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RF.1.3.G: Recognize and Read Grade-Appropriate (First Grade) Irregularly Spelled Words

Skill

RF.1.3.G: Recognize and Read Grade-Appropriate (First Grade) Irregularly Spelled Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.G: Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

Description

Mastery: Student is able to read irregularly spelled words with automaticity.

Acquiring: Student is able to recognize some irregularly spelled words. Student may attempt to decode some irregularly spelled words.

Probes

T: Read the following words – show a list of High Frequency Words, such as Fry’s or Dolch word lists, presented in random order (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transitions

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: The Balanced Literacy Diet

Source: Make, Teach & Make

Considerations & Reminders

  • High Frequency Word Lists should be posted and visible for students to reference. While these words are to be memorized, the act of looking up at a chart/poster for quick reference allows the student to eventually be able to quickly find and recognize the words.
  • When introducing an irregular word (but not when building fluency), we ask students to sound out and say the word correctly. There are multiple reasons to ask students to sound out irregular words:
    • When students encounter an irregular word in connected text, they may initially attempt to sound it out. These exercises prepare them to read the word correctly.
    • We want to show students that, though some word parts may be irregular, other parts are often regular, so that students can decode those parts, giving them a clue to the full word.
    • If we sound out some words and not others, students may learn that sounding out should only be used intermittently. They may decide not to use it even when they should.
    • Even for irregular words, the process of connecting symbols to sounds helps students learn the word: “The knowledge of letter-sound relations provides the powerful mnemonic system that bonds the written forms of specific words to their pronunciation in memory.” (Ehri, 1995)
  • Teaching tips:
    • One way to accelerate learning of irregular words is to print out flashcards for each newly introduced word and make a set for your students to practice with at home.
    • If words are being introduced too slowly for your students, you can introduce a new irregular word every day. You should feel free to vary the pace, being careful to ensure that everyone is keeping up.
    • When you point to a word, wait before touching it and train students to respond only when you touch the word. That gives all students time to think of the answer, so that slower students don’t just copy faster students.
    • For each activity, keep a record of items a student had problems with. Review this activity log before the next activity so you pay special attention to those students.

Introducing Amplify Classroom

Screenshot of the Amplify Classroom Discover page displaying subject filters, grade levels, a search bar, and a list of educational activities with descriptions and tags to support family engagement.

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.

Interactive lessons that stick

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:

  • A grade 1 math activity called Leaping Lily Pads!, in which students help a purple frog hop toward a golden crown while making connections between subtracting 1 and subtracting 2—and practicing subtracting 2 and adding 2.
  • A grade 4 science activity called Food Chains, in which students create their own sequences of organisms, then line up those organisms to model how energy flows through an ecosystem, tracing that energy from start to finish.
  • Literacy practice that explores how the letter “y” sounds in words like myth.
  • Classic Desmos math challenges, like balancing raccoons on a seesaw against a 21-pound weight.
  • Hands-on Polypad manipulatives that let students experiment with tangrams, grids, and colorful geometric shapes.

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!”

What you can do with these free resources

Once you create a free teacher account, you can:

  • Teach more than 1,000 free interactive lessons across math, literacy, and science.
  • Customize any premade lesson or build your own with the drag-and-drop editor.
  • Monitor student thinking in real time with intuitive dashboards.
  • Share snapshots of student work—names optional—to prompt discussion and highlight ideas.
  • Control the pacing of lessons, pausing to dive deeper into a concept or syncing everyone to the same spot.

Here’s how it works in practice:

  1. Find a lesson. Browse by subject, grade level, or topic until you land on one that fits your plan for the day.
  2. Share it with your class. Assign the activity so students can join from their own devices.
  3. Teach and adapt in the moment. Use the dashboard to see student thinking in real time, highlight responses, and pace the lesson as you go.

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!”

More to explore

  • Explore Amplify Classroom, the free platform for grades K–12.
  • Learn how Amplify Classroom is supporting teachers across math, literacy, and science.
  • Find free professional learning resources for educators and free activities for students in our Problem-Based Learning Starter Pack.

Free professional learning to support your Science of Reading journey

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!

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Science of Reading: The Podcast Essentials episodes

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.

Comprehension episode
Comprehension podcast listening guide

Writing episode
Writing podcast listening guide

Listen now
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Explore the Science of Writing

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.

Download now
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A year’s professional learning from Science of Reading: The Podcast

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.

Download the presentation

Science of Reading professional development on your own schedule

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.

Explore the courses
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K–5 Core Knowledge Language Arts Program – K–5 Literacy Curriculum | Amplify

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Supporting multilingual learners—by supporting their families

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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.

Recognizing the communication gap: Common challenges with multilingual families

In my experience, three common barriers can stand in the way of strong family engagement and student success:

  • Cultural expectations around parent-teacher communication: In many cultures, school is considered the teacher’s domain. Reaching out may be seen as crossing a line—or simply not expected at all.
  • Logistical challenges: Unpredictable schedules may lead to missed messages, delayed responses, or inconsistent availability.
  • Language barriers: If a message isn’t in a language a caregiver understands, it’s unlikely they’ll respond—not because they don’t care, but because they can’t fully engage.

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.

Tools and strategies for better parent-teacher communication

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.

Setting the tone for strong family engagement

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.

What multilingual families really want to know

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.

How teachers can go the extra mile

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.

Additional resources

How differentiation drives success

A collage features a blue-toned figure holding a mask, silhouettes of people, butterflies, and abstract shapes against a colorful background—evoking scenes from an American classroom helping struggling readers learn by teaching phonemes.

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.

Using sentence starters and scaffolds to build success

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.

Facing academic struggles with patience and persistence

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.

Why it takes more than just an awesome teacher

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.

More to explore

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

An Aussie teaching American phonemes

A woman smiles in a portrait overlaid on an illustrated open book with a ladybug, web, and green landscape, reflecting an interactive teaching style; a speech bubble shows "/u/".

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.

“What if they get an Australian accent?”

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.

Learning together: Teaching phonemes and pronunciation

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.

Don’t dread it—use it!

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!

Why hands-on learning matters in science

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

Bringing science to life: Hands-on activities

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

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

Connecting literacy skills to science skills

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

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

Digital resources for students: Exploring science with Google Earth

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

Final thoughts: The power of engagement in science

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

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

Explore more

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

STEM Forum on Equity and Inclusion – Math

Once you submit this form, it will take a few days to generate and send your personalized certificate. That email will come directly from support@credential.net

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Welcome, New Mexico state reviewers!

Thank you for taking the time to review Amplify’s K–8 science programs for New Mexico. This site provides resources to aid in your review so you can experience all that our high-quality instructional materials have to offer.  Simply click a grade level band below to get started.

Amplify Science K–5 Amplify Science 6–8
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The one-stop solution for New Jersey’s literacy mandates

New Jersey now requires universal literacy screening and parent notifications. To meet these mandates, NJDOE’s Student Literacy Working Group fully recommends mCLASSⓇ DIBELSⓇ 8th Edition as the trusted solution to help schools.

Some of the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Education’s Senate Bill 2644 include: 

  • Mandatory screenings: Schools must conduct literacy screenings for all K–3 students at least twice annually to assess reading proficiency levels.
  • Parental notification: Within 30 days of the screening period’s end, schools are required to inform parents or guardians of the results, including comparisons to grade-level norms and available intervention supports.

mCLASS offers New Jersey all of the following, plus many more additional features to support students and teachers:

  • Universal screening
  • Dyslexia screening
  • Instant data analysis and reporting
  • Parental notification letter

Request a demo from your dedicated New Jersey team!

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What is mCLASS?

mCLASS, the only digital provider of DIBELS 8th edition assessments, provides universal screening, dyslexia screening, and progress monitoring to assess your students’ reading proficiency levels and determine what skills they need to develop.

You’ll observe students as they form sounds or read words and text. Then, mCLASS instantly scores and analyzes student response patterns to provide you with diagnostic data and instructional focus for each student and group.

With mCLASS, you’ll have everything you need to support every type of learner in your classroom, including advanced learners, multilingual learners, and students with signs of dyslexia.

Learn more about mCLASS.

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About the program

mCLASS offers teacher-administered assessment, intervention, and personalized instruction for grades K–6. Know exactly how to monitor and support every student in your classroom with features like:

  • Precise one-minute measures based on over three decades of predictive data.
  • Universal screening and dyslexia screening in one tool.
  • Instruction that highlights observed patterns and recommends activities.
  • Robust reports for teachers, specialists, administrators, and parents.

Learn more about mCLASS.

Support for your Spanish-speaking students.

By combining mCLASS Lectura and mCLASS® DIBELS 8th Edition, you’ll be able to understand where your Spanish-speaking students are in their English and Spanish literacy paths.

Learn more about mCLASS Lectura.

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NEW! mCLASS Math

Expect more from your assessments with mCLASS Math, a brand-new benchmarking and progress-monitoring assessment system.

Explore mCLASS® Math. 

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Looking for high-quality instructional materials for literacy?

Amplify CKLA 3rd edition is built on a decade of research focusing on background knowledge, foundational skills, and writing. Pair CKLA with mCLASS to align for a powerful early literacy suite.

Learn more about CKLA 3rd edition.

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Request a demo

If you’d like a demo, complete this form and your dedicated New Jersey team will be in touch.

Five years out from the pandemic, young readers have made much progress—but the pace has slowed.

The latest end-of-year data show improvement in early literacy across grades K–2. Overall, insights suggest:

  • More young learners are above benchmark, and fewer are behind.
  • Year over year improvements have slowed.
  • Outcomes vary for boys and girls.
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Explore Amplify’s end-of-year research brief.

Bar chart showing the percent of kindergarten students on track, with values 55, 38, 47, 52, 54, and 55. Highest and lowest percentages are 55% and 38%.

More young learners are above benchmark, fewer are behind.

68 percent of K–2 students are on track to learn to read. While progress was less dramatic than in recent years, students are more likely to end the year on track in the earliest grades (K–1).

Read More

Table showing change in scores for Kindergarten to Grade 2 from 2020–21 (-6 to -18 pts) and 2023–24 (-1 pt for all). Grades K–2 overall: -12 pts (2020–21), -1 pt (2023–24).

Year-over-year improvements have slowed, despite overall gains.

Despite overall gains, year-over-year improvements in reading readiness have slowed. Since the 2023–24 school year, the percentage of students on track has improved by only 1–2 points in each grade.

Read More

Bar chart showing percent of male and female students on track for learning to read in 2024–25; females score higher than males both at start (72% vs 68%) and end of year (71% vs 66%).

Gender disparities are complex, with varying outcomes for boys and girls.

Across grades K–2, boys score the same or better than girls in reading readiness at the beginning of the year. But girls show more improvement than boys during the school year, narrowing gaps by end-of-year.

Read More

Research briefs for the 2024–2025 school year

October 2024

BOY: Summer instructional loss highlights the importance of quality core instruction for the youngest grades.

Read the brief

February 2025

MOY: Early literacy gains offer hope for COVID recovery, though broader literacy challenges persist nationwide.

Read the brief

July 2025

EOY: Reading scores rise overall; gender disparities present a complex picture.

Read the brief

Read more research and case studies.

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.

A digital experience exclusively for Amplify CKLA 2nd Edition

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) 2nd Edition’s top-rated content is available with a digital experience that enhances instruction and saves time. With everything you need in one place, this platform makes it easier and more engaging to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work.

Information on this page relates to Amplify CKLA 2nd Edition. Access Amplify CKLA 3rd Edition here.

A teacher presenting a slide titled "introducing the read-aloud" for a lesson on "the aztec: the legend of the eagle and the serpent," featuring colorful graphics on a computer screen.

Simplify planning and instruction

With the digital experience, teachers have access to ready-to-use and customizable lesson presentation slides, complete with all the prompts from the print Teacher Guide embedded in the teacher view. As teachers deliver each lesson, students can engage with the content in one cohesive experience—through these CKLA resources: Activity Books, slides, digital components, videos, Student Readers, and more.

Get real-time insights into your students’ work

The innovative live review tool found in the digital experience enables you to keep an eye on all of your students as they work on drawing, recording audio, uploading and capturing images, and typing or writing in pre-placed textboxes in their Activity Pages. This dynamic tool provides countless classroom management benefits, enabling you to spot and correct common mistakes as they’re happening, praise your students for thoughtful work, and identify students who are not engaged in the task at hand. Simply put, it will give you those valuable “eyes in the back of your head” you’ve warned your students about!

Learning Management System integrations

The digital experience integrates with various LMSs, allowing you and your students to access Amplify CKLA with the software you’re already comfortable using.

Engage your students with one easy-to-use access point

In the Amplify CKLA student digital experience, your students have one intuitive access point to fully engage with classroom instruction. Through the Student Home, students can easily access digital lessons with slides, Activity Pages, ebooks, videos, and other interactives from one simple dashboard. Students can draw, record audio, upload and capture images, and type or write in pre-placed text boxes in their Activity Pages.

Prepare for Amplify professional development

When you grow, your students grow.  

Whether you are implementing Amplify programs for the first time or strengthening instructional practices, our goal is to support your professional growth and help all students succeed.

Feel prepared and ready to grow with us.

This site provides session preparation guidance, the agenda and objectives for all Prepare, Begin and Practice sessions. The Prepare sessions are denoted as such. The Begin and Practice sessions are listed by product type – core, assessment and supplemental. All state-specific training is found in its own section.

A four-step process diagram labeled Prepare, Begin, Practice, and Advance, each with icons and brief descriptions of stages for implementing an educational program.
Four people are sitting at a table; one is reading, two are discussing notes, and one is writing on paper.

Onsite session preparation

Do you have an upcoming onsite PD session? Do you need to know what your participants should bring to their session or what should be provided in the training space? Click ‘learn more’ below for detailed information on how to prepare for your onsite session.

Learn more

Amplify resource hub webinar library

Remote session preparation

Do you have an upcoming remote PD session? Do you need to know what your participants should have at their session or how to set up a remote session? Click ‘learn more’ below for detailed information on how to prepare for your remote session.

Learn more

Prepare session agendas

Launch

Build your Knowledge of Math Problem-Based Learning (90 min)

Deepen your Knowledge of Math Problem-Based Learning (3 hour) 

Launch

Build your Knowledge of Science of Reading (90 min)

Deepen your Knowledge of Science of Reading (3 hour)

Multiliterate learners

  • Build your knowledge of multiliterate learners (90 min)     K–5
  • Deepen your knowledge of multiliterate learners (3 hour)     K–5

Core: Launch and Strengthen session agendas

Select your program to preview a session agenda and any other session specific preparation steps for participants.

Launch

Initial training (6 hours)

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Program overview for leaders     K–5

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

  • Enhancing planning for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Writing    K–2    3–5
    • Note: teachers should bring a recent class set of student writing samples from the Amplify curriculum to this session. 

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement    K–5
  • Supporting all learners    K–5
  • Pacing    K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    PreK    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    PreK    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand program overview for teachers   K–2
  • Knowledge Strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Program overview for leaders    PreK–5

CKLA Writing Studio (3 hours)

  • Writing Studio companion training for teachers    K–5

CKLA Language Studio (3 hours)

  • Language Studio companion training for teachers    K–2    3–5

CKLA 2nd Edition to 3rd Edition Transition Training (1 hour)

  • Transition Training for Teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Skills Strand Transition Training for Teachers     K–2
  • Knowledge Strand Transition Training for Teachers     K–2

Grade 3 Skills (1 hour)

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

  • Enhancing planning for teachers    PreK    K–2    3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Maximizing impact: Data-informed remediation with the ARG    K–2
    • Note: teachers should bring a recent set of graded class data from an Amplify benchmark or end-of-unit assessment to this session.
  • Maximizing impact: Data-informed remediation with the ARG/DERG    3–5
  • Writing    K–2    3–5
    • Note: teachers should bring a recent class set of student writing samples from the Amplify curriculum to this session. 
  • Enhancing observations for leaders    K–5

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement    K–5
  • Supporting all learners    K–5
  • Pacing    K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers     K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Program overview for leaders     K–5

CKLA 2nd Edition to 3rd Edition Transition Training (1 hour)

  • Transition Training for Teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Skills Strand Transition Training for Teachers     K–2
  • Knowledge Strand Transition Training for Teachers     K–2

Grade 3 Skills (1 hour)

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills Strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge Strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for leaders    PreK–5

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

  • Enhancing planning for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Writing for teachers     K–2     3–5

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement    K–5
  • Supporting all learners     K–5
  • Pacing     K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers     6–8

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    6–8
  • Program overview for leaders    6–8

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

  • Enhancing planning for teachers    6–8
  • Enhancing practice for teachers    6–8
  • Writing: Improving through feedback    6–8
  • Supporting all learners    6–8
  • Data-informed instruction    6–8
  • Enhancing observations for leaders    6–8

Focus (1 hour)

  • Teaching with print and digital    6–8
  • Lesson planning    6–8
  • Pacing    6–8
  • Increasing student engagement    6–8
  • Grading and assessment    6–8

Launch

Initial training (6 hours)

Program Overview (3 hours) 

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)

Launch

Initial training (6 hours)

  • Initial training for teachers     K–5     6–A1

Program overview (3 hours) 

Transition training (1 hour) 

  • Desmos Math to Amplify Desmos Math transition training for teachers    6–A1

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

  • Enhancing planning for teachers     K–5     6–A1
  • Enhancing practice for teachers     K–5     6–A1

Focus (1 hour)

  • The Teacher Dashboard     6–A1
  • Teaching a digital lesson     K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–5    6–8

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    TK    K–5    6–8
  • Program overview for leaders    K–5    6–8

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)

  • Enhancing the digital experience    K–5
  • Planning with the Coherence Flowchart    K–8
  • Planning an Amplify Science lesson    K–8
  • Supporting diverse learners: exploring the resources    K–8
  • Supporting diverse learners: teacher modeling and student discourse    K–8
  • Supporting diverse learners: multimodal instruction    K–8
  • Analyzing student work    K–8
    • Note: teachers should bring a recent set of student work samples from an Amplify Science assessment to this session. 
  • Unit kit materials and prep    K–8
  • Grading with Amplify Science    K–8

Core: Coaching options

Select your program to view options for building a coaching session and coaching PLC or grade-level meeting topic menus.

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Assessment and intervention: Launch and Strengthen session agendas

Select your program to preview a session agenda and any other session specific preparation steps for participants.

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours)

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)  

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours)

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)  

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours)

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)  

Launch

Program overview (3 hours) 

Program overview (3 hours) 

Launch

Program overview + DIBELS 8th Edition Administration and scoring training (6 hours) 

Initial training + DIBELS 8th Edition Administration and scoring training (9 hours) 

Launch

Asset-based assessment training (3 hours)

Assessment and Intervention: Coaching options

Select your program to view options for building a coaching session agenda.

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Coaching session agenda options

Coaching session agenda options

Use this resource as a reference for building a coaching session agenda.

Coach PLC session topic menu

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Boost: Launch and Strengthen session agendas

Select your program to preview a session agenda and any other session specific preparation steps for participants.

Launch

Getting started (2 hours)  

Strengthen

Focus (1 hour)

Launch

Getting started (2 hours)

Launch

Getting started (2 hours)

Launch

Getting started (2 hours)

Launch

Getting started (2 hours) 

Strengthen

Focus (1 hour)  

Launch

Getting started (2 hours) 

Online course outlines

mCLASS

mCLASS Lectura

Boost Reading

  • Getting started for teachers: Online course   K–5     6–8

mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition

mCLASS Lectura

State-specific session agendas

Select your program to preview a session agenda and any other session specific preparation steps for participants.

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers       K–2    3–5    6–8
  • Skills strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours)

  • Program overview for teachers    K–2    3–5    6–8
  • Program overview for leaders    K–5    6–8
  • Skills strand program overview for teachers   K–2
  • Knowledge strand program overview for teachers    K–2

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

  • Enhancing planning for teachers                    K–2     3–5     6–8
  • Enhancing practice for teachers                      K–2     3–5    6–8
  • Writing     K–2     3–5    6–8
  • Enhancing observations for leaders                    K–5    6–8
  • Supporting all learners for 6–8 teachers              6–8
  • Data informed instruction    6–8

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement     K–5    6–8
  • Supporting all learners     K–5
  • Pacing     K–5    6–8
  • Teaching with print and digital    6–8
  • Lesson planning    6–8
  • Grading and assessment    6–8

Coach

K–5

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

6–8

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting.

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Skills strand program overview for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge strand program overview for teachers    K–2

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

  • Enhancing planning for teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Writing     K–2     3–5

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement     K–5
  • Supporting all learners     K–5
  • Pacing     K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Skills strand initial training for teachers    K–2
  • Knowledge strand initial training for teachers    K–2

Program overview (3 hours)

  • Program overview for leaders    K–5

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

  • Enhancing planning for teachers        K–2     3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers        K–2     3–5
  • Writing     K–2     3–5

Focus (1 hour)

  • Student engagement     K–5
  • Supporting all learners     K–5
  • Pacing     K–5

Coach

K–5

Use this resource as a menu of possible topics to choose from for a PLC or grade level meeting.

Note: this resource will only be needed if your coaching session agenda includes a PLC or grade level meeting. 

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5

Program overview (3 hours) 

  • Program overview for teachers    K–2    3–5
  • Program overview for leaders    K–5

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

  • Enhancing planning for teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Enhancing practice for teachers     K–2     3–5
  • Writing     K–2     3–5
  • Maximizing Impact: data-informed remediation with the ARG for teachers    K–2     3–5
  • Enhancing observations for leaders     K–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    K–2    3–5

Launch

Initial training (6 hours) 

  • Initial training for teachers    6–8

Program overview (3 hours)

  • Program overview for teachers    6–8
  • Program overview for leaders    6–8

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours) 

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

Focus (1 hour) 

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours) 

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

Focus (1 hour) 

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and reporting training (3 hours) 

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours) 

Focus (1 hour) 

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours) 

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Launch

Getting started (2 hours) 

  • Getting started for teachers    K–5    6–8
  • Getting started for leaders    K–5

Strengthen

Focus (1 hour)

  • Maximizing data for teachers     K–5     6–8

Launch

Administration and instruction essentials (6 hours)

Administration and scoring training (3 hours) 

Strengthen

Strengthen (3 hours)

Focus (1 hour)

Welcome to Amplify Desmos Math!

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Welcome, Washington County ELA Review Committee!

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.

Review PK–5 ELA Review 6–8 ELA
Three children sit at desks in a classroom, writing in notebooks. An orange badge reads "Built on the Science of Reading.

Amplify Desmos Math lab classes

Hello math rock star!

Be one of the first to get your hands on our latest and most exciting new ideas for Amplify Desmos Math K–5 by joining our spring lab classes.

Spring lab classes are perfect for educators who:

  • Love math
  • Are interested in innovative new ways of teaching and learning, using print or digital tools for instruction
  • Are excited about the opportunity to share feedback on early prototypes so you can have an impact on math education
  • Have flexibility in their instructional calendar to try new things with their students this April, May and June

Sign up for our spring lab classes.

A stage with two geometric characters performing on the left, and a chart with school enrollment data next to a woman and child on the right.

Flexible, social problem-solving experiences both online and off

Amplify Desmos Math makes productive discourse easier to facilitate and more accessible for students. The program provides teachers with easy-to-follow instructional supports that makes the program more effective and enjoyable for both you and your students.

A laptop displays geometric shapes in a teaching demo. Nearby, a separate document with text and diagrams is visible.
A woman sits at a desk in a classroom, working on a laptop with an open binder and papers in front of her.

Signs you might be an amazing lab class teacher:

  • You love math.
  • You know young people are capable of just about anything.
  • You understand that giving candid feedback can help the next generation of students redefine what amazing looks like.
  • We are looking for a diverse set of classrooms and districts, with a variety of technology used (remote, hybrid, 1:1, blended—you name it!) and demographics (urban, suburban, rural).

Lab class teachers will receive:

  • Teacher and student prototype materials
  • Training with an Amplify Desmos Math expert
  • Compensation for your time

Amplify will collect feedback in a number of ways:

  • Quick surveys
  • Virtual interviews

Amplify may ask to visit your classroom if possible.

Want to learn more about how you could get involved with lab classes spring 2023? Sign up here.

Welcome to your Amplify Science pilot!

We’re thrilled to welcome you to the Amplify family, and we look forward to making your experience with Amplify Science successful from day one.

On this site, you’ll find resources, tips, videos, and other helpful information designed to support you throughout your pilot experience.

A woman sitting at a desk in a classroom, using a laptop and reviewing a spiral notebook with papers scattered around.

Tips for getting started successfully

It takes time to learn any new program and get used to its patterns and flow—time that you aren’t always afforded in a pilot situation. Based on our work with thousands of pilot teachers who are now happy users, we can tell you with 100% confidence that it gets easier. In no time, you’ll be preparing and delivering all your lessons with ease.

Until you become comfortable with the organization of each unit and how one lesson flows into the next, the following resources will be key in helping you prepare to teach your first unit.

Laptop screen displaying an educational website with a lesson on "tortoise parts" featuring a colorful turtle graphic on the header.

Lesson Overview

Reading this short summary is a great way to get a quick snapshot of the learning that will take place during the day ahead. It includes a short description of the lesson, student learning objectives, and an at-a-glance list of activities.

Where to find it? Log into the digital Teacher’s Guide and navigate to the lesson you want to teach by following this click path: Grade Level > Unit > Chapter > Lesson. Next, scroll to the Lesson Brief section and click Overview. This same information is also found in your printed Teacher’s Reference Guide.

Material and preparation tips

Also found in the Lesson Brief section of your digital Teacher’s Guide and printed Teacher’s Reference Guide is a complete list of materials that you’ll need to gather as well as step-by-step lesson preparation tips organized by:

  • Before the Day of the Lesson
  • Immediately Before the Lesson
  • At the End of the Day
Laptop displaying an educational science website with various navigation tabs and text content visible on the screen.
A screenshot of an academic paper about "animal and plant defenses" showing a table of contents with 30 statements, organized into lessons and chapters.

3-D Statements

Color-coded for easy readability and quick scanning, our 3-D Statements can be found at point-of-use for every unit and lesson, making it easy to pinpoint the exact SEPs, DCIs, and CCCs that will be targeted on any given day.

Where to find them? Log into the digital Teacher’s Guide and navigate to any Unit Guide or Lesson Brief and click the expandable box called 3-D Statements. A complete list of 3-D Statements can also be found in the back of any printed Teacher’s Reference Guide.

Coherence Flowcharts

These are another great tool for helping you visualize the flow of a unit and the connections between the questions that drive students’ experiences and:

  • The evidence they gather
  • The solutions they figure out
  • The new questions they generate

Where to find them? Log into the digital Teacher’s Guide, navigate to your desired unit, scroll to the Unit Guide, and look in the Printable Resources section.

Flowchart outlining animal and plant defenses with sections for unit title, typical defenses, and steps in educational exploration, set on a white background with blue and orange accents.
Amplify Science California supports you every step of the way on your journey to the California NGSS.

Support is always within reach

Your role as a pilot teacher is important. Your district is counting on you not only to evaluate how Amplify Science works in your classroom, but also to pick a reliable and supportive long-term partner. We feel confident that we’re that partner, and we look forward to proving that to you during your pilot experience.

Just as it will be when you become a customer, support during your pilot will always be within reach through the following channels.

Pilot support coordinator

Your dedicated pilot support coordinator has extensive experience delivering training, rostering students, answering both pedagogical and technical questions, and delivering demonstration lessons. Said another way, he or she is here to help. So, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Who is my pilot support coordinator? Look for his or her contact information in the pilot support brochure that you received during your pilot implementation training.

Amplify Science California supports you every step of the way on your journey to the California NGSS.

Intercom chat

In addition to traditional lines of communication, our Intercom feature gives you the ability to chat with our customer support, technical support, and pedagogical support teams in real time directly from the digital platform. This ensures that issues that arise in the classroom can be addressed as quickly as possible.

Support teams can be reached from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday.

Email

Our customer support, technical support, and pedagogical support teams can also be reached by email at help@amplify.com.

Support teams can be reached from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

RF.K.2.A.i Recognize rhyming words

Skill

RF.K.2.A.i Recognize rhyming words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.A: Recognize and produce rhyming words.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to identify words that rhyme from the last part of the word (dime, time). They can also identify rhyming when it occurs at the second to the last part of the word too (picky, tricky).
  • Acquiring: Student is able to identify similar sounds in oral speech. Student is able to identify which part of the word of the word (rime) is important for rhyming.

Probes

T: Do these words rhyme? moon, land
S: no

T: Do these words rhyme? moon, spoon
S: yes

T: Which of these words rhyme? mat, cat, sun
S: mat, cat

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

Rhyming Game Bingo

During Transitions

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent Alone/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Primary Press

Source: Make, Teach & Make

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers should not present words or complex pictures to students when assessing this skill. Phonological awareness addresses the ability for the student to hear similar sounds in oral speech. Students should not be rhyming with print at this point.
  • Rhyming is sometimes confused for alliteration. Teachers should make sure that they use true rhymes in their examples; this makes the concept of rhyming most comprehensible for students.
  • Why is rhyming important?

RF.K.2.A2 Count Words in a Spoken Sentence

Skill

RF.K.2.A2 Count Words in a Spoken Sentence

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B: Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to produce a sample sentence and count the words without difficulty.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to hear the groups of sounds that make up words. Student can count words in a sentence with the aid of the teacher using counter or other manipulative.

Probes

T: I will say a sentence. Tell me how many words there are in the sentence. “The cat is happy.”
S: The cat is happy. 4

T: I will say a sentence. Tell me how many words there are in the sentence. “There is a small blue bird.”
S: There is a small blue bird. 6

T: Say a sentence and tell me how many words there are in the sentence?
S: (eg. The dog is cute. 4)

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

Counting Words in a Sentence p1-20

Reinforce Skills/ Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. anchor chart):

A child arranges red and yellow square tiles on a colorful, laminated grid placed on a wooden table.

Source: Adventures in Literacy Land

You may use this board to differentiate your instruction. Use the board for students who are working with long sentences. Cut the board for students who are using sentences with a few words.

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers should consider the length of the sentence. Students should be able to repeat the sentence if necessary, to count the number of words.
  • Some students may be able to count the number of words, while the sentence is stated. Others may need to repeat the sentence and count. This probe does not look at speed, but whether or not the student can hear groups of sounds that make up words.
  • Hear and Count Words in a Sentence (instructional teacher video)
  • Word Count in a Sentence (instructional teacher video)

RF.K.2.A.ii Produce Rhyming Words

Skill

RF.K.2.A.ii Produce rhyming words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.A: Recognize and produce rhyming words.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to produce words that rhyme from the rime (e.g. dime, time; picky, tricky). They can also produce rhyming with words in which the rhymes occurs at the second to the last part of the word (e.g. hallway, say, anyway).
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce similar sounds in oral speech. Student is able to produce which part of the word of the word (rime) is important for rhyming.

Probes

T: Tell me a word that rhymes with moon.
S: spoon

T: What rhymes with rim?
S: [real words] dim, gym, him, Kim, Tim or [nonsense words] bim, fim, lim, mim, nim, pim, sim, vim

T: Tell me two words that rhyme.
S: mat, cat

T: Tell me two words that do not rhyme.
S: bat, ball

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transitions

Reinforce Skills/ Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. anchor chart):

Source: Printablee

Four illustrated words: cat with a cat, rat with a rat, bat with a bat, and hat with a top hat, each matching the corresponding image with the word.

Source: Tumblr

Phonological awareness does not refer to print. These images show words; however, you could use only the pictures to focus on the skill of rhyming.

Source: Link

Source: For The Love of First

Source: Tot Schooling

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers should not present words or complex pictures to students when assessing this skill. Phonological awareness addresses the ability for the student to hear similar sounds in oral speech. Students should not be rhyming with print at this point.
  • Rhyming is sometimes confused for alliteration. Teachers should make sure that they use true rhymes in their examples; this makes the concept of rhyming most comprehensible for students.
  • Why is rhyming important?

RF.1.2.B.ii: Orally Produce Single-Syllable CVC Words by Blending Three Phonemes

Skill

RF.1.2.B.ii: Orally Produce Single-Syllable CVC Words by Blending Three Phonemes

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B: Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to orally produce a series of CVC words with accuracy and speed, when teacher provides phonemes with definite pauses in between each phoneme.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce the VC words with the support of gestures (moving hands/sounds together) to represent the blending of the three phonemes. The teacher may need to elongate sounds with minimal pause between phonemes and may need to repeat phonemes.

Probes

T: /s/ /oo/ /n/. What’s the word?
S: soon

T: /l/ /ŭ/ /k/. What’s the word?
S: luck

T: /b/ /ă/ /t/. What’s the word?
S: bat

T: /d/ /ĭ/ /ng/. What’s the word?
S: ding

T: /r/ /ă/ /sh/. What’s the word?
S: rash

T: /ch/ /ā/ /n/. What’s the word?
S: chain

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Reading Rockets

Considerations & Reminders

  • As students begin to learn phoneme blending skills, it is easier to blend words with continuous initial sounds (e.g., /m/, /s/, /i/) than words with stop sounds (e.g., /t/, /q/, /p/). For example, “ssssuuuunnn” is easier to orally blend than “caaaat.” When introducing words with continuous sounds, exaggerate by holding on to them: rrrrrring; for words with stop sounds, use iteration (rapid repetition): k-k-k-k-katie.
  • When blending phonemes, it is always important to be mindful of the lapse of time between each phoneme presented. The shorter the pause, the easier it is for a student to hear the whole word. Longer pauses between the phonemes creates a little more of a challenge for the student to put the sounds back into the word.
  • Teachers can use the body to blend phonemes for kinesthetic learners. Starting from the shoulders, slide your hand down to the elbow then to the wrist to demonstrate blending 3-phonemes words. Once you increase the pause between each phoneme, tapping each sound from shoulder, elbow, to wrist is helpful for some students to distinguish the three phonemes.
  • Teachers may consider choosing CVC words that are not so commonly used by the students in order to gage his/her ability to blend three phonemes vs. hearing and repeating a familiar word.
  • Blending Explained
  • Teaching Blending

RF.1.2.B.i: Orally Produce VC/CV Words by Blending Two Phonemes

Skill

RF.1.2.B.i: Orally Produce VC/CV Words by Blending Two Phonemes

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B: Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.

Description

Goal: Given a spoken onset and rime, the student can say the word.

  • Mastery: Student is able to orally produce a series of VC/CV words with accuracy and speed, when teacher provides phonemes with definite pauses in between each phoneme.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce the VC/CV words with the support of gestures (moving hands/sounds together) to represent the blending of the two phonemes. The teacher may need to elongate sounds with minimal pause between phonemes and may need to repeat phonemes.

Probes

T: /ă/ /m/. What’s the word?
S: am

T: /ŏ/ /n/. What’s the word?
S: on

T: /ĭ/ /t/. What’s the word?
S: it

T: /d/ /ā/. What’s the word?
S: day

T: /p/ /ī/. What’s the word?
S: pie

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Kindergarten Superkids

*Teacher would give the individual sounds and have students orally blend it (i.e. students are not reading print)

Source: Twin Speech Language & Literacy LLC

Considerations & Reminders

  • As students begin to learn phoneme blending skills, it is easier to blend words with continuous initial sounds (e.g., /m/, /s/, /i/) than words with stop sounds (e.g., /t/, /q/, /p/). For example, “aaaaammmmmm” is easier to orally blend than “daaaaaaaaayyyyy.” When introducing words with continuous sounds, exaggerate by holding on to them: rrrrrring; for words with stop sounds, use iteration (rapid repetition): k-k-k-k-katie.
  • When blending phonemes, it is always important to be mindful of the lapse of time between each phoneme presented. The shorter the pause, the easier it is for a student to hear the whole word. Longer pauses between the phonemes creates a little more of a challenge for the student to put the sounds back into the word.
  • When identifying or combining sound sequences, a CV pattern should be used before a VC pattern, followed by a CVC pattern (e.g., pie, egg, red).
  • Teachers can use the body to blend phonemes for kinesthetic learners. Starting from the shoulders, slide your hand down to the elbow then to the wrist to demonstrate blending 3-phonemes words. Once you increase the pause between each phoneme, tapping each sound from shoulder, elbow, to wrist is helpful for some students to distinguish the three phonemes.
  • Teachers may consider choosing VC/CV words that are not so commonly used by the students in order to gage his/her ability to blend three phonemes vs. hearing and repeating a familiar word.
  • Blending Explained
  • Teaching Blending

RF.K.2.C.i: Blend Onsets and Rimes of Single-Syllable Spoken Words

Skill

RF.K.2.C.i: Blend Onsets and Rimes of Single-Syllable Spoken Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C: Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

Description

Goal: Given a spoken onset and rime, the student can say the word.

  • Mastery: Student is able to immediately produce word when given the onset and rime. The word may include beginning blends.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce word when given parts of the word with the teacher’s help (e.g. teacher has to repeat the onset-rime several times, teacher gives a shorter pause between the onset-rime). The word might not include any beginning blends.

Probes

T: Put the parts together to make the word. /m/-/ap/
S: map

T: Put the parts together to make the word. /f/-/it/
S: fit

T: Put the parts together to make the word. /s/-/pan/
S: span

T: Put the parts together to make the word. /b/-/lock/
S: block

T: Put the parts together to make the word. /t/-/rick/
S: trick

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Two cartoon figures wearing medical scrubs, face masks, and stethoscopes stand under the words "Word Doctor.

Source: Tunstall’s Teaching Tidbits

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers should be conscious about the time between each onset and rime. The longer the break between the onset and rime, the harder it is for the child to put the word back together. This gap in time may create a challenge for the student to remember the spoken sounds.
  • As students progress in this skill, it may be more challenging for students to blend words with beginning blends.

RF.K.2.B.ii: Segment, Count, and Pronounce Syllables in Spoken Words

Skill

RF.K.2.B.ii: Segment, Count, and Pronounce Syllables in Spoken Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B: Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

Description

  • Mastery: Student accurately produces word and counts, segments, and pronounces the syllables.
  • Acquiring: Student is given words or pictures and he/she counts, segments, and pronounces the syllables for most word.

Probes

T: How many parts are in the word tiger?
S: 2

T: What are the parts of the word tiger?
S: ti-ger

T: How many parts are in the word dangerous?
S: 3

T: What are the parts of the word dangerous?
S: dan-ger-ous

T: How many parts are in the word beautiful?
S: 3

T: What are the parts of the word beautiful?
S: beau-ti-ful

T: How many parts are in the word multiplication?
S: 5

T: What are the parts of the word multiplication?
S: mul-ti-pli-ca-tion

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Mrs. Taft’s Kindergarten Class

Source: Make, Take & Teach

Considerations & Reminders

  • When teaching phonemic awareness, teachers must remember to limit text and words presented to students. Students at this stage are only learning about hearing word parts.
  • Pictures used for support this learning should be developmentally appropriate and within students’ lexicon.
  • Some teachers believe that counting and segmenting sounds are two discrete skills. Some students may count and repeat the syllables simultaneously, while others need to count before they segment the word parts.
  • Some students may prefer the kinesthetic clapping or foot tapping of separate syllables that involves their body to feel the sounds. Others might respond to lighter movements like using their hands for the syllable parts.

RF.K.2.B Segment Compound Words

Skill

RF.K.2.B Segment Compound Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B: Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to produce a compound word and segment the parts. Compound word might not be commonly used, but not necessarily unfamiliar.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to give the parts of a compound word, when provided with familiar compound words.

Probes

T: Can you break the word cupcake into its two smaller parts?
S: cup-cake

T: Can you break the word butterfly into its two smaller parts?
S: butter-fly

T: Can you break the word watermelon into its two smaller parts?
S: water-melon

T: Can you give me a compound word? Can you break it into its two smaller parts?

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: A Teacher’s Idea

Considerations & Reminders

When segmenting compound words, teachers may want to keep an ear out for students that begin to confuse onset and rimes with the segmenting of compound words.

RF.K.2.C.ii: Segment Onsets and Rimes of Single-Syllable Spoken Words

Skill

RF.K.2.C.ii: Segment Onsets and Rimes of Single-Syllable Spoken Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C: Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to differentiate between words that have the same rime, but different onsets, and vice versa. Student is able to segment and produce the onset and rime of a given word. The word may include beginning blends.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to detect initial sound in spoken words. Students is able to detect rime when onset is deleted from a spoken word. The word might not include beginning blends.

Probes

T: Do you hear /t/ at the beginning of the word top or hop?
S: top

T: Say the word cat in two parts- the first sound, then the rest of the word.
S: /c/-/at/

T: Say sat. Now say sat without the /s/.
S: /at/

T: What part of the word changes in the words cake, bake, make?
S: The first sound or onset (/c/, /b/, /m/)

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Miss Kindergarten

Source: Mary Had A Little Classroom

Source: Twinkl

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers should remember that students are still developing an ear for the various parts of words and the sounds they make at this stage. We want to focus on students’ ability to hear and manipulate sounds (all done orally only – no print), before they focus on the letter(s) representation of these sounds.
  • The skill of segmenting onset-rimes is more difficult than that of blending onset-rimes. Activities listed for both segmenting and blending onset-rimes should only be used once students get to this skill of segmenting onset-rimes (and not while still working on blending onset-rimes).

RF.K.3.A: Demonstrate Basic Knowledge of One-to-One Letter-Sound Correspondences by Producing the Primary Sound for Each Consonant

Skill

RF.K.3.A: Demonstrate Basic Knowledge of One-to-One Letter-Sound Correspondences by Producing the Primary Sound for Each Consonant

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.A: Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to automatically produce the primary sound to each consonant grapheme.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce primary sound to each consonant grapheme, with the aid of sound/spelling card and/or related association.

Probes

T: Look at these letters. Can you tell me the sound each letter makes?

Be sure to ask if he or she knows of another sound for the letters g and c. If it is incorrect, note the sound the student gives for each incorrect letter. If no sound is given, circle the letter. If the student cannot say the sound for three or more consecutive letters, say: Look at all of the letters and tell me which sounds you do know.

  d l n s x z j  
  t y p c h m r  
  k w g b f q v  

Copyright ©1999, 2008 by CORE. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

A whiteboard displays colorful magnetic letters scattered beneath the text: "Letter Sounds Race. Practice letter recognition, letter sounds, and get the kids moving!.

Source: Inspiration Laboratories

Considerations & Reminders

  • Teachers must remember to immediately correct students if they mispronounce the sounds of any letter. Teachers and students should not add the schwa sound after consonants. Click here for correct pronunciation.
  • Teachers should use regular words and pictures that have clear examples of the most common sound of each letter.

RF.K.2.D.i: Isolate and Pronounce the Initial Phonemes in Three-Phoneme Words

Skill

RF.K.2.D.i: Isolate and Pronounce the Initial Phonemes in Three-Phoneme Words

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.D: Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/).

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to detect if two or more words have the same initial sound.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce the initial sound of a given word.

Probes

T: Do you hear /k/ at the beginning of sit?
S: no

T: What is the first sound in lap?
S: /l/

T: Say a word that has /d/ in the beginning?
S: (e.g. dog or other word beginning with /d/)

T: Which words have /g/ at the beginning? Goat, great, ginger
S: goat and great

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

**Students need to practice these first with the teacher before working independently or with a partner.
**Use this word list for the activities below to focus on the initial phoneme.

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Make, Take & Teach

Considerations & Reminders

  • As students begin to isolate individual sounds, teachers must be careful to articulate each sound clearly for the students. Teachers should consider proximity during instruction and that all students can see proper mouth movements and accuracy of pronunciation.
  • Focus only on the initial phonemes in three-phoneme words (identifying medial vowel and final sounds are covered in the next two skills).
  • Teachers should be careful not add the schwa when pronouncing individual sounds for students.

RF.K.3.B: Associate the Long and Short Vowel Sounds with Their Common Spellings (Graphemes)

Skill

RF.K.3.B: Associate the Long and Short Vowel Sounds with Their Common Spellings (Graphemes)

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B: Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to automatically produce the primary sounds to each vowel grapheme.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce primary sounds to each vowel grapheme, with the aid of sound/spelling card and/or related association.

Probes

T: Can you tell me the sounds of each letter? If the student names the letter, count it as the long vowel sound. Then ask: Can you tell me another sound for the letter? The student should name the short vowel sound.

e _ _ i _ _ a _ _ o _ _ u _ _ l = long sound; s = short sound

Record“l” on the first line for the long sound (letter name) and“s” for the short sound on the second line. If the student makes an error, record the error over the letter.

Copyright ©1999, 2008 by CORE. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Make sure that the example you use for the long /u/ sound (e.g. cute, mute) does not have the /oo/ sound (e.g. moon, tune, flute).
Source: The Second Grade Superkids & Beyond

Considerations & Reminders

Sound/Spelling systems vary between publishers. Do not confuse the /oo/ sound in moon, flute, and tune for the long u sound; rather, think of the long /u/ sound in mute and cute.

RF.K.2.D.ii: Isolate and Pronounce the Final Sounds in Three-Phoneme Words

Skill

RF.K.2.D.ii: Isolate and Pronounce the Final Sounds in Three-Phoneme Words (not including CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/)

Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.D: Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/).

Description

  • Mastery: Student is able to detect if two or more words have the same final sound.
  • Acquiring: Student is able to produce the final sound of a given word.

Probes

T: Do you hear /p/ at the end of the word sat?
S: no

T: What is the last sound in fin?
S: /n/

T: Say a word that has the /t/ sound at the end?
S: (e.g. cat or other word with the /t/ sound at the end)

T: Which words have /k/ at the end? Truck, miss, and flick
S: truck and flick

Activities and Resources

Small Group Instruction – Direct Instruction

During Transition

Reinforce Skills/Independent Work Time – Independent/Small Group Center Activity

Display (e.g. Anchor Chart):

Source: Mrs. Gilchrist’s Class

Considerations & Reminders

  • As students begin to isolate individual sounds, teachers must be careful to articulate each sound clearly for the students. Teachers should consider proximity during instruction and that all students can see proper mouth movements and accuracy of pronunciation.
  • Teachers should be careful not add the schwa when pronouncing individual sounds for students.
  • Focus only on the final phoneme in three-phoneme words (identifying medial vowel are covered in the next skill).

LITERACY CHAMPIONS

The 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards

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.

Tres personas con fondos coloridos e iconos de cintas: una mujer con una chaqueta vaquera, un hombre con una camisa roja y corbata, y otra mujer con un traje oscuro.

Recognizing leaders in education

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!

A person with a reddish-brown beard and short hair wearing a red and white checkered shirt and red tie against a gray background.
“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.”

—Charles Beckley, Principal

Windber Elementary, Pennsylvania

An award category for everyone!

An orange ribbon with a star in the center.

District:
The District Captain

For the district that exemplifies strong Science of Reading practices across the board

Blue ribbon icon with an open book and sparkles in the center.

School:
The Literacy Legend

For the school that has seen significant reading gains among their students school-wide when using the Science of Reading

A yellow ribbon with star shapes on it.

Individual:
The Changemaker

For showcasing exemplary Science of Reading routines and practices, and serving as an inspiration to others on the journey

Orange ribbon with a speech bubble in the center, surrounded by a scalloped edge, against a black background.

Individual:
The Language Luminary

For outstanding success in developing the skills and strengths of multilingual/English learners.

A yellow award ribbon icon featuring a cloud, star, and crescent moon.

Individual:
The Background Knowledge Builder

For showing the world that the Science of Reading empowers students with knowledge, context, and vocabulary from elementary through middle school

Orange ribbon badge with a stylized planet and two stars in the center on a black background.

Individual:
The MTSS Maestro

For implementing a data-driven Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework that creates a thriving and robust literacy ecosystem

Blue ribbon with a silhouette of a rocket in the center, surrounded by small sparkles, on a black background.

Individual:
The Science of Reading Rookie

For a teacher in their first year of teaching, already making strides with the Science of Reading

A blue award ribbon with a circular center and two hanging ribbons, featuring small star-like decorations.

Individual: The
Cross-Disciplinarian

For skilled weaving of literacy practices across subject areas in the classroom

A yellow badge with a light reflection design, featuring two ribbon tails at the bottom.

Individual:
The Writing Whiz

For integrating writing instruction with the Science of Reading, cultivating articulate and confident writers through innovative and effective practices

A person with long braided hair, wearing oversized glasses, earrings, a necklace, and a red top, smiles at the camera against a plain background.
“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.”

—Javonna Mack, Lead Content Teacher

Caddo Parish Schools, Louisiana

Unleash the potential of knowledge building in language comprehension

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 relationship among knowledge, language comprehension, and literacy skills

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.

Learn more

Why is building knowledge so important?

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.

Getting started with knowledge based learning

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.

Download now

Professional development to support your shift to the Science of Reading

Ignite literacy transformation with Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Learning Lab—an inspiring three-course series.

  • Course 1: Foundations to the Science of Reading
  • Course 2: Advanced Topics in the Science of Reading: Assessment and Reading Difficulties
  • Course 3: Applied Structured Literacy

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.

The best investment you can make is in knowledge, and the returns are priceless.

Learn more about the online courses or request a quote!

Explore the course

Tap into individual online course seats.

Purchase a seat

Before and after knowledge building: What knowledge looks like in the classroom

Making connections to what students already know

Before: Teachers “activate” students’ prior knowledge before reading.
After: Teachers build students’ knowledge explicitly for students to leverage later as background knowledge.

Developing reading comprehension

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.

Introduction of new topics and information

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!

What to look for in a knowledge-building literacy curriculum:

It develops content knowledge.

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.

Read More 

It leverages read-alouds for exposure to complex language.

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.

Read More 

It introduces students to a wide variety of topics and content.

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.

Read More 

It builds both knowledge and foundational skills.

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.

Read More 

“Shifting from balanced literacy to a knowledge-building curriculum was a huge change for us. [Amplify] CKLA systematically builds knowledge from unit to unit and across grade levels. Students are constantly making connections to what they learned earlier in the year. We are excited to see the connections that they make after they have had a few years of the program. Student engagement has significantly increased. They are excited about the topics that they are learning. I never would have thought that students would find the War of 1812 or ancient Greek civilizations fascinating, but they do!”

—Christina Pina, Instructional Data Specialist, Chicopee Public Schools, Chicopee, MA

Data’s essential role in your Science of Reading implementation

Support teachers and students in working toward literacy goals by leading with data as you shift to the Science of Reading. With tools like ongoing progress monitoring and a robust Multi-Tiered System of Supports, we’ll show you how data can give your students the literacy instruction they deserve.

Building buy-in for change—with data

You can use literacy data to harness buy-in for a paradigm shift, monitor student progress, and support your transition to the Science of Reading. But which data measures best identify areas for growth and reveal the path to student achievement?

Our free ebook, The Story That Data Tells, will help you take the first steps in using data to guide your journey toward impactful change..

Download now
“I had to dig into and learn: What is [the Science of Reading] all about? How are we gonna be using this data instructionally, and then take that data and use it with our kids? So that’s really how we got the ball rolling.”

—Corey Beil, Interventionist and Instructional Coach

Quaker Community School District, Pennsylvania

Getting started with a data-driven literacy implementation

As any experienced educator can agree, change is not straightforward in the classroom. This is especially true when it comes to shifting to the Science of Reading, a process that requires meticulous planning, open communication, and—most importantly—data.

Discover which data to focus on throughout the school year, and how to use it to direct your implementation—whether you’re just starting the shift, or already implementing the Science of Reading.

Learn more

Align your MTSS to the Science of Reading

Learn more about MTSS in literacy principles and how to align it with the Science of Reading.

Download now

The five guiding principles for an effective MTSS

To provide your students with literacy instruction that meets their needs, you need seamless planning and plenty of forethought. Deliver the instruction, assessment, and personalized learning your students deserve with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports grounded in data and the Science of Reading.

Read about the five guiding principles that can help you align your MTSS with the Science of Reading in our free ebook Systems of Success: Getting Started With a Multi-Tiered System of Supports Aligned to the Science of Reading.

Download the ebook

Review the five guiding principles

An effective MTSS framework requires collaboration from all stakeholders (such as teachers, administrators, and caregivers) to ensure students have access to the right instructional support at the right time.

Frequent collection and interpretation of high-quality data is essential to identifying student needs, monitoring progress, and guiding decision-making. Universal screening and progress monitoring data are used to evaluate the effectiveness of all tiers in an MTSS, and to identify students at risk.

An MTSS provides increasing levels of support for students when they need it. It also focuses on prevention first to reduce the need for intervention later.

Implementing evidence-based instruction and interventions with fidelity improves outcomes for all students. A focus on all students, not just those in need of additional support, ensures that all students can access high-quality instruction.

In an MTSS framework, decisions are based on research and the constantly evolving needs of all students and schools.

Season 5, Episode 5: Implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports

Hear from educator Brittney Bills, Ed.D., as she discusses her districts’ experience learning to use data, avoid burnout, and sustain ongoing improvements.

Listen now

What Does Data Tell Us? Building Buy-In and Determining Areas of Need With Data

Data can paint a clear picture of where your students are, where they need to go, and how the Science of Reading can get them there. Hear from Amplify Executive Director of Learning Science Danielle Damico about the story that data tells, how to use data to build buy-in, and the kind of data you should be collecting to ensure a successful implementation.

Watch now 

Starting Your Science of Reading Shift With Screening: How to Use Assessment Data as a Building Block of MTSS

Screening and assessment data can drive MTSS-aligned change management in your district, supporting you as you navigate and sustain lasting transformation. Learn more about the importance of universal screening in your literacy implementation.

Watch now 

Seleccione un programa a continuación:

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) se enorgullece de ofrecer Amplify Caminos, una auténtica solución de artes del lenguaje en español.
Amplify CKLA program header image

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) es un programa de artes del lenguaje para los grados PreK-5 que combina un enfoque multisensorial de la fonética con textos enriquecidos cuidadosamente secuenciados para desarrollar el conocimiento del contenido.
Amplify ELA program header image

Amplify ELA ayuda a los niños de 6.º a 8.º grado a leer y comprender textos complejos, animándolos a lidiar con ideas interesantes y encontrar relevancia para ellos mismos.
Dos personas manipulan símbolos matemáticos en una balanza mientras equilibran un conjunto de globos y pesas, ilustrando un concepto matemático en un entorno conceptual vibrante.

Amplify Desmos Math es un plan de estudios básico de matemáticas creado desde jardín de infantes hasta Álgebra 1.
Amplify Science program header image

Amplify Science es un plan de estudios atractivo para los grados K-8 diseñado por expertos del Lawrence Hall of Science de UC Berkeley.

Boost Lectura es un programa basado en la Ciencia de la Lectura creado para acelerar la alfabetización en español para estudiantes de K-2. Leer más.
Illustration of a colorful, stylized map showing various buildings, roads, trees, and icons with people engaged in different reading activities or roles related to the science of reading.

Boost Reading le brinda a su hijo la oportunidad de aprender y practicar habilidades de alfabetización dentro de un mundo de historias atractivo que se adapta a cada estudiante a medida que avanza en el programa.
Teacher looking at tablet with student

mCLASS es un sistema de evaluación e instrucción que ayuda a medir el desarrollo de alfabetización y matemáticas de su hijo. Ayuda a determinar dónde se encuentra su hijo en su viaje de lectura y matemáticas. Leer más.
Collage de escenas e íconos educativos: arriba a la izquierda, símbolo de "labios"; medio, niño estudiando en clase; arriba a la derecha, logotipo "in" dentro del bocadillo; abajo a la izquierda,

mCLASS® Lectura es un evaluador universal para K-6 que ayuda a los educadores a acelerar el crecimiento en lectura de los estudiantes de habla hispana. Leer más.

Amplify Tutoring ofrece programas de tutoría de alto impacto alineados con ESSA para complementar los esfuerzos de los estudiantes, educadores y familias de K-6 para desarrollar la competencia y la confianza en la lectura.

Kindergarten Skills Map

Lleve el mundo a los estudiantes con un plan de estudios de alfabetización comprobado de PreK a 5.º grado

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) es el plan de estudios líder en alfabetización temprana basado en la Ciencia de la lectura. Mediante la combinación del desarrollo de conocimientos y de destrezas fundamentales a partir de la investigación, nuestra instrucción orienta a los educadores en el desarrollo de lectores, escritores y pensadores capaces.
Con una poderosa plataforma en línea y un plan de estudios paralelo de lengua y literatura en español, Amplify CKLA ofrece una solución integral para educadores y estudiantes de PreK a 5.º grado. For English version, please click here.

Solicitar muestras

Los resultados son fruto del conocimiento previo

El plan de estudios de alfabetización de Amplify CKLA de PreK a 5.º grado equipa a los estudiantes con un rico conocimiento que se construye intencionalmente para inspirar curiosidad e impulsar resultados. Explore las investigaciónes que revelan la eficacia del plan de estudios basado en el conocimiento, así como el logro de Amplify CKLA como intervención educativa de conformidad con la ESSA (nivel 1 de evidencia fuerte).

Amplify CKLA serves

38,000+

Salones de clase

2,700,000+

Estudiantes

50

Estados de EE. UU. y D.C.

Revisado de forma independiente y rigurosa

Amplify CKLA se encuentra entre los pocos planes de estudio que es tanto reconocido por la campaña Knowledge Matters (por su excelencia en construir conocimiento intencionalmente) y como calificado verde en EdReports, obteniendo puntuaciones verdes en todos los criterios.

Leer la reseña en EdReports

Ilustración que muestra una "campaña de alfabetización temprana" con niños participando en actividades educativas y de lectura en diferentes carteles.

Nuestro enfoque

Basado en la Ciencia de la lectura y siguiendo el principio de Core Knowledge, el plan de estudios Amplify CKLA para PreK a 5.º grado combina conocimientos de contenido ricos y diversos en historia, ciencias, literatura y artes con una instrucción sistemática de destrezas fundamentales basada en la investigación.

Basado en la Ciencia de la lectura

Como la primera casa editorial en crear un plan de estudios basado en la Ciencia de la lectura, ponemos la investigación en acción con una instrucción explícita y sistemática de destrezas fundamentales junto con una secuencia comprobada de construcción de conocimientos. En colaboración con expertos y profesionales de la educación, proporcionamos recursos poderosos que generan resultados reales. Explore nuestras historias de éxito de Ciencia de la lectura.

Desarrolla destrezas fundamentales con instrucción explícita y sistemática

El alcance y la secuencia basados en la investigación de Amplify CKLA progresan desde el desarrollo de destrezas simples hasta el más complejo, comenzando con la conciencia fonológica y fonémica. La instrucción le guía en la enseñanza explícita de las 150 ortografías de los 44 sonidos del inglés, con una progresión intencional y una revisión de las destrezas para preparar a sus estudiantes para el éxito.

Adopta una metodología demostrada de adquisición de conocimientos

Siguiendo la Core Knowledge Sequence, un enfoque coherente, acumulativo y de contenido específico para desarrollar conocimientos, los estudiantes profundizan y hacen conexiones entre áreas de contenido para construir una base de conocimientos sólida que les permita comprender textos complejos. Vea cómo se ha demostrado que el plan de estudios Core Knowledge mejora los puntajes de lectura y elimina las brechas en el rendimiento.

Creado en colaboración con la Core Knowledge Foundation

Amplify CKLA es el líder en materiales educativos de alta calidad para lengua y literatura de primaria, creado en colaboración con la Core Knowledge Foundation para ayudar a los estudiantes a desarrollar con eficacia un conocimiento profundo del contenido y destrezas fundamentales.

CONOCER MÁS SOBRE LA CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION

Cultivar la alfabetización bilingüe con programas paralelos en inglés y español

Amplify Caminos es el compañero perfecto en lengua y literatura del idioma español para Amplify CKLA. Los programas alineados combinan un rico conocimiento del contenido con una instrucción sistemática de destrezas fundamentales basada en la Ciencia de la lectura que sigue los principios de alfabetización bilingüe, y respalda múltiples modelos de enseñanza.

CONOCER MÁS SOBRE AMPLIFY CAMINOS

Estudio de eficacia de Amplify CKLA

Evidencia de conformidad con la ESSA (nivel 1): la adquisición de
conocimientos con Amplify CKLA mejora los logros.

Descargar ahora

Qué se incluye

El programa proporciona atractivos materiales impresos y multimedia diseñados para construir una base sólida y rica en lectoescritura en todos los salones de clase.

CoreELD y complementos

Materiales de alta calidad para los maestros

Los maestros de Amplify CKLA brindan instrucción de manera eficaz con recursos impresos y digitales, que incluyen:

  • Guías para el maestro con diferenciación integrada.
  • Evaluaciones formales e informales.
  • Diapositivas de lecciones listas para usar y personalizables.
  • Libros comerciales y Guías literarias.
  • Recursos docentes y desarrollo profesional a pedido.

Recursos inmersivos para estudiantes

Los estudiantes de Amplify CKLA se mantienen interesados con una amplia gama de recursos impresos y digitales, que incluyen:

  • Descodificables originales y Libros grandes de lectura en voz alta (K a 2.º grado), Libros de lectura (3.er a 5.º grados) y libros comerciales (K a 5.º grado).
  • Cuadernos de actividades para estudiantes con evaluaciones integradas (K a 5.º grado).
  • Unidades de investigación para investigaciones independientes desarrollados en torno a un libro comercial (K a 5.º grado).
  • Diario del poeta y Diario del escritor (libros de lectura con espacio para escribir para 4.º y 5.º grados).
  • Misiones de conocimiento para apoyar el aprendizaje inmersivo basado en problemas en los grados 3.º a 5.º.

Materiales prácticos de fonética

La fonética multisensorial y los recursos de destrezas fundamentales ayudan a los estudiantes a practicar destrezas clave utilizando enfoques divertidos y variados que desarrollan la independencia.

  • Carpetas para la práctica de ortografía (K).
  • Tarjetas de letras (K a 2.º grado).
  • Tarjetas de sílabas (K a 2.º grado).
  • Tarjetas de imágenes (K a 3.er grado).
  • Tarjetas de combinación de imágenes (K).
  • Rotafolios de códigos de consonantes y vocales (1.er y 2.º grados).
  • Biblioteca de sonido digital exclusiva.

Experiencia digital robusta

Los recursos para maestros y estudiantes de Amplify CKLA están disponibles a través de una plataforma de experiencia digital que mejora la instrucción y le ahorra tiempo. Con todo lo que necesita en un solo lugar, puede planificar lecciones, presentar contenido y revisar el trabajo de los estudiantes de manera eficaz.

  • Presentaciones de lecciones con diapositivas listas para usar y personalizables.
  • Herramienta dinámica para estudiantes con revisión en vivo.
  • Experiencia interactiva y amigable para los estudiantes.
  • Integración LMS.
  • Videos animados de Desarrollo de conocimiento
  • Lecturas en voz alta grabadas.
  • Sitio web de desarrollo profesional.
  • Apoyo al programa en tiempo real por correo electrónico, chat en vivo y teléfono.

Programa para estudiantes del idioma inglés

Language Studio, diseñado para Amplify CKLA, brinda instrucción diaria alineada con WIDA para que los estudiantes del idioma inglés profundicen su inglés académico.

Programa de exploración de escritura

Writing Studio, un complemento único para Amplify CKLA, ofrece una inmersión profunda en la redacción de información, narrativa y opinión para formar escritores fuertes y apasionados.

Covers of four "Writing Studio Teacher Guide" books for different grades, featuring educational icons in orange, purple, blue, and teal color schemes.
Todo los materiales

Explore otros programas basados en la Ciencia de la lectura

Todos los programas de nuestro paquete de alfabetización están diseñados para que se respalden y complementen entre sí. Aprenda más sobre nuestros programas relacionados:

Amplify Caminos – Español

Amplify Caminos is a K–5 Spanish language arts program and curriculum designed t…

Boost Reading – Español

Boost Reading is a Science of Reading K–5 personalized reading program that’s he…

mCLASS

Amplify’s mCLASS is the gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener grounded i…

See all programs

Boost Reading in Action

Boost Reading (formerly Amplify Reading) immerses students in an engaging game world while delivering the skills practice and supports they need to become proficient readers. While students are making progress in the game world and receiving personalized feedback, teachers receive meaningful data to track their growth. 

Inside the Classroom

Engaging, personalized learning

Using the science behind engagement and motivation, we built Boost Reading to deliver compelling narrative experiences where progress in the storyline is mapped to reading growth, helping students understand the value of effort and practice.

What teachers and students say about Boost Reading

“When I’m using Boost Reading, I feel as if I’m not even reading, I feel as if I’m playing a game. It’s a whole new world,” said one Boost Reading student. To hear from real teachers and students about their experiences with Boost Reading, watch the video on the left.

Spotlights

Student motivation

We don’t want students just to learn to read. We want students to love to read. Students using Boost Reading enter immersive story worlds that evolve as they develop language and decoding skills, having fun while building confidence in their own ability every step of the way.

Personalized instruction

Students embark on personalized journeys that match their profiles to a comprehensive range of skills—from foundational skills to comprehension to close reading. Every decision students make helps Boost Reading deliver them the right skills at the right time.

Based on the Science of Reading

Boost Reading is part of Amplify’s greater early literacy ecosystem that provides instruction proven to move the needle on reading growth. Extend and support core instruction using high-quality materials that provide more than just practice. Learn more about our research-based reading curriculum in this video.

Part of the mCLASS® literacy suite

Educators can use data from mCLASS with DIBELS® 8th Edition to place students into the Boost Reading learning progression in the spot that’s exactly right for their abilities and areas of need, with no additional assessment required.

TESTIMONIALS

“I usually don’t like reading a lot but, this was fun and exciting. It was able to teach me more than I already know. I didn’t expect it to be this fun!”

5th grade student
Brooklyn

TESTIMONIALS

“Boost Reading has been a great way for me to add differentiation in my classroom. My students love working on it…I also love that I can monitor how they are doing and adjust small group instruction to help them.”

1st grade teacher
Providence Hall Charter School, Utah

TESTIMONIALS

“Students enjoy practicing reading and reading skills through this program. It was made with young minds in mind.”

Irma Aldana
2nd grade teacher, Estrella Elementary, California

Request a demo

Ready to see what Boost Reading would look like in your classroom? Simply complete the form to request a demo, and an Amplify sales representative will be in touch.

Bring the world to students with a proven PreK–5 literacy curriculum

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is the leading early literacy curriculum grounded in the Science of Reading. By combining knowledge-building and research-based foundational skills, our instruction guides educators in developing strong readers, writers, and thinkers.

With a powerful online platform and a parallel Spanish language arts curriculum, Amplify CKLA provides a comprehensive solution for PreK–5 educators and students. Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

Request samples

Background knowledge drives results

The Amplify CKLA PreK–5 literacy curriculum equips students with rich knowledge that intentionally builds to inspire curiosity and drive results. Explore research revealing the power of our knowledge-based curriculum including a study that meets qualifications for ESSA Tier I: Strong Evidence.

Amplify CKLA serves

38,000+

Classrooms

2,700,000+

Students

50

U.S. States and D.C.

Independently and rigorously reviewed

Amplify CKLA is among the few curricula that is both recognized by the Knowledge Matters Campaign—for its excellence in intentionally building knowledge—and rated all-green on EdReports, earning green scores across all gateways.


Read the review on EdReports

Our approach

Grounded in the Science of Reading and following the Core Knowledge approach, the Amplify CKLA PreK–5 curriculum combines rich content knowledge in history, science, literature, and the arts with systematic, research-based foundational skills instruction.

Grounded in the Science of Reading

As the first publisher to build a curriculum based on the Science of Reading, we put research into action with explicit systematic foundational skills instruction alongside a proven knowledge-building sequence. In collaboration with education experts and practitioners, we provide powerful resources that drive real results. Explore our Science of Reading success stories.

Developing foundational skills with explicit, systematic instruction

Amplify CKLA’s research-based scope and sequence progresses from simple to more complex skill development, starting with phonological and phonemic awareness. Instruction guides you in explicitly teaching the 150 spellings for the 44 sounds of English, with an intentional progression and review of skills to set your students up for success.

Following a proven knowledge-building approach

Following the Core Knowledge Sequence–a content-specific, cumulative, and coherent approach to building knowledge–students dig deeper and make connections across content areas to build a robust knowledge base for comprehending complex texts. See how the Core Knowledge curriculum is proven to improve reading scores and eliminate achievement gaps.

Built in partnership with the Core Knowledge Foundation

Amplify CKLA is the premier high-quality instructional materials offering for elementary language arts, built in partnership with the Core Knowledge Foundation to help students effectively develop deep content knowledge and foundational skills.

Learn more about the Core Knowledge Foundation

Cultivating biliteracy with parallel English and Spanish programs

Amplify Caminos is the perfect Spanish language arts partner to Amplify CKLA. The aligned programs combine rich content knowledge with systematic foundational skills instruction grounded in the Science of Reading that follows biliteracy principles, and supports multiple teaching models.

Learn more about Amplify Caminos

Amplify CKLA efficacy study

Tier I ESSA Evidence: Amplify CKLA knowledge-building improves achievement.

Download now

What’s included

The program provides engaging print and multimedia materials designed to build a robust literacy-rich foundation in every classroom.

CoreELD and companions

High-quality teacher materials

Amplify CKLA teachers effectively deliver instruction with print and digital resources, including:

  • Teacher Guides with embedded differentiation.
  • Formal and informal assessments.
  • Ready-made and customizable lesson slides.
  • Trade books and Novel Guides.
  • Teacher resources and on-demand professional development.

Immersive student resources

Amplify CKLA students stay engaged with a variety of print and digital resources, including:

  • Original decodables and read-aloud Big Books (K–2), Student Readers (3–5), and trade books (K–5).
  • Student Activity Books with embedded assessments (K–5).
  • Research units for independent research built around a trade book (K–5).
  • Poet’s Journal and Writer’s Journal (write-in student readers for Grades 4–5).
  • Quests for the Core to support immersive, problem-based learning in Grades 3–5.

Hands-on phonics materials

Multisensory phonics and foundational skills resources help students practice key skills using fun, varied approaches that build independence.

  • Chaining Folder (K)
  • Letter Cards (K–2)
  • Syllable Cards (K–2)
  • Image Cards (K–3)
  • Blending Picture Cards (K)
  • Consonant and Vowel Code Flip Books (1–2)
  • Exclusive digital Sound Library

Robust digital experience

Amplify CKLA teacher and student resources are available through a digital experience platform that enhances instruction and saves you time. With everything you need in one place, you can effectively plan lessons, present content, and review student work.

  • Ready-made yet customizable lesson presentation slide decks
  • Dynamic live-review student tool
  • Interactive and student-friendly experience
  • LMS integration
  • Knowledge Builder animated videos
  • Recorded Read-Alouds
  • Professional development website
  • Real-time program support via email, live chat, and phone

English Language Learner program

Language Studio, designed for Amplify CKLA, provides WIDA-aligned daily instruction for English Language Learners to deepen their academic English.

Writing explorations program

A unique companion for Amplify CKLA, Writing Studio provides a deep dive into informational, narrative, and opinion writing to build strong, passionate writers.

Covers of four "Writing Studio Teacher Guide" books for different grades, featuring educational icons in orange, purple, blue, and teal color schemes.
All materials

Explore more programs based on the Science of Reading

All of the programs in our literacy suite are designed to support and complement each other. Learn more about our related programs:

Amplify Caminos

Amplify Caminos is a K–5 Spanish language arts program and curriculum designed t…

Boost Reading

Boost Reading is a Science of Reading K–5 personalized reading program that’s he…

mCLASS

Amplify’s mCLASS is the gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener grounded i…

See all programs

Dyslexia: Early screening for risk

Dyslexia is one of the most common forms of learning disability, with some estimates suggesting that it may affect more than 17 percent of school-age students (Shaywitz, 2004). Although there are many different forms of reading difficulty, dyslexia is primarily characterized by difficulty in word-level reading ability, often due to deficits in automaticity or phonological processing.

Universal screening is an essential practice for identifying reading difficulties in the early grades, including characteristics of dyslexia. According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), early identification of reading difficulties helps get students the support they need and prevents further difficulty.

Amplify’s universal and dyslexia screening in one too

Measure what matters 

mCLASS® with DIBELS 8th Edition® provides a formative assessment solution that supports the identification of students at risk for reading difficulties, including difficulty related to dyslexia. DIBELS 8th Edition was developed by the University of Oregon with the primary focus of ensuring that the measures are able to meet state-level dyslexia screening requirements.

How mCLASS identifies students at risk of dyslexia

When screening for risk, nothing can replace the power of listening to a child read—listening to their strengths as a reader AND their struggles. 

With mCLASS, teachers administer predictive one-minute assessment measures that involve listening to students interact with sounds, letters, words, and text while screening for reading difficulties.

They will document all behaviors simultaneously on a mobile device. Accurate, efficient collection of data allows for immediate analysis that results in a clear identification of risk, not only for reading difficulty but also for dyslexia. 

Research and statistics

Identifying at-risk students: What comes next?

“90 percent of students who struggle in third grade will continue to struggle at the end of elementary school if they do not receive intervention.

Research and statistics about dyslexia in early literacy

Identifying at-risk students: What comes next?

“74 percent of students who are poor readers in third grade will be poor readers in ninth grade, and, in general, have a higher risk of academic failure and school dropout. ”

Research and statistics about dyslexia in early literacy

Identifying at-risk students: What comes next?

“According to a 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress study, only 35 percent of fourth-grade students were proficient in reading. Most of these children will spend the rest of their time in school trying to catch up. ”

Research and statistics about dyslexia in early literacy

Dyslexia toolkit
This toolkit offers answers for educators looking to learn about dyslexia and how to screen for it.

Download the toolkit

mClass solutions

mCLASS Instruction

mCLASS Instruction provides teachers with a single view of the personalized, blended instruction (teacher-led and online) that is available to support individual student or small-group needs in skill areas directly assessed in the mCLASS assessment. 

Employ teacher-led instruction for whole classes, small-groups, and individual students, including activities created by Susan Hall, author of I’ve DIBEL’d, Now What, are provided for skill practice.

Additional instructional resources for comprehension include grade-level passages that provide more practice.

Boost Reading

Get online student instruction and practice with Boost Reading, which places students in a personalized instruction path based on mCLASS assessment data and adapts based on progress in the curriculum. Students engage with skills-based games as well as an eReader.

mCLASS intervention

Receive rigorous, teacher-led intervention with mCLASS Intervention to address students most in need of support.

mCLASS Home Connect

Teachers can download a letter with student assessment results to send home to parents

and guardians, or use as a basis for discussion at conferences. Home Connect letters describe how the measures relate to skills development. Progress bars indicate the student’s performance on each measure.

Home Connect extends reporting to parents and guardians in a way that is easily understood and provides suggestions for positive action.

Resources

Dyslexia Toolkit

This toolkit offers answers for educators looking to learn about dyslexia and ho…

Dyslexia Screening and DIBELS 8th E…

mCLASS helps reveal to educators the early warning signs of reading difficulty o…

Webinar Title

Request a demo

Simply complete the form to request a demo, and an Amplify sales representative will be in touch.

Steps for Interviewing

Amplify Professional Learning Specialist Applicants

Congratulations on being invited to interview for the Professional Learning Specialist role!

Please take these three steps in order to schedule and prepare for your interview.

Step 1: Review the PLS Flipbook
Step 2: Schedule your Interview
Step 3: Prepare for your Interview

Interviews will take place from April 14th to April 25th.

A group of four people sitting at a table in a meeting room, using laptops. One person laughs while others work. An analog clock on the wall shows the time.

Step 1: Review the PLS Flipbook >

Amplify Professional Learning Specialists (PLS) will be responsible for facilitating high-quality professional development (PD) to teachers and school leaders, ensuring educators feel confident taking steps to implement our programs and ultimately drive student success. 

Please read the PLS flipbook to ensure you have a clear understanding of the role and ensure this is the right fit for you. These details are captured in pages 16 – 29 of the flipbook.

Several key PLS responsibilities are highlighted below:

  • Delivering remote and onsite professional development for approximately 30-40 educators per session during the summer season (May – September 2025), possibly longer.
  • Must be available to be scheduled during normal school hours (Monday–Friday) in all U.S. time zones.
  • Must be available a minimum of three days per week on Monday through Friday from July 7–August 22. Three consecutive days is strongly recommended as it will potentially lead to more onsite delivery opportunities.
  • PLSs who are current educators and returning to full-time roles at school/districts must have a return to work date after August 22nd.
  • May not be unavailable for more than 1 week between July 21–August 15. Must be available August 18–22.
  • Traveling via car, plane, and/or public transportation, sometimes with minimal advance notice and including overnight stay at hotels.   
  • Paying all travel-related expenses in advance, with reimbursements being processed 2-3 weeks following submission of the expense reimbursement requests.

Please reach out to pls_hiring@amplify.com if you have additional questions.

Title page of a document titled "Professional learning specialist overview for 2025" with an image of three people discussing at a table.

Click HERE to review flipbook 

Step 2: Schedule Your Interview

Our second round of interviews will take place between April 14th – April 25th. 

Please schedule an interview for the specific role for which you have applied: 

  • Literacy or STEM Candidates: schedule a 30 minute interview below in the calendar titled “PLS Interviews: April” 
  • Bilingual Candidates: schedule a 45 minute interview on the “Bilingual PLS Interviews: April” only. You do not need to sign up for a separate 30 minute interview.
  • Once you have scheduled your interview, you should receive a confirmation email from Calendly.  If you do not receive this email, please reach out to PLS_hiring@amplify.com for support.

If you need to reschedule your interview, you may do so directly by clicking the reschedule link in the confirmation email from Calendly to select a new interview option during the current interview window.  Once you have rescheduled, you will receive a new confirmation email and updated calendar invitation. Please do not sign up for more than one interview.

We ask that you only reschedule if absolutely necessary and request at least 24 hours notice prior to your interview day/time.

Step 3: Prepare for Interview

Prior to your scheduled interview, prepare your interview activity! Please view the video to the right for help preparing. 

  • Guidance for the task can be found here: PLS Performance Task Guidance Document
  • You should come ready to share your screen via Google Meet and present the provided activity in under 5 minutes.
  • Talking points are included for each screen to guide your presentation.
  • During your interview we will be looking for proficiency with the following tech skills: independently sharing screen, speech matching animation, and moving from screen to screen with ease.

Offer, Onboarding, and Training

  • Qualified candidates will receive an offer via email.  The offer will include your product placement and regional assignment.
  • If you accept the offer, our partner contracting agency will reach out to you to provide the necessary documentation to begin the onboarding process. This will include a background check. You will also need to provide college transcripts, please begin gathering these items.
  • Once you have completed the onboarding process with our partner contracting agency, you will begin your official Amplify PLS onboarding process on June 2nd. A majority of onboarding will be remote, with one in person training on June 24th – 25th. More details to come!
  • Once you are certified, our PD Operations team will begin to schedule you for PD engagements within your region and across the country!

Info Session

Get more details from PD staff members about the PLS role, regional placement, the onboarding process, and ongoing support.

We will address the most common questions we receive:

  1. What is the role of a PLS?
  2. Where will I deliver sessions?  What content will I deliver?
  3. How will onboarding work?
  4. How will I be supported?

This session will be recorded and posted here following the session.

Recording

Passcode: $*Nk6jyi

FAQ

PLS FAQ

Hear from our Professional Learning Specialists

“I have been able to connect with teachers and support them in their implementation of Amplify products. I especially love coaching opportunities where I have time to see teachers in action, model lessons for them, and debrief and problem solve what is going on in their classrooms. I would have loved that opportunity when I was in the classroom.”

Amy Wiktor

Professional Learning Specialist

Hear from our Professional Learning Specialists

“I feel like I have learned so much about the Science of Reading, facilitation, and am inspired by the positive contribution I can make to both teachers and students. I am putting something positive back into the world and spreading kindness every day! Very fulfilling.”

Jennifer Piehl

Professional Learning Specialist

Hear from our Professional Learning Specialists

“I’ve had a lot of new experiences and love the networking involved throughout the Amplify community. Seeing new places in different parts of the country has been incredible, as well! Plus, the work environment has been the most positive, uplifting, and motivational workplace I’ve ever been a part of! ”

Justin Suder-Grose

Professional Learning Specialist

Thank you for your interest!

Contact us with questions at pls_hiring@amplify.com

Contact Us

Welcome to mCLASS® Lectura for grades K–6!

On this site, you’ll find resources to guide you in your review.

mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition teacher-administered assessment

About the program

Aligned to the Science of Reading, mCLASS ® Lectura allows teachers to connect with their students through observational assessment and in the language most comfortable to them. Used in tandem with DIBELS ® 8th Edition, mCLASS Lectura provides you with a full dual-language solution. Know exactly how to monitor and support all the Spanish-speaking students in your classroom with features like:

  • Assessment measures validated using the latest research in Spanish literacy development. 
  • Universal and dyslexia screening in one tool.
  • Instructional activities to build Spanish literacy skills.
  • Reports in English and Spanish.
Watch a webinar to learn more.
Spanish reading assessment

A program that addresses the classroom inequities Spanish-speaking students face in early literacy

Spanish-speaking students have been underserved and misclassified for decades. By combining mCLASS Lectura and mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition, you’ll be able to understand where your Spanish-speaking students are in their English and Spanish literacy paths.

Resources to support your review

Download the resources below before you review the program to better understand the program structure, components, digital resources, and more.

Icons representing human senses: an open book for reading, a puzzle piece for touch, an ear for hearing, and an eye for sight, in colorful outlines.

Dyslexia screening: Catch at-risk students early

Early intervention is critical. With mCLASS Lectura, educators can provide universal and dyslexia screening through one single powerful tool—no additional assessment system required.

A woman and a young girl sit at a table, looking at a smartphone together, with books nearby, in a classroom setting.

Assessment measurement videos

mCLASS Lectura’s teacher-administered assessment provides for streamlined data collection, emphasizing measures of the most important skills. The measures are administered in the manner that is most appropriate for the developmental stage of the child as well as the skills being assessed.

Fluidez en nombrar letras (FNL)

Students are asked to identify as many uppercase and lowercase letter names as they can in one minute.

Fluidez en los sonidos de letras (FSL)

Students are asked to identify the sounds of as many uppercase and lowercase letters as they can in one minute.

Fluidez en los sonidos de sílabas (LSS)

Students are presented with a page of printed orthographically regular Spanish syllables and asked to read as many syllables as they can in one minute.

Fluidez en las palabras (FEP)

Students are presented with a page of real words and asked to decode as many words as they can in one minute.

Fluidez en la lectura oral (FLO)

Students are presented with an authentically written informational or narrative passage of Spanish connected text and asked to read as much of the passage as they can in one minute.

¿Qué Queda? (QQ)

Students are presented with a word orally and then the examiner omits part of the word (i.e., compound word part, syllable, or phoneme). Students are asked to identify what word remains after the word part has been elided.

Colorful icons representing the senses and communication: an eye, an ear, a puzzle piece, and a speech bubble, each outlined in blue, red, yellow, and light blue.

Fluidez en la segmentación de sílabas (FSS)

Students are presented with words orally and asked to segment words into syllables. (No video is currently available for this measure.)

Request a demo

If you’d like to review the full program or speak to a product expert for more information, fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch.

Teacher and student sitting across from each other in a classroom, with the teacher holding a tablet. Other students are working in the background.

Science of Reading resources hub

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!

Select a resource:

Amplify’s Science of Reading overview

Learn the ins and outs of the Science of Reading—what it means, and why its principles matter.

LEARN MORE 

Science of Reading FAQ

Get early literacy guidance with our Science of Reading FAQ.

LEARN MORE 

Science of Reading: The Podcast

Listen to the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading.

LEARN MORE 

Science of Reading programs

Achieve next-level literacy growth with a cohesive Science of Reading suite.

EXPLORE NOW 

Science of Reading success stories

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.

LEARN MORE 

Science of Reading webinars

Get on-demand professional development to build and refine your toolkit of Science of Reading resources and instructional practices.

WATCH NOW 

Science of Reading Star Awards

Nominate a literacy changemaker for our prestigious Science of Reading Star Awards!

LEARN MORE 

Science of Reading data and MTSS

Fortify your Science of Reading implementation using essential data and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

LEARN MORE 

Change management

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 MORE 

Knowledge building

Learn the ins and outs of the Science of Reading—what it means, and why its principles matter.

LEARN MORE

Dyslexia and the Science of Reading

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 MORE 

Science of Reading professional development course

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.

ENROLL NOW 

The Science of Writing

Explore the Science of Writing, and how you can use it with the Science of Reading to unlock life-changing literacy outcomes.

LEARN MORE 

Join our User Research Community!

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.

Sign Up
A person is using a tablet, immersed in progress and analytics data graphics on a white and orange backdrop, reminiscent of tools often employed by school administrators.

Why participate in user research?

Make an impact

Help influence and improve Amplify products by sharing your feedback and ideas

Get sneak peeks

Learn about new products and features that Amplify teams are working on

Connect with us

Share your thoughts and feedback directly with Amplify product development teams

Enjoy thank-you gifts

Receive incentives as a thank you for your time

What to expect

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.

A person in a shirt and tie, possibly a school administrator, reviews documents at a desk. Inset is an image of the "User Research Community Questionnaire," perhaps focusing on insights from K-12 teachers.
Three people from the research community collaborate with digital devices, including a tablet and a laptop, fervently discussing their findings.

Frequently asked questions

Sign Up

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:

  • Classroom teachers (PreK–12)
  • Biliteracy teachers
  • Special education teachers
  • Interventionists
  • Coaches
  • Curriculum directors
  • School administrators
  • District administrations
  • Parents and caregivers

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:

  • Talk to a researcher in a video call: Share your experiences with a specific product.
  • Share your screen: Show us how you use Amplify’s products, try out a prototype, or test new features.
  • Complete a survey: Answer questions about your current practices and/or preferences.
  • Host a school visit: Have a few Amplify employees visit your classroom to observe our programs in action.
  • Participate in a long-form study: These studies may involve a small commitment for several days or over a few weeks. You may be asked to review new materials or designs or to try something out in your classroom. Our researchers may ask you to respond to questions or take notes based on your experience using a product.

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.

Amplify Playtesting Program

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.

A girl wearing headphones smiles while using a laptop, surrounded by illustrations of a building and a house. A colorful creature dances nearby, reminiscent of the creative tools K-12 teachers use to inspire young minds.

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!

Welcome, Florida middle school educators!

Amplify ELA Florida is the program built for Florida middle school teachers and students. We designed the program to help ensure the B.E.S.T standards are covered; the skills are taught; the test is prepped for; and your students are scaffolded and encouraged. We want you to spend your time bringing the text to life, making the classroom hum, and letting every student know you are paying attention to their growth.

Amplify ELA Florida Program Guide

Instruction matters

Florida’s new standards have been crafted to give your students the B.E.S.T. Amplify ELA Florida’s lessons explore the most compelling aspect of a text and target the standards that best support that analysis through reading, writing, and communication. These key standards are identified as the lesson’s Spotlight benchmark.  Strategic connections are attained in the program through:

  • Florida model texts including rich literature and compelling non-fiction, taught in engaging new ways for today’s learners.
  • Benchmark stacks that build connections within lessons and across units.
  • Writing that builds directly from reading complex text and is evaluated by Amplify’s Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE).
  • Reading with the B.E.S.T. Modules have been built to guide teachers and students as they begin to work with Florida’s new reading standards, providing an introduction to each grade-level B.E.S.T. Reading Benchmark.
    (Example module: Grade 6, Understanding Rhetoric)

Knowledge matters

Texts in the Amplify ELA Florida Edition curriculum cover a wide range of topics, themes, and genres with differentiated supports that ensure that all students can work through each reading and lesson. Taken as a whole, the texts show students a diverse picture of the world and help foster a lifelong love of reading. Comprehension develops as students engage with literary and informational text selections that are complex, rich, and meaningful. 

Texts were selected for Amplify ELA Florida Edition using the following criteria: 

  • Text complexity as defined by qualitative, quantitative, and reader and task measurements as required by the B.E.S.T. Standards and the Amplify Text Complexity Index
  • Balance of literary and informational texts
  • Varied representation of genres: novels, plays, poetry, biographies, and other full-length texts
  • Diverse cultures, perspectives, and authors
  • Engaging texts that extend learning and support students as they build knowledge
  • Grade-appropriate texts, with scaffolding and compelling activities to support student engagement with 100% authentic texts
  • A library with more than 700 complete books, both classic and contemporary, encompassing a wide range of genres, topics, and cultural perspectives

Curriculum matters

Amplify ELA Florida is a blended curriculum designed specifically for grades 6–8. The heart of every lesson is the text. Each grade includes six units centered on literary or informational texts, delivered in several forms of media. Your classroom will also benefit from two or three immersive, project-based experiences and a dedicated Story Writing unit.

  • Full B.E.S.T. coverage: Standards are clearly labeled in each lesson, so teachers can save time planning and get back to what they love: teaching. Also included are Benchmark Modules that support teachers’ and students’ introduction to the new standards for Florida.
  • Five levels of differentiation: Based on each student’s needs and the performance measures within Amplify ELA reports, a teacher can choose the differentiation level that’s the right fit for everyone.
  • Embedded Assessments: Teachers benefit from uninterrupted instructional time and a continuously updated picture of each student’s progress with key skills and standards.
  • Powerful feedback tools: Comprehensive tools help teachers maximize both the quantity and quality of feedback.
  • Robust reporting: Our reporting app offers information on student progress to help inform instructional decisions.

All in one place: Embedded teacher support, differentiation tools, student data, text, and other curriculum features—they’re all right there.

Materials

Amplify ELA Florida Edition is a blended curriculum that seamlessly integrates print and digital resources to be used in any learning environment. The resources are designed to facilitate instruction for planning, teaching, learning, and assessment.

Student materials

Available digitally and in print, the student materials guide middle schoolers through complex texts and writing with the following:

  • Student Edition will engage students with high-quality narrative and informational texts.
  • Digital experience will provide videos, a library of more than 700 texts, audio supports, and other online experiences that capture their attention.

Poetry in America videos

 Amplify ELA Florida has rich digital experiences that students to read, think, and write like authors. Our  “Poetry in America” videos include interpretations by Shaquille O’Neal, Angela Duckworth, Regina Spektor,  Shiza Shahid, Anson Dorrance, Elizabeth Alexander, Duy Doan, and Richard Blanco.


To the left, Richard Blanco reads his poem “Looking for the Gulf Motel.”

Teacher materials

Available digitally and in print, the Teacher Edition contains all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including:

  • From detailed lesson plans.
  • Video teacher tips embedded in the lesson.
  • B.E.S.T. standards alignment and assessments including exit tickets.
  • Real-time differentiation strategies.
  • Clarify and Compare lessons.

Professional learning

Amplify employs a national cohort of more than 50 ELA facilitators, all of whom have experience as former classroom teachers and many of whom are former school and/or district leaders. Our professional learning team has decades of experience working with large districts across the nation. Amplify has experience supporting district launches over multiple years and has partnered with districts of all sizes nationwide. We partner deeply with districts and tailor professional learning to their unique needs.

Florida ELA Implementation 

Florida Review Resources

Florida Program Guide

Literature for Florida

A closer look at grades 6–8 (domain)

Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver rigorous and riveting lessons through hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools that empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists.

In the 6–8 classroom, this looks like students:

  • Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
  • Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
  • Formulating convincing scientific arguments.

Is your school implementing the domain model? Click here.

Collage of four images showing children engaged in educational activities such as conducting experiments and crafting in a classroom setting.

Program structure

Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.

It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 6–8 program to address 100% of the NGSS in fewer lessons than other programs.

Scope and sequence

Every year our grades 6–8 sequence consists of 9 units, with each unit containing 10–19 lessons. Lessons are written to last a minimum of 45-minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

A grid of educational icons, each representing a different science topic, such as earth and space science, life science, and physical science, with titles and lesson counts.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also serving a unique purpose.

In grades 6–8, there are three types of units:

  • One unit is a launch unit.
  • Three units are core units.
  • Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units

Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to actively read in all subsequent units.

Core units

Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.

Engineering Internship units

Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.

Units at a glance

Geology on Mars

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Planetary geologists

Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable.    

Plate Motion

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.    

Plate Motion Engineering Internship

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Mechanical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Patterns in earthquake data can be used to design an effective tsunami warning system.    

Rock Transformations

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.    

Earth, Sun, and Moon

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An astrophotographer can only take pictures of specific features on the Moon at certain times.    

Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Climatologists

Phenomenon: During El Niño years, the air temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand is cooler than usual.    

Weather Patterns

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Forensic meteorologists

Phenomenon: In recent years, rainstorms in Galetown have been unusually severe.    

Earth’s Changing Climate

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Climatologists

Phenomenon: The ice on Earth’s surface is melting.    

Earth’s Changing Climate Engineering Internship

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Civil engineers

Phenomenon: Designing rooftops with different modifications can reduce a city’s impact on climate change.    

Microbiome

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Microbiological researchers

Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.    

Metabolism

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Medical researchers

Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.    

Metabolism Engineering Internship

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Food engineers

Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.    

Traits and Reproduction

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biomedical students

Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.    

Populations and Resources

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biologists

Phenomenon: The size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea has increased.    

Matter and Energy in Ecosystems

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: What caused the mysterious crash of a biodome ecosystem?    

Natural Selection

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biologists

Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.    

Natural Selection Engineering Internship

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Clinical engineers

Phenomenon: Designing malaria treatment plans that use different combinations of drugs can reduce drug resistance development while helping malaria patients.  


Evolutionary History

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Paleontologists

Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.    

Harnessing Human Energy

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Energy scientists

Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.    

Force and Motion

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.    

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Mechanical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents. 

Magnetic Fields

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.    

Thermal Energy

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Thermal scientists

Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school.    

Phase Change

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Chemists

Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.    

Phase Change Engineering Internship

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Chemical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature.    

Chemical Reactions

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Forensic chemists

Phenomenon: A mysterious brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.    

Light Waves

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Spectroscopists

Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer is higher in Australia than in other parts of the world.    

Resources

Pilot support brochure for grades 6–8 (Domain…

Unit phenomena for grade 6-8 (Domain)

Take a closer look at the unit phenomena featured in each grade level.

Classroom Slides for 6–8

Your new hands-free TG is coming soon! These PowerPoints for every lesson make t…

What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

Learn actionable strategies that will help you implement 3-D teaching and learni…

Planning Guide for grades 6–8 (Domain)

Check out these tips for planning to teach.

Active reading in grades 6–8

Scientists read and write with purpose too.

Investigations for grades 6–8 (Domain)

Explore the types of investigations that take place in 6–8 classrooms.

A laptop screen displaying a map with three ecosystem options, each illustrated by different animal icons and accompanied by relevant data lists.

Sims for grades 4–8

Take a closer look at the digital simulations included at each grade level.

Approaches to assessment at 6–8

Learn about our embedded assessments.

A closer look at grades 6–8

Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver rigorous and riveting lessons through hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools that empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists.

In the 6–8 classroom, this looks like students:

  • Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
  • Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
  • Formulating convincing scientific arguments.

Is your school implementing the domain model? Click here.

Collage of four images showing children engaged in educational activities such as conducting experiments and crafting in a classroom setting.

Program structure

Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.

It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 6–8 program to address 100% of the NGSS in fewer lessons than other programs.

Scope and sequence

Every year our grades 6–8 sequence consists of 9 units, with each unit containing 10–19 lessons. Lessons are written to last a minimum of 45-minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

A grid of educational icons, each representing a different science topic, such as earth and space science, life science, and physical science, with titles and lesson counts.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also serving a unique purpose.

In grades 6–8, there are three types of units:

  • One unit is a launch unit.
  • Three units are core units.
  • Two units are engineering internships.
Launch units

Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.

Core units

Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.

Engineering Internship units

Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.

Units at a glance

Microbiome

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Microbiological researchers

Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.  

Metabolism

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Medical researchers

Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.  

Metabolism Engineering Internship

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Food engineers

Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.  

Traits and Reproduction

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biomedical students

Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.  

Thermal Energy

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Thermal scientists

Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school. 

Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Climatologists

Phenomenon: During El Niño years, the air temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand is cooler than usual.  

Weather Patterns

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Forensic meteorologists

Phenomenon: In recent years, rainstorms in Galetown have been unusually severe.  

Earth’s Changing Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Climatologists

Phenomenon: The ice on Earth’s surface is melting.  

Earth’s Changing Climate Engineering Internship

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Civil engineers

Phenomenon: Designing rooftops with different modifications can reduce a city’s impact on climate change.  

Geology on Mars

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Planetary geologists

Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable. 

Plate Motion

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.  

Plate Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Mechanical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Patterns in earthquake data can be used to design an effective tsunami warning system.  

Rock Transformations

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.  

Phase Change

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Chemists

Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Chemical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature. Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science

Chemical Reactions

Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Forensic chemists

Phenomenon: A mysterious brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.  

Populations and Resources

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biologists

Phenomenon: The size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea has increased. 

Matter and Energy in Ecosystems

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The biodome ecosystem has collapsed.  

Harnessing Human Energy

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Launch

Student role: Energy scientists

Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.  

Force and Motion

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Chemical engineering interns

Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents.

Magnetic Fields

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.  

Light Waves

Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Spectroscopists

Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer is higher in Australia than in other parts of the world.

Earth, Moon, and Sun

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An astrophotographer can only take pictures of specific features on the Moon at certain times.  

Natural Selection

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Biologists

Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.  

Natural Selection Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, Life Science

Unit type: Engineering internship

Student role: Clinical engineers

Phenomenon: Designing malaria treatment plans that use different combinations of drugs can reduce drug resistance development while helping malaria patients.  

Evolutionary History

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Paleontologists

Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.    

Resources

Pilot support brochure for 6–8 (Integrated)

Unit phenomena for 6–8

Take a closer look at the unit phenomena featured in each grade level.

Classroom Slides for 6–8

Your new hands-free TG is coming soon! These PowerPoints for every lesson make t…

What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

Learn actionable strategies that will help you implement 3-D teaching and learni…

Active reading in 6–8

Scientists read and write with purpose too.

Investigations for 6–8

Explore the types of investigations that take place in middle school classrooms….

A laptop screen displaying a map with three ecosystem options, each illustrated by different animal icons and accompanied by relevant data lists.

Sims for 4–8

Approaches to assessment in 6–8

Learn about our middle school embedded assessments.

A closer look at grades K–2

Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver age-appropriate, high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that enables students to take on the roles of scientists and engineers to solve real-world phenomena every day.

In the K–2 classroom, this looks like students:

  • Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
  • Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
  • Formulating convincing scientific arguments.
A collage shows science activities: toothpick structure, two kids reading, two kids pouring liquid into cups, and a light experiment with shadows.

Program structure

Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, their understanding gradually builds and deepens, ultimately leading to their ability to develop and refine increasingly complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.

It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our K–2 program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 66 days.

Scope and sequence

Every year of our K–2 consists of 3 units and 66 total lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).

Lessons at grades K–1 are written for a minimum of 45-minutes, and grade 2 lessons are written for a minimum of 60-minutes—though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

Grid of nine educational subject cards for kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2, each listing curriculum topics like "needs of plants and animals" and "engineering design" with lesson durations.

Unit types

While every unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, each unit also emphasizes a particular science and engineering practice.

In each grade K–2:

  • One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
  • One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
  • One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
Investigation Units

Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.

Modeling Units

Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.

Engineering Design Units

Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.

Units at a glance

Needs of Plants and Animals

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Scientists

Phenomenon: There are no monarch caterpillars in the Mariposa Grove community garden since vegetables were planted. 

Pushes and Pulls

Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Pinball engineers

Phenomenon: Pinball machines allow people to control the direction and strength of forces on a ball.  

Sunlight and Weather

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Weather scientists

Phenomenon: Students at Carver Elementary School are too cold during morning recess, while students at Woodland Elementary School are too hot during afternoon recess.  

Animal and Plant Defenses

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Spruce the Sea Turtle lives in an aquarium and will soon be released back into the ocean, where she will survive despite ocean predators.  

Light and Sound

Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Light and sound engineers

Phenomenon: A puppet show company uses light and sound to depict realistic scenes in puppet shows.  

Spinning Earth

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Sky scientists

Phenomenon: The sky looks different to Sai and his grandma when they talk on the phone.  

Plant and Animal Relationships

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Plant scientists

Phenomenon: No new chalta trees are growing in the fictional Bengal Tiger Reserve in India.  

Properties of Materials

Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Glue engineers

Phenomenon: Different glue recipes result in glues that have different properties.  

Changing Landforms

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: The cliff that Oceanside Recreation Center is situated on appears to be receding over time.  

Resources

Pilot support brochure for K–2

Unit phenomena for K–5

Take a closer look at the unit phenomena featured in each grade level…

Classroom Slides for K–5

Meet your new hands-free TG! These PowerPoints for every lesson make teaching sc…

What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

Learn actionable strategies that will help you implement 3-D teaching and learni…

Literacy-rich instruction in K–5

Scientists read and write with purpose too.

Student Books in K–5

Read a summary of each of our Student books.

Investigations for K–5

Explore the types of hands-on investigations that take place in K–5 classrooms.

The CER model for K–5

Learn how we integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) into daily i…

Approaches to assessment in K–5

Learn about our embedded assessments.

Logotipo de la Cumbre de Liderazgo en Matemáticas 2020, patrocinada por Amplify. Presenta formas geométricas y texto estilizado "2020" sobre un fondo blanco.

Join us!

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March 2–4

The US Grant Hotel, San Diego

Register Now!

About the event

Join us for two days of interactive and inspirational talks with math education leaders from around the country to discuss where math education is headed. Meet like-minded K–12 leaders as well as change-makers from major universities, EdTech companies, and professional learning organizations dedicated to improving teacher experiences and student outcomes in mathematics. 

We’re hosting an optional pre-conference workshop featuring Patrick Callahan and Chris Weber on Monday, March 2. The pre-conference starts at 12 p.m.

What to expect:

  • Two full days of keynote and breakout sessions covering a variety of K–12 math topics
  • Sessions led by district leaders sharing their work to raise math achievement
  • Evening networking events
  • Engaging speakers with a variety of expertise
  • Insights you can put to use in your district immediately

Meet a few of our speakers

Use this version when there are multiple presenters.

Jason Zimba

Founding Partner of Student Achievement Partners

Lead writer of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Sunil Singh

Founding Partner of Student Achievement Partners

Lead writer of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Christina Lincoln-Moore

Founding Partner of Student Achievement Partners

Lead writer of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Use this version when there is only one presenter, rather than many.

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Natalie Wexler

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Event agenda

Monday, March 2

Arrivals

Pre-conference workshop featuring Chris Weber and Patrick Callahan

Sessions begin at 1 p.m. Pacific and include:

  • Adult and Student Mindsets and Math Supports
  • Enhanced Mathematics

3:00 p.m. Hotel check-in available

6:00 p.m. Welcome reception and dinner

Tuesday, March 3

8:30 a.m. Sessions begin

Sessions include:

  • Math milestones with Jason Zimba
  • Unfinished learning with Phil Daro
  • Powerful moments in math class with Mike Flynn
  • Utilizing math history to embrace equity, failure, and authentic problem-solving in leadership communities with Sunil Singh
  • Radical change in high school mathematics: Addressing wicked problems of tracking, acceleration, and curricular change with Mike Steele

6:30 p.m. Evening event

Wednesday, March 4

8:30 a.m. Sessions begin

Sessions include:

  • Embedding problem-solving into your curriculum with Fawn Nguyen
  • Writing in mathematics: The power of mathematics explanations with Jessica Balli
  • Talk Number 2 Me: Mathematics and mindfulness with Christina Lincoln-Moore
  • Writing in mathematics: The power of mathematical explanations with Patrick Callahan

4:00 p.m. Departures

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The fine print

While we’ve made every effort to ensure that this invitation is consistent with the gift and ethics rules adopted by most jurisdictions, we recognize that many public officials are subject to rules that do not permit acceptance of this offer or require approval of other officials at your agency. If you do plan to attend our event, please ensure that acceptance of our invitation is fully compliant with your local rules regarding travel, lodging, and meals for events with vendors. Please let us know if we can provide any additional information to support your determination.

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

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

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

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

What is the Simple View of Reading?

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

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

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

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

Why is the Simple View of Reading framework so powerful?

The Simple View of Reading gives teachers a clear roadmap.

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

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

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

The Simple View of Writing: A logical extension

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

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

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

Putting it together: How these models transform literacy instruction

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

These models allow educators to:

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

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

More to explore

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

Plus:

Lleve el mundo a los estudiantes con un plan de estudios de alfabetización comprobado de PreK a 5.º grado

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) es el plan de estudios líder en alfabetización temprana basado en la Ciencia de la lectura. Mediante la combinación del desarrollo de conocimientos y de destrezas fundamentales a partir de la investigación, nuestra instrucción orienta a los educadores en el desarrollo de lectores, escritores y pensadores capaces.
Con una poderosa plataforma en línea y un plan de estudios paralelo de lengua y literatura en español, Amplify CKLA ofrece una solución integral para educadores y estudiantes de PreK a 5.º grado. For English version, please click here.

Solicitar muestras

Los resultados son fruto del conocimiento previo

El plan de estudios de alfabetización de Amplify CKLA de PreK a 5.º grado equipa a los estudiantes con un rico conocimiento que se construye intencionalmente para inspirar curiosidad e impulsar resultados. Explore las investigaciónes que revelan la eficacia del plan de estudios basado en el conocimiento, así como el logro de Amplify CKLA como intervención educativa de conformidad con la ESSA (nivel 1 de evidencia fuerte).

AMPLIFY CKLA

38,000+

Salones de clase

2,700,000+

Estudiantes

50

Estados de EE. UU. y D.C.

Revisado de forma independiente y rigurosa

Amplify CKLA se encuentra entre los pocos planes de estudio que es tanto reconocido por la campaña Knowledge Matters (por su excelencia en construir conocimiento intencionalmente) y como calificado verde en EdReports, obteniendo puntuaciones verdes en todos los criterios.

Leer la reseña en EdReports

Nuestro enfoque

Basado en la Ciencia de la lectura y siguiendo el principio de Core Knowledge, el plan de estudios Amplify CKLA para PreK a 5.º grado combina conocimientos de contenido rico en historia, ciencias, literatura y artes con una instrucción sistemática de destrezas fundamentales basada en la investigación.

Basado en la Ciencia de la lectura

Como la primera casa editorial en crear un plan de estudios basado en la Ciencia de la lectura, ponemos la investigación en acción con una instrucción explícita y sistemática de destrezas fundamentales junto con una secuencia comprobada de construcción de conocimientos. En colaboración con expertos y profesionales de la educación, proporcionamos recursos poderosos que generan resultados reales. Explore nuestras historias de éxito de Ciencia de la lectura.

Diagram illustrating the interplay between language comprehension and word recognition in reading, as seen in early literacy stages. It highlights pathways through knowledge, vocabulary, and sentence understanding, reflecting principles from the CKLA reading program.

Desarrolla destrezas fundamentales con instrucción explícita y sistemática

El alcance y la secuencia basados en la investigación de Amplify CKLA progresan desde el desarrollo de destrezas simples hasta el más complejo, comenzando con la conciencia fonológica y fonémica. La instrucción le guía en la enseñanza explícita de las 150 ortografías de los 44 sonidos del inglés, con una progresión intencional y una revisión de las destrezas para preparar a sus estudiantes para el éxito.

Adopta una metodología demostrada de adquisición de conocimientos

Siguiendo la Core Knowledge Sequence, un enfoque coherente, acumulativo y de contenido específico para desarrollar conocimientos, los estudiantes profundizan y hacen conexiones entre áreas de contenido para construir una base de conocimientos sólida que les permita comprender textos complejos. Vea cómo se ha demostrado que el plan de estudios Core Knowledge mejora los puntajes de lectura y elimina las brechas en el rendimiento.

Logo of Core Knowledge featuring five colorful human figures holding hands in a circle above the text "Core Knowledge," symbolizing unity and learning. This emblem embodies the spirit of early literacy and celebrates their online language arts curriculum.

Creado en colaboración con la Core Knowledge Foundation

Amplify CKLA es el líder en materiales educativos de alta calidad para lengua y literatura de primaria, creado en colaboración con la Core Knowledge Foundation para ayudar a los estudiantes a desarrollar con eficacia un conocimiento profundo del contenido y destrezas fundamentales.

CONOCER MÁS SOBRE LA CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION

Cultivar la alfabetización bilingüe con programas paralelos en inglés y español

Amplify Caminos es el compañero perfecto en lengua y literatura del idioma español para Amplify CKLA. Los programas alineados combinan un rico conocimiento del contenido con una instrucción sistemática de destrezas fundamentales basada en la Ciencia de la lectura que sigue los principios de alfabetización bilingüe, y respalda múltiples modelos de enseñanza.

CONOCER MÁS SOBRE AMPLIFY CAMINOS

Estudio de eficacia de Amplify CKLA

Evidencia de conformidad con la ESSA (nivel 1): la adquisición de
conocimientos con Amplify CKLA
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Qué se incluye

El programa proporciona atractivos materiales impresos y multimedia diseñados para construir una base sólida y rica en lectoescritura en todos los salones de clase.

CoreELD y complementos

Materiales de alta calidad para los maestros

Los maestros de Amplify CKLA brindan instrucción de manera eficaz con recursos impresos y digitales, que incluyen:

  • Guías para el maestro con diferenciación integrada.
  • Evaluaciones formales e informales.
  • Diapositivas de lecciones listas para usar y personalizables.
  • Libros comerciales y Guías literarias.
  • Recursos docentes y desarrollo profesional a pedido.

Recursos inmersivos para estudiantes

Los estudiantes de Amplify CKLA se mantienen interesados con una amplia gama de recursos impresos y digitales, que incluyen:

  • Descodificables originales y Libros grandes de lectura en voz alta (K a 2.º grado), Libros de lectura (3.er a 5.º grados) y libros comerciales (K a 5.º grado).
  • Cuadernos de actividades para estudiantes con evaluaciones integradas (K a 5.º grado).
  • Unidades de investigación para investigaciones independientes desarrollados en torno a un libro comercial (K a 5.º grado).
  • Diario del poeta y Diario del escritor (libros de lectura con espacio para escribir para 4.º y 5.º grados).
  • Misiones de conocimiento para apoyar el aprendizaje inmersivo basado en problemas en los grados 3.º a 5.º.

Materiales prácticos de fonética

La fonética multisensorial y los recursos de destrezas fundamentales ayudan a los estudiantes a practicar destrezas clave utilizando enfoques divertidos y variados que desarrollan la independencia.

  •  Carpetas para la práctica de ortografía (K).
  • Tarjetas de letras (K a 2.º grado).
  • Tarjetas de sílabas (K a 2.º grado).
  • Tarjetas de imágenes (K a 3.er grado).
  • Tarjetas de combinación de imágenes (K).
  • Rotafolios de códigos de consonantes y vocales (1.er y 2.º grados).
  • Biblioteca de sonido digital exclusiva.

Experiencia digital robusta

Los recursos para maestros y estudiantes de Amplify CKLA están disponibles a través de una plataforma de experiencia digital que mejora la instrucción y le ahorra tiempo. Con todo lo que necesita en un solo lugar, puede planificar lecciones, presentar contenido y revisar el trabajo de los estudiantes de manera eficaz.

  • Presentaciones de lecciones con diapositivas listas para usar y personalizables.
  • Herramienta dinámica para estudiantes con revisión en vivo.
  • Experiencia interactiva y amigable para los estudiantes.
  • Integración LMS.
  • Videos animados de Desarrollo de conocimiento
  • Lecturas en voz alta grabadas.
  • Sitio web de desarrollo profesional.
  • Apoyo al programa en tiempo real por correo electrónico, chat en vivo y teléfono.
Four colorful educational books are displayed against a black background. Each cover has tools like pencils, papers, and letters representing various school subjects.

Programa para estudiantes del idioma inglés

Language Studio, diseñado para Amplify CKLA, brinda instrucción diaria alineada con WIDA para que los estudiantes del idioma inglés profundicen su inglés académico.

Programa de exploración de escritura

Writing Studio, un complemento único para Amplify CKLA, ofrece una inmersión profunda en la redacción de información, narrativa y opinión para formar escritores fuertes y apasionados.

Covers of four "Writing Studio Teacher Guide" books for different grades, featuring educational icons in orange, purple, blue, and teal color schemes.
Todo los materiales

Explore otros programas basados en la Ciencia de la lectura

Todos los programas de nuestro paquete de alfabetización están diseñados para que se respalden y complementen entre sí. Aprenda más sobre nuestros programas relacionados:

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Amplify CKLA Fairfax, VA

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#1 most adopted California NGSS curriculum

Amplify Science California is a brand-new TK–8 curriculum built for the California NGSS. It also happens to be the most adopted science curriculum so far—out of 17 state-approved programs to choose from. We feel pretty honored to be the science curriculum partner of choice for so many districts. Find out what makes our program so phenomenal by exploring this site at your own pace.

Una computadora portátil muestra una diapositiva titulada "Lección 2.1: Introducción a la entrada y salida de energía". Al lado, hay un libro de texto cuya portada presenta diversos personajes animados y el lanzamiento de un cohete.

Overview

With Amplify Science California, students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena.  They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.

Listen to these educators share how the program empowers students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers every day.

Grades K–5

Grades 6–8

Our approach

At the heart of Amplify Science California is our goal of helping students make the shift from learning about to figuring out scientific concepts. As they collect evidence, students actively work to construct a deeper and more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.

Throughout the Amplify Science California curriculum, students actively share and discuss evidence and work together to determine what claim the evidence supports. As they collaborate and engage in debate, they are practicing vital aspects of constructing explanations and argumentation, such as:

  • Deeply understanding evidence
  • Working with others to understand the meaning of evidence
  • Convincing others that their claim is the most sound
  • Providing logical reasoning to support their claims
Diagrama de flujo que ilustra un proceso de aprendizaje: aprender sobre un problema, recopilar evidencia, construir argumentos y aplicar la comprensión. La evidencia y el razonamiento conducen a una afirmación.

Why choose Amplify Science California?

Amplify Science California isn’t a traditional textbook program. Rather, it’s a next-generation curriculum designed to support a shift to a whole new way of teaching science. If your district is interested in making a successful and lasting transition to the California NGSS, Amplify Science California is a program that you can choose with confidence.

Estudiantes sentados en una mesa negra en un salón de clases, un estudiante lee un libro de texto sobre formaciones rocosas en la Tierra mientras otros discuten y trabajan en computadoras portátiles.

Newly built for the California NGSS

Unlike other companies that retrofitted an existing program, we built Amplify Science California from the ground up. That means that every unit, every chapter, every lesson, and every activity was newly crafted to deliver true three-dimensional learning that works. Said another way, our program didn’t exist until after the California NGSS Framework was complete.

Authored by California’s leading science education experts

Amplify Science California was developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify. As the Hall’s first curriculum designed to address the California NGSS, Amplify Science California reflects state-of-the-art practices in science teaching and learning.

Proven effective (for ELs, too!)

Grounded in research, proven effective, and classroom-tested—Amplify Science California was designed to work, and it does. Simply put: Students who use our science curriculum outperform their peers. That’s because our instructional design is rooted in UC Berkeley’s Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize approach, which has been backed by three gold-standard studies, efficacy research, and extensive field testing.
 
What’s more, learners who used this approach outperformed their English Learner peers in literacy skills and science content knowledge. Just check out the results to the left!

Easier lesson delivery with our new hands-free TG

With our new Classroom Slides, you can put down the Teacher’s Guide and focus on what matters most—your students. These lesson-specific PowerPoints make delivering daily instruction a snap with embedded links to related resources and suggested teacher talk in the Notes section of each slide. Classroom Slides are now available for Grades K-5 and will be ready for Grades 6-8 for the 2020-2021 school year!

Student resources in the format you choose

With more flexible implementation options at Grades 6-8, Amplify Science California suits every budget. Districts can now mix and match the following components to create their preferred student experience:

  • A new hardcover Student Edition
  • A new 2-volume consumable Student Investigation Notebook Set
  • Our current 9-volume consumable Student Investigation Notebook Set
  • Our digital student experience for reading articles and completing classwork

Built with affordability and manageability in mind

Amplify Science California helps your dollars stretch farther with more materials than any other program. Our K–5 kits support up to 36 students at a time, and include enough materials for a total of 72 student uses. Our 6–8 kits support up to 40 students at a time and include enough materials for a total of 200 student uses. What’s more, only 7 of the 27 units at this level require refills. For many California NGSS classrooms, that can equate to two years of use per grade level.

More materials also means more manageable and effective small-group instruction. Unlike other programs that require students to work in large groups of 8-9 students each, we give you enough materials to support up to 8 small groups of 4-5 students each. 

No more waiting for new features

Other publishers require you to wait for program updates until the next revision—even if it’s six years away. That’s not the case with Amplify Science California. We’re committed to supporting your continued success with the California NGSS for the duration of your adoption period, which includes making digital updates and platform enhancements available to you in real time through our platform.

What educators say

“I just wanted to let you know how awesome the new slides are. I’m so appreciative of the work that it took to include them in the program. When used by a teacher in ‘presenter’ mode, they make teaching the lessons so much easier and seamless. It’s incredible!”

Lisa Lisle

Goleta USD

What educators say

“I just wanted to let you know that I am LOVING teaching this Natural Selection unit. This simulation is UNBELIEVABLE! We are on day 4 and the kids are loving it. One of my ADD kiddos even came in—during break time—to set up a scenario where he made the Ostralopes super hairy and then made it warm to see how they adapt! The slow, meaningful build of the concepts is SO awesome. I showed my principal and our instructional technology director what we were doing today, and they were blown away. Thank you!”

Kathy Blakemore

Grade 8 teacher, Lake Elsinore USD

What educators say

“It has been an absolute joy to work with Amplify these last two years…[the] data impact alone for English Language Arts has been astronomical! The student scores in ELA substantially increased compared to the other 4th and 5th grade rooms, thanks to the ELA embedded curriculum within Amplify Science.”

Kelly Young

Grade 5 teacher, San Diego USD

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Amplify Classroom crosswalk

Amplify Classroom is a teaching and learning platform offering free digital lessons and lesson-building tools. Our free lessons include ones from our core K–12 math curriculum, Amplify Desmos Math, and can be used alongside any core math program. Here are a few crosswalk collections to popular programs.

Free Amplify Desmos Math K–12 lessons aligned to your core program!

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Amplify Classroom crosswalk

Amplify Classroom is a teaching and learning platform offering free digital lessons and lesson-building tools. Our free lessons include ones from our core K–12 math curriculum, Amplify Desmos Math, and can be used alongside any core math program. Here are a few crosswalk collections to popular programs.

Free Amplify Desmos Math K–12 lessons aligned to your core program!

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Thank you for attending Amplify’s Impact Forum in Brooklyn!

We look forward to working with all the attending districts as you bring your change ideas back to your district.

if you have any questions, please email us at cfer@amplify.com.

Tools for Literacy Classrooms

Doug Lemov and Colleen Driggs

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Using Improvement Science

Sharon Greenberg

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Early Education and the Brain: Making Novel Connections

Bruce McCandliss

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The Case of Curriculum

Robert Pondiscio

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Getting Clear About the Goal: What Is Third-Grade Reading?

Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert

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The Now, Days 1 and 2

Rebecca Goldberg, Alison Fuller, and Macharva Housley (Bellwether Education Partners)

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Top 10 Science of Reading podcasts to get you started

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!

S1-E1: Natalie Wexler on “The Knowledge Gap”

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.

S1-E3: Emily Hanford on reporting on education and the Science of Reading

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.

S1-E8: Tim Shanahan on evidence-based literacy practices

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.

S3-E1: Dr. Jane Oakhill on Scarborough’s Reading Rope

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.

S3-E3: Dr. Louisa Moats on decoding

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.

S2-E7: Sonia Cabell on research, comprehension, and content-rich literacy instruction

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.

S3-E5: Dr. Bruce McCandliss on sight recognition

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.

S2-E1: Dr. LaTonya Goffney on a district-wide SoR adoption

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.

S3-E7: Maria Murray on The Reading League’s Defining Movement

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.

4 tools to help teachers better understand dyslexia

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.

Defining dyslexia

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

Dyslexia in your classroom

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

Dyslexia: Fact and fiction

We know more about dyslexia now than ever before?—?can you distinguish between fact and fiction? Uncover the truths and myths of dyslexia now:

Dyslexia: Fact vs. Fiction by Amplify staff

What is the Science of Reading, anyway?

An overview of the Science of Reading

The Science of Reading refers to the wealth of research on how students best learn to read. At its heart is what experts Philip Gough and Bill Tunmer proposed as the Simple View of Reading.

When presented with a passage of text, how do you extract meaning from it? According to the Simple View, you need to do two fundamental things:

1. Convert written words into speech (decoding)
2. Understand that speech (decoding language comprehension)

Decoding

The Simple View points out that when children first learn to read, they already understand a lot of spoken language. But written words and letters are as strange to them as:

If you can’t decode the symbols in a sentence,you can’t read it—even if you know the language in which it’s written.

The best way to help students begin to read for themselves is to get them started on decoding, so it’s important to teach them that words are made up of sounds (phonemes), and then teach them what sounds the letters stand for. Unfortunately, the English system of writing does not make this easy. With at least six possible sounds for the letter “e,” kids can’t just learn that “e” makes the /e/ sound — though that’s a good start. They have to learn each specific pattern.

We know everyone is born with the language part of the brain — the speech and meaning parts.

Additionally, everyone is born with the visual part of their brain. We easily recognize shapes, objects, places, and faces. However, no one is born with the connections between vision and speech, and these are the connections that enable reading. Instead, you have to build the visual word form area of your brain one connection at a time. For example, to learn that “sh“ stands for the /sh/ sound at the start of “ship,” a tiny part of your brain gets rewired. Scientists have recently begun to understand how that works, and it turns out it’s a lot like building a muscle. This muscle is called the visual word form area, and it’s the seat of reading.

What does this all mean for teaching and learning to read?

On average, it takes a child two to three years to learn to decode English. It is the toughest alphabetic writing system in the world.

But, like a muscle, you can grow your brain with practice. Heikki Lyytinen, a Scandinavian neuroscientist, showed that the visual word form area begins to appear in the brain scans of non-readers after as little as five hours of training in decoding. Teachers need to help students practice deliberately, focusing on their weakest skills and working hard to improve them.

Language comprehension: Building mental models

©Alexander Huth / The Regents of the University of California

Throughout this five-part series, we will cover the main components of the Science of Reading (SoR) and provide additional resources and research to guide your exploration and implementation of this important movement.

Say you’re given a passage of text to read. This particular paragraph describes half an inning of a made-up baseball game.

After you read the passage, you are asked to reenact the scene.

Which is more likely to aid your success?

A. Your ability to read

B. Your knowledge of baseball

C. It makes no difference

Would you be surprised to know the answer is actually B?

In part one of our series, “What is the Science of Reading anyway?,” we discussed the two main components of the Science of Reading: decoding (converting written words into speech) and language comprehension (understanding that speech). We also provided in-depth coverage of both learning and teaching how to decode the symbols of the English alphabet and strengthen the reading muscle.

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

In 1988, two young researchers and 64 students took part in an experiment that has forever changed how we think about reading and comprehension. One by one, the students were handed the same story covering half an inning of a made-up baseball game and asked to reenact it.

To the researchers’ surprise, they found that reading ability had little impact on how well kids understood the story—but knowledge of baseball did. In fact, students who were weak readers did as well as strong readers if they had knowledge of baseball.

Teaching knowledge explicitly improves reading comprehension. As Willingham has said, “Reading tests are knowledge tests in disguise.”

Researchers at the Haskins Lab at Yale tested this theory and found an extraordinarily high correlation between how well a 7-to-9-year-old child can recognize words and how well they comprehend text.

Common teaching mistake — Strategy instruction

So if reading comprehension is driven by a student’s vocabulary and knowledge, are widely taught strategies like finding the main idea equally critical?

Many strategies make intuitive sense: Stopping and re-reading when comprehension breaks down, for instance, is helpful for many children. But teaching the main idea strategy over and over is less helpful.

It is hard to find the main idea of a piece of writing if you don’t really understand any of the ideas in it. And even if you know a strategy — like re-reading when stuck — you also need to be well-versed in when to apply the strategy. You need to notice that you didn’t understand the text.

Often, strategy instruction neglects to offer students practice with identifying the situations in which they should use the strategy.

In the 1940s, a skills shift began to take place in education systems throughout the world. Its effects can be traced in the U.K., Sweden, Germany, and, most recently, France. This shift brought an emphasis on reading and math, squeezing out the broader knowledge taught in the sciences and social sciences. Some have linked the decline in standardized test scores—the SAT in the U.S. and the DEPP national exam in France—to this shift.

The National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education reported that today, classes in grades K–3 spend just 19 minutes per day on science and 16 minutes per day on social science.

To counter this loss of broader knowledge in our students, research suggests that we teach comprehension strategies in moderation and use the freed-up time to build knowledge (and vocabulary).

But simply exposing students to everyday speech doesn’t build a strong vocabulary. In a typical conversation, there are around 20 unusual words—such as dismayed or zeal—per 1000 words. Newspapers and books contain more than twice as many. Rich vocabulary, then, is gained not solely through speech, but through reading. Rich vocabulary, then, is gained not solely through speech, but through reading—especially when reading a variety of text types.

Mental models

Some readers with good word recognition, vocabulary, and knowledge are still weak comprehenders. Why might this be the case?

After students read a passage, they aren’t likely to recall the precise wording, but they will probably remember the ideas. Researchers use the term mental model to describe the structure you create in your mind to perform this feat of comprehension. Think of the process of building a mental model as a sort of micro-comprehension. Weak comprehenders build poor models. Hence, when asked prediction or mapping character development questions, they answer poorly.

There are four critical skills students need to improve their mental modeling:

  1. Decoding the usage of anaphoras (she, they, him). Some early readers can’t reliably figure out who the pronoun is referring to, especially in ambiguous text.
  2. Understanding the use of markers to signal ways that the text fits together — connectives, (like so, though, whenever) structure cues, and directions. Inexperienced readers may not know that but, though, yet, and however signal that something opposite follows.
  3. Writers make assumptions about what can be left unstated. For instance, when they read “Carla forgot her umbrella and got very wet today,” good readers will use their prior knowledge to conclude that it rained. Weaker readers who fail to make these gap-filling inferences wind up with gaps in their mental model.
  4. When something doesn’t make sense, you stop, re-read, and try to figure it out. Weaker readers just keep going—not because they’ve failed to figure it out, but because they’ve failed to notice that they don’t understand. They need explicit instruction in monitoring comprehension as they read.

Overview

Think of reading as a suitcase that you need two keys to open. The first key is word-level decoding, a skill that becomes automatic and fluent. The second key is language, vocabulary, and domain-specific knowledge. The more words you can decode, the more new words — and their meanings — you can learn. Similarly, the more knowledge you have on a topic, the more you can soak up on the same topic — and on related topics.

These two keys make up the Science of Reading. When schools focus heavily on one key or the other, the suitcase doesn’t open. So now the greater task of applying this knowledge in the classroom awaits us.

For more in-depth examples, brain scans, and information about the Science of Reading, download our free primer:

Science of Reading – Make the Shift Today

Learning mathematics through problem solving: Part 1

Productive struggle as a path to success

Many of us grew up with word problems as a part of math instruction, but we now know that students learn better when problems are more than just a part of learning. In fact, research shows that learning based on problem solving sets math students up for long-term success. 

Why problem-based learning matters 

What’s the problem with word problems? So-called “show-and-tell” pedagogies often rely on teachers demonstrating how to solve math problems, which doesn’t produce the kind of sticky learning that puts students on a path to long-term success. 

As a result, too few students are prepared for Algebra I. Even fewer go on to succeed in the high school math courses that are prerequisites for college and for careers that require quantitative skills.

Research published in Frank Lester’s 2003 book Research and Issues in Teaching Mathematics Through Problem Solving shows that instruction is more effective when the students themselves grapple actively with the math problems, working in groups or individually. This productive-struggle approach is often called problem-based learning. 

What problem-based learning looks like 

In a problem-based lesson, students are introduced to a handful of interesting and often real-world problems or tasks that can be understood and/or solved by referencing background knowledge, previously learned content, and newly provided information. 

These problems are designed to get students thinking about solutions they can then discuss with their peers. According to 2019 research conducted by Jack Dieckmann and Renae Skarin, this fosters both understanding of the content and math language development.

Over the course of the problem-based lesson, the teacher monitors student work, selects examples of that work to discuss with the class, and asks questions that propel the conversation and learning forward (as described by Margaret Schwan Smith and Mary Kay Stein in their 2011 book Five Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions.

This synthesis incorporates students’ new insights and conceptions into their bigger-picture understanding of mathematics.

Problem-based math programs 

There are already high-quality curricula that call for this kind of pedagogy, but this approach can be hard to implement because it requires both a shift in practice for many teachers and more active engagement from students.

That’s why the highest-quality problem-based lessons embody all eight of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Teaching Practices. Amplify Math is one of them. 

Personalized learning grounded in the Science of Reading

Surveying the landscape

Recent data shows that far fewer young students are on target for reading proficiency than in previous years. In fall 2020, kindergarteners were 6 percent less likely to be on track in reading than they were in the 2019–20 school year.

How do we reverse these trends? A personalized learning program steeped in research-based literacy practices can be your first step. In this blog, we introduce personalized learning programs for early literacy, discuss why they should be aligned with the Science of Reading, and outline the key features that all effective personalized learning programs should have to support ALL students.

What is personalized learning?

“Personalized learning in literacy education is an approach in which teaching and other learning experiences build on each student’s strengths, address each student’s needs, spur student motivation and agency, and help all students meet grade-level standards and, ultimately, achieve college and career readiness.” 

— Student Achievement Partners

Achieve the Core outlines a set of key components every personalized program should include to accelerate literacy:

— Achieve the Core, 2020

How can I bring the Science of Reading into personalized learning?

Not all personalized learning programs should be treated equally. Programs should provide explicit, systematic foundational skills, continue to build background knowledge, and support core Science of Reading instruction. Focusing on the things we do while we’re reading that allow us to make sense of text — also known as comprehension processes — is a key component of supporting beginning readers.

How will I know if a personalized learning program is based on research about how children learn to read?

We’ve provided a checklist of key features to look for when selecting a personalized learning program grounded in the Science of Reading.

1) Look for a program that complements your Science of Reading instructional practices.

The content of a personalized program should support your core Science of Reading instruction.

Look for research-based instruction aligned to Scarborough’s Reading Rope, a focus on comprehension processes and language structures in addition to foundational skills, and personalization that adapts based on student needs.

2) Look for a program that employs a whole-child approach.

A whole-child approach focuses on students’ individual strengths and needs.

Look for targeting of skill practice at the just-right level in ALL areas, a focus on students’ individual strengths as well as their needs, and more opportunities for success, all of which build student confidence.

3) Look for a program that uses an adaptive scope and sequence.

In an adaptive model, students progress along a unique pathway through a learning map that adapts based on their performance.

Look for full adaptivity — where students progress along a pathway that adapts on multiple dimensions, not just one. The program should offer data to place students into personalized pathways and continue to analyze student performance data to determine the skills they practice and when.

4) Look for a program that acts as a digital tutor to save teachers time.

A program that aims to save you time provides students with differentiated instruction and pathways when they’re really struggling.

Look for a program that provides scaffolding and differentiated pathways to students when they’re struggling, and offers precursor and ancillary skill development and advancement opportunities before revisiting challenging content. Programs should alert teachers with targeted resources to support students and keep them moving.

5) Look for a program that motivates students intrinsically.

Programs that focus on intrinsic motivation leverage a growth mindset theory to ensure that students have fun while they learn.

Look for a program that rewards persistence as much as performance and ensures students have fun while they learn.

Personalized learning supplemental tool: Amplify Reading

Amplify Reading is a personalized learning program powered by the Science of Reading. The program blends compelling storytelling with research-based instructional practices to offer:

  • Personalized instruction across 13 different critical skill areas that adapt to each student’s needs while building on their strengths.
  • Explicit practice in comprehension processes, phonics, and vocabulary.
  • Extra support and scaffolds for struggling readers and English learners.
  • An immersive game-play design that motivates students and makes learning to read fun.

To learn how this program can accelerate reading growth in your district, request a personalized walkthrough below.

Request a walkthrough

Amplify Reading – Amplify Reading

Proven to boost critical reading skills and captivate students Based on the science of reading, Amplify Reading…readingsuccess.amplify.com

Work cited

Liben, Meredith, et al. “What Principles Must Underlie Successful Personalized Learning?” Peers and Pedagogy, 27 Oct. 2020

Learning disabilities and their emotional impact

Welcome back to Science of Reading: The Podcast! How can we as educators better understand what the process of being diagnosed with a learning disability looks and feels like for children? Beyond that, what does it feel like to go through school undiagnosed and how does that impact how students relate to themselves, their peers, and school in general?

Find your child’s interests, or your student’s strengths … pursue those and give them opportunities to let those feed their soul.

Dr. Sheila Clonan, Psychologist and founding Board Member of The Reading League

This episode features Dr. Sheila Clonan discussing her work with identifying learning disabilities (particularly dyslexia) in children. Dr. Clonan also explores the mental and emotional effects of learning to read with dyslexia and how it impacts behavior and self-concept, providing two insightful analogies that illustrate what it feels like for students who aren’t given explicit instruction but are still expected to know how to read. She then ends the episode with practical advice for educators and parents on how to support and encourage children.

Listen below!

For more wisdom and research on the best ways to teach reading, subscribe to Science of Reading: The Podcast.

Empowering multilingual learners

Welcome back to Science of Reading: The Podcast!

For most teachers, it’s no longer a question of if you’ll have a multilingual learner in your classroom, but rather a question of how many, and what languages they bring with them. While the Science of Reading can help all learners, its insights should be applied differently when students are learning a home language as well. The more we’re able to read, the more we’re able to learn.

—Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan

In this episode, Susan Lambert is joined by Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities presented when teaching multilingual learners how to read. Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and certified academic language therapist who serves as director of Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas. In this episode, she discusses how teachers can make connections between students’ home languages and English in order to celebrate their language and give them new tools to better understand English. She also stresses the importance of teachers educating themselves on their students’ home languages so they can spot orthographic and phonological similarities and differences. She also highlights the importance of educator collaboration for student success.

Listen now!

For more wisdom and research on the best ways to teach reading, subscribe to Science of Reading: The Podcast.

Dyslexia and developmental trajectories

Welcome back to Science of Reading: The Podcast!

As educators, we’re often reminded of the importance of early intervention, but hear little about the science behind it. What happens when students aren’t identified as at-risk for reading difficulty early enough? What about when they are and receive intervention? And importantly, how does this all connect to dyslexia?

We want to make sure that we find everyone who is struggling with learning to read and make sure that everyone gets to experience the joy of learning to read.

 — Dr. Nadine Gaab

In this episode, Susan Lambert joins Dr. Nadine Gaab to discuss dyslexia and the developmental progression of the brain, and the behavior of students as they learn to read. Dr. Gaab, an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focuses on both typical and atypical learning trajectories from infancy to adulthood, with a special emphasis on language and reading development and the role of the environment in shaping these trajectories. Dr. Gaab provides further insight into these developmental trajectories in this episode, especially as they relate to early intervention for at-risk students. She differentiates between early diagnosis of dyslexia versus early identification of at-risk students, adding nuance and complexity to the discussion of dyslexia by emphasizing the ways educators can ensure that all students experience the joy of learning to read.

Tune In Below!

For more wisdom and research on the best ways to teach reading, subscribe to Science of Reading: The Podcast.

The 5 patterns we found in schools with improved reading

After a decade of tracking students’ pathways in early reading, we’ve been able to identify the schools getting outsized results—so we called them to ask what they’re doing! And so far, we’ve identified five consistent patterns.

1. Start early.

Schools that deliver the strongest results work hard to get kids on track — and often ahead — in kindergarten. Why? Those who get through the decoding stage by age eight begin building vocabulary and background knowledge through reading itself. These schools reason that it’s easier to get students ahead from the start than to try to catch them up later.

2. Surround kids with books.

Reading at the right level improves decoding, vocabulary, knowledge, and stamina. In a recent study, 11 students who read an extra seven minutes per day in class had substantially higher reading rates than other students. Those minutes add up to 160,020 additional words read each school year, and reading volume is important in building knowledge—even more so than cognitive ability.

3. Measure.

All schools collect data; the best ones think of it as measurement. For instance, they measure whether an intervention is having the expected impact. If not, they introduce new, temporary measures for attendance, perhaps, or fidelity of implementation. They are constantly tinkering and learning. They describe themselves as never satisfied.

4. Create a support team.

One of the most effective practices we found is ensuring that students get extra support when they need it. Classroom teachers can have a hard time reaching everyone, even with the best intentions. A cross-classroom team can base its decisions on careful data analysis and do whatever it takes to ensure extra resources are found and allocated where they’re needed most.

5. Beat summer.

Summer is brutal. Students often lose as much as half of their hard-won gains from the school year over the summer weeks, and the loss is especially steep for students from lower-income households. But even a few minutes a week of reminder exercises can reverse these losses, just as using a muscle prevents atrophy.

Reading at a college-entry level is a virtuoso performance. Even reading on level by third grade requires a constellation of successes — from mastering the sound-spelling patterns of English, to the painstaking accumulation of vocabulary and knowledge necessary to make sense of sentences. The simple verb to read hardly feels adequate to describe what students are doing when they make sense of the text. Ensuring the effortless enjoyment of reading for all is one of the great social undertakings of our time. We’re so happy to be working toward this noble goal with you.

Amplifying Your District Award winner

This Amplifying Your District Award honored two district leaders who are driving change using the Science of Reading in 2021. Motivated by low literacy rates in her school district, Alli Rice dug into the research behind the Science of Reading because she was determined to increase equity. Through various events and Knowledge Builders for the teachers in her care, she then effectively led the shift to a research-based curriculum in her district. Read on for our conversation with Alli about her work with the Science of Reading!

What does the Science of Reading mean to you?

For me, it’s really about equity. Thousands of kids are already a step behind because of their skin color, their neighborhood, or their zip code,  all of these things that really shouldn’t define their academic ability or their opportunity in life. I’ve looked at statistics around prison populations and illiteracy rates. Some, so many adults are functionally illiterate and they can’t fully understand. They can’t even read their prescriptions.

I also work for a district where most of our kids are on the lower end for socioeconomic status. We have a very high ELL population and 63 home languages spoken in my district. And we are the urban center of our area. Historically, we have been a balanced literacy district, but we have watched our test scores decline.

Since discovering the Science of Reading and this completely different approach to teaching literacy, I feel like I have unlocked Pandora’s box of potential. By addressing our core and aligning our teaching practices, our students can feel success and our teachers will, too. My teachers here have the biggest hearts of any educators I have ever worked with, and they work tirelessly day in and day out to support our students. We try to provide as many enrichment opportunities to all of our kids and to expose them to the greatest and the best. The ability to read, to me, is the greatest civil right. If we’re not providing them that, I can’t sleep at night.

What news, materials, or information do you consume to help you teach?

We use Amplify CKLA and Amplify Reading and those programs are just wonderful. I am also an avid listener of Science of Reading: The Podcast. We arranged for Natalie Wexler and Susan Lambert to do a live professional development session in our district, which was so fantastic, especially for our most reluctant coaches and administrators. Our district-wide LETRS training has also been life-changing. We currently have 800 people who are completing the training, which has helped to align the district and put us all on this path to success.

One particularly impactful thing, and that I rely heavily on for support, is my teacher cadre. Each cadre is about 14 teachers in the district and they represent all of our clusters. We’ve partnered up with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department to do text bias reviews on materials, which has been important for our adaptations for cultural responsiveness. Our selection cadre came from that as well, when we landed on Amplify CKLA for K–3. The teacher input and camaraderie I get from my cadre is so instrumental and I am so grateful for them.

What advice do you have for teachers starting out with the Science of Reading?

Find your people, find your community. I remember Margaret Goldberg’s presentation during last spring’s Science of Reading symposium, and how she said you need to find your dots,  you need to seek out like-minded people and go where they are. Find those people who are ready to make the change like you are, or perhaps have already done it, and can be that positive support system you need to make a difference. Don’t be afraid to message people on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn, ask about their experiences, and build that community around you. Find the ones who are going to partner with you, who will lead you the right way, who will take your calls. And read all the books!

Watch the Science of Reading awards show!

Learning to read digitally vs. in print

Welcome back to Science of Reading: The Podcast!

We often assume children are digital natives, but research shows that many are not being taught to use technology even when they’re surrounded by it. And though some students prefer to read digitally, research has demonstrated that this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re reading more effectively. How can we, as educators, best utilize the strengths of both technology and print to build strong foundational skills in reading?

As we saw in this pandemic, reading digitally is not going anywhere … and, in fact, is what made learning even a possibility the past year and a half.

—Dr. Lauren Trakhman, Professor, University of Maryland, College Park

In this episode, Susan Lambert sits down with Lauren Trakhman and Patricia Alexander, professors from the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology within the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park, to discuss their research on the effectiveness of teaching reading in print vs. digitally.

Their conversation explores the ways in which teaching reading in print remains vital even in a digital world. Trakhman and Alexander also explain why it’s important to avoid making assumptions about students’ abilities to use technology and how that can be a detriment to reading success. Lastly, they discuss strategies for using technology to boost children’s foundational skills.

Listen below!

For more wisdom, research, and practices on the best ways to teach reading, subscribe to Science of Reading: The Podcast.

4 ways to weather educational change

The landscape of education is constantly shifting. That’s always been true, because the world is constantly changing. But at no time in recent memory has the landscape of education been forced to change in as many ways as it has over the past few years.

How can teachers navigate the seismic changes in the education system in their day-to-day lives?

In this recent episode of Science Connections: The Podcast, host Eric Cross talks about managing educational change with veteran educator and former Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Marilyn Dieppa.

Below, we’ve outlined four tips for weathering shifts. The bottom line? It’s important for teachers to be able to change with the times, while remaining a steady, solid presence for students.

1. Embrace change—it’s good for kids, too.

“I always change my labs. I don’t like to do the same thing over and over again,” says Dieppa. And when she tries something new, she tells her students she’s experimenting. (After all, it’s science!)

“They’re afraid of trying something new and failing,” Dieppa says—so she tries to model taking on the unknown, learning, and adjusting as needed. This is part of cultivating a growth mindset for kids. “It’s for them not to be fearful. That gives kids a foundation they need.”

2. Have an open-door policy.

The pandemic has exacerbated challenges in kids’ lives that can make it tough for them to learn. Some even say we’re in a youth mental health crisis. Now more than ever, it’s important that “you become more than just a science teacher,” says Cross. “You’re a mentor. You’re an encourager. Sometimes you’re a counselor.”

It’s impossible to be everything to every student, but it’s important to let them know you see them.

“I always say, I’m not there to really be your friend, but I’m there to help you,’” says Dieppa. “And you gotta tell ’em, you know, ‘if you need to talk, come talk to me’. Because so much of what we’re doing is like life coaching in addition, and that connects to their success in the classroom.”

3. Measure wins in lots of ways.

What keeps Dieppa going? “Whether [students] have struggled all year and they’ve had that one piece of success, or they come back and tell you they didn’t realize what they got out of middle school science until they got to high school, those are my moments of success.”

4. Remember—you’re still learning, too.

Yes, you’re the teacher, but “you don’t have to be the expert in everything,” says Cross. “Teachers tend to be more risk-taking and innovative when they’re willing to say, ‘I don’t have to know everything in order to do something.’”

Whenever it feels like you can’t do something or don’t know something, remember: You can’t do it yet. You don’t know it yet. Growth mindset phrases for students apply to your growth, too.

Listen to the whole podcast episode here and subscribe to Science Connections: The Podcast here. 

About Amplify’s Science Connections: The Podcast

Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So how do we help kids figure that out? How are we preparing students to be the next generation of 21st-century scientists?

Join host Eric Cross as he sits down with educators, scientists, and knowledge experts to discuss how we can best support students in science classrooms. Listen to hear how you can inspire kids across the country to love learning science, and bring that magic into your classroom for your students.

Science of Reading dos and don’ts

For classrooms and districts making the shift, understanding what a true Science of Reading curriculum looks like can be challenging. How do you know which instructional practices to adopt, which to avoid, and which ones are the real deal?

We’ve outlined five practices to start implementing today.

1. Use decodable readers.

Early readers need regular practice with grade-level text . Learning to read is not innate and must be taught through explicit, systemic instruction. Early readers need regular practice with grade-level text, especially text that’s connected to each day’s phonics instruction to helps students apply what they’ve learned.

Move away from level readers and curricula that have:

  • A focus on predictable text or below-grade-level text.
  • Decodable readers that don’t follow a clear phonics scope and sequence aligned to instruction.

2. Provide all students with dedicated phonics instruction.

Learning to read is not an innate skill. It must be taught through explicit, systematic instruction. An effective approach to phonics instruction provides enough time for teaching, application, and practice.

Shift from mini-lessons and curricula that have: 

  • Phonics instruction given only on an as-needed basis. When phonics is on an as-needed basis, students don’t get what they need to prevent reading difficulty.
  • Students alternating between limited phonics, guided reading, writing, and vocabulary practice in a mini-lesson.

3. Help students with phonics-based scaffolds.

Learning to decode builds neural pathways that are critical to automatic reading. Students need practice sounding out words, not doing guesswork.

Transition away from three-cueing or word guessing and curricula that have:

  • Prompts that encourage students to guess through three-cueing (e.g., “What word would make sense,” “what’s in this picture”).
  • Predictable books that enable pattern memorization.

4. Teach content.

Language comprehension is as important as decoding. The more background knowledge students receive, the more prior knowledge and vocabulary they can bring to texts.

Limit use of isolated comprehension strategies and curricula that have:

  • Limited time spent on each topic, or isolated topics introduced without connection to each other.
  • Comprehension skill practice without a strong content foundation (e.g., asking students to “find the main idea” or “determine the author’s purpose” in disconnected texts).

5. Follow a clear instructional path.

Clear instructional paths offer explicit guidance and cohesive structure, the most beneficial—yet overlooked—elements of teaching reading effectively. A definitive instructional path (rather than a patchwork) enables components to build upon each other. This gets students the support they need right away, so they don’t have to wait for intervention.

Withdraw from “choose your own adventure” models and curricula that have:

  • A model that provides multiple instructional pathways, which often lead to inconsistencies.
  • So many pieces to their programs that it’s unclear how to implement each effectively.

Linguistic variation and dialects: difference, not error

Teachers need to know about the language variety that their students are speaking.

—Dr. Julie Washington

In this episode, Susan Lambert is joined by Dr. Julie Washington to discuss linguistic variety and dialects as difference, not error, and how to best support all students as they learn to read.

Dr. Washington—professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine (UCI)and a speech-language pathologist—offers practical advice for educators teaching reading to children who don’t use general American English, and discusses how to do so in a way that respects students’ community languages and dialects. She reminds educators that students rise or fall to the expectations set for them, and encourages educators to remember that if they embrace language variety as something that needs to be understood and incorporated into developing successful readers, they will develop successful readers.

Inquiry-based learning: 3 tips for science teachers

Which practice is at the top of the eight NGSS Science and Engineering Practices? Good question! It’s asking questions and defining problems.

And why is asking questions so important? (Also a good question.) 

Because science isn’t just facts. Science is a process of finding answers—a process that starts with questions. That’s why students learn like scientists best in a science classroom defined by phenomena-based learning, also known as inquiry-based learning.  

How can science educators bring this approach into the classroom? 

That’s one question host Eric Cross and science educator and professional development facilitator Jessica Kesler address in the latest episode of Amplify’s Science Connections: The Podcast.

The power of questions

Kesler’s mission at TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity, is to empower educators to create engaging classrooms that foster future leaders.

“We train teachers on STEM competencies and the pedagogical tools and strategies to implement the STEM we’re doing in our learning labs,” she says. “Then they can implement it in the classroom and have this multiplicative effect that can help us reach millions of kids and prepare them for careers.”

Those pedagogical approaches include student-centered learning practices. Using those practices, teachers spend less time delivering facts and more time asking questions, while developing students’ ability to do the same.

That’s how we shift science from, as the NGSS frames it, “learning about” to “figuring out.”

Per the NGSS: “The point of using phenomena to drive instruction is to help students engage in practices to develop the knowledge necessary to explain or predict the phenomena. Therefore, the focus is not just on the phenomenon itself. It is the phenomenon plus the student-generated questions about the phenomenon that guides the learning and teaching. The practice of asking questions or identifying problems becomes a critical part of trying to figure something out.”

Inquiry-based learning examples and approaches

Kesler recognizes that a shift to inquiry-based learning can’t be made overnight, or all at once. “We never suggest overhauling your classroom…add a little bit here and there and see how it impacts your students.”

Here are some strategies Kesler suggests for empowering educators to deliver inquiry-based science learning.

  1. Cultivate an inquiry mindset. We live in a world where answers to pretty much everything are right on our phones, right in our pockets. That ease and accessibility can dampen student curiosity. But when teachers start shifting focus from asking students for answers to asking them to develop smart questions, students can grow that mental inquiry muscle.
  2. Make inquiry visible. No need to be sneaky—you can be explicit with students about what you’re doing, and what you’re inviting them to do. Think: “What are tools and strategies you can use so that students can illuminate their thinking for themselves and for you and their peers?” Kesler says. “So the students get to see their own thinking as they progress, and you get to tell the story of how their minds have evolved.” Paying attention to student questions also enables you to observe where students are making mistakes, where misconceptions come up, and where you should target your next lesson, Kesler adds. “So it makes you more responsive in the moment.”
  3. Build an inquiry environment. Asks Kesler: “What are the things that you can embed into your physical space and develop in a student’s intellectual space that will help you create a holistic inquiry environment?” There’s no one right answer, but a shift in environment can support a shift in intellectual approach. (Consider the opposite: “If you take someone out of an old habit or space and tell them, ‘We are gonna change your minds and teach inquiry,’ but put them back in the same environment, they’re going to be conflicted,” Kesler says. You could create displays that present questions rather than facts, or arrange the room to support conversation rather than lecture—whatever makes sense for your space.

Definitely test, explore, experiment—even take risks—and ask your own questions. After all, the inquiry mindset is for you, too!

Learn more

Explore how Amplify Science supports inquiry-based learning.

Listen to all of Season 1, Episode 10, Empowering the science educator: Jessica Kesler, and find more episodes and strategies from Amplify’s Science Connections: The Podcast.

Meet Amplifying Your District Award Winner Brittney Bills

Brittney’s passion for reading development shines through her commitment to early literacy. Under a four-year plan she devised, Brittney’s district adopted a new curriculum and system of professional development that embraced the Science of Reading and celebrated its impact on their students.

What does the Science of Reading mean to you?

I believe the Science of Reading is about hope. Knowing 95% of students are cognitively able to read at grade level with the right explicit instruction was empowering for me and the teachers I support. Every child should know the joy and success of reading.

What tools/curriculum do you use to implement the Science of Reading? How did Amplify help?

We are an Amplify district and super proud to be an Amplify district. Last year, we started with Amplify CKLA Skills adoption because that’s where we had the biggest gap in terms of our instructional resources and supporting our students. Then we added on Knowledge for K–2 this year, integrated it for grades 3–5, and started using Amplify Reading.

We started using mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition with all of our K–3 students. After last year, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers caught wind of these awesome things that the lower elementary teachers had access to that they didn’t, so we expanded mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition to K–5 this year. We love the high-quality resources and programs that Amplify has to offer and we have seen some tremendous results early on and had some wonderful success. They’re supporting us in our vision, which is wonderful.

What advice do you have for teachers starting with the Science of Reading?

Just get started. Don’t feel overwhelmed by what you don’t know. We have seen tremendous success and tremendous results, but there’s still a lot of work left for us to do. I would say decide the thing that you want to focus on, pick something that you want to understand better, that you want to learn more about, and commit yourself. In the education world, we are almost paralyzed by the sheer amount of things that need to be done. There’s this sense of immediacy and urgency, that you have to balance with your reality.

Make sure that teachers feel supported because teachers go through a grieving process once they learn more. They feel guilt and sadness about some of the students they have taught in the past. Stay committed to growing and developing because science is going to change and you have to evolve and move with the science.

Watch the Science of Reading Star Awards!