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)
Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine
Thank you for taking the time to review Amplify’s K–8 science programs for Oregon. This site will allow your committees to easily access grade-level teacher and student resources digitally, and experience all that our high-quality instructional materials have to offer.
Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all-green by EdReports. Read the review on EdReports.
Support is always within reach. Our team is dedicated to supporting districts across Oregon and can be reached at any time by emailing HelloOregon@amplify.com or by calling us directly.
Erin Elfving-Strayhan
Senior Account Executive
Districts over 3,000 students
(971) 291-9854
Kristen Rockstroh, M.Ed.
Account Executive
Districts under 3,000 students
(480) 639-8367
Thank you for taking the time to review Amplify’s CKLA resources for K–5.
Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts® (CKLA) is an effective core literacy resource for students in grades K–5 and is aligned to Ohio’s Rule for Phonics. CKLA was developed in partnership with the Core Knowledge Foundation and was specifically designed to help teachers implement proven evidence-based instructional practices.
Click here for correlations to the Ohio Learning Standards for English Language Arts.
Click here to view Amplify CKLA’s Alignment to Ohio’s “Shifting to the Science of Reading” Framework.
Amplify CKLA is one of only a few high-quality, knowledge-building literacy curricula recognized by the Knowledge Matters campaign. Our shared message: Background knowledge is essential to literacy and learning.
Amplify CKLA not only received an all-green rating from the rigorous evaluators at EdReports, but it was also recently recognized by the Knowledge Matters Campaign as a literacy program that excels in building knowledge.
The Science of Reading reveals knowledge as an essential pillar of reading comprehension and lifelong literacy. Hear from author Natalie Wexler and CKLA customers on edWebinar about the importance of knowledge-building in reading instruction.
We know there are several different paths you can take when implementing a Science of Reading program in your district::
Amplify CKLA teaches both foundational skills and background knowledge in K–2 and combines them in 3–5, as required by the science of reading.
Amplify CKLA builds knowledge coherently across subjects and grades.
Students make connections from year-to-year by exploring grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves.
Amplify CKLA puts a variety of texts in the hands of students every day to build and strengthen background knowledge and vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension, and decoding and fluency skills.
More than that, we ensure the texts students read represent the world around them. With a diverse range of authors, topics, and characters, all students have ample access to both windows and mirrors. Our texts include:
Amplify CKLA aligns with the instructional principles recommended by Orton Gillingham and LETRS.
We believe we have a responsibility to provide literacy instruction that gives every student the same opportunity to succeed and excel.
We know that early reading affects achievement throughout school and beyond—well into college and career. Yet most literacy programs continue to fall short of supporting early literacy success. That’s why we’re so proud that CKLA is helping close the reading gap between students within diverse communities.
A strong literacy program is not just about a reading program or an assessment tool: it brings together curriculum, instruction, regular practice, intervention, and assessments.
Amplify has brought these components together in our early literacy suite of curriculum, ensure that you have what you need for multi-tiered support.
Watching students learn to read: magic. Knowing how they get there: science.
As you consider your next core ELA program, it’s critically important to understand what the Science of Reading really means and what it tells us about how to teach more effectively. Unlike other programs, Amplify CKLA was built upon these insights and practices, making it easier for teachers to implement this proven approach.
Amplify CKLA and Amplify ELA aren’t your traditional core programs. They’re different to make a difference — and the results are undeniable. Truly built on the Science of Reading, our high-quality ELA solutions help teachers bring evidence-based practices to life in the classroom.
This site includes everything you need for your review, including digital access to teacher and student materials and additional review resources.
Amplify’s ELA solutions aren’t your traditional core programs. They’re different to make a difference — and the results are undeniable. Truly built on the Science of Reading, our high-quality ELA solutions help teachers bring evidence-based practices to life in the classroom.
This site includes information for your review, including digital access to teacher and student materials and additional review resources. Click below to get started.
Looking to speak directly with your Amplify representative? Please contact…
Bob McCarty
Senior Account Executive
435-655-1731
rmccarty@amplify.com
Amplify CKLA and Amplify ELA aren’t your traditional core programs. They’re different to make a difference — and the results are undeniable. Truly built on the Science of Reading, our high-quality ELA solutions help teachers bring evidence-based practices to life in the classroom.
This site includes everything you need for your review, including digital access to teacher and student materials and additional review resources.
Amplify ELA is the only ELA curriculum that takes the Science of Reading to the next level.
Truly designed for students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA engages and empowers learners, and addresses the very specific and unique needs of students in grades 6–8.
Scroll down to learn how ELA is uniquely designed to help all your middle schoolers make learning leaps in literacy.
Developed specifically for the needs of students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA is a blended curriculum that promises:
In Amplify ELA, all students read the same text with the help of differentiated supports. In other words, we don’t dumb things down; we bring students up. Our robust collection of diverse texts and research-based approach to instruction not only engage students, but build confidence.
With Amplify ELA’s integrated and designated ELD support, English language learners are given a chance to shine.
Embedded supports enable students to engage with and participate in discussion of grade-level texts with their grade-level peers.
Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.
First, watch the quick navigation video to the right. Then login using the directions below.
Welcome to the Amplify ELA review site for Arizona. This site is designed to help you learn about Amplify ELA—a core English Language Arts curriculum for Grades 6–8. Here are a few important documents so you can rest assured that Amplify ELA is aligned to Arizona’s English Language Arts standards.
Amplify ELA is a core program for grades 6–8 that delivers:
Interested in learning more about the research behind the program?
Click the link to access the Amplify ELA Research Hub.
Amplify ELA provides everything you need to deliver a full year’s worth of high-quality instruction.
Looking for a more flexible version of the curriculum? Check out our abridged lesson pathways ensure full coverage of the standards in just 100 days.
Each grade level of Amplify ELA consists of six multimedia units. Four or five of the units are focused on complex literary texts and one or two are collections based on primary source documents and research. Each grade also provides two or three immersive learning experiences called Quests, a dedicated story writing unit, and a poetry unit.
Download the unit overviews below to learn more.
Watching students mature into adolescents: inspiring. Knowing how to engage and motivate their changing brains: science.
The middle-school years are marked by a period of tremendous growth and change for students—physically, emotionally, and socially. Amplify ELA understands and embraces these changes, and delivers instruction specifically designed to tap into adolescents’ natural inclinations toward collaboration, exploration, and autonomy.
Amplify believes all students are capable of reading grade-level text together.
Amplify ELA ensures all students have access to the same text. With six distinct levels of differentiation, your student is supported or challenged in a way that meets their unique needs. This includes ELLs at the Developing, Expanding, and Bridging levels, as well as students needing substantial support or an extra challenge.
In Amplify ELA, all units include a robust system of embedded assessment that provides teachers with actionable student performance data long before end-of-unit or benchmark exams. The Embedded Assessment Measure (EAM) reports allow teachers to easily track and interpret student performance without ever interrupting the flow of daily instruction to test students.
Clear and actionable student performance data
With intelligent feedback tools and embedded assessments, Amplify ELA makes it easy to monitor student progress and intervene where needed—no matter where teaching and learning is taking place.
Automated Writing Assessment
Amplify’s Automated Writing Evaluation assesses student writing for Focus, Use of Evidence, and Conventions, providing critical feedback for teachers and data for Amplify’s writing reports.
Reporting
Amplify ELA Reporting provides teachers with clear data to understand patterns of student performance and deliver scaffolds and supports as students need them.
Click this link for more information on assessments in Amplify ELA.
Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.
To access the teacher digital platform, first watch the quick navigation video to the right. Then login using the directions below.
To access the student digital platform, follow the login directions below.
Amplify ELA is the only ELA curriculum that takes the Science of Reading to the next level.
Truly designed for students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA engages and empowers learners, and addresses the very specific and unique needs of students in grades 6–8.
Scroll down to learn how ELA is uniquely designed to help all your Idaho middle schoolers make learning leaps in literacy.
Developed specifically for the needs of students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA is a blended curriculum that promises:
In Amplify ELA, all students read the same text with the help of differentiated supports. In other words, we don’t dumb things down; we bring students up. Our robust collection of diverse texts and research-based approach to instruction not only engage students, but build confidence.
With Amplify ELA’s integrated and designated ELD support, English language learners are given a chance to shine.
Embedded supports enable students to engage with and participate in discussion of grade-level texts with their grade-level peers.
Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.
First, watch the quick navigation video to the right. Then login using the directions below.
To access the student digital platform, follow the login directions below.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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.
LITERACY CHAMPIONS
Making the shift to the Science of Reading is no small feat. Every day, educators like you are successfully improving student outcomes in their schools and communities, and we’re eager to celebrate your accomplishments with the Science of Reading Star Awards.
Imagine the spark in a child’s eye when letters and words on a page come alive. Learning to read is nothing short of a transformation—and at the heart of this transformation are literacy educators harnessing the Science of Reading to ignite lifelong learning.
Science of Reading Star Award winners shine bright, going above and beyond to light the path for students nationwide. Be part of this celebration—help us recognize these heroes!
“This award is a testament to the collaborative efforts of our dedicated teachers, supportive staff, and engaged parents who have all played a crucial role in creating an environment where our students can thrive. It also reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and our belief in the transformative power of education.”
For the district that exemplifies strong Science of Reading practices across the board
For the school that has seen significant reading gains among their students school-wide when using the Science of Reading
For showcasing exemplary Science of Reading routines and practices, and serving as an inspiration to others on the journey
For outstanding success in developing the skills and strengths of multilingual/English learners.
For showing the world that the Science of Reading empowers students with knowledge, context, and vocabulary from elementary through middle school
For implementing a data-driven Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework that creates a thriving and robust literacy ecosystem
For a teacher in their first year of teaching, already making strides with the Science of Reading
For skilled weaving of literacy practices across subject areas in the classroom
For integrating writing instruction with the Science of Reading, cultivating articulate and confident writers through innovative and effective practices
“My Star Award has become a hallmark of the hard work I have done in my district to support our push in the Science of Reading.”
Every child is capable of becoming a skilled reader. Every classroom can provide that opportunity and drive student success, through a content-rich literacy curriculum.
We’ll show you how.
The Science of Reading shows that early literacy skills are best built deliberately, on a foundation of knowledge. Knowledge building is not a result of reading and language comprehension; it’s a vital prerequisite and a fundamental part of the process. When students read a text on a familiar topic–event a tough one–they’re more likely to comprehend it. In other words: The more you know, the more, and faster, you learn.
Background knowledge—coupled with comprehension strategies—fuels students’ capacity to understand texts, answer questions, and grapple with ideas.
Students bring different bodies of knowledge into school. Some are whizzes at baseball or mechanics; some visit museums, have tons of books at home, and know the word “yacht.” That means their comprehension of a given topic or text will correlate with what they already know. But what happens when they learn the same content together? A recent independent study showed that a knowledge-building literacy curriculum in elementary school raised test scores and helped eliminate income-based opportunity gaps.
It is our responsibility as educators to bring the world into the classroom for all students and help them grow their literacy skills.
Literacy instruction has typically focused on decontextualized skills—finding the main idea, making inferences—before, or instead of, the content of texts and resources that students engage with. Many teachers may have been trained to “put the skills and strategies in the foreground, like a skill of the week, then bring in texts that they find suited for demonstrating the skill or strategy,” says Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap. But science shows that harnessing skills and strategies to content is actually more effective. That is, using a coherent and systematic progression of content that helps knowledge and skills build on each other has been shown to result in better student outcomes.
“The advantage of a coherent curriculum is that the topics it covers can build on one another, with one unit providing a foundation of knowledge for others that come later, both throughout a single school year and across grade levels,” according to Barbara Davidson and David Liben. Along the way, students also cultivate curiosity and confidence, accelerating the entire process. So the more you know, the faster you learn—and that lasts a lifetime.
Effective literacy instruction must celebrate the experiences students have but not assume each student has specific pieces of prior knowledge. Rather, it must build knowledge in the classroom. Students (and teachers) need curricula that expose them to a diverse array of new topics—spanning history, science, literature, culture, and the arts—in an intentional sequence that builds a rich and common knowledge base from which all students can draw.
Want to get started now? We’ve got an ebook to help you out.
Ignite literacy transformation with Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Learning Lab—an inspiring three-course series.
Crafted to the standards of the International Dyslexia Association, this self-paced online series provides unparalleled, research-backed instruction. Explore enriching activities, curated resources, and learn from Susan Lambert, chief academic officer and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast.
Learn more about the online courses or request a quote!
Tap into individual online course seats.
Before: Teachers “activate” students’ prior knowledge before reading.
After: Teachers build students’ knowledge explicitly for students to leverage later as background knowledge.
Before: Teachers focus instruction on comprehension strategies (e.g., “strategy of the day” instruction).
After: Teachers focus on content and use comprehension strategies to help students gain knowledge of that content.
Before: Students learn about content-area topics individually in disconnected units of instruction.
After: Students learn topics through a coherent approach that builds knowledge within and across units of instruction.
See the remarkable difference shifting to a knowledge-building approach can make in your school. Our enlightening flyer guides you through a before-and-after journey, illustrating the profound impact of knowledge building on learning. Check it out!
The program should immerse students in a given domain for weeks—that’s how they acquire academic knowledge. The content should also develop from grade to grade, so that students learning about Renaissance art can reflect on and compare to what they previously learned about art in the Middle Ages.
In early grades, students’ listening comprehension outpaces their reading comprehension. Interactive read-alouds can be used to expose students to academic language and rich vocabulary. With background knowledge, vocabulary words are “the main support beams in the comprehension house.” This approach also helps teachers introduce students to new information and experiences—in a supportive and interactive environment.
A content-rich curriculum exposes students to broad knowledge over time in a systematic, cumulative way, which is more effective than spending several months on just one topic. And while that’s happening, students are participating in enriching discussions and writing activities so they can further interact with the content, promoting deeper engagement and supporting retention of both the knowledge and associated vocabulary.
Knowledge building is just one component of literacy development. A content-rich curriculum that helps students build both knowledge (language comprehension) and skills (word recognition) takes into account both sides of the Reading Rope, giving students everything they need to build the foundation for a lifetime of literacy success. Instead of learning to read so they can read to learn, students who use a content-rich curriculum learn to read and learn about the world at the same time, enabling them to understand what they’re reading.
You may now download them using the links below.
mCLASS® Intervention is a staff-led reading intervention that does the heavy lifting of data analysis and lesson sequencing, freeing up teachers to teach the reading skills each student needs.
K–2 students in mCLASS® Intervention grew by up to 8 student growth percentile points more in early literacy skills than similar peers not enrolled in mCLASS Intervention, according to a study by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
K–2 students in mCLASS® Intervention grew by up to 8 student growth percentile points more in early literacy skills.
Getting students caught up on reading skills requires more than just “extra help” in small groups. It requires teaching that directly targets the specific skills each group needs to learn next. How does mCLASS Intervention help? It does the heavy lifting of data analysis and lesson generation.
mCLASS® Intervention follows a research-based skills progression and uses software to analyze results, form small groups, build engaging lessons for each group, and update skill profiles and groups every 10 days.
Every 10 days, educators progress-monitor students on the skills they’re working to build. mCLASS Intervention analyzes these results, updates students’ placement on the learning progression, and identifies what they should focus on next.
Once each student’s profile is updated, mCLASS® Intervention analyzes the results of other students and arranges students by skill into small groups of 4–6.
Once groups are formed, mCLASS® Intervention determines the ideal focus for each group and automatically prepares two weeks of targeted lessons. See a sample here.
Staff then deliver the lessons to the small group of students—either with the interventionist coming into the room or the students going to a different room.
mCLASS Intervention covers the five big ideas of reading: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The program comes with a mix of print and digital components to help you serve students.
mCLASS Intervention provides a bank of more than 4,000 research-backed activities, including multisensory activities that use auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic techniques.
The lesson builder automatically assembles activities into detailed lessons that target the skills each group is ready to learn.
mCLASS Intervention provides both print kit materials and a digital card app to help you streamline lesson preparation.
The practice app allows students to continue to improve their automaticity in decoding with engaging games.
Standardized diagnostic probes allow educators to closely monitor progress.
Analytical reporting allows educators to see each student’s progress throughout the year.
Embedded training modules and a pedagogical help desk get you started and maximize your students’ success.
Our literacy programs are designed to support and complement each other. Learn more about our related programs.
Profound science learning experiences have the power to transcend classroom walls—cultivating students’ curiosity, fostering critical thinking and creativity, building knowledge about the real world, and supporting students on their pathway to college and beyond. Unfortunately, science continues to fight for sufficient instructional time and resources.
The good news? Intentional shifts, combined with evidence-based practices and effective high-quality instructional materials, can help teachers make the most of the time they do have—transforming students into concerned global citizens ready to take on the world.
K–8 science instruction is the crucial foundation that prepares students for high school learning. Our change management playbook details manageable and realistic changes to your process and practice that will make your K–8 instruction even more powerful.
Access to high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) is a vital piece of the change management puzzle. Support the leaders who are on a mission to identify HQIM and set up the best possible conditions for implementation success.
Want to make every instructional moment count? Integrate science and literacy more deeply—and witness the transformation in student learning. Find out how with this resource pack.
Change is more likely to stick and get results when you take a systemic approach. Partner with us to do just that by developing a learning plan that will drive your program implementation, enrich your instructional practices, and increase student impact. Amplify’s high-quality programs make it easier for you to teach inspiring, impactful lessons that celebrate and develop the brilliance of your students.
Find free K–8 activities, posters, and guides to engage all students in science.
Access best practices and tips from science leaders through our on-demand Science Symposium.
Hear more strategies from educator Eric Cross and other experts in this podcast.
As a math teacher, you work every day to celebrate student brilliance, build deep conceptual understanding, and create the conditions for every student to be successful.
We’re here to help.
Grades 3+
Free
A teaching and learning platform offering a collection of free digital lessons and lesson building tools
Learn more at teacher.desmos.com
Grades 6–8, Algebra 1
Paid
A year-long, blended middle school math curriculum delivered through the Desmos Classroom platform
Learn more amplify.com/desmosmath
Grades K–Algebra 2
Paid
Coming Soon: A new core PreK–12 program from Amplify and Desmos Classroom
Amplify Desmos Math taps into students’ natural curiosity from the start of every lesson. When students are presented with age-appropriate, interactive, social learning experiences, spaces open up for creative thinking in which they can fully engage with interesting and important math ideas.
Every student feels connected and a part of the conversation when participating in an Amplify Desmos Math lesson. And when students are actively engaged with the content, they achieve more.
The program delivers what math educators want and need, including:
The program delivers what school and district leaders want and need, including:
We’ve taken the power of Desmos’ technology and lessons and added beautiful, easy-to-use print and digital components to make a game-changing program that makes teaching a breeze.
Digital lessons should be powerful in their ability to surface student thinking and spark interesting and productive discussions. Sign up to learn more about how Amplify Desmos Math and Desmos Classroom bring all students into the math conversation.
Amplify presents the Math Teacher Lounge, a podcast with hosts Bethany Lockhart Johnson and Dan Meyer.
We’re proud to announce we recently submitted our core math program, Amplify Desmos Math Texas K-5, for the state IMRA review! It will be ready for implementation in Texas schools for the 2026-27 school year. In the meantime, explore some of our free Desmos Classroom activities to get a feel for what’s to come in the core program!
But you don’t have to wait to start implementing our Texas math suite! mCLASS Math Texas K-5, our robust math screener and Boost Math K-5, our new personalized instruction and intervention program, are ready to purchase now and implement in the 2025-26 school year!
Click below to learn more.
Picture a classroom where students are so eagerly engaged in a lesson, they wish it wouldn’t end. The room is buzzing with the sounds of natural curiosity. This is what an Amplify Desmos Math Texas classroom looks and sounds like. This is math that motivates.
Amplify Desmos Math Texas combines and connects conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Lessons are designed with the Proficiency Progression™, a model that provides teachers with clear instructional moves to build from students’ prior knowledge to grade-level learning.
Amplify Desmos Math Texas combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.
Data informs instruction. Comprehensive student profiles provide full data on students’ assets and skills, empowering teachers to provide just-in-time scaffolds throughout core instruction and targeted intervention when needed.
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.
A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math Texas provides evidence of student learning, while helping students bolster their skills. With explicit guidance on what to look for and how to respond, teachers can effectively support students as they develop their understanding.
Integrated mCLASS® Assessments go beyond accuracy to reveal students’ math thinking through an asset-based approach. This data provides better insights about what students know, what math assets to leverage, and where students need support.
Teachers and administrators have visibility into what students know about grade-level math with a variety of data reports. By evaluating not only what students know about grade-level math but also providing insight into how they think, teachers can confidently plan whole-class instruction and targeted intervention.
Amplify Desmos Math Texas provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks.
Teachers are provided with clear student actions to look for, matched with immediately usable suggestions for how to respond to student thinking. Each lesson also includes recommendations for resources to use with students to support, strengthen, and stretch their understanding of the lesson goal.
Boost Personalized Learning™ activities in Amplify Desmos Math Texas target a skill or concept aligned to the day’s core lesson, with each student receiving personalized scaffolds based on what they already know. Activities adapt to each student’s unique needs.
Amplify Desmos Math Texas Mini-Lessons are aligned to the most critical topics throughout a unit and provide targeted intervention for small groups of students who need additional support or need more time.
Middle school students are learning to immerse themselves in text—and learning to articulate what resonates and matters to them in what they read. Boost Close Reading is an immersive supplemental reading program that engages students through an interactive graphic novel. With high-interest storytelling and guided instruction, the program motivates middle schoolers to question what they read, think critically, and build the close reading skills that will ensure success in high school and beyond.
Each student’s journey through this action-packed world depends on their ability to read literary and informational texts critically. Boost Close Reading develops a deep understanding of essential middle school skills—such as identifying the parts of a valid argument—that will prepare them for success in high school and in the broader world.
Every chapter provides integrated instruction, guided close reading, and a creative application. You set the difficulty level for each student. Assign English Learners and struggling readers to the Extra Support path. When they’re ready, switch them back to the Core Path.
The Science of Reading is complex, so your understanding of it should be, too. That’s why our resource pages break it all down for you, from word recognition and comprehension to dyslexia and Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports. Equip yourself with the knowledge you need to make the greatest difference to your students!
Learn the ins and outs of the Science of Reading—what it means, and why its principles matter.
Listen to the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading.
Achieve next-level literacy growth with a cohesive Science of Reading suite.
We’ve helped thousands of Science of Reading champions make the shift, and they’re eager to share the secrets of their long-term success with fellow educators like you.
Get on-demand professional development to build and refine your toolkit of Science of Reading resources and instructional practices.
Nominate a literacy changemaker for our prestigious Science of Reading Star Awards!
Fortify your Science of Reading implementation using essential data and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
Educational change doesn’t happen overnight, or by itself. We’ll walk you through the process to help you make literacy success a lasting reality in your classroom.
Learn the ins and outs of the Science of Reading—what it means, and why its principles matter.
Discover how assessment and instruction grounded in the Science of Reading helps identify children at risk of developing dyslexia at the earliest possible moments, creating the widest opportunity for intervention.
Learn everything you need to know about Science of Reading instruction with Amplify’s Chief Academic Officer and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast Susan Lambert.
Are you a Amplify Classroom super user or a math teacher who loves incorporating technology to improve the teaching and learning process? If so, consider applying to join the next Desmos Classroom Fellows cohort!
Applications will open Winter 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at desmoseducators@amplify.com.
Applications will open Winter 2025. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at desmoseducators@amplify.com.
The reality is…writing is hard. It’s hard to learn, it’s hard to teach, it’s hard to do.
Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap and The Writing Revolution, says, “Writing is the hardest thing we ask students to do.” Fortunately, we have decades of research that shows us how best to teach and learn how to write, known as the Science of Writing. As an educator your job is to make this hard task easier and more fulfilling for students. And our job is to help you.
Without writing, there would be no need for reading, and of course, writing is a part of literacy.
Through writing, students can express their ideas, connect with others, and deepen and communicate their understanding of what they are reading and thinking.
Having strong writing skills ensures students can engage fully in all settings, share their opinions and information, tell stories, and have a voice.
Learning to write (and read) isn’t natural but it can be taught—and research shows us how. Like the Science of Reading, the Science of Writing is the collection of research and evidence-based practices that explains how writing develops along with the teaching strategies that help students develop into skilled writers.
Writing proficiency involves mastering the use of a complex set of skills that must be taught explicitly, again just like reading proficiency. The Simple View of Writing breaks down these processes into transcription and composition, and provides us with a framework for guiding instruction.
Reading and writing reinforce and support each other. When reading, students are exposed to vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. And when writing, students can get more practice to improve the fluency and efficiency of their handwriting, and apply their knowledge of spelling and their understanding of vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.
Readers use comprehension skills such as summarizing, predicting, and making inferences to help them create meaning as they read. Writers use those same skills to develop a piece of writing that is clear and concise for the reader.
Oral language is the foundation for literacy, and its development begins in infancy. As their oral language develops, children learn how to string words into phrases and sentences, which progresses into telling stories and answering questions in detail. And as they listen to stories, children develop vocabulary and understanding of syntax and grammar. All of these build a foundation for writing.
Explore helpful resources to learn more about the Science of Writing, and the importance of implementing evidence-based instructional practices into your classroom, school, and district.
Help shape Amplify products.
Educators and students are at the center of what we do. That’s why we test our products with real users, visit classrooms across the country, and gather ideas and feedback from educators like you! This is how we ensure that we’re developing new products that meet your needs, as well as continuously improving our existing products to better support your classrooms.
That’s where our User Research Community comes in. This is a group of valued educators we look to for their expertise! They regularly participate in research and feedback opportunities and share their insights with our Product teams.
We hope you’ll consider joining Amplify’s User Research Community. When we have a study that’s a good fit for you, our team will reach out with details and next steps.
Help influence and improve Amplify products by sharing your feedback and ideas
Learn about new products and features that Amplify teams are working on
Share your thoughts and feedback directly with Amplify product development teams
Receive incentives as a thank you for your time
When you sign up to join the Amplify User Research Community, we’ll ask you some questions that will help us match you with research studies. When an opportunity sounds like a good fit, we’ll send you an email and share the details up front, such as study topic, research format, time commitment, and compensation. Then, you can decide if you’d like to participate.
We’re looking for all types of educators to join our User Research Community: new Amplify users, power users, and everyone in between. We’re also looking for people who don’t use our products. If you work in a school setting or support schools, we want to hear from you. Here are some of the people we’d love to connect with:
We have a separate research program for K–12 students. Learn more about our Playtesting program below.
Amplify runs a variety of research studies, and we’ll include the details of the study in our email. When you participate in one of our studies, you might be invited to:
The information you provide will only be used to match you with suitable research studies and won’t be shared or sold to external parties. All data is stored on a secure server. See our Privacy Policy for more detail.
Amplify’s goal is to design welcoming product experiences. To do this well, it’s important for us to get feedback from everyone. We collect demographic information to help ensure that study participants represent the educators, students, and school environments we serve. All questions are optional and your information is kept confidential in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
You can opt out at any time by clicking unsubscribe in any of our research emails.
We typically offer e-gift cards as a way of saying thank you to those who participate in our research studies. We’ll include the exact details of the thank-you gift in the email invitation for the session. If your session is eligible for a thank-you gift card, you should receive it within five business days after completing your session. Please note that not all study participants will receive a thank-you gift.
A fun and empowering experience for kids
Students in our Playtesting Program provide feedback on new Amplify games and features as they’re being developed. Our researchers work one-on-one with students for 30 minutes at a time, inviting them to interact with new games and designs and gathering their feedback. We then integrate that feedback directly into our product development. It’s a chance for students to share their thoughts and ideas and have a real impact on the programs we’re building.
Who can participate?
Any students in kindergarten through grade 12 this school year can be part of our playtesting program, with parental permission.
What are the perks?
Aside from a fun time and a sneak peek at what’s in development, all students receive a $20 Amazon gift card for participating in a playtesting session.
When, where, and how do kids participate?
When playtesting needs arise, our User Research team will reach out to parents/caregivers to schedule a Google Meet session at a time that’s convenient for you and your child.
How can I sign my child up?
To enroll your student, please fill out this consent form. Your child will then be added to our playtesting program database. When a playtesting opportunity arises that we think would be a good fit, we’ll reach out!
Save the date
Get ready for an unforgettable New Fellows Orientation event in Dallas, Texas! Come join a community of math enthusiasts (yes, that’s you!) and immerse yourself in an exciting journey of professional learning, jam-packed with enriching collaboration, thoughtful mentorship, new friends, and a whole lot more.
This interactive retreat for new Desmos Classroom Fellows will be held at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel July 15–17.
During the New Fellows Orientation, you will:
Logistics:
Please plan to arrive for the meeting by noon on Tuesday, July 15.
Participants will be provided lunch and dinner on July 15 and all meals on July 16. Attendees may depart on Thursday, July 17.
Lodging costs for July 15 and July 16 at the on-site hotel will be covered by Amplify. Travel costs are the responsibility of each attendee.
Amplify ELA is built specifically for the needs of middle school teachers and students. This blended curriculum is designed to help teachers implement the Indiana Academic Standards for ELA by delivering a structured yet flexible instructional approach grounded in the Science of Reading.
Looking for core instruction for Grades K–5? Click here.
After watching the Amplify ELA 6–8 video to the left, scroll down to learn even more, download resources, and access a demo.
Amplify ELA is a core program for Grades 6–8 that delivers:
Amplify ELA lessons follow a structure that’s grounded in regular routines, yet flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences. You can find more information in our ELA Program Guide.
Amplify ELA provides everything you need to deliver a full year’s worth of instruction.
Each grade level of Amplify ELA consists of six multimedia units. Four or five of the units are focused on complex literary texts and one or two are collections based on primary source documents and research. Each grade also provides a dedicated story-writing unit, a poetry unit, and two or three immersive learning experiences called Quests.
Download the Unit Overview and explore a model lesson below to learn more.
Watching students mature into adolescents? Inspiring. Knowing how to engage and motivate their changing brains? Science.
The middle school years are marked by a period of tremendous growth and change—physically, emotionally, and socially. Amplify ELA understands and embraces these changes, and delivers instruction specifically designed to tap into adolescents’ natural inclinations toward collaboration, exploration, and autonomy.
We believe all students are capable of reading grade-level text together.
Amplify ELA ensures all students have access to the same text. With six distinct levels of differentiation, every student is supported or challenged in a way that meets their unique needs. This includes English learners at the Developing, Expanding, and Bridging levels, as well as students needing substantial support or an extra challenge.
Amplify ELA not only includes captivating content, but also provides clear and actionable measurement data about student performance.
Our embedded formative and summative assessment tools maximize teaching time, while allowing teachers to make confident, data-driven decisions about the instruction and support students need to grow continually as readers and writers.
Ready to explore as a teacher? Follow these instructions:
Ready to explore as a student? Follow these instructions:
Support is always available. Our team is dedicated to helping you every step of the way. Contact your dedicated Indiana representative here for program access, samples, and additional information.
Elizabeth Sillies Callahan
Southern IN
(513) 407-5801
Janet Barry
West/Northwest IN
(630) 777-6923
John Lash
East/Northeast IN
(260) 318-5729
Paige Lawrence
District enrollment below 1200
(980) 421-2608
This upcoming back-to-school season is sure to be anything but normal. It will be critical to use the summer months to tend to unfinished learning and prepare students for the math to come.
Amplify is offering free complete middle school and Algebra 1 units that support a number of typical summer school or bridge programs. The lessons are based on the highly rated Illustrative Mathematics program and designed to make problem-based instruction easier for teachers and more exciting for students.
Find a complete list of lessons available here.
We’re offering free, asynchronous professional learning resources to help your teachers quickly get up to speed with the Amplify Desmos Math lessons. These resources include:
Printable Google Docs
Including Teacher Edition pages, Student Edition pages, and practice
Digital lessons powered by Desmos
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% 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.
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:
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.
If students need help reaching grade-level standards, focus on providing the right scaffolding rather than lowering expectations.
By using these strategies, teachers can keep students engaged in grade-level work while addressing skill gaps in a way that fosters real growth.
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:
With these strategies, students receive the help they need without missing out on the rich, challenging materials that promote deeper learning.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
By embracing these changes, educators can help students make meaningful connections across disciplines, setting them up for success in real-world challenges.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Based on over 30 years of research, mCLASS® is the universal K–6 assessment and intervention suite for early literacy that helps every child learn to read confidently.
mCLASS, powered by DIBELS® 8th Edition, offers teacher-administered literacy assessments and intervention for grades K–6.
When you use mCLASS, you can be assured your students are getting the best the Science of Reading has to offer. Our assessments have been built on decades of research in curriculum-based measurement science, delivering a proven approach that screens for at-risk students and provides deep insight into individual students’ reading development.
We partner with experts at the University of Oregon’s Center on Teaching and Learning, a recognized leader in early literacy assessment.
The University of Oregon are the creators of DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and mCLASS is the only licensed digital provider of the research-based DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. See more of our research.
The comprehensive mCLASS system includes efficient DIBELS 8th Edition’s one-minute measures, a built-in dyslexia screener, intervention, and robust reports for teachers and administrators. It’s all you’ll need to monitor and support every student in your classroom.
As the only digital provider of DIBELS 8th Edition’s one-minute measures, mCLASS eliminates the manual assessment process— saving you hours of time and giving you instant results and clear next steps for each student. Learn more about mCLASS’S efficient measures.
Early intervention is critical. mCLASS offers universal and dyslexia screening in a single powerful tool—no additional assessment system required. Your most vulnerable readers are identified at the earliest levels. Learn more about mCLASS’s dyslexia screening.
mCLASS connects with Boost Reading (formerly known as Amplify Reading), a K–5 student-driven literacy program that provides both remediation and enrichment for all students, leveraging the power of compelling storytelling to engage students in personalized reading instruction and practice. Learn more about Boost Reading.
mCLASS lets you know exactly which aspect of a skill a student is struggling with, and then gives you effective lesson plans for each student powered by reliable universal screening based on one-minute measures. Learn more about mCLASS reporting.
We’re making an impact
2,000,000
students
120,000+
teachers
1,200+
districts
6,000+
schools
mCLASS provides benchmark and progress-monitoring assessments for grades K–6. Its ecosystem of elementary reading resources works to target skill gaps and provide the right instruction at the right time.
mCLASS is powered by DIBELS 8th Edition, enabling you to automate scoring and receive instant targeted instructional recommendations. DIBELS 8th Edition measures:
mCLASS’s teacher-administered assessment provides you with valid and reliable data that allows you to make informed decisions on instruction. Our assessments follow a one-on-one observational model.
mCLASS provides benchmark assessments, ongoing progress monitoring, and voice recognition technology to comprehensively support each student’s literacy development.
mCLASS gives educators detailed insight into your students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills. It provides a wealth of valuable reporting information for everyone—from classroom teachers and literacy specialists to principals and district leaders and parents and guardians at home.
Included at no additional cost, mCLASS’s DIBELS 8th Edition measures are validated to provide information about dyslexia risk. mCLASS also offers supplemental measures to screen for risk related to dyslexia.
mCLASS provides targeted instruction in all the critical foundational reading skills by automatically analyzing data to place students in skill-based groups with targeted activities.
mCLASS connects to mCLASS Intervention, a proven companion intervention program that provides the analytical tools and resources educators need to make targeted, staff-led intervention a daily reality throughout the school year.
Our programs are designed to support and complement one another. Learn more about our related programs.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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!
Welcome to the Amplify ELA community review site for Iowa. This site is designed to help you learn about Amplify ELA—a core English Language Arts curriculum for Grades 6-8.
Amplify ELA is a blended curriculum designed to help teachers implement the Iowa Core Literacy Standards by delivering a structured, yet flexible instructional approach grounded in the Science of Reading.
Amplify ELA is a core program for grades 6–8 that delivers:
Amplify ELA lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines, but that is flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences for your student. To see the structure of the program at each grade level, please click below.
Amplify ELA provides everything teachers need to deliver a full year’s worth of standards-based instruction.
Each grade level of Amplify ELA consists of six multimedia units. Four or five of the units are focused on complex literary texts and one or two are collections based on primary source documents and research. Each grade also provides two or three immersive learning experiences called Quests, a dedicated story writing unit, and a poetry unit.
Download the unit overviews below to learn more.
Watching students mature into adolescents: inspiring. Knowing how to engage and motivate their changing brains: science.
The middle school years are marked by a period of tremendous growth and change for students – physically, emotionally, and socially. Amplify ELA understands and embraces these changes, and delivers instruction specifically designed to tap into adolescents’ natural inclinations toward collaboration, exploration, and autonomy.
Amplify believes all students are capable of reading grade level text together.
Amplify ELA ensures all students have access to the same text. With six distinct levels of differentiation, your student is supported or challenged in a way that meets their unique needs. This includes ELLs at the Developing, Expanding, and Bridging levels as well as students needing substantial support or an extra challenge.
Amplify ELA is the only ELA curriculum that takes the Science of Reading to the next level.
Truly designed for students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA engages and empowers learners, and addresses the very specific and unique needs of students in grades 6–8.
Rated all-green on EdReports, Amplify ELA earned perfect scores across all gateways.
Scroll down to learn how ELA is uniquely designed to help all your Denver middle schoolers make learning leaps in literacy.
Developed specifically for the needs of students entering the middle grades, Amplify ELA is a blended curriculum that promises:
In Amplify ELA, all students read the same text with the help of differentiated supports. In other words, we don’t dumb things down; we bring students up. Our robust collection of diverse texts and research-based approach to instruction not only engage students, but build confidence.
With Amplify ELA’s integrated and designated ELD support, English language learners are given a chance to shine.
Embedded supports enable students to engage with and participate in discussion of grade-level texts with their grade-level peers.
Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.
First, watch the quick navigation video to the right. Then login using the directions below.
To access the student digital platform, follow the login directions below.
We’re excited to welcome you and your child to the mCLASS® Lectura Caregiver Hub for the new school year. We’ve assembled the following resources and guides to help you support your child and empower them to grow and learn new skills both in and beyond the classroom.
Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.
mCLASS Lectura is an authentic personalized Spanish instruction and assessment system built specifically for bilingual children learning to read. It highlights the reading skills your child already has, and it shares where they may need additional support.
mCLASS Lectura also provides teachers with instructional reading activities for each student based on their assessment score, giving targeted guidance on specific skills that may need additional support.
Home Connect
The mCLASS Home Connect® website houses reading practice resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill to support bilingual students learning to read in English. Our mCLASS caregiver letters in English and Spanish offer suggestions on how a family can best support their child.
Review digital safety
We recommend reviewing this Protecting Kids Online site by the Federal Trade Commission addressing digital safety.
Have a question about mCLASS Lectura?
Read our caregiver guide or visit our help center to search for articles with answers to your program questions.
For additional curriculum support, please contact your child’s teacher.
Since 2019, Science of Reading: The Podcast has delivered the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading. Hosted by Amplify’s Chief Academic Officer Susan Lambert, each episode welcomes a renowned leader in the education and literacy community, explores a timely topic related to the Science of Reading, and offers instructional advice to educators implementing evidence-based practices in their schools.
New to the podcast? Here are 10 popular episodes to acquaint yourself with the Science of Reading. Listen, enjoy, and subscribe — we have new episodes every other Wednesday!
Susan hosts Natalie Wexler for a deep dive into her latest book, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—And How to Fix It, and a discussion of the lack of equity in reading education among students, the benefits of knowledge-rich curriculum inside and beyond the classroom, why it’s important to build background knowledge while teaching foundational skills, and why professional development doesn’t seem to be making a difference and how it can be improved.
Susan sits down with Emily Hanford, education reporter and host of the Education Post podcast, to examine the big takeaways from her experience reporting on dyslexia and the patterns that emerged in her investigation; why reading instruction isn’t more aligned with the Science of Reading; and the evolution of whole language, balanced literacy, and phonics instruction.
Reading expert Tim Shanahan discusses his view on teaching reading, including an explanation of the four crucial things you need to teach reading, and what it means to really do a “close read” in literature.
Dive into the first episode of our Deconstructing the Rope series as Dr. Jane Oakhill, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Sussex, provides an overview of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. She also emphasizes the importance of inferencing in comprehension, why the Simple View of Reading is still relevant almost 40 years later, and how each element of the Rope comes together to deconstruct the complexity of reading.
Join Dr. Louisa Moats, President of Moats Associates Consulting, as she unwinds decoding, a strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In the third episode of our Deconstructing the Rope series, Louisa highlights the significance of decoding in the Science of Reading and discusses the value of becoming students of our own language. She also explains the reciprocal relationship between decoding and encoding and why both are essential to provide effective phonics instruction to children in the classroom.
Join Sonia Cabell, Assistant Professor of Education at Florida State University, as she shares findings from her research trials on content-rich literacy curricula and whether activating students’ background knowledge alongside explicit phonics instruction is more effective than traditional approaches. She also explains what constitutes “compelling evidence” in the Science of Reading and why students need to interact with both written and spoken language while learning to read.
Join Dr. Bruce McCandliss, Professor at the Graduate School of Education of Stanford University, as he unwinds sight recognition, a strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. In the fifth episode of our series, Bruce explains the role of sight and word recognition in the Science of Reading and highlights the importance of the rapid integration of print, speech, and meaning. He also encourages listeners to be cognizant of the ever-changing technological learning environment while nurturing young readers and writers.
Join Dr. LaTonya Goffney, Superintendent of Schools for Aldine Independent School District in Texas, as she recounts her two-year journey with her team of district educators to adopt a new early literacy curriculum. Hear how they successfully challenged the traditional adoption process, studied the science of teaching reading, analyzed student data and experiences, and developed a district-wide set of beliefs and expectations.
In this special episode, Dr. Maria Murray, President, and CEO of The Reading League analyze the intricacies of literacy instruction and shares common misconceptions that educators have about the Science of Reading. She also explains why the Science of Reading: A Defining Movement coalition was founded: the belief in a clear understanding of what the Science of Reading is and what it is not, in order to promote the proper use of instructional practices aligned with its findings.
Despite variations in terminology, many professionals still consider dyslexia to be synonymous with the term “reading difficulty.” But a growing interest in the subject and a resurgence of the term in literacy research is increasing awareness of dyslexia’s neurobiological origins.
With things changing fast, it can be difficult to stay up to date on the latest research and instructional practices surrounding dyslexia. In this blog post, we’re providing four amazing reading materials to improve your understanding and ability to support struggling readers.
Dyslexia is a critical topic in education these days — but what is it? This article from the Orton Gillingham Online Academy breaks down the International Dyslexia Association’s definition of dyslexia and what it means for students with this “hidden disability:”
“What is Dyslexia? Part 1” by Lorna Wooldridge
Students with dyslexia make up 15–20% of the school-age population, and are likely to be in every classroom. These fascinating statistics show just how present dyslexia is in the student population:
“Most Reading Difficulties Can Be Resolved or Diminished” by Carolyn Cowen
Dyslexic brains are wired differently, but intensive reading intervention can rewire them. Read about how science and technology are being used to understand what’s happening in a brain with dyslexia:
“How Science Is Rewiring the Dyslexic Brain” by Gabrielle Emanuel
We know more about dyslexia now than ever before?—?can you distinguish between fact and fiction? Uncover the truths and myths of dyslexia now:
