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Phonological awareness games

In Cut It Out, students isolate individual phonemes by listening to a beginning, middle, or ending sound and choosing a picture of the word containing the sound in that position.

Skills
Phonological awareness

  • Blending at the compound word, syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme level

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.C — Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in spoken single-syllable words.
  • 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.1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)

In Gem & Nye, students blend sounds into words, starting with compound words and syllables and then moving to beginning (onset) and ending (rime) sounds and finally individual phonemes, to identify the picture of the word the Soundbots say when blended together.

Skills
Phonological awareness

  • Blending at the compound word, syllable, onset-rime, and phoneme level

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.B — Orally produce single-syllable words by blending sounds (phonemes), including consonant blends.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B — Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C — Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.

In Wordbots, students practice segmenting words into their onsets and rimes to determine which Startbots and Endbots form a stimulus word.

Skills
Phonological awareness

  • Segment at the compound-word and onset-rime level

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C — Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.B — Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

In Zoom Boom, students practice rhyming by listening to a word and identifying the picture of the word that rhymes with it.

Skills
Phonological awareness

  • Rhyming

Standards covered

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

Phonics Games in Amplify Reading: K–2

In Curioso Crossing, students practice accurate and automatic word recognition by identifying the correct spoken word to guide their Curioso safely throughout the land.

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding; Advanced Decoding

  • Read high-frequency irregular words, regular words, words with inflected endings, two-syllable words, words with prefixes and suffixes, and multi-syllable words

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.C — Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.E — Decode two-syllable words following basic patterns by breaking the words into syllables.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.F — Read words with inflectional endings.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.A — Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.C — Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.D — Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.F — Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C — Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.G — Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

In Food Truck, students practice “chopping” blends, ending sounds (rimes), and whole words into beginning sounds (onsets), ending sounds, and individual letters to create orders for their hungry goblin customers. The difficulty of words and segmenting tasks increases with each level as customers order more sophisticated “dishes.”

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding

  • Decode and spell words with common rime families

Standards Covered

  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

In Grumpy Goblins, students learn sound-spelling correspondences for consonant digraphs and vowel teams by listening to a sound from a goblin and feeding it the piece of toast with the corresponding letter or combination.

Skills
Phonics – Letter Combinations

  • Sound-spelling correspondences for consonant digraphs and vowel teams

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

In Hangry Goblins, students practice letter-sound combinations by feeding individual letter sounds, consonant digraphs, blends, and vowel teams to goblins that become more and more “hangry” until they are given the letters that match their demands.

Skills
Phonics – Letter Sound Correspondence

  • Sound-spelling correspondences for individual letters and letter combinations

Standards covered

  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

In Picky Goblins, students practice sound-spelling correspondences for individual letters by listening to a sound from a goblin and feeding it the piece of toast with the corresponding.

Skills
Phonics – Letter-Sound Correspondence

  • Sound-Spelling Correspondences for single letters

Standards Covered

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

In Read All About It, students practice reading sentences with words that include the sound-spelling correspondences, word features (e.g., prefixes/suffixes), and phonics rules (e.g., vowel consonant long e, syllable patterns) they learned and practiced in other games.

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding; Advanced Decoding

  • Read grade level text accurately

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.4 — Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4 — Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

In Rhyme Time, students practice with different rime families (words that end with the same sounds and rhyme) and decode words in these families by swapping the first letter sounds of words while the ending sounds remain constant.

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding

  • Decode words with common rime families

Standards Covered

  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

In Tongue Twist, students practice with different rime families (words that end with the same sounds and rhyme) and build words by changing the ending sound (rime) while the beginning (onset) sounds, consonant blends, and consonant digraphs remain constant.

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding

  • Decode words with common rime families

Standards covered

  • 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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B — Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D — Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E — Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

In Word City, students identify and manipulate beginning, middle, and ending letter sounds to assemble word chains that form buildings.

Skills
Phonics – Early Decoding

  • Letter-sound correspondence
  • Decoding and spelling regular words

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.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.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.A — Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.B — Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.1.3.C — Know final -e and common vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACYRF.2.3.B — Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

Microcomprehension Games in Amplify Reading: K–2

In Because This, That, students learn how common text structures give clues to meaning by rearranging sentences to identify cause and effect or problem and solution.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Text Structure: Organize sentences using sequence/chronological order

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 — Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8 — Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 — Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

In Connect It!, students practice using different types of conjunctions (temporal and causal, for example) to combine two clauses into a coherent sentence.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Syntactic awareness – connectives

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.3 — Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

In Message in a Bottle, students build their awareness of syntax and the impact word order has on meaning by unscrambling scraps of lost messages to reconstruct sentences.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Syntactic awareness

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

In Mind the Gap, comprehension levels are assessed through a modified cloze exercise in which students make selections to fill in the blanks of a text where approximately every seventh word has been omitted.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Reading fluency
  • Syntactic awareness
  • Inference
  • Comprehension monitoring

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1 — Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.10 — Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

In Show Off, students learn how common text structures give clues to meaning, using cues from illustrations to rearrange sentences in the correct sequential or chronological order.
Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Text structure: Organize sentences using problem/solution and cause/effect

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.3 — Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.8 — Identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 — Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

In Sloppy Scrolls, students practice the art of comprehension monitoring, or ensuring that they continually build and check a mental model of what they read. In the game, students are introduced to a world of enchanted scrolls that have lost their magic: they contain inconsistencies, and no longer make sense. The students must attempt to identify the inconsistencies by tapping the sentences that don’t match the rest of the passage. To increase the challenge of the game, some of the passages are presented without errors.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Comprehension Monitoring

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

In Storyboard, students practice making inferences by completing a storyboard that integrates relevant background knowledge missing from a given sentence.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Inference

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 — With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 — With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

In Super Match, students work on developing cognitive flexibility, or the ability to track multiple elements simultaneously, by completing interactive puzzles that associate pictures and words across multiple dimensions (e.g., color and category, or starting sounds and category).

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Cognitive flexibility

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.A — Sort words into categories (e.g., colors, clothing) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.B — Define words by category and by one or more key attributes (e.g., a duck is a bird that swims; a tiger is a large cat with stripes).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 — Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

In Unmask That, students build their understanding of anaphora, a tool authors use to avoid repetition, by linking pronouns to their antecedents in text.

Skills
Microcomprehension

  • Syntactic awareness – anaphora

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1 — Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Comprehension Games in Amplify Reading: K–2

In Best Buddy, students examine character traits to determine which school club provides the best fit for their fictional friends.

Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details

  • Character Traits

Standards Covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 — Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

In Book Club, students compare and contrast two books on the same topic or theme to determine which book best meets the needs of a character in the game.

Skills
Comprehension – Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • Compare and Contrast Texts

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.9 — Identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.Rl.2.9 — Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9 — Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

In Debate-a-Ball, students practice identifying the best evidence to support a claim. Students pick an animal avatar to compete with an automated opponent in debates on familiar topics. To win, students must put forward the best evidence to support each claim more frequently than their opponents. They are taught to identify evidence that is factual and strongly related to the claim.

Skills
Comprehension – Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

  • Evaluate evidence

Standards covered

  • CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8 — Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

In Picture This, students complete the illustrations for a story by identifying words that describe its setting, characters, problems, and solutions.

Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details

  • Story Elements/Plot

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 — Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 — Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 — Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3 — Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

In Storybox, students choose settings, situations, and solutions to send characters on different adventures, using details and context to help them resolve problems and complete the story.

Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details

  • Story Elements/Plot

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 — With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

In Tube Tales, students learn the attributes of different genres and practice identifying them in brief texts.

Skills
Comprehension – Craft and Structure

  • Text schema

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.10 — By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5 — Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.10 — By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

In What’s the Big Idea, students examine pictures, picture sequences, and short passages to practice differentiating the main idea from story details.

Skills
Comprehension – Key Ideas and Details

  • Main idea

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2 — With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.2 — Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.2 — Identify the main topic of a multiparagraph text as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text.

Vocabulary Games in Amplify Reading: K–2

In Punchline!, students learn how words can have multiple meanings by channeling their inner comedian to crack homonym-based jokes.

Skills
Vocabulary

  • Multiple-meaning words

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4.A — Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

In Shades of Meaning, students differentiate the nuances in similar words — first by ordering them from weakest to strongest, largest to smallest, or least to greatest; then by putting them into sentences that further clarify their meaning.

Skills
Vocabulary

  • Shades of meaning

Standards covered

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.5.D — Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs differing in manner (e.g., look, peek, glance, stare, glare, scowl) and adjectives differing in intensity (e.g., large, gigantic) by defining or choosing them or by acting out the meanings.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.5.B — Distinguish shades of meaning among closely related verbs (e.g., toss, throw, hurl) and closely related adjectives (e.g., thin, slender, skinny, scrawny).

Amplify Reading: K–2’s Integrated eReader

eReader Overview

Amplify Reading: K–2 has a new library of over 25 fiction and non-fiction ebooks and an adaptive algorithm that unlocks each book at the exact right point in a reader’s development. Moreover, they contain familiar interactions from the games so that students move seamlessly from text-embedded-in-games to games-embedded-in-text, maximizing their sense of growing competency.

The eReader also provides optional supports for its readers. From the settings icon on the title page of each book, students can turn on sentence numbering, read aloud functionality, and reveal words, as well as adjust the text size.

Student Experience
When students are ready for a text, it will appear as one of their quest steps.

When readers first unlock a new book, they read through it without interruption (with read-aloud support if appropriate).

In the second read, students discover embedded activities that repeat the familiar iconography of a game they previously mastered.

At the end of the book, additional activities evaluate students’ comprehension.

Achievements in books are part of the same overall reward system: helping your Curioso grow, just like achievement in skill-building games. Mastery of the content is reflected in the teacher dashboard within the given skill.

How teachers are using Amplify Reading

Independent study/rotation stations
Amplify Reading is a personalized, differentiated program designed to keep students engaged and on task in independent study. The program is most effective when used for a minimum of 45 minutes per week.

Other common uses
We designed the program to be flexible enough to fit any classroom model. Amplify Reading is browser-based, so it works on Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, desktops, and even iPhones. It can also be used at home to extend learning beyond the classroom.

USBE Data Analysis for K-3 Reading Assessment Program

Introduction

mCLASS Assessment: Acadience™ Reading

How it works: Quickly identify the needs of each student and inform next steps with instant analysis, reports, and instructional planning tools included in the only licensed mobile version of the research-based Acadience Reading assessment.

  • Use short, 1-minute fluency measures for foundational reading skills.
  • Replace manual calculations with instant results and recommended activities.
  • Compare student progress with predictive, research-based benchmark goals.
  • Track progress and target instruction to individual student needs.
  • Support decision-making at every level using aggregate reports.
  • Translate class- and student-level reports into individualized instruction using the Now What?Tools.
  • Get a more complete view of early literacy skills with the new mCLASS:Early Literacy Measures (ELM).
Enrollment for mClass

Please review the Utah Enrollment for mCLASS document for important information about the rostering process for LEAs in Utah.

Benchmark Windows

The USBE has required that each Acadience Reading testing benchmark window occur within the below dates:

BOY — the first benchmark before October 14
MOY — the second benchmark between December 1 and February 5
EOY — the third benchmark between the middle of April and June 15

Benchmark windows for LEAs are set to the state benchmark window dates in mCLASS. Each LEA is to have 2-4 week benchmark period that is within the state benchmark window dates and LEA leaders are to share those dates with staff. The benchmark windows in mCLASS are set to the state benchmark window dates; not the LEA benchmark window dates and this can not be changed in mCLASS. If a student moves into your LEA and your benchmark window is closed, but the state benchmark period is still open, the student must be benchmarked. Should your LEA need an extension of a benchmark window beyond the close of the state benchmark windows, that must be approved by the USBE Assessment Department. Once the benchmark window closes, do not give the benchmark to a student, instead, educators can progress monitor the student on the measures they would have received a benchmark in order to get the students current instructional levels.

If you have questions regarding your current benchmark window dates, feel free to reach out to Amplify Customer Services at help@amplify.com.

Acadience Reading Benchmark Invalidations

Before you invalidate a benchmark probe, review the USBE’s list of acceptable reasons for invalidating on the Frequently Asked Questions: Acadience Reading Invalidations document. If a district/charter has a significant percentage of invalidations, contact and further action will be deployed. If you believe an invalidation is required, please contact your District/Charter Literacy Director. If they need support, they can contact Sara Wiebke, sara.wiebke@schools.utah.gov, to request an invalidation.

Progress Monitoring

The impact of progress monitoring

Progress monitoring is the most powerful tool we offer with regards to student achievement.

“Scores for Daze increase more slowly than they do for other Acadience Reading measures, so more frequent monitoring may not be as informative. For students who need to be monitored on Daze, we recommend monitoring once per month.”
Progress Monitoring with Acadience Reading 
© Acadience Learning
October 2012

The Acadience Reading authors recommend progress monitoring students in the Well Below Benchmark category once every 7-10 days (and once every 10-12 days for students in the Below Benchmark category).

Progress monitoring is the practice of testing students briefly but frequently on the skill areas in which they are receiving instruction, to ensure that they are making adequate progress. When students are identified as at risk for reading difficulties, they can receive progress monitoring testing more frequently to ensure that the instruction they are receiving is helping them make progress. (Acadience Learning/October 2012, Progress Monitoring Guide)

The purposes of progress monitoring are:

  • to provide ongoing feedback about the effectiveness of instruction,
  • to determine students’ progress toward important and meaningful goals, and
  • to make timely decisions about changes to instruction so that students will meet those goals.

How to progress monitor?

  • Select students for progress monitoring
  • Select Acadience Reading materials for progress monitoring
  • Set progress monitoring goals
  • Determine the frequency of progress monitoring
  • Conduct progress monitoring assessment
  • Access data through class and student reports
  • Evaluate progress and modify instruction.

The key to progress monitoring: Instruction should link to progress monitoring and progress monitoring should link to instruction. They should run parallel and merge as one to confirm student growth in reading.

Check your progress monitoring fidelity report in mCLASS to ensure you are on track with these students. For more information regarding progress monitoring guidelines, visit the official progress monitoring guidelines.

Support Team

Amplify Customer Services

(800) 823-1969
Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT
help@amplify.com

Educational Support Team

Pedagogical Questions
(800) 823-1969
Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT
edsupport@amplify.com

For more information, please contact:

Sarah McCarty
Associate Director, Educational Partnership
(812) 593-5776
smccarty@amplify.com

Donna Bright
Educational Partnership Manager
(303) 960-3772
dbright@amplify.com

Robert McCarty
Regional Director of Educational Partnership
(435) 655-1731
rmccarty@amplify.com

Cydnee Carter
Assessment Development Coordinator
(801) 538-7654
cydnee.carter@schools.utah.gov

Liz Williams
Elementary ELA Assessment Specialist
(801) 538-7542
Liz.williams@schools.utah.gov

Sara Wiebke
Literacy Coordinator
(801) 538-7935
sara.wiebke@schools.utah.gov

Krista Hotelling
K-3 Literacy Specialist
(801) 538-7794
krista.hotelling@schools.utah.gov

Christine Elegante
K-3 Literacy Specialist
(801) 538-7551
christine.elegante@schools.utah.gov

Julie Clark
K-3 Literacy Specialist
801-499-2515
julie.clark@schools.utah.gov

Melissa Preziosi
Assessment Data Specialist
(801) 538-7949
melissa.preziosi@schools.utah.gov

Resources

Helpful tips and guides
mCLASS:Acadience Reading tutorials
Technical resources

Amplify Enrollment This guide walks you through the necessary steps to complete enrollment using the manual enrollment tools on Amplify Home. It shows you how to manage staff, student, and class assignment information, and maintain the accuracy of your staff, student, and class assignments.

Devices & Requirements Ensure mCLASS is compatible with your devices and systems for optimal performance and support.

Remote Assessing

Videos:

Remote Assessment Guidance from the Acadience Team:  
mCLASS®: Acadience® Reading (formerly known as DIBELS Next)

Key Points:

Before you assess:

1. Determine how you will show student materials and score in mCLASS at the same time. 

  Description

Description

Recommended set up
  • One computer for video conferencing and sharing student materials.
  • One touchscreen device for scoring in mCLASS.
Modified set up
  • One computer.

Note: mCLASS app is optimized for touchscreen; scoring with a mouse may need more practice.

2. Familiarize yourself with the digital copies of student materials.

3. Schedule virtual meetings with students. To communicate with English-speaking caregivers, consider sending this email or video. To communicate with Spanish-speaking caregivers, consider sending this email or video.

4. Determine how you will handle scenarios where there’s a lag:

  Description
Record the meeting
  • Before the assessment begins, press the recording button on your video conferencing tool.
  • After the virtual meeting, listen to recording and rescore in mCLASS if needed.
  • Pick a decision rule for how to score ambiguous items and be consistent. For example, if you decide that you will give a student the benefit of the doubt and mark ambiguous similar sounding items correct when you can’t quite hear their answer, do this for all students you assess.
Use a phone
  • Before the assessment begins, call caregiver’s phone using your phone (type *67 before your number if you want your number to be hidden).
  • Ask the caregiver to press the speaker button. 
  • Mute yourself and your student on the virtual learning platform.

While you assess: 

1. Take the opportunity to connect individually with your students as they experience so much change. Don’t make the session solely about testing, and remind caregivers and students that the assessment is a way to see how you can best tailor instruction.

2. Make student materials visible to your student.

For Maze, choose the model that works best for you:

Enter results into the mCLASS web reports

  • Students complete online Maze during a video conference
    • Put a link to the student assessment site (mclass.amplify.com/student) and the student’s credentials into the chat box (learn how to generate student credentials in this video)
    • Ask your student to complete Maze.
  • Students complete online Maze outside of a video conference (caregiver support is needed with log-in)
    • To provide student credentials and instructions to English-speaking caregivers, consider sending this email and video. To provide student credentials and instructions to Spanish-speaking caregivers, consider sending this email and video.
  • Students complete Maze on paper
    • Locate the benchmark Maze Acadience Learning’s site.
    • Print a copy of the form you need (e.g. BOY) for each student in your class.
    • Send the form home in a sealed envelope with students, mail the form to caregivers, or have caregivers get forms via school-based pick-up. Provide instructions not to open the envelope until the student is ready to take the assessment.
    • Provide parents with instructions on how to proctor the assessment for their child. They need to:
      • Give the form to their child
      • Sit with their child and read the instructions and practice items
      • Tell their child to stop when 3 minutes has elapsed
      • Send screenshots of their child’s work via email or text, or return the completed form to the school in a sealed envelope provided by the school.
  Guidance
Acadience:Reading 

Use the share screen feature to display student materials on your screen.

Optional next step for measures that have student materials:

Zoom users: grant your student control of your screen so you can see their cursor as they read:

  • Click “Remote Control” and select your student’s name in the dropdown.
  • Ask your student to use their cursor to point to words as they read.

Note: For Mac OSX, you will need to give Zoom access in the Accessibility tab in the Privacy and Security preferences of your Mac. For more information on giving Zoom access in Security and Privacy, click here.

3. Score in mCLASS.

Student materials

  Benchmark Progress monitoring
Acadience Reading (formerly known as DIBELS Next) Available for free download on the Acadience Learning website

Invest in high-quality professional development.

Amplify’s professional development (PD) provides a variety of learning experiences over multiple years to incrementally develop and apply the knowledge and skills needed for effective and self-sustaining implementation.

Gain insights into effective instructional techniques and develop a deeper understanding of your Amplify program(s) by investing in PD.

Contact us

The foundation for long-lasting and sustainable change

Partner with us to plan long-lasting and sustainable change for your school or district. Change achieved deliberately is much more likely to stick and get results. We can support you through this journey to drive your professional improvement, enrich your instructional practice, and increase student impact.

Professional learning journey

Prepare

You’ll understand research-based practices to support new program implementation.

Prepare learning experiences will help shift literacy and math instruction in areas such as the Science of Reading and/or problem-based approaches to math.

Begin

You’ll build the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to begin teaching with your Amplify program(s).

Program-aligned packages will support those who are new to Amplify’s programs.

Practice

You’ll refine instrucional skills, expand knowledge of your Amplify program(s), and explore more advanced insturctional strategies.

Program-aligned packages will support those who have experience using Amplify’s programs.

Advance

You’ll deepen understanding of content and pedagogy and build-in house capacity to support a robust, sustainable implementation.

Program-aligned offerings will support advanced implementation, build capacity for instructional leaders, certify in-house trainers to deliver Launch sessions, and more.

Learn more about our curated catalog of packages and sessions to support each stage of your learning journey.

Multi-program, suite packages

Core program packages

Literacy

  • Amplify Texas ELAR/SLAR K–5
  • Amplify Texas ELAR 6–8

STEM

  • Amplify Math
  • Amplify Desmos Math (K–A2)
  • Amplify Science
 

Supplemental program sessions

  • Boost Reading Texas K–8
  • Boost Lectura K–2

Assessment program packages

  • mCLASS Texas Edition
  • mCLASS Lectura Texas

mCLASS Intervention K–6 program sessions

  

Empower teachers to continuously improve.

Professional development helps teachers stay motivated and inspired to grow professionally. Demonstrate your commitment to your staff by empowering them with professional development packages that include on-site or virtual Launch, Strengthen, or Coach sessions, all of which will orient you and your team to the full features of Amplify programs.

You can also personalize your learning experience by adding enhancement sessions to base packages.

Launch

Launch sessions introduce Amplify programs and support strong implementation.

After learning about the program’s foundational principles and key features, you’ll practice administering the program within a collaborative environment.

Strengthen

Strengthen sessions deepen understanding of the program. Session offerings are targeted and meant to take your practice—and your students’ learning—to the next level.

Offered as part of core packages, as well as enhancements, Strengthen sessions are intended to effectively address your students’ needs. Examples include:

  • A focus on data analysis.
  • Examining student writing.
  • Targeted intervention instruction.

Coach

Coach sessions elevate instructional practice and help meet teachers’ and schools’ specific needs.

Partner with an Amplify coach who will support you in planning a day tailored to meet the needs of teachers and/or leaders. Your customized session will leverage our menu of support, which can include:

  • Lesson modeling by an Amplify facilitator.
  • Classroom observations and debriefs.
  • Grade-level planning.

Coach sessions are customized to you with an Amplify facilitator.

Commit to sustainable change for long-term impact.

Learning may ebb and flow between phases depending on your teachers’ and leaders’ needs, experiences, and professional goals. Amplify PD aims to continually grow, develop, and refine instructional practices to support student learning and achievement.

Frequently asked questions

We value your partnership and aim to provide you with the highest quality learning experiences. Check out our frequently asked PD questions below, along with responses.

View the PD FAQs

Additional learning

Once you become an Amplify customer, you’ll have access to many opportunities to continue learning how to get the most out of your Amplify program(s).

To get a sense of our support, check out some of our free resources:

Three children sitting on the floor, reading a book together.

Biliteracy supports

Sessions are available to support educators teaching with both Amplify ELAR and Amplify SLAR core programs, or both mCLASS Texas Edition and mCLASS Lectura Texas assessment programs.

Facilitated in both English and Spanish, these specialized sessions should be scheduled for biliteracy teachers using both curriculums and/or assessments. Substitute a biliteracy session for the six-hour initial training in your package, or add these sessions on to your package for your biliteracy teachers.

Speak to our team to learn more!

Order and payment support

If you’re ready to submit your price quote, purchase order, or payment, please visit our Ordering Support site for more information.

Submit an order to make a payment
Sample invoice document with orange Accenture logo and text. Includes fields like quote number, PO number, contract details, and invoice number highlighted as INV-123456.

Community of collaboration

Connect with fellow Science of Reading, math, or science advocates in one of our public Facebook groups. Join a community or tune into one of our podcasts today:

Amplify customers can join our exclusive, program-specific Facebook communities to ask pedagogical questions, share Amplify teaching hacks, and more!

Our experts

We are educators supporting educators. Every member of Amplify’s national team of highly experienced and qualified facilitators is a former educator with years of hands-on classroom and/or administrative experience. Our facilitators are passionate about supporting educators in the implementation of their Amplify programs and creating transformational change for all students.

Get in touch with a PD expert

We’re here to provide answers and guidance as you explore your PD journey. Fill out the form to connect with us and discover how Amplify PD can enhance your educational journey.

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Amplify Science resources for Richmond Public Schools

Welcome! This site contains supporting resources designed for the Richmond Public Schools adoption of Amplify Science.

Authored by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, Amplify Science is a comprehensive program that blends literacy-rich activities, hands-on investigations, and engaging digital experiences to empower Richmond students to think, read, write, and argue like 21st-century scientists and engineers.

Click here to visit Richmond Public Schools’ Science Department page.

Welcome!

This site contains supporting resources designed for the Richmond Public Schools adoption of Amplify Science for grades 3–8. Here are some resources to get you started, but make sure to check back for exciting updates!

Program-wide resources

Click the button below to explore the Amplify Science  Program Guide. You can access the full digital Teacher’s Guide from the Program Guide to explore the program.

Program Guide

Onboarding videos

To start using Amplify Science quickly in your classroom, check out the following onboarding videos. They cover what you need to know to get started fast, from unpacking materials to logging in and navigating the digital Teacher’s Guide.

Getting Started: K-5

This section allows you to become familiar with the program and to guide you through initial preparation for implementing Amplify in your classrooms. here you will find look-for-tools, pacing/planning guides, and editable documents to support unpacking the unit lessons.

Overview

Supporting literacy development

Planning resources

Planning Guides

Look-for-tools

Planning support documents

The following materials lists and videos give you a quick look into our Amplify Science classroom kits. For each grade level, we have a video for the first unit in the scope and sequence, and we show you how to unpack the kits for all the units.

NOTE: These materials kits are not specific to the Richmond unit progression. Please reference these Richmond unit progression docs for 3–5 and 6–8 so you’ll know which kits to look for in each grade.

Materials lists

Unpacking videos

Getting Started: 6-8

This section allows you to become familiar with the program and to guide you through initial preparation for implementing Amplify in your classrooms. here you will find look-for-tools, pacing/planning guides, and editable documents to support unpacking the unit lessons.

Overview

Supporting literacy development

Planning resources

Planning/Pacing Guides

Look-for-tools

Planning support documents

The following materials lists and videos give you a quick look into our Amplify Science classroom kits. For each grade level, we have a video for the first unit in the scope and sequence, and we show you how to unpack the kits for all the units.

NOTE: These materials kits are not specific to the Richmond unit progression. Please reference these Richmond unit progression docs for 3–5 and 6–8 so you’ll know which kits to look for in each grade.

Materials lists

Unpacking videos

6th grade Integrated

7th grade Integrated/Physical science

Additional units

Getting Started: Admin

Admin resources

Getting Started Checklist

Administrator Reports support

K-5 Frequently-Asked Questions

6-8 Frequently-Asked Questions

Professional learning opportunities

Check back for a list of upcoming sessions!

Frequently asked questions

We get it…pacing your instruction, especially with a new program, can be really challenging. In Amplify Science, students internalize concepts through repeated exposures over multiple days with different modalities. We say students get multiple “at-bats” with each concept. As you move through the lessons, avoid looking for concept mastery each day. Instead, try to move through the lesson according to the timing guidelines, maintaining a quick pace.

In classroom discussion activities in particular, you may be tempted to keep the conversation going to ensure that your students fully master the content in that class period. We recommend, though, if the lesson overview says discuss for 10 minutes, cut it off at 10 minutes.

Every Amplify Science unit includes hands-on investigations. But, just as scientists gather evidence from many types of sources, so do students in Amplify Science. Like scientists, students using Amplify Science also gather evidence from physical models, digital models, texts, videos, photographs, maps, and data sets. Doing so requires using the full range of the practices in multi-dimensional learning. It also offers students different ways of acquiring knowledge and experience, multiple means of expressing their understanding, and a variety of resources through which to engage with the content.

Often, students enjoy hands-on investigations, but don’t sufficiently learn key concepts from those experiences. The Amplify Science investigations are designed for efficiency and effectiveness. For teachers who wish to supplement the lessons with more hands-on activities, optional hands-on “flextension” activities are included in many units. Instructional guidance, student sheets, and other supporting resources for them are included as downloadable PDF files and materials needed are either included in the unit kit or easily sourced.

First, take a breath, and know that you will gradually internalize the program routines and overall flow. Also, remember that your students are experiencing the program for the first time with you. Together, you’ll be peeling the onion one layer at a time.

It can be intimidating to begin the school year with a brand-new curriculum: where do you start? The Richmond Resources Site will help you navigate the different supports and resources we have for new Amplify Science teachers. 

The Program Hub is also a great place to direct your own, independent learning about Amplify Science instruction. Once you log into the platform, click on the directory on the top left side. Click into the Program Hub, then Professional Learning, and Getting Started. This will give you access to prioritized resources that will help you plan for your Amplify Science instruction. Additionally, the Amplify Science Help center (also accessible from the Global Navigation menu) is great for short videos about specific topics like supporting EL students, using Classwork, etc.

The variety of multimodal activities that are included in Amplify Science provides students with the opportunity to dive deeply into understanding science ideas, make science exciting to students, and allow for all students to have the benefit of multiple opportunities to access rich science content. Think about how many times you’ve taught a concept and then discovered your students had minimal recall at the end of the week. The truth is, students need multiple, varied exposures to key concepts.

In the program, we make sure that students have the opportunity to DO, TALK, READ, WRITE, and VISUALIZE every important idea. We think of this as providing students with multiple at bats— each encounter with the idea provides students with additional evidence, and the opportunity to develop deeper understanding. Students have multiple opportunities to construct their understanding of the same idea.

This multimodality may feel repetitive, but it is purposeful and impactful. Sometimes the repetition is for 1) hitting other Science and Engineering Practices, and/or 2) giving students multiple and varied opportunities to express their understanding. Many students can easily parrot back what they read and one may think they know it — but ask them to draw a model, and one might see that their understanding is only so deep.  Ultimately we believe that this approach not only serves a broader range of students but will also result in more retention in the long run.

Looking for help?

Technical or pedagogical support

Amplify provides a unique kind of free support you won’t find from other publishers. Technical and pedagogical support teams are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

For your most urgent questions:

  • Use our live chat within your program
  • Call our toll-free number: (800) 823-1969

For less urgent questions, send us an email!

  • Technical support: help@amplify.com
  • Pedagogical support: edsupport@amplify.comWhat is pedagogical support? We have developed an educational support team of former teachers and administrators who provide pedagogical support for every Amplify curriculum, assessment, and intervention program. This service is completely free for all educators who are using our programs and includes:
    • Guidance for developing lesson plans and intervention plans
    • Information on where to locate standards and other planning materials
    • Recommendations and tips for day-to-day teaching with Amplify programs
    • Support with administering and interpreting assessment data and more

Order exceptions

If you need to arrange for the return or exchange of items, contact help@amplify.com and be sure to identify yourself as a Richmond Public Schools teacher.

Amplify Caminos

Scope and Sequence for Lectoescritura

Amplify Caminos is grounded in the Science of Reading and offers a powerful, evidence-based instructional approach.

The new Lectoescritura Strand specifically teaches students the decoding skills needed for independent reading. Each lesson begins with a warm-up that reviews previously taught content in phonics, reading, grammar, writing, and spelling.

A diagram showing "Language comprehension" times "Word recognition" equals "Skilled reading," with headings in Spanish above each term.

Foundational skills year by year

By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, students will learn the sounds of vowels and common consonants first, and blend them to form syllables. Syllables will also be blended to form words. Less frequent consonants and other complex elements of the Spanish language will be presented at a later stage of the program.

A chart shows language skill categories by grade, with dots indicating focus areas for each grade from Kindergarten to Grade 5 in four categories: Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition, and Grammar.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, students develop reading comprehension, writing, listening and speaking, language, and foundational skills in the following ways:

  • Reading comprehension: Students answer literal, evaluative, and inferential story questions. Halfway through Kindergarten, students move from whole class reading instruction in Big Books to teacher guided independent and partner reading in decodable Student Readers, still using the Big Book as a model and support.
  • Writing: As students learn new sounds, they will also learn the phoneme to grapheme correspondence of each. The embedded activities and Activity Book provide a daily opportunity to practice the formation of individual letters, syllables, words and eventually sentences that contain the sound being taught in each lesson. In later units, students are guided through the Plan-Draft-Edit writing process.
  • Listening and speaking: Students engage in a range of whole group, small group, and partner discussions about text and daily lesson content.
  • Language: Students receive explicit instruction that introduces vocabulary and common words, or palabras comunes, to support decoding. Instruction also includes attention to the conventions of Spanish, including the use of question words, prepositions and plural nouns in oral speech, as well as capitalization and end punctuation in writing.
  • Foundational skills: Students begin with awareness of vowels and the most frequent consonant sounds, then practice blending those sounds into syllables, then blend those syllables into words with the ultimate goal of reading multisyllabic (2-3) words and complete sentences.

Click to take a closer look at the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence.

Grade 1

In Grade 1, students develop reading comprehension, writing, listening and speaking, language, and foundational skills in the following ways:

  • Reading comprehension: Students answer literal, evaluative, and inferential questions, including textual citations, and read with increasing independence and expression of individual interpretation of text. Reading instruction utilizes both the Student Reader and Big Book until Unit 5 when students transition into solely using the Student Reader.
  • Listening and speaking: Students engage in a range of whole group, small group, and partner discussions about text and daily lesson content.
  • Language: Students receive explicit instruction that introduces vocabulary and common words, or palabras comunes, to support decoding. Students also work to increase the use of new vocabulary in their written responses. In addition, discussions require the use of words in context. Explicit grammar instruction includes using parts of speech, such as nouns and verbs, and different forms of sentences, tenses, and punctuation.
  • Foundational skills: Students review vowels and the most frequent consonant sounds and are introduced complications like multisyllabic words, digraphs, accents, diphthongs, and hiatus.

Click to take a closer look at the Grade 1 Scope and Sequence.

Grade 2

In Grade 2, students develop reading comprehension, writing, listening and speaking, language, and foundational skills in the following ways:

  • Listening and speaking: Students engage in a range of whole group, small group, and partner discussions about text and daily lesson content.
  • Language: Students receive explicit instruction that introduces vocabulary and common words, or palabras comunes, to support decoding. Students also work to increase the nuanced use of new vocabulary in their written responses. In addition, discussions require the use of words in context in a range of settings. Explicit grammar instruction includes subjects and predicates, sentence expansion with adjectives and adverbs, and more advanced punctuation.
  • Foundational skills: Students continue to learn additional spelling complications as well as the tools needed to decode more challenging multi-syllable words; increasing emphasis on developing fluency, automaticity, and prosody in reading more complex texts.

Click to take a closer look at the Grade 2 Scope and Sequence.

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Frequently asked questions

Still have questions? We have answers. Check out the following FAQ.

Overview

  • Amplify CKLA is based on research showing that closing the background knowledge gap is necessary for supporting the literacy development of all students. To that end, Amplify CKLA teaches literacy through the lens of cross-curricular domains in science, history, literature, and culture. It was developed in response to research that shows the critical impact of background knowledge on reading comprehension and college- and career-readiness.
  • The program also reflects the latest early reading research showing the importance of explicit foundational skills instruction. The program develops students’ foundational literacy skills through a systematic scope and sequence with a focus on phonics.

Our research-based language arts curriculum is built on findings showing that higher-level reading comprehension depends on both automatic, fluent decoding and background knowledge. Combining well-established findings from the field of early literacy research with classroom-based feedback, Amplify CKLA ensures that children will learn to listen, speak, read, and write confidently and proficiently. For more information, view the Amplify CKLA Research Guide.

Amplify CKLA is a PreK–5 program. While the PreK and K–2 materials respect the important differences between early childhood education and formal schooling, the Grades 3–5 materials ensure a smooth transition to the academic rigors of middle school.

PreK

The focus in PreK is to maintain a developmentally appropriate early childhood setting; the structures, routines, and activities are engaging and children receive a solid foundation for future language arts instruction.

K–2

The focus in K–2 is developing fluent reading and writing skills, and enhancing language comprehension by building background knowledge and vocabulary. This is accomplished through two strands: the Skills Strand and the Knowledge Strand.

The Skills Strand focuses on decoding, encoding, grammar, handwriting, and the writing process, and it contains decodable chapter books for students to practice just-learned sound-spellings.

The Knowledge Strand builds background knowledge and vocabulary through carefully sequenced read-alouds and complex texts. Teachers read aloud stories that are more complex than the text students can decode on their own, enabling children to engage with complex texts and build background knowledge of a variety of connected topics in history, science, literature, and the arts.

3–5

In Grades 3–5, students are still focused on building reading and writing skills as well as knowledge and vocabulary, but the program no longer has two strands. The various lessons in each unit include read-alouds; whole-group, small-group, and partner reading; close reading; literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension questions; vocabulary; grammar; writing; morphology and spelling (10–15 words per week); and unit assessments.

Program design

The Skills strand provides intentional and systematic support in building decoding skills. The lessons support learning related to phonemic awareness, sound-letter patterns (or spelling patterns), decoding (both in explicit lessons and with engaging decodable texts), writing mechanics, and writing structure and processes, for 60 minutes daily.

The Knowledge Strand develops young children’s language and background knowledge. By exposing children to rich and complex texts through daily read-alouds, engaging in text-based and analytic discussions of the text and content, and building connections from the text to the work of the classroom through extension activities, the Knowledge Strand provides daily, extensive (60 minutes) broadening and deepening of children’s oral language and comprehension.

Teaching the Skills Strand and Knowledge Strand in parallel helps students avoid cognitive overload and acquire advanced, complex vocabulary in the Knowledge Strand—in essence, reading to learn from day one—while becoming expert decoders in the Skills Strand. The program is designed to bring these two strands together in grades 3–5, as foundational skills and higher-level comprehension and meaning-making gradually intertwine.

The CKLA program takes a comprehensive approach to teaching the code of the English language in the Skills strand. While the English language has only 26 letters, these letters combine to create 150 spelling patterns that represent 44 sounds of language. In most reading programs, children are explicitly taught only a fraction of this information and must glean the rest from ad hoc and incidental exposure to these spelling patterns through text. CKLA focuses on explicitly teaching each of the 44 sounds and the 150 ways that these sounds are represented (via letters and letter combinations). This comprehensive approach assures educators that children have the knowledge they need to address any text and any word.

The Knowledge Strand reflects the fact that knowledge, comprehension, and vocabulary are intimately related. The materials are designed to provide children sustained time on a variety of domains (bodies of knowledge) through shared read-alouds and discussions. This coherent organization of content is critical to building knowledge, inferring new vocabulary, and enabling comprehension. The content-rich, intentionally sequenced nature of the read-alouds within the Knowledge Strand creates the optimal context for incidental and explicit vocabulary-learning opportunities. After the read-aloud, children analyze the text through interactive discussion questions, engage in activities that foster their comprehension of complex sentences and ideas, and extend the ideas of the read-aloud into other activities in the classroom. In this way, the lessons create rich, academically oriented, oral language experiences that promote both receptive and expressive language skills.

Amplify CKLA embeds a variety of diagnostic and classroom assessments into the program materials.

There are curriculum-based assessments of both foundational skills and content knowledge, placement assessments in Grades 1 and 2 for the Skills Strand, and end-of-year Skills Strand assessments in Grades K–3. These assessments are built into the units of instruction/domains within the Teacher Guides. In Grades 4–5, there are beginning-of-year assessments, frequent spelling assessments, and comprehensive unit assessments.

Formative Assessments are integrated into every lesson, allowing teachers to understand exactly how students are doing on meeting lesson goals and standards-based objectives.

Writing in multiple genres is taught through a process that builds from three highly scaffolded steps to seven flexible steps.
In addition to explicit lessons in handwriting, spelling, and grammar, writing is taught throughout K–5. Instruction begins with a three-step writing process: plan, draft, and edit. The process is reinforced as each new writing genre is addressed. Each genre is taught through a gradual reduction in scaffolding over a set of six lessons that includes teacher modeling, group practice, independent practice, and independent application. This systematic approach allows for continued support and predictable learning as children progress in their knowledge of text types and complexity of writing. By Grade 3, students have worked their way up to a five-step writing process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Beginning in Grade 4, the writing process expands to seven components: planning, drafting, sharing, evaluating, revising, and editing (and the optional component of publishing). An important change between the writing process in Grades 3–5 is that the writing process is no longer conceptualized as a series of scaffolded, linear steps that students follow in a set sequence. Rather, students move back and forth between components of the writing process in a flexible manner, similar to the process that mature and experienced writers follow. In addition to specific writing lessons, there are numerous writing opportunities for students throughout the curriculum.

Alignment to the CCSS

Fully implementing the Common Core Standards requires some shifts in prevailing instructional approaches. For early grades language arts, these shifts can be summarized as (1) balancing fiction and nonfiction text, (2) building knowledge, (3) supporting students’ capacity to learn from increasingly complex texts, (4) giving text-based answers, (5) writing from sources, and (6) explicitly supporting the acquisition of academic vocabulary. The following sections document the primary ways that Amplify CKLA meets the demands of these shifts.

  1. The amount of nonfiction gradually increases, reaching the 50-50 balance of fiction and nonfiction by grade 3.
  2. Read-alouds in the Knowledge Strand are designed according to the latest research to build knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, the arts, and more.
  3. The texts in both the Knowledge Strand and the Skills strand increase in complexity as the program progresses within and across grades.
  4. In the Skills Strand, the language and knowledge demands of the texts increase, but remain decodable based on the aspects of the code that have been taught to date.
  5. Both strands engage students in appropriate means of providing text-based answers—orally, pictorially, and eventually in writing.
  6. Together, the Skills and Knowledge Strands enable students to read and digest various sources and then write by drawing on those sources.
  7. In both strands of the program, Amplify CKLA teaches children the process of using the text as a springboard for understanding.
  8. The Knowledge Strand offers repeated exposures to academic vocabulary through authentic texts and explicit word instruction.

Materials

PreK

  • Teacher Guides, Student Activity Pages, 3–4 Trade Books per domain, Flip Books, Image Cards, Transition and Center Cards, Nursery Rhymes and Songs Posters, and a Big Book (Classic Tales)

Grades K–2

  • Knowledge Strand: Teacher Guides, Flip Books, Student Activity Books, Image Cards, and online resources including supplemental lessons
  • Skills Strand: Teacher Guides, Activity Books, Student Readers, Big Books, Letter Cards, Spelling Cards, Individual Code Sheets, Code and Chaining Resources (Vowel/Consonant Code Flip Books, Student Chaining Folders), Blending Cards, and online resources including differentiation and remediation guides

Grades 3–5

  • Teacher Guides, Student Readers, Activity Books, Poet’s Journal, Writer’s Journal, Core Quests (The Viking Age in Grade 3, Eureka: Student Inventor in Grade 4 and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in grade 5) and Writing Quests (The Contraption in Grade 4, The Robot in Grade 5)

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

The science behind our skills instruction

Every day in the Amplify CKLA K–2 classrooms, students practice their existing reading skills while stretching themselves toward new goals.

Regardless their grade level, all students will experience Skills instruction that is:

  • Reserach-based: The program is built out of an exhaustive review of reading research, with special emphasis on the findings of the National Reading Panel, Diane McGuinness, Marilyn Jager Adams, and Louisa Moats.
  • Explicit: All 44 sounds and their 150 spellings in the English language are taught, practiced, and mastered in diverse settings.
  • Sequential: An intentional sequence of instruction that gradually builds in complexity ensures students master concepts and gain independence before moving forward.
  • Rewarding: Decodable chapter-books and engaging stories featuring dynamic plots and characters inspire kids to read more.

In addition, Skills instruction within the program reflects four key principles.

All Amplify CKLA skills instruction starts with phonological awareness, which research shows benefits the greatest number of students. Students begin by learning to recognize sounds, as well as to articulate them.

Una guía detallada sobre la integración de habilidades, con aspectos destacados que incluyen oportunidades de evaluación, enfoque en la interacción profesor-alumno, sesiones de práctica y pasos para involucrar a los estudiantes en el aprendizaje.

Sound Library
The Sound Library provides additional digital support and practice. Sound videos show mouth movements to help students practice articulating new sounds, while sound songs have fun, catchy lyrics that help kids learn to recognize the sounds they’ve just learned.

Once students are familiar with a sound, they’ll learn to analyze it in terms of phonemes, which begins to build the bridge between sounds and letter codes. We support you and your students with a variety of techniques and remediations designed to integrate well into your existing classroom.

Once students can recognize sounds, they learn to form the corresponding letter codes. Amplify CKLA starts by teaching the sound-spellings that appear most frequently in English, which lets your students read and write as many words as possible, as soon as possible.

Amplify CKLA lessons continue to challenge students as they progress, introducing complications like multisyllabic words, “tricky words,” and homophones. In each case, students encounter complications as they become ready for them.

Una página de texto educativo con secciones sobre escritura, gestos multimodales y práctica de morfología. El cuadro "Verificar comprensión" y las páginas de actividades 6.2 y 5.4 están resaltados.

In addition, as students progress through the grades, skills practice continues but becomes integrated with the overall curriculum.

Proven resources for practicing skills

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great reading skills.

In addition to separating skill development lessons from lessons that emphasize comprehension, Amplify CKLA utilizes carefully crafted resources that give kids confidence. As a result, the program helps student develop the foundational skills they need without delaying them from learning key vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

As students move through the curriculum, their understanding of the code becomes more sophisticated. That’s in large part due to Amplify CKLA’s decodable readers that grow more advanced along with students’ skills.

Un hombre sostiene un perro amarillo mientras una mula mira por la ventana. El texto narra los sentimientos de la mula al ser excluida porque el hombre trata mejor al perro.

Throughout the K–2 Skills units, we ask students to practice their writing skills along with their reading. Student book reports on the readers and other reflective assignments help build good writing habits early and prepare students for the challenges ahead.

Skills scopes and sequences by grade

Download scopes and sequences for each grade below.

Dyslexia supports within Amplify CKLA

Amplify CKLA is based on decades of cognitive science and classroom-based research and includes phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency as central literacy components.

The International Dyslexia Association defines Structured Literacy as an approach that focuses on systematic and explicit instruction in word identification and decoding, and includes the following elements: phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax, semantics. Further, Structured Literacy calls for evidence-based teaching principles such as:

  • Systematic and cumulative instruction.
  • Explicit instruction that includes multisensory teaching.
  • A diagnostic element so teachers can use evidence from formal and informal assessments to make adjustments in the classroom.

Amplify CKLA not only includes all of these elements, it was built on them.

In Grades K–2, the program uses a unique two-strand instructional approach to target knowledge and skills. The scope and sequence intentionally builds foundational skills by:

  • Beginning with critical phonological awareness and phonemic awareness instruction before moving into letter-sound knowledge and basic and advanced decoding and encoding.
  • Giving students opportunities to practice decoding and word recognition skills both in isolation and in connected text using 100% decodable readers.
  • Ensuring new skills are taught explicitly, practiced and reviewed regularly, and assessed frequently with checks for understanding, formative assessments, and formal assessments, including diagnostic/placement assessments and benchmark assessments.

For students who need more help with decoding and encoding words Amplify CKLA provides activities and materials for targeted reinforcement and intervention by way of two online resources:

  • Assessment and Remediation Guides for K-3
  • Intervention Toolkit

Contact us

Have a question about the program? Your Account Executive, Tommy Gearhart, is happy to help.

Tommy Gearhart
Senior Account Executive
505-206-7661
tgearhart@amplify.com

mCLASS Professional Development

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Invest in high-quality professional development

Amplify’s professional development provides a variety of learning experiences over multiple years to incrementally develop and apply the knowledge and skills needed for effective and self-sustaining implementation.

Gain insights into effective instructional techniques, and develop a deeper understanding of your Amplify program(s) by investing in professional development.

Contact Us
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The foundation for long-lasting and sustainable change

Partner with members of our professional learning team to plan long-lasting and sustainable change for your school or district. Change is more likely to stick and get results with deliberate planning. We can support your through this journey to drive your professional improvement, enrich your instructional practice, and increase student impact.

Professional learning journey

Every school and district is unique. That’s why we offer flexible delivery options to best meet your specific needs and objectives.

Our professional development programs come in packages or individual sessions, available both on-site and virtually, to help you get the most out of your Amplify program(s).

You can also customize your learning experience by adding extra sessions, such as Science of Reading, supporting multiliterate learners, and a problem-based approach to math, to build on your base package.

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Prepare
Begin
Practice
Advance
Prepare learning experiences will help shift literacy and math instruction and deepen understanding of research-based practices to support new program implementation. Program-aligned packages will support those who are new to Amplify’s programs. You’ll build the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to begin teaching with your Amplify program(s).

Program-aligned packages will support those who have experience using Amplify’s programs. You’ll refine instructional skills, expand knowledge of your Amplify program(s), and explore more advanced instructional strategies.

Program-aligned offerings will support advanced implementation to deepen understanding of content and pedagogy and build-in house capacity to support a robust, sustainable implementation.

Multi-program, suite packages

Core program packages

Literacy

  • Amplify CKLA
  • Amplify Caminos
  • Amplify ELA

STEM

  • Amplify Math
  • Amplify Desmos Math (K–12)
  • Amplify Science

 

 
 

Intervention program sessions

  • Boost Reading
  • Boost Lectura
  • Boost Close Reading
  • Boost Math

Assessment program packages

  • mCLASS with DIBELS® 8th Edition
  • mCLASS Lectura
  • mCLASS Math

mCLASS Intervention K–6 program sessions

 

 

Empower teachers to continuously improve

Professional development helps teachers stay motivated and inspired to grow professionally. Demonstrate your commitment to your staff by empowering them with professional development packages that include on-site or virtual Launch, Strengthen, or Coach sessions, all of which will orient you and your team to the full features of Amplify programs.

You can also personalize your learning experience by adding enhancement sessions to base packages.

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Launch

On-site and virtual Launch sessions introduce Amplify programs and support strong implementation. Self-paced, online courses are also available for select Amplify programs and include an on-demand subscription for 12-months.

After learning about the program’s foundational principles and key features, you’ll practice administering it within a collaborative environment.

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Strengthen

On-site and virtual Strengthen sessions deepen understanding of the program. Session offerings are targeted and meant to take your practice—and your students’ learning—to the next level.

Offered as part of core packages, as well as enhancements, Strengthen sessions are intended to effectively address your students’ needs. Examples include:

  • A focus on data analysis.
  • Examining student writing.
  • Targeted intervention instruction.
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Coach

On-site and virtual Coach sessions are tailored to elevate instructional practices and meet the unique needs of teachers and/or leaders.

Partner with an Amplify coach who will support you in planning customized sessions leveraging our menu of supports, which can include:

  • Lesson modeling by an Amplify facilitator.
  • Classroom observations and debriefs.
  • Grade-level planning.

Commit to sustainable change for long-term impact

Learning may ebb and flow between phases depending on your teachers’ and leaders’ needs, experiences, and professional goals. Amplify professional development aims to continually grow, develop, and refine instructional practices to support student learning and achievement.

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Frequently asked questions

We value your partnership and aim to provide you with the highest quality learning experiences. Check out our frequently asked PD questions below, along with responses.

View the PD FAQs

Additional learning

Once you become an Amplify customer, you’ll have access to many opportunities to continue learning how to get the most out of your Amplify program(s).

To get a sense of our support, check out some of our free resources:

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Biliteracy supports

Facilitated in both English and Spanish, specialized biliteracy sessions should be scheduled for teachers using both curricula and/or assessments. Sessions are available to support the use of both Amplify CKLA and Amplify Caminos core programs or mCLASSⓇ DIBELSⓇ 8th Edition and Lectura assessment programs. Substitute a biliteracy session for the 6-hour initial training in your package, or add these sessions on to your package for your biliteracy teachers.

Speak to our team to learn more!

Order and payment support

If you’re ready to submit your price quote, purchase order, or payment, visit our Ordering Support site for more information.

Submit an order or make a payment
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Community of collaboration

Connect with fellow Science of Reading or science advocates in one of our public Facebook groups. Join a community or tune into one of our podcasts today:

Amplify customers can join our exclusive, program-specific Facebook communities to ask pedagogical questions, share Amplify teaching hacks, and more!

Get in touch with a PD expert

S3-03: Instructional strategies for integrating science and literacy

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We’re continuing our investigations around science and literacy with Doug Fisher, Ph.D., professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University. We talk about the importance of integrating science and literacy, as well as practical guidance for teachers who want to unite the two disciplines in their own classrooms.

Listen as we discuss how science and literacy can be powerful allies and specific strategy areas to focus on when integrating the two disciplines. And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources!

We hope you enjoy this episode and explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page!

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

Douglas Fisher (00:00):

It’s not that you have to become a reading specialist to integrate literacy into science. It’s how our brains work.

Eric Cross (00:10):

Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host, Eric Cross. This season, we’re making the case for our favorite underdog, which of course is science. Each episode we’re showing how science can be better utilized in the classroom, and making the case for why it’s so important to do so. In our last episode, we examined the evidence showing that science and English instruction can support each other. And now on this episode, we want to give you some more strategies for really making that a reality in your own home or classroom or community. So to help me, I’m joined on this episode by Dr. Douglas Fisher, Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. Dr. Fisher is actually someone who has conducted literacy training at my own school, so I’m excited to be able to share some of his wisdom with all of you. Oh, and just a heads up, Dr. Fisher dropped some gems about the ways teachers can integrate literacy and science in their classrooms. So you may want to have a notepad. Ready. And now here’s my conversation with Dr. Douglas Fisher.

Eric Cross (01:12):

Well, Doug, thank you for your time and for being willing to come and talk about literacy and science. I know you’re busy, all over the place, and so I was super-excited that we were able to lock you in and talk about this. And, on this episode, we’re gonna talk about the ways that science and literacy can support each other. And one of the reasons why I’m really excited for you is because you said some really key things for me as a science teacher, when you talked about literacy and supporting students. That just resonated so deeply in me. And I was like, “I need more Doug!” Because we’re on that same frequency. And I know it’s a subject that you’ve spent a lot of time writing about. So can you tell us a little bit about how this became an area of interest or a passion for you? Just literacy, and all of the work that you’ve put into it?

Douglas Fisher (01:54):

Yeah. So I’ve wanted to be a teacher for a really long time. And I went to San Diego State as an undergraduate, and I was taking English class and we were assigned topics. You know, like, you’ll do an assignment, you’ll write a paper for this English class. And I got the topic “illiteracy,” and I was a freshman at San Diego State reading all of these things about adults who don’t read very well or not at all. And I ended up writing my very first college essay on illiteracy — at the time, you know, called illiteracy, at the time. And so I got super interested in this. And so as I moved through college and into my teaching career, literacy became a really important thing for me to think about, because it’s the gatekeeper. You know, you can be taken advantage of, if you’re not very literate. People can use vocabulary against you, if you’re not very literate. We know that people who have higher levels of literacy have better health outcomes. They have better lifespans, longer lifespans. I mean, there’s just — literacy impacts so much more than “Are you reading your fourth-grade textbook?” It really has lifelong implications.

Eric Cross (03:01):

That part that you said about being taken advantage of … I just got a flyer in the mail yesterday. It was one of these mailers that looked like it was an authentic debt-reduction type of thing, but it was really just like a marketing email. If you read the fine print at the very bottom, it had all of this jargon about “This is a paid, you know, for-profit company.” But when you look at it, it had official stamps all over it. And I could imagine if someone’s receiving that, that probably fools a lot of people. Is that kinda like what you’re talking about, like being taken advantage of?

Douglas Fisher (03:28):

Yes. I had a student turn 18, got a letter from a “credit card company” that was offering her daily compounding interest. And if you don’t know what that means — at 23 percent! — if you dunno what that means, you are gonna be a victim. Literacy really influences a lot of our life. It’s also how our brain works. We have a language-based system in our brain. We read, write, speak, listen, and view. And the things we learn, we learn through speaking, reading, writing, listening, and viewing. From what we know, we are the only species that has an external storage mechanism. Like, we have the ability to store complex information outside of our body, in the form of notes. We can type them. We can write them. And we can then go back and retrieve that information, that complex orthographic information later. And it means the same thing. We can say we have a storage system and we’ve been doing this for a really long time. Way back to, you know, hieroglyphics and messages on cave walls. And throughout the ages of humans learning, how to store information that they can re-access again later. That’s become a super-complicated system. It’s how computers operate. And we send messages to each other and we text each other and we write things down, and we’re really good at putting ideas, information out there. Now, if it’s just speaking and listening, then we can forget it. We can say, “No, you said this,” or “I said that.” But when it’s written, and it’s print literacy, you know, it’s the orthographics there, you can go back to the same message and over and over again. Now, you might change the interpretation of it, but the message is still there.

Eric Cross (05:16):

Right. And that is such a key element, at least of modern education, is this written element of it. It’s what many schools live and die by. They’re quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed by it. It’s public. They can see it. And so there’s this heavy emphasis. And why do you think science and literacy can be powerful allies together?

Douglas Fisher (05:38):

Awesome. Well, it’s hard to learn science if you’re not literate.

Eric Cross (05:42):

This is true.

Douglas Fisher (05:42):

But that’s a one-way direction. And yes, science teachers and scientists do a lot of reading, writing, speaking, and listening and viewing. They use the five literacy processes all the time. When we interview scientists, they spend a lot of their time reading the work of other scientists and writing their findings, writing grant proposals, presenting at conferences, you know. So a huge part of the work of a scientist is not just at a bench conducting experiments. But even if you’re conducting experiments, you’re using your literacy processes to think about what you’re seeing in your experiment. So that’s a one-way direction. And I do think literacy has an influence on science. But since science goes the other way, it influences literacy. As you learn more and you understand more about the world, your background knowledge grows, your vocabulary grows, you become more literate in those different areas. And how you think. So if I’m learning about life science; I’m learning how the world works in a more, biologic physical world. And that knowledge helps me think about when I’m reading a novel, and there’s an appeal to some science knowledge or a concept that gets played with, you know, perhaps time-space continuums … well, if I don’t have the science knowledge of how I think the world works, it’s hard for me to understand what this author is doing. So it does go both ways. They feed each other. And the more literate we become, the more complex science information we can understand. ‘Cause our background knowledge and our vocabulary influence how much we understand about what we read. And as we access more complex science information, it starts to change the way we think about other things in our world.

Eric Cross (07:23):

There was a couple of things that you said in that, but one of the first things that kind of perked my ears is when you said grant proposals. Because I have friends that are scientists — and this is one of the things that when I was in school, they don’t talk about — but how much of their research is reliant upon getting funding —

Douglas Fisher (07:37):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,

Eric Cross (07:38):

— which you don’t think about if you’re becoming a chemist or a physicist or a biologist or working in the field, is that that funding, coming from the NSF or anywhere else. And sometimes students ask in class like, “Why am I writing so much? Like, I want to go into science!” Or “I wanna do this!” And this is a real-life example of how the writing could actually apply, in addition to all of the things of collecting data and conclusions and results. But that grant proposal thing just really perked my ears, yeah.

Douglas Fisher (08:01):

And if you can’t write a grant proposal, your ideas and experiments are not gonna get funded. And if you can’t write a strong proposal, that compellingly convinces your readers to fund you, you’re not gonna get funded. But then once you get the grant, you have to write publications. You have to share your work with other people. Make PowerPoint presentations and write journal articles or books or whatever. So it’s a cycle that literacy influences the things we do, including the things we do in science.

Eric Cross (08:31):

Now to get in maybe some data, if you were trying to convince someone that like this happy marriage can exist, what would be like your number one piece of evidence to support this, this back and forth of supporting each other?

Douglas Fisher (08:44):

Awesome. So the quote I’ll often say — and this is from studies from more than two decades ago now — but in general, in high school science, students are introduced to 3000 unfamiliar words, 3000. Each year! Because there are words that are used in a scientific way that are used commonly in other places. And there are discipline-specific words. So 3000 words a year in high school science. The Spanish 1 textbook only has 1500 words in it. So science teachers have double the academic-language vocabulary demand that a typical introductory world-language class has. So just the vocabulary alone should say to us, literacy is gonna be important if you’re gonna learn science. And if you don’t understand these technical words, and you don’t understand the way science uses this particular word in this particular way… . When you say the word “process,” it means something very specific In science. “Division” — cellular division is not the way we think about it in mathematics; there’s a similar concept, but cellular division is different than dividing numbers. And those are words that get used in multiple areas. Then you have all these technical terms that you have to be able to use, to understand the concepts. To share the concepts. To talk to other people. Whether you’re in, you know, fifth grade and talking science, or you’re a university professor, there’s a shared language, appropriate for our grade level, that we have shared meanings of.

Eric Cross (10:22):

And we’re essentially … what I’m hearing you say is … most of the people that are listening to this are science teachers. We’re we’re also language teachers. In a sense.

Douglas Fisher (10:29):

So my frustration is when people say, “Every teacher’s a teacher of reading.” And I don’t like that. I’ve written against that phrase. I don’t think all teachers are teachers of reading, any more than all teachers are teachers of chemistry. Or all teachers are teachers of algebra. But what I will say is the human brain learns through language. And all of us — every teacher that I’ve ever met understands that language is important in my class. If my students don’t have strong listening skills and speaking skills; reading, writing, and viewing skills; I’m gonna have a hard time getting them to learn things. If I can help them grow their speaking, listening, reading, writing, and viewing in my content area, I’m gonna do a service for my learning of my subject and also their more broad literacy development.

Eric Cross (11:16):

  1. So, at a high level, what does it look like to integrate science and literacy? We’ve done education for the last, what, hundred years?

Douglas Fisher (11:24):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>

Eric Cross (11:25):

—kind of pretty similarly, right? Kind of siloed way. What does this look like at the 30,000-foot level? You’re a professor, department chair. Run schools. Speak everywhere. Like, when you think about this from that high level, what does it look like?

Douglas Fisher (11:39):

A high level? Every time I meet with students in a science class, you know, biology or fifth grade or whatever? They should be reading, they should be writing, they should be speaking and listening. Every class. So what print do you want them to access? And it can be a primary source document, it can be an article, it can be from a textbook. Are they reading something? Are they writing to you? Because writing is thinking. If they are writing, they are thinking. As soon as their brain goes somewhere else, they stop writing. The pen won’t move or the fingers don’t type. And then speaking and listening, of course, is the dynamic of our classes. So every day we should see some amount of reading, writing, speaking, and listening, viewing in our classes. That’s at a high level. There are some generic things that seem to work across the literacy. So, learning how to take notes. Focusing on vocabulary. Using graphic organizers. These are generic things that as educators we can use in our classes. Then there’s more specialized things. So, scientists and science teachers think differently than historians and literary critics and art critics. So scientists, if you look at the disciplinary literacy work, there’s a whole body of research where they interview and study high-end experts in their field: chemistry, physics, biology, et cetera. And there are some characteristics that were more disciplined, specific. Scientists like cause and effect relationships. They look for them when they’re reading. They like sourcing information. “Where this come from?” “What’s the history of this idea?” Scientists have a long view in terms of time. Historians have a shorter view of time. English teachers have even shorter view of time. Scientists tend to think in long periods of time. And so all of that influences how a scientist reads and how we should apprentice young people after they get past the generic “I know how to take notes. I know how to study my vocabulary. I know how to do summary writing for my teacher in my notebooks and things,” there’s some generic tools. Once we get past those, we need to be looking at specifically how do people in science use literacy.

Eric Cross (13:52):

I’ve never had my thought process of reading deconstructed just now, but we just described how scientists read. I was like, “Yeah, that’s pretty much how I read, right there.” I also like how you said how we should apprentice young people. And I feel like you as the literacy guy, you chose that word very specifically, as far as apprenticing young people. That is a view, I think, that’s really important to hold. ‘Cause that’s what we’re doing essentially … is, if we’re doing what we should be doing, we are apprenticing these young people.

Douglas Fisher (14:18):

Yes.

Eric Cross (14:18):

And helping them develop. Now, let’s imagine there’s a listener out there and they’re interested in getting better at integrating science and literacy instruction. They want to start somewhere. Before we dive in, do you have any initial words of encouragement for the person who’s like, “Everything is like a priority right now,” in their classroom or in their world?

Douglas Fisher (14:37):

Yeah. So I’ll talk about elementary for just a moment. When we’re reading informational texts in our literacy block, we should be reading information that is aligned to what kids need to learn in science and history in, in that grade level. Why are we reading things that are gonna be in conflict with what they’re gonna learn in science later that day in fourth grade, for example? So when we look at our standards, our expectations, what is it that third graders need to know in history, science, mathematics, language arts? And when we’re reading text and we’re learning to apply our reading strategies during our literacy block, why aren’t we reading topics that build our background knowledge for our science time? So we’re seeing some synergy there. We should be looking at life cycles in grades that are appropriate for life cycles and knowing there’s more to life cycles than the frog and the plant or the seed. There are all kinds of life cycles. And we call ’em life cycles for a reason. That’s a general concept. Now in science, we’re looking at this particular lifecycle right now. And so that’s a high level. If we could get more connection to the content standards during our literacy blocks, it would be very good. When we talk about the time at which we call “science” in the day, in more of the K–8 continuum, the science needs to include some primary source documents. Some real things that students are reading. Read about a scientist; read about a scientist’s discovery; read about what they discovered. So that we’re building our background knowledge. So when we go to do things, activities, labs, simulations, we have background knowledge and we understand what we’re experiencing. It can’t be like—I watched this awesome lesson on lenses and the teacher had all these different lenses in the room and the students came in and they were brand new. They don’t know anything. They were picking ’em up. They’re exploring them. They’re trying to figure out, and they’re trying to come up with theories about what this is and how it works. And then the teacher gave them a reading, a short reading, on refraction of light. And they read this thing. And the clarity that they had about what these lenses must do, well! All of a sudden they’re putting them up to the lights! They’re asking if they can go get the lights out of the storage unit! ‘Cause there’s — and they’re shining different lights through the lenses to see what happens to the light. Because that little bit of reading turned some focus on for the students. And it allowed them to take what I’m thinking about, what I’m trying to figure out, how this thing works in another direction. That’s the power of using literacy in our classes.

Eric Cross (17:20):

And what I’m hearing essentially is transfer across disciplines, across content areas, ultimately. And in an elementary school classroom, would it be fair to say, probably the teacher has more autonomy to be able to do that, since they’re teaching all the subjects? But secondary, logistically, planning and those types of things … from what you’ve seen, is it fair to say this kind of needs to be like a top-down, full vertical alignment, to teach like this?

Douglas Fisher (17:45):

I think that would be awesome to do that. But if I’m a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher and I’m working with my sixth grade science teacher, the conversation should be, “What units are you teaching?” Because I’m choosing informational text. My job is to teach them how to find central ideas. My job is to teach them how to find the details in the text. My job is to have them make a claim and support that claim with evidence. The stuff I use is generic. Yes, we do read some literature and some narratives, but we also read about 50% of the text in English around informational text. So if I can help you and accomplish my standards as well, fantastic. So let’s have this conversation and say, “Oh, this is what you’re teaching in science in the next three weeks? I’m gonna choose some texts and we’re gonna analyze ’em for central idea. We’re gonna analyze ’em for details. We’re gonna, for mood or tone or whatever that we’re teaching. And by the way, I’m building background knowledge. So when they come to you, they know some stuff about what you’re going to be teaching next.” So I don’t think it’s impossible to say teams of teachers could come together and say, “What do we believe that our students need to know and learn and be able to do? And then how do we choose things that are gonna help them accomplish exactly that?”

Eric Cross (19:01):

And that’s empowering. Because that’s one thing that we can control maybe is this East-West, peer-to-peer, different content areas. A system may not be able to change as quickly, but I can definitely go talk to my English team or math team and check in and kind of see, “Hey, where do we have overlap in that?” And I know the times that I’ve accidentally had overlap with the teams, it’s super-exciting. And the students have been more bought in! Because it’s like, we’ve done something on the human microbiome and we’ve talked about genetics and all these different things, and then when they read The Giver, or they read some book about genetics, they have all this knowledge. And they’re excited. And they talk about colorblindness or they come to my class and they’re like, “Hey, we read about this!” It’s almost like they saw a magic trick, the fact that these things linked up. And the engagement has been so much higher when it’s the same content in different classes, but through different lenses. At least, that’s what I’ve seen in my years of teaching.

Douglas Fisher (19:54):

I saw a lesson on space junk that was so cool. Middle-school students learning space junk. And the history teacher had a part of it, science teacher had a part of it, English Language Arts teacher had a part of it. And these students, I mean, you watch them look up all the time, ’cause there’s space junk up there. Where’d it come from? Why is it there? What are the politics of this? How do we clean it up? I mean, it was just so interesting to watch them when the teachers came together. And the teachers met their standards in this couple-week-long space-junk exploration. Investigation was met. Politics was met. All these different things. Economy. You know, how much does it cost to clean up this problem? So there’s really cool opportunities when teachers come together and realize we can work together and improve the literacy and learning of our students.

Eric Cross (20:50):

Absolutely. So before this recording, we picked your brain a bit. And I know that there were three specific strategy areas that you wanted to touch on. And one of those — which is kind of coming back to the 3000-words language teachers — was vocabulary. So what are the opportunities that you see, as far as the way of educators to approach vocabulary? Because, you know, there’s a lot. We got a lot of it. The 3000 words.

Douglas Fisher (21:14):

Yeah. There’s a lot of it. So the worry is, we make a vocabulary list and have students look up the words in definitional kinds of things. That’s not really gonna help. Students need to be using the words. They need to be using the words in their conversations, in their writing, in how they think about your content in science. So vocabulary is a huge predictor of whether or not you understand things. Vocabulary is also a pretty good predictor if you can read on grade level. So when we think about vocabulary, there’s something called word solving. You show students a piece of text and you’re reading it, you’re sharing your thinking, and you say, “Oh, here’s a context clue!” Or “I know this prefix or suffix or root!” And in science, a lot of the words are prefixed, suffixed, or root words. We tend to add things together with a lot of prefixes and suffixes and have roots and bases in science. So we can help students think about, “Oh, what does geo- mean? We already know what geo- means here. It means the same thing in this word. Let’s apply that knowledge.” So word solving is part of it, showing students how we think about words that we might not know. The second is more direct instruction of vocabulary. As students encounter the words, we work on what it means, how we say it. We practice it a few times. The process is called orthographic mapping. It’s kind of a scientific idea here. But you have the sound and the recognition of by-the-word, by sight, and what it means. And your brain starts to automatically recognize that word in the future. So I don’t have to slow down, disrupt my fluency, and try to figure out what the word is saying. ‘Cause I’ve seen it enough. I’ve heard it pronounced enough, I’ve pronounced it enough, and I know what it means. So teachers should be saying, “What words in sixth grade science, what words in third grade science, do my students really need to know?” And I’m gonna have them encounter those words over and over. I’m gonna have them use the words. I’m gonna have them see the words. I’m gonna have them say the words. I’m gonna say the word and we’re gonna be over and over with these terms, so that students incorporate them into their normal view of, “These are the things I know about the world.” By the way, when they go to read that next thing, and they understand “geology,” you know, for sixth graders, for example, they know how to say it. They don’t stumble on it. And it activates a whole bunch of memories in their brains. “This is what geology is.” There are branches of geology, there’s physical geology, there’s all this thinking that activates as they read.

Eric Cross (23:35):

There was a practice that I participated in and am trying to incorporate — I don’t know what the name of it is. But essentially what happened was we were dissecting a flower. And the instructor had us name parts of the flower. But we got to come up with our own names for it.

Douglas Fisher (23:49):

Ah.

Eric Cross (23:50):

So, for instance, the stamen we call “the fuzzy Cheeto.” And we all used our own words and then everything was legitimized. And so we went through and learned the whole activity using our own vocab words. But then, in the end, after we presented and talked about it, then the words, the actual academic language was attached to our word. And we were able to say, “OK, the fuzzy Cheeto is the stamen,” and this, this, this, and this. But it was such an interesting practice, because it kind of legitimized all of our definitions. But we weren’t stumbling on these long Latin terms and things like that. Is there a name for that? Or. … ?

Douglas Fisher (24:29):

Yes. I don’t know the name for that. I think it’s really smart. So here’s what I would say about that, is: we don’t learn words, we learn concepts. Words are labels for our concepts. So what that teacher did for you was allow you to develop concept, a concept knowledge. “There’s a part of this plant, it goes like this, we’re gonna call it fuzzy Cheeto. Now I have this concept. And look, it occurred in all these plants. And those people called it that and that other group called it that. We called it a fuzzy Cheeto. Here’s the part of it.” And then the concept is in your brains. And the teacher said, “It’s really called stamen.” And it’s an instant transfer, because you already had the concept. What we often see is students are trying to learn a really hard academic word and the concept for the word at the same time. And so it slows down the whole process. And there’s higher levels of forgetting. Because human beings, we don’t learn words; we learn concepts. If you don’t have the concept, if I gave you a word out of the blue that you’ve never seen, never heard, and a week from now I asked you to remember it, you probably would not, because it didn’t register. It wasn’t part of your schema. You didn’t have a way to organize the information. You don’t have a concept. So that teacher? It’s a great idea. Got you to develop concept knowledge. And then said, “Here’s a real label for it: What some other people called it when they had the chance to come up with their own names.”

Eric Cross (25:50):

Shout out to my teacher, who was—

Douglas Fisher (25:51):

Right.

Eric Cross (25:52):

It was learned then. It was a great practice. And the fact that you’re right, like, I just mean from my own personal experience, I agree that learning concepts versus complicated words. And it’s interesting that you said higher levels of forgetfulness, you know. And you often hear that complaint about it: “Students forget! Students forget!” But this complex topic and this complex word that’s new to me, and I have to remember both of those things.

Douglas Fisher (26:12):

That’s right.

Eric Cross (26:13):

And the other neat thing that it did, is it actually honored the background and like the founts of knowledge of all the different groups in the classroom. You just said something about “this group called it this and this group called it this,” and so by letting different groups share all of those names, now we’re starting to build these kind of interesting connections. That’s at least what I remember experiencing. And so this, even this practice of this approach is very layered, beyond just kind of generating new knowledge of things. So I appreciate that aspect of it. Now another area that you mentioned was complex text.

Douglas Fisher (26:41):

Yeah.

Eric Cross (26:42):

And how we can get students into complex text. So what can we do there?

Douglas Fisher (26:46):

I think science is an ideal place to get students reading things that are hard for them. And I do believe that some parts of school should be a struggle. Not all day, every day. But there should be doses of struggle, which are good for our brains. And these complex pieces of texts that don’t give up their meanings easily allow students to go back and reread the text and maybe mark the text and talk to peers about the text and answer questions with their groups. And the whole point of complex text is to say, “We persevere through it. We may not understand it fully on our first read. But we go back and we might underline, we might highlight. We might write some margin notes. Our teacher might say, ‘What did this author mean here?’ And we go back and look at that part and we take it apart. What do we think about that? And we talk to each other. It’s showing that when we read things, we work to understand. We work through our thinking, often in the presence of other people. And our understanding grows as we go into the text over and over and over again.” So I said geology earlier. There’s about a two-page article on “what is geology” that sixth graders often read. And some kids find it super boring. It’s a once-read, “OK, geology, I don’t really understand it. There’s a bunch of words in here that I don’t understand.” But if you go back to it a few times and you start taking apart, “What are the branches of geology? Oh, I’m gonna go reread that.” How are these two branches related to each other?” “What are the subtypes of each branch of geology?” “How do geologists do their work?” You start asking questions where students are going back into the text. You spend a little bit of time. Now, the introduction to geology, the students know so much more. So whatever you do next— video experiments, whatever—they have a frame of reference, because of that deep, complex read. It’s probably better than simply telling them, “Here’s the information.”

Eric Cross (28:45):

Right. And I even feel like as an educator, when I reflect on my own learning in the classroom, and then looking at it through the perspective of an educator <laugh>, you find this difference between how you were taught and then what the data says good teaching is.

Douglas Fisher (28:59):

Mm-hmm. <affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

Eric Cross (29:00):

It’s so easy to slide back into how you were taught!

Douglas Fisher (29:02):

Yeah.

Eric Cross (29:02):

Even though, you know, you mentally assent to, “This is the best way. This is the data shows.” And you find yourself kind of sliding back at times.

Douglas Fisher (29:10):

Yep. And there’s good evidence to support what you just said, that most people teach the way they experienced school. And it is very hard to change that. And people have studied this. And it’s very hard to change that. Because it worked for us. And we have an n of 1, and it worked for us. Now, remember, there were a whole bunch of other kids in the class that it may not have worked for. And we chose to be in school the rest of our lives, and some of your peers did not choose to be in school the rest of their lives. In fact, some of them hated school and found no redeeming qualities of their experience. So just because it worked for us in a case of one, n of 1, doesn’t mean it worked for all of the kids, or even the majority of them.

Eric Cross (29:57):

Very well said. It’s that, what is that, the survivor bias? Survivorship bias? Where you were the one that made it. But you don’t think about all the other folks. ‘Cause we’re thinking about ourselves.

Douglas Fisher (30:05):

That’s right.

Eric Cross (30:06):

Great case for empathy too, is thinking about the people left and right. Because my friends are like, “I hated science.” And I say, “Who hurt you? Like, what did they do? It’s so amazing, so much fun!”

Douglas Fisher (30:16):

“What happened to you? Science is the coolest. Right? It’s so amazing!”

Eric Cross (30:21):

But I also had a unique experience in seventh grade with my teacher who did some of these things, and made it accessible for so many of us, in opening opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. But you’re absolutely right. That was my story. That wasn’t the story of everybody that was around me. And I think that’s really important. Now, I know this is also a big one for you, but I wanna talk about writing. What are the opportunities that you see in terms of writing specifically?

Douglas Fisher (30:51):

So would love it if science teachers had short and longer writing tasks in the science time. Of course, you can integrate some of the science writing, the longer ones, in the English language arts time, especially if you’re the elementary teacher and you can have control of the whole day. But I said this earlier; I’ll say it again. Writing is thinking. While you are writing, there’s nothing else you can do but think about what you are writing. Your brain cannot do something else. So if a science teacher wants to know, do their students really understand the concepts? Have them write. Now some of the shorter ones, I like something called “given word” or “generative sentences”: “I’m gonna give you a word: CELL. C-e-l-l. We’re in science. I want you to write the word ‘cell,’ c-e-l-l, in the third position of a sentence. So it’s gonna go word, word, cell, and then more words.” You could also say, “I want the sentence longer than seven words,” or whatever. But the key is, I’m telling you where I want the word. You will know instantly if your students have a sense of what the word “cell” means in the context of science. If they write “my cell phone,” they don’t get it. If they write about spreadsheet cells or jail cells or whatever, they didn’t get it. But if they talk to you about plant cells and animal cells and the components of those cells, and then once they have that sentence down, you can say to them, “Now write three or four more sentences that connect to that sentence.” It’s super simple. So whatever concepts you’re teaching, put ’em in a specific position. Now you don’t have to only put it in the third position. You can say the first position, the fifth position, the fourth position. But it forces them to think about what they know about the word and then how to construct a sentence for you. That’s a very simple way to get some writing from your students that helps you think about what they understand. Other kinds of writing, you can have quick writes, you can have exit-slip writes. There’s something in the research space called the muddiest part, where halfway through the lesson you have them write so far what has been the least understood or the most confusing part of this lesson. And they do a quick write, right there, at the muddiest part. And as a teacher, you flip through these and you start to say, “Oh, these are the points that are confusing to my students.” So if 80% of them all have the same thing, I gotta reteach that. If these five got, “This is the muddiest part,” If these five thought, “This is the muddiest part,” these seven, “I thought this was the muddiest part,” what do I need to do? Because it’s gonna be hard to move forward if this is their area of confusion. There are also all kinds of writing prompts that have a little bit longer. My favorite one is RAFT. What’s your Role? Who’s your Audience? What’s the Format? And what’s the Topic we’re writing about? Super flexible writing prompt. When you teach something, we don’t want students to only think they write to their teacher. So your role is an atom. You are writing to the other atoms. What do you wanna write about? What’s the topic? What’s the format of it? Is it a love letter? Is it a text message? Is it … so we, we mix it up with students in saying, how do they show some knowledge through a prompt that we give them? And then of course, longer pieces as they get older. More opinion pieces through fifth grade. More claims and arguments starting in sixth grade. So that they’re starting to see, “I have to use the evidence from things I’ve learned, read, listened to, watched, and construct something: an opinion, an argument where I back it up with reasons or evidence.” And those longer pieces, you know, less frequently. The shorter pieces, pretty regularly. So the teacher sees the thinking of the students.

Eric Cross (34:29):

When you were speaking about these really creative writing prompts, there were specific students coming into mind, that were coming into mind … they’re, they’re great science students, but they also have this really strong artsy side drawing, creative writing, and things like that. And when you said something about atoms talking to each other, it elicited, in my brain, certain students that would really love this aspect of creativity in the sciences. And it’s not how we’re typically trained as science teachers, to kind of incorporate this, like you said. A book of props. But I’m imagining, like, as a science teacher, if I took this, this would be a great way to reach more students to be able to show what they know, in a way that might resonate with their own intrinsic “Oh, I get to write creatively!” So I was kind of writing furiously as you were sharing all that information there.

Douglas Fisher (35:12):

So here, I’ll give you another example for elementary people. Again, with RAFT. There’s a book called Water Dance. It’s a pretty popular book for elementary teachers. It’s really about the life cycle of water. For example, you are a single drop of water. You are writing to the land. The format is a letter. And you’re explaining your journey. Now, if they can do this, they’re essentially explaining to you the cycle of water. But you got it in a way that people are now, “Oh, I’m a drop of water. So it’s me. My perspective. Where do I go from? Where do I start?” Because you can start anywhere in the cycle, right? My drop could have started in the clouds. My drop could have started in the ground. My drop could have started in the lake. But it has to show you the journey. So there are many ways of showing you the right answers.

Eric Cross (36:02):

And that’s using the RAFT protocol.

Douglas Fisher (36:04):

That’s RAFT: Role, Audience, Format, Topic. It’s been around 20 or 30 years.

Eric Cross (36:09):

You just gave the name to something a teacher shared in our podcast community, Science Connections: The Community, on Facebook. Teacher shared a Google slide deck and on it were just three slides. And the role that the student had to have is they had to show, then tell, the story of a journey of a piece of salmon being eaten, a piece of starch from pasta being eaten, and then an air molecule in a child’s bedroom. And they had to give the path of travel and the experience from the mouth and then breaking down into protein and all those kinds of things. And this teacher shared it and I wish I knew the teacher’s name because I wanna give ’em credit, but they shared it. And so I used it with my students and then had ’em read aloud their stories and dramatize it. And they were so into it!

Douglas Fisher (36:49):

So cool.

Eric Cross (36:50):

But through it, I was able to see that they understood different parts of the body. They understood cell respiration. The whole thing. And it was fun! To watch them get so into this creative writing. And now I know the name of it. That’s been 30 years they were using RAFT. So you just talked a bit about complex texts and writing. And before we go, I wanted to circle back to something that you said, because I think it’s important, and if you could elaborate on it a little bit, about the value of struggle. Can you talk more about that?

Douglas Fisher (37:21):

Sure. I do believe in a lot of the U.S. we’re in an anti-struggle era of education. And it predates Covid. I think it made it worse during Covid. We front load too much. We pre-teach too much. We reduce struggle. We quote, “over-differentiate” for students. And there’s value in struggle. The phrase, “productive struggle” — if you haven’t heard it, Google productive struggle — it’s an interesting concept, that we actually learn more when we engage in this productive struggle. Now, productive struggle originally came from the math world, and it was this idea that it’s worth struggling through things to learn from it, that you’re likely to get it wrong, and then there was productive success. And there are times when we want students to experience success and we make sure we put things in place for productive success. But there are times where we want them to struggle through a concept. ‘Cause it feels pretty amazing when you get on the other side, when you know you struggled and you get to the other side. If you think about the things, listeners, think about the things in your life where you struggled through it and you are most proud of what you accomplished. I want students to have that. I don’t wanna eliminate scaffolding, eliminate differentiation. But I do want some regular doses of struggle. So if you look at the scaffolding, we have a couple choices. We have front-end scaffolds, distributed scaffolds, and back-end scaffolds. Right now we mostly use front-end scaffolds: We pre-teach, we tell students words in advance, that kind of stuff. But what if we refrained from only using front-end scaffolds, and we use more distributed scaffolds, when they encounter. So there’s a difference between “just in case” and “just in time” support for students. So we tend to plan on the “in advance, here are all the things we’re gonna do to remove the struggle before students encounter the struggle.” What if instead we said, “Let them encounter some struggle. Here’s the supports we’re gonna provide. We’re gonna watch; we’re gonna remove those scaffolds, and allow them to have an experience of success, where they realize, ‘I did it. I got it.’” Every science teacher I’ve ever worked with, when they do an experiment or a lab or simulation, they are looking for productive struggle. They don’t tell the answers in advance. They don’t tell if the answers are right. That’s your data. What does your data tell you? I mean, this is what you do. But then the other part of your day when you move into, like, reading, you don’t do that. You fall into the trap of removing struggle. And so allow them to grapple with ideas. Allow them to wonder what words mean. Allow them to say, “I’m not getting this, teacher! It’s really frustrating!” And you say, “Yeah, this is really hard. This is why we’re doing it at school. ‘Cause it’s really hard. If it was easy, I’d have you do it at home. But we’re doing it here, ’cause it’s really hard and it’s OK not to get it at first.” And create a place where errors are seen as opportunities to learn, and struggling through ideas and clarifying your own thinking and arguing with other people to reach an agreement or reach a place where we agree to disagree is part of the power of learning.

Eric Cross (40:38):

There’s a teacher, who I took this from. My master teacher when I was student teaching. And she said that there’s no such thing as failure in science, just data. And I took that same mantra. And I resonate with what you said about how science teachers, all of us, hold onto that productive struggle, because it’s part of being a scientist. It’s part of the experiments. That genuine “aha” moment. Or it didn’t work out? That’s great! That’s totally fine! Let’s write about it and let’s take photos and let’s publish it and let’s be scientists. That’s totally true. As we wrap up, Dr. Fisher, is there any final message that you have to listeners about bringing science and literacy together? I know you speak everywhere, but for everyone that’s listening, if you can put out your encouragement or message or suggestion … you’ve given so many great tips and practical applications. But, any final thoughts on the subject?

Douglas Fisher (41:32):

I think many science teachers are intimidated because they think they have to be reading teachers. And there’s a knowledge base to reading. And some teachers are reading teachers and science teachers, and I don’t wanna dismiss that. But it’s not that you have to become a reading specialist to integrate literacy into science. It’s how our brains work. And so as you think about the way in which you are learning and the ways in which you want your students to learn, what role does language play? What role does speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, play in your class? And then provide opportunities for students to do those five things each time you meet with them.

Eric Cross (42:12):

Dr. Fisher, thank you so much for being here and for your encouragement, and sharing your wisdom and experience. And then personally serving my city, here in San Diego, and my students, when they make it to your high school and ultimately the alma mater of San Diego State University.

Douglas Fisher (42:30):

That’s right.

Eric Cross (42:31):

Yeah. We really, really appreciate you in serving all kids and lifting the bar and making things more equitable for all students. And encouraging teachers. So thank you.

Douglas Fisher (42:39):

Thank you very much.

Eric Cross (42:42):

Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Dr. Douglas Fisher, Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. Check out the show notes for links to some of Doug’s work, including the book he co-authored titled Reading and Writing in Science: Tools to Develop Disciplinary Literacy. Please remember to subscribe to Science Connections so that you can catch every episode in this exciting third season. And while you’re there, we’d really appreciate it if you can leave us a review. It’ll help more listeners to find the show. Also, if you haven’t already, please be sure to join our Facebook group, Science Connections: The Community. Next time on the show, we’re going to continue exploring the happy marriage between science and literacy instruction.

Speaker  (43:26):

I had this moment of realization I felt a few months ago: I’m like, if I don’t teach them how to use the AI as a tool, as a collaborator, then they’re gonna graduate into a world where they lose out to people who do know how to do that.

Eric Cross (43:39):

That’s next time on Science Connections. Thanks so much for listening.

Stay connected!

Join our community and get new episodes every other Wednesday!

We’ll also share new and exciting free resources for your classroom every month!

What Dr. Douglas Fisher says about science

“There are really cool opportunities when teachers come together and realize we can work together to improve the literacy and learning of all our students.”

– Dr. Doug Fisher

Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University

Meet the guest

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College having been an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit, an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, such as The Restorative Practices Playbook, PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, Building Equity, and Better Learning Through Structured Teaching.

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About Science Connections

Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. 

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A closer look at grades 3–5

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 3–5 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.
Collage of four educational activities: 1) drying a paper model with a hairdryer, 2) two girls observing a science experiment, 3) children making a mixture, 4) adult hand watering a plant in a clear container.
Graphic showing a research process with four steps: spark intrigue with a real-world problem, explore evidence, explain and elaborate, and evaluate claims, connected in a cycle with arrows.

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 California to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the California NGSS in just 88 days.

Scope and sequence

Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).

Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

Educational curriculum chart showcasing a progression of amplify science lessons from kindergarten to grade 5, categorized by grade and subject areas like plants, animals, weather, and energy.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.

In grades 3–5:

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

Argumentation units

Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.

Units at a glance

Una ilustración de un tren de alta velocidad moderno y aerodinámico que viaja por una vía elevada con un paisaje verde de fondo.
Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit
Inheritance and Traits

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit
Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Weather and Climate unit
Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit
Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Vision and Light unit
Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Earth's Features unit
Earth’s Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit
Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit
Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit
Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Earth System unit
The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit
Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

Resources

Four students around a table engaged in a group science project in a classroom.

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

Unit phenomena for K–5

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

Educational material for grade 1, featuring a section about aquariums with an image of children observing jellyfish, and an introduction to forest habitats.

Classroom Slides for K–5

Classrooms Slides for elementary are now available! These customizable PowerPoin…

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What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

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

A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.

Literacy-rich instruction in K–5

Scientists don’t just get messy. They read and write with purpose too. Exp…

Student Books in K–5

Read a summary of each of our award-winning K–5 student books.

Two children in safety goggles conducting a science experiment with liquids in a classroom.

Investigations for K–5

Explore the types of investigations that take place in elementary classrooms.

Earth's Features digital simulation

Sims for 4–8

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

Four-step educational infographic depicting problem-solving process: engaging with real-world problems, exploring multiple sources, constructing explanations, and applying knowledge to new problems.

The 5E model in K–8

Learn how the 5E elements are woven throughout each and every unit.

Two middle school girls conduct a science experiment

The CER model in K-5

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

A science teacher stands at the front of a classroom speaking, while several students sitting at desks raise their hands to participate. A lesson is displayed on the screen behind her.

Approaches to assessment in K–5

Learn about our embedded assessments.

Science activity kit featuring books "Earthworms Underground" and "What's Going On with the Weather?", balloons, plant seeds, propellers, and other educational materials.

Program component list for TK–5

Explore the components that come with each unit.

Amplify Tutor Fingerprinting

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High-impact literacy tutoring for K–6 built on the Science of Reading-NEW | Amplify

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Supporting multilingual & English language learners

Multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) bring unique strengths to classrooms, enriching the learning experiences for all.

At Amplify, we empower educators with tools that honor the strengths and capabilities of ML/ELs. Our curriculum and assessments meet students where they are and help them develop their skills, propelling them on their learning journeys.

Amplify supports ML/ELs across all subjects, from English language arts to math and science. For students who speak Spanish, we also provide a comprehensive biliteracy suite.

Four vibrant illustrations feature a goat, greeting phrases in Spanish and English, a map with an animal icon, and a fox with rabbits in a forest—perfect for engaging multilanguage & English language learners.
Illustration of a robot character, nine book covers above, and a tablet displaying an e-book page. A pink character stands on a stool holding a book, promoting a reading program for English language learners. Stars decorate the background.

Amplify CKLA core literacy curriculum for grades K–5

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a K–5 core curriculum built on the science of how students learn to read and write. Amplify CKLA supports ML/ELs in a variety of ways.

Image of a lesson page titled "Introducing the Read-Aloud," focused on speaking and listening skills. The highlighted section emphasizes "Speaking and Listening," seamlessly integrating into the literacy curriculum to support multilanguage & English language learners.

Scaffolding at five levels of proficiency

In addition to core instruction, Amplify CKLA provides lesson supports for Entering/Emerging, Transitioning/ Expanding, and Bridging levels.

An open workbook on writing skills, featuring instructions on creating paragraphs and checking understanding for literacy curriculum, with icons and a

Lesson differentiation

Lessons include Support and Challenge suggestions that provide assistance or opportunities for more advanced work toward the goal of the lesson. These resources are suitable for all learners, including ML/ELs.

A computer screen displays a multilanguage phonics learning app, ideal for English language learners, featuring an astronaut illustration and a play button for the sound "/a/".

Phonological awareness and phonics supports

The digital Sound Library easily facilitates sound development through videos showing mouth movements and songs that help students practice articulating new sounds with catchy lyrics.

A group of young children, including multilanguage and English language learners, sit cross-legged on a classroom floor, some with hands raised, appearing engaged and attentive.

Frequent oral language development opportunities

Amplify CKLA boosts language development with complex read-alouds, interactive discussion, writing activities, and explicit teaching of academic and domain vocabulary.

Amplify CKLA pairs with Amplify Caminos, its companion K–5 Spanish literacy program that supports biliteracy instruction.

Language Studio, an English Language Development companion program for Amplify CKLA

Language Studio, Amplify CKLA’s dedicated K–5 English language development companion program, offers daily 30-minute lessons to help ML/ELs practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Aligned to the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) framework, Language Studio previews and reinforces language and content from core instruction, so that ML/ELs of all proficiency levels are able to access grade-level content as they develop academic English.

Four illustrated educational book covers are shown, each with different cultural and historical themes, titled "Language Studio Volumes 1-4" from Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts—perfect for multilanguage and English language learners.
A young girl sits at a desk reading a book, while two other children are in the background—one using a laptop. The scene supports multilanguage and English language learners as they engage with different resources.

Interactive language development

Language Studio provides opportunities for classroom discussions, oral presentations, and writing tasks, promoting comprehension and learning by connecting with students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

A worksheet labeled "Features of Academic Language," ideal for multilanguage and English language learners, with highlighted text: "Draw and Write," "Offer and Support Opinion," and "Tier 3 Domain-specific words.

Explicit vocabulary instruction

Interactive vocabulary and academic language support is provided before each lesson to deepen students’ understanding of text.

Two schoolgirls in green uniforms, English language learners, look at a notebook together in a multilanguage classroom—one holding a pencil box and pointing at the book.

Multimodal comprehension support

Students can preview content, interact with physical materials, compare text types, receive explicit grammar instruction, and have access to extensive vocabulary exercises.

A language proficiency assessment chart for multilanguage and English language learners, listing evaluation criteria and descriptors across five proficiency levels from entering to bridging.

Skill proficiency monitoring

Language Studio facilitates evaluation with an understanding of what students should produce at each level.

A person holds a tablet displaying educational progress, featuring profile images of two students labeled

mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment for grades K–8

mCLASS® is an all-in-one system for Science of Reading-based universal screening, dyslexia screening, and progress monitoring for grades K–8. Powered by DIBELS 8th Edition, mCLASS provides valuable data on your ML/ELs’ literacy in English, helping you build a robust system of tiered supports. With a single tool, you can access the data and instructional support you need for each student’s literacy development, from phonics to comprehension, catering to all readers, from beginner to advanced.

A laptop screen displays a table showing the beginning-of-year assessment scores for four Grade 1 multilanguage and English language learners across three goal areas: Composite, LNF, and PSF.

Screening and reporting

mCLASS’s one-minute measures and dyslexia screening identify risk as early as possible, providing you with the right data to make informed decisions.

A laptop screen displays an educational platform with a lesson plan on decoding complex word patterns for Grade 3 English language learners under the "Instruction" tab, supporting multilanguage development.

Language considerations

mCLASS provides specific language guidance, offers ML/EL instructional strategies, and considers each student’s unique language background, never penalizing for language variety, accent, or articulation, and extending this understanding into small-group practices.

A computer screen displays a dashboard with student assessment data, including charts and tables comparing performance across different benchmarks for multilanguage and English language learners.

Performance and reporting transparency

Understand student performance through direct observation and detailed reports which offer growth insights, including district-wide student achievement data that can be filtered by EL status, Home Language, or English Proficiency status.

mCLASS pairs with mCLASS Lectura, an authentic Spanish literacy assessment for K–8 that measures key foundational skills and supports Spanish-speaking bilingual students.

mCLASS Intervention for grades K–6

mCLASS Intervention is our K–6 reading intervention program, designed to support you in providing effective Tier 2 and 3 instruction and getting readers on track. mCLASS Intervention does the heavy lifting of data analysis and lesson planning for you. This lets you focus on what you do best: teaching the skills each student needs to become a confident reader.

Infographic showing a 10-day cycle: measure skills, group multilanguage and English language learners, generate lessons, teach students, and provide practice, all arranged in a circular flow.
A worksheet page titled "Introduce a" with instructional text, a letter grid activity, support tips, and a section labeled “Challenge,” overlaid by the text “Multimodal learner resources” for multilanguage and English language learners.

Effective lessons with built-in support

Lessons are equipped with best practices and guidance targeting language and literacy development for ML/ELs. The program also includes materials and resources that make content accessible to Spanish-speaking students.

A lesson plan shows students, skills, and Day 1 activities for a 10-day Blending and Regular Words set—ideal for multilanguage and English language learners—involving sounding out, blends, and a word race game.

Structured small groups

Once groups are formed, mCLASS Intervention determines the ideal focus for each group and automatically prepares two weeks of targeted lessons.

A line graph showing Emma Ashley's letter sounds scores: 20 in August, 74 in December (benchmark), and projected to reach 90 in May—demonstrating strong progress for multilanguage and English language learners.

Keeps you updated on student progress

Track student growth with reliable progress-monitoring tools and reporting that provides a clear view of each student’s progress.

A young girl with headphones uses a laptop, sitting in front of a colorful, illustrated background with trees, clouds, a bird, and Science of Reading and ESSA Evidence badges—perfect for multilanguage and English language learners.

Boost Reading personalized reading program for grades K–5

A key component of Amplify’s early literacy suite, Boost Reading is a personalized learning program for K–5 that offers comprehensive targeted practice, built-in benchmark assessments, and powerful reporting. Boost Reading provides practice in the full progression of key phonics and comprehension skills critical to literacy development.

Boost Reading works. Results of a year-long study show that students in grades K–5—including ML/ELs—who used Boost Reading for 30 minutes a week significantly outperformed their peers.

A computer screen displays a sentence highlighting the words "Mateo" and "he," with arrows connecting them—helpful for multilanguage and English language learners. A "Done" button and an illustrated face are also visible.

Systematic instruction in foundational skills and comprehension

Reinforce core instruction with explicit practice in phonics and phonological awareness. Boost Reading is the only program that focuses on comprehension processes—what readers do while reading that allows them to make sense of text—which is especially beneficial for ML/EL students.

A laptop screen displays a cartoon mouth, a person’s face above it, and four toast-shaped buttons below—ideal for multilanguage practice and engaging English language learners.

Mouth formation modeling for articulation support

Boost Reading includes specific scaffolds and supports—such as a modeling of mouth formations for articulation—that are proven to be beneficial for ML/ELs.

A colorful educational game screen supports English language learners and multilanguage skills, showing a creature on a log labeled "stamp" with four word choices: sand, stand, stamp, and champ. A waterfall and plants are in the background.

Vocabulary practice

Targeted morphology practice for independent vocabulary building and explicit instruction with Tier 2 vocabulary words are proven to be supportive for ML/ELs.

Boost Reading pairs with Boost Lectura, a Spanish literacy program for K–2 that provides students with personalized practice to develop Spanish literacy skills.

Want to learn more about Amplify’s elementary biliteracy suite?

Fill out this form, and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.

Amplify ELA core literacy curriculum for grades 6–8

With Amplify ELA, students learn to tackle any complex text and make observations, grapple with interesting ideas, and find relevance for themselves. Amplify ELA is a grade 6–8 English language arts program designed to bridge language gaps and enhance learning for ML/ELs. With integrated supports in every lesson, Amplify ELA empowers educators to deliver grade-level content while maintaining rigorous standards, thus reducing barriers to language acquisition and boosting student success.

A tablet showcases an educational lesson interface about butterflies, alongside a book titled "Amplify ELA: Summer of the Mariposas," surrounded by illustrated butterflies, enriching the literacy curriculum and engaging multilanguage & English language learners.
A tablet screen displays a digital reading and writing assignment with text excerpts on the left and character trait questions on the right, designed to support multilanguage and English language learners.

Built-in scaffolds

Background documents (in English and Spanish) establish context and support comprehension before students begin to read. Features such as audio assessments, read-aloud, and Reveal words ensure that all students have the opportunity to engage with and understand grade-level materials.

A worksheet with a writing prompt about "Summer of the Mariposas," designed to support multilanguage and English language learners as they describe a character and explain her traits using evidence from the story.

Differentiated writing prompts

Simplified language, sentence starters, word banks, and visual cues offer the necessary levels of support to help students meet their writing goals.

A book titled "Mysteries & Investigation Multi-Language Glossary" with glossary cards for English-French and English-Vietnamese translations of the phrase "a wealth of," ideal for multilanguage study and English language learners.

Multi-language glossaries

Available in 11 languages—English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese—these glossaries support vocabulary development and comprehension.

Amplify Desmos Math core curriculum for grades K–12

Amplify Desmos Math is a curiosity-driven K–12 program that builds students’ lifelong math proficiency. Every lesson in Amplify Desmos Math includes opportunities for all students to develop mathematical language as they experience the content, while providing intentional support for ML/ELs. We purposefully progress language development from lesson to lesson and across units by supporting students in making their arguments and explanations stronger, clearer, and more precise.

A text box suggests encouraging multilanguage and English language learners to paraphrase peers’ ideas, building connections and using unit vocabulary, with an emphasis on speaking and listening skills.

Multilingual/English learner support

Supports for ML/ELs are called out at intentional points within each lesson. These specific, targeted suggestions support ML/ELs with modifications that increase access to a task, or through development of contextual or mathematical language (both of which can be supportive of all learners). ML/EL supports may also be attached to Math Language Routines.

A text box explaining MLR7: Compare and Connect, with prompts for students—including multilanguage and English language learners—to analyze, compare, and connect different problem-solving strategies.

Math Language Routines (MLRs)

Math Language Routines are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote metacognition. Tips for facilitating MLRs are included when they would be helpful within lessons.

A white box lists today’s goals for a lesson on parallelograms, including area calculation and encouraging multilanguage & English language learners to use mathematical language in writing, speaking, and listening.

Language goals and vocabulary

Language goals attend to the mathematics students are learning, and are written through the lens of one (or more) of four language modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Units and lessons start by surfacing students’ language for new concepts, then building connections between their language and the new vocabulary for that unit. This honors the language assets that students bring into their learning.

Amplify Science core curriculum for grades
K–8

Amplify Science is a curiosity-driven science curriculum that empowers students to Do, Talk, Read, Write, and Visualize like scientists. Through phenomena-based, literacy-rich, and interactive learning experiences, it develops students into critical thinkers who will gain the skills they need to solve real problems in their communities and the world. For students who need additional support, Amplify Science provides specialized instructional approaches, activities, and resources that take into account English learners’ level of language proficiency.

A teacher and three children, all English language learners, interact enthusiastically around a table with a colorful project in a classroom setting. The lively discussion enhances their literacy curriculum experience, fostering both creativity and understanding.
A document page titled "Patterns of Earth and Sky" is shown, with a highlighted overlay listing printable resources for multilanguage and English language learners, such as objectives, compilations, and glossaries.

Instructional design built on five key principles

Amplify Science leverages background knowledge, capitalizes on student knowledge of language, provides explicit instruction about the language of science, gives students opportunities with scaffolded practice, and enables students to access science content and express science knowledge through a multimodal approach.

A blue square with two arrows forming a loop, next to the words: Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize—ideal for multilanguage and English language learners.

Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize instructional model

Our multimodal instructional approach caters to diverse learning needs and promotes active engagement for all learners.

A webpage section titled "Differentiation" discusses teaching strategies for diverse learners, including multilanguage and English language learners, with a sidebar listing various digital resources and lesson materials.

Honoring multilingualism

Amplify Science honors multilingualism as students are invited to share in their native language at strategic points in instruction. Teacher-led instruction on cognates and a multilingual glossary in 10 languages offer additional support.

Cover of a Spanish-language science booklet titled "Patrones de la Tierra y del cielo," ideal for multilanguage and English language learners, featuring a space illustration and an orange "Cuaderno de investigación" button at the bottom.

Spanish instructional materials

Carefully translated materials use academic Spanish, with attention to consistency and grade-level appropriate language, to support language development.

A biliteracy suite grounded in the Science of Reading

Discover a suite of Spanish literacy curriculum and assessment programs designed to build confident readers with Amplify Caminos, mCLASS Lectura, and Boost Lectura. Amplify’s biliteracy suite includes assessment, core instruction, and personalized learning built on the Science of Reading.

Explore more programs in Amplify’s literacy and biliteracy suites.

All of the programs in our literacy suite and our biliteracy 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&#821…

mCLASS

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

See All Programs

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
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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.

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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!

A closer look at grades 3–5

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 3–5 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.
Collage of four educational activities: 1) drying a paper model with a hairdryer, 2) two girls observing a science experiment, 3) children making a mixture, 4) adult hand watering a plant in a clear container.
Graphic showing a research process with four steps: spark intrigue with a real-world problem, explore evidence, explain and elaborate, and evaluate claims, connected in a cycle with arrows.

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 California to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the California NGSS in just 88 days.

Scope and sequence

Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).

Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

Educational curriculum chart showcasing a progression of amplify science lessons from kindergarten to grade 5, categorized by grade and subject areas like plants, animals, weather, and energy.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.

In grades 3–5:

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

Argumentation units

Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.

Units at a glance

Una ilustración de un tren de alta velocidad moderno y aerodinámico que viaja por una vía elevada con un paisaje verde de fondo.
Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit
Inheritance and Traits

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit
Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Weather and Climate unit
Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit
Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Vision and Light unit
Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Earth's Features unit
Earth’s Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit
Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit
Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit
Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Earth System unit
The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit
Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.  

Download unit guide

Download lesson planner

Resources

Four students around a table engaged in a group science project in a classroom.

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

Unit phenomena for K–5

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

Educational material for grade 1, featuring a section about aquariums with an image of children observing jellyfish, and an introduction to forest habitats.

Classroom Slides for K–5

Classrooms Slides for elementary are now available! These customizable PowerPoin…

Two children engaged in an animated conversation while sitting at a school desk with laptops and books.

What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

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

A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.

Literacy-rich instruction in K–5

Scientists don’t just get messy. They read and write with purpose too. Exp…

Student Books in K–5

Read a summary of each of our award-winning K–5 student books.

Two children in safety goggles conducting a science experiment with liquids in a classroom.

Investigations for K–5

Explore the types of investigations that take place in elementary classrooms.

Earth's Features digital simulation

Sims for 4–8

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

Four-step educational infographic depicting problem-solving process: engaging with real-world problems, exploring multiple sources, constructing explanations, and applying knowledge to new problems.

The 5E model in K–8

Learn how the 5E elements are woven throughout each and every unit.

Two middle school girls conduct a science experiment

The CER model in K-5

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

A science teacher stands at the front of a classroom speaking, while several students sitting at desks raise their hands to participate. A lesson is displayed on the screen behind her.

Approaches to assessment in K–5

Learn about our embedded assessments.

Science activity kit featuring books "Earthworms Underground" and "What's Going On with the Weather?", balloons, plant seeds, propellers, and other educational materials.

Program component list for TK–5

Explore the components that come with each unit.

Peoria K–5 Science Review

To view this protected page, enter the password below:



A closer look at grades 3–5

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 3–5 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.
Un collage de cuatro imágenes que muestran a estudiantes realizando experimentos científicos: secando estructuras, trabajando con plantas, vertiendo la mezcla en un vaso de precipitados y regando plantas en contenedores.
A four-step process diagram: Spark, Explore, Explain and elaborate, and Evaluate, each with an icon and description, connected by arrows, ending with a summary statement below.

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 3–5 program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 88 days.

Scope and sequence

Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).

Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

Grid of nine educational lesson cards, each featuring a different science topic like "balancing forces" and "weather systems" with grade levels and lesson durations listed.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.

In grades 3–5:

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

Argumentation units

Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.

Units at a glance

Illustration of a high-speed train traveling on an elevated track with a red light on the front, set against a blue sky and green landscape.
Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.  

Illustration of wolves in the foreground, quail perched on a branch, a bear, and elk in a grassy, wooded landscape with hills in the background.
Inheritance and Traits

Domains: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 

A bird stands on the ground, looking down at a yellow snail near some green grass against a blue background.
Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.  

An orange orangutan climbs a vine in a dense green jungle with tall trees and the sun visible in the background.
Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.  

City buildings at night with lit windows, a full moon, stars in the sky, and a person standing by a window on the left.
Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.  

A streetlight shines at night; arrows show its light reflecting off a cricket to a gecko, illustrating how the gecko sees its prey.
Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.  

Illustration of rocky cliffs with reddish and brown tones beside a flowing blue river under a clear sky.
Earth’s Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.  

Two dolphins are facing each other underwater against a blue background.
Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.

Earth orbits the Sun in space, shown by a dashed blue line; an arrow on Earth indicates its rotation direction.
Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.  

Red blood cells scattered over a swirling red and white background, creating an abstract representation of blood flow.
Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.  

Illustration of wind carrying particles from the ocean, over a coastal town, and up a steep, green mountain slope under a clear blue sky.
The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.  

Illustration of a cheetah standing on the ground and a sloth hanging from a tree surrounded by various plants and mushrooms in a jungle scene.
Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.  

Resources

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

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 award-winning K–5 student books.

Investigations for K–5

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

Sims for 4–8

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

The CER model in 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.

Welcome, Program 3 reviewers!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify California Language Arts. We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California ELA/ELD Framework to life in classrooms across the state.

Please start with the video on the right to learn how to navigate the program and access key features referenced within our submission. Below you’ll find additional resources to support your review.

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify California Language Arts, a comprehensive biliteracy program for kindergarten through grade 6.

Reviewer Binders (K–6)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

  • The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
  • The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–2.
  • The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 3–6.

Physical samples (trade books)

Your review of the program will be entirely digital with the exception of the trade books that you will be receiving as physical samples. You can expect to receive 13 boxes of physical materials for your review. Twelve boxes of trade books, one for each grade K–5, in English and Spanish, and one box containing your Reviewer Binders.

As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital review materials

In order to access your digital review materials, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Review Credential flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Click “Log in with Amplify.”
  • Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.
Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

Criteria Map and Standards Maps must be opened on Microsoft Word on your desktop to function as intended. If you open the documents without Microsoft Word on your desktop, citations will be cut off at the bottom of most tables within the document.

Many of our citations are deep-links to PDFs, meaning they will take you to the right page or the first page in the sequence for the citation in question. To ensure this functionality works, please disable any PDF-viewing extensions or plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Pro Browser Extension.

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grade 6

Click here for additional information on navigating the program for grade 6.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) content/alignment to standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Language Arts for each grade level.

ELD Standards Maps

Category 2: Program organization

Amplify California Language Arts’ biliteracy program is a comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, with both integrated and designated English Language Development instruction designed to give multilingual/English learners the tools to thrive. Amplify’s biliteracy program for grades K–6 includes:

  • Core English language arts instruction: Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California (grades K–5) and Amplify ELA California (grade 6) covering knowledge building and foundational skills.
    • Provides upper grade foundational skills instruction for grades 3–6.
  • Core Spanish language arts instruction: Amplify Caminos California, a fully parallel SLA program that works in tandem with English core instruction across all grades.
    • Provides upper grade foundational skills instruction for grades 3–6.
  • Designated English Language Development: Language Studio California is the designated English Language Development companion that directly aligns with and supports core English instruction. 
  • Newcomer Support: Amplify California Language Arts Newcomer Support to facilitate instruction for students who are new to both English and the United States.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

This model is integral to the structure of the Amplify biliteracy program, which directly aligns with the CA CCSS ELA and ELD standards by combining rigorous decoding and skills instruction with research-based knowledge and language development instruction. In its early grades, the Amplify biliteracy program uses a two-strand structure—Skills/Lectoescritura and Knowledge/Conocimiento—to effectively address this learning challenge while meeting standards expectations for both language development and academic content mastery.

Diagram with three orange squares labeled: "Language comprehension," "Word recognition," and "Skilled reading," connected by multiplication and equals signs, with Spanish headings above each square.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grade 6

Amplify Caminos California lessons are designed to allow all students time to work toward learning objectives, including peer collaboration and discussion. Since each lesson activity is aligned to subsequent activities, students’ understanding and analysis develops progressively throughout the lesson.

Each lesson follows a predictable structure with clearly marked components, beginning with warm-up routines, progressing through explicit instruction with guided practice, and concluding with independent application activities. The program provides detailed teacher language, including question stems and discussion prompts, ensuring clear and consistent delivery of instruction.

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify Caminos California empower teachers to deliver effective instruction and keep students engaged with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides
  • Assessment Guides
  • Authentic texts and trade books
  • Knowledge Image Cards
  • Knowledge Flip Books
  • Remediation and intervention resources
  • Decodable readers
  • Student Readers and novels
  • Student Activity Books
  • Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
  • Poet’s Journals
  • eReaders
  • Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
  • Instructional routine modeling videos
  • Assignable Practice Games
  • On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides that include:
    • Detailed lesson plans
    • Standards alignment and exit tickets
    • Real-time differentiation strategies
    • Robust reporting
  • Student Editions that include:
    • High-quality narrative and informational texts
    • Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
    • Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place
  • Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
  • Trade books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for multilingual/English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–6, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Build lasting knowledge across all grades. Through coherently sequenced, content-rich instruction that revisits key vocabulary and concepts with increasing complexity, students build meaningful connections that deepen their vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Strengthen reading through writing at every level. Regular writing instruction grounded in the Science of Writing supports reading comprehension, improves sentence-level writing, and provides the foundation for high-quality composition. As students progress through the upper grades, they engage in increasingly complex analytical tasks—synthesizing ideas, drawing generalizations, and interpreting multiple textual layers through both focused quick-writes and comprehensive essays. 

Foster oral language development. Structured opportunities for academic conversation and evidence-based dialogue build students’ ability to express complex ideas with precision and allow them to participate confidently in classroom discussions.

Measure growth with comprehensive assessments. Assessments range from in-the-moment checks for understanding to summative assessments that measure progress toward skills mastery and standards proficiency, providing the data needed to drive targeted instruction.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence documents for each grade level. 

Routines

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

  • Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
  • Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
  • Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

  • Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
  • Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
  • Finger-tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
  • Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
  • Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-building routines:

  • Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
  • Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
  • Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

The program includes carefully structured close reading activities that guide students through multiple encounters with complex texts. These routines help students develop deeper comprehension through systematic analysis and discussion.

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Cross-Linguistic Transfer routines

The Cross-Linguistic Transfer (CLT) routines are easy-to-implement, 10–15 minute mini-lessons designed to help bridge English and Spanish literacy and language development. These structured routines are organized by grade bands for K–2, grades 3–5 and grade 6, covering five skill areas:

  • Oral language
  • Reading
  • Vocabulary
  • Language
  • Writing

[Reviewer highlight video] Amplify’s program alignment to Cross-Linguistic Transfer criteria

Designated English Language Development materials

Language Studio California is a K–8 content-based companion for English language learners. Built on Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California’s carefully sequenced Knowledge Domains, it combines engaging content knowledge with targeted supports and research-based strategies to help students move swiftly toward language proficiency. This program includes:

  • Real-world content to provide authentic opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
  • Scaffolding strategies and differentiated instruction to offer targeted support along five English proficiency levels.
  • Progress monitoring tools to help teachers provide consistent and effective support.
  • Teacher Guides that:
    • Provide impactful progress monitoring tools including formative and summative assessments, and Language Proficiency Assessment rubrics.
    • Offer varied differentiation strategies including Support, Challenge, and Access supports in each lesson segment.
    • Are organized into thoughtful lesson segments—Talk Time, Building Background, On Stage and more—that make learning objectives concrete.
  • Activities that:
    • Expand on domain knowledge from core content and read-alouds and prompt collaborative conversation to practice oral fluency.
    • Support hands-on language activities to promote authentic interaction in the classroom.
    • Help students bridge experiences and knowledge with images, vocabulary activities, graphic organizers, anticipation guides, writing space, and more.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

In alignment with the additional 2025 Guidance 3.1.a, the assessment systems align with MTSS tiers, including universal screening, diagnostic assessments for students demonstrating a need for additional support, and progress monitoring tools that complement California’s required reading difficulties screening schedule per SB 114.

Tier 1:
Universal/ differentiated support		Tier 2: 
Supplemental/ targeted
support		Tier 3: 
Intensified/ intensive
support
Core instruction assessments





Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments

Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments


Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



Monthly		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments




Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California core assessments

Daily		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments



When linked to a lesson in the toolkit		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments



When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment







Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment


Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment

Optional after universal screening assessment is administered		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment


Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment

After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition (K–8) and mCLASS Lectura (K–6) are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY, and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional  support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California provide a comprehensive suite of assessments for grades K–6 that range from low-stakes, informal formative assessments to more formal summative assessments. These assessments incorporate a variety of methods and question types, including multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, and oral and written responses.

Formative assessments:

  • Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5). 
  • Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5). 
  • Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
  • Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grade 6).  
  • Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grade 6).
  • Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“Solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grade 6).

Summative assessments:

  • Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2) 
  • Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2) 
  • End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5) 
  • Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grade 6)
  • Unit reading assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grade 6)

Performance assessments

Student Performance Assessments are multi-day assessments administered in Grades K–5 at the beginning, middle, and end of year to help teachers gauge student mastery of grade-level Core content. These assessments provide critical data to help teachers set targeted instructional goals and monitor individual and class-wide progress towards core objectives.

Progress monitoring

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura provide formal progress monitoring in the discrete skills that are indicative of reading growth and predictive of overall success to provide the most instructionally meaningful information to teachers.

Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Interventions within Amplify’s literacy programs are informed by a skill diagnostic assessment that provides detailed data on foundational literacy skill deficits. The Amplify Skill Diagnostic Assessment and Amplify Spanish Skill Diagnostic assessment serve as critical tools in this process, administered specifically to students identified as at risk for reading difficulty through universal screening assessments—particularly those demonstrating mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition or mCLASS Lectura composite scores in the Well Below or Below Benchmark ranges. These diagnostic assessments provide teachers with the precise skills to begin intervention and remediation.

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California are developed using the Universal Design for Learning framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Universal Design for Learning

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

  • Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
  • Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. The programs include clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including Multilingual/English Learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. Lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
  • Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

  • Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
    • Core vocabulary building
    • Core connections
    • Essential background information building
    • What Have We Already Learned?/What Do We Already Know?
  • Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
  • Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
  • Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data. 
  • Amplify ELA California and Amplify Caminos California provide point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
  • The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
  • Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
  • Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language,  multi-clause and complex sentences, and  informational text characteristics.

Assessment-driven MTSS resources

  • The K–6 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills.
  • Fluency packets (Grades 2–6)
  • Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–6 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades
  • Flexible Instructional Time including:
    • Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities 
    • Pausing Point activities designed to support multilingual/English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
  • Boost Reading and Boost Lectura are student-led digital intervention programs that follow the scope and sequences of Amplify CKLA California and Amplify Caminos California respectively, to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California teachers are empowered to deliver effective instruction with various print and digital resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Implementation supports across K–6

Planning and preparation resources

  • Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
  • Sub-unit Overviews (Grade 6) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
  • Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grade 6) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
  • Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
  • Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

  • Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
  • Activity guidance at point of use
  • Lesson standards clearly called out
  • Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
  • Differentiation tips at point of use
  • Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
  • On-the-Fly supports (Grade 6)—quick call-outs to the identifying features of “on track” and “needs support” students accompanied by short models of student guidance to foster strong performance

Multimedia and digital support

  • Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
  • Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for multilingual/English learners and students struggling to read, including translated Unit Background and Context documents and Text Previews
  • Teacher Dashboard and reporting tools provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

  • Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
  • Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
  • Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grade 6) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
  • Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
  • Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
  • Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

  • Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
  • Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grade 6), available in English and Spanish
  • Unit Overview and Support documents (Grade 6) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
  • Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

  • Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
  • Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
  • Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
  • Games and activities on Take-Home Pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
  • Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
  • Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

Welcome, K–8 Program 2 reviewers!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify California Language Arts. We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California ELA/ELD Framework to life in classrooms across the state.

Please start with the video on the right to learn how to navigate the program and access key features referenced within our submission. Below you’ll find additional resources to support your review.

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California and Amplify ELA California, Language Studio California for grades K–8. Physical and digital review materials will vary by grade level.

Reviewer Binders (K–8)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

  • The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
  • The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–4.
  • The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 5–8.

Physical samples (K–5)

You can expect to receive 15 boxes of physical materials for your review. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder. Please note you will not receive any physical samples for grades 6–8 ELA or Language Studio for grades K-8. Your review of the program for grades 6–8 ELA and Language Studio for grades K-8 will be entirely digital.

Digital samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Review Credential flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Click “Log in with Amplify.”
  • Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.
Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

Criteria Map and Standards Maps must be opened on Microsoft Word on your desktop to function as intended. If you open the documents without Microsoft Word on your desktop, citations will be cut off at the bottom of most tables within the document.

Many of our citations are deep-links to PDFs, meaning they will take you to the right page or the first page in the sequence for the citation in question. To ensure this functionality works, please disable any PDF-viewing extensions or plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Pro Browser Extension.

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades 6–8

Click here for additional information on navigating the digital materials for grades 6–8.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) Content/Alignment to Standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Language Arts for each grade level. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Standards Maps.

ELD Standards Maps

Category 2: Program Organization

The Amplify California Language Arts Program 2 submission includes Amplify CKLA California for Grades K–5, Amplify ELA California for Grades 6–8, and Amplify Language Studio California for Grades K–8. This comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, with both integrated and designated English Language Development instruction designed to give English learners the tools to thrive.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading and The Reading Rope–bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

Flowchart illustrating skilled reading as the product of language comprehension and word recognition, grounded in the science of reading.
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.

Each lesson follows a predictable structure with clearly marked components, beginning with warm-up routines, progressing through explicit instruction with guided practice, and concluding with independent application activities. The program provides detailed teacher language, including question stems and discussion prompts, ensuring clear and consistent delivery of instruction.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 6–8

Amplify CKLA California empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides
  • Assessment Guides
  • Authentic texts and trade books
  • Knowledge Image Cards
  • Knowledge Flip Books
  • Remediation and intervention resources
  • Decodable readers
  • Student Readers and novels
  • Student Activity Books
  • Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
  • Poet’s Journals
  • eReaders
  • Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
  • Instructional routine modeling videos
  • Assignable Practice Games
  • On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides that include:
    • Detailed lesson plans
    • Standards alignment and exit tickets
    • Real-time differentiation strategies
    • Robust reporting
  • Student Editions that include:
    • High-quality narrative and informational texts
    • Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
    • Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place
  • Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
  • Trade Books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Provide intentional ELD support. Honor students’ linguistic assets while building academic English through both integrated and designated instruction.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–8, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Build lasting knowledge across all grades. Through coherently sequenced, content-rich instruction that revisits key vocabulary and concepts with increasing complexity, students build meaningful connections that deepen their vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Strengthen reading through writing at every level. Regular writing instruction grounded in the Science of Writing supports reading comprehension, improves sentence-level writing, and provides the foundation for high-quality composition. As students progress through the upper grades, they engage in increasingly complex analytical tasks—synthesizing ideas, drawing generalizations, and interpreting multiple textual layers through both focused quick-writes and comprehensive essays. 

Foster oral language development. Structured opportunities for academic conversation and evidence-based dialogue build students’ ability to express complex ideas with precision and allow them to participate confidently in classroom discussions.

Measure growth with comprehensive assessments. Assessments range from in-the-moment checks for understanding to summative assessments that measure progress toward skills mastery and standards proficiency, providing the data needed to drive targeted instruction.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for each grade level. 

Routines

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

  • Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
  • Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
  • Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

  • Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
  • Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
  • Finger-tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
  • Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
  • Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-Building Routines:

  • Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
  • Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
  • Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

The program includes carefully structured close reading activities that guide students through multiple encounters with complex texts. These routines help students develop deeper comprehension through systematic analysis and discussion.

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Designated English Language Development materials

Language Studio California is a K–8 content-based companion for English language learners. Built on Amplify CKLA California’s and Amplify ELA California’s carefully sequenced Knowledge Domains and units, it combines engaging content knowledge with targeted supports and research-based strategies to help students move swiftly toward language proficiency. This program includes:

  • Real-world content to provide authentic opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
  • Scaffolding strategies and differentiated instruction to offer targeted support along with five English proficiency levels.
  • Progress-monitoring tools to help teachers provide consistent and effective support.
  • Teacher Guides that:
    • Provide impactful progress monitoring tools including formative and summative assessments and Language Proficiency Assessment rubrics.
    • Offer varied differentiation strategies including Support, Challenge, and Access Supports in each lesson segment.
    • Are organized into thoughtful lesson segments—Talk Time, Building Background, On Stage and more—that make learning objectives concrete.
  • Activities that:
    • Expand on domain knowledge from core content and read-alouds and prompt collaborative conversation to practice oral fluency.
    • Support hands-on language activities to promote authentic interaction in the classroom.
    • Help students bridge experiences and knowledge with images, vocabulary activities, graphic organizers, anticipation guides, writing space, and more.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

In alignment with the additional 2025 Guidance 3.1.a, the assessment systems align with MTSS tiers, including universal screening, diagnostic assessments for students demonstrating a need for additional support, and progress monitoring tools that complement the California’s required universal screening schedule per SB 114.

Tier 1:
Universal/ differentiated support		Tier 2: 
Supplemental/ targeted support		Tier 3: 
Intensified/ intensive support
Core instruction assessments





Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments

Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments

Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments

Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



Monthly		mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura



Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments




Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California core assessments

Daily		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments




When linked to a lesson in the toolkit		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments




When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment






Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment

Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment

Optional after universal screening assessment is administered		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment

Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment

After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional  support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide a comprehensive suite of assessments for Grades K–8 that range from low-stakes, informal formative assessments to more formal summative assessments. These assessments incorporate a variety of methods and question types, including multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, and oral and written responses.

Formative assessments:

  • Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5). 
  • Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5). 
  • Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
  • Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grades 6–8).  
  • Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grades 6–8).
  • Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grades 6–8).

Summative assessments:

  • Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2) 
  • Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2) 
  • End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5) 
  • Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grades 6–8)
  • Unit Reading Assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grades 6–8)

Performance Assessments

Student Performance Assessments are multi-day assessments administered in Grades K-5 at the beginning, middle, and end of year to help teachers gauge student mastery of grade-level Core content. These assessments provide critical data to help teachers set targeted instructional goals and monitor individual and class-wide progress towards core objectives.

Progress monitoring

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura provide formal progress monitoring in the discrete skills that are indicative of reading growth and predictive of overall success to provide the most instructionally meaningful information to teachers.

Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Interventions within Amplify’s literacy programs are informed by a skill diagnostic assessment that provides detailed data on foundational literacy skill deficits. The Amplify Skill Diagnostic Assessment and Amplify Spanish Skill Diagnostic assessment serve as critical tools in this process, administered specifically to students identified as at risk for reading difficulty through universal screening assessments—particularly those demonstrating mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition or mCLASS Lectura composite scores in the Well Below or Below Benchmark ranges. These diagnostic assessments provide teachers with the precise skills to begin intervention and remediation.

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California were built on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and reviewed by CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization. The program is developed using the Universal Design for Learning framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Universal Design for Learning

The programs incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

  • Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. In Amplify CKLA California, the Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
  • Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. Amplify CKLA California includes clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including English Learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. In Amplify ELA California, lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
  • Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

Throughout the Teacher Guides, point-of-use Differentiation icons provide targeted instructional strategies and supports. These icons indicate specific guidance for advanced learners, students who need additional support, and English learners, allowing teachers to easily identify and implement appropriate scaffolds and extensions during instruction. In addition, teachers are provided with recommendations for resources to use with each group of students.

  • Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
    • Core vocabulary words
    • Core Connections
    • Essential Background Information or Terms
    • What Have We Already Learned/What Do We Already Know?
  • Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
  • Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
  • Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small-group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data. 
  • Amplify ELA California provides point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
  • The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
  • Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
  • Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language,  multi-clause and complex sentences, and  informational text characteristics.

Assessment-Driven MTSS resources

  • The K–8 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills
  • Fluency Packets (Grades 2–5)
  • Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–8 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades
  • Flexible Instructional Time including:
    • Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities 
    • Pausing Point activities designed to support English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
  • Boost Reading is a K–5 student-led digital intervention program. Boost Reading follows Amplify CKLA California’s scope and sequence to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California teachers are empowered to deliver effective instruction with various print and digital resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Implementation supports across K–8

Planning and preparation resources

  • Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
  • Sub-unit Overviews (Grades 6–8) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
  • Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grades 6–8) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
  • Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
  • Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

  • Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
  • Activity guidance at point of use
  • Lesson standards clearly called out
  • Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
  • Differentiation tips at point of use
  • Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
  • Student Supports in all core lessons that provide teachers with targeted supports in daily core instruction, addressing which might serve the student best in the moment—support, strengthen, stretch—with additional call-outs for newcomers

Multimedia and digital support

  • Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
  • Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for English learners and students struggling with reading, including translated Unit Background and Context documents and Text Previews
  • Teacher dashboard and reporting tools (Grade 6–8) provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

  • Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
  • Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
  • Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grades 6–8) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
  • Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
  • Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
  • Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

  • Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
  • Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grades 6–8), available in English and Spanish
  • Unit Overview and Support documents (Grades 6–8) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
  • Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

  • Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
  • Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
  • Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
  • Games and activities on take-home pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
  • Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
  • Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

Welcome, K–8 Program 1 reviewers!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify California Language Arts. We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California ELA Framework to life in classrooms across the state.

Please start with the video on the right to learn how to navigate the program and access key features referenced within our submission. Below you’ll find additional resources to support your review.

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California and Amplify ELA California. Physical and digital review materials will vary by grade level.

Reviewer Binders (K–8)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

  • The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
  • The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–4.
  • The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 5–8.

Physical samples (K–5)

You can expect to receive 15 boxes of physical materials for your review. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder. Please note you will not receive any physical samples for grades 6–8. Your review of the program for grades 6–8 will be entirely digital.

Digital samples (K–8)

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Review Credential flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Click “Log in with Amplify.”
  • Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.
Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

Criteria Map and Standards Maps must be opened on Microsoft Word on your desktop to function as intended. If you open the documents without Microsoft Word on your desktop, citations will be cut off at the bottom of most tables within the document.

Many of our citations are deep-links to PDFs, meaning they will take you to the right page or the first page in the sequence for the citation in question. To ensure this functionality works, please disable any PDF-viewing extensions or plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Pro Browser Extension.

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades 6–8

Click here for additional information on navigating the digital materials for grades 6–8.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) Content/Alignment to Standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Core Language Arts for each grade level. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Standards Maps.

Category 2: Program Organization

The Amplify California Language Arts Program 1 submission includes Amplify CKLA California for Grades K–5 and Amplify ELA California for Grades 6–8. This comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, transitioning from foundational literacy to advanced text analysis.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading and The Reading Rope–bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in evidence-based literacy practices.

Flowchart illustrating skilled reading as the product of language comprehension and word recognition, grounded in the science of reading.
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.

Each lesson follows a predictable structure with clearly marked components, beginning with warm-up routines, progressing through explicit instruction with guided practice, and concluding with independent application activities. The program provides detailed teacher language, including question stems and discussion prompts, ensuring clear and consistent delivery of instruction.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 6–8

Amplify CKLA California empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides
  • Assessment Guides
  • Authentic texts and trade books
  • Knowledge Image Cards
  • Knowledge Flip Books
  • Remediation and intervention resources
  • Decodable readers
  • Student Readers and novels
  • Student Activity Books
  • Poet’s Journals
  • eReaders
  • Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
  • Instructional routine modeling videos
  • Assignable Practice Games
  • On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

  • Teacher Guides that include:
    • Detailed lesson plans
    • Standards alignment and exit tickets
    • Real-time differentiation strategies
    • Robust reporting
  • Student Editions that include:
    • High-quality narrative and informational texts
    • Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
    • Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place
  • Trade Books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–8, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Build lasting knowledge across all grades. Through coherently sequenced, content-rich instruction that revisits key vocabulary and concepts with increasing complexity, students build meaningful connections that deepen their vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Strengthen reading through writing at every level. Regular writing instruction grounded in the Science of Writing supports reading comprehension, improves sentence-level writing, and provides the foundation for high-quality composition. As students progress through the upper grades, they engage in increasingly complex analytical tasks—synthesizing ideas, drawing generalizations, and interpreting multiple textual layers through both focused quick-writes and comprehensive essays. 

Foster oral language development. Structured opportunities for academic conversation and evidence-based dialogue build students’ ability to express complex ideas with precision and allow them to participate confidently in classroom discussions.

Measure growth with comprehensive assessments. Assessments range from in-the-moment checks for understanding to summative assessments that measure progress toward skills mastery and standards proficiency, providing the data needed to drive targeted instruction.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for each grade level. 

Routines

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

  • Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
  • Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
  • Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

  • Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
  • Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
  • Finger tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
  • Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
  • Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-building routines:

  • Vocabulary preview: Introduction of new words before reading
  • Read-aloud procedures: Established routines for introducing and discussing complex texts
  • Text discussions: Structured comprehension conversations with scaffolded questioning

Fluency routines:

  • Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
  • Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
  • Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

The program includes carefully structured close reading activities that guide students through multiple encounters with complex texts. These routines help students develop deeper comprehension through systematic analysis and discussion.

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

In alignment with the additional 2025 Guidance 3.1.a, the assessment systems align with MTSS tiers, including universal screening, diagnostic assessments for students demonstrating a need for additional support, and progress monitoring tools that complement California’s required universal screening schedule per SB 114.

Tier 1:
Universal/ differentiated support		Tier 2: 
Supplemental/ targeted support		Tier 3: 
Intensified/ intensive support
Core instruction assessments




Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments


Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments


Daily, Weekly, Monthly		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments


Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments

Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura

3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura

3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura

3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments


Frequency of administration		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura


3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura


Monthly		mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura


Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments



Frequency of administration		Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California core assessments


Daily		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments


When linked to a lesson in the toolkit		Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments


When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment



Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment


Optional after universal screening assessment is administered
Amplify skill diagnostic assessment


After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition (K–8) and mCLASS Lectura (K–6) are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional  support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide a comprehensive suite of assessments for Grades K–8 that range from low-stakes, informal formative assessments to more formal summative assessments. These assessments incorporate a variety of methods and question types, including multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, and oral and written responses.

Formative assessments:

  • Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5). 
  • Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5). 
  • Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
  • Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grades 6–8).  
  • Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grades 6–8).
  • Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“Solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grades 6–8).

Summative assessments:

  • Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2) 
  • Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2) 
  • End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5) 
  • Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grades 6–8)
  • Unit Reading Assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grades 6–8)

Performance Assessments

Student Performance Assessments are multi-day assessments administered in Grades K–5 at the beginning, middle, and end of year to help teachers gauge student mastery of grade-level Core content. These assessments provide critical data to help teachers set targeted instructional goals and monitor individual and class-wide progress towards core objectives.

Progress monitoring

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura provide formal progress monitoring in the discrete skills that are indicative of reading growth and predictive of overall success to provide the most instructionally meaningful information to teachers.


Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Interventions within Amplify’s literacy programs are informed by a skill diagnostic assessment that provides detailed data on foundational literacy skill deficits. The Amplify Skill Diagnostic Assessment and Amplify Spanish Skill Diagnostic assessment serve as critical tools in this process, administered specifically to students identified as at risk for reading difficulty through universal screening assessments—particularly those demonstrating mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition or mCLASS Lectura composite scores in the Well Below or Below Benchmark ranges. These diagnostic assessments provide teachers with the precise skills to begin intervention and remediation.

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California were built on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and reviewed by CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization. The program is developed using the Universal Design for Learning framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Universal Design for Learning

The programs incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

  • Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. In Amplify CKLA California, the Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
  • Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. Amplify CKLA California includes clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including English learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. In Amplify ELA California, lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
  • Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

  • Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
    • Core vocabulary building
    • Core connections
    • Essential background information building
    • What Have We Already Learned?/What Do We Already Know?
  • Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
  • Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
  • Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small-group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data. 
  • Amplify ELA California provides point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
  • The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
  • Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
  • Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language,  multi-clause and complex sentences, and  informational text characteristics.

Assessment-driven MTSS resources

  • The K–8 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills
  • Fluency Packets (Grades 2–5)
  • Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–8 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades
  • Flexible Instructional Time including:
    • Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities 
    • Pausing Point activities designed to support English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
  • Boost Reading is a K–5 student-led digital intervention program. Boost Reading follows Amplify CKLA California’s scope and sequence to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California teachers are empowered to deliver effective instruction with various print and digital resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Implementation supports across K–8

Planning and preparation resources

  • Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
  • Sub-unit Overviews (Grades 6–8) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
  • Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grades 6–8) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
  • Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
  • Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

  • Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
  • Activity guidance at point of use
  • Lesson standards clearly called out
  • Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
  • Differentiation tips at point of use
  • Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
  • Student Supports in all core lessons provide teachers with targeted supports in daily core instruction, addressing which might serve the student best in the moment—support, strengthen, stretch—with additional call-outs for newcomers

Multimedia and digital support

  • Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
  • Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for English learners and readers struggling with text, including translated Unit Background and Context Documents and Text Previews
  • Teacher Dashboard and reporting tools (Grade 6–8) that provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

  • Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
  • Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
  • Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grades 6–8) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
  • Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
  • Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
  • Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

  • Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
  • Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grades 6–8), available in English and Spanish
  • Unit Overview and Support documents (Grades 6–8) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
  • Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

  • Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
  • Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
  • Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
  • Games and activities on Take-Home Pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
  • Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
  • Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

Why fluency matters in K–5 math education

An illustration showing a caterpillar, a hand matching shapes and colors on tiles, and another hand holding numbered cards—perfect for read-aloud math activities or exploring math in picture books with children.

If you’re fluent in Farsi, let’s say, you don’t search for every word or stop to translate every sentence in your head. You understand, process, and respond automatically, in real time.

Math fluency works the same way. This kind of fluency is something you can use naturally to understand what’s presented and respond to it meaningfully.

In K–5 math, fluency allows students to move beyond getting through the problem toward real mathematical thinking. Without it, even confident students can get stuck. With it, students gain access to deeper understanding, flexibility, and confidence.

What is math fluency?

Fluency in math is sometimes misunderstood as speed or memorization—but research and classroom experience tell a fuller story.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics defines procedural fluency as the ability to: “…apply procedures efficiently, flexibly, and accurately; to transfer procedures to different problems and contexts; to build or modify procedures from other procedures; and to recognize when one strategy or procedure is more appropriate to apply than another.”

In other words, the skills often referred to as computational fluency and math fact fluency tell only part of the story. Full mathematical fluency means knowing how and why strategies work, and being able to choose among them.

Memorization does have a role in math learning, but it alone does not lead to fluency. A student who has memorized facts but doesn’t understand relationships between numbers may still struggle when problems change slightly or require reasoning.

By contrast, a fluent student can adapt. They can explain their thinking, check whether an answer makes sense, and shift strategies when needed.

This is why fluency acts as a bridge between conceptual understanding and procedural application. It connects what students know to what they can do, and helps them do it with confidence.

Why procedural fluency matters in K–5 math

In the elementary grades, students are building the foundational math skills they’ll rely on for years to come. When procedural fluency is weak, students can feel overwhelmed by basic calculations, leaving little mental energy for problem-solving or new concepts.

Students without strong procedural fluency often feel stuck. For them, math can start to feel like an endless series of obstacles rather than a meaningful, engaging exploration—and that experience does not set anyone up to feel like a math person.

Fluency is what frees students up to focus on the heart of a problem. When they’re not bogged down by calculations, they’re able to reason, explore patterns, and tackle more complex tasks. Fluency opens doors—to higher-level math, to confidence, and to a more positive math identity.

In their paper, “Eight Unproductive Practices in Developing Fact Fluency,” Gina King and Jennifer Bay-Williams write: “Being fluent contributes to a productive disposition about mathematics, opens doors to a range of mathematics topics, and arms students with a skillset applicable to whatever they wish to pursue.”

What teaching math fluency looks like in the classroom

Effective K–5 math instruction treats fluency as something that develops over time, through meaningful practice, discussion, and reflection. Students need opportunities to explore number relationships, explain their thinking, and revisit strategies in different contexts.

In classrooms where math fluency is developing, instruction consistently supports flexible thinking, reflection, and revisiting ideas over time. You might see and hear the following:

  • Revisiting strategies across problems. Students are encouraged to solve the same problem in more than one way and to compare approaches. Classroom discussions focus on how strategies work and when one might be more efficient than another, helping students build strategic thinking and confidence.
  • Frequent, well-spaced opportunities for practice. Key facts and strategies reappear over time rather than being practiced once and set aside. This spacing helps students retain learning and apply it more accurately and efficiently when they encounter familiar ideas in new contexts.
  • Regular routines that emphasize reasoning. Short, consistent routines invite students to mentally compute, explain their thinking, and listen to others’ ideas. The focus is on understanding number relationships and reasoning through solutions rather than relying on memorized steps.
  • Thoughtful use of visual representations. Tools such as number lines, arrays, and other models help students see how numbers and operations relate. These representations support flexible thinking and make procedures more meaningful and accessible.

Across these experiences, fluency is something you can hear as well as see. Students explain their reasoning, reference strategies they’ve used before, and check whether their answers make sense, building accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility over time.

Math fluency helps students open their minds to the richness of math, and to their own power as math learners.

This is one of the best things I have ever worked on.

A man in a white shirt is smiling in a circular frame, with illustrations of a person swimming and a submarine on a light blue background, capturing the lively spirit of Amplify Desmos Math and engaging classroom discussions.

Every discussion teaches kids about math—and about themselves.

Among many other reasons, discussions are important because they’re moments when the teacher assigns value to students. In a discussion, the teacher says, “Hey—I have precious little time to teach what I know. Still, I’m going to dedicate some of that time for you to share and talk about what you know.” That’s a moment when students learn about math, but also that their own ideas have value.

Discussions are difficult, and “more wait time” is rarely the reason.

There are a few reasons why discussions frequently fail, and it’s rarely because the teacher didn’t give students enough “wait time” to respond, as is commonly believed.

1. The question was hard to understand or find your way into. For a long time, I’d ask my kids at dinner, “How was your day? What happened?” And my kids wouldn’t have much to say. Lately, I ask them to tell me two things about their day that happened and one thing that didn’t, and we all guess which was which. It’s an easier prompt, one that kids can find their way into with ease and then use as a launching pad into a larger conversation.

2. There isn’t enough to talk about. If your math class consists of a lot of binary, right/wrong questions, what is there for anyone to talk about? “A lot of us got this one wrong. Here’s a pie chart that shows how wrong we were. How about I show you how to do it?” That’s fine, but it isn’t a discussion, and it’s quite often a very dreary classroom environment for children.

A digital dashboard displays multiple financial charts, graphs, and filters—including pie charts and bar graphs—similar to those used in Amplify Desmos Math for middle school math classroom discussions on project profitability and billing.

In Amplify Desmos Math, a curriculum I work on, kids generally have plenty to talk about. Our interactives stir a kid’s imagination for even the most abstract areas of math. For example, this submarine interactive stirs up a kid’s ideas about adding positive and negative integers.

A yellow submarine with five round windows, each filled with a blue dot—perfect for sparking classroom discussions in middle school math. Red and blue dots sit above and below the windows, plus an anchor and lightbulb icon on the left.

And then we ask kids, “Hey, what do you think about the star at +5? Can you come up with something that none of your classmates do?”

A digital lesson in Amplify Desmos Math shows a submarine at position 0 and a star labeled 5; instructions prompt students to collect the star using unique actions, sparking engaging middle school math classroom discussions.

Let me tell you: Kids accept that challenge.

3. There is too much to talk about.

This is a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem. In the class screenshotted below, 25 students have put 300 thoughtful words in front of the teacher, every response different from every other!

A highlighted text box shows Sofia Kovalevskaya saying, "I want to add 1000 floats and then 995 anchors!!!" against a background of faded text—perfect for sparking middle school math classroom discussions with Amplify Desmos Math.

Teachers now have a problem of abundance, not scarcity. They have to decide which responses to select, and why, in an environment of cognitive overload.

This is very hard work for teachers, especially novices, especially teachers who lack mathematical content knowledge, especially teachers who are hanging onto the school year by their fingernails.

We offer teachers lots of different support for discussions throughout our curriculum—both in print and digital activities—but our new discussion support for digital activities is first-of-its-kind and best-in-class.

Discussion Moments.

  1. Student responses stream into the teacher’s dashboard.
  2. A message appears: “Analyzing Student Responses.”
  3. Shortly after, the message changes: “Open Discussion Moment.”
A green banner with the text "Analyzing student responses" and two sparkles, next to a gray computer monitor icon—perfect for facilitating Classroom discussions in middle school math with Amplify Desmos Math.

You click the message and see a classroom-ready discussion screen.

A submarine aims for a star 5 units up; students suggest combinations of floats and anchors to reach it. Amplify Desmos Math sparks engaging classroom discussions as a sidebar asks, "Are they all correct?.

First, you see four student responses, each one authored by a student in the class, each one interesting on its own. This was not luck. Those responses were curated by a large language model at the direction of our curriculum experts. “Find three responses that capture the star in different ways,” our experts prompted the AI. “Responses that add anchors. That remove anchors. Find one response that might not capture the star.”

Next to those responses you see a question: ”Which one is not like the others?” That question feels surprisingly well-matched for this math and for those student responses. This, also, isn’t an accident. Curriculum experts made that decision.

You click the right arrow and see a suggested narration for the Discussion Moment, narration which was authored, again, by our human authors for this particular problem, to help novices learn to facilitate productive discussions in math.

That’s a “Discussion Moment.”

In the past, coaches, experts, and publishers have all asked teachers to . . .

  • Select and sequence student responses.
  • Construct a student-facing discussion resource.
  • Lead the conversation.

Now we are asking teachers to . . .

  • Lead the conversation.

In our experience, computers do quite well with the first two jobs while teachers obliterate computers at the work of leading a conversation, at connecting student ideas, at asking one kid what they think of another kid’s idea, at pulling ideas out of a kid who maybe doesn’t think they have ideas to offer. Discussion Moments delegate to humans and computers the best work for each of them.

Discussion Moments are different.

Lots of edtech companies are putting AI to work in lots of different ways. Discussion Moments are unique.

First, they’re designed to work through rather than around the teacher, during class rather than outside of class. They’re designed to support social interactions between students and teachers in the moment of instruction. This is the action.

Second, this is a classroom-ready resource. So many AI applications just output a ChatGPT-style resource. Lots of text. Several main bullets. Lots of sub-bullets. An emoji or two. And I am very sorry, but they are not useful in class. The teacher has to read all of that text, copy and paste and edit it, and then construct the student-facing resource all in the middle of class. That’s fantasyland, folks. At Amplify, we have, instead, created a one-click, classroom-ready resource.

Third, we’ve fortified these digital Discussion Moments with gallons of human expertise. Since December, I’ve worked with several of our curriculum experts—Casey Nelson, Brian Kam, and Tom Snarsky—and for every problem across several units of middle school math, they:

  • Reviewed thousands of student responses to each problem.
  • Identified thematic trends in the student responses.
  • Decided whether or not those themes demand a discussion.
  • Decided which of several discussion frames would be most appropriate, given those themes.
  • Wrote an AI prompt specific to each problem to increase the odds that the large language model will curate useful student responses.
Screenshot of code-like text outlining three criteria for student responses, with bolded and underlined terms, labeled "human authored" at the top—ideal for guiding classroom discussions in middle school math or Amplify Desmos Math activities.

Most edtech companies would prefer to let AI lead this process from end to end, using the same prompt for every problem, even at the cost of the teacher and student experience. Meanwhile, we only ask AI to execute instructions and construct a resource. The nature of those instructions, the type of resource, and how it’s used—that is all determined by different humans and their expertise.

What do teachers and administrators think?

I ran a small-scale pilot of this feature last spring and kicked off a larger-scale pilot last week. A couple hundred teachers overall. I have never had an easier time recruiting teachers for a project than with this one. Every district math curriculum lead knows how challenging it is for teachers to lead discussions, and every one I asked was eager to support.

Two other examples of Discussion Moments.

Compare and Connect. We asked a large language model to locate responses that have one of a couple of important features but ideally not both. Then we constructed a Discussion Moment asking students to write a response that combines the best of both answers.

A scatter plot titled “Radius vs. Area” from Amplify Desmos Math prompts classroom discussions about proportional relationships, as middle school math students compare line types and notice the points do not form a straight line.

Critique, Correct, Clarify. Our curriculum authors noticed a frequent incorrect answer to a question. We told the LLM to watch out for it and frame it in a Discussion Moment where the class is asked to find value in the wrong answer before correcting it. Try to imagine what it does to a kid to hear their incorrect answer described as valuable.

A graph displays a purple straight line with negative slope crossing the y-axis at 4 and the x-axis at 8; text explains the equation y = -1/2x + 4, perfect for middle school math or engaging Amplify Desmos Math classroom discussions.

Wait—don’t you hate AI?

I get why you might ask me that, but no. I think generative AI is perhaps the most overrated education technology of my lifetime; I don’t think the chatbot tutors or lessonslop generators are going to transform K–12 education. But I do think generative AI is neat. And look, I have tried to support discussion work with K–12 teachers for the last ten years in other ways, too. I have run in-person and remote PD. I have written math lessons and teacher supports for those lessons. I have sent nifty little customized email sequences tailored to teacher usage. None of those supports have been as promising as AI is here. None of them has moved the needle like Discussion Moments because none of them has been able to meet teachers in their moment of need, at the point of use.

That’s it. You can find Discussion Moments in Amplify Desmos Math next school year.

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Overview

Among English Language Learner (ELL) students, Spanish is the most common language spoken at home—77% of students with limited English proficiency in the U.S. public schools claim Spanish as their primary language at home.

Amplify’s new Spanish-language companion program for Amplify CKLA meets an essential need for educators, and fulfills a central mission for all of us who aspire to achieve true equity in education. With Amplify Caminos, teachers will be able to develop student comprehension in Spanish through a content-rich curriculum while also building bridges to English literacy.

Amplify Caminos was developed by a bilingual team from across the Latinx Hispanic diaspora with a concerted effort to create relevant connections for students so the classroom experience strikes the ideal balance between the security of the familiar and the excitement of the unknown.

Amplify Caminos is a Spanish language arts curriculum for grades K–5 and can be used on its own. It can also be used alongside Amplify CKLA to provide students with equitable instruction in Spanish and English across a range of instructional models, including dual language immersion and transitional classrooms.

Amplify Caminos is a program for Grades K–5.

In Grades K-2, the Knowledge Strand builds background knowledge and vocabulary through carefully sequenced read-alouds and complex texts. Teachers read stories aloud that are more complex than the text students can decode on their own, enabling children to engage with complex texts and build background knowledge of a variety of connected topics in history, science, literature, and the arts.

In Grades 3–5, students are still focused on building reading and writing skills as well as knowledge and vocabulary, but the program no longer has two strands. The various lessons in each unit include read-alouds; whole group, small group, and partner reading; close reading; literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension questions; vocabulary; grammar; writing; and unit assessments.

The Amplify Caminos Skills Strand for K–2 is under development.

Available for the 2021–22 school year, Amplify Caminos can support teachers in multiple language teaching models, including dual language immersion classrooms, transitional classrooms, newcomer or bridge programs, and other unique models.

It can be taught alongside Amplify CKLA or as a standalone.

Program design

Grades K–2
Knowledge Teacher Guides, Flip Books, Student Knowledge Activity Books, Image Cards, recorded Read-Alouds, and planning and professional development resources.

Grades 3–5
Teacher Guides, Student Readers, Activity Books, Poet’s Journal, Writer’s Journal, Text Anthologies for Grades 4 and 5, Core Quests, Writing Quests (The Contraption in Grade 4, The Robot in Grade 5), and planning and professional development resources.

S5-04. Coaching tips for managing math anxiety in teachers

A blue graphic with text reading "Math Teacher Lounge" in multicolored letters and "Amplify." at the bottom, with abstract geometric shapes and lines as decoration.

So far this season, we’ve investigated math anxiety in students and its causes with passionate researchers and curriculum experts, including one from Sesame Workshop! Now we hear from Dr. Heidi Sabnani, consultant, coach, and co-host of Math 4 All, as she gives us research-based tips for teachers who are facing math anxiety themselves! Listen as we discuss Heidi’s own math anxiety and journey through math, the effects teacher math anxiety can have on instruction, and practices educators can implement right away for overcoming math anxiety.

Listen today and don’t forget to grab your MTL study guide to track your learning and make the most of this episode!

Download Transcript

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (00:00):

Coaching is the opportunity to provide that just-in-time kind of professional development for teachers, if we go at it in a slightly different way.

Dan Meyer (00:10):

Hey folks, welcome back to Math Teacher Lounge. I’m your host, Dan Meyer.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:14):

And I’m Bethany Lockhart Johnson.

Dan Meyer (00:16):

Bethany, how are you doing, and how are you feeling about our current trajectory through this exploration of math anxiety?

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:24):

Dan, I gotta tell you — let me make it about me for a second. <laugh>.

Dan Meyer (00:29):

Go. Do it.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (00:30):

If only I had known that so many other people experienced math anxiety, and I wasn’t the only one. I mean, I’ve said it before, but you know, I hope that this series so far is helping to reframe math anxiety for folks who maybe have a narrow definition of it … and I guess expand, reframe. And also, for those folks who are working with students who have math anxiety, or who they themselves have experienced math anxiety, I hope they’ve found some tools, some resources. Right? Like, “Yes!”

Dan Meyer (01:04):

Yes! Same.

New Speaker (01:06):

And what about you? How are you feeling?

Dan Meyer (01:08):

Yeah, I hope this has been cathartic for all of our listeners who have experienced math anxiety, and not re-traumatizing, that there are lots of people who feel this way about math in particular. And that it’s so well-experienced, so broadly experienced, that people have decided to study it a whole bunch. Which is great. And now we’re moving into our kind of solutioning. You know, in my relationships, I’m sometimes told that I rush too quickly to solutions before trying to understand what’s going on. So I’ve loved our episodes that have been about what is going on. And now, with Dr. Truglio last episode and our guest today, we’re moving more into some solutions, which I’m excited about.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (01:49):

I don’t know, Dan, I think next time I see you I’m gonna bring a list of some concerns or worries I have, and I would love if you just get right to the solution. I’m actually OK with that.

Dan Meyer (02:01):

All right. Good to know. Good to know. I’ll say I am coming off of a day where I was feeling some teacher anxiety today, because I taught really real students. So just to let you know where I’m coming from here. I taught some seventh grade students at Montera Middle, here in Oakland Unified School District. Taught ’em a lesson outta the Desmos curriculum. And it was one of those lessons where some thorny stuff comes up. I’m talking students who are wrong for smart reasons, who are right for the wrong reasons, and their minds are working so hard trying to figure out inequalities. And I’m like trying to just step into that process as an educator with some curriculum and help shape those ideas. But it’s just … I don’t know, you want it to be as easy as like, “let me just show you how it’s done a few times, and now you got it.” But whew, some of these ideas, they take a long time to form up and they’re really easily reshaped by lots of stuff going on. So that’s where I’m at, anxiety-wise, right now. The teacher anxiety stuff.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (03:04):

I think there’s probably plenty of teachers who do kind of just say, this is how you do it. And so, from what I have seen of your teaching and what I know of the Desmos curriculum, it is such an opportunity to think hard about the things that we are assuming about our students, assuming about what we know about the math itself. And yeah, that requires some thought.

Dan Meyer (03:30):

Yeah, for sure. I came in ready, like, “When you multiply both sides of an inequality by a negative, this sign flips around.” And I could just say that to kids and say, “Hey, remember that! Write that down!” And a lot of them would do it really well, you know, provided the assessment problems looked like ones we’ve gone over in class. And they’re also learning — in addition to that math, they’re learning that math is a giant sack of tricks they gotta memorize, right? So there’s just these pros and cons. And at the end of the one period I’m gonna teach this week, I was like, “Well, your teacher’s gonna go over that tomorrow, when they’re with you instead of me.” So it felt a bit like I copped out on that one. And I’m just in in my feelings about that right now. And I’m gonna try to come on down here and be present in the math-anxiety world.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (04:25):

I appreciate you sharing that, Dan. And I think … I have a feeling that you could write a pretty catchy rhyme to allow the students to flip and <starting to rap> “multiply by negative. and dit-dit-dit-dit.” Can you feel it? You picking up that beat?

Dan Meyer (04:40):

Ooh, yeah. A nice little beat. Uh-huh. Yup.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (04:41):

Yeah. You know, you could come up with something pretty clever, and yet you did not lean on your wordsmithing skills. You said, “No, let us dive in.” So what are you gonna do with this lesson, by the way? What happens now? You popped in for one period, and then what happens?

Dan Meyer (05:03):

Yeah. So this is gonna be a blast. I hope you folks tune in. We’re gonna actually release the footage of me teaching this lesson live. You know, it’ll be replayed live. And on top of that, a couple of my favorite teacher coaches and just smart people about teaching are going to be giving commentary. They are gonna be giving the director’s commentary, the sports announcers’ commentary on what they’re seeing. I beg for their generosity in their commentary. But I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I’ve never seen anything like this before, a commentary track on top of a teaching lesson, in this way. So I’m just gonna gonna be excited to see what they noticed that I didn’t, what they might have done, the thoughts they might have. Maybe I’ll do a post-game interview, you know.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (05:50):

Ooh, yes!

Dan Meyer (05:50):

With my towel around my neck, <laugh> looking all sweaty.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (05:54):

Ready, set, grow!

Dan Meyer (05:55):

Like, “Yup, we gave it all out there, you know, just a real team effort.” You know, that kind of thing. We’ll see how that goes.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (06:02):

I actually love that idea. I love that it’s not just this one random lesson that just kind of floats out there, and it’s about, you walk away with whatever feelings you have, and the students obviously walk away, but that this is gonna help other educators.

Dan Meyer (06:17):

Yeah. Yeah. We’ll multiply my anxiety and make it more people’s anxiety. We’ll see how that goes. So stay tuned on the Math Teacher Lounge feed for that. All right?

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (06:25):

All right! And speaking of anxiety, Dan Meyer, we gotta get to today’s show. You know, last time we had some amazing strategies for helping students from Dr. Truglio from Sesame Workshop. I gotta tell you, I sent that episode to so many of my friends, like, “Listen to these ideas!” and have had some interesting follow-up conversations. And we would love to hear what you think about this season so far, at MTLShow on Twitter or in our Facebook group, Math Teacher Lounge. So today, we’re gonna focus on strategies for supporting teachers.

Dan Meyer (07:00):

Yes. Which is why we’re so excited to bring to you folks Heidi Sabnani, who — we’ve had researchers. We’ve had Sesame Workshoppers. And Heidi Sabnani has been a classroom teacher; she’s teacher-consultant; newly minted doctoral degree holder. We’re so pumped to bring to you folks: Heidi Sabnani.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:25):

Dr. Sabnani, thank you for being here. Can we call you Dr. Heidi? What would you. …

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (07:31):

You can just call me Heidi. Yeah. Heidi is good.

Dan Meyer (07:36):

Right on.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:36):

  1. Heidi, thank you for joining us in the Lounge. We’re so excited to talk with you.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (07:41):

I am super-honored to be here. It’s really exciting and I just really appreciate the opportunity.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (07:47):

I will say I don’t have a PhD, although the two people I’m talking with right now, both do, and you’re both like holding up your degrees as we speak and saying, “Wah-wah.” But I imagine that if I did, I’d wanna throw that doctor in more frequently, so.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:02):

Well—

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:03):

If I sneak in a “Doctor,” Heidi, it’s only out of respect.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:05):

  1. I appreciate it.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:07):

Dan makes me call him Dr. Meyer all the time.

Dan Meyer (08:10):

You don’t call me Dr. Dan or Dr. Meyer, ever. So—

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:13):

I will now!

Dan Meyer (08:14):

—this respect only goes towards Dr. Heidi, it seems. But yeah, we’ll take that off the air.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (08:19):

Well, we are going to delve into your research on math anxiety soon, because I actually — speaking of becoming a doctor, a new doctor, I have some questions. We have questions about your research, but on a personal level, I really appreciated the way that you share that you yourself experienced math anxiety as a student. So I’m wondering if you could tell us a bit about your own math anxiety, your <laugh> journey through math.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (08:50):

Yeah, so much like the people in the research that I did, and with the research that I read by others, many of us can tie the beginnings — or like the evil villain origin story of math anxiety — to a particular event, or series of events. And my series of events started, the big blow-up, I guess, in fourth grade. And I had had some struggles in school — I have mild dyslexia and dyscalculia. And so I had always been in the special group of kids who got some extra attention <laugh> from the teacher, or from an aide, or whoever happened to be in the room. But in fourth grade — at that time, they taught multiplication and division facts in fourth grade. Many, many moons ago. And I struggled greatly with just understanding what was happening and why we were moving so quickly. And, my teacher was probably not the best person to be entrusted with my learning at the time. Like, her style may have been OK for others, but it was obvious that she felt like kind of wasting her time with some people in the classroom. And I happened to be one of those people.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (10:26):

Mmm. You said that really diplomatically, though. <Laugh>

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (10:30):

Well, you know, you look back at things from the perspective of many years. And having made lots of mistakes myself in the classroom as a teacher, I try to give some grace to things that happened, and how you remember them. Yeah, that’s my story, but maybe she had a different one, right?

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (10:55):

Yeah. But fourth grade Heidi was still, you know, still experiencing that. Yeah.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (11:01):

Yeah. Fourth-grade Heidi didn’t like being in the “dumb group” and didn’t like being told that she would probably not graduate from high school. So that was kind of the general environment. And I got further and further behind in math. The dyslexia was less and less of an issue the older I got, because I had great comprehension. And so I could figure out the fluency thing just by the pattern of language, because mine is mild in comparison to so many who struggle with that. But math was not working in that same way. And I got more and more behind and to the point where I was having to stay in every day at recess. And I had had it after like a month. Like, I’m not staying in at recess anymore to do this math that I don’t understand, by myself. Like, not doing it. So I—

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (11:53):

Which, by the way, if there’s one way to make you hate it, <laugh> like, to engender, to endear you to a subject, could it be, “Let’s have you stay in at recess”?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (12:07):

Right. And so one day I just stormed out of the classroom, I was like, “I’m not coming. I’m not staying, I’m not doing this anymore. I’m done.” And I can remember her standing up at the top of the hill screaming at me to come back, and I was like, “No way. Not doing it. Done with this.” I went to a parochial school, though, and my dad is a pastor. So that whole little incident blew up in the greater community in a way that I didn’t really anticipate as a fourth grader. And my parents had no idea that this was going on. And so they were shocked and dismayed that their — up until that point — oldest child, rule-follower, had done this. But then even more upset when they found out what was happening with my math understanding, or lack thereof. And they did what they knew best at the time. So my mom was a great memorizer. She has a brain like an elephant. And my dad grew up in the British system in India and Singapore, and it was at that time very much based on memorization. And so they were like, “We are gonna just work really hard. We’re gonna buckle down and do this thing <laugh>.” And so that’s what we did, and that’s where all of it began. It was not — it was just about “We’re gonna learn the facts. We’re not gonna ask questions; we’re not gonna think about it, because it’s just the rules. And if you can figure out the rules or the system or what the teacher wants, and mimic what the teacher is doing, then you’ll be successful.” And it was really successful for me, once I figured that out all the way through. My whole goal in high school when I took high school math was to take enough math courses with a high-enough GPA that when I got my BA in college, that I would never have to take math again. And I succeeded in that and got an English degree and a Master’s in world lit. And I was in no way doing math ever again.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (14:31):

But little did you know that Future You was going to be researching math anxiety. How did you wind up researching it then? How did you wind up researching math anxiety?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (14:43):

So I took a job in school improvement when I was working in Ohio, after a number of years teaching high school English in Southern California and Guatemala and Michigan, all over the place. And I took a job in school improvement with a co-consultant who was gonna be doing the math end, and I was gonna be doing the literacy end, and we were just gonna go in, and I was gonna make kids love reading, and she was gonna make kids love math, and it was gonna be so fun. And then she decided she didn’t like working with adults and they couldn’t find anyone else. And my boss said, “So you’re just gonna do both for the rest of the year.” After that year, I got requested to go back and, and do this again. I said, “Well, if I’m gonna do this, I’m going to go back and reteach myself the math in ways that I wish that fourth-grade Heidi had learned it, and fourth-grade-and-up Heidi had learned it.” And so that was like the, the beginning of the switch. And so now equal amounts of time in my career have been spent in both. But when I started, when I continued working, when I left the classroom to continue working with teachers, and when I transitioned more into an elementary setting, I began to notice the same behaviors that I had in high school of avoiding math, and avoiding teaching math, were happening in the classrooms that I was supporting. And so I would have teachers come and say, “Oh, can we talk about this literacy thing?” And even if it was like a math meeting, or we were supposed to split the time evenly, and ohhh, for some reason the literacy time talk would just like move over <laugh>. And then there was no time to talk about math at the end. And “Oh, that’s just too bad.” Like, we’re just gonna move on to this next thing. Funny how that happens, right?

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (16:32):

Yeah. <laugh>.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (16:34):

And noticing teachers’ behaviors around going to and or avoiding math professional development that I was giving. Or getting sick. Or like having to leave the room for a long period of time. And so I began to notice these behaviors. And initially I thought I wanted to look at math anxiety in children, which is one branch of the research that I started with. But as I got into things more, the people that I have the most influence in are adults right now.

Dan Meyer (17:09):

Right.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (17:09):

And so as I started looking at the research that had already been done, I feel like we do a really nice job of admiring the problem of math anxiety, and we do less in the “what to do about” phase. And so I was like, “Well, if I’m going to continue to be in this career and in this profession, then I need to be doing something in the space of ‘what are we gonna do about it?’” And so that’s how I switched to looking at “what do we do to help teachers?” Particularly elementary school teachers, because that’s the area of greatest need, based on previous research that we could at least do something to help.

Dan Meyer (17:51):

Yeah. A previous guest mentioned that a lot of research is better understood as me-search, especially in this kind of arena, where we’re going back in to try to understand what it was that happened for us and how to prevent it for future generations. And I have nothing but respect for that motivation right there. And your point is well-put, that it is very possible to spend a ton of time examining math anxiety from every angle, every facet, you know, put it up there on a mounted board and admire it … and there’s a lot of value there, but I appreciate that you’re moving into, “So, now what?”

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (18:27):

Yep.

Dan Meyer (18:28):

And so I’d love if you’d share with us and our listeners the broad details of your study, and what you ultimately found. Like, if there are any large takeaways here, what were they?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (18:40):

Yeah. So a couple of things to kind of just lay a little bit of the groundwork. One out of four teachers say that they have math anxiety. Those numbers increase rapidly, the younger of the grades that the teachers teach. So if we think about preK to two, it’s about 88%, based on other people’s research. So I was like, “Well that’s a lot of people <laugh>!” And so, that’s the scope of the problem. And so I was thinking, “OK, what do we do in these moments?” Because other researchers had said they’re spending — when they don’t like it, they’re spending less time teaching math and avoiding it, or relying on methods that were done to us. Just out of fear of trying something different, at many times. And so one thing that has become more prominent in math education since I transitioned 16 years ago into this has been the role of coaches in school systems. And so one of the questions I wanted to think about was, “What can coaches or math specialists who work with adults as well do to help the teachers that they work with?” So that was kind of the lens that I was looking at. Like, let’s think about the systems that we currently have in place. Is there something that we could be doing that would help teachers, that wouldn’t be so huge or so monumental that with little shifts in our own behavior as coaches or professional development providers that we could make that would make a difference? So that being said, this was a qualitative study, so a small group of people in very intense settings. So I kind of always wanna preface that, because in academic world, you know, there’s <laugh> all sorts of thoughts about that. So I had asked teachers from districts that I work with who self-identified as having math anxiety if they would be interested in the study. So, this is what we’re thinking of, this is what it would look like, and the scope of the support they would have.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (20:50):

So basically you’re tracking these four teachers who self-identified as math anxious. And were you serving as their coach and kind of seeing what was working?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (21:00):

I was serving as their coach. Yeah. I was serving as their coach during that time period. And some fairly recent research that had been done was in the idea of “Can we do some reflective conversations or reflective writing around where your math anxiety started, and how that makes you feel both as a teacher of mathematics now, because you are teaching math, and how that affects your identity as a mathematician?” And so that was the first starting point. And that was a really critical moment that I’m glad that I had stumbled across the research on, because it turned out that having someone hear and acknowledge that what happened to them was both wrong and inappropriate, in many cases, and in a couple instances, was traumatic and also abusive — that that mattered. That it was OK to feel anger and hurt and frustration based on what happened to you in the past. And then have that moment to reflect on, “OK, so what do you want the classroom environment that you’re building as a teacher to feel like for your students?” So it was turning that moment of how they felt to thinking about, then, what kind of environment do we wanna make within the math classroom? And what steps can we take to ensure that happens? So that was like, Step One is just thinking about what that looks like. What kind of math identities then do you want to create for your students? Because all of the teachers were very concerned with not continuing the cyclical nature that often happens with math anxiety, from teacher to student and back again.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (22:54):

Well, and even that validation, right? Like, how many of them hadn’t even had, like you said, had that? We had another, when in our first episode, Dr. Gerardo Ramirez talked about that validation and how key.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (23:09):

Yeah. That was the first thing. The next step of it, which very different from what I often do — I don’t generally go in and model for teachers — just me, taking over your classroom. I really like to co-plan with teachers and co-teach with teachers and have it not feel like they’re losing control over what’s happening in that moment. And that’s generally the way that I go in when I’m doing professional development in a classroom, right? Like, I’m working with the teacher and we’re a team; we’re doing this together. But in these four cases, these teachers were very, very resistant <laughs> to co-teaching. And so I said, “OK, well, let’s throw everything out. Let’s try whatever it happens to be.” So the modeling aspect turned out to be really important, in part when three out of the four cases, because they were like, “Oh, I can do that.” <laugh> like, Well, yeah, I know you can! Like, it was that having a moment to sit back and see someone else doing it — which is harder to do when you’re co-teaching, right? It’s harder to be reflective in the moment when you’re still thinking about the teaching choices you’re making, because you’re both co-teaching.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (24:24):

Right. Or sometimes you see, like in co-teaching, it falls into “one teach, one manage,” you know, or something like that.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (24:31):

Yes.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (24:31):

I have definitely fallen into that. But you, by modeling … it was almost, I don’t know, it feels like you’re kind of holding their hand. Like, “I’ll show you!” And not that it has to exactly look like that, right? But you found if a coach is coming in and the teacher gets to sit back and basically watch their students learn, they’re probably gettinga ton of information about their students, and they’re really learning some teaching strategies for mathematics that they can then like dip their toe in. I think? <Laugh> Am I kind of thinking of this? I’m trying to picture this and it feels rich and rife with possibilities <laugh>.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (25:16):

Well, and it, it turned it from … I think sometimes, when I go into a classroom, I learn so much from watching teachers and being able to sit and listen to students, that you don’t always have the luxury of when you’re the teacher. <Laugh> Right? It’s so much harder to be like, “OK, I’m gonna be watching what a kid does, because I’m hoping someone uses this strategy, so I can connect it to this other person’s strategy, so that we can take that apart and look at it and really have immediate discussion around it.” Those are all so many things that are happening in the moment as a teacher. You don’t get to sit back and look at it from a researcher kind of lens. Or look, you know, from the up-above lens. And when I had these conversations with teachers, I was like, “That’s what I want you to do. I want you to be able to sit back and look at all the things that are happening.” Because then you begin to notice not only the moves that the teacher — in this case, me — who was modeling for them was doing, but also the student conversations. And it was almost like having a case study within that moment, where they got to sit back and just experience, versus thinking about all the decisions that they would make at the moment. So that was something that was really surprising to me.

Dan Meyer (26:33):

Yeah. And I love the idea that they’re seeing the pedagogical moves, but they’re also experiencing perhaps a sense of math that’s de-stressed. You know, they are allowing themselves to sit next to students and feel as though they are a student, in ways that if you’re co-teaching, you are still like enmeshed in the gears of the whole lesson. I wonder if that’s a part of this too. So I’m hearing from you that we’re taking these teachers who have all admitted to some math anxiety, and that one of the interventions, or one of the findings, was that modeling worked really well for, again, this set of teachers. But you modeling lessons that highlighted mathematics, that was less anxious, that helped the teachers see that students were engaging in really productive un-anxious ways, brave ways. Were there other kinds of takeaways that you experienced there?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (27:24):

Yeah. So in addition to that, we had to think about and start at Step One. One of the teachers that I worked with had done her student teaching with a teacher who had math anxiety, and who never taught math. And so she entered her teaching career, never having taught math before or seen it taught. And so in her situation, she had had one course in her teacher preparation program, that was on fractions.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (27:54):

That’s often the case, right? One math methods course! Help, we have to get it all in in this semester! <Laugh>

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (28:01):

<Laugh> Yes. And so she came in and said, “I feel like I have to start at the beginning.” And so there was no question that was inappropriate, or that we weren’t going to explore or think about. And so that was, I think, the starting place with that particular teacher. And then one other, who was kind of in her same age range, where we had to start thinking about, “OK, how did you learn as a learner? What ways are you seeing your students learn as learners? And then let’s focus on those first as the areas that you wanna explore in your teaching.” And so a lot of that ended up being much more visual and hands-on ways of exploring. And so those were some of the changes in, I think, pedagogy that were the most significant. In a couple of cases, these are early elementary teachers who had had one experience with manipulatives in their whole teaching career up until that point. And so one teacher brought me a bucket of Cuisenaire rods and said, “These are in my room. I don’t know what they are. <Laugh> Are we building things with them? Are they blocks that are just small? <Laugh> Like what are they for?”

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:20):

Yes!

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (29:21):

And so, <laugh> it was that idea of, “OK, let’s, let’s explore all the different ways that we can use these, and that we can think about how your students might learn best with this particular tool that you have in your room.”

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:34):

So hearing you talk about this research — which by the way, I know, you’re like, for our listeners, it’s all, “Quick, boil down your years and hours of research and synthesize it for us.”

Dan Meyer (29:50):

Your life’s work.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (29:50):

In a little tiny neat package. But really though, even though I know there’s so many layers to your research, and your work with these teachers, I wanna flag for our listeners that even the things that you’ve identified for us, you were giving teachers space — as coach, giving teachers space, and validating their experience as a mathematician, as you know, as a young student, right? Making space for that experience and validating “Yeah, that was really lousy and your math anxiety is real.” Like, Step One is already powerful. And then you’re creating space where they get to be in their classroom as a learner, right? And have a lesson modeled. And then you’re creating more <laugh> space for them to learn and ask questions. And I have absolutely seen teachers like, “I don’t know what to do with these,” and kind of shove aside the district-provided tools or the curriculum-provided tools. And so even those things, Heidi — Dr. Heidi <laugh> — you know, even if … I don’t know, for me, I am listening to you and just holding those points in mind and feeling like that, alone, if a coach did even just that … I know there’s so much more to it, but what a powerful opportunity for reclaiming math as an educator, right? That’s what I’m feeling.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (31:25):

Well, and I was hoping that there wouldn’t be … I mean, OK, it’s a double-sided hope. If there was something like so novel and so fantastic that was so different from the things that we have already at our disposal, that would’ve made a much better book or dissertation. <Laugh> But the reality is, there are things that we already know work. And we don’t often take the time or, or are given the time to be able to explore those things. Right? So even as coaches, you have district initiatives or things like, “this is what we’re working on this year,” and that’s fantastic, right? We keep those things moving forward. But if we’re thinking about coaching teachers with math anxiety, no teacher with math anxiety is going to be coming to NCTM.

Dan Meyer (32:16):

Right. Right. Or the training.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (32:19):

Or the training. They’re like, “Oh, PD day? Literacy! Yes, please! Bye!” You know, it’s that piece of it. So when we have these moments, the coaching is the opportunity to provide that just-in-time kind of professional development for teachers, if we go at it in a slightly different way. It does not have to be huge. It can be things like, they feel that they’re stronger in literacy. Well, then, let’s explore some of the ideas around math, anxiety and math identity and examples of people who’ve overcome either those things or other barriers in their life. And how can those things help form not only your students’ math identity, but your math identity. And it gives entry points in ways that you have access to if you’re a person’s coach.

Dan Meyer (33:18):

So in that sense, I’d love to know from you, if someone came to you at a coach’s meeting at NCSM and asked you, “What is something I can do right now to support the teachers at my site and my district, who are commonly experiencing math anxiety?” What is something that you would offer them in that brief moment you had with that coach?

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (33:40):

So it is hearing their story first. That’s the big one. And then, can you, in your coaching, provide opportunities to slow down? We all have these pacing guides in some form or another, that drive the things that are coming. Is there a way that you can set up meetings a month or more in advance of the content that those teachers are going to teach? Can we explore a month in advance, that content? And ways to teach it and understand it? There’s the ways to teach it, but there’s also like, “What is this math and how do kids experience this math?” What kind of experiences do we want to have ourselves as learners and then have as kids? If we can create cycles like that, that then don’t feel so rushed. It’s so hard when we’re like, “Oh, we have a planning meeting and we’re meeting with our coach!” And you’re teaching this lesson tomorrow. “Learn all this stuff about adding and subtracting on a number line. Go!” It’s so fast. And so if we had those opportunities to build in cycles, where we could slow down that process, it would make a huge difference in the lives of so many teachers. And it’s finding that time and the willingness. If you listen to teachers, they will work with you. If you validate what happens to them, and acknowledge that sometimes that still happens to us. I mean, I still have experiences like that. Sometimes I’ll walk into a classroom and I’m like, “Oh, I forgot how to do that!” You know, like, “I’ve not reached that far in my remaking of my own education!”

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (35:24):

Yehhhh, heh heh heh.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (35:25):

<laugh>. And you think, “I don’t wanna look like an idiot. I’m the math consultant who’s here to duh duh duh.” All of those things still come up. Yeah. And stopping and saying like, “OK, everybody, this is what’s happening to me right now.” <laugh> The vulnerability you have, you have to think about that. Even if you don’t have experiences of math anxiety in your own life. Let’s say you always rocked out in math, and you’re now a math specialist and you love it. You think it’s the most spectacular thing. There’s some other element in your life where you face some anxiety. All of us do. So it’s about thinking about, “OK, this is where I experience anxiety. Can I find that in the teachers that I work with? And then, can my teachers find that in the students they work with?” You know, the teachers, as they begin to reflect on their own experiences, began noticing which students always went to the nurse during math time, always asked to go to the bathroom during math time, always couldn’t find a pencil, or whatever it happened to be. And they began to be more aware of their students’ behaviors as well, and could then say, “Hey, let’s sit and talk about how you feel in math class. Like, I’ve been noticing that when it’s time for math, like your stomach hurts. Can we talk about like why that might be?” Because those teachers with math are more attuned, often, to those students. And so it just … the time factor, I guess is, is the bottom line.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (36:59):

I just wanna say, it’s so great to have you in the Lounge. Because I think you’re really bringing this perspective that we haven’t talked about, which … we are not expecting coaches to walk in and know it all. That’s actually the exact opposite. You are allowed to be vulnerable. We are not saying, “Come,” quote-unquote, “Fix this.” It’s like, “Hey, how can you facilitate and make space?” And I feel like you have given us just a taste of like how that might be possible. And you know, I think even if it’s just a chance for teachers to reflect on their own experience in math, even that would probably be kind of revolutionary for — and I don’t say that word lightly — for some PD spaces, especially if they have another peer in their team that is like quote-unquote, “a whiz,” or like, “Oh, I don’t feel like I can be vulnerable in my math anxiety because this teacher seems to know it all.” But you’re creating space where it’s like, “Hey, we all have strengths. We all have areas where we could support each other.” And I love that invitation for coaches. I love that invitation for teachers. And … yeah. I’m just, I’m so glad we get a snapshot of your research. Again, I know, I respect that this is not the whole thing!

Dan Meyer (38:22):

Can we find … is there a link to your dissertation in the show notes, for those of us who peruse dissertations? Can we add something here? Think about —

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (38:29):

Oh, I have no idea!

Dan Meyer (38:30):

Just think about it. Just think about it. But —

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (38:34):

It’s somewhere on ProQuest. It did get some. …

Dan Meyer (38:36):

Right on.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (38:36):

Is that a thing, Dan? Could I go, like, Google your dissertation?

Dan Meyer (38:39):

You definitely could. Yeah, for sure. It’s around. Yeah, same way. Well, that’s awesome. And I think it’s so helpful for those who write those enormous unwieldy essays to, you know, distill it in different ways. I hope it’s been … we’ve enjoyed so much, hearing you carve up a huge project into pieces that were really helpful for us to think about here in the Lounge. Thank you so much for coming on and hanging out with us. Dr. Sabnani, it’s been a pleasure.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:06):

Hey, I’m happy to do it any time. Always the biggest joy in the work that I do is little changes in a positive direction.

Dan Meyer (39:18):

Right on.

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:19):

That’s all that this is about. Right? Whether it’s kids, whether it’s teachers, whether it’s administration. The work that we all do is so valuable, and it is more and more difficult over time. And just giving ourselves a little bit of space to think about and acknowledge that, I think, is really important. So I appreciate you all making space as well. And thinking about this idea. Because <laugh> we’re math people! And we don’t have math anxiety! Right?

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (39:51):

<laugh>

Dan Meyer (39:51):

So people would assume

Dr. Heidi Sabnani (39:54):

<laugh>. Yeah.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (39:54):

Thank you so much. You’re welcome back in the Lounge anytime. <laugh> Thanks so much for listening to our conversation with Dr. Heidi Sabnani, consultant and co-host of the show “Math for All.” I can’t get enough about talking about math anxiety!

Dan Meyer (40:13):

Especially from people who are working with teachers so closely.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (40:18):

Yes, totally. I loved that lens of, “Hey, look at what happens if we actually focus on the teacher’s experience and help them kind of reclaim this comfort, this sense of identity, relationship with math that’s positive. How does that impact their teaching?” I loved talking about it, and I’m really interested in how that work continues to evolve. So thank you so much Dr. Sabnani, for your time. And you know, listeners, please keep in touch with us on our Facebook, in our discussion group, Math Teacher Lounge Community, or you can find us on Twitter at MTL show.

Dan Meyer (40:58):

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Math Teacher Lounge, wherever you get podcasts. Also, if you like what you’re hearing, please rate us and leave us a review. It will help more listeners find the show. And it just makes me and Bethany feel good about ourselves, too. You can find more information on all of Amplify’s shows at our new podcast hub. Go to Amplify.com/hub.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (41:20):

You know, Dan, I also always like to say, I find most of my podcasts through recommendations from other listeners, friends, folks. So if you like what you’re hearing, share it in your teacher lounge. Just, like, on break, turn it up and start vibing and having the conversation right there.

Dan Meyer (41:40):

Yep. Yep. I got a better idea. Take the link to this podcast and then copy it and find the longest — the thread in your inbox with the most people on it. One of those ones that’s like, someone accidentally cc’d like 500 people, everyone at your school. Press “reply.” This is crucial. Not “reply,” but “reply all.” Paste that link in. Press “send.” Watch what happens.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:04):

Nothing but good —

Dan Meyer (42:04):

Good fortune will be yours.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:06):

Nothing but good things can happen when you send this to 500 people in the next 10 minutes. Next time on Math Teacher Lounge, we’re gonna be joined by Dr. Marjorie Schaeffer of St. Mary’s College for a conversation about math anxiety, and specifically Dan, how parents and caregivers, how their disposition influences the way their kiddos feel about math.

Dr. Marjorie Schaeffer (42:29):

I think the most important thing we know from literature right now is that high-math-anxious parents, when they interact with their children, their children learn less math over the course of the school year.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:40):

And get this, she’s gonna talk to us about an app that just might be something worth, you know, heading over to the app store for.

Dan Meyer (42:49):

I’ve used some apps, I have opinions, and I can’t wait. We just share recommendations on apps with Dr. Schaeffer.

Bethany Lockhart Johnson (42:56):

That’s next time on Math Teacher Lounge. Thanks so much for listening.

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What Dr. Heidi Sabnani says about math

“Much like the people in my research, many of us can tie the beginnings or the ‘evil villain origin story’ of our own math anxiety to an event or series of events.”

– Dr. Heidi Sabnani

Consultant and Co-host of Math 4 All

Meet the guest

Heidi Sabnani is always surprised that she works in math education. She developed math anxiety as a young student and spent much of her school life and early career avoiding math. After teaching English in the United States and Guatemala, and earning her MA in World Literature, she found herself in the uncomfortable position of working in math classrooms as a school improvement consultant. Once she realized that her life was going to involve math, Heidi decided to relearn math in the ways she wished she had learned the first time around. 18 years later she is still learning with and from the students and teachers she has the privilege to serve.

Heidi’s doctoral research at Northeastern University focused on interventions for math anxiety in elementary teachers. She currently works as a consultant, speaker, and author.

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About Math Teacher Lounge

Math Teacher Lounge is a biweekly podcast created specifically for K–12 math educators. In each episode co-hosts Bethany Lockhart Johnson (@lockhartedu) and Dan Meyer (@ddmeyer) chat with guests, taking a deep dive into the math and educational topics you care about.

Join the Math Teacher Lounge Facebook group to continue the conversation, view exclusive content, interact with fellow educators, participate in giveaways, and more!

You might also like:

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Math Teacher Lounge study guides

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Welcome, Amplify Reading families

Welcome to the Amplify Reading Caregiver hub. We are here to support you and your child with all things Amplify!

Para acceder a este sitio en español haga clic aquí.

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Welcome to Amplify Reading!

Welcome to Amplify Reading! We know how important—and challenging—it is for parents and caregivers to support kids’ remote learning. That’s why we are here to support you. On this site, you’ll find valuable information and resources to help you guide your child as they use Amplify Reading.

What is Amplify Reading?

Amplify Reading provides your child with the opportunity to learn and practice literacy skills within an engaging story world that adapts to each student as they move through the program. Your child can learn with Amplify Reading during school hours and independently at home.

Learn about Amplify Reading in middle school here.

What is my role in Amplify Reading?

Ensuring your child can log in independently

We recommend that caregivers assist their children by helping them log in at home. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step video on how to log in to the program with the login information or QR code provided by your child’s teacher.

Note that your child may log in via Clever or another platform. Reach out to your child’s teacher if you’re unsure or did not receive login information.

Watch the video below for an overview of how to get your elementary schooler started with Amplify Reading:

How to get your child started with Amplify Reading

Tips

  • Practice logging in with your child consistently until they can log in independently.
  • Keep your child’s login information in a single place so they know where to go if they forget it!

Giving your child the time and space to play independently

Amplify Reading is personalized to your child’s needs, so you do not need to assist students with their learning. Once your child can log in, they’re ready to start using the program. Students will need headphones or to be in a quiet place when they play.

Some students will begin with a placement Quest. Their answers help the Amplify Reading program match them to the best content and games for their reading skill levels. To ensure the most accurate placement, it is important that your child complete each activity independently. If your child needs help understanding the instructions, you can refer to this instruction guide. And it is always helpful to encourage your child to have fun and do their best!

We recommend reviewing this Protecting Kids Online article by the Federal Trade Commission addressing digital safety.

Joining in on the fun!

Each child in grades K–3 has a customizable companion called a Curioso. Print these Curioso Coloring Pages so your child can design their own!

Students in grades K–5 encounter eReader texts along their adaptive learning path. These texts give students the opportunity to transfer the skills they practice in the games to actual texts. Consider watching the following read aloud videos with your child for some extra exposure to the texts and skill transfer activities, as well as opportunities for discussion.

Hedgehog and Fox – Fox keeps taunting Hedgehog that he can beat him in a race. But Hedgehog may have a trick up his sleeve that Fox doesn’t know about…

Lifting Up the Sky – A Snohomish legend that explains how the constellations came to be in the sky. 

The Best Present – Anjali and Anuj try to find Mom the best birthday present while they’re at a baseball game. What will they choose? 

The Big Ride – Rosa and her dad are about to go on a roller coaster, but Rosa is a little frightened. Will she enjoy it after all? 

The Busy Wolf – The Big Bad Wolf wasn’t trying to be bad, he was just too busy! Join us in Bookerton to hear this spin on classic fairy tales and engage with embedded skill practice and discussion prompts!

The Day They Became Americans – Three students who were born in different countries come together on a special day when they become American citizens.

Knowing where to go for help

Whether you have questions about your technology or want to know more about the program, Amplify’s Support Team is here to help!

Contact Support via telephone at (833) 97-Care-8 (833-972-2738) or caregiver@amplify.com.

Our support hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

Frequently asked questions for caregivers

We recommend that your child use Amplify Reading two to three times per week for a weekly total of 30-45 minutes. However, your child’s teacher might have different daily or weekly recommendations.

If your child is having trouble with the content, Amplify Reading will adapt to provide your child with additional support and instructions within the game. For this reason, it is not recommended that caregivers help their child. While this can be hard, the program is carefully designed to provide the level of support your child needs to move forward.

If your child is having any technical challenges, please contact Amplify customer support at (833) 972-2738 or caregiver@amplify.com from Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. EDT and Saturday – Sunday from 10 a.m. – 6 pm. EDT.

We’re excited that you want to learn more! This recorded webinar for caregivers provides a deeper dive on the program and how you can support your child.

¡El futuro es bilingüe! | The future is bilingual!

Promote biliteracy with Amplify Caminos, a K–5 Spanish language arts curriculum that helps teachers inspire students as they become confident readers, writers, and thinkers in Spanish. The program combines rich content knowledge with systematic foundational skills instruction that is grounded in the Science of Reading and supports multiple teaching models. Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

Request samples
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Cultivating biliteracy pathways

Amplify Caminos is designed to support any biliteracy model, including English as a Second Language (ESL), transitional bilingual programs, dual language strands, and Spanish immersion programs. Combined with its English language partner, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), Amplify Caminos provides a comprehensive biliteracy solution.

Our approach

Grounded in the Science of Reading and following biliteracy principles, Amplify Caminos combines rich, varied content knowledge with systematic foundational skills instruction to deliver a research-based biliteracy curriculum. 

Leveraging the Science of Reading

At the heart of the Science of Reading is the Simple View of Reading, a formula describing how skilled reading requires both language comprehension and word recognition. Amplify Caminos is built on this model, with powerful resources that drive real results.

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A four-step diagram shows language learning: starting with sounds, building to phonemes and syllables, cracking the code, and growing in complexity, using "piñata" as an example.

Developing foundational skills explicitly and systematically

Amplify Caminos instruction is based on how the Spanish language works. Students learn vowel sounds and common sounds before blending them to form syllables and words. Less frequent consonants and other complex elements are presented later, with an intentional progression that sets students up for success.

Building background knowledge drives results

Students dig deeper and make connections across content areas to build a robust knowledge base for comprehending complex texts. Amplify Caminos and Amplify CKLA follow the Core Knowledge Sequence—a content-specific, cumulative, and coherent approach to building knowledge—with parallel topics to support research-based and supportive Tier 1 instruction in Spanish and English.

Explore how Core Knowledge curriculum improves reading scores and eliminates achievement gaps.

Three circles show stages of science education: plants in kindergarten, ecology with birds in grade 3, and layered rock formations for geology in grade 4.
Five illustrated children's books with colorful covers, featuring titles in Spanish and cartoon characters including a llama, children, dancers, and a large cactus.

Culturally relevant and challenging texts

Students learn about diverse topics and genres while better understanding themselves and the world with a variety of texts. Authentic Spanish literature, including original decodables by Latino and Hispanic authors, and transadapted texts connect knowledge topics and foundational skills instruction to provide a rich learning experience.

Being bilingual is a superpower

Bilingualism is a cognitive strength: Research attributes it to increased attention, improved working memory, greater awareness of language, and more. Honor the unique skills, strengths, and needs of your multilingual learners with Amplify Caminos and Amplify CKLA.

What’s included

Amplify Caminos features engaging print and multimedia materials—accessible from anywhere—designed to provide a robust literacy-rich foundation in every classroom.

A laptop screen displays a kindergarten daily instruction webpage in Spanish, showing lesson categories with colorful illustrated thumbnails.

High-quality teacher materials

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

  • Teacher resources and on-demand professional development.
  • Teacher Guides with embedded differentiation.
  • Formal and informal assessments.
  • Ready-made and customizable lesson slides.
  • Bilingual Connections to support cross-linguistic transfer.

Immersive student resources

Amplify Caminos 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 authentic Spanish literature anthologies (4–5).
  • Poet’s Journal and Writer’s Journal (write-in Student Readers for Grades 4–5).
  • Student Activity Books with embedded assessments.
  • Research units for independent research built around a trade book.
  • Multisensory phonics materials:
    • Letter Cards (K–2)
    • Syllable Cards (K–2)
    • Image Cards (K–3)
    • Plus, digital anchor charts and a Sound Library.
A collage of illustrated Spanish-language educational book covers and pages, featuring a knight, a rabbit, and children playing, alongside Spanish text excerpts.
An open ebook on a tablet displays Spanish text about animals, accompanied by photos of a caterpillar, birds, a jaguar, raccoons, a polar bear, and a fox.

Robust digital experience

Like Amplify CKLA, Amplify Caminos is proud to be a premier high-quality instructional material (HQIM) offering in elementary language arts, with rich and research-based content—including an expanding library of engaging digital materials—that helps you authentically support, challenge, and engage your students. From digital Teacher Guides to lesson projectables, we provide all the tools needed to successfully deliver every lesson.

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:

An astronaut floats in space near planets and a full moon, with a speech bubble displaying the phonetic symbol "/oo/".

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Collage of children in a classroom setting, including a teacher helping a student, a boy writing, and another reading. Icons of a mouth, ear, and speech bubble are also displayed.

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Welcome Reviewers, to Amplify Desmos Math!

Amplify Desmos Math thoughtfully combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Each lesson is designed to tell a story by posing problems that invite a variety of approaches before guiding students to synthesize their understanding of the learning goals.

Scroll to learn more about the program and explore sample materials.

About the program

We believe in math that motivates. Our structured approach to problem-based learning builds on students’ curiosity to develop lasting grade-level understandings for all students. 

The program thoughtfully combines conceptual understanding, fluency, and application, motivating students with interesting problems they are eager to solve. Teachers can spend more time where it’s most impactful: creating a collaborative classroom of learners.

A powerful suite of math resources

Amplify Desmos Math combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.

A digital interface displays a math screener report on the left and a math problem involving division, alongside a visual representation of students lined up on the right, integrating rich math resources from Amplify Desmos Math.

Screening and progress monitoring

mCLASS® Assessments, along with daily formative checks, measure not only what students know, but also how they think. The asset-based assessment system provides teachers with targeted, actionable insights, linked to core instruction and intervention resources.

Two side-by-side math activities for children: on the left, a caterpillar-themed block challenge, and on the right, a worksheet for finding pairs that sum to 10. These exercises are fantastic ways to amplify children's engagement with math concepts.

Core instruction

Amplify Desmos Math lessons provide a structured approach to problem-based learning, helping teachers create a collaborative math community with students at its center. Each lesson systematically builds on students’ curiosity to develop lasting grade-level understandings for all students.

Two pages from a New York math textbook on determining coordinates after a rotation. Includes sections on modeled review, guided practice, and teacher's notes, with diagrams and examples that amplify the learning experience.

Differentiation and intervention

Integrated resources like Mini-Lessons, Fluency Practice, and Math Adventures provide targeted intervention on a specific concept or skill connected to daily instruction. Extensions are also available to stretch students’ understanding.
Boost™ Personalized Learning activities help students access grade-level math through engaging, independent digital practice. Responsive Feedback™ adjusts to students’ work, providing item-level adaptivity to further support their learning.

Two pages from a New York math textbook on determining coordinates after a rotation. Includes sections on modeled review, guided practice, and teacher's notes, with diagrams and examples that amplify the learning experience.

An approach that supports teachers

Clear, step-by-step instructional moves help teachers plan and teach student-centered lessons that use student thinking to differentiate instruction and guide to grade-level understanding. They include:

  • Guidance on what to listen for and how to respond.
  • Clear learning objectives to keep learning on track for each activity and lesson.
  • Daily reinforcement activities to provide direct instruction when needed.

A structured approach to problem-based learning

Problem-based learning asks students to make sense of and think strategically about mathematically interesting problems. This approach allows students’ ideas to take
center stage, so they are active and engaged in their learning process. Teachers are able to hear and respond to student thinking in real time, guiding and differentiating instruction right in the moment.

Moving from “I do, We do, You do” to “You do, We do, I do”
Lessons begin by activating student’s prior knowledge and curiosity, inviting them to explore the math, collaborate, and refine their thinking. By focusing on developing student thinking first, teachers can better connect ideas, guide learning, and synthesize learning objectives.

Lessons that are rigorous and delightful

Every lesson in Amplify Desmos Math is designed to put students at the center of their learning. Utilizing research-based best practices, students engage in meaningful work based on rich problems and real-world experiences.

Two young girls build with colorful blocks at a table while an adult woman observes and assists them in a classroom setting.

Warm-Up

Lessons begin by inviting every student to contribute to the mathematical discussion. Instructional routines are often used to build fluency, set the context, activate prior knowledge, or highlight a strategy that may be helpful in the lesson. 

Rich learning activities

Math knowledge is built through experiences and meaningful interactions. Students notice, wonder, explore, calculate, predict, measure, explain their thinking, use math to settle disputes, create challenges for their classmates, and more. Teachers serve as a guide, using a Launch, Monitor, Connect framework:

  • Launch: Teachers offer a short introduction to the problem or challenge
  • Monitor: As students work individually, in pairs, or in groups, teachers ask questions and provide support to move student thinking closer to the intended math goal.
  • Connect: Teachers connect student ideas to the Key Takeaway of the activity to help students synthesize and solidify the big ideas.

Synthesis

Teachers ensure that students end the lesson with accurate and enduring understandings of the math goal through synthesis of student ideas, explicit instruction, and reflection.

A short Show What You Know assessment allows students to show what they know about the learning goals of the lesson and reveal what they are still learning.

Differentiation and practice

Lasting understanding requires reinforcement. Every lesson offers Lesson Practice instructional recommendations to Support, Strengthen, and Stretch learning.

Two side-by-side math activities for children: on the left, a caterpillar-themed block challenge, and on the right, a worksheet for finding pairs that sum to 10. These exercises are fantastic ways to amplify children's engagement with math concepts.

Print for every lesson with engaging digital experiences

Whether in print or digital form, engaging interactions enable students and teachers to openly exchange ideas. Each lesson includes student print materials, interactive teacher Presentation Screens, and digital resources for practice and differentiation. Some lessons also use manipulatives or provide options for students to use devices individually or in pairs. Device recommendations for student use are age-appropriate, with more frequent usage in middle and high school.

Demo access

Please login to the digital platform to experience our full program as part of your review. In order to access the digital platform, you’ll need to log into using your unique login credentials below.

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Click “Log in with Amplify.”
  • Enter the username and password:
    • Username:
    • Password:
  • View the video for helpful platform navigation tips.
Digital Access

Assessments

By starting with what students already know, Amplify Desmos Math helps build a strong foundation for success to guide and support future learning. Teachers are empowered to transform every classroom into an engaged math community that invites, values, and develops student thinking. With explicit guidance on what to look for and how to respond, teachers can effectively support students as they develop their understanding.

Open math workbook showing an End-of-Unit Assessment with multiple-choice and written response questions on fractions and equivalent values.

Program assessments

A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math provides evidence of student learning while helping students bolster their skills and understanding.

Unit-Level Assessments

Our embedded unit assessments offer key insights into students’ conceptual understanding of math. These assessments provide regular, actionable information about how students are thinking about and processing math, with both auto-scoring and in-depth rubrics that help teachers anticipate and respond to students’ learning needs.

Lesson-Level Assessments

Amplify Desmos Math lessons are centered around sense-making and in-the-moment feedback. Daily moments of assessment provide valuable evidence of learning for both the teacher and student.

Learn more

Data and reporting

Amplify Desmos Math provides teachers and administrators with unified reporting and insights so that educators have visibility into what students know about grade-level math—and can plan instruction accordingly for the whole class, small groups, and individual students.

A table displays students' performance levels across various items, with a detailed score distribution for a specific assessment shown in a separate overlay. Geometric design elements accented the background, providing an engaging visual touch ideal for any math classroom using Amplify Desmos Math.

Assessment reports

Reporting functionality integrates unit assessments, lesson assessments, personalized learning, Benchmark assessments, and Progress Monitoring for a comprehensive look at student learning.

Our reports show proficiency and growth by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concept using performance data from unit assessments. Then our reports highlight areas of potential student need to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

At-a-glance views of unit-level assessment results inform your instructional planning, and you can also drill down to item-level analysis.

Standards reports

Our standards report allows you to monitor proficiency at the class and individual student levels. Proficiency and growth are shown by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concepts. Areas of potential student need are highlighted to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

Administrator reports

Amplify Desmos Math provides a complete picture of student, class, and district performance, allowing administrators to implement instructional and intervention plans.

  • Track student, class, and district performance with usage, completion, and assessment data.
  • Accurately group students and classes with the Benchmark and Progress Monitoring data of mCLASS Assessments and allow teachers to reliably implement and track the progress of Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention.
  • Provide one data-driven solution that educators can rely on for high-quality math instruction.

Differentiation and intervention

Amplify Desmos Math views differentiation as an ongoing process where teachers are both reactive and proactive to student needs, ensuring that all students have clear pathways to proficiency. Through rich data and teacher support, Amplify Desmos Math uses flexible categories of intervention and enrichment that adjust daily according to student thinking.

In-the-moment differentiation supports are available for every lesson, both digitally and in the print Teacher Edition.

Learn more
A teacher sits at a table with two students, using small objects and a workbook to provide individualized instruction during a Boost Math lesson in a classroom with large windows.
A table showing differentiation teacher moves with examples of representing groups in different ways, support prompts, and a stretch question about patterns with more teams.

In-lesson differentiation

Within every lesson activity, teachers can use the suggestions in the Differentiation Teacher Moves table to provide in-the-moment instructional support while students are engaged in the work of the lesson. This table can help teachers anticipate the ways students may approach the activity, and provides prompts that they can use during the lesson to Support, Strengthen, and Stretch individual students in their thinking. Teachers are provided with clear student actions and understanding to look for, each matched with immediately usable suggestions for how to respond to the student thinking illustrated in each row of the table. In addition to using these suggestions in the moment as teachers monitor student work, teachers can review the Differentiation table in advance to help them anticipate how students are likely to approach the activity.

Differentiation: Beyond the Lesson

Teachers are provided with recommendations for resources to use with each group of students needing support, strengthening, and stretching after each lesson. Support, Strengthen, and Stretch resources include:

  • Mini-Lessons: 15-minute, small-group direct instruction lessons targeted to a specific concept or skill
  • Item Banks: Space for teachers to create practice and assessments by using filters and searching for standards, summative-style items, and more
  • Fluency Practice: Adaptive, personalized practice built out for basic operations and more
  • Centers (K–5): Lesson-embedded routines and practice for students that are vertically aligned across grade levels
  • Extensions: Lesson-embedded Teacher Moves including possible stretch questions and activities for students
  • Lesson Practice: Additional practice problems support every lesson
  • Math Adventures: Strategy-based math games where students engage with math concepts and practice skills in a fun digital environment
Two pages from a math workbook on determining coordinates after a rotation, with diagrams, problem sets, and instructional text, displayed on a yellow and gray background.
A classroom teaching guide displays strategies for discussing pre-image and image in math, goals for a parallelogram lesson, and tips for supporting multilingual learners.

Multilingual/English Learner supports

Supports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentiSupports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentional points within each lesson. These suggested supports are specific, targeted actions that are beneficial for ML/ELs. They often describe a modification to increase access to the task or provide support with contextual or mathematical language development that can often be helpful to all learners. ML/EL supports may also be attached to Math Language Routines.onal points within each lesson. These suggested supports are specific, targeted actions that are beneficial for ML/ELs. They often describe a modification to increase access to the task or provide support with contextual or mathematical language development that can often be helpful to all learners. ML/EL supports may also be attached to Math Language Routines.

Math Language Development

Every lesson in Amplify Desmos Math includes opportunities for all students to develop mathematical language as they experience the content. Amplify Desmos Math purposefully progresses language development from lesson to lesson and across units by supporting students in making their arguments and explanations stronger, clearer, and more precise. This systematic approach to the development of math language can be broken down into the following four categories of support:

  • Vocabulary: Units and lessons start by surfacing students’ language for new concepts, then building connections between their language and the new vocabulary for that unit.
  • Language goals: Language goals attend to the mathematics students are learning, and are written through the lens of one or more of four language modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
  • Math Language Routines: Math Language Routines are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote meta-cognition.
  • Multilingual/English learner supports: Supports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentional points within each lesson.
Two girls sit at a table with open books, one making hand gestures while smiling, the other looking at her and giving a thumbs up. Behind them are shelves filled with books, capturing the lively atmosphere of a math classroom.
Digital educational material showing an activity named "Hamster Homes" involving tube length and platform heights for a hamster cage. Includes a diagram with platforms measuring 9 inches.

K-5 sample materials

Click the links in the drop-down sections below to explore sample materials from each grade. For a full program review, please login to the digital platform or request physical samples.

For helpful navigation tips and more program information, download the Amplify Desmos Math Program Guide.

You can also watch a product expert walk through a lesson and the available program components.

Cover of Amplify Desmos Math Grade K Teacher Edition featuring three children playing with math-related objects and a group of rabbits sitting nearby, aligning with the engaging curriculum seen in New York math classrooms.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 2, Sub-Unit 2: Counting and Comparing Images.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Student Edition Kindergarten," featuring an illustration of three children playing with math-related toys. A group of small white animals, possibly hamsters, play nearby. The scene brilliantly captures the joy of New York math exploration for young learners.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 2, Sub-Unit 2: Counting and Comparing Images.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math Grade K Centers Resources" featuring a large, stylized red and pink "C" on a light pink background with simple geometric designs. This distinctive cover complements New York math curriculums with its engaging visual elements.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A digital activity screen, crafted in the style of Amplify Desmos Math, shows two paths with different quantities of mushrooms. The user is prompted to choose the path with more mushrooms. A bear is on the left side of the screen.

In this lesson, students apply their understanding of how to compare groups of images as they determine which group has more or fewer and then compare their strategies by guiding a bear through a path that has more mushrooms than the other.

Children interact with math activities on a large tablet while observing fish illustrations. The text reads "Amplify Desmos Math Grade 1 Teacher Edition, aligned with New York Math standards.

Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting Within 10.

Illustration of three children engaged in math activities from the "Amplify Desmos Math: Student Edition 1" textbook. One child holds a number card, while the others manipulate counters and images, experiencing an exciting approach inspired by New York math techniques.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting Within 10.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math Centers Resources" for Grade 1, featuring a yellow and white 3D letter "C" on a light background.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

An educational game screen, inspired by New York math standards, shows a subtraction problem, "4 - 1," with a frog moving along numbered lily pads to reveal the answer "3.

In this lesson, students find differences when subtracting 1 and 2 from the same number by helping a frog reach a lily pad where it can eat a bug.

Cover of the "Amplify Desmos Math" Grade 2 Teacher Edition, showcasing children measuring with rulers and a poster displaying a mathematical equation, set against whimsical scenery with a colorful dragon. Perfect for New York math classrooms.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you review the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math Student Edition 2" showing three children performing a New York math activity with blocks and measurements.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 1: Adding and Subtracting.

Cover of an educational book titled "Amplify Desmos Math Grade 2 Centers Resources" featuring a green "C" on a light green background, perfect for enhancing New York math education.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

An educational activity where users must select the block with the correct number to make a total of 10 using the given block numbers. The UI, inspired by New York math standards, features a caterpillar and two tree stumps to amplify engagement with Desmos Math tools.

Students continue to develop fluency by finding the number that makes 10 by helping a millipede reach its favorite food – a clump of leaves!

Cover of a "Grade 3 Amplify Desmos Math Teacher Edition" book, featuring a cutaway building with diverse students and a teacher working on New York math problems and organizing materials.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you review the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 3: Data on Scaled Graphs.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math Student Edition 3" showcasing illustrated children engaged in various mathematical activities inside a glass house structure, reflecting the dynamic energy of New York math.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 3: Data on Scaled Graphs.

Cover of the Amplify Desmos Math Grade 3 Centers Resources book, featuring a 3D letter "C" in blue and white on a minimalistic background, perfect for aligning with New York math standards.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A page titled "Activity 2" features a table showing counts of rabbits, raccoons, and foxes, an image of animal stickers, and a bar graph representing the number of each animal, designed to amplify your New York math lesson with engaging visual data.

Students compare data represented on bar graphs with different scales by using animal stickers to create scaled bar graphs.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Teacher Edition Grade 4" showing children learning New York Math outdoors, using large mathematical tools and numbers, with one child in a wheelchair.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you review the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 2: Using Factors and Multiples.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Teacher Edition Grade 4" showing children learning New York Math outdoors, using large mathematical tools and numbers, with one child in a wheelchair.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 2: Using Factors and Multiples.

Cover of the "Amplify Desmos Math" Grade 4 Centers Resources book, featuring a large, stylized blue letter "C" on a light blue background. This essential resource for New York math educators ensures engaging and effective instruction.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

Interactive educational activity asking users to determine platform heights using a 3-inch tube. The interface, inspired by Desmos math tools, features a dragging function and feedback system with a checkbox and "Try another" option, amplifying the learning experience.

Students choose tube lengths to connect to platform heights for hamster homes, identifying possible heights using what they know about multiples.

Illustration of three students engaging with various math activities outdoors and around large blocks. Text at the top reads "Amplify Desmos Math, Grade 5, Teacher Edition" - a perfect resource for New York math educators.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you review the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 3: Volume of Solid Figures.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Student Edition, Grade 5" featuring students engaged in various mathematical activities outside, such as block building, measuring, and gardening—a perfect resource aligning with New York math standards.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 1, Sub-Unit 3: Volume of Solid Figures.

Cover image of "Amplify Desmos Math Grade 5 Centers Resources" featuring a large purple letter C on a light purple background, showcasing the innovative approach of Amplify Desmos Math that's making waves in New York math education.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Centers Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

An interactive screen showing an activity about decomposing a figure into prisms, with a touch of Desmos Math integration. The user is asked to drag points to demonstrate the decomposition. Two prism illustrations are displayed, offering a glimpse of New York Math's approach.

Students decompose a figure into rectangular prisms and determine the volume of the figure by adding the volumes of the individual prisms.

6-A1 sample materials

Click the links in the drop-down sections below to explore sample materials from each grade. For a full program review, please login to the digital platform or request physical samples. 

For helpful navigation tips and more program information, download the Amplify Desmos Math Program Guide.

You can also watch a product expert walk through a lesson and the available program components.

A laptop displays a math warm-up activity with shapes and a scale, in front of two Amplify Desmos Math teacher edition books for grades 1 and 7.
Cover of the Grade 6 Amplify Desmos Math Teacher Edition, showcasing students engaging in various mathematical activities around a balance scale with variables, inspired by New York math educational standards.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 1: Solving Equations.

Cover of “Amplify Desmos Math, Student Edition, Grade 6” featuring an illustration of children engaging in various New York math-related activities outdoors.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 1: Solving Equations.

Cover image of "Amplify Desmos Math" for Grade 6, featuring a 3D pink letter "I" and the text "Intervention and Extension Resources." This New York math edition supports students with comprehensive resources.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A digital math activity shows foxes on a seesaw balanced with 18-pound weights. A multiple-choice question and text box ask for the weight of a fox in pounds.

Students use equations and tape diagrams to represent seesaw situations and to determine unknown animal weights, helping them make connections between diagrams that represent equations of the form `x+p=q` or `px=q`.

Cover image of "Amplify Desmos Math Teacher Edition Grade 7" featuring an illustration of students engaging in math-related activities with geometric shapes and construction elements against a New York cityscape background.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 3: Inequalities.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math, Student Edition, Grade 7" showing students engaged in math activities against a cityscape reminiscent of New York, with purple geometric structures and a crane in the background.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 3: Inequalities.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Grade 7 – Intervention and Extension Resources" featuring a stylized 3D "I" on a light purple background, ideal for both New York math and national curricula.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A digital math activity screen shows a character above a number line and a box with the inequality "x > -10" entered. A cursor points to the "Edit my response" button.

Students solve inequalities with positive and negative coefficients to solve a variety of challenges featuring a fictional sheep who eats grass according to an inequality.

Illustration of children engaging in learning activities outdoors near a large slide. The title "Amplify Desmos Math Grade 8 Teacher Edition" is shown at the top, highlighting its relevance to New York math curriculum standards.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 2: Analyzing Numerical Data.

Cover of the "Amplify Desmos Math" Student Edition for Grade 8, featuring students engaging in various mathematical activities in a stylized outdoor New York setting.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from a complete sub-unit on this site: Unit 6, Sub-Unit 2: Analyzing Numerical Data.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math Grade 8: Intervention and Extension Resources" featuring a stylized "I" on a gray background, tailored for New York math standards.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A graph plots four robot colors by height and eye distance; on the right, matching colored robots stand side by side, labeled Red, Purple, Blue, and Green.

Students connect points on a scatter plot with individuals in a population and rows of data in a table. The analysis of scatter plots continues with data about the eye distances and heights of robots.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math: Algebra 1, Teacher Edition" featuring diverse characters engaged in mathematical activities, with a graph and a bridge in the background, illustrating the vibrant energy of New York math.

Teacher Edition

Planning and instructional guidance is visual, organized, and easy-to-follow. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from two complete sub-units on this site: Unit 2, Sub-Units 1–2: One-Variable Equations and Multi-Variable Equations.

Cover of "Amplify Desmos Math" Student Edition A1, featuring an illustration of diverse characters engaging in New York math activities against a backdrop of graphs and mathematical concepts.

Student Edition

Motivate students with mathematics that is both rigorous and delightful. To help you preview the program, we have included samples from two complete sub-units on this site: Unit 2, Sub-Units 1–2: One-Variable Equations and Multi-Variable Equations.

Cover of an Amplify Desmos Math Algebra 1 ancillary sampler, featuring students interacting with graphs and mathematical models, including a rocket and a parabola.

Ancillary sampler

Included in the ancillary sampler are examples from the program Assessment Resources, Intervention and Extension Resources, Additional Practice, and Math Language Development Resources.

A math activity screen shows a cartoon snail, purple blocks, and a table comparing blocks and a math equation; a cursor hovers over the "Edit my response" button.

Students represent the solutions of a situation using a table, a graph, and multiple forms of an equation to identify multiple combinations of blocks that can help Shelley the Snail cross a gap.

Welcome to your Amplify Desmos Math Pilot!

We’re thrilled to welcome you to the Amplify family, and we look forward to making your experience with Amplify Desmos Math 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 man in a plaid shirt sits at a desk with a laptop and a pencil holder, with educational posters and drawings on the wall behind him.

Tips for getting started

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 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.

As you get comfortable with the organization of each unit and the ways one lesson flows into the next, you’ll find the following resources helpful.

Helpful links for getting started

Topic

Description

Link

Introduction to the program

Getting to know Amplify Desmos Math

Program Overview brochure
K–5 Lesson Walkthrough (video)
6–A1 Lesson Walkthrough (video) 
Lesson structure (K–1, 2–5, 6–A1)

Accessing Amplify Classroom

Logging in and navigating the platform

Accessing Amplify Desmos Math (video)
Educator Home navigation

Preparing to teach a lesson

Manipulatives (kits and virtual) and Centers Kits

Exploring ready-to-go Centers materials and unleashing your creativity with the world’s best manipulatives

Materials and classroom setup
Unboxing your Centers Kits (K–5)
Exploring Polypad Virtual Manipulatives

How to use the Teacher Dashboard

Getting started with and using the Teacher Dashboard

Using the Teacher Dashboard
Try It: Teacher Dashboard

Advanced topics: Snapshots, Students uploading images, Giving students feedback, Companion and Projector Mode, Sketch Everywhere tool

Fluency Practice

A learner’s guide for using our adaptive digital fluency resource

Getting started with Fluency Practice
Accessing Fluency Practice

Assessments

Guidance for understanding assessment resources

Assessment overview
Admin reports
mCLASS®Beginning-of-Year Screener (video)

Differentiation and practice

Resources available to support student learning

Differentiation and practice

Support resources you may want to use during your pilot

Resource

Description

Link

Help articles and PD videos

Access articles, videos, and step-by-step guides to help answer your questions and guide you through your Amplify Desmos Math implementation. See Amplify Desmos Math in action in real classrooms.

Help Articles support page
Amplify Desmos Math PD Library

Unit Zero (K–5)

Get teachers and students familiar with the routines and structure of Amplify Desmos Math. Unit Zero is a set of five optional lessons and resources designed to support the first five days before Unit 1.

Unit Zero overview

In each grade-level collection on learning.amplify.com before Unit 1

Caregiver Hub

Get families involved in the process of learning math by sharing the link to our Caregiver Hub in your home communications, offering access to subunit summaries and practice.

amplify.com/caregiver-hub/

In-the-moment instructional suggestions

Answer questions that frequently arise when teachers shift to a problem-based approach, with these cards that include tips on how to respond to common challenges while teaching.

Instructional support cards

The Five Instructional Shifts of Problem-Based Learning

Read this ebook describing what the five main shifts look and feel like as you infuse a more student-centered approach into your math instruction.

Ebook

Instructional and math language routine cards

Use routines to create a powerful, practical force for establishing a classroom learning community and engaging students in conversations during math. Facilitation guides and routine cards provide instructions for routines you can use in your math classroom.

Facilitation guides for routines in Amplify Desmos Math

K–5 routines cards
6–A1 routines cards

Infusing Problem-Based Learning Into Math Classrooms

A quick guide to starting the shift to problem-based learning, this ebook includes a host of resources from the Amplify math Symposium and the Math Teacher Lounge Podcast.

Ebook

Making the Shift to Problem-Based Learning

In this ebook, we’ll go through what problem-based learning is, why it’s becoming so critical to math instruction, and how to start making the shift with a form of professional learning: Learning Labs.

Ebook

Asset-Based Assessment

This ebook summarizes what asset-based assessment is and how it benefits students.

Ebook
A man with short dark hair wearing a white shirt is smiling at the camera, with yellow geometric shapes in the background.

Want to learn more from Amplify experts?

Amplify offers a wide variety of learning opportunities outside our pilot meeting times: 

Our math webinar library hosts all our past sessions.

Our Events page is where you can search for and register to attend upcoming math webinars.

The Amplify Blog is a great resource for helpful articles and research-based information.

What’s included

Along with compelling print materials, powerful digital resources, and more hands-on materials than any other program, Amplify Science California also includes engaging and realistic experiences, access to diverse role models, countless a-ha moments, and the inspiration and confidence to consider a future as a scientist or engineer.

Choose level

K–56–8

Year at a glance

Amplify Science California is organized around units where students explore compelling phenomena and real-world problems, develop and strengthen claims by collecting evidence and testing assumptions, and apply their learning in new contexts.

Educational curriculum chart showcasing a progression of amplify science lessons from kindergarten to grade 5, categorized by grade and subject areas like plants, animals, weather, and energy.

Units at a glance

In each Amplify Science California unit, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to investigate a real-world problem. These problems provide relevant, 21st-century contexts through which students investigate different scientific phenomena.

An illustration from Needs of Plants and Animals unit

1

Needs of Plants and Animals

Students take on the role of scientists in order to figure out why there have been no monarch caterpillars in the community garden since vegetables were planted. They investigate how plants and animals get what they need to live and grow, and make a new plan for the community garden that provides for the needs of the monarch caterpillars in addition to producing vegetables for humans.

An illustration from the Pushes and Pulls unit

2

Pushes and Pulls

Students take on the role of pinball machine engineers as they investigate the effects of forces on the motion of an object. They conduct tests in their own prototypes (models) of a pinball machine and use what they learn to contribute to the design of a class pinball machine. Over the course of the unit, students construct a foundational understanding of why things move in different ways.

Silueta de una estructura de parque infantil contra un cielo azul con nubes y tres soles amarillos.

3

Sunlight and Weather

The principals of Woodland Elementary and Carver Elementary need student weather scientists to help them explain why Woodland’s playground is warmer than Carver’s at recess. Students gather data from models of the sun and Earth’s surface and observe their own playgrounds to figure out how sunlight causes changes in the temperatures of different surfaces. Students then use models to figure out why Woodland’s playground sometimes floods.

Illustration of sea turtles swimming among seaweed in the ocean, with a large shark in the background.

1

Animal and Plant Defenses

Students play the role of marine scientists. In their role, students apply their understanding of plant and animal defense structures to explain to aquarium visitors how a sea turtle and her offspring can defend themselves from ocean predators when they are released into the wild.

Dos manos sosteniendo un papel con un dibujo de pirámide y árbol, iluminado por una linterna, proyectando otra sombra de la imagen en la pared.

2

Light and Sound

Students take on the role of light and sound engineers for a puppet show company as they investigate cause and effect relationships to learn about the nature of light and sound. They apply what they learn to design shadow scenery and sound effects for a puppet show.

An illustration from the Spinning Earth unit

3

Spinning Earth

As sky scientists, students explain why a boy living in a place near them sees different things in the sky than his grandma does when he talks to her on the phone. Students record, organize, and analyze observations of the sun and other sky objects as they look for patterns and make sense of the cycle of daytime and nighttime.

An elephant standing next to a tree uses its trunk to pick a fruit from a branch while more fruit hangs above.

1

Plant and Animal Relationships

In their role as plant scientists, students work to figure out why there are no new chalta trees growing in the Bengal Tiger Reserve, which is part of a broadleaf forest. Students investigate what the chalta tree needs to survive, then collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to solve the mystery.

A hand holds a red bean on a table, while a wooden stick spreads white glue and scattered beans. Also on the table are a white cup and a yellow pen.

2

Properties of Materials

As glue engineers, students are challenged to create a glue for use at their school that meets a set of design goals. Students present an evidence-based argument for why their glue mixture will be good for their school to use.

Ilustración de una costa con acantilados, un edificio de centro recreativo con un techo rojo y un letrero, árboles de hoja perenne, una bandera azul y una playa de arena debajo.

3

Changing Landforms

The director of the Oceanside Recreation Center gets a scare when a nearby cliff collapses overnight. Research reveals that the distance between the Recreation Center’s flagpole and the edge of the cliff have changed over time. Students play the role of geologists and work to figure out why the cliff has changed over time. Based on what they learn about erosion, they advise on whether it is safe to keep the center open even though the cliff is changing.

An illustration from the Balancing Forces unit

1

Balancing Forces

People in Faraday are excited to hear that a new train service will be built for their city, but concerned when they hear that it will be a floating train. Students are challenged to figure out how a floating train works in order to explain it to the citizens of Faraday. They develop models of how the train rises, floats, and then falls back to the track, and then write an explanation of how the train works.

An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit

2

Inheritance and Traits

Students play the role of wildlife biologists working in Greystone National Park. They study two wolf packs and are challenged to figure out why an adopted wolf (“Wolf 44”) in one of the packs has certain traits. Students observe variation between and within different species, investigate inherited traits and those that result from the environment, and explain the origin of several of the adopted wolf’s traits.

An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit

3

Environments and Survival

In their role as biomimicry engineers, students work to figure out how the traits of grove snails affect their survival in different environments. They then explore how the traits of different organisms make them more likely or less likely to survive, collecting and interpreting data to understand how organisms’ traits affect their survival in different environments. Students then apply their understanding to a new challenge: designing effective solutions for the removal of invasive plants.

An illustration from the Weather and Climate unit

4

Weather and Climate

In their role as meteorologists, students gather evidence to decide where to build an orangutan reserve by analyzing patterns in weather data. After choosing the strongest evidence, students use data to make arguments about which of three fictional islands has weather most like that of orangutans’ existing habitats, Borneo and Sumatra. They then discern patterns in the locations of natural hazards in order to figure out which ones the Wildlife Protection Organization must prepare for.

An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit

1

Energy Conversions

Students take on the role of systems engineers for Ergstown, a fictional town that experiences frequent blackouts, and explore reasons why an electrical system can fail. Students apply what they learned as they choose new energy sources and energy converters for the town, then write arguments for why their design choices will make the town’s electrical system more reliable.

An illustration from the Vision and Light unit

2

Inheritance and Traits

As conservation biologists, students work to figure out why a population of Tokay geckos has decreased since the installation of new highway lights in the rainforest. Students use their understanding of vision, light, and information processing to figure out why an increase in light in the geckos’ habitat is affecting the population.

An illustration from the Earth's Features unit

3

Environments and Survival

Playing the role of geologists, students help the director of Desert Rocks National Park explain how and when a particular fossil formed and how it came to be in its current location. Students figure out what the environment of the park was like in the past and why it has so many visible rock layers.

An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit

4

Weather and Climate

In their role as marine scientists, students work to figure out how mother dolphins communicate with their calves. They write a series of scientific explanations with diagrams to demonstrate their growing understanding of how sound waves travel. Then they apply what they’ve learned about waves, energy, and patterns in communication to figure out how to create patterns that can communicate information over distances.

An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit

1

Patterns of Earth and Sky

Playing the role of astronomers, students help a team of archaeologists figure out what the missing piece of a recently discovered artifact might have depicted. As they learn about the sun and other stars and the movement of Earth, students can explain what is shown on the artifact and what might be on the missing piece.

An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit

2

Modeling Matter

In their role as food scientists at a fictional company, students are introduced to the idea that all matter is made of particles too small to see, and that each different substance is made of particles (molecules) that are unique. They are then challenged to solve two problems: one requires them to separate a mixture, and the other requires them to make unmixable substances mix. Students are challenged to use the particulate model of matter to explain their work to the CEO of the company.

An illustration from the Earth System unit

3

The Earth System

The cities of East Ferris and West Ferris are located on different sides of a mountain on the fictional Ferris Island. East Ferris is having a water shortage while West Ferris is not. As water resource engineers, students learn about the Earth system to help figure out what is causing the water shortage problem and design possible solutions, including freshwater collection systems and proposals for using chemical reactions to treat wastewater.

An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit

4

Ecosystem Restoration

As ecologists, students work to figure out why the organisms in a part of a Costa Rican rainforest ecosystem aren’t growing and thriving. As they solve this problem, students learn more generally how organisms in an ecosystem get the matter and energy they need to survive, and then write a series of restoration plans that include arguments about why the rainforest ecosystem is not thriving and recommend actions to restore its health.

Print & digital components

Amplify Science California includes instructional guidance and student materials in English and Spanish for a year of instruction, with lessons and activities that keep students engaged every day.

Component

FORMAT

NEW! Classroom Slides

Meet your new hands-free TG! 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.

Digital

Most adopted curriculum for the NGSS California

Teacher’s Reference Guide

Available digitally and in print, this unit-specific reference guide includes scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, and tips for delivering instruction and differentiating learning.

Print and digital

Two digital devices displaying educational content, one a tablet showing a green-themed start page, and the other a laptop depicting various science chapters.

Hands-on materials kits

Each unit-specific kit contains consumable and nonconsumable materials for use during hands-on investigations. In each kit you will find:

  • Hands-on materials
  • 18 copies of each of the Student Books
  • Big books (grades K–1)
  • Classroom display materials
  • One Student Investigation Notebook

Kit

Amplify Science California supports 3-D learning with more materials than any other program.

NGSS Benchmark Assessments

Delivered four times per year in grades 3–5 and three times per year in grades 6–8, our benchmark assessments report on students’ facility with each of the grade-level appropriate DCIs, SEPs, CCCs, and performance expectations of the California NGSS.

And now, Amplify Science California users can choose to administer the NGSS Benchmark Assessments (grades 3–8) through their Illuminate assessment platform.

*Also available in Spanish

Digital

An open laptop displaying a website with a quiz question about geographical changes over time, featuring a series of island maps from different years.

Component

FORMAT

Student Investigation Notebooks

Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

*Also available in Spanish

Print and digital

Two educational books titled "amplifyscience," one in spanish and one in english, featuring illustrations of desert canyon landscapes on the covers.

Big books (grades K–1)

Amplify Science California never asks our youngest readers to read alone. Rather, we provide scaffolded literacy experiences every step of the way. With our large-format big books, introducing and revisiting concepts though read-aloud and shared reading experiences is a breeze.

*Also available in Spanish

Print

Two hardcover books titled "maravillas rocas" and "rocky wonders" by amplify science, lying open, showing a continuous desert rock formation across both covers.

Simulations and practice tools (grades 2+)

Developed exclusively for the Amplify Science California program, these serve as venues for exploration and data collection, allowing students to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.

*Spanish versions coming soon

Digital

A computer screen displays an educational website titled "Earth's Features" with chapters and illustrations of canyons; a printed teacher’s guide is shown beside it.

Explore more programs

Our programs are designed to support and complement one another. Learn more about our related programs.

See all programs

Connecticut K-5 ELA: Explore Amplify CKLA (English) and Caminos (Spanish)

Thank you for visiting Amplify’s Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Caminos website designed exclusively for you. We are very excited for you to further explore Amplify CKLA and Amplify Caminos and discover more about our proven, phonics-based literacy programs in English and Spanish.  Begin your journey with the Introduction below and explore Amplify CKLA and Caminos.

Introduction

We are excited for you to see how Amplify CKLA and Amplify Caminos provide parallel, high-quality resources in both English and Spanish for all students and multilingual learners across NYC! Both programs are flexible, offering stand-alone foundational skills instruction as well as comprehensive core English Language Arts.

Amplify CKLA Skills and Caminos Lectoescritura are entirely built on the latest reading science and provide comprehensive instruction in all foundational reading skills. These programs feature:

  • Phonological awareness, phonics, and word recognition
  • Strong, systematic sound-first instruction to support students in learning to decode
  • Language skills, including conventions, spelling, and grammar
  • Reading comprehension
  • Writing instruction

CKLA and Caminos for grades K–2 provides a two-strand approach – the first strand is the Foundational Skills Strand (as described above) and the second is the Knowledge Strand, in which students build rich background knowledge through multidisciplinary Read-Alouds in both English and Spanish. Additionally, in Grades 3-5, CKLA and Caminos take an Integrated Approach, meaning everything is focused on rich worldly context. 

We highly encourage you to check out the Grades K-2 Knowledge Strand section of the website and the 3-5 Integrated Approach section to explore these components further, gain access to the engaging, worldly, and diverse texts students and teachers are using in their classrooms daily, and discover so much more!

Access the program

Every day in the CKLA/Caminos classroom, students will practice their existing reading skills while stretching themselves toward new goals. In K–2, each day includes dedicated skills time to help you give students a solid foundation. In the upper grades, skills instruction becomes integrated with Knowledge lessons, and students engage with increasingly complex content-rich texts and writing activities.

Start with the sound

All instruction starts with phonological awareness, which research has shown to benefit the greatest number of students.

Students begin by learning to recognize sounds, as well as to articulate them.

Build to the phoneme

All instruction starts with phonological awareness, which research has shown to benefit the greatest number of students. Students begin by learning to recognize sounds, as well as to articulate them.

Crack the code

Once students can recognize sounds, they learn to form the corresponding letter codes. CKLA starts by teaching the sound-spellings that appear most frequently in English, which lets your students read and write as many words as possible, as soon as possible.

Grow in complexity

The lessons continue to challenge students as they progress, introducing complications like multisyllabic words, “tricky words,” and homophones. In each case, students encounter complications as they become ready for them.

While students are learning how to read, Knowledge Domains give them authentic and engaging reasons to read. Students will use their skills to explore domains that relate to storytelling, science, and the history of our world as seen through the eyes of many different groups. With these domains, you’ll bring the world to your students, showing them how reading can become an exciting, rewarding, and useful part of their lives.

Build connections and context

Each CKLA/Caminos Knowledge Domain gives students a base of vocabulary and concepts, building on what they’ve learned in previous domains. This helps students make connections within and across grades, building a base of background knowledge that will help them navigate new and more complex texts.

Listen and understand

Students learn to listen and understand before they learn to read. By delivering knowledge through classroom Read-Alouds, we teach students the key comprehension skills they’ll use throughout their reading lives.

Emphasis on interactivity

We emphasize interactions with students, challenging them and encouraging them to think about the material rather than simply receive it. Each lesson includes many options for formative assessment and immediate adjustment to your class’s needs.

Assess what’s important

End-of-domain digital assessments for Knowledge Domains are fully voice acted, ensuring that each student’s comprehension skills are being authentically tested. This not only helps build student test-taking confidence, but also gives you a more accurate picture of your class.

Step 1: Watch this video walkthrough of the CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource Site.

Step 2: Explore the Teacher Resource Site.

  • Click the CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter your teacher username: t.nyc-ckla-caminosK2@tryamplify.net
  • Enter your password: AmplifyNumber1
  • Toggle to access either English and Spanish
Access CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource Site

Step 3: Watch this video walkthrough of the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub.

Step 4: Explore the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub for Grades K-2.

  • Click the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter your student username: s.nyc-ckla-caminosK2@tryamplify.net
  • Enter your password: AmplifyNumber1
  • Select a grade level.
Access CKLA/Caminos Student Hub

By grades 3–5, students have mastered the basics of decoding and are hungry to use what they’ve learned to reach out to the world. Although Read-Alouds remain an important part of lessons, students are also encouraged to practice independent reading starting in grade 3—striking a balance between strong teacher support and developing their autonomy and confidence as readers.

Writing and Language

As students progress from K–2, writing activities start to emphasize analysis, creativity, and independent thinking about the material students are learning.

Core Quests: Transforming the classroom

Each of the levels in grades 3–5 contains a Core Quest. In these special
units, all the normal rules of the classroom change, and students engage
with language in surprising new ways. Here in this grade 5 example, they
learn to love the dense Shakespearian language of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream through imagery, close reading, and performance.

Step 1: Watch this video walkthrough of the CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource Site.

Step 2: Explore the CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource Site for Grades 3-5.

  • Click the CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter your teacher username: t.nyc-ckla-caminos35@tryamplify.net
  • Enter your password: AmplifyNumber1
  • Toggle to access either English and Spanish
Access CKLA/Caminos Teacher Resource Site

Step 3: Watch this video walkthrough of the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub.

Step 4: Explore the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub for Grades 3-5.

  • Click the CKLA/Caminos Student Hub button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter your student username: s.nyc-ckla-caminos35@tryamplify.net
  • Enter your password: AmplifyNumber1
  • Select a grade level.
Access CKLA/Caminos Student Hub

Key program features

The student body of our country has been changing, and it’s changing fast. Over 10% K-12 students are english language learners who speak other languages. This skews heavily to primary grades with 15-16% in grades K-3.  In 2021-2022, New York City Public Schools enrolled over 147,000 English language learners across K-12 or about 14% of students.  Over 52% of those students are in elementary schools across the district with 23% in grades K-3. 

Amplify Caminos uses spiral learning to reinforce every student’s ability to develop skills like reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Spanish that can be transferred to English. As students engage with their lessons, they explore the similarities and differences in grammar, vocabulary, writing, and language use between Spanish and English. This bridge helps students learning two languages to strengthen their knowledge in both. 

Through cross-curricular content, students explore units that relate to storytelling, science, and the history of our world in a holistic and thoughtful way. With these units, you’ll bring the world to your students, showing them how reading can become an exciting, rewarding, and useful part of their lives.

Amplify Caminos al Conocimiento Esencial, a Spanish language arts program for Grades K–5 that will inspire and engage your students to become confident readers, writers, and thinkers.

It is designed to support any biliteracy model, including English as a Second Language (ESL), transitional bilingual programs, dual language strands, and Spanish immersion programs.

When used in tandem with Amplify CKLA, Amplify Caminos provides an one-to-one English and Spanish solution.

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in grades K–2 with an integrated approach to explicit instruction in grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading Toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great decoding skills. By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen.

Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Decodable books and student readers with ebook and audiobook versions that feature engaging plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.
  • An interactive Vocab App featuring engaging activities with immediate feedback and automated, customized instruction based on student performance.

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves.

Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive read-alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.
  • Social and emotional learning paired with lessons in civic responsibility.

From the printed page to the screen, we bring foundational skills and knowledge of the world to your young learners, and make the transition from classroom to home learning seamless.

Download the Amplify CKLA Components Guide to see components by grade.

Additional materials to support your review

Inspiring the next generation of Rochester scientists, engineers, and curious scholars

Dear Rochester educator,

We’re extremely excited to be part of your science review process.

Built from the ground up for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning, Amplify Science helps your Rochester scholars go from learning about to figuring out scientific concepts.

Explore the sections below and learn how Amplify creates rigorous, relevant learning experiences for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and curious citizens.

—Jennifer Fosegan, Rochester Senior Account Executive

Standards-based and grounded in research

Amplify Science is an engaging new core curriculum designed for three-dimensional, phenomena-based learning. Developed by the science education experts at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science and the digital learning team at Amplify, our program is used by hundreds of schools across the country, including New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and Denver Public Schools.

Amplify Science was designed from the ground up to meet the Next Generation Science Standards. To ensure alignment to the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS), our partners at the New York City Department of Education created additional resources that can be made available for RCSD to implement.

Instructional model

The Amplify Science program is rooted in the proven, research-based pedagogy of Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize. Here’s how each element works:

Phenomena-based approach

In each Amplify Science unit, students take on the roles of scientists or engineers in order to investigate a real-world problem. Students work to define the problem and collect and make sense of evidence. Once the context is clear, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities.

At the end of the unit, students are presented with a brand-new problem, giving them an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned over the course of the unit to a new context. This represents a shift from asking students to learn about science to supporting students in figuring out the science.

Resources to support your review

What’s included

COMPONENT

FORMAT

Teacher’s Guides and digital experience

Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including detailed lesson plans, classroom slides, high-level overview documentation, differentiation strategies, standards alignments, materials and preparation steps, teacher support strategies, and in-context professional development, possible student responses, and more.

Print and digital

Hands-on materials kits

Hands-on learning is integrated into every unit of Amplify Science. Each hands-on activity is supported through clear instructions for the teacher, as well as easily accessible materials in unit-specific kits. Each kit contains hands-on materials, both consumable and nonconsumable, and various print materials (e.g., Vocabulary and Key Concept cards). With Amplify Science, students can actively participate in science: gathering evidence, thinking critically, making observations, and communicating their claims

Kit

COMPONENT

FORMAT

Student Investigation Notebooks

Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

Print and digital

Student books

The age-appropriate Student Books in Amplify Science allow students to engage with content-rich text, obtain evidence, develop research and close reading skills, and construct arguments and explanations about the ideas they are learning in class.

Print and digital

Student digital experience

Students can easily engage with the student digital experience, so effective learning can occur in every type of classroom environment.

In grades 4–5, students are introduced to digital simulations. Developed exclusively for Amplify Science, these digital tools serve as venues of exploration and data collection, allowing students to discover and construct their understanding of science concepts and phenomena.

Digital

Spanish parity

Amplify Science is committed to providing support to meet the needs of all learners. For Spanish-speaking students, greater access to rich science content is achieved with Amplify Science through the use of a pedagogical approach that offers multiple points of entry. In addition, Spanish language supports are available across the curriculum, including Spanish kits that offer Spanish versions of all student-facing print materials, as well as Spanish digital licenses for teachers. Learn more about the Spanish components available across Amplify Science.

The same rigor in terms of scientific accuracy, literacy development, and the use of rich content and language in the creation of the Amplify Science Spanish materials. To ensure equity, all Spanish materials were carefully translated using academic Spanish, paying particular attention to consistency and the use of grade-level-appropriate language in order to support language development.

Review online

Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.

First, watch this navigation video. Then, click the orange button “Log in to Amplify Science” to log in.

  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter username and password:
    • Teacher username: t1.rcsdtrial@demo.tryamplify.net
    • Student username: s1.rcsdtrial@demo.tryamplify.net
    • Password (both teacher and student): Amplify1-rcsdtrial

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) review
Each Amplify Science unit is designed around a unit-specific learning progression that aligns with NGSS disciplinary core ideas (DCI) and crosscutting concepts. The levels that comprise the unit’s learning progression are cumulative. As students progress through the unit, they are able to integrate prior understandings with new insights, and there are continuing opportunities for students to master conceptual understanding of early unit content in subsequent chapters of the unit.

This means that standards are often addressed across entire units instead of in one particular activity or lesson. Thus, the lessons noted below are examples of where the concept represented in the listed DCI is addressed, but this list should not be considered exhaustive. Instead, students have frequent opportunities to engage with these ideas throughout the unit, the grade, and the grade band. 

To view the specified lessons, explore our RCSD Digital Review Guide or select a grade level below.

DCI ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to locate the following Student Books from your Unit Kit: What is the Weather Like Today? and Tornado! Predicting Severe Weather

Select the Sunlight and Weather unit, click Chapter 1, and locate the lessons below:

Lesson 1.1

  • Activities 2 and 3, Step-by-step tab
  • Student book, What is the Weather Like Today? (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 1.2

  • Activities 1 and 3, Step-by-step tab

Lesson 1.3

  • Activities 1 and 2, Step-by-step tab

Lesson 1.4

  • Lesson Brief, Digital Resources, “Playground Weather Calendars and Playground Weather Graphs (Completed)”
  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 5, 9, and 10) and Teacher Support tab (“Assessment, Assessment Opportunity: Assessing Students’ Understanding of Types of Weather”)

Lesson 5.1

  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 6–7) and Teacher Support, Assessment tab (“Assessment Opportunity: Assessing Students’ Understanding of Weather and Why We Measure It”)
  • Student book, Tornado! Predicting Severe Weather (note: located in your Unit Kit), pages 6–9

DCI PS4.A: Wave Properties
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to locate the following materials from your Unit Kit: Light and Sound Student Investigation Notebook; Student Book: What Vibrates?

Select the Light and Sound unit, click Chapter 4, and locate the lessons below:

Lesson 4.1

  • Lesson Brief, Digital Resources, “Assessment Guide”
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 1–12)
  • Light and Sound Student Investigation Notebook, page 24 (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 4.2

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Activity 4, Instructional Guide
  • Student book, What Vibrates? (note: located in your Unit Kit)
  • Light and Sound Student Investigation Notebook, page 25 (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 4.3

  • Lesson Brief, Digital Resources, “I Hear a Sound. What Vibrates? Mini-Book copymaster”
  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 5–11, 13), and Teacher Support tab (“Instructional Suggestion, Going Further: Sound Can Cause Vibrations”)
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab
  • Activity 4, Step-by-step tab and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)

DCI LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to locate the following materials from your Unit Kit: Plant and Animal Relationships Student Investigation Notebook; Student book A Plant is a System.

Select the Plant and Animal Relationships unit, click Chapter 1, and locate the lessons below:

Lesson 1.6

  • Activities 2–4, Step-by-step tab
  • Plant and Animal Relationships Student Investigation Notebook (note: located in your Unit Kit), pages 15–19

Lesson 1.7

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, and Critical Juncture Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab

Lesson 2.2

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 4–12) and Possible Responses tab
  • Student book, A Plant is a System (note: located in your Unit Kit)

DCI ESS2.D: Weather and Climates
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to locate the following materials from your Unit Kit: Weather and Climate Student Investigation Notebook; Student Books Dangerous Weather Ahead and Sky Notebook.

Select the Weather and Climate unit, click Chapter 4, and locate the lessons below:

Lesson 1.4

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab 
  • Student book, Sky Notebook (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 2.3

  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab and Possible Responses tab
  • Weather and Climate Student Investigation Notebook, page 28 (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 3.2

  • Lesson Brief, Digital Resources, “Anchorage, Queenstown, and Saint Petersburg Graphs copymaster”
  • Activities 2 and 3, Step-by-step tab

Lesson 3.3,

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)

Lesson 3.6

  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 3–5) and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)

Lesson 3.7

  • Lesson Brief,  Digital Resources, “End-of-Unit Writing: Arguing About Future Island Weather Version A copymaster” and “Assessment Guide”
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 3–7)

Lesson 4.2

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Student book, Dangerous Weather Ahead (note: located in your Unit Kit)

DCI PS4.A: Wave Properties
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to locate the following materials from your Unit Kit: Student books Warning: Tsunami! and Patterns in Communication.

Select the Waves, Energy, and Information unit, click Chapters 1 and 3, and locate the lessons below:

Chapter 1

Lesson 1.4

  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 1, and 4)
  • Student book, Warning: Tsunami! (note: located in your Unit Kit)
  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon), and Teacher Support tab (“Instructional Suggestion, Providing More Experience: Waves in Water”)

Chapter 3

Lesson 3.1

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 4–8) and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab and Waves, Energy, and Information Simulation

Lesson 3.2

  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab, On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon), and Waves, Energy, and Information Simulation 

Lesson 3.3

  • Activity 4, Step-by-step tab and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Student book, Patterns in Communication (note: located in your Unit Kit), pages 6–7

DCI LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Before you begin reviewing these lessons, make sure to take out the following materials from your Unit Kit: Student books Restoration Case Studies and Walk in the Woods; Organism Print Name Cards: Set 1.

Select the Ecosystem Restoration unit, click Chapters 1, 2, and 3, and locate the lessons below:

Lesson 1.6

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, and Ecosystem Modeling Tool (Box 2 on student apps page, “1.6 Healthy Ecosystem Model”)
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 2 and 3), Possible Responses tab, and Critical Juncture Assessment (hummingbird icon)

Lesson 1.7

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab
  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 3–7) and On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon)
  • Printable Resources, Print Materials (8.5” x 11”), Organism Name Cards: Set 1, pages 12–17 (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 1.8

  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 6–8) and Possible Responses tab

Lesson 2.3

  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 1–4), Possible Responses tab, and Ecosystem Modeling Tool (Box 3 on student apps page, “2.3 Plant Needs Model”)

Lesson 2.5

  • Activity 3, Step-by-step tab
  • Student book, Restoration Case Studies (note: located in your Unit Kit)

Lesson 3.2

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab
  • Student book, Walk in the Woods (note: located in your Unit Kit), pages 6–10

Lesson 3.3

  • Activity 4, Step-by-step tab and Ecosystem Restoration Simulation

Lesson 3.4

  •  Activity 2, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, On-the-Fly Assessment (hummingbird icon), and Ecosystem Restoration Simulation

Lesson 3.5

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab and Teacher Support tab (“Instructional Suggestion, Going Further: Balance and Interdependence of Ecosystems: Impacts of Invasive Species”)
  • Student book, Restoration Case Studies (note: located in your Unit Kit), pages 11, 31, and 47

Lesson 3.6

  • Activity 2, Step-by-step tab (especially steps 4–5), Possible Responses tab, and Critical Juncture Assessment (hummingbird icon)

Lesson 3.7

  • Activity 1, Step-by-step tab, Possible Responses tab, and Ecosystem Modeling Tool (Box 5 on student apps page, “3.7 No Decomposers Model”)

Looking for help?

Contact your Rochester Account Executive:

Jennifer Fosegan
(585) 590-4200
jfosegan@amplify.com

Amplify K–6 ELA programs for Fairfax County

Welcome, Fairfax County Reviewers! 

Thank you for exploring our evidence-based K–6 programs built on the Science of Reading and aligned to Virginia standards and Fairfax County’s learning model. 

Amplify CKLA for Grades K–5 and Amplify ELA for Grade 6 intentionally build knowledge alongside skills and are aligned within and across grades. Meaningful learning experiences for students pair with powerful instructional support for teachers to drive results. 

The following resources will support your review. These include clips of Amplify programs in action; details about key features of the curriculum; and research on the real-world successes of schools, districts, and states who’ve partnered with Amplify.

Amplify CKLA for Grades K–5

Introduction to Amplify CKLA

We’re excited for you to see how Amplify CKLA provides high-quality resources to support literacy instruction for all students! This program is flexible, offering stand-alone foundational skills instruction as well as the program core English Language Arts.

Amplify CKLA Skills is built on the latest reading science and provides comprehensive instruction in all foundational reading skills, featuring:

  • Phonological awareness, phonics, and word recognition.
  • Strong, systematic sound-first instruction to support students in learning to decode.
  • Language skills, including conventions, spelling, and grammar.
  • Reading comprehension.
  • Writing instruction.

CKLA for Grades K–2 provides a two-strand approach. The first is the Foundational Skills Strand (as described above) and the second is the Knowledge Strand, in which students build rich background knowledge through multidisciplinary read-alouds. CKLA takes an Integrated approach in Grades 3–5, in which lesson sequencing is especially focused on rich, worldly content. 

We encourage you to check out the K–2 Knowledge Strand and 3–5 Integrated approach sections of this site to explore the components further and gain access to the engaging and diverse texts students and teachers are using in their classrooms every day!

K–2 Skills Strand

In the CKLA classroom, students practice reading while stretching themselves toward higher goals. In K–2, daily dedicated skills time gives students a solid foundation, while the upper grades integrate this instruction with knowledge lessons in which students engage with increasingly complex, content-rich texts and writing activities.

Start with the sound

All instruction starts with phonological awareness, which research has shown to benefit the greatest number of students. Students begin by learning to recognize sounds, as well as to articulate them.

Build to the phoneme

Over time, students build up their awareness of phonemes. We give teachers a variety of tools, including multisensory gestures, to help kids develop this awareness.

Crack the code

Once students can recognize sounds, they learn to form the corresponding letter codes. CKLA starts by teaching the sound-spellings that appear most frequently in English, which lets your students read and write as many words as possible, as soon as possible.

Grow in complexity

The lessons continue to challenge students as they progress, introducing complications like multisyllabic words, “tricky words,” and homophones. In each case, students encounter more complicated words as they become ready for them.

K–2 Knowledge Strand

While students are learning how to read, Knowledge Domains give them authentic and engaging reasons to read. Students will use their skills to explore domains that relate to storytelling, science, and the history of our world as seen through the eyes of many different groups. With these domains, you’ll bring the world to your students, showing them how reading can become an exciting, rewarding, and useful part of their lives.

Build connections and context

Each CKLA Knowledge Domain gives students a base of vocabulary and concepts, building on what they’ve learned in previous domains. This helps students make connections within and across grades, building a base of background knowledge that will help them navigate new and more complex texts.

Listen and understand

Students learn to listen and understand before they learn to read. By delivering knowledge through classroom read-alouds, Amplify CKLA teaches students the key comprehension skills they’ll use throughout their reading lives.

Emphasis on interactivity

Amplify CKLA prioritizes interactions between students, which challenge and encourage them to think about the material rather than simply receive it. Each lesson includes several opportunities and options for formative assessment and immediate adjustment to the needs of both the class and the individual students.

Assess what’s important

The end-of-domain digital assessments that follow Knowledge Domains are fully voice-acted, ensuring that each student’s comprehension skills are authentically tested. This not only builds students’ test-taking confidence, but gives you a more accurate picture of your class.

3–5 Integrated approach

By Grades 3–5, students have mastered the basics of decoding and are eager to use what they’ve learned to reach out to the world. Although read-alouds remain an important part of lessons, students are also encouraged to practice independent reading starting in Grade 3, developing their autonomy and confidence as readers alongside strong teacher support.

Writing and language

As students progress from K–2, writing activities start to emphasize analysis, creativity, and independent thinking about lesson materials.

Core Quests: Transforming the classroom

Each of the units in Grades 3–5 contain a Core Quest—a special unit in which all the rules of the classroom change as students engage with language in surprising new ways. In Grade 5, for example, students learn to love the dense Shakespearian language of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” through imagery, close reading, and performance.

Key CKLA features

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in Grades K–2, with an integrated approach to explicit instruction in Grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading Toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Great reading instruction starts with great decoding skills. When students build a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen.

Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Unmatched, 100% decodable books and student readers that feature engaging plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves.

Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive read-alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.

From the printed page to the screen, we bring foundational skills and knowledge of the world to your young learners, and make the transition from classroom to home learning seamless.

Download the Amplify CKLA Components Guide to see components by grade.

Amplify Caminos is an equitable Spanish language arts program for Grades K–5 that will engage your students and inspire them to become confident readers, writers, and thinkers.

Designed to support any biliteracy model (including ESL, transitional bilingual, dual language, and Spanish immersion), Amplify Caminos can be used in tandem with Amplify CKLA to provide a fully equitable, one-to-one English and Spanish solution.

Amplify ELA for Grade 6

Amplify ELA is a blended English language arts curriculum designed specifically to prepare middle school students for high school and beyond. This interactive core curriculum brings complex texts to life with lively classroom discussions and meaningful digital experiences in which students grapple with interesting ideas and find relevance for themselves.

Amplify ELA’s built-in 100-Day Pathway outlines required content for each grade level, while providing teachers time and space to teach the supplemental lessons and activities they love.

The program has received an all-green rating on EdReports—read the review.

Amplify ELA delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach designed to get all students reading grade-level text together.
  • An instructional design that inspires students to read more deeply, write more vividly, and think more critically.
  • A rich combination of dynamic texts, lively discussions, and interactive Quests that engages and inspires middle school students.

EdReports and Knowledge Matters Campaign

Amplify CKLA for Grades K–5 is among the few elementary core curricula to be both rated all green on EdReports (earning green scores across all gateways) and recognized by the Knowledge Matters Campaign for its excellence in intentionally building knowledge. Amplify ELA for grade 6 also earned all-green scores on EdReports.

Access FCPS reviewer platform

To experience Amplify’s K–6 ELA programs for FCPS, complete the following steps.

Access your teacher demo account:

  1. Access the reviewer site.
  2. Select Log in with Amplify.
  3. Enter your teacher username: t1.fcps-demo@demo.tryamplify.net  
  4. Enter your password: Amplify1-fcps-demo

Access your student demo account:

  1. Access the reviewer site.
  2. Select Log in with Amplify.
  3. Enter your student username: s1.fcps-demo@demo.tryamplify.net 
  4. Enter your password: Amplify1-fcps-demo

VA correlations

CKLA Kindergarten correlation
CKLA Grade 1 correlation
CKLA Grade 2 correlation
CKLA Grade 3 correlation
CKLA Grade 4 correlation
CKLA Grade 5 correlation

Additional reviewer resources

Amplify CKLA Program Guide (Grades K–5)
Amplify ELA Program Guide (Grade 6)
Amplify biliteracy and Science of Reading principles
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
Text complexity
Trade books
Amplify CKLA meets Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) requirements

Get in touch

To learn more, contact Michael Kasloff at mkasloff@amplify.com.

Amplify K–3 CKLA resources for Georgia Department of Education

To view this protected page, enter the password below:



Families & Caregivers — Welcome to Amplify Desmos Math New York for grades K–5!

This is the initial version of the Caregiver Hub for Amplify Desmos Math New York. Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

Welcome to the Amplify Desmos Math New York K–5 Caregiver Hub for grades K–5. We’re so excited your student’s school has chosen our program! We designed this space to help you support your student in their math journey this year. Your hard work plays an essential role in your student’s math experience.

We hope your student enjoys using technology to explore math, working with friends to solve problems, and learning all sorts of new and interesting concepts. And we hope you love experiencing it with them!

Excited to learn together,
—The Amplify Desmos Math team

A math activity interface instructs to determine platform heights using a tube length. A student workbook titled "Amplify Desmos Math, New York, Volume 1" featuring children playing is also visible.

Introducing Amplify Desmos Math

Amplify Desmos Math is a core math curriculum built for kindergarten through grade 5. We developed the program around the idea that a structured approach to problem-based learning builds on students’ curiosity to develop lasting grade-level understandings for all students. Each lesson offers opportunities to develop students’ understanding; connect their ideas; grow their skill fluency; and empower them to ask questions, explore, and make discoveries.

Amplify Desmos Math uses a student-centered approach to instruction, which has been proven to significantly increase math learning. Our mission is for your students to learn math—and to love learning math!

In every lesson, the Amplify Desmos Math curriculum poses engaging and relevant problems to solve, giving students daily opportunities to think critically, work collaboratively, and actively participate in their own learning.

Screenshot of the Amplify Desmos Math New York, K-5 section on the Desmos Classroom website displaying a list of ADM lessons for different grade levels.

About student-centered math instruction

Student-centered instruction may look different from the way students have learned math in the past, and perhaps from the way you learned math. Instead of memorizing formulas and tricks, student-centered learning focuses on giving students opportunities to figure out how math works. Research shows that students and teachers alike prefer this method, and teachers report that student-centered instruction has helped their students learn more math.

A diverse group of students, one wearing a unicorn headband, looks at a teacher pointing to an amplify math bar graph on a board.

This way of learning helps students:

  • Understand how math concepts work.
  • Remember what they learn in class and apply their knowledge to new situations.
  • Perform better on standardized tests and have more growth in their grades than their peers who learn through other methods.
  • Learn to communicate in writing and verbally, understand and challenge the opinions of others, and build confidence in solving new problems.
  • Develop key skills for success in college and the workplace, like using technology, completing projects independently and with others, and persevering through difficult problems.

What materials do students use?

Amplify Desmos Math supports blended learning with supportive print materials and a unique digital experience. All Amplify Desmos Math K–5 lessons are available in a write-in Student Edition book. Many of the lessons are designed to include hands-on activities with manipulatives. An age-appropriate number of lessons are designed for students to use digital devices like laptops or tablets. These include enhanced digital experiences that teachers can assign to students.

Three animated women of diverse ethnicities smiling and discussing a math curriculum around a laptop at a table, with colorful abstract shapes in the background.

Here’s what you can expect for your students from Amplify Desmos Math:

  • Lessons that drive classroom discussions so students can work toward a shared understanding and sense of community.
  • Responsive feedback that interprets student responses in context and encourages perseverance and revision.
  • Easy-to-follow lesson plans tested in classrooms across the country, with clear teaching suggestions, strategies, and Math Language Routines.
  • Practice problems to support fluency and help students review previous topics.
  • Recommended differentiation suggestions for teachers so that they can meet the needs of diverse learners.
  • Formative assessments that provide information on student understanding so that they can adjust their instruction to meet the needs of all students in their class.
  • Summative assessments that help teachers understand what students know about the math content they have been learning.
  • Daily lesson-level assessments so that teachers can frequently check for understanding.
  • A caregiver resource for each unit that includes explanations of key math concepts and problems to try with your student.

When students use devices, teachers can monitor students’ work in real time, making sure they get the exact support that they need at every part of the lesson, in and outside of class. Here is a sample of what a teacher sees on their dashboard to help them monitor thinking and support student learning.

Screenshot of a digital class attendance and activity tracker with student names and checkboxes indicating their participation in various New York math tasks.

Students are also able to access their digital work at home. Here’s an article on how to navigate the student home page.

What does a lesson look like?

Students in an Amplify Desmos Math classroom can be seen (and heard!)—asking questions, debating answers, justifying their thinking, grappling with problems, and working together and independently.

Two students, one male and one female, are sitting at a desk with a laptop, discussing a project under a "math club" sign, with speech bubble icons above them.

Here’s what a typical Amplify Desmos Math lesson includes:

  • Warm-up: A short, attention-getting problem to get students interested in the lesson.
  • Activities: 1-2 mini-activities that challenge students’ problem-solving skills.
  • Synthesis: Discussion to review and bring together the important concepts from the lesson.
  • Show What You Know and Reflection: Questions for students to show what they know from the lesson. (Note: The “Show What You Know” lesson assessment is optional for the teacher to assign in kindergarten and grade 1)
  • Centers: Student-led activity stations that reinforce the math learned during lesson activities through interactive and often game-like formats. In kindergarten and grade 1, time for Centers is built into the last 15 minutes of every lesson.

Here’s what is available after the lesson to support, strengthen, and stretch students’ learning:

  • Differentiation: Mini-lessons, Centers, extensions, personalized learning, and fluency practice.
  • Practice: Additional problems your student’s teacher may assign for classwork or homework.

How can caregivers support math learning at home?

Use our Unit Support for Caregivers

We’ve created a Caregiver Resource for every unit of the program that provides a summary of key concepts, plus a problem from the lesson practice set you can work through with your student. Within each of the grade-level links below, you’ll find a Caregiver Resource document for each unit, in both English and Spanish.

Grade 1
Unit 1: Adding, Subtracting, and Working With Data
English
Spanish

Grade 3
Unit 1: Introducing Multiplication
English
Spanish

Grade 5
Unit 1: Volume
English
Spanish

Review practice problems together

Your student’s teacher may assign practice problems at the end of each lesson for classwork or homework. If your student has already completed the practice problems for the lesson, ask your student to walk you through how they solved each problem, or talk about any parts that were challenging for them. Ask your students follow-up questions to encourage the use of math language as they explain their thinking, such as: “How do you know?,” “How can you show your thinking?,” or “How would you describe that?” If students are stuck, ask support questions such as, “What information do you know here?” or “How could you represent this problem?”

Getting stuck is okay!

Emphasize that getting stuck is part of the process and a necessary part of learning. Many students (and adults!) fear making mistakes. However, research shows that making mistakes helps your brain grow more. When your student gets stuck on a problem, encourage them to try different strategies, even if they are not sure if they are right.

Find the math in everyday life.

Relate math to daily activities at home, whether grocery shopping, preparing a meal, or planning for a trip to the store. Your student can help you figure out how many more apples there are than oranges in the grocery cart, show how to split a sandwich into fourths, or figure out how much change you’ll receive in exchange for a ten dollar bill. Encourage your student to point out ways that you use math in daily tasks.

Read the Unit Story with your student.

Each unit in Amplify Desmos Math K–5 begins with a read-aloud story to engage students and provide context for the math of the unit. Elements and characters from the Unit Story then appear in lessons throughout the rest of the unit.

Access our Featured Collection of free K–5 Lessons and Activities.

Explore our latest free K–5 content in our Desmos Classroom Featured Collection. With our free collection, you can access:

  • Digital Lessons: Engaging interactive lessons
  • Mini-Lessons: A mix of print and digital activities designed for small-group instruction
  • Math Routines: Short digital activities to kick-start instruction and encourage math discussions
  • Bite-Sized Math Moments: Digital practice activities that use Polypad virtual manipulatives, designed to be used flexibly

Click here to access the collection and sign up for a free account.

How do caregivers access the program at home?

Your student will have access to all learning, practice, and assessment materials through the Amplify platform. Students can access the digital curriculum in school and at home by following these simple instructions.

  • Click the orange Login to Amplify Desmos Math button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter your student’s username and password provided by your student’s teacher.
  • Select your student’s grade level.
Login to Amplify Desmos Math

Supporting you in any scenario

Whether your school is engaged in in-person, hybrid, or remote instruction, we know how important it is for teachers and administrators to understand every student’s literacy and math development. mCLASS has a collection of resources to help you plan for a variety of scenarios. We’ve got you covered—no matter what you’re anticipating this school year.

How to use mCLASS during remote learning

Planning to assess remotely? No problem. Our guides will help you feel comfortable and confident assessing remotely with all of our mCLASS literacy and math assessments, while mCLASS’s free online measures, at-home learning packets, and family resources ensure you have effective, easy-to-use tools to support students during remote learning.

Remote assessment guidance

remote assessment icon

The remote assessment guides provide recommendations and best practices for assessing one-on-one remotely with mCLASS. They cover when to assess, how to assess using a video meeting or call, how to interpret scores this back-to-school season, and how to take the next instructional steps.

Professional development videos

online videos icon

The mCLASS Training Site on mCLASS Home will include best practices and professional development videos on remote assessment and using data for remote instruction.

At-home packets

Children doing schoolwork at home

mCLASS Instruction will be aligned to each student, regardless of whether they are ahead of or behind their classmates. For schools using DIBELS® 8th edition, teachers are able to use mCLASS Instruction (based on the latest data available) to download the packet for each child. These activities can be used for at-home learning during periods of extended remote learning or over the summer.

Family resources

mCLASS Home Connect

The mCLASS Home Connect website houses resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill to help students at home during remote learning. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.

Personalized reading with Boost Reading

Amplify Reading activity screenshot

Boost Reading, our supplemental reading program, leverages your mCLASS data to provide remediation and enrichment. Students can use Boost Reading on their own at home for engaging instruction and practice in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension processes, and close reading. Find more information on Boost Reading here.

How to use mCLASS during hybrid learning

We know that the school year will look different for every district. You may be considering staggered schedules or alternating between remote and in-person days. mCLASS’s resources for hybrid learning ensure that students continue to develop critical foundational skills both in the classroom and at home.

In-person days Remote days
Teacher-administered assessments Remote teacher-administered assessments or student-led online measures
Small-group and individual teacher-led lessons with mCLASS instruction At-home packets for independent practice
Progress-monitoring assessments Home Connect resources with family activities
Boost Reading Boost Reading

Frequently asked questions

“What resources should I use on remote days if my students have limited technology access?”
If students have limited or no access to technology during remote learning days, at-home packets and Home Connect resources can be printed in advance and sent home for students to complete during remote learning days.

“What resources should I use for extended remote learning if my students have limited technology access?”
We understand that access to technology is a significant barrier for many of our students. If students have limited or no access to technology during extended periods of remote learning, the mCLASS guides provide alternatives for conducting benchmark assessments, such as assessing by phone. Additionally, at-home learning packets can be printed and sent home for students to continue working on skills.

ELD Review for Denver Public Schools

Welcome, Denver Public Schools, to Amplify CKLA’s English Language Development (ELD) program, Language Studio! Language Studio works in tandem with Amplify CKLA, your core ELA program, to help English language learners build proficiency in English while ensuring that every ELD lesson is connected to the core to extend students’ knowledge.

Below you will find information on Language Studio and additional information on Amplify CKLA in case it is a useful refresher. In the “Access demo” section, you will find digital access credentials and directions. We hope you find this information helpful in your review. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thank you!

Illustration featuring diverse cultural and historical elements like an african woman, an egyptian sphinx, a space rocket, and urban and natural landscapes under a starry sky.

Language Studio

Amplify CKLA’s English Language Development (ELD) program—Language Studio— helps English language learners (ELLs) preview and revisit key content within core instruction, building a foundation of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. Core instruction lessons include point-of-use supports for ELLs, and Support and Challenge strategies for all learners. Click here for an overview of Language Studio and its components.

Supported by the latest ELD and WIDA Prime V2 standards, Language Studio follows the CKLA Knowledge domains, previewing and reinforcing skills and content from core instruction using instruction specifically built for students learning English. The program is also designed around frequent formative assessment, including assessment of language proficiency, giving you effective ways to guide and support your ELLs.

Young boy with his hands over his mouth, looking up in wonder, beside a diagram labeled "language studio" with educational elements.

Language Studio supports teachers and English language learners through the following:

  • 30 minutes of instruction with lesson segments are carefully designed around Content Knowledge, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Foundational Skills.
  • Every Language Studio lesson accompanies a core lesson, helping ELLs deepen domain and academic vocabulary that will help them access core content.
  • Culminating tasks support core projects and target the same skills as primary instruction.

To access Language Studio grade-level program guides, please click the links below:

Program Guide: Grade K

Program Guide: Grade 1

Program Guide: Grade 2

Program Guide: Grades 3-5

Recognized Quality

Amplify CKLA is one of only a few high-quality, knowledge-building literacy curricula recognized by the Knowledge Matters campaign. Our shared message: Background knowledge is essential to literacy and learning.

Diagram displaying the "knowledge matters campaign" with connections between "core knowledge language arts comprehension," "skills word recognition," and "amplify ckla skilled reading.

Independently and rigorously reviewed

Amplify CKLA not only received an all-green rating from the rigorous evaluators at EdReports, but it was also recently recognized by the Knowledge Matters Campaign as a literacy program that excels in building knowledge.

Read our EdReports review
Read our Knowledge Matters review

Intentional knowledge-building

Watching students learn to read: magic. Knowing how they get there: science. The Science of Reading reveals knowledge as an essential pillar of reading comprehension and lifelong literacy. Hear from author Natalie Wexler and CKLA customers on edWebinar about the importance of knowledge-building in reading instruction.

Hear from Natalie Wexler
edWebinar Links

Program Overview

Amplify CKLA is a core ELA program for grades K–5 that delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach truly built on the Science of Reading.
  • A combination of explicit foundational skills with meaningful knowledge building.
  • Embedded support and differentiation that gets all students reading grade-level texts together.
  • Opportunities for students to see the strengths and experiences that all people share while also celebrating each others’ unique identities and experiences.
  • Equitable and authentic Spanish language arts instruction with Amplify Caminos.

Amplify CKLA for Grades K–2

After watching the K–2 video below, scroll down to learn even more, download resources, and access a demo.

Amplify CKLA for Grades 3–5

After watching the 3–5 video below, scroll down to learn even more, download resources, and access a demo.

How it works

Amplify CKLA teaches both foundational skills and background knowledge in K–2 and combines them in 3–5, as required by the science of reading.

  • In grades K–2, students complete one full lesson that builds foundational reading skills, as well as one full lesson that builds background knowledge.
  • In grades 3–5, student complete one integrated lesson that combines skills and knowledge with increasingly complex texts, close reading, and a greater writing emphasis.
Download CKLA Program Guide
Colorful, curved lines intersect and converge on a black background, forming an abstract pattern with blue, yellow, orange and red hues.

Rich topics

Amplify CKLA builds knowledge coherently across subjects and grades.

Students make connections from year-to-year by exploring grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves.

Illustration showing diverse cultural representations: two native american figures, a bear in a forest, and a medieval european woman, all set against colorful abstract backgrounds.

Units by grade

Take a closer look at the topics students explore.

Knowledge Research Units

Explore our newly added Knowledge Research units.

Skills by grade

Take a closer look at the skills students develop..

Diverse text

Amplify CKLA puts a variety of texts in the hands of students every day to build and strengthen background knowledge and vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension, and decoding and fluency skills.

More than that, we ensure the texts students read represent the world around them. With a diverse range of authors, topics, and characters, all students have ample access to both windows and mirrors. Our texts include:

  • authentic books.
  • authentic text passages.
  • student readers.
  • novel guides (grades 3–5).
A collage of six diverse children's book covers featuring themes of nature, science, history, and biographies.

Grade K Text List

Grade 1 Text List

Grade 2 Text List

Grade 3 Text List

Grade 4 Text List

Grade 5 Text List

Universal access

We believe we have a responsibility to provide literacy instruction that gives every student the same opportunity to succeed and excel.

We know that early reading affects achievement throughout school and beyond—well into college and career. Yet most literacy programs continue to fall short of supporting early literacy success. That’s why we’re so proud that CKLA is helping close the reading gap between students within diverse communities.

A young boy with glasses reading a book, surrounded by illustrations of a telescope, a grasshopper, and a pirate flag on a pear.

Grades K–2: Supporting all learners

Grades 3–5: Supporting all learners

Complete curriculum

A strong literacy program is not just about a reading program or an assessment tool: it brings together curriculum, instruction, regular practice, intervention, and assessments.

Amplify has brought these components together in our early literacy suite of curriculum, ensure that you have what you need for multi-tiered support.

CKLA and mCLASS

CKLA connects to our comprehensive diagnostic universal screener called mCLASS.

CKLA and Boost Reading

CKLA connects to our adaptive reading practice program called Boost Reading.

CKLA and Writing Studio

CKLA aligns with Writing Studio–our writing companion program for grades K–5.

Here are some helpful links for your Amplify CKLA implementation:

A girl runs outdoors holding a kite with colorful ribbons labeled knowledge, vocabulary, sentences, connections, gist, sounds, letters, and words.

Access demo

Ready to explore on your own? Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.

Explore Language Studio

Language Studio resources are on the CKLA site, making it easy for teachers to find and utilize them. Here are the directions to access them:

  • Click the CKLA Teacher Digital Site button
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • Enter this username: t1.dpseld@demo.tryamplify.net
  • Enter this password: Amplify1-dpseld
  • Once logged in, click CKLA on the left hand side
  • In the “Program” drop down at the top of the page, select “Language Studio Resources” at the bottom of the drop down
  • Choose your desired grade level
Access CKLA Teacher Digital Site

Contact Us

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact:

Monty Lammers

Senior Account Executive

719-964-4501

mlammers@amplify.com

Amplify CKLA Review for Alabama

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Welcome, Boost Reading families!

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What is Amplify CKLA?

Amplify CKLA is a core ELA program for grades PK–5 that delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach truly built on the Science of Reading.
  • A combination of explicit foundational skills with meaningful knowledge-building.
  • Embedded support and differentiation that gets all students reading grade-level texts together.
  • Opportunities for students to see the strengths and experiences that all people share while also celebrating each others’ unique identities and experiences.
A colorful rope diagram shows strands for language comprehension and word recognition, with images of reading and phonics materials near respective strands.

How does Amplify CKLA work?

Daily instruction

Grade PreK: Developmentally appropriate foundational knowledge

Our PreK program delivers developmentally appropriate instruction and activities that do more than lay the groundwork for foundational skills—they offer content knowledge, incorporating research that shows true literacy requires background knowledge in history, science, art, and literature. Amplify CKLA PreK easily fits into any class routine, with 45 minutes of interactive instruction designed to accommodate full-day or half-day schedules.

Grades K–2: Dedicated knowledge-building and explicit skills instruction
Every day, students in Grades K–2 complete one full lesson that explicitly and systematically builds foundational reading skills in the Skills Strand, as well as one full lesson that builds robust background knowledge to access complex text in the Knowledge Strand. Through learning in each of these strands, students develop the early literacy skills necessary to help them become confident readers and build the context to understand what they’re reading.

Grades 3–5: Integrated instruction
In Grades 3–5, Knowledge and Skills are integrated in one set of instructional materials. Lessons begin to combine skills and knowledge with increasingly complex texts, close reading, and a greater writing emphasis. Students can then use their skills to go on their own independent reading adventures.

Formative and summative assessments

A young boy in a light blue shirt writes in a notebook at his desk in a classroom, with other students working nearby.

Amplify CKLA features a progression of moment-by-moment assessments to benchmark assessments. Assessment and feedback give teachers the information they need to differentiate instruction effectively.

Checks for Understanding
Each lesson segment incorporates checks for understanding to increase engagement and to let teachers make real-time adjustments to their instruction.

Formative Assessment
Each lesson goal is tied to a formative assessment opportunity, allowing teachers to see which students need more support with a benchmark.

Mid- and End-of-Unit Assessments
Mid-Unit and End-of-Unit Assessments provide valuable information on the skills and content students have mastered. Digital end-of-unit assessments are available on a variety of platforms.

Benchmark and Placement Assessments
Benchmark and Placement Assessments help teachers set goals and monitor the growth of each student, providing a baseline at the beginning of the year and ensuring students are advancing toward grade-level objectives.

Download our CKLA Assessment Sampler

What makes Amplify CKLA different?

Integration with mCLASS DIBELS 8

Amplify CKLA is the only core ELA program that integrates with mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition.

The CKLA Connect feature matches your students with targeted CKLA lessons based on their mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition assessment data. In other words, it aligns your assessments more closely with your core curriculum while recommending effective differentiated instruction.

Download this guide to connecting mCLASS DIBELS 8 with Amplify CKLA

A digital dashboard displays lesson plans for CKLA Connect and a group labeled "Letter Sound Knowledge" with two students, showing progress and learning needs.

Built on the Science of Reading

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in foundational knowledge in PreK, both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in grades K–2, and an integrated approach to explicit instruction in grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Explicit systematic skills instruction

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great decoding skills. By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Decodable books and student readers with ebook and audiobook versions that feature interesting plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.
  • An interactive Vocab App featuring engaging activities with immediate feedback and automated, customized instruction based on student performance.

Coherent knowledge instruction

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive Read-Alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.
  • Social and emotional learning paired with lessons in civic responsibility.
Illustration montage featuring scenes of learning: a cartoon character with books, two people shoveling snow under the stars, and an astronaut on a lunar landscape, with educational interfaces.

Embedded differentiation for all learners

Amplify CKLA provides built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students, including supports for English language learners and Standard English learners.

  • Access supports for ELLs: Integrated ELD supports in each lesson segment for English learners and Standard English learners are specific to students’ mastery of the lesson’s objectives.
  • Support and Challenge for all learners: Lessons include Support and Challenge suggestions that provide assistance or opportunities for more advanced work toward the goal of the lesson. These supports are suitable for all learners, including ELLs.
  • 30 minutes of Additional Support in every Skills lesson: In the Skills Strand, every lesson concludes with an Additional Support section of recommendations for 30 minutes of extended instruction and activities, directly aligned to the skills taught in the lesson to assist students who need more support in mastering the lesson’s objectives.
  • Intervention Toolkit: The Intervention Toolkit provides easy-to-use resources to assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ foundational skills. Teachers will find of hundreds of activities to support phonics, fluency, comprehension, handwriting, and other key skills.

Designated ELD with Language Studio

Amplify CKLA’s designated English Language Development (ELD) component—Language Studio—helps English learners preview and revisit key content within core instruction, building a foundation of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. Core instruction lessons include point-of-use supports for English learners and Support and Challenge strategies for all learners.

Young boy with his hands over his mouth, looking up in wonder, beside a diagram labeled "language studio" with educational elements.

This carefully developed program follows the CKLA Knowledge domains, previewing and reinforcing skills and content from core instruction using instruction specifically built for English learners. The program is also designed around frequent formative assessment, including assessment of language proficiency, giving you effective ways to guide and support your English learners.

Language Studio supports teachers and English learners through the following:

  • 30 minutes of instruction with lesson segments are carefully designed around Content Knowledge, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Foundational Skills.
  • Every Language Studio lesson accompanies a core lesson, helping English learners deepen domain and academic vocabulary that will help them access core content.
  • Culminating tasks support core projects and target the same skills as primary instruction.

Writing emphasis with Writing Studio

With Writing Studio, students in Grades K-5 focus deeply on the three key text types informative, narrative, and opinion–while applying both the skills and knowledge from the core program.

Writing Studio supports students through:

  • Expanding on core writing instruction to develop analytical thinking through writing.
  • Lessons that focus on writing standards, providing intensive focus and application to strengthen skills.
  • Opportunities to apply knowledge in new contexts and deepen comprehension through writing.
  • Scaffolded writing projects to help all students find success within the stages of the writing process.
Covers of four "Writing Studio Teacher Guide" books for different grades, featuring educational icons in orange, purple, blue, and teal color schemes.

Writing Studio lessons:

  • Allow teachers to differentiate through Support and Challenge prompts for students at all levels, and Access Supports for ELLs.
  • Spark creativity with authentic writing projects that call on students to engage deeply with rich topics and sources.
  • Implement careful design and provide rubrics so that students’ writing skills can visibly grow throughout the year.

A culminating project in each grade asks students to apply their knowledge and understanding of text types and to select the appropriate text type for a final piece of writing.

Personalized practice with Boost Reading

Boost Reading is the student-driven skill practice program within CKLA, providing differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Boost Reading is built on the same approach to reading as CKLA, students are able to extend their learning from the core program further, at their own pace.

Amplify CKLA and Boost Reading reinforce each other through:

  • An aligned scope and sequence and instructional approach: In both programs, students get instruction and practice in phonological awareness and phonics, with the most common, least ambiguous spellings first.
  • Consistent vocabulary words: Many Amplify CKLA words are taught and practiced in Boost Reading vocabulary games.
  • Complementary texts: Fiction and nonfiction books within Boost Reading reinforce Amplify CKLA knowledge domains.
  • Seamless integrations between platforms: Students can easily access Boost Reading directly from the Amplify CKLA Student Hub.
Educational website interface showing icons for theater, sounds, library, and activities with a greeting "hello student!" and a grade level indicator.

Ready-to-go slides and all-in-one platform

The slides-based Amplify CKLA digital experience enhances instruction while saving you time. Everything you need is all in one place, making it easier than ever to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work.

  • Simplify planning and instruction: 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 Activity Books, slides, digital components, videos, Student Readers, and more.
  • Interactive student activities: Through the Student Home, students can easily access digital lessons with slides, Activity Pages, ebooks, videos, and other interactive resources from one simple dashboard.
  • Your teacher command center: You’re provided with the tools you need to ensure a productive digital experience that’s personalized to meet your students’ needs. This includes a teacher home from which to launch and track lessons, LMS integrations such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, and other customizations based on classroom needs.
  • Get real-time insights into your students’ work: The innovative live review tool enables you to keep an eye on students drawing, recording audio, uploading and capturing images, and typing or writing in pre-placed text boxes in their Activity Pages.

Navigating the program

Digital navigation walkthrough

Physical materials walkthrough

Sample materials

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Integrated Strand

Demo access

A laptop screen displays the Amplify login page with options to log in using Google, Clever, Amplify, QR code, or District SSO. Help and sign-up links are also visible.

Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.

  • Click the CKLA Demo button below.         s1.mcps2024@demo.tryamplify.net
    • Enter the password: Amplify1-mcps2024
    • Click the desired program on the left side of the page.

Additional resources

Amplify CKLA review resources:

What is Amplify CKLA?

Amplify CKLA is a core ELA program for grades K–5 that delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach truly built on the Science of Reading.
  • A combination of explicit foundational skills with meaningful knowledge-building.
  • Embedded support and differentiation that gets all students reading grade-level texts together.
  • Opportunities for students to see the strengths and experiences that all people share while also celebrating each others’ unique identities and experiences.
Reading rope showing knowledge-building and skill development strands, and the merging of language comprehension and word recognition

How does Amplify CKLA work?

Grades K–2: Dedicated knowledge-building and explicit skills instruction
Every day, students in Grades K–2 complete one full lesson that explicitly and systematically builds foundational reading skills in the Skills Strand, as well as one full lesson that builds robust background knowledge to access complex text in the Knowledge Strand. Through learning in each of these strands, students develop the early literacy skills necessary to help them become confident readers and build the context to understand what they’re reading.

Grades 3–5: Integrated instruction
In Grades 3–5, Knowledge and Skills are integrated in one set of instructional materials. Lessons begin to combine skills and knowledge with increasingly complex texts, close reading, and a greater writing emphasis. Students can then use their skills to go on their own independent reading adventures.

How does Amplify CKLA integrate with the other parts of the literacy system?

Amplify CKLA + mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition

Amplify CKLA integrates with your mCLASS assessment through the CKLA Connect feature, which matches your students with targeted CKLA lessons based on their mCLASS assessment data. In other words, it aligns your assessments more closely with your core curriculum while recommending effective differentiated instruction.

Screenshot of an educational platform. It shows lesson plans for a group on "Letter Sound Knowledge" under the heading "CKLA Connect." Group 2 has 2 students. Activities for phonics skills are listed below.

Amplify CKLA + Amplify Reading

Amplify Reading is the student-driven skill practice program within CKLA, providing differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Amplify Reading is built on the same approach to reading as CKLA, students are able to extend their learning from the core program further, at their own pace.

Amplify CKLA and Amplify Reading reinforce each other through:

  • An aligned scope and sequence and instructional approach: In both programs, students get instruction and practice in phonological awareness and phonics, with the most common, least ambiguous spellings first.
  • Consistent vocabulary words: Many Amplify CKLA words are taught and practiced in Amplify Reading vocabulary games.
  • Complementary texts: Fiction and nonfiction books within Amplify Reading reinforce Amplify CKLA knowledge domains.
  • Seamless integrations between platforms: Students can easily access Amplify Reading directly from the Amplify CKLA Student Hub.
Educational website interface showing icons for theater, sounds, library, and activities with a greeting "hello student!" and a grade level indicator.

What makes Amplify CKLA different?

Built on the Science of Reading

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in grades K–2 with an integrated approach to explicit instruction in grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Explicit systematic skills instruction

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great decoding skills. By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Decodable books and student readers with ebook and audiobook versions that feature interesting plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.
  • An interactive Vocab App featuring engaging activities with immediate feedback and automated, customized instruction based on student performance.

Coherent knowledge instruction

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive Read-Alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.
  • Social and emotional learning paired with lessons in civic responsibility.
Illustration montage featuring scenes of learning: a cartoon character with books, two people shoveling snow under the stars, and an astronaut on a lunar landscape, with educational interfaces.

Embedded differentiation for all learners

Amplify CKLA provides built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students, including supports for English learners and Standard English learners.

  • Access supports for ELs: Integrated ELD supports in each lesson segment
    for English learners and Standard English learners are specific to students’ mastery of the lesson’s objectives.
  • Support and Challenge for all learners: Lessons include Support and Challenge suggestions that provide assistance or opportunities for more advanced work toward the goal of the lesson. These supports are suitable for all learners, including ELs.
  • 30 minutes of Additional Support in every Skills lesson: In the Skills Strand, every lesson concludes with an Additional Support section of recommendations for 30 minutes of extended instruction and activities, directly aligned to the skills taught in the lesson to assist students who need more support in mastering the lesson’s objectives.
  • Intervention Toolkit: The Intervention Toolkit provides easy-to-use resources to assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ foundational skills. Teachers will find of hundreds of activities to support phonics, fluency, comprehension, handwriting, and other key skills.

Designated ELD

Amplify CKLA’s designated English Language Development (ELD) component—Language Studio—helps English learners preview and revisit key content within core instruction, building a foundation of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. Core instruction lessons include point-of-use supports for English learners and Support and Challenge strategies for all learners.

Young boy with his hands over his mouth, looking up in wonder, beside a diagram labeled "language studio" with educational elements.

This carefully developed program follows the CKLA Knowledge domains, previewing and reinforcing skills and content from core instruction using instruction specifically built for English learners. The program is also designed around frequent formative assessment, including assessment of language proficiency, giving you effective ways to guide and support your English learners.

Language Studio supports teachers and English learners through the following:

  • 30 minutes of instruction with lesson segments are carefully designed around Content Knowledge, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Foundational Skills.
  • Every Language Studio lesson accompanies a core lesson, helping English learners deepen domain and academic vocabulary that will help them access core content.
  • Culminating tasks support core projects and target the same skills as primary instruction.

Ready-to-go slides and all-in-one platform

The slides-based Amplify CKLA digital experience enhances instruction while saving you time. Everything you need is all in one place, making it easier than ever to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work.

  • Simplify planning and instruction: 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 Activity Books, slides, digital components, videos, Student Readers, and more.
  • Interactive student activities: Through the Student Home, students can easily access digital lessons with slides, Activity Pages, ebooks, videos, and other interactive resources from one simple dashboard.
  • Your teacher command center: You’re provided with the tools you need to ensure a productive digital experience that’s personalized to meet your students’ needs. This includes a teacher home from which to launch and track lessons, LMS integrations such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, and other customizations based on classroom needs.
  • Get real-time insights into your students’ work: The innovative live review tool enables you to keep an eye on students drawing, recording audio, uploading and capturing images, and typing or writing in pre-placed text boxes in their Activity Pages.

Navigating the program

Digital navigation walkthrough

Physical materials walkthrough

Sample materials

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Integrated Strand

Demo access

Laptop screen displaying a login page for "amplify" with multiple sign-in options including google, clever, a qr code, and district sso.

Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.

  • Click the CKLA Demo button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • To explore as a teacher, enter this username: t1.alaskareads@demo.tryamplify.net
  • To explore as a student, enter this username: s1.alaskareads@demo.tryamplify.net
  • Enter the password: Amplify1-alaskareads
  • Click the Programs and apps menu
  • Select CKLA Teacher Resource Site
  • Select the desire grade level
CKLA Demo

Check out these additional resources

Amplify CKLA review resources:

What is Amplify CKLA?

Amplify CKLA is a core ELA program for grades TK–5 that delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach truly built on the Science of Reading.
  • A combination of explicit foundational skills with meaningful knowledge-building.
  • Embedded support and differentiation that gets all students reading grade-level texts together.
  • Opportunities for students to see the strengths and experiences that all people share while also celebrating each others’ unique identities and experiences.
  • Equitable and authentic Spanish language arts instruction with Amplify Caminos.
Reading rope showing knowledge-building and skill development strands, and the merging of language comprehension and word recognition

How does Amplify CKLA work?

Grades K–2: Dedicated knowledge-building and explicit skills instruction
Every day, students in Grades K–2 complete one full lesson that explicitly and systematically builds foundational reading skills in the Skills Strand, as well as one full lesson that builds robust background knowledge to access complex text in the Knowledge Strand. Through learning in each of these strands, students develop the early literacy skills necessary to help them become confident readers and build the context to understand what they’re reading.

Grades 3–5: Integrated instruction
In Grades 3–5, Knowledge and Skills are integrated in one set of instructional materials. Lessons begin to combine skills and knowledge with increasingly complex texts, close reading, and a greater writing emphasis. Students can then use their skills to go on their own independent reading adventures.

What makes Amplify CKLA different?

Built on the Science of Reading

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in grades K–2 with an integrated approach to explicit instruction in grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Explicit systematic skills instruction

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great decoding skills. By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Decodable books and student readers with ebook and audiobook versions that feature interesting plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.
  • An interactive Vocab App featuring engaging activities with immediate feedback and automated, customized instruction based on student performance.

Coherent knowledge instruction

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive Read-Alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.
  • Social and emotional learning paired with lessons in civic responsibility.
Illustration montage featuring scenes of learning: a cartoon character with books, two people shoveling snow under the stars, and an astronaut on a lunar landscape, with educational interfaces.

Embedded differentiation for all learners

Amplify CKLA provides built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students, including supports for English learners and Standard English learners.

  • Access supports for ELs: Integrated ELD supports in each lesson segment
    for English learners and Standard English learners are specific to students’ mastery of the lesson’s objectives.
  • Support and Challenge for all learners: Lessons include Support and Challenge suggestions that provide assistance or opportunities for more advanced work toward the goal of the lesson. These supports are suitable for all learners, including ELs.
  • 30 minutes of Additional Support in every Skills lesson: In the Skills Strand, every lesson concludes with an Additional Support section of recommendations for 30 minutes of extended instruction and activities, directly aligned to the skills taught in the lesson to assist students who need more support in mastering the lesson’s objectives.
  • Intervention Toolkit: The Intervention Toolkit provides easy-to-use resources to assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ foundational skills. Teachers will find of hundreds of activities to support phonics, fluency, comprehension, handwriting, and other key skills.

Designated ELD

Amplify CKLA’s designated English Language Development (ELD) component—Language Studio— helps English learners preview and revisit key content within core instruction, building a foundation of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. Core instruction lessons include point-of-use supports for English learners and Support and Challenge strategies for all learners.

Young boy with his hands over his mouth, looking up in wonder, beside a diagram labeled

Built on the California ELA/ELD Framework, our carefully developed program follows the CKLA Knowledge domains, previewing and reinforcing skills and content from core instruction using instruction specifically built for English learners. The program is also designed around frequent formative assessment, including assessment of language proficiency, giving you effective ways to guide and support your English learners.

Language Studio supports teachers and English learners through the following:

  • 30 minutes of instruction with lesson segments are carefully designed around Content Knowledge, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Foundational Skills.
  • Every Language Studio lesson accompanies a core lesson, helping English learners deepen domain and academic vocabulary that will help them access core content.
  • Culminating tasks support core projects and target the same skills as primary instruction.

Ready-to-go slides and all-in-one platform

The slides-based Amplify CKLA digital experience enhances instruction while saving you time. Everything you need is all in one place, making it easier than ever to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work.

  • Simplify planning and instruction: 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 Activity Books, slides, digital components, videos, Student Readers, and more.
  • Interactive student activities: Through the Student Home, students can easily access digital lessons with slides, Activity Pages, ebooks, videos, and other interactive resources from one simple dashboard.
  • Your teacher command center: You’re provided with the tools you need to ensure a productive digital experience that’s personalized to meet your students’ needs. This includes a teacher home from which to launch and track lessons, LMS integrations such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, and other customizations based on classroom needs.
  • Get real-time insights into your students’ work: The innovative live review tool enables you to keep an eye on students drawing, recording audio, uploading and capturing images, and typing or writing in pre-placed text boxes in their Activity Pages.

How does Amplify CKLA integrate with the other parts of the literacy system?

Amplify CKLA + mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition

Amplify CKLA integrates with your mCLASS assessment through the CKLA Connect feature, which matches your students with targeted CKLA lessons based on their mCLASS assessment data. In other words, it aligns your assessments more closely with your core curriculum while recommending effective differentiated instruction.

Screenshot of an educational platform. It shows lesson plans for a group on "Letter Sound Knowledge" under the heading "CKLA Connect." Group 2 has 2 students. Activities for phonics skills are listed below.

Amplify CKLA + Amplify Reading

Amplify Reading is the student-driven skill practice program within CKLA, providing differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Amplify Reading is built on the same approach to reading as CKLA, students are able to extend their learning from the core program further, at their own pace.

Amplify CKLA and Amplify Reading reinforce each other through:

  • An aligned scope and sequence and instructional approach: In both probrams, students get instruction and practice in phonological awareness and phonics, with the most common, least ambiguous spellings first.
  • Consistent vocabulary words: Many Amplify CKLA words are taught and practiced in Amplify Reading vocabulary games.
  • Complementary texts: Fiction and nonfiction books within Amplify Reading reinforce Amplify CKLA knowledge domains.
  • Seamless integrations between platforms: Students can easily access Amplify Reading directly from the Amplify CKLA Student Hub.
Educational website interface showing icons for theater, sounds, library, and activities with a greeting "hello student!" and a grade level indicator.

Navigating the program

Digital navigation walkthrough

Physical materials walkthrough

Check out these additional resources

Amplify CKLA review resources:

What is Amplify CKLA?

Amplify CKLA is a core ELA program for grades TK–5 that delivers:

  • A unique research-based approach truly built on the Science of Reading.
  • A combination of explicit foundational skills with meaningful knowledge-building.
  • Embedded support and differentiation that gets all students reading grade-level texts together.
  • Opportunities for students to see the strengths and experiences that all people share while also celebrating each others’ unique identities and experiences.
  • Authentic Spanish language arts instruction with Amplify Caminos.
A visual diagram shows strands for language comprehension and word recognition skills intertwining, with related educational materials pictured alongside each set of skills.

How does Amplify CKLA work?

Grades K–2: Dedicated knowledge-building and explicit skills instruction
Every day, students in Grades K–2 complete one full lesson that explicitly and systematically builds foundational reading skills in the Skills Strand, as well as one full lesson that builds robust background knowledge to access complex text in the Knowledge Strand. Through learning in each of these strands, students develop the early literacy skills necessary to help them become confident readers and build the context to understand what they’re reading.

Grades 3–5: Integrated instruction
In Grades 3–5, Knowledge and Skills are integrated in one set of instructional materials. Lessons begin to combine skills and knowledge with increasingly complex texts, close reading, and a greater writing emphasis. Students can then use their skills to go on their own independent reading adventures.

What makes Amplify CKLA different?

Built on the Science of Reading

Built out of the latest research in the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA delivers explicit instruction in both foundational literacy skills (systematic phonics, decoding, and fluency) and background knowledge in grades K–2 with an integrated approach to explicit instruction in grades 3–5.

Review this Science of Reading toolkit to learn more about the Science of Reading best practices integrated throughout CKLA.

Explicit systematic skills instruction

Great reading instruction starts with helping kids develop great decoding skills. By building a solid foundation of phonological awareness and phonics, reading the words on the page becomes automatic so that comprehension and critical thinking can happen. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Step-by-step lessons with multisensory approaches, clear lesson objectives, and embedded formative assessments.
  • Decodable books and student readers with ebook and audiobook versions that feature interesting plots and relatable characters.
  • An engaging sound library with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness.
  • An interactive Vocab App featuring engaging activities with immediate feedback and automated, customized instruction based on student performance.

Coherent knowledge instruction

Students build grade-appropriate subject-area knowledge and vocabulary in history, science, literature, and the arts while learning to read, write, and think creatively and for themselves. Our instruction is supported by:

  • Knowledge builders that provide a quick overview of each domain with its key ideas.
  • Interactive Read-Alouds designed to build knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Content-rich anchor texts that support students as they tackle increasingly complex text and sharpen their analytical skills.
  • Social and emotional learning paired with lessons in civic responsibility.
Illustration montage featuring scenes of learning: a cartoon character with books, two people shoveling snow under the stars, and an astronaut on a lunar landscape, with educational interfaces.

Embedded differentiation for all learners

Amplify CKLA provides built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students, including supports for English learners and Standard English learners.

  • Access supports for ELs: Integrated ELD supports in each lesson segment
    for English learners and Standard English learners are specific to students’ mastery of the lesson’s objectives.
  • Support and Challenge for all learners: Lessons include Support and Challenge suggestions that provide assistance or opportunities for more advanced work toward the goal of the lesson. These supports are suitable for all learners, including ELs.
  • 30 minutes of Additional Support in every Skills lesson: In the Skills Strand, every lesson concludes with an Additional Support section of recommendations for 30 minutes of extended instruction and activities, directly aligned to the skills taught in the lesson to assist students who need more support in mastering the lesson’s objectives.
  • Intervention Toolkit: The Intervention Toolkit provides easy-to-use resources to assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ foundational skills. Teachers will find of hundreds of activities to support phonics, fluency, comprehension, handwriting, and other key skills.

Designated ELD

Amplify CKLA’s designated English Language Development (ELD) component—Language Studio— helps English learners preview and revisit key content within core instruction, building a foundation of academic vocabulary and background knowledge. Core instruction lessons include point-of-use supports for English learners and Support and Challenge strategies for all learners.

Young boy with his hands over his mouth, looking up in wonder, beside a diagram labeled

Built on the California ELA/ELD Framework, our carefully developed program follows the CKLA Knowledge domains, previewing and reinforcing skills and content from core instruction using instruction specifically built for English learners. The program is also designed around frequent formative assessment, including assessment of language proficiency, giving you effective ways to guide and support your English learners.

Language Studio supports teachers and English learners through the following:

  • 30 minutes of instruction with lesson segments are carefully designed around Content Knowledge, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Foundational Skills.
  • Every Language Studio lesson accompanies a core lesson, helping English learners deepen domain and academic vocabulary that will help them access core content.
  • Culminating tasks support core projects and target the same skills as primary instruction.

Ready-to-go slides and all-in-one platform

The slides-based Amplify CKLA digital experience enhances instruction while saving you time. Everything you need is all in one place, making it easier than ever to plan lessons, present digital content, and review student work.

  • Simplify planning and instruction: 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 Activity Books, slides, digital components, videos, Student Readers, and more.
  • Interactive student activities: Through the Student Home, students can easily access digital lessons with slides, Activity Pages, ebooks, videos, and other interactive resources from one simple dashboard.
  • Your teacher command center: You’re provided with the tools you need to ensure a productive digital experience that’s personalized to meet your students’ needs. This includes a teacher home from which to launch and track lessons, LMS integrations such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, and other customizations based on classroom needs.
  • Get real-time insights into your students’ work: The innovative live review tool enables you to keep an eye on students drawing, recording audio, uploading and capturing images, and typing or writing in pre-placed text boxes in their Activity Pages.

How does Amplify CKLA integrate with the other parts of the literacy system?

Amplify CKLA + mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition

Amplify CKLA integrates with your mCLASS assessment through the CKLA Connect feature, which matches your students with targeted CKLA lessons based on their mCLASS assessment data. In other words, it aligns your assessments more closely with your core curriculum while recommending effective differentiated instruction.

A digital dashboard shows lesson summaries for CKLA Connect and a group of two students focusing on letter sound knowledge and related activities.

Amplify CKLA + Amplify Reading

Amplify Reading is the student-driven skill practice program within CKLA, providing differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Amplify Reading is built on the same approach to reading as CKLA, students are able to extend their learning from the core program further, at their own pace.

Amplify CKLA and Amplify Reading reinforce each other through:

  • An aligned scope and sequence and instructional approach: In both probrams, students get instruction and practice in phonological awareness and phonics, with the most common, least ambiguous spellings first.
  • Consistent vocabulary words: Many Amplify CKLA words are taught and practiced in Amplify Reading vocabulary games.
  • Complementary texts: Fiction and nonfiction books within Amplify Reading reinforce Amplify CKLA knowledge domains.
  • Seamless integrations between platforms: Students can easily access Amplify Reading directly from the Amplify CKLA Student Hub.
Screenshot of the CKLA Hub interface showing options for Theater, Sounds, Library, and Activities, with a note indicating access to Amplify Reading.

Navigating the program

Digital navigation walkthrough

Physical materials walkthrough

Sample materials

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Knowledge Strand:

Skills Strand:

Integrated Strand

Demo access

A laptop screen displays the Amplify login page with options to log in using Google, Clever, Amplify, QR code, or District SSO.

Follow the instructions below to access your demo account.

  • Click the CKLA and Caminos Demo button below.
  • Select Log in with Amplify.
  • To explore as a teacher, enter this username: t1.westadackla@demo.tryamplify.net
  • To explore as a student, enter this username: s1.westadackla@demo.tryamplify.net
  • Enter the password: Amplify1-westadackla
  • Click the Programs and apps menu
  • Select CKLA Teacher Resource Site
  • Select the desire grade level
  • Use the toggle to switch between English (CKLA) and Spanish (Caminos) resources.

Note: Your demo account access expires on January 19, 2023.

CKLA and Caminos Demo

Check out these additional resources

Amplify CKLA review resources:

Welcome, Amplify Tutoring caregivers!

Welcome to Amplify Tutoring! We’re excited to support your student with high-impact tutoring in both reading and/or math. Our program is grounded in research and designed to build confidence, strengthen foundational skills, and accelerate learning. We also provide tools and resources to help teachers and caregivers work together to create a strong culture of learning at home and at school. Para la versión en español, haga clic  aquí.

An adult and a child wearing blue headphones smile and give each other a high five while sitting at a table with a laptop.

What is high impact tutoring?

High-impact tutoring is small-group, targeted instruction that can lead to significant learning gains. Amplify Tutoring achieves these gains through the following best practices:

High-quality
materials

Tutors use high-quality reading and math lessons that are proven to work. You’ll see real progress and growth through your child’s individual data.

Frequent and consistent high-impact
tutoring sessions

Tutors provide personalized attention in small groups. Our program is designed for students to participate in three or more 30-minute sessions per week.

Supportive relationships and training

Consistent tutor-student pairings support relationship-building and higher achievement. Tutors receive ongoing professional development.

Amplify Tutoring provides your student with engaging and effective tutoring programming throughout the year.

Minutes matter

Every minute counts in helping your child learn and grow. To get the most out of tutoring, it’s important they come on time and attend regularly. Here are a few quick reminders:

How you can help your child get the most from tutoring

  1. Communicate with your child’s teacher. If your child can’t make it to tutoring, just let the teacher or coordinator know so they can support them.
  2. Make tutoring days a priority. Try your best to make sure your child is at school on tutoring days. Every session helps them grow!
  3. Ask for the tutoring schedule. Reach out to your child’s teacher or the tutoring coordinator to find out the days and times for tutoring.
  4. Plan around tutoring time. If you can, schedule appointments and other activities at different times so your child doesn’t miss a session.

Talking to your student about their Amplify Tutoring sessions

Discuss tutoring with your student at home or while getting ready for the day. To support their learning, you may consider:

Celebrating progress

Ask:

  • What new reading skills or strategies have you learned?
  • How has your reading improved since starting tutoring?
  • Do you have any favorite books or activities in tutoring?

Setting goals together

Ask:

  • What reading skills would you like to improve in tutoring?
  • What goal would you like to achieve by the end of the tutoring program?
  • What steps can you take to help achieve those goals?
  • How can I help support your goals?

Sharing your support

Ask:

  • How can I help you with your reading or math?
  • Can we set aside time each day for you to practice your skills?
  • What was the most interesting part of your tutoring session? 
  • What do you feel proud of achieving in this week’s sessions? 
  • When did you feel really excited about what you were learning?

Amplify Tutoring literacy support materials and resources

Caregivers, please find materials and resources below that may be helpful to you and your student.

mCLASS:

  • Schools participating in Amplify Tutoring use mCLASS assessment and mCLASS Intervention.
  • mCLASS assessment identifies reading risks and helps address student needs through targeted interventions such as high-impact tutoring.
  • Check the Understanding mCLASS guide for reading assessments, caregiver resources, and growth.
  • Explore the mCLASS caregiver hub in English and Spanish.
  • View the sample HomeConnect letter that highlights your student’s strengths and growth areas.
  • Visit the HomeConnect site which offers activities for your family to practice important literacy skills with your child. 

Boost Reading:

  • Boost Reading provides personalized instruction based on the Science of Reading.
  • It complements your student’s high-impact tutoring, giving them a place to practice the same skills.
  • Explore Boost Reading caregiver resources.

Note: All schools participating in Amplify Tutoring use mCLASS Intervention. Ask your student or their teacher about the implementation of Boost Reading.

Amplify Tutoring math support materials and resources

Caregivers, please find materials and resources below that may be helpful to you and your student. 

Amplify Math Tutoring materials:

Learn more about the mCLASS Math Assessment your student will take.

  • Schools participating in Amplify Math Tutoring use Amplify’s mCLASS math assessment, Amplify Desmos Math Mini-Lessons, and Amplify’s Fluency by Heart.
    • mCLASS assessment provides valuable insights into student math thinking. It shows how students think about grade-level math and what they already understand.
    • Amplify Desmos Math Mini-Lessons are the lessons tutors use to help guide your student through grade-level math concepts.
    • Amplify’s Fluency by Heart is the fact fluency program your student will use during tutoring. Students are encouraged to continue to practice their fact fluency through this program outside of tutoring, too!
  • Explore the Math Caregiver Hub in English and Spanish to learn more about Amplify Desmos Math!

Tutoring impacts

Amplify Tutoring works for students who need it most! In one large study of Amplify Tutoring in action, 70 percent of students who scored below benchmark and participated regularly in Amplify Tutoring made above-average growth. Tutored students were 22 percentage points more likely to make outsized growth than peers with a similar profile who did not receive high-impact tutoring at their school.

By providing targeted support tailored to individual needs, Amplify Tutoring enables students to receive the assistance they need and deserve.

See how Amplify Tutoring accelerates learning.

Looking for help or more information?

Visit amplify.com/tutoring to learn more about Amplify Tutoring.

For additional support, please contact your student’s teacher.

Thank you for everything you do to support your student’s learning!

Welcome, Boost Lectura families!

We’re excited to welcome you and your student to the Boost Lectura Caregiver Hub for the new school year. We’ve put together the following resources and guides to help you support your child throughout the year and give them the most productive experience possible with our platform.

Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

Cartoon dog in a soccer uniform kicks a "ma" ball toward a goal, saying "¡Hola!" and "Hello!"—highlighting how the Science of Reading can help boost reading skills in fun ways.

What is Boost Lectura?

Boost Lectura is an easy-to-use digital intervention program. The engaging world of Boost Lectura provides differentiated Spanish reading instruction for grades K–2, adapting to the unique needs of each reader. Your child can use the program during school hours and also independently at home.

Welcome to Boost Lectura!

Captura de pantalla de un video de dibujos animados educativos en pausa destinado a impulsar la lectura, que muestra un pájaro en un arbusto y una niña mirando desde detrás de un árbol, con opciones de palabras "ad" y "at".

What is my role?

Make sure your student can log in independently.

We recommend that you help your child log in at home via Clever or another platform. Your child’s teacher may also download and print a QR code or unique username and password that your child can use to log in. Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you’re unsure about the login process or did not receive login information.

Tips

  • Practice logging in with your child consistently until they can log in independently.
  • Keep their login information in a single place so they know where to go if they forget it.

Ilustración colorida de criaturas y objetos caprichosos, incluida una bola de cristal que muestra la silueta de un paisaje urbano, libros para estimular la lectura, una poción y una criatura vibrante que se asemeja a un gato.

Give your child a quiet space to work.

Get your child set up to use Boost Lectura at home: Make sure they have a set of headphones and a quiet place to play. You won’t need to assist them with their learning, since Boost Lectura is personalized to your child’s needs. Once they can log in, they can start using the program(s) independently. 

Give your child time to play independently.

Your child may begin with a placement activity, which will use their answers to match them to the content and games that are best for their reading skill level. It’s important that your child completes each activity independently, so the program accurately assesses their level. Encourage them to have fun and do their best!

Review digital safety.

Take a few moments to look at Protecting Kids Online, a site by the Federal Trade Commission all about safety for kids in the digital world.

Add to the fun!

Each K–2 student has a customizable digital companion called a Curioso. Print these Curioso coloring pages so your student can decorate their own Curioso!

Páginas para colorear con animales de dibujos animados vestidos con atuendos festivos y la palabra "¡Impulsa la lectura!" en un cartel en la parte superior.

Download Curioso Coloring Pages

How to get help

Screenshot of the Amplify support page with an orange header, bear illustration, search bar, and Boost Reading help article categories displayed in a grid layout.

We’re here to help you!

Have a question about Boost Lectura? 

Visit our help center to search for articles with answers to your questions about the program. 

For additional support, please contact your child’s teacher.

Frequently asked questions

We recommend checking in with your child’s teacher to find out how much they should be using these programs at home, since they may also be using the programs during the school day. This is our general recommendation:

Boost Lectura

If using only Boost Lectura, your student should play for about 30–45 minutes total per week, broken up into 10–15-minute sessions.

Boost Lectura and Boost Reading 

If using both Boost Lectura and Boost Reading, your student should play each week for about 40 minutes total across both programs, with each session lasting about 10–15 minutes.

We actually recommend that you don’t step in to help if your child is having trouble with the content! While this can be hard, please understand that Boost Lectura is designed to adapt based on your student’s answers, providing them with additional support and instructions to help them move forward.

Welcome, Boost Reading families!

We’re excited to welcome you and your student to the Boost Reading Caregiver Hub for the new school year. We’ve put together the following resources and guides to help you support your child throughout the year and give them the most productive experience possible with our platform.

Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.

A young girl wearing headphones uses a tablet, with colorful cartoon trees and a bird character in the background. A label reads "Built on the Science of Reading" and highlights how Boost Reading supports learning.

What is Boost Reading?

Boost Reading is a student-led, digital intervention program based on the Science of Reading. The engaging world of Boost Reading uses adaptive technology to deliver targeted remediation support for K–5 students, adjusting to the unique needs of each reader. Your child can use the program during school hours and also independently at home.

Welcome to Boost Reading!

Captura de pantalla de un video de dibujos animados educativos en pausa destinado a impulsar la lectura, que muestra un pájaro en un arbusto y una niña mirando desde detrás de un árbol, con opciones de palabras "ad" y "at".

What is my role?

Make sure your student can log in independently.

We recommend you help your child log in at home via Clever or another platform. Your child’s teacher may also download and print a QR code or unique username and password that your child can use to log in. Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you’re unsure about the login process or did not receive login information.

Tips

  • Practice logging in with your student consistently until they can log in independently.
  • Keep their login information in a single place so they know where to go if they forget it.

Ilustración colorida de criaturas y objetos caprichosos, incluida una bola de cristal que muestra la silueta de un paisaje urbano, libros para estimular la lectura, una poción y una criatura vibrante que se asemeja a un gato.

Give your child a quiet space to work.

Get your child set up to use Boost Reading at home: Make sure they have a set of headphones and a quiet place to play. You won’t need to assist them with their learning, since Boost Reading is personalized to your child’s needs. Once they can log in, they can start using the program independently.

Give your child time to play independently.

Your child may begin with a placement activity, which will use their answers to match them to the content that is best for their reading skill level. It’s important that your child completes each activity independently, so the program accurately assesses their level. Encourage them to have fun and do their best!

Review digital safety.

Take a few moments to look at Protecting Kids Online, a site by the Federal Trade Commission all about safety for kids in the digital world.

Add to the fun!

Each student has a digital companion called a Curioso. Print these Curioso coloring pages so your student can decorate their own Curioso!

Páginas para colorear con animales de dibujos animados vestidos con atuendos festivos y la palabra "¡Impulsa la lectura!" en un cartel en la parte superior.

Curioso Coloring Pages

How to get help

Screenshot of the Amplify support page with an orange header, bear illustration, search bar, and Boost Reading help article categories displayed in a grid layout.

We’re here to help you!

Have a question about Boost Reading? 

Visit our help center to search for articles with answers to your questions about the program. 

For additional support, please contact your child’s teacher.

Frequently asked questions

We recommend checking in with your child’s teacher to find out how much they should be using this program at home, since they may also be using the program during the school day. This is our general recommendation:

Boost Reading

If using only Boost Reading in grades K–3, your student should play for about 30–45 minutes total per week, broken up into 10–15-minute sessions. If your student is using only Boost Reading in grades 4–5, they should play for 40–60 minutes total each week, broken up into 20–30-minute sessions.

Boost Reading and Boost Lectura

If your student is using both Boost Reading and Boost Lectura, they should play each week for about 40 total minutes  across both programs, with each session lasting about 10–15 minutes.

We actually recommend that you don’t step in to help if your child is having trouble with the content! While this can be hard, please understand that Boost Reading is designed to adapt based on your student’s answers, providing them with additional support and instructions to help them move forward in the game. 

Frequently asked questions

The following FAQ contains the answers to some of the most common questions that we receive from pilot teachers like you.

Still have questions? Your dedicated pilot support coordinator would be happy to help. His or her contact information can be found in the pilot support brochure you received during your pilot implementation training. If you prefer, request that your pilot support coordinator gets in touch with you by completing this form.

A teacher discusses educational content in front of a whiteboard while students in the classroom raise their hands eagerly.

Program questions

It’s true. Our teacher’s guide does not look like the typical guide that comes with a traditional textbook. Here’s why: we aren’t a traditional textbook program. Rather, we’re a next generation curriculum designed to support a shift to a whole new way of teaching science.

With this shift, your district will be faced with supporting a wide-variety of needs from a wide-variety of teachers. For that reason, the resources required to successfully implement a new program will vary considerably from teacher to teacher. That’s precisely why our Teacher’s Reference Guide is chock full of so many rich and varied resources. From scientific background knowledge to suggested teacher talk, standards maps to materials lists, and lesson preparation notes and classroom management tips to strategies for differentiating instruction, this guide is truly meant to serve as an instructional reference.

For everyday instructional use, we recommend that busy classroom teachers use Classroom Slides, which are now available for most K–5 units and will be coming soon for grades 6–8.

Also known as our hands-free TG, Classroom Slides are a brand-new teaching resource that makes delivering daily instruction easy and fun. With a fully customizable PPT available for every lesson of the program, teachers can put down the Teacher’s Guide and focus on what matters most—their students.

Classroom Slides are:

  • Available offline, which means no more sweating unreliable internet connections.
  • Streamlined for easy lesson delivery, including lesson visuals, activity instructions and transitions, animations, investigation setup videos, technology support, and more.
  • Fully editable, allowing teachers to incorporate their own flavor, flair, and favorite resources.

Our development team is working as quickly as possible to make Classroom Slides available to all teachers. That said, at this time they are only available for the first and second units of each grade K–5, with the remaining units being released over the next few months. Due to the popularity of Classroom Slides at the elementary level, development for grades 6–8 is now underway, with all units scheduled for completion by the 2020-2021 school year.

Not to worry. Amplify Science California was developed with plenty of wiggle room built right into the program. This means that you can relax knowing that there’s ample time to get it all done.
 
Most curricula provide 180 days of lessons despite knowing that the typical classroom can’t possibly complete everything in a given school year. Rather than asking you to wade through unnecessary content, we designed a program that addresses 100 percent of the California NGSS in just 66 days at grades K–2 and 88 days at grades 3–5, and 146 days at grades 6–8.

While we took great care in ensuring cohesiveness across units and grade levels, we also know that the ability level of your students changes from year to year. As a result, you need a program that provides adaptable and flexible pacing, and that empowers you to make instructional decisions in the moment.

As you evaluate how well Amplify Science California can accommodate your pacing needs, consider the following:

Progress Builds: Our Progress Builds describe the way in which students’ understanding of the central phenomenon should develop and deepen over the course of a unit. Each Progress Build defines several levels of understanding, with each level integrating and building upon the knowledge and skills from lower levels. Because these Progress Builds are directly tied to the program’s system of assessments, teachers are armed with the data they need to make informed decisions about when to move on, when to slow down, and when to revisit a concept and dive deeper.

A chart titled Animal and Plant Defenses Progress Build outlines three levels of understanding about survival strategies in animals and plants.

Multiple at-bats: Rather than introducing a concept on Monday, testing for mastery on Friday, and knowing students will forget everything by the next Tuesday, we set out to help students build meaningful and lasting knowledge that they can retain and transfer over the course of the entire unit. We accomplish this by giving students multiple opportunities (a.k.a. “at-bats”) to encounter, explore, and experience a concept. Said another way, Amplify Science California is actually made up of a series of multi-modal “mini-lessons”. This intentional cyclical and iterative design mirrors the 5Es, allows teachers the flexibility to speed up or skip ahead once students have demonstrated mastery, and empowers students to learn concepts more deeply than any other program. 

Graphic showing a research process with four steps: spark intrigue with a real-world problem, explore evidence, explain and elaborate, and evaluate claims, connected in a cycle with arrows.

Extension activities: When some students are ready to move on and others are not, our unit extension activities can be a big help. Found in the Lesson Brief section of both the digital and printed Teacher’s Guide, these activities ensure that advanced learners remain engaged and challenged while teachers help the rest of the class build the foundational knowledge they need to be successful later in the unit.

What’s important to remember is that more hands-on doesn’t necessarily mean better, at least according to the California NGSS. That’s because only two of the eight Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) are directly related to hands-on learning. 

Just as scientists gather evidence from many types of sources, so do students in the Amplify Science California program. Like scientists, students gather evidence from physical models, digital models, texts, videos, photographs, maps, and data sets. By doing so, we provide students more opportunities than any other program to practice using all of the practices called out in the California NGSS Framework.

NGSS 8 Science Practices

  1. Asking questions
  2. Developing and using models
  3. Planning and carrying out investigations
  4. Analyzing and interpreting data
  5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
  6. Constructing explanations
  7. Engaging in arguments from evidence
  8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

While all of our units engage students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, the reliance on different types of evidence (and evidence sources) varies according to unit. For instance, some units lend themselves to meaningful hands-on experiences, while in other units the phenomena students are investigating are too slow, too dangerous, or too big to be observed directly. In those units, students rely more heavily on other evidence sources such a physical models or simulations.

Unit types in grades K–5
In each K–5 grade, there is one unit that emphasizes investigation, one that emphasizes modeling, and one that emphasizes design. In addition, in grades 3–5, there is also one unit that emphasizes argumentation.

Unit types in grades 6–8
Each 6–8 grade features three types of units: Launch, Core, and Engineering Internships. Each year has one Launch unit, six Core units, and two Engineering Internships.

For teachers who wish to supplement the lessons with even more hands-on activities, optional “flextension” activities are included in many units.

As a blended curriculum, districts who adopt Amplify Science California are outfitted with a variety of print and digital resources as well as hands-on materials kits. To explore the specific components of the program, visit our What’s Included page.

As our customers will tell you, when you adopt Amplify Science California, you aren’t just buying a science curriculum, you’re joining a family. As such, along with materials, your adoption of Amplify Science California also includes care and support through a variety of staff and resources, including: customer support specialists, pedagogical support specialist, implementation specialists, professional learning specialists, educational partnership managers, and more.

Technical questions

To ensure that your hardware and network meet the minimum technical requirements for optimal performance and support of your digital curriculum products please see Amplify’s customer requirements page.

Absolutely! While 1:1 scenarios are great, they aren’t required. That’s because all Amplify Science California lessons were designed with device sharing in mind, and never assume that every student has a separate device. 

When the use of practice apps is called for in a lesson, you have several options:

  • If internet access is unavailable—“Preload” the digital tool on your device or devices for use offline.
  • If limited student devices are available—Have students do the activities in pairs or small groups.
  • If no student devices are available—Project the digital tool to the class and either “drive” the digital tool yourself or invite students to “drive” by using your device.

learning.amplify.com gives you access to the digital Teacher’s Guide and also gives your students (grades 6–8) access to the digital student experience.

apps.learning.amplify.com/elementary gives your students (grades 2–5) access to any practice apps referenced in the instruction. The teacher will either need to log in using their credentials, or have student accounts set up.

Tech headaches are never fun. However, implementing the following tips can help you keep the tech gremlins away.

  • Display the student URLs near the classroom display materials.
  • Before you start a unit, download all unit and lesson resources using the Offline Guide found in the Unit Guide of your digital Teacher’s Guide. In the event that connectivity issues strike, you will still be able to conduct your lessons without interruption.
  • Use Chrome or Safari if possible as these are our preferred browsers.
  • Disable pop-up blockers on all devices being used to support lessons.
  • Be prepared for some webpages to open in a new tab and for PDF files to download automatically.
  • Check and test your connections to any projection devices that you might be using throughout the lesson.
  • Display the student URLs near the classroom display materials.

Frequently asked questions

Still have questions? We have answers. Check out the following FAQ.

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Program questions

Amplify Science California is a flexible, blended K–8 science curriculum that addresses 100 percent of the Next Generation Science Standards for California, and a significant number of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects, and Math, as well as the California English Language Development Standards. Together, the units deliver three-dimensional instruction across the following disciplines: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, and Engineering Design.

Since Amplify Science California is a blended curriculum, districts who adopt it are outfitted with a variety of print and digital resources as well as hands-on materials kits. To explore the specific components of the program, visit the What’s Included portion of our site.

As our customers will tell you, when you adopt Amplify Science California, you aren’t just buying a science curriculum, you’re joining a family. As such, along with materials, your adoption of Amplify Science California also includes care and support through a variety of staff and resources, including customer support specialists, pedagogical support specialists, implementation specialists, professional learning specialists, educational partnership managers, and more.

Amplify Science California does indeed features some powerful and engaging digital components, which are gradually introduced beginning at grade 2. However, as a fully blended and flexible program, Amplify Science California can be (and has been) implemented in a wide variety of scenarios.

All lessons were designed with device sharing in mind, and never assume that every student has a separate device. While 1:1 scenarios are great, they aren’t required. When devices are necessary for students to fully experience a concept, teachers can opt to share devices across pairs or small groups, or simply display the Sim or Modeling Tool to the whole class and allow students to “drive” using your device.

Rather than introducing a concept on Monday, testing for mastery on Friday, and knowing students will forget everything by the next Tuesday, we set out to help students build meaningful and lasting knowledge that they can retain and transfer over the course of the entire unit. We accomplish this by giving students multiple opportunities (a.k.a. “at-bats”) to encounter, explore, and experience a concept. Said another way, Amplify Science California is actually made up of a series of multi-modal “mini-lessons.” This intentional cyclical and iterative design mirrors the 5Es, allows teachers the flexibility to speed up or skip ahead once students have demonstrated mastery, and empowers students to learn concepts more deeply than any other program.

We support both. No one solution works for everyone; therefore, in partnership with the Lawrence Hall of Science, we developed suggested sequences for both the integrated model of instruction and the discipline-specific model. Because it’s our goal to provide districts the maximum amount of flexibility, we’re also happy to support districts interested in implementing a different sequence of instruction.

Yes. Rather than separating Performance Expectations into physical science units, earth and space science units, and life science units, Amplify Science California units are organized around anchoring phenomena designed to give students opportunities to dive deeply into certain disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) while also drawing from or applying to others. In organizing the Amplify Science California middle school units, we’ve carefully sequenced these ideas within each grade level to support the development of deep and coherent understanding.

Many real-world phenomena cross the domain boundaries of life, physical, or earth and space science (as well as engineering). Each Amplify Science California unit begins with an intriguing real-world phenomenon that poses a problem that needs to be understood and/or solved. By the end of the unit, students will have analyzed the anchor phenomenon across multiple scientific domains, possibly designed and tested an engineering solution, and always applied what they’ve learned in a different context.

For example:
In the unit Light Waves, students investigate the anchoring phenomenon of why Australia has a much higher skin cancer rate than countries at similar latitudes like Brazil. The focus of this unit is on disciplinary core ideas related to wave properties (PS4.A) and electromagnetic radiation (PS4.B). Students explore these physical science ideas deeply within the unit, and also draw on ideas from earth science (e.g., latitudinal variation of the sun’s energy) and life science (e.g., the effect of energy on the DNA in the nucleus of a cell) in order to explain the central phenomenon.

Absolutely. Hands-on learning is at the heart of Amplify Science California. Integrated into every unit are opportunities for students to take on the role of scientists and engineers as they gather evidence, think critically, solve problems, and develop and defend their claims.

In addition, our unique combination of focus and flex activities means teachers have more options, opportunities, and materials to make learning active. Each hands-on activity provides clear instructions for the teacher, with more complex activities supported by video demonstrations and illustrations.

What’s important to remember is that more hands-on doesn’t necessarily mean better, at least according to the California NGSS. That’s because only two of the eight Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) are directly related to hands-on learning.
Just as scientists gather evidence from many types of sources, so do students in the Amplify Science California program. Like scientists, students gather evidence from physical models, digital models, texts, videos, photographs, maps, and data sets. By doing do, we provide students more opportunities than any other program to practice using all of the practices called out in the California NGSS Framework.

NGSS 8 Science Practices

  1. Asking questions
  2. Developing and using models
  3. Planning and carrying out investigations
  4. Analyzing and interpreting data
  5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
  6. Constructing explanations
  7. Engaging in arguments from evidence
  8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

While all of our units engage students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, the reliance on different types of evidence (and evidence sources) varies according to unit. For instance, some units lend themselves to meaningful hands-on experiences, while in other units the phenomena students are investigating are too slow, too dangerous, or too big to be observed directly. In those units, students rely more heavily on other evidence sources such a physical models or simulations.

Unit types in grades K-5

In each K–5 grade, there is one unit that emphasizes investigation, one that emphasizes modeling, and one that emphasizes design. In addition, in grades 3–5, there is also one unit that emphasizes argumentation.

Unit types in grades 6-8

Each 6–8 grade features three types of units: Launch, Core, and Engineering Internships. Each year has one Launch unit, six Core units, and two Engineering Internships.

For teachers who want to supplement the lessons with even more hands-on activities, optional “flextension” activities are included in many units.

Yes indeed. Amplify Science California integrates all four STEM disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and math—in addition to English Language Arts—throughout the curriculum. In addition, each grade level features specific units that emphasize engineering design.

Every lesson in Amplify Science California explicitly calls out which CCSS ELA and CCSS Math standards are addressed. That said, this is not a math program, nor an ELA program; therefore, it does not address all of the Common Core standards. But the program does address a significant number of the standards as they pertain to science.

Yes, the program includes multiple opportunities for summative assessments.

End-of-unit assessments: At grades K–1 these look like targeted conversations, at grades 2–5 we incorporate written responses, and at grades 6–8 we assess through a combination of auto-scored multiple-choice questions and rubric-scored written responses. These summative assessments for each unit are designed to provide valid, reliable, and fair measures of students’ progress and attainment of three-dimensional learning.

Benchmark assessments: Delivered four times per year in grades 3–5 and three times per year in grades 6–8, benchmark assessments report on students’ facility with each of the grade-level appropriate DCIs, SEPs, CCCs, and performance expectations of the California NGSS.

Science Seminars and final written arguments (formative and summative components): In grades 6–8, culminating performance tasks for each core unit invite students to figure out a new real-world problem. They collect and analyze evidence, examine a number of claims, and then engage in a full-class discussion where they must state which claims are best supported by the evidence, all while making clear their reasoning that connects the evidence to the claims. After the seminar, students then individually write their final scientific argument, drawing on the DCIs, SEPs, and CCCs they have used over the course of the unit to develop a sophisticated and convincing argument that addresses the problem they’ve been investigating. Rubrics, scoring guides, and examples of student responses at each scoring level are provided to teachers to support the assessment of students’ understanding of concepts and specific practices.

No. While we do provide suggested sequences for integrated and domain courses, there are other logical ways to sequence the units and we expect that teachers will present the units in a variety of different orders and in any combination. There are a few notable exceptions. For example, students completing the Metabolism Engineering Internship should have completed the Metabolism core unit beforehand, or a unit that provides students with the same information. Amplify Science California specifies prerequisites for each unit in the event that teachers are interested in using an Amplify Science California unit in combination with other materials.

The typical elementary classroom delivers science instruction only two times per week. Yet, most curricula provide 180 days of lessons. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed a program that addresses 100 percent of the NGSS in just 66 days at grades K–2 and 88 days at grades 3–5. With plenty of wiggle room built right into the program, teachers can relax knowing that there’s ample time to get it all done.

Amplify Science California provides more than enough instructional content to fill 180 days of instruction. However, unlike other programs that expect you to complete 180 discrete lessons, Amplify Science California includes built in wiggle room.

For example, the typical elementary classroom delivers science instruction only two times per week. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our program to address 100 percent of the California NGSS in just 66 days at grades K–2 and 88 days at grades 3–5. When it comes to middle school, we address 100 percent of the California NGSS in 146 lessons.

Some classes might last longer than one session due to a number of reasons (e.g., enthusiastic student conversations, challenging topics requiring deeper dives, more time needed to accommodate diverse learners, etc.). Also, teachers might want to supplement Amplify Science California with some of their own favorite lessons. Lastly, we’ve accounted for the inevitable assembly days, class trips, testing schedules, et cetera. For teachers that want to go deeper or expand upon a unit topic, we also offer a number of additional lessons that are not core to each unit.

Amplify Science California lessons are designed to be completed in the following timeframes:
Grades K-1 lessons are designed for 45 minutes of science instruction.
Grades 2-5 lessons are designed for 60 minutes of science instruction.
Grades 6-8 lessons are designed for 45 minutes of science instruction.

That said, it’s not a problem if you can’t allocate 45 mins of science instruction every day at K-1, or 60 minutes per day at 2-5. Since there are a total of 66 lessons to address 100 percent of California NGSS at grades K-2, and 88 lessons to address 100 percent of California NGSS at grades 3-5, you can easily teach the lessons in smaller blocks and cover all of the content over the course of the school year.

Technical questions

To ensure that your hardware and network meet the minimum technical requirements for optimal performance and support of your digital curriculum products please see Amplify’s customer requirements page.

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Amplify Science professional development

Amplify Science blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers. We’ve created a wide suite of professional development offerings that will help you meet your unique needs this school year. Find out more below!

Professional Learning Partner Guide Certified Provider

Amplify CKLA, ELA, and Science professional development has been vetted by Rivet Education’s team through a rigorous three-step process and is listed in the Professional Learning Partner Guide.

Three women sitting at a table using a tablet to discuss stimulus funding for schools in a professional meeting.

Plan your professional development

We’re excited to partner with you on your Amplify journey. Flexible professional development pathways have been designed to meet your needs.

Illustration of three educational phases: a teacher launches a rocket, another reads a book, and four individuals discuss in a meeting setting.

Recommended professional development plan

Our team has curated a recommended professional learning path from initial launch to continuous support. Use the Professional Development Planning Guide below to discuss the plan that best meets your school or district needs with your Account Executive.

View the Professional Development Planning Guide

Sessions overview

Recommended sessions are highlighted below.
Audience Title Duration Modality Available
Launch
K–5 instructional leaders Administrators’ program overview Half day Onsite/Remote Yes^
TK teachers Transitional kindergarten program overview Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
K–5 teachers Initial training 1 day onsite
or 2 days
remote		 Onsite/Remote Yes*^
K–5 teachers Program overview Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Interactive Classroom consultation 90 min. Remote Yes
6–8 instructional leaders Administrators’ program overview Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
6–8 teachers Initial training 1 day onsite
or 2 days
remote		 Onsite/Remote Yes*
6–8 teachers Program overview Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Strengthen
K–5 instructional leaders Strengthening consultation session 60 min. Remote 6/2022
Strengthening consultation package 3 1-hour sessions Remote 6/2022
K–5 teachers Guided unit internalization Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
K–5 teachers The Assessment System Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Supporting all learners with complex texts Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Writing in science Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Supporting English learners Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Strengthening consultation session 60 min. Remote 6/2022
Strengthening consultation package 3 1-hour sessions Remote 6/2022
6–8 instructional leaders Strengthening consultation session 60 min. Remote 6/2022
Strengthening consultation package 3 1-hour sessions Remote 6/2022
6–8 teachers Guided unit internalization Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
6–8 teachers The Assessment System Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Supporting all learners with complex texts Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Writing in science Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Supporting English learners Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Engineering Internships Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Science Seminar Half day Onsite/Remote Yes
Strengthening consultation session 60 min. Remote  6/2022
Strengthening consultation package 3 1-hour sessions Remote  6/2022
Coach
K–5 instructional leaders Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC) 1 day Onsite Yes
K–5 teachers Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC) 1 day Onsite/Remote Yes
6–8 instructional leaders Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC) 1 day Onsite Yes
6–8 teachers Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC) 1 day Onsite/Remote Yes
Note for all workshops:  Any single three-hour offering can be repeated on the same day with different audiences to make one full-day session.
*When delivered remotely, this full-day initial training session (6 hours) is split into two half-day sessions (3 hours each). Part 1 and Part 2 may be scheduled consecutively on the same day or on different days, ideally within ~2 weeks. The same participants should attend both sessions in order to receive all content. This flexible scheduling opportunity for remote sessions will be available starting 6/2022.

^Session will be available for IC customers after June 1, 2022.

Launch

For teachers

Initial training

1 day onsite (6 hours) or 2 half days remote (6 hours)*
Grade band: K–1 / K–5 / 6–8
Grade level: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

In the first half of this session, participants learn the essentials necessary to implement Amplify Science with success. They learn to navigate the digital Amplify Science platform and become familiar with planning resources and strategies. Through a model lesson and guided reflection, participants build an understanding of the instructional approach to teaching and learning. In the second half of this session, participants dig deeper into unit resources to start planning for instruction for their first grade-level unit.

When delivered as a grade band session, Part 1 will feature an exemplar from the following units:

  • K–1 workshops feature an exemplar from the grade 1 unit Animal and Plant Defenses.
  • K–5 workshops feature an exemplar from the grade 4 unit Energy Conversions.
  • 6–8 workshops feature an exemplar from the Metabolism Core unit.

When delivered as a grade level session, Part 1 features the following units:

  • K: Needs of Plants and Animals
  • 1: Animal and Plant Defenses
  • 2: Plant and Animal Relationships
  • 3: Balancing Forces
  • 4: Energy Conversions
  • 5: Patterns of Earth and Sky

6–8 workshops feature one of the following units:

  • Metabolism
  • Plate Motion
  • Force and Motion

Interactive Classroom customers: Select K-5 grade band or K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 grade level sessions (available starting 6/2022)

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

*When delivered remotely, this full-day initial training session (6 hours) is split into two half-day sessions (3 hours each). Part 1 and Part 2 may be scheduled consecutively on the same day or on different days, ideally within two weeks. The same participants should attend both sessions in order to receive all content. This flexible scheduling opportunity for remote sessions will be available starting 6/2022.

Interactive Classroom consultation

90 minutes
Grade band: K–5
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this remote consultation session, participants prepare to leverage Amplify Science’s new K-5 Interactive Classroom experience. The session includes a walkthrough of new digital features available to teachers and an opportunity for participants to experience these enhancements through modeled activities from an exemplar K-5 unit. The session closes with time for participants to explore the digital features and ask questions to support their planning.

*This session is designed for experienced Amplify Science users who are new to adding Interactive Classroom.

Audience: Teachers, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Remote

Program overview

Half day (3 hours)
Grand band: K–1, K–5, 6–8
Grade level: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

In this session, participants learn the essentials necessary to implement Amplify Science with success. They learn to navigate the digital Amplify Science platform and become familiar with planning resources and strategies. Through a model lesson and guided reflection, participants build an understanding of the instructional approach to teaching and learning.

When delivered as a grade band session, an exemplar will be featured from the following units:

  • K–1 workshops feature an exemplar from the grade 1 unit Animal and Plant Defenses.
  • K–5 workshops feature an exemplar from the grade 4 unit Energy Conversions.
  • 6–8 workshops feature an exemplar from Metabolism.

When delivered as a grade level session, the following units will be featured:

  • K: Needs of Plants and Animals
  • 1: Animal and Plant Defenses
  • 2: Plant and Animal Relationships
  • 3: Balancing Forces
  • 4: Energy Conversions
  • 5: Patterns of Earth and Sky

6–8 workshops feature one of the following units:

  • Metabolism
  • Plate Motion
  • Force and Motion

Interactive Classroom customers: Select K-5 grade band or K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 grade level sessions

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Transitional kindergarten program overview

Half day (3 hours)
Grade level: TK

In this session, participants dive into exploring and planning for the first TK unit, Wondering About Noises in Trees. They engage with model activities, experience key instructional routines, and plan how they’ll implement this flexible curriculum in their classrooms. Participants collaborate to build a deep understanding of the TK instructional approach and structure. They will leave ready to start instruction in their classrooms, and take away a suite of additional resources to support their preparation for other TK units.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remotewelcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

For instructional leaders

Administrators’ program overview

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8

In this session, instructional leaders become familiar with the principles of phenomenon-based teaching and learning, and experience the instructional approach of Amplify Science units. Leaders consider their essential role supporting teachers and students with the implementation of a new science curriculum.

Interactive Classroom customers: Select K-5 grade band session (available starting 6/2022)

Audience: Administrators, department chairs, coaches, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Strengthen

For teachers

The Assessment System

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this session, participants learn about the structure and purpose of the varied formative and summative opportunities in the Amplify Science Assessment System. Participants experience and analyze a sample formative assessment, deepen their understanding of unit learning progressions, and acquire strategies for collecting, analyzing, and responding to student assessment data. Collaborative reflections and discussions support participants’ understanding of the relationships among different types of assessments and their unit’s learning goals.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Supporting all learners with complex texts

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this session, participants learn strategies to support all students as they access the complex texts in Amplify Science units. They explore the connections among the ways professional scientists read and how Amplify Science lessons build students’ capacity as science readers. The workshop includes a model reading sequence, collaborative problem-solving around common student reading challenges, and planning time for upcoming reading lessons in participants’ units.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Writing in science

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

K–5: In this session, participants develop an understanding of how the Amplify Science writing approach supports students to engage in science practices, make sense of science ideas, and develop as writers. Participants experience an example multimodal instructional sequence that demonstrates the connections among informal daily writing and the more structured formal scientific explanations and arguments students write in each Amplify Science unit. They dig into resources for analyzing student writing then apply their learning to plan for supporting student writing in their unit.

6-8: In this session, participants develop an understanding of how the Amplify Science writing approach supports students to engage in science practices, make sense of science ideas, and develop as writers. Participants experience an example instructional sequence that demonstrates the varied purposes for frequent small, informal writing opportunities in multimodal science instruction, then they analyze how each core unit’s culminating Science Seminar experience works as a scaffold to support students as they write sophisticated scientific arguments. The session closes with a guided reflection on strategies for supporting student writing.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Supporting English learners

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this session, participants explore strategies to support English learners’ ability to do, talk, read, write, visualize, and construct arguments like scientists. By engaging in model activities, participants deepen their knowledge of the critical role that language and literacy play in developing scientific understanding. Participants become familiar with the research-based principles underlying the embedded supports and strategies in Amplify Science, which aid in students’ development of disciplinary literacy in science.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Guided unit internalization

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Grade level: TK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this session, participants leverage a planning protocol to internalize an upcoming unit. They apply their understanding of how students engage in three-dimensional learning throughout the unit to plan for the diverse needs of their classrooms and students.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Engineering Internships

Half day (3 hours)
Grade level: 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

In this session, participants explore and plan for the first Engineering Internship of their grade-level course. Participants are oriented to the Futura Workspace and other digital tools used with students in the internship experience. Participants also dive deeper into how students apply science concepts from core units to construct design solutions, learning engineering concepts and practices throughout the process.

Workshop will feature one of the following units:

  • Metabolism Engineering Internship
  • Plate Motion Engineering Internship
  • Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Science Seminar

Half day (3 hours)
Grade band: 6–8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

This session focuses on the culminating Science Seminar sequence at the end of the grades 6–8 core units, in which students apply the conceptual understanding built throughout the unit to engage in argumentation about a unique but related phenomenon. Participants experience a Science Seminar sequence from an exemplar unit as students do, then dive into a unit at their grade level to internalize the Science Seminar sequence and plan for instruction.

Audience: Teachers (administrators welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Strengthening consultation session

60-minute session
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Grade level: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

This 60-minute session focuses on a specific topic that will deepen teachers understanding of Amplify Science. An Amplify facilitator will align with the school or district leadership team in advance on the topic (chosen from a menu of options) that will best meet teachers’ unique options.

Topics include:

  • Supporting Diverse Learners: Exploring the resources (for K–8 teachers)
  • Supporting Diverse Learners: Leveraging and Building upon Embedded Supports A: Teacher modeling and student discourse (for K–8 teachers)
  • Supporting Diverse Learners: Leveraging and Building upon Embedded Supports B: Multimodal instruction
  • Planning an Amplify Science lesson (for K–8 teachers)
  • Unit kits and materials prep (for K–5 teachers)
  • Grading with Amplify Science (for K–8 teachers)
  • Analyzing Student Work (for K–8 teachers)

Available starting 6/2022.

Audience: Teachers, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Remote

Strengthening consultation package

3 1-hour sessions
Grade band:K–5 / 6–8
Grade level:K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite:Initial training or program overview

This package consists of three 60-minute sessions that can be delivered on the same day or on different days. Each session will focus on a specific topic that will deepen teachers understanding of Amplify Science. An Amplify facilitator will align with the school or district’s leadership team in advance on the topic from a menu of options that will best meet teachers’ unique needs.

Available starting 6/2022.

Audience:Teachers, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Remote

For instructional leaders

Strengthening consultation session

60-minute session
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Grade level: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite: Administrators’ program overview

These 60 minute sessions will focus on a specific topic that will deepen instructional leaders’ understanding in Amplify Science and equip them in driving towards stronger student outcomes. An Amplify facilitator will align with the school or district’s leadership team in advance on the topic from a menu of options that will best meet instructional leaders’ unique needs.

Topic available for summer 2022: Amplify Science classroom look-fors (for K-8 leaders).

Available starting 6/2022.

Audience: Administrators, department chairs, coaches, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Remote

Strengthening consultation package

3 1-hour sessions
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Administrators’ program overview

This package consists of three 60-minute sessions that can be delivered on the same day or on different days. Each session will focus on a specific topic that will deepen leaders’ understanding of Amplify Science. An Amplify facilitator will align with the school or district’s leadership team in advance on the topic from a menu of options that will best meet leaders’ unique needs.

Available starting 6/2022.

Audience: Administrators, department chairs, coaches, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Remote

Coach

For teachers

Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC) services: Teachers

1 day (6 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Grade level: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Prerequisite: Initial training or program overview

Strengthen your implementation of Amplify Science with a coaching onsite visit for your teachers. An Amplify Science Professional Learning Specialist can visit classrooms for observation and debriefs with focused feedback and/or facilitate PLC or grade-level meetings to support teachers with planning decisions. The flexible coaching design allows for a collaborative and personalized approach to support effective program implementation.

Audience: Teachers, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

For instructional leaders

Job-Embedded Coaching (JEC): Administrators

1 day (6 hours)
Grade band: K–5 / 6–8
Prerequisite: Administrators’ program overview

In our Coaching sessions, instructional leaders engage in facilitated Professional Learning Walks (PLW)—non-evaluative classroom observations of Amplify Science classrooms that focus on building capacity to identify indicators of strong implementation of the program. Classroom look-fors focus on the use of instructional resources (material access/use and the Classroom Wall), instructional delivery (unpacking the unit phenomena and multimodal instruction), and monitoring of instruction (supporting all learners and use of the Assessment System). Leaders collaboratively analyze collected data in order to identify strengths and areas for growth specific to the implementation of Amplify Science for their teaching teams. Leaders leave with an action plan for supporting their teachers based on the analysis and reflection from the PLW.

Audience: Administrators, department chairs, coaches, maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite

Pricing

We offer the following pricing for training sessions and packages:

Session typePricing
2 consecutive full day onsite sessions$4,800
1-day onsite session$3,200
1-day remote session (2 half days)$1,500
1-day remote coaching session$1,200
Half-day onsite session$2,500
Half-day remote session$750
90-minute remote session$500
60-minute remote session$350
3 1-hour remote sessions$1,000
Customized Amplify Science onsite or remote packagesPrice will vary

Please note that the prices are general ranges and may be subject to change.

Contact

Amplify welcomes the opportunity to partner with schools and districts to design professional development plans and answer your questions.

If you would like to order any of our professional development services, please contact your local Amplify sales representative or call (800) 823-1969.

Elk Grove Science K5

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Introduction

Amplify’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Benchmark Assessments are designed to help teachers measure student progress toward the three dimensions—Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs),  Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts(CCCs)—and performance expectations (PEs) of the NGSS. The assessments provide important insight into how students are progressing toward mastery of different standards ahead of high-stakes, end-of-year assessments.

The NGSS Benchmark assessments are built to be delivered after specific units in the recommended Amplify Science scope and sequence*. They are given 3–4 times per year, depending on the grade level. The benchmarks are intended to show progress at various points in time across a school year, and are therefore not summative in nature. Digital items and item clusters are also tagged to specific NGSS standards, allowing customization to align with other course sequences. The assessments are available via the following platforms:

Print

  • PDF files: For administering Benchmark Assessments on paper

Digital

  • Illuminate
  • SchoolCity
  • Otus
  • QTI (“Question and Test Interoperability”) files
    • Not sure whether QTI files are compatible with your assessment platform? Contact your school IT or assessment platform representative for more information. 
    • Please note that Amplify is able to provide access to the QTI files themselves, but is not able to support the integration process. Your assessment platform provider should be able to assist with  QTI file integration.

*The Amplify NGSS Benchmark Assessments are separate from the Amplify Science program. They were not created by the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Current customers

If you are a current NGSS Benchmark assessment customer looking for information about the assessments, see this help page.

Assessment structure and scoring

Structure
Each assessment is structured in two segments, and designed to be administered in a 90 minute session.

  • Segment A: a sequence of multiple choice questions
  • Segment B: a series of performance tasks, short responses, and multiple choice questions

Grades 3–5 have 4 benchmark assessments per grade, with 14–15 items per assessment.

Grades 6–8 have 3 benchmark assessments per grade, with 25–26 items per assessment. Grades 6–8 can be structured to follow either an integrated or a discipline/domain model.

Scoring
Each NGSS dimension is tested by a minimum of 3 items per grade level. Reporting categories are defined at multiple levels, including individual NGSS dimensions and Performance Expectations.

Each item carries a recommended value of 1–3 points, and each assessment is accompanied by a teacher Scoring Guide that details for each item:

  • NGSS standards alignment
  • Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
  • Answer Key
  • Item Type
  • Recommended score

Sample Assessment Items

Grade 3 Benchmark Assessment Form D

Grade 5 Benchmark Assessment Form D

Earth and Space Science Benchmark Assessment Form A

Frequently asked questions

Question Answer

Are the Benchmarks aligned with Amplify Science unit content?

Not exactly. Amplify provides a recommended placement for Benchmark assessments after particular sets of units in the Amplify Science sequence, based on general standards coverage in those units. The content of the Benchmarks is more broadly tied to the NGSS dimensions and performance expectations, rather than the specific content/phenomena of the Amplify Science units. These recommendations are visible on the Benchmark Assessments page for current customers.

Can the Benchmarks replace the Amplify Science curriculum assessments?

Definitely not! The pre-unit, critical juncture, and post-unit assessments embedded in the Amplify Science curriculum are designed to assess students’ progress toward the learning goals (the progress builds and phenomena) specific to each unit.

In contrast, the Benchmark assessments were designed to measure student progress toward the NGSS dimensions and performance expectations ahead of end-of-year tests. Benchmarks should NOT be graded, or used in place of the unit assessments.

How can I access the Benchmarks?

If your school or school district has purchased Amplify Science, the app will be linked in your Global Navigation Menu (see screenshot below). That page contains information on administering the Benchmarks on all available platforms, as well as links to download any files you might need, such as printable PDFs.

Screenshot of an educational website for 3rd grade science featuring menu icons for various modules like "library", "gradebook", and sections on "inheritance", "weather and climate".

The High Impact Tutoring Implementation Workshop Series

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Aligning MTSS to the Science of Reading: Five critical elements of a research-based system

How science and data can help us deliver the instruction and interventions that help all kids read

Watching kids learn to read? Magic. Learning how kids learn to read? Science. 

As you likely know, the Science of Reading encompasses the pedagogy and practices proven by extensive research to effectively teach children how to read. The growing body of evidence around the Science of Reading tells us that with explicit, systematic instruction, all students can learn to read at or near grade level. 

So as educators, we can think of it as the science of teaching reading. 

In this post, we’ll look closer at that science in the classroom and explore how it delivers literacy skills in a way that meets the needs of all students. We’ll describe the critical elements of a complete Science of Reading system—including, but not limited to, a Science of Reading curriculum—and explore how it aligns with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. 

We’ll also underscore the importance of data in informing instructional decisions—but in a way that might surprise you. 

The five critical elements of a Science of Reading system

Strong core instruction grounded in Science of Reading principles is crucial. But in isolation, even that’s not enough. To be powerful and effective, a literacy system needs to bring together assessment, curriculum, intervention, personalized learning, and ongoing professional development.

An effective early literacy system aligns the following five key components with the principles of the Science of Reading. This way, each component shares a research-based foundation and works to meet the needs of all students. 

  1. Universal and dyslexia screening. Assessment should include universal screening, dyslexia screening, and progress monitoring to identify at-risk students with actionable data and align instruction to areas of greatest need.
  2. Core instruction. A high-quality core program includes explicit, systematic instruction in foundational skills and a coherent approach to building background knowledge and vocabulary.
  3. Personalized learning. Effective personalized learning programs support both remediation and acceleration. They can reinforce core instruction or serve as a supplement to provide teachers with a taste of what research-based instructional tools can do. 
  4. Intervention. Intervention should be staff-led and data-driven, with students’ needs clearly identified and frequently monitored. 
  5. Science of Reading professional development. Districts across the country are making the shift to the Science of Reading. As you evaluate where to start, begin by sharing and cultivating a learning community among colleagues. The more knowledge you gain, the easier it will be to identify which areas to prioritize. 

How MTSS aligns with the Science of Reading

The approach described above can integrate powerfully with MTSS.

For a thoughtful discussion of this kind of integration with examples from real classrooms, listen to this recent episode of Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Podcast, with guest Dr. Brittney Bills, curriculum coordinator at Grand Island Public Schools. 

In this episode, Dr. Bills described the difference between reading interventions grounded in a MTSS framework, and Response to Intervention (RTI). By definition, RTI reading is a response and solution to an identified problem. Though RTI is necessary and effective, MTSS can help prevent struggles in the first place. 

Dr. Bills also shared one core idea that might surprise you: When it comes to differentiating instruction, small groups are not always the most effective approach. Instead, she introduces the concept (included in the MTSS model) of a class-wide intervention. 

In Dr. Bills’s experience, grouping can take time away from instruction. “You might have a group of kids getting this five-minute intervention three times a week, and that group of kids getting that ten-minute intervention two times a week … we piecemeal that out,” she says. 

But data can lead us to different decisions: “If 60% or more of your students are demonstrating a need for, say, oral reading fluency, then you would implement a class-wide intervention,” says Dr. Bills. “The reality is that we have more kids than not who have the same difficulties.” 

Paraphrasing reading expert Dr. Steven Dykstra, Bills says, “We don’t need more individualized instruction. We need better cookie cutters.”

Of course, we still need data to guide us, Bills notes. “We want to leverage data to make decisions that are going to help us arrive at our outcomes or our goals in the most efficient and effective means possible.”

How Amplify can help 

Amplify’s been turning that science into great literacy instruction for two decades. And through our Science of Reading podcast and free professional development events, we’re constantly working with the best experts in the field to make our programs even better—and to share the latest insights with teachers, because we believe the Science of Reading is for everyone. 

Amplify’s early literacy suite is based on 20 years of experience with the Science of Reading. The assessment and intervention power of mCLASS®, the core instruction of Amplify CKLA®, and the personalized learning of Amplify Reading come together in a complete system that saves you time and aligns your literacy practices.

The suite comprises a family of programs that are all built on the Science of Reading and connect with one another. What makes it powerful?

  • It’s a cohesive literacy solution to support MTSS and RTI. 
  • Aligned resources do away with the need for piecemealing.
  • Data drives next steps for whole-group, small-group, and individual student instruction.

Strengthening critical thinking with a content-first approach: How Amplify CKLA is closing gaps in an elementary classroom

In my first-grade classroom, we’ve been studying early world civilizations. My students and I have pretended to hop in our time machines and travel back—first to ancient Mesopotamia, then to ancient Egypt. We’ve written our names on clay tablets in cuneiform and learned what it means for a religion to be polytheistic. We’ve compared and contrasted early farming systems and places of worship. As I prepared to read aloud another lesson a few days ago, I mentioned to the class that it was the eleventh lesson in the unit of study, prompting widened eyes and a chorus of “Already!?”

I teach eighteen six- and seven-year olds in a Title I school, where half of the students are low-income, 75% are non-white, and over half are multilingual/English learners or speak another language at home. In my job, I’m honored to empower students who schools and society have not always served well. I became a teacher to help end that inequity—to close the knowledge gap and ensure that low-income, non-white, and immigrant children receive the tools they need to build a bright future. A growing body of research tells us that a strong base of content knowledge is essential for student growth and success in literacy. We also know that students who come from low-income backgrounds are less likely to come to school possessing the academic background knowledge of their peers, presumably because they have more limited opportunities to come across this type of knowledge at home. For this reason, I’m grateful that around a year and a half ago, my district adopted the knowledge-based literacy curriculum CKLA.

Scenes from a knowledge-based curriculum

What does knowledge-based learning look like in practice? Here’s one powerful example of how a knowledge-forward lesson helped my students succeed in practicing an important literacy skill. We were reading about Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who wanted to locate Tutenkhaman’s tomb. The lesson lends itself well to one of our state’s curriculum standards for the quarter: to make and confirm predictions about nonfiction text. Part one of the Read-Aloud ends on a cliffhanger: After a years-long search with no success, encountering dead ends and tomb robbers, Carter uncovers a hidden door marked with a royal seal.

“A prediction,” I explained, “is a careful guess about what you think might happen, based on the clues you already know. Think about what you know from the story, and predict what Carter might find behind the door.” We quickly reviewed some of the main points as I scribed on chart paper: Carter had been searching for Tutenkhaman’s tomb for six years, pharaohs were often buried with treasure or gold, the door they found was in the last possible place to look in the Valley of the Kings. I handed out papers I’d prepared with sentence frames for students to record or dictate their ideas. We hadn’t yet spent much time this year explicitly practicing prediction-making—in fact, I wondered how many of my students even knew what the word prediction meant—but I could see the wheels already turning behind most of my students’ eyes as they wiggled with excitement, envisioning gold, ghosts, King Tut’s tomb, or a pile of bones.

“Maybe nothing,” one student—a six-year-old who speaks primarily Spanish at home—told me with a shrug as I helped him write down his ideas. “Maybe the tomb robbers took it all.”

How to improve critical thinking—with knowledge

Even though my students might or might not have been familiar with the literacy skill of making and confirming predictions, the rich and meaty Read-Aloud set them up for success. It was rife with topics of interest to many a six- or seven-year-old—exploration, tomb robbers, golden treasure, mummies—which kept them engaged. And it included plenty of details through which they could actually draw a meaningful inference about what Carter might have found. I had to explain only once that a prediction should be based on information you already have—not a random guess—and every one of my eighteen students successfully generated a plausible idea.

This is the magic of a knowledge-based curriculum. It levels gaps in learning by generating a rich, shared base of content knowledge that supports the development of key literacy skills. My students were successful in plausibly guessing what might happen next in the story because they had a strong grasp of the information about Howard Carter. I might have chosen to teach an entire mini-lesson on prediction-making first and then asked my students to apply the skill to a less thoughtfully selected text, or to an independently selected book on their own, but if they weren’t already familiar with the topics it covered, my guess is that they would have been far less successful.

The curriculum standards for literacy in both the Common Core and Virginia (my school’s state) emphasize critical thinking skills and specific comprehension strategies, such as inferencing, over content knowledge. This is understandable: Students must learn to make meaning of a text in front of them, not just read the words on the page. But as Natalie Wexler puts it, “The ability to think critically…is inextricably linked to how much knowledge you have about the situation at hand” (The Knowledge Gap, 39). How could my students make a prediction about a future event in a text if they didn’t understand the textual clues they were given in the first place? Especially given that students from low-income homes are likely to possess less background knowledge about the curriculum they will encounter in school, a focus on teaching skills in isolation can contribute to a far-from-level playing field.

Teaching “comprehension skills” first and then expecting students to apply them is common practice in the method of literacy instruction frequently referred to as balanced literacy. Though the conversation about literacy is, thankfully, moving toward a research-backed approach focused on the Science of Reading, we still have a long way to go. While student teaching during my education master’s program less than three years ago, I was encouraged to teach mini-lessons on topics such as “finding the main idea” and “using topic headings to understand,” which students would then practice with independently selected texts. This approach is not supported by research as a best practice—and it assumes a shared base of cultural knowledge. In that way, it entrenches inequality by privileging students who may already possess more background knowledge, allowing our most vulnerable learners to fall even further behind.

By contrast, a knowledge-based curriculum creates that base together, giving all students a better chance at success. My own experience confirms the research. CKLA empowers my students to take ownership of their learning, expand their vocabularies, make connections, and passionately engage. I’m grateful to use an evidence-based curriculum designed to ensure that every student—including those too often left behind by our schools and other institutions—can learn to read.

More to explore

Engaging digital and print math lessons for K–12 educators

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

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

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

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

Free math lessons and more: Meet Desmos Classroom

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

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

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

K–5 Lesson: Awesome Aquariums

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

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

6–12 Lesson: DinoPops

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

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

How you can get started

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

Welcome, Idaho K-8 Science Reviewers!

Thank you for taking the time to review Amplify Science. On this site, you’ll find all the resources you need to learn more about this engaging and robust NGSS program. Below, you will also have the opportunity experience our program firsthand with a demo account to access the digital platform.

Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all-green by EdReports. Read the review on EdReports.

Collage of educational settings: top left, two young girls using laptop in library; bottom right, middle school science project display on tablet; bottom left, two boys with tablet discussing.

Overview

With Amplify Science, students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the roles of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and make sense of 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

Amplify Science Grades K-5 Tour for Idaho Educators

Amplify Science Grades 6-8 Tour for Idaho Evaluators

Proven to work

Click here to read about the efficacy and impact of Amplify Science.

Two young girls sit on the floor in a classroom, smiling as they read a book together. Classroom decorations and another student are visible in the background.

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 program to address 100 percent of the NGSS and Idaho Standards in fewer days than other programs:

  • In just 120 lessons at grades 6–8
  • In just 66 lessons at grades K–2
  • In just 88 lessons at grades 3–5
A four-step process diagram with icons: spark a real-world problem, explore sources, explain and elaborate, and evaluate claims, all linking to engage with cohesive storylines.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.

A laptop and two screens display educational content about ecosystems, featuring illustrated plants, animals, and experiments with colorful liquids.
Two young students sit at a classroom table, one holding up a clear cup of water while the other observes closely. Papers and pencils are spread out on the table.

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.

Two children play an educational board game at a table with worksheets, plastic cubes, and small containers of colored items.

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.

Two children sitting at a table with laptops are talking to each other in a classroom setting, with books and baskets in the background.

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.

Several open textbooks and notebooks are spread out on a table as a person writes in one of the notebooks with a pencil.

Argumentation units

Argumentation units are introduced at grade 3 and provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.

A person points to a photo in a textbook about coral reefs, with a laptop and notebook open on the desk.

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.

Three students at a classroom table examine a sealed plastic bag with food inside, while one looks surprised; another student stands in the background.

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.

Four students sit at a table using laptops, focused on their screens in a classroom setting with one student in the background.

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.

Idaho Science Standards Alignment

Amplify Science was built from the ground up to fully embrace the instructional shifts outlined in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012), the same framework on which Idaho Science Content Standards were founded. Most grade levels’ respective set of Amplify Science units therefore fully address the necessary Idaho Science Content Standards (see correlation). Grade 1 teachers should plan to also use the companion mini-lesson provided below to achieve full standards coverage for their grade.

Grade 1 Companion

Standard: 1-LS-1.3 Use classification supported by evidence to differentiate between living and non-living things.

Recommended placement: Following Lesson 1.1 of the Animal and Plant Defenses unit.

Resources: Classroom Slides

Download Correlation

Science (K-2) Evaluation Form

Science (3-5) Evaluation Form

Science (Middle School Physical Science) Evaluation Form

Science (Middle School Life Science) Evaluation Form

Science Evaluation Form Middle School Earth and Space Science

A boy sits on the floor reading a book to a girl beside him in a classroom setting.
A butterfly flies above potted plants next to a watering can and a caterpillar on a milkweed plant under sunlight in a grassy field.

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.  

A hand pulls a white string attached to a pegboard with rubber bands and a white ball hanging from the center.

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.  

Silhouette of a playground structure and toy train against a blue sky with clouds and two large yellow suns.

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.  

Illustration of sea turtles swimming among underwater plants, with a shark and another turtle visible in the background.

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.  

A hand holds a flashlight and shines it through a transparent sheet with an image, projecting the image onto a wall in a dark room.

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.  

A split illustration shows a cityscape at night with a crescent moon and stars on the left, and a cityscape during the day with the sun, clouds, and an airplane on the right.

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.  

A grey elephant uses its trunk to pick apples from a tree, with a few apples still hanging on the branches and a small sprout growing nearby.

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.  

A hand picks up a red bean from a table scattered with more red beans, spilled white liquid, a cup, and a wooden stick.

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.  

A building labeled "Recreation Center" stands near a cliff edge with a blue flag, surrounded by trees and overlooking a beach and water.

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.  

Illustration of a high-speed train traveling on an elevated track with a green landscape and blue sky in the background.

Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.  

A group of wolves stands in the foreground, with a bear, elk, and several birds visible in a grassy, hilly landscape with scattered trees.

Inheritance and Traits

strong>Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 

A small bird stands on soil, looking closely at a yellow snail, with green blades of grass on the left and a blue sky background.

Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.  

An orangutan hangs from a vine in a dense green forest with the sun visible in the background.

Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.  

Illustration of city buildings at night with illuminated windows, a full moon, visible stars, and a silhouetted figure in one window.

Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.  

A streetlamp illuminates a cricket, which is watched by a gecko. Yellow arrows indicate the flow of light from the lamp to the cricket and then to the gecko’s eye.

Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.  

Two dolphins swimming underwater, facing each other against a blue background.

Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.

Earth orbits the Sun in space, with dotted blue lines showing the orbital path and a white arrow indicating Earth's rotation direction.

Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.  

Illustration of layered red and brown rocky cliffs beside a flowing blue river under a partly cloudy sky.

Earth’s Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.  

Red blood cells scattered across a dynamic, abstract red and white background.

Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.  

Illustration of wind carrying airborne particles over a coastal hill, with arrows indicating the movement up and over the hill toward the sea.

The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not. 

Illustration of a cheetah standing near plants, looking at a sloth hanging from a tree branch, with various foliage and mushrooms in the scene.

Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.  

A rover stands on a rocky, reddish terrain with visible tire tracks leading to it; distant hills are seen under a hazy sky.

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.  

Illustration of a city skyline at night with a large full moon, a few stars in the sky, and a bridge on the left side.

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.  

Illustration of a person wearing a red hat and winter coat with fur hood, eyes closed and arms crossed, surrounded by large orange circles.

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.  

Abstract digital artwork featuring a large yellow sun with blue and orange rays over a colorful landscape with green hills and red horizon.

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.  

Illustration of clouds above a small town with fields and mountains, showing wind patterns and atmospheric movement in the sky.

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.  

An underwater scene with a large whale, several turtles, jellyfish, and fish swimming surrounded by shafts of light.

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.  

Low-poly illustration of a forest with trees, mushrooms, a rabbit, and a fox catching another animal under a blue sky with mountains and the sun in the background.

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.

Illustration of six spiders with different colored bodies and legs arranged in a chart-like formation on a dark background.

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.  

Abstract digital artwork featuring vibrant colors, geometric shapes, a yellow human silhouette, and various patterns layered together.

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.  

Illustration of a person receiving an oral examination with a tongue depressor and light, featuring abstract colorful shapes and an eye chart in the background.

Metabolism

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Medical researchers

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

A spacecraft approaches a large modular space station with blue solar panels, orbiting in outer space against a black background.

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.

Green geometric background with a hexagonal badge displaying a parachute, ruler, letter A, stacked layers, bandage, and a folded paper icon.

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, 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.  

Two prehistoric aquatic reptiles with long snouts swim near the shore of a tropical landscape with rocks, plants, and an island in the distance.

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.  

Illustration of a volcanic landscape with mountains, trees, an ocean, and a cross-section showing tectonic plates beneath the surface.

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.  

Four low-poly dinosaurs, three green and one yellow, are walking in a row on grass with rocks and red spots on their bodies under a blue sky.

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.  

Two large tortoises are near a river; one is on the riverbank reaching for leaves on a tree, while the other is on the opposite bank among grass and trees.

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.    

Two people stand atop rocky terrain littered with electronic devices; inset illustrations show a boot, a person with electronics in a vest, and a radio.

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.  

An orange popsicle melting in four stages from solid to almost fully liquid, set against a plain background.

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.  

Green graphic with icons showing a swaddled baby, a thermometer, layers of blankets, a medical symbol, and a heat source within a hexagonal frame.

Phase Change 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.  

Digital illustration showing red and blue molecule-like circles on a blue background, with a boundary dividing two differently shaded sides.

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.  

Illustration of people riding a roller coaster on a blue day, with arms raised as the car descends a tall loop against a sky with clouds.

Magnetic Fields

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

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

Illustration of the Earth with arrows representing radiation or energy entering the atmosphere from space over the Asia-Pacific region.

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.  

An illustrated polar bear stands on a small piece of floating ice in the ocean, with icebergs and an orange sun in the background.

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.

Hexagonal badge with icons including a wrench, building, sun, molecules, construction materials, screwdriver, paint bucket, and a letter T, all on a geometric blue background.

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.  

Access program

In addition to the grade-level sample boxes that we provided, we’ve also created custom demo accounts just for Idaho reviewers.

To access the digital portion of the program, click the link below, select “Log In with Amplify,” and then refer to the Start here digital access flyer for your personalized login credentials.

Access digital program
A spiral-bound teacher’s guide and a laptop displaying a digital curriculum, both titled “Balancing Forces: Investigating Floating Trains” from Amplify Science.

Tutorial videos

Check out these videos for support on how to navigate the Amplify Science curriculum website, teacher’s guide, materials kits, and more!

Resources

A teacher stands by a table helping four students who are working together on a board game and writing in notebooks in a classroom.

Course structure for K–5

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Two students sit at a classroom table working together with notebooks and a workbook, while other students work in the background.

Course structure for 6–8

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Two women sit at a desk; one types on a laptop while the other writes in a spiral-bound notebook. Both appear focused and are smiling.

Idaho Science Standards Alignment

See how we customized our instructional sequence to fully support the Idaho Scie…

A collage with Mars landscape art, three kids conducting a tabletop science experiment, an adult's hand holding a jar, and two people hiking in a bright field, illustrated style.

NGSS Earth Science Standards Map

A collage of four images: underwater animals, two students conducting a science experiment, hands building with plastic rods, and a colorful illustration of dancers.

NGSS Life Science Standards Map

A collage showing: a candle flame amid germs, hands measuring a ping pong ball with calipers and a ruler, hands with magnets and a ruler, and a stylized compass over a map of Earth.

NGSS Physical Science Standards Map

Two children sit at a table with laptops, facing each other and talking animatedly, surrounded by books and classroom supplies.

What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

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

Illustration of wind carrying particles from a coastal city up a steep, green mountain under a clear blue sky.

Unit phenomena for K–5

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

Illustration of a roller coaster car filled with people raising their arms as it rolls down a steep track against a blue sky with clouds.

Unit phenomena for 6–8

Take a closer look at the middle school unit phenomena featured in each grade le…

A slide with the title “What do you know about aquariums?” next to an underwater photo showing fish and a person swimming. Other science lesson slides are visible above and below.

Classroom Slides for K–5

Classrooms Slides for elementary are now available! These customizable PowerPoin…

A computer screen displays an educational simulation about Earth's energy system, with diagrams and explanatory text about energy entering and exiting the system.

Classroom Slides for 6–8

Classrooms Slides for middle school are coming soon! These customizable PowerPoi…

A computer screen displays an ecosystem selection menu with options for 3 or 6 animal populations, featuring illustrated creatures and labeled icons for each species.

Sims for 4–8

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

Two children sit on the floor in a classroom, with one boy reading aloud from a book titled "Gary’s Sand Journal" while a girl listens attentively beside him.

Literacy-rich instruction in K–5

Scientists do not just get messy. They read and write with purpose too. Explore…

A selection of colorful science-themed books and handbooks with illustrated and photographic covers, arranged diagonally on a green background.

Student Books in K–5

Read a summary of each of our award-winning K–5 student books.

A student reads about rock formations from a spiral-bound book while sitting at a table with a laptop; other students work together in the background.

Active reading in 6–8

Learn how we support students in learning how to interact with scientific texts….

Two children wearing safety goggles use plastic spoons to stir substances in clear cups, conducting a science experiment at a table.

Investigations for K–5

Explore the types of investigations that take place in elementary classrooms.

A person wearing gloves looks into a microscope, with laboratory supplies and bottles on a tray beside them, against a plain blue background.

Investigations for 6–8

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

Assorted materials including cardboard sheets, tennis balls, rubber bands, hooks, washers, ping pong balls, sticks, tape, string, and screws arranged on a white surface.

Materials Kits for K–5

See what components come in our materials kits!

Assorted science kit components including motors, batteries, propellers, solar panel, rubber bands, wires, plastic containers, metal fasteners, and spools of thread arranged on a white background.

Materials Kits for 6–8

See what components come in our materials kits!

A teacher stands at the front of a classroom, speaking to students seated at desks, with several students raising their hands to participate.

Approaches to assessment in K–5

Learn about our elementary embedded assessments.

Two students sit at desks, writing in notebooks while using laptops in a classroom setting.

Approaches to assessment in 6–8

Learn about our middle school embedded assessments.

Screenshot of a language learning interface showing a spanish word "húmedo" broken into phonetic parts, with a timer set at 21 seconds.

Piloting mCLASS Lectura and Boost Lectura

Pilot educator,

Thank you for taking the time to sample Amplify’s Spanish language universal and dyslexia screener with personalized instruction. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.

This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to better understand your students and help them grow as confident, life-long readers. 

Thank you for all you do,

—The Amplify team

Getting started

Screenshot of an educational platform's dashboard titled 'welcome, teacher hartman!' featuring options for boost reading, math, and other learning modules.


Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot programs:

  • Participated in pilot training | Participant Notebook
  • Logged into mCLASSⓇ Lectura and Boost Lectura via learning.amplify.com and confirmed your classes are set up as intended
  • Talked with your pilot team about your benchmark dates and pilot goals

Then review the following implementation guidance for what to do before, after, and between benchmarks. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of the mCLASS suite.

Implementing mCLASS Lectura and Boost Lectura

Gather Materials

Review and practice (Optional)

Administration and scoring practice

View student reports and instructional recommendations

Class and student reports

A Spanish language learning app screen shows instructions, a speaker icon, and images of a dress, butterfly, and apple to choose from.

Launch Boost Reading with students (after first benchmark)

Using Boost Reading with mCLASS

Screenshot of the mCLASS Home Connect website showing four categories: Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Accurate and Fluent Reading, and Reading Comprehension.

Communicate assessment results with families (Optional)

Home Connect

Integrate Boost Reading into your classroom routine

A teacher holding a tablet sits at a table, talking with a young student in a classroom. Other students are visible working at desks in the background.

Progress Monitoring (Optional)

Progress Monitoring with DIBELS 8th Edition best practices

Biliteracy considerations

(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)

Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine

Implementation Recommendations

Analyze dual language reports

mCLASS Suite Reporting Guide (pages 34-36)


How to get help

Amplify Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Evaluating your pilot and planning for next year

A teacher stands next to students wearing headphones and working on laptops in a classroom setting. Other students are visible in the background.

Evaluating Pilot

Share your pilot experience reflections with your pilot team.

Three children sit at a classroom table, each using a laptop, with other students visible in the background.

Collecting student feedback

Amplify your students’ voices! Explore how they felt about the programs.

A teacher and a young student engage in conversation at a desk, with the teacher holding a tablet and pointing towards it.

Piloting mCLASS® and Boost Reading

Pilot educator,

Thank you for taking the time to sample Amplify’s universal and dyslexia screener with personalized instruction. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.

This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to better understand your students and help them grow as confident, life-long readers. 

Thank you for all you do,

—The Amplify team

Getting started

Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot programs:

  • Participate in pilot training | Participant Notebook
  • Log in to mCLASS® and Boost Reading via learning.amplify.com to confirm your classes are set up as intended.
  • Talk with your pilot team about your benchmark dates and pilot goals.

Note: If you’re piloting mCLASS Intervention, you can review this Participant Notebook and access your program at learning.amplify.com.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re ready to review the following implementation guidance for information about what to do before, after, and between benchmarks. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of the mCLASS suite.

Screenshot of an educational platform's dashboard titled 'welcome, teacher hartman!' featuring options for boost reading, math, and other learning modules.

Implementing mCLASS and Boost Reading

Gather Materials

Review and practice (Optional)

Administration and scoring practice

View student reports and instructional recommendations

Class and student reports

Launch Boost Reading with students (after first benchmark)

Using Boost Reading with mCLASS

Communicate assessment results with families (Optional)

Home Connect

Integrate Boost Reading into your classroom routine

Progress Monitoring (Optional)

Progress Monitoring with DIBELS 8th Edition best practices

Use mCLASS Intervention with Tier 2–3 students (Note: Only applicable if your school or district added this program to your pilot.)

mCLASS Intervention Hub

Biliteracy considerations

(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)

Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine

Implementation Recommendations

Analyze dual language reports

mCLASS Suite Reporting Guide (pages 34-36)

How to get help

Amplify Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Evaluating your pilot and planning for next year

A teacher stands next to students wearing headphones and working on laptops in a classroom setting. Other students are visible in the background.

Evaluating your mCLASS and Boost Re…

Share your pilot experience reflections with your pilot team.

A teacher is sitting at a table showing a tablet to three young students in a classroom setting.

Evaluating your mCLASS Intervention Pilot (If…

Three children sit at a classroom table, each using a laptop, with other students visible in the background.

Collecting student feedback

Amplify your students’ voices! Explore how they felt about the programs.

A young girl wearing headphones uses a laptop featuring colorful educational graphics including a whimsical bird character and trees.

Piloting Boost Reading

Pilot educator,

Thank you for taking the time to sample Boost Reading – Amplify’s personalized reading curriculum for students in grades K-5. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.

This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to help your students grow as confident, life-long readers. 

Thank you for all you do,

—The Amplify team

Getting started

Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot program:

  • Participated in pilot training | Participant Notebook
  • Logged into Boost Reading via learning.amplify.com and confirmed your classes are set up as intended
  • Talked with your pilot team about your pilot schedule and goals

Then review the following implementation guidance for what to do before, during and towards the end of your pilot. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of Boost Reading.

Screenshot of an educational platform's dashboard titled 'welcome, teacher hartman!' featuring options for boost reading, math, and other learning modules.

Implementing Boost Reading

Prepare for student placement into the program

Student Placement Overview

A student wearing headphones sits at a desk, looking at a laptop screen and using the trackpad in a classroom setting.

Develop your plan for integrating Boost Reading into your classroom routine

Implementation Model and Usage Recommendations

Preview the student experience (Optional)

Access the Demo Tool

Weekly: Review, encourage and celebrate usage

Monthly: Review performance data

Biliteracy considerations

(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)

Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine

Implementation Recommendations

How to get help

Amplify Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Evaluating your pilot

A teacher stands next to students wearing headphones and working on laptops in a classroom setting. Other students are visible in the background.

Evaluating the Pilot

Share your pilot experience reflections with your pilot team.

Three children sit at a classroom table, each using a laptop, with other students visible in the background.

Collecting student feedback

Amplify your students’ voices! Explore how they felt about the programs.

Piloting Boost Lectura

Pilot educator,

Thank you for taking the time to sample Boost Lectura – Amplify’s new personalized Spanish literacy instruction program for students in grades K–2. Making this important shift shows your commitment and dedication to your students. We truly appreciate the work you’re doing and are here to help you along the way.

This website is designed to set you up for success as you take this critical step to help your students grow as confident, life-long readers. 

Thank you for all you do,

—The Amplify team

Getting started

Ensure you’ve completed the following before launching your pilot program:

  • Participated in pilot training | Participant Notebook
  • Logged into Boost Lectura via learning.amplify.com and confirmed your classes are set up as intended
  • Talked with your pilot team about your pilot schedule and goals

Then review the following implementation guidance for what to do before, during and towards the end of your pilot. Note that some recommendations are indicated as “Optional” to help narrow the focus of your pilot experience to the most critical elements of Boost Lectura.

Screenshot of an educational platform's dashboard titled 'welcome, teacher hartman!' featuring options for boost reading, math, and other learning modules.

Implementing Boost Lectura

Prepare for student placement into the program

Student Placement Overview

Develop your plan for integrating Boost Lectura into your classroom routine

Implementation Model and Usage Recommendations

Preview the student experience

Introduction to Boost Lectura

Access the Demo Tool

Weekly: Review, encourage and celebrate usage

Classroom Insights

Printable Engagement Resources

Monthly: Review performance data

Understanding Trouble Spots

Caregiver Reports

(Note: Only applicable if your school or district is also piloting or using mCLASS Lectura with Boost Lectura)

Integrate Boost Reading and Boost Lectura into your classroom routine

Implementation Recommendations


How to get help

Amplify Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Boost Lectura FAQs

Evaluating your pilot

A teacher stands next to students wearing headphones and working on laptops in a classroom setting. Other students are visible in the background.

Evaluating the Pilot

Share your pilot experience reflections with your pilot team.

Three children sit at a classroom table, each using a laptop, with other students visible in the background.

Collecting student feedback

Amplify your students’ voices! Explore how they felt about the programs.

Hello, Alaska teachers and leaders!

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has selected Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition as the statewide literacy screener to help with the early identification of students with required additional reading support.  mCLASS is a foundational literacy assessment based on the Science of Reading.

As the approved screening tool for the AK Reads Act, mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition should be administered three times each school year. Together, Amplify and DEED will strategically and confidently support teachers and families to help students improve their reading skills with mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition.

Log in to access your mCLASS program and hundreds of resources at learning.amplify.com.

Want advice and answers from the Amplify team?

Search here
Three classroom scenes: A teacher watches as a young girl writes on a whiteboard; children sit at desks drawing and writing, with teachers assisting them.

Introduction to mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition

mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition is an English universal screener and progress monitoring reading assessment tool. It measures foundational literacy skills, creates instant groups, and includes targeted teacher-led instructional plans.

Get started with mCLASS

The power to know every student

Precise one-minute measures based on predictive data allow mCLASS to provide individualized instruction.

Deep insights

Intuitive reporting for teachers and administrators supports data-driven decisions to achieve student growth.

Immediate support for at-risk students

Universal and dyslexia screening in one validated assessment tool identifies your at-risk students at the earliest levels.

Rigorous, teacher-led intervention

Receive the analytical tools and resources needed to deliver targeted, staff-led intervention to students.

Don’t miss out!

What’s new:

  • Download the 2025-26 EOY checklist, and be prepared to administer the end-of-year benchmark assessments.
  • New mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition professional development sessions are now available! Register below for available sessions.
  • Click here to learn more about the Alaska mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition Calibration Module. Anyone administering mCLASS assessments must complete the Alaska mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition Calibration Module with a passing score.
  • Each participating district will receive mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition Assessment kits. One kit, per grade, K-3 will be shipped. Materials can also be downloaded for free. If you would like to purchase additional kits, please email Kristen Rockstrah or Alicia O’Neil.

Technical onboarding

Visit our Technical Onboarding hub for information and resources to help guide you through setting up digital access to your Amplify products.

Enrolling with multiple Amplify programs?

For additional support in enrolling when using multiple Amplify programs, contact support.

Professional learning

There are many exciting learning opportunities available for Alaska teachers and leaders. Access session recordings, training resources, and more.

For more information, please reach out to your Amplify PD representative:

Erin Replogle
Professional Development Strategist, Literacy
ereplogle@amplify.com

About mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition initial training

Districts have been registering for district-specific initial training. If you’re unable to make your district’s scheduled session, you can register for another district’s training.  Seats are limited in these sessions, so please sign up early if you are interested in attending.

In addition, anyone administering mCLASS assessments must complete the Alaska mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition Calibration Module with a passing score.

Initial training

Initial mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition training

New to mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition? This session will prepare educators to administer the mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition measures and help them use this data to enhance their classroom instruction.

April 1st & April 8th: 1 pm – 4 pm
April 6th: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
April 11th: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
April 15th: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Assessing with fidelity for teachers—1 hour

Already trained in mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition but want to brush up on your administration practices? Join us for this 1-hour session to review assessment administration information and practice assessing students on PSF or NWF.

New sessions coming soon!

Strengthening

Creating a data-driven classroom for teachers—3 hours

This three-hour training session is geared toward teachers who have completed at least one mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition benchmark administration and are ready to begin analyzing student data to make instructional decisions.

New sessions coming soon!

Progress monitoring to drive student outcomes for teachers—1 hour

This one-hour training session is geared toward teachers who have completed at least one mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition benchmark administration and are ready to implement mCLASS progress monitoring and MTSS best practices to track student progress and accelerate growth.

New sessions coming soon!

Data conversations

Understanding and communicating mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition results with stakeholders—1 hour

This session is designed to extend educators’ understanding of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments, how they apply to their student’s mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition results, and how to facilitate and support parent communication.

New sessions coming soon!

Instructional leaders

mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition data walkthrough for leaders—1 hour

Cultivate a school-wide culture of data-driven practices. Use mCLASS reports to drill into key school-level data and leave with a systems-level action plan to drive stronger student and teacher outcomes.

New sessions coming soon!

mCLASS DIBELS 8 Reporting Basics for Leaders – 1 hour

Examine your school-level mCLASS benchmark assessment data to identify key levers for improving student outcomes

New sessions coming soon!

Professional development opportunities are added frequently.

*Please note that sessions require a minimum number of participants. Sessions that do not have sufficient registration may be canceled. Please encourage your colleagues and administrators to promote sessions you believe would be helpful to fellow educators.

Coming soon!

Explore the complete Professional Development Library and the Amplify Webinar Library.

View the mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition Benchmark Scoring:

Learn about additional Assessment Measures (RAN, Spelling, Vocabulary, Oral Language).

Access help articles, videos, and tutorials to support your mCLASS onboarding and implementation.

Benchmark and reporting

Table showing which Alaska mCLASS reading measures are assessed at each grade level, from kindergarten to grade 5, with checkmarks indicating assessed skills per grade.

Beginning-of-year (BOY): August 18, 2025—September 26, 2025
Middle-of-year (MOY): December 1, 2025–January 26, 2026
End-of-year (EOY): April 30, 2026–May 15, 2026

If you need to change your benchmark window, please contact support.

We at Amplify and the team at the University of Oregon are here to provide continued guidance and support around collecting and using mCLASS data.

mCLASS can be administered in many ways, including remotely. This site will give guidance on the options to best support your students in any learning environment.

A student wearing headphones looks at a laptop screen and uses the touchpad while seated at a desk in a classroom.

mCLASS gives you detailed insight into your students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills, empowering educators with instructional recommendations specific to each student’s unique needs.

Access the mCLASS Reporting Guide to find a wealth of valuable reporting information that mCLASS provides for everyone, from classroom teachers and literacy specialists to principals and district leaders, as well as parents and guardians at home.

mCLASS Reporting Guide

In addition to the Reporting Guide, please view the following help and tutorial resources.

A measure should be invalidated, or deleted, when an interruption or mistake occurs that undermines the validity of the score. Examples include the following:

  • The wrong student was assessed.
  • There were interruptions, such as from intercom announcements or fire drills.
  • There were scoring errors that cannot easily be corrected.
Screenshot of an mCLASS dashboard showing class reading summary data, with student performance categorized by color-coded benchmark levels.

Explore more programs.

A flowchart showing five steps: mCLASS Assessment, Amplify CKLA, Boost Reading, mCLASS Intervention, and Science of Reading professional development.

We are the gold standard in early literacy. Our proven early literacy suite of assessment, instruction, and intervention is more powerful than ever. Unlock the power of our full literacy suite with programs designed to enable every student to build robust foundational skills and grow at all reading levels. Learn more about our related programs.

Get started with mCLASS
A woman and a young girl sit together at a table while the woman points at an iPad screen. They appear to be engaging in a learning activity.

mCLASS Intervention

Follow a research-based, targeted skills progression and use mCLASS benchmark and progress monitoring data to create groups and daily lesson plans for 10-day cycles.

Learn more

Two boys sitting at desks in a classroom talk to each other, with a paper cutout of a light bulb placed between them on the desk.

Amplify CKLA

Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify CKLA features an explicit, systematic approach that leverages multisensory instruction and provides instruction for students from all walks of life.

Learn more

Students learning Boost Reading lesson

Boost Reading

Delivers adaptive instruction, practice, and intervention support through highly engaging games and activities, freeing educators up to work with small groups.

Learn more

Students in a classroom focus on reading and writing tasks. An orange badge with the text "Built on the Science of Reading" is displayed.

Science of Reading

Discover how the Science of Reading is for everyone! All students—from multilingual/English learners to middle schoolers to your most confident young readers—benefit from the research-based, proven literacy instruction indicated by the Science of Reading.

Learn more

Need more help?

Log in at learning.amplify.com, and click the gray chat button in the bottom right corner to chat live with our support team.

Our Help Center contains searchable articles and resources to answer many of your questions.

Contact us at (877)-810-4919 for dedicated account support.

If you need additional support, please contact our support team.

Explore Amplify CKLA K–5 Phonics

Thank you for reviewing the top-rated Amplify CKLA for grades K-3 phonics instruction. Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a highly-effective, foundational phonics program that will give NYC teachers unmatched support in delivering systematic, explicit, and research-based phonics instruction.

Amplify CKLA is systematic – built on a scope and sequence of sound-spelling patterns to ensure all students have access to the same instruction – and Amplify CKLA is explicit – delivering instruction with learning goals that are clear to teachers and students. Beginning with phonological awareness and progressing through phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, Amplify CKLA comprehensively covers foundational skills.

As you explore the Amplify CKLA Grades K-3 phonics materials, you will see high-quality instructional support needed for every child to master the 44 sounds and 150 sound-spellings of the English language by the end of third grade.

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Laptop screen displaying a login page for "amplify" with multiple sign-in options including google, clever, a qr code, and district sso.

Access your demo account

To explore the Amplify CKLA Skills digital experience and Boost Reading K-3, visit learning.amplify.com and select Log in with Amplify; using the credentials provided here:

  • Username: t.nyc-ckla-skills@tryamplify.net 
  • Password: AmplifyNumber1

Click here for demo login and Amplify CKLA navigation support.

Principles of Amplify CKLA phonics instruction

Amplify CKLA phonics instruction ensures students learn to read words automatically and achieve complete coverage of the Reading Standards for Foundational Skills in the Common Core State Standards.

Explicit instruction in the spelling patterns of the English language transitions students from spending excess mental energy on decoding (learning to read) to fluent automaticity so they can focus on comprehension and analysis (reading to learn).

Amplify CKLA designs reading experiences to maximize practice in newly taught sound spellings, which is achieved in three ways:

  1. Organization of Instruction: CKLA teaches the most frequent sound spellings first in order to maximize the words students can read and move them into engaging, well-written, decodable texts halfway through Kindergarten. 
  2. Systematic Coverage: Students who master both the Basic and Advanced Code taught in CKLA Skills will have all the decoding skills necessary to succeed. Lessons teach print and phonological awareness, sound-letter patterns (or sound spellings), decoding and encoding, writing mechanics, and writing structure and processes for 60 minutes each day.
  3. Decodable Readers: CKLA Decodable Readers are uniquely designed to provide intensive practice with the CKLA code while engaging students with authentic, compelling, and varied stories.  
Review the Amplify CKLA K-3 Foundational Skills Progression
Educational timeline chart showing foundational skills development by year from kindergarten to grade 3, categorized into print concepts, phonological awareness, and phonics and word recognition.
Cover of "amplify core knowledge language arts" teacher guide for grade 3 featuring a simple, stylized illustration of a ribbon badge.

Grade 3 phonics support

In grades K-2, Amplify CKLA Skills offers explicit and systematic foundational skills and language instruction. Explicitly teaching foundational skills from the early grades is essential to helping students master the code and learn to read words automatically and effortlessly. 

In grade 3, CKLA recognizes that instructional needs will vary widely, particularly for students with gaps in code knowledge and fluency. Through a more integrated language arts approach, students have daily opportunities for ​explicit, teacher-led phonics instruction as they transition to developing and applying literacy skills and deepening background knowledge. 

By the end of grade 2, Amplify CKLA has covered all basic and advanced code, while grade 3 provides differentiated instruction and assessment resources to best support all students in becoming fluent, automatic readers:

  • Unit 1 instruction reviews the phonics instruction from the previous year
  • The Assessment and Remediation Guide provides hundreds of activities and assessments to determine the ideal instructional path for each student
  • Fluency Packet supplements instruction with additional text selections and opportunities for students to practice reading with fluency and expression (prosody)
  • Spelling Cards support decoding and encoding lessons 
  • Individual Code Chart gives students practice recording the consonant and vowel sound-spelling correspondences they’ve learned

If selected, Amplify would welcome the opportunity to partner with the New York City DOE on updating our program with a standalone skills program for grade 3.

The Amplify CKLA digital experience

Amplify CKLA offers an easy to use and interactive teaching and learning experience for grades K-3 that supports teachers with ready-made and student friendly lesson presentation slides.

Everything needed to teach the lesson is included within the slides that teachers project and students access. Students engage directly with the slides via embedded Activity Pages. Students can respond in multiple ways, including drawing, writing, typing, audio recording, or uploading pictures. They can even engage with the sound library, with fun songs and videos that develop phonological awareness and the eReader library of decodable texts.

The digital experience makes instruction easier, more immersive, and flexible for both students and teachers!

Illustration of diverse children jumping rope in a park with a bridge in the background, displayed on a digital tablet.
Eight illustrated book covers depicting diverse themes and characters, including family moments, job hunting, sports, and personal adventures.

Instruction for students from all walks of life

Our goal is to make education, and thereby the world, more accessible to all students, regardless of background.

As part of our commitment to creating richer and more wide-ranging curricula, Amplify CKLA K-2 Skills Readers have been designed to increase student engagement and students’ sense of connection with the decodable stories and their characters. Stories with human characters introduce students to individuals with a broad range of identity factors, including socio-economic status, age, ability, race, ethnicity, country or origin, religion and more.  Other decodable stories have fantastical creatures to bring more excitement and whimsy to the tale. These readers reflect New York City classrooms, giving students windows and mirrors while they practice and apply their skills with 100% decodable texts.

Learn more about the decodable readers here. 

View the Amplify CKLA K-3 alignment to NYC Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework..

The power of Amplify CKLA + Boost Reading

Boost Reading is a student-driven skill practice program that pairs with Amplify CKLA, to provide differentiated, digital instruction in both foundational skills and comprehension strategies. Because Boost Reading is built on the same approach to reading as Amplify CKLA and shares an aligned scope and sequence, students are able to extend their learning from the core program, at their own pace. 

In Boost Reading, students enter a captivating narrative where each storyline requires them to apply foundational skills to navigate a series of games. Each game focuses on a specific skill learned in CKLA, allowing students to practice that skill to mastery. Progression from game to game is based on individual student learning needs—a personalized path where they gain expertise by unlocking new quests at just the right time. This path ensures that each student gets the amount of practice they need to master foundational skills.

Embedded benchmark and progress-monitoring assessments give educators actionable data insights on how their students are progressing through their literacy journey. Easy-to-use reports provide proficiency, growth and risk data individually and in aggregate to further drive classroom instruction.

In a recent study, students who used Boost Reading outperformed non-Boost students on all DIBELS 8th Edition measures.

Explore the Boost Reading teacher and student experience:

  • Visit learning.amplify.com and select Log in using the same Amplify credentials provided in the demo access section above:
    • Username:t.nyc-ckla-skills@tryamplify.net 
    • Password:AmplifyNumber1
  • Select the Reading icon; this will open the program without data as your class has not yet played Boost Reading. Select Explore Demo in the pop up.
  • In the navigation bar, choose the grade band and experience (Educator or Student) you wish to demo.
  • The Educator experience will show you the Teacher Dashboard with sample student data and a recommended guided tour.
  • The Student experience will bring you to a start screen; simply select PLAY to begin.
A tablet screen displaying a children's educational game, focusing on spelling the word "farm," with cartoon-style graphics and a female character.
Illustration of an astronaut in space, a traditional east asian building, a mexican sombrero-clad figure with a donkey, and various animals, against a backdrop of the earth and sun.

New York City Review Materials

The Amplify CKLA Grades K-2 Program Guide provides you with more details on how CKLA Skills works, how it is structured, and the need for explicit instruction in phonics in order to build strong readers in classrooms.

Additional Review Materials:

Amplify CKLA Skills K-2 One-Pager 

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade K Scope and Sequence

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade K Curriculum Map (pages 1-10) 

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 1 Scope and Sequence

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 1 Curriculum Map (pages 1-7)  

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 2 Scope and Sequence

Amplify CKLA Skills – Grade 2 Curriculum Map (pages 1-6)   

Amplify CKLA – Grade 3 Unit 1 Teacher Guide

Amplify CKLA decodable readers

Amplify CKLA alignment to New York State Next Generation ELA Learning Standards

CKLA Skills – Grade K; Unit 1 – Assessment and Remediation Guide (differentiation example) 

Boost Reading alignment to New York State Next Generation ELA Learning Standards

Silhouette of a city skyline with various building outlines against a black background.

Welcome, Ohio educators!

Designed from the ground up to teach students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers, Amplify Science combines literacy-rich activities with hands-on learning and digital tools to engage students in exploring compelling phenomena in every unit.

Students in a classroom interact with educational technology, featuring a diagram and charts on a screen, while working collaboratively on a laptop.

Overview

Developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, our program features:

  • A phenomena-based approach where students construct a more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
  • A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
  • Newly crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
  • An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.

Hear what these educators have to say about the program. >

Approach to literacy

Two young children sit at a classroom table reading a book together, with educational materials spread out in front of them.

[Video] Literacy in action (K–5)

Watch students use scientific text to obtain information and practice reading skills, while using writing prompts to create arguments using evidence.

A student sits at a desk writing with a pencil while focused on his work, with classroom materials visible in the background.

[Video] Literacy in action (6–8)

Watch students use scientific text to obtain information and practice reading skills, while using writing prompts to create arguments using evidence.

A teacher in a green shirt helps a young student with writing at a classroom table, with other students and large numbers visible on the wall in the background.

Literacy-rich science instruction (K–5)

Immersing young students in reading, writing, and arguing like real scientists and engineers.

Two students sit at a table in a classroom, working on an assignment together. Other students are also seated and appear to be engaged in their work. Papers and books are spread out on the tables.

Active Reading in grades 6–8

Engaging middle school students in complex science texts.

Elementary school

Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >

In Grades K–3 we recommend the national grade level units of Amplify Science to provide students with the appropriate grade level literacy and background knowledge. Individual units are available to purchase.

When you’re ready:

  1. Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  2. Download some helpful resources to support your review.
  3. Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
An illustration from Needs of Plants and Animals unit

Unit 1

Needs of Plants and Animals

Student role: Scientists

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

An illustration from the Pushes and Pulls unit

Unit 2

Pushes and Pulls

Student role: Pinball engineers

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

Silueta de una estructura de parque infantil contra un cielo azul con nubes y tres soles amarillos.

Unit 3

Sunlight and Weather

Student role: Weather scientists

Phenomenon: Students at one school are too cold during morning recess, while students at another are too hot during afternoon recess.

Illustration of sea turtles swimming among seaweed in the ocean, with a large shark in the background.

Unit 1

Animal and Plant Defenses

Student role: Marine scientists

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

An illustration from the Light and Sound unit

Unit 2

Light and Sound

Student role: Light and sound engineers

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

An illustration from the Spinning Earth unit

Unit 3

Spinning Earth

Student role: Sky scientists

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

An elephant standing next to a tree uses its trunk to pick a fruit from a branch while more fruit hangs above.

Unit 1

Plant and Animal Relationships

Student role: Plant scientists

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

A hand holds a red bean on a table, while a wooden stick spreads white glue and scattered beans. Also on the table are a white cup and a yellow pen.

Unit 2

Properties of Materials

Student role: Glue engineers

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

Ilustración de una costa con acantilados, un edificio de centro recreativo con un techo rojo y un letrero, árboles de hoja perenne, una bandera azul y una playa de arena debajo.

Unit 3

Changing Landforms

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: The cliff on which Oceanside Recreation Center is situated appears to be receding.

Una ilustración de un tren de alta velocidad moderno y aerodinámico que viaja por una vía elevada con un paisaje verde de fondo.

Unit 1

Balancing Forces

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.

An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit

Unit 2

Inheritance and Traits

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.

An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit

Unit 3

Environments and Survival

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.

An illustration from the Weather and Climate unit

Unit 4

Weather and Climate

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.

An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit

Unit 1

Energy Conversions

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.

An illustration from the Earth's Features unit

Unit 2

Earth’s Features

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.

An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit

Unit 3

Modeling Matter

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Some ingredients dissolve in a salad dressing while others, like oil and vinegar, appear to separate.

An illustration from the Earth System unit

Unit 4

The Earth System

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.

An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit

Unit 1

Patterns of Earth and Sky

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times of the day, but it appears to be missing a piece.

An illustration from the Vision and Light unit

Unit 2

Vision and Light

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.

An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit

Unit 3

Waves, Energy, and Information

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.

An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit

Unit 4

Ecosystem Restoration

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing or thriving.

Middle school

Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >

When you’re ready:

  1. Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  2. Download some helpful resources to support your review.
  3. Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
Illustration of a cross-section of Earth showing a volcano near the ocean. Trees, mountains, and clouds are visible above, with subterranean layers below.

CORE

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.

Ilustración que muestra las etapas de fusión de una paleta de naranja: entera, parcialmente derretida, más derretida y casi derretida por completo, con palitos de madera, sobre un fondo morado.

CORE

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.

Green geometric graphic featuring icons: a baby, thermometer, layers, medical alert, and a flame.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Phase Change 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.

Illustration of a person in a red hat and fur-lined coat with eyes closed, surrounded by large orange circles on a dark background.

CORE

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.

Abstract art with vibrant colors featuring a yellow silhouette of a person holding a book against a background of geometric shapes, swirling patterns, and bold textures.

LAUNCH

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.

Abstract artwork of a person's side profile with geometric shapes and colorful patterns flowing from the head, holding a small sledgehammer. A vision chart is visible in the corner.

CORE

Metabolism

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Medical researchers

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

Orange abstract background with hexagonal shapes featuring icons of a bar chart, plant, safety vest, test tube, peach, and stethoscope.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.

Two people climbing rocky terrain; illustrations show a hiking boot and a belt with gear.

LAUNCH

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.

A girl runs with a colorful kite displaying literacy skills; text reads "Amplify. Science of Reading: A Primer | Part One" on a grassy landscape background.

CODING SCIENCE INTERNSHIP

Coding Science Internship: Coral Restoration (Optional)

Domains: Life Science, Coding Science

Unit type: Coding Science Internship

Student role: Coding science interns

Phenomenon: Implementing a restoration project to improve the health of coral reef populations in Hawaii.

Abstract artwork depicting a bright sun with blue and orange swirling patterns next to green hills under a sky with shades of blue, orange, and red.

CORE

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.

An illustration from the Weather Patterns unit

CORE

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.

An illustration from the Earth's Changing Climate unit

CORE

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.

Abstract geometric design in shades of blue and purple featuring a hexagon with icons of a building, wrench, molecules, sun, paint can, and screwdriver.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.

A city skyline at night with a prominent full moon, stars in the sky, and a bridge silhouette on the left.

CORE

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.

An illustration from the Chemical Reactions unit

CORE

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.

An illustration from the Light Waves unit

CORE

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.

An illustration of a whale with jellyfish and turtles from Amplify Science

CORE

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.

Low-poly landscape with trees and mushrooms. A fox sniffs the ground, a rabbit sits nearby, and mountains and sun are in the background.

CORE

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.

A girl runs with a colorful kite displaying literacy skills; text reads "Amplify. Science of Reading: A Primer | Part One" on a grassy landscape background.

CODING SCIENCE INTERNSHIP

Coding Science Internship: Coral Restoration (Optional)

Domains: Life Science, Coding Science

Unit type: Coding Science Internship

Student role: Coding science interns

Phenomenon: Implementing a restoration project to improve the health of coral reef populations in Hawaii.

A barren, rocky desert landscape with rover tracks leading to a distant vehicle on a hill under a hazy sky.

LAUNCH

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.

Two prehistoric reptiles with long snouts and tails are near the shore, one on land and one in water, with plants, rocks, and an island in the background.

CORE

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.

Geometric design featuring a telescope, mountain, sound waves, and cosmic elements on a purple hexagonal background.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.

Una nave espacial se acerca a una estación espacial modular con paneles solares extendidos en una ilustración ambientada en el espacio.

CORE

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.

Green geometric background with a hexagonal emblem containing a parachute icon, ruler, bandage, and stacked layers on a gradient pattern.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, 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.

Illustration of a roller coaster filled with people, hands raised, going down a steep track against a bright blue sky with clouds.

CORE

Magnetic Fields

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

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

Imagen que muestra un gráfico de arañas de diferentes colores con patrones distintos de patas y cuerpo, incluidas variaciones de color marrón, amarillo y azul. El fondo es una superficie oscura y texturizada.

CORE

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.

Four low-poly dinosaurs with missing body sections are standing in a row; one is yellow, and the others are green. They have purple spikes and red patches on their bodies.

CORE

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.

Red geometric background with icons including a mosquito, DNA strand, bar chart, and world map inside a hexagon.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Natural Selection Engineering Internship

Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science

Student role: Clinical engineers

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

Illustration of a cross-section of Earth showing a volcano near the ocean. Trees, mountains, and clouds are visible above, with subterranean layers below.

CORE

Rock Transformations (optional)

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.

Two giant tortoises with long necks stand near water; one tortoise feeds on leaves from a tree while the other is near dense vegetation.

CORE

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.

A girl runs with a colorful kite displaying literacy skills; text reads "Amplify. Science of Reading: A Primer | Part One" on a grassy landscape background.

CODING SCIENCE INTERNSHIP

Coding Science Internship: Coral Restoration (Optional)

Domains: Life Science, Coding Science

Unit type: Coding Science Internship

Student role: Coding science interns

Phenomenon: Implementing a restoration project to improve the health of coral reef populations in Hawaii.

Resources to support your review

Select a topic below to explore helpful resources with more information about Amplify Science, the program’s development, and pedagogy.

Two young girls, one with braided hair and the other with blonde hair, smiling and looking at a laptop screen in a classroom.
Four-step educational infographic depicting problem-solving process: engaging with real-world problems, exploring multiple sources, constructing explanations, and applying knowledge to new problems.
Integrated 5e model

Learn how the 5E elements are integrated throughout every unit.

Two children engaged in an animated conversation while sitting at a school desk with laptops and books.
Phenomena and storylines (K–5)

Read more about the real-world phenomena featured in each unit.

Children doing schoolwork at home
Phenomena and storylines (6–8)

Read more about the real-world phenomena featured in each unit.

A screenshot from a video titled "amplify science in action: a week in the..." featuring a smiling woman sitting in a classroom setting.
[Video] Planning in action (K–5)

Watch how easy it is for Amplify Science teachers to prep their 3-D instruction.

A woman smiling and gesturing while speaking, seated in a classroom with computers and educational materials around her, with a paused video screen featuring text about "amplify science.
[Video] Planning in action (6–8)

Watch how easy it is for Amplify Science teachers to prep their 3-D instruction.

Two young children sit at a classroom table, one smiling broadly, during an Amplify Science educational activity.
[Video] Hands-on in action (K–5)

Watch Amplify Science students conduct hands-on investigations.

A student in a classroom uses a dropper to add liquid to clear plastic cups during a science experiment. Other students and lab materials are visible in the background.
[Video] Hands-on in action (6–8)

Watch Amplify Science students conduct hands-on investigations.

Two young girls sit side by side at a desk, looking at a laptop screen and working together in a classroom setting.
[Video] Simulations and modeling tools (K–5)

Watch how students investigate phenomena with the help of digital tools.

Two students sit at a table in a classroom, working on laptops and talking, with other students visible in the background.
[Video] Simulations and modeling tools (6–8)

Watch how students investigate phenomena with the help of digital tools.

A young girl wearing safety goggles stretches a gooey substance from a cup in a kitchen or classroom setting.
Summary of Investigations (K–5) coming soon

Explore the types of investigations that students conduct.

A young person wearing gloves looks through a microscope at a table with laboratory supplies, including bottles, slides, and a tray, against a plain blue background.
Summary of Investigations (6–8) coming soon

Explore the types of investigations that students conduct.

A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.
Program structure and components (K–5)

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Teacher assisting two students working on laptops in a classroom; other students are in the background.
Program structure and components (6–8)

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Digital collage of various devices displaying educational content about earth’s energy system, including graphs and text explanations.
[Video] New! Classroom Slides

Learn more about our customizable PowerPoints for every lesson.

A laptop screen displays a writing lesson with prompts and a student's response in Amplify Classwork. The student's answer discusses dangers related to a specific scenario involving a sick child.
Classwork (6–8)

A new, intuitive approach to reviewing student work online.

An adult sits on a couch using a laptop while a child next to them does homework in a notebook.
Remote and hybrid learning guide

Amplify is here to help! Amplify Science will soon feature product enhancements and new resources that will help manage the new landscape of back-to-school 2020.

Educational presentation slides from grade 8 amplify science materials spanish kit, displaying various science topics like geology and biology.
Spanish-language supports

Learn more about the Spanish-language supports in Amplify Science.

students collaborating and using laptops
English Learners

Learn how we make learning accessible for English learners.

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

Learn how we make learning accessible for students who need more support.

Teacher using a tablet while conducting an mCLASS reading intervention with three young students seated around a table in a classroom.
Students ready for more

Learn how we make learning more rigorous for students ready for a challenge.

Two boys work together on a laptop while a woman—likely one of their middle school teachers—sits beside them, observing and smiling in a classroom setting.
Accessibility

Read more about text design and accessibility, including embedded Read-Aloud audio.

A teacher discusses educational content in front of a whiteboard while students in the classroom raise their hands eagerly.
Approach to assessment (K–5)

Learn about our embedded formative and summative assessments.

Two students sit at desks writing in notebooks and using laptops in a classroom setting.
Approach to assessment (6–8)

Learn about our embedded formative and summative assessments.

A teacher and a young student looking at a laptop together in a colorful classroom decorated with children's artwork.
NGSS Benchmark assessments

Learn more about the Next Generation Science Standards Benchmark assessments created by Amplify.

A young girl in a classroom gives a thumbs up with both hands, smiling broadly, while other students look on in the background.
NGSS Benchmark assessments

NGSS alignment by performance expectation.

Two students in a classroom, one looking at the camera and the other listening intently, with a whiteboard displaying educational content in the background.
NGSS alignment (6–8)

NGSS alignment by performance expectation.

Ready to explore with digital access and physical samples?

Start your digital review and request physical samples with these three easy steps.

  1. Note these Ohio specific login credentials for your digital access.
    Username: t.ohscience@tryamplify.net
    Password: AmplifyNumber1
  2. Click Review now.
  3. Complete the form and select Log in with Amplify to input the Ohio specific login.
A woman sits at a desk in a classroom, working on a laptop with an open binder and papers in front of her.

Contact an Amplify representative

For any questions, fill out the form to the right and a member of our sales team will reach out to you soon.

Katie Cannon
Senior Account Executive

Casie Rayes
Account executive

Matt Paupore
Senior Account Executive

Welcome, Nebraska educators!

Designed from the ground up for the NGSS to teach students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers, Amplify Science combines literacy-rich activities with hands-on learning and digital tools to engage students in exploring compelling phenomena in every unit.

Students in a classroom interact with educational technology, featuring a diagram and charts on a screen, while working collaboratively on a laptop.

Overview

Developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, our program features:

  • A phenomena-based approach where students construct a more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
  • A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
  • Newly crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
  • An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.

Hear what these educators have to say about the program. >

Explore your grade level

Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >

Then select your grade level below to learn more about how we make this type of rich learning accessible to all students at every grade.

Grades K-5 Grades 6–8

Elementary school

When you’re ready:

  1. Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  2. Download some helpful resources to support your review.
  3. Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
A boy reads a book with an illustrated background featuring a dinosaur skull, the Earth, trees, clouds, and water.
An illustration from Needs of Plants and Animals unit

Unit 1

Needs of Plants and Animals

Student role: Scientists

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

An illustration from the Pushes and Pulls unit

Unit 2

Pushes and Pulls

Student role: Pinball engineers

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

Silueta de una estructura de parque infantil contra un cielo azul con nubes y tres soles amarillos.

Unit 3

Sunlight and Weather

Student role: Weather scientists

Phenomenon: Students at one school are too cold during morning recess, while students at another are too hot during afternoon recess.

Illustration of sea turtles swimming among seaweed in the ocean, with a large shark in the background.

Unit 1

Animal and Plant Defenses

Student role: Marine scientists

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

An illustration from the Light and Sound unit

Unit 2

Light and Sound

Student role: Light and sound engineers

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

An illustration from the Spinning Earth unit

Unit 3

Spinning Earth

Student role: Sky scientists

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

An elephant standing next to a tree uses its trunk to pick a fruit from a branch while more fruit hangs above.

Unit 1

Plant and Animal Relationships

Student role: Plant scientists

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

A hand holds a red bean on a table, while a wooden stick spreads white glue and scattered beans. Also on the table are a white cup and a yellow pen.

Unit 2

Properties of Materials

Student role: Glue engineers

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

Ilustración de una costa con acantilados, un edificio de centro recreativo con un techo rojo y un letrero, árboles de hoja perenne, una bandera azul y una playa de arena debajo.

Unit 3

Changing Landforms

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: The cliff on which Oceanside Recreation Center is situated appears to be receding.

Una ilustración de un tren de alta velocidad moderno y aerodinámico que viaja por una vía elevada con un paisaje verde de fondo.

Unit 1

Balancing Forces

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.

An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit

Unit 2

Inheritance and Traits

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.

An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit

Unit 3

Environments and Survival

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.

An illustration from the Weather and Climate unit

Unit 4

Weather and Climate

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.

An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit

Unit 1

Energy Conversions

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.

An illustration from the Vision and Light unit

Unit 2

Vision and Light

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.

An illustration from the Earth's Features unit

Unit 3

Earth’s Features

Student role: Geologists


Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.

An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit

Unit 4

Waves, Energy, and Information

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.

An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit

Unit 1

Patterns of Earth and Sky

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times of the day, but it appears to be missing a piece.

An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit

Unit 2

Modeling Matter

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Some ingredients dissolve in a salad dressing while others, like oil and vinegar, appear to separate

Illustration of a pixelated green mountain cliff deconstructing into a digital grid, with red dots floating over a tranquil sea and flying white birds.

Unit 3

The Earth System

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.

An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit

Unit 4

Ecosystem Restoration

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing or thriving.

Middle school

When you’re ready:

  1. Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  2. Download some helpful resources to support your review.
  3. Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
A person in a black hoodie smiles while working on a laptop, surrounded by illustrations of rockets, satellites, popsicles, and the Earth.
Abstract art with vibrant colors featuring a yellow silhouette of a person holding a book against a background of geometric shapes, swirling patterns, and bold textures.

LAUNCH

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.  

Abstract artwork of a person's side profile with geometric shapes and colorful patterns flowing from the head, holding a small sledgehammer. A vision chart is visible in the corner.

CORE

Metabolism

Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Medical researchers

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

Orange abstract background with hexagonal shapes featuring icons of a bar chart, plant, safety vest, test tube, peach, and stethoscope.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.  

Imagen que muestra un gráfico de arañas de diferentes colores con patrones distintos de patas y cuerpo, incluidas variaciones de color marrón, amarillo y azul. El fondo es una superficie oscura y texturizada.

CORE

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.  

Illustration of a person in a red hat and fur-lined coat with eyes closed, surrounded by large orange circles on a dark background.

CORE

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.  

Abstract artwork depicting a bright sun with blue and orange swirling patterns next to green hills under a sky with shades of blue, orange, and red.

CORE

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.  

An illustration from the Weather Patterns unit

CORE

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.  

An illustration from the Earth's Changing Climate unit

CORE

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.  

Abstract geometric design in shades of blue and purple featuring a hexagon with icons of a building, wrench, molecules, sun, paint can, and screwdriver.

Engineering Internship

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.  

A barren, rocky desert landscape with rover tracks leading to a distant vehicle on a hill under a hazy sky.

LAUNCH

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.  

Two prehistoric reptiles with long snouts and tails are near the shore, one on land and one in water, with plants, rocks, and an island in the background.

CORE

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.   

Geometric design featuring a telescope, mountain, sound waves, and cosmic elements on a purple hexagonal background.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.  

Illustration of a cross-section of Earth showing a volcano near the ocean. Trees, mountains, and clouds are visible above, with subterranean layers below.

CORE

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.  

Ilustración que muestra las etapas de fusión de una paleta de naranja: entera, parcialmente derretida, más derretida y casi derretida por completo, con palitos de madera, sobre un fondo morado.

CORE

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.  

Green geometric graphic featuring icons: a baby, thermometer, layers, medical alert, and a flame.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Phase Change 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.  

An illustration from the Chemical Reactions unit

CORE

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.   

An illustration of a whale with jellyfish and turtles from Amplify Science

CORE

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.  

Low-poly landscape with trees and mushrooms. A fox sniffs the ground, a rabbit sits nearby, and mountains and sun are in the background.

CORE

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.  

Two people climbing rocky terrain; illustrations show a hiking boot and a belt with gear.

LAUNCH

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.  

Illustration of a futuristic space station with large solar panels, orbiting in deep space, emitting a blue glow from its propulsion system.

CORE

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.   

Green geometric background with a hexagonal emblem containing a parachute icon, ruler, bandage, and stacked layers on a gradient pattern.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

Force and Motion Engineering Internship

Domains: Engineering Design, 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.  

Illustration of a roller coaster filled with people, hands raised, going down a steep track against a bright blue sky with clouds.

CORE

Magnetic Fields

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Core

Student role: Physicists

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

An illustration from the Light Waves unit

CORE

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.   

A city skyline at night with a prominent full moon, stars in the sky, and a bridge silhouette on the left.

CORE

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.  

Four low-poly dinosaurs with missing body sections are standing in a row; one is yellow, and the others are green. They have purple spikes and red patches on their bodies.

CORE

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.  

Red geometric background with icons including a mosquito, DNA strand, bar chart, and world map inside a hexagon.

ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP

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.   

Two giant tortoises with long necks stand near water; one tortoise feeds on leaves from a tree while the other is near dense vegetation.

CORE

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 to support your review

Select a topic below to explore helpful resources with more information about Amplify Science, the program’s development, and pedagogy.

Dos niñas están sentadas en una mesa, mirando juntas la pantalla de una computadora portátil en un salón de clases. Al fondo se ven estanterías con libros y materiales de clase.
Two children engaged in an animated conversation while sitting at a school desk with laptops and books.
Phenomena and storylines (K–5)

Read more about the real-world phenomena featured in each unit.

Children doing schoolwork at home
Phenomena and storylines (6–8)

Read more about the real-world phenomena featured in each unit.

Four-step educational infographic depicting problem-solving process: engaging with real-world problems, exploring multiple sources, constructing explanations, and applying knowledge to new problems.
Integrated 5e model

Learn how the 5E elements are integrated throughout every unit.

A woman smiling and gesturing while speaking, seated in a classroom with computers and educational materials around her, with a paused video screen featuring text about "amplify science.
[Video] Planning in action (K–5)

Watch how easy it is for Amplify Science teachers to prep their 3-D instruction.

A screenshot from a video titled "amplify science in action: a week in the..." featuring a smiling woman sitting in a classroom setting.
[Video] Planning in action (6–8)

Watch how easy it is for Amplify Science teachers to prep their 3-D instruction.

Two children sitting at a table, one in a yellow shirt and the other in pink, smiling and looking forward.
[Video] Hands-on in action (K–5)

Watch Amplify Science students conduct hands-on investigations.

A boy in a science classroom observes a reaction in a clear cup. Other students and lab materials are in the background.
[Video] Hands-on in action (6–8)

Watch Amplify Science students conduct hands-on investigations.

Two children in school uniforms work together on laptops in a classroom setting, with focus on learning and collaboration.
[Video] Simulations and modeling tools (K–5)

Watch how students investigate phenomena with the help of digital tools.

Students sitting at a table using laptops, engaging in a classroom activity.
[Video] Simulations and modeling tools (6–8)

Watch how students investigate phenomena with the help of digital tools.

A young girl wearing safety goggles stretches a gooey substance from a cup in a kitchen or classroom setting.
Summary of Investigations (K–5)

Explore the types of investigations that students conduct.

A young person wearing gloves looks through a microscope at a table with laboratory supplies, including bottles, slides, and a tray, against a plain blue background.
Summary of Investigations (6–8)

Explore the types of investigations that students conduct.

A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.
Program structure and components (K–5)

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Teacher assisting two students working on laptops in a classroom; other students are in the background.
Program structure and components (6–8)

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.

Digital collage of various devices displaying educational content about earth’s energy system, including graphs and text explanations.
[Video] New! Classroom Slides

Learn more about our customizable PowerPoints for every lesson.

A laptop screen displays a writing lesson with prompts and a student's response in Amplify Classwork. The student's answer discusses dangers related to a specific scenario involving a sick child.
Classwork (6–8)

A new, intuitive approach to reviewing student work online.

students collaborating and using laptops
English Learners

Learn how we make learning accessible for English learners.

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

Learn how we make learning accessible for students who need more support.

Teacher using a tablet while conducting an mCLASS reading intervention with three young students seated around a table in a classroom.
Students ready for more

Learn how we make learning more rigorous for students ready for a challenge.

Two young children sit at a table looking at an open book, with other books placed in front of them. A play button is visible over the image.
[Video] Literacy in action (K–5)

Watch students use scientific text to obtain information and practice reading skills, while using writing prompts to create arguments using evidence

A student writes in a notebook, holding a pencil, focused on the task.
[Video] Literacy in action (6–8)

Watch students use scientific text to obtain information and practice reading skills, while using writing prompts to create arguments using evidence.

A teacher in a green shirt helps a young student with writing at a classroom table, with other students and large numbers visible on the wall in the background.
Literacy-rich science instruction (K–5)

Immersing young students in reading, writing, and arguing like real scientists and engineers.

Two students sit at a table in a classroom, working on an assignment together. Other students are also seated and appear to be engaged in their work. Papers and books are spread out on the tables.
Active Reading in grades 6–8

Engaging middle school students in complex science texts.

Two boys work together on a laptop while a woman—likely one of their middle school teachers—sits beside them, observing and smiling in a classroom setting.
Accessibility

Read more about text design and accessibility, including embedded Read-Aloud audio.

A teacher discusses educational content in front of a whiteboard while students in the classroom raise their hands eagerly.
Approach to assessment (K–5)

Learn about our embedded formative and summative assessments.

Two students sit at desks writing in notebooks and using laptops in a classroom setting.
Approach to assessment (6–8)

Learn about our embedded formative and summative assessments.

A teacher and a young student looking at a laptop together in a colorful classroom decorated with children's artwork.
NGSS Benchmark assessments

Learn more about the Next Generation Science Standards Benchmark assessments created by Amplify.

A young girl in a classroom gives a thumbs up with both hands, smiling broadly, while other students look on in the background.
NGSS alignment (K–5)

NGSS alignment by performance expectation.

Two students in a classroom, one looking at the camera and the other listening intently, with a whiteboard displaying educational content in the background.
NGSS alignment (6–8)

NGSS alignment by performance expectation.

Two children sit at a table with Chromebooks, facing each other and talking, in a classroom with books and storage bins in the background.
Remote and hybrid learning guide

Amplify is here to help! Amplify Science will soon feature product enhancements and new resources that will help manage the new landscape of back-to-school 2020.

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Spanish-language supports

Learn more about the Spanish-language supports in Amplify Science.

Ready to start exploring with digital access?

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Contact an Amplify representative

Laina Armbruster
larmbruster@amplify.com
(602) 791-4135

Bob McCarty
rmccarty@amplify.com
(435) 655-1731

Kristin McDonald
kmcdonald@amplify.com
(515) 240-0244

GREAT NEWS!

High-Impact Tutoring Grant for 2025–26 is released by DESE!

Built on the Science of Reading, Amplify Tutoring engages students and achieves real results. Let’s partner and support Arkansas students to become confident, proficient readers.

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Arkansas Districts, Welcome to Amplify Tutoring

At Amplify Tutoring, we’re dedicated to assisting you every step of the way. From grant writing and planning to full implementation — including tutors, materials, and everything you need — we’re here to help you.

  • Resources to Support
    See the Commissioner’s Memo here and 2025–2026 grant application here.
  • Questions?
    Contact us at tutoring@amplify.com

Hear from leaders like you!

See what other district leaders are saying about Amplify Tutoring.

Overview

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Accelerate student achievement.

Amplify Tutoring supports and accelerates student proficiency in foundational literacy skills. Results show that students in Amplify Tutoring outperformed similarly at-risk peers on a nationally normed reading assessment, and those who attended most consistently made the largest gains.

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Reimagine instructional supports.

Amplify’s scaled tutoring offerings can be customized to help you meet the needs of your students. Whether you need high-quality tutoring materials, help designing your tutoring program, professional development, or tutors, Amplify can support you at every stage.

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Increase insight into student learning.

Grounded in data, mCLASS® Intervention provides educators and tutors with visibility into lessons, progress monitoring, and instruction tailored to the needs of each student.

What district leaders and teachers are saying

“We did not know where to start. Our facilitator and the high-impact tutoring team were phenomenal and helped us form our vision. I would recommend the training to anyone. ”

Executive Director, Curriculum & Instruction, Texas

What district leaders and teachers are saying

“Teachers, paraprofessionals, and tutors are very happy to have high-quality literacy instructional materials designed specifically for tutoring. ”

District Tutoring Program Lead, Texas

What district leaders and teachers are saying

“Using Amplify tutors as a supplemental instructional tool to assist with small groups this year has been a pleasure. Our students have shown tremendous growth in their reading fluency and comprehension! We look forward to continuing our partnership next year! ”

Teacher, Maryland

Our approach

Amplify Tutoring offers research-aligned tutoring materials, services, and training. From design consultations to full-service tutoring programs, our models reflect the principles of high-impact tutoring.

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Elementary student at school participating in online tutoring programs for reading competency

Data-driven instructional materials that are aligned with the Science of Reading and meet ESSA criteria

Amplify Tutoring features research-backed lessons aligned with the Science of Reading and grounded in mCLASS Intervention (an ESSA aligned program). This program groups students with common strengths and needs and provides progress monitoring.

Frequent and consistent sessions

Tutors engage with students in three or more 30-minute skill-building sessions per week to build confidence in students’ early literacy skills.

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Positive relationship building

When students feel safe and cared for, they are motivated to achieve their goals. Our approach supports consistent, positive tutor-student relationships.

Training for district and tutoring personnel

District and tutoring personnel receive flexible, comprehensive training, enabling high-quality tutoring instruction to meet student needs.

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S3-02: How science strengthens literacy and language development

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In our second episode of the season, we continue finding ways that science is overlooked and how it can be better utilized in schools—and as an ally to other subjects!

We sat down with Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator and staff advocate at BSCS Science Learning. She shared past experiences and research that shows the benefits of integrating science and literacy, as well as strategies for applying these ideas in the classroom.

We hope you enjoy this episode and explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page!

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (00:00):
We started to see this trend of students communicating more in English because they were excited about the science that they had been learning.

Eric Cross (00:10):
Welcome to Science Connections. I’m your host Eric Cross. In this third season, we’re exploring the theme of science as the underdog. And last time around, we delved into the data showing that compared to other subjects, science is often put on the back burner. Now it’s time to explore why it’s so important to change that and how to do it effectively. So over the course of these coming episodes, we’re gonna make the case for science and equip you with data and strategies for advancing science in your own home, school, or community. To kick things off, we’re going to spend a few episodes going in depth on the integration of science and English instruction. We know we need to dramatically improve literacy rates in this country, and as we’ll show in the coming episodes, science can be a key ally in that goal. We’ll also show how language development and literacy instruction can support science. Yes, it can be a win-win, folks. To start out, I’m joined by someone who has been studying science and language development for more than a decade. Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep is a senior science educator and staff advocate for BSCS Science Learning. On this episode, she talks about her own experience as a middle school science teacher and share some key insights and strategies from the research on integrating science and English language development. Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep.

Eric Cross (01:36):
Welcome to the podcast. Thank you for being here and having this really important conversation. So I’m so glad you can make it, Susan.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (01:43):
Yeah, I’m excited to be here.

Eric Cross (01:44):
We’re gonna talk all about language development and science. But first I was hoping that you can just kind of set the stage and tell the listeners about yourself and how you came about to studying this specific subject.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (01:57):
Sure. So I am a California native. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and that’s where I started teaching. I have an undergraduate degree in integrated biology from UC Berkeley. And I thought I was gonna go be a field scientist. And while I was waiting for grad school applications to run their course, I took a substitute job in Montebello to kind of bide my time. And because I had a science degree, they asked if I would take a permanent placement, well, a temporary permanent placement. And I said sure. And found myself teaching seventh and eighth grade general science to a population that at the time was about 68% English language learners, in a school that you would consider urban, under-resourced with a community that was large percentage immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America. And I never looked back. I kept that job.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (03:04):
I loved it. I love the middle school classroom. I love teaching science to my middle school students and truly, truly just found a really good home for my love of science, but also my love for talking about science and helping other people understand science. So at some point I was entertained with the idea of going to graduate school. So while I was still teaching, I actually did a Ph.D. At the University of Southern California in the science education field. And once there, realized that I actually had a unique experience in higher ed, that experience of teaching with populations that are learning English or have home languages other than English, was actually not common in higher ed circles. And being from that community was also not common. And so I pretty quickly leveraged that experience to combat what I think is universally agreed as an equity issue that in my school where I taught, the district had advocated for ELs to get an extra hour of language development in order to promote their English language proficiency.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (04:28):
And, our principal wisely said, there are not enough English-only students in this school to do that without losing all of our science teachers because there’s not enough kids left to actually fill a day, a teacher’s day. And she said, these kids learn more language in their science courses than they do anywhere else, so I don’t wanna remove that. But the reality is, is that at that time–this was in the late nineties, early two thousands–if you were not proficient in English, you went to more time with language development. And that makes a lot of sense in some ways. But when you look at the big picture, you realize, well, that means those kids aren’t going to science and they’re not having opportunities to have consistent quality science learning opportunities simply because they spoke a language other than English at home. And so that’s really how I fell into this work.

Eric Cross (05:28):
And that has a downstream effect. I mean, once you start pulling students from a course, that automatically sets the trajectory for later outcomes, which we ultimately see in STEM fields where we, we don’t see the population of our students represented in the STEM fields. Now, I know this goes back a few years, but you were doing research for your Ph.D. What did you start to follow?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (05:50):
Yeah, so I eventually took a position at Cal State Long Beach, which was not by chance, it’s a Hispanic-serving institution, and that’s where I wanted to do my academic work. And once I was there, sought funding with a district to support elementary science learning. So it had a teacher professional learning component that was both summer and in-class, sort of like PD in the classroom component. And the district came back and said, the only way you are gonna get time to even talk about science in elementary school is if it’s attached to language development. And so that’s what we did. It was a three-year grant, there was a sister grant that followed–so all told, it was about a five-year program where we basically said, what if instead of following the traditional ELD, English Language Development curriculum, we modified and put science as the context for language development in the K2 bands.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (07:01):
Teachers at the district traditionally had not been excited about their language development curriculum until we said, we’re gonna take that and we’re gonna do some science instead. And then they were like, no, no, no! We love our ELD curriculum. But they hung in there with us. The project was successful enough that it actually became a K4 and then a K5 project. The district ended up having to put in a ton of money into this because the grant only paid for so much. But their schools actually wanted “in” ’cause what they heard is when we put science as a context for language development, kids were talking more. Kids were speaking in English more. Kids were writing more. Kids were engaged. And the ultimate, kids were developing English quickly and in a community where you could actually operate within the community without speaking English. These are Spanish-speaking communities and the schools operated in Spanish outside the classroom. So if you walked into the school’s office, the principal secretary, the person who manned the door, spoke Spanish. The field supervisors that the lunch supervisors spoke Spanish.

Eric Cross (08:17):
The non-teaching staff that are supporting the rest of the students outside of the classroom.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (08:23):
Yeah. Everybody spoke Spanish and they spoke Spanish at school. And even the principals came back and said, from being in this project, that the kids were coming into the office and had transitioned to communicating in English, especially when they wanted to talk about science, and they really wanted to talk about science ’cause they were super excited about the stuff that they were learning. So we started to see this trend of students communicating more in English because they were excited about the science that they had been learning. And yeah, that sold itself and we had schools jumping in.

Eric Cross (09:01):
So you started off in a situation where you were told that you had to, if you wanna get science and you had to merge it into English, basically. And is it fair to say that that’s because of testing requirements that schools have on them? Like this is what gets analyzed or what was the purpose behind that?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (09:15):
It was district policy and it was site policy and those policies were put into place for very good intentions. Students don’t get reclassified into English only, and reclassification is how you traditionally got access to all this other programming, electives, AP college prep, all those other things. And the best way to get them reclassified was to learn English, and to learn it sooner rather than later. So it was in an attempt to get kids reclassified from English learner to English proficient.

Eric Cross (09:55):
And then during that process it was able to be expanded to K4. And then with these open-minded teachers, you gave them the content, they used science as the context for learning. And then your students who were mostly emerging bilinguals and multilingual students, you found that they started speaking English more frequently. What did you make of that result? Like what did you come to after seeing all that happen?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (10:20):
So I do wanna say that there’s a couple of reasons why we think this works so well. But I have to really acknowledge that there were linguistics, second language acquisition experts that were part of this team. And we wouldn’t have been able to make any of this work if it was purely science educators leading this cause. There’s a lot we didn’t understand about language development, and they really helped us. But one of the things that we think is unique about science, there’s a few really important aspects–one is that we all have experiences in the natural world, since we can process outside information, right? We all have observations, things we’ve observed with our eyes, we’ve heard, we’ve felt, and all of those experiences build some pretty good science ideas before we enter formal schooling. You know, kids already have ideas about this.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (11:20):
We don’t have to give them language for it. They already have these concepts and experiences. The other thing is that we are inherently interested in the natural world we occupy. And so we’re curious, science is often considered cool, there are science channels and science fiction movies and science fiction books and magazines–and this is just … it’s just cool. And that tended to be the trigger, you know, when we gave kids something interesting to observe. A Ziploc bag with water that we added an Alka-Seltzer to, and strange things starts happening in the baggie. That curiosity, that excitement allowed kids to leap over any concerns they had about the language they were supposed to use in the classroom. One of the most difficult things about learning a language is using a language that is imperfect. So saying things and communicating in a language that you are not a hundred percent confident about, that you’re not sure you’re using the right words or the right tenses. But when kids were excited about this thing in a Ziploc bag, they didn’t care. They communicated however they could, sometimes in their primary language or their home language, sometimes in imperfect English, but by and large they just communicated. They did it in oral language, like listening and speaking, but they also did it in writing. And that was easy. Like we didn’t have to do anything other than provide interesting science experiences. And that’s, that’s pretty common.

Eric Cross (13:06):
Yeah. I feel like, to co-sign on the science is cool, it is objectively, if a matter of fact, even just looking at the Oscars, like we have multiverse, you know, we have sci-fi you know, the costume designer of Wakanda Forever. We have all of these different movies that are all founded in some kind of these scientific principles. And so the idea that science is cool and organic, naturally engaging is something I think we, we all can connect to and it resonates with all of us. So I feel like is sort of your origin story too.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (13:33):
That’s the origin story.

Eric Cross (13:34):
That’s the origin story right there, to continue with this like movie theme. Now if we fast forward to today, based on all the research that you’ve seen since then, and your experience, why would you advocate merging English language development and science?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (13:49):
Well, for one, the research that we conducted actually provided some really nice evidence that showed, even though we had essentially stole minutes from language development time and inserted science. And on state mandated tests and on their students’ language proficiency measures, the kids in the program with the blended, did significantly better than students who were getting ELD instruction alone. Traditional ELD instruction. And that kind of blew our mind. We would’ve been happy if they had done just fine. Like we could put science into a student’s day and do no harm. They could get their language development; they could get science. But in fact, what we found was that they did better. That they actually gained English more quickly and it showed up in multiple measures, including the state English language arts assessment, which again, kind of blew our mind.

Eric Cross (14:55):
So just to be clear about the study that you did, you looked at two groups and one was the blended science and English language development, and then the other one was a control group. And the blended group ended up showing more improvement.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (15:09):
Yes. So there’s quite a bit of research now, this research was done in the early two thousands, and the research has built around it to really suggest that this does seem to be a more efficient way to promote language development while still maintaining students’ access to a core content area. But in recent years, the standards have shifted and that has been just a remarkable, wonderful change. And both standards have shifted. So when we did our research, we did it under the old California Science standards that were fairly heavy in technical terms. They were heavy in science concepts rather than kids doing things. And they were a much narrower focus.

Eric Cross (16:04):
And these are the standards that most of us grew up on, right? Those of us who are pretty much teachers in the classroom today pretty much grew up on what you’re talking about. Is that fair to say?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (16:12):
That’s fair to say, yes. So the new standards that we have now, the California NGSS Standards emphasize not just ideas, but they also emphasize students doing things in science. And we didn’t have to build-in language portions to the standards. They now exist. The NGSS is a very, very rich linguistic opportunity for students. And at the same time, the way we’ve thought about language development has also shifted. We used to talk about language and science… we used to think about science as a lot of words, and you had to know the words, you had to have this technical language. And we’ve sort of shifted that to really thinking about, language is no longer a prerequisite for science learning. Language is now developed through the science learning or the content learning experiences.

Eric Cross (17:11):
So now there’s more chances to integrate English into science. Have you seen success stories or have you seen examples of this? Maybe just anecdotes of teachers kind of doing this since you’ve been doing this research and kind of watching. If so, would you mind sharing one or two?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (17:30):
Yeah. And I will just give a nod to Dr. Dr. Okie Lee who’s now at NYU who has really led sort of this reconception of language and science. And one of the ways she talks about it is this notion that I enter this learning experience, I enter this observation of this phenomena with fairly naive, simple scientific ideas. And my language about it is equally simple. But as I develop more and more ideas, as my understanding of the phenomenon, what I figured out becomes more sophisticated, I need more sophisticated language. And so what we’re starting to see are these spaces where teachers are building science ideas and science and understanding along with the language. And in order to do that, you really need to know what’s the storyline arc of my science lesson? What do they figure out in lesson one? What do they figure out in lesson two?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (18:35):
What do they figure out in lesson three? How are the science ideas building over time? So that I can then look at the language that they’re using and what language supports do I need in order to allow students to not only engage and figure things out, but communicate their ideas about it. And so we’re seeing teachers blow up what we call language, what we call text. It’s not just words. It’s not just sentences written on a paper, but it’s models, it’s pictorial representations, it’s gestures, it’s this wide range. We pretty much said, let’s blow language up. Let’s like use all of the linguistic registers that we have in order to make meaning of what we’re seeing it in together in this classroom. So that’s one thing that we’re starting to see. The other thing is that teachers are really allowing students opportunities to use what we call social language, non-standard dialects.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (19:40):
The language I use at home and with my friends. Because earlier I had said, we have all these experiences and those experiences in the world are tied up in my social register. They’re tied up in my home language ’cause that’s where I experience them. And to let students have access to using that language in the classroom, especially initially in a unit, means we’re giving ’em access to those experiences that they have that are related to the phenomena under study. So I totally understand the benefit of promoting academic language and promoting language frames and forms that we use in more academic settings. But it’s a sticky wicket. You have to be careful how you tell students about the way you want them to communicate. Because when we tell them that language that you use at home with your friends and family is not welcome here, we can send a message that they’re not welcome here. And that those experiences that they have outside of classroom about how things fall, the way sunlight heats up different surfaces, where you’ll find plants and what plants you will find based on conditions. All of those experiences, we’re sending a message that those are not welcome in the classroom. And so this expansion of language, including non-standard dialects and even home language, is really important for letting students bring their whole selves into the classroom.

Eric Cross (21:23):
I love what you just said. It legitimizes the funds of knowledge, the language, the cultures that our students are bringing to the table. I remember when I first learned the word code-switching in college and you know, I’m biracial, I grew up in my home community and my school community were two different communities and I ethnically, culturally belonged to both. And I had to code-switch in order to kind of survive and be accepted into different communities. And not until I was in college did I actually understand what I was doing. Now there were all kinds of teasing and jokes that went on to how I would talk if I code-switched improperly. And in my classroom, I would see students who would explain concepts in a way that was maybe like a casual register. They just were explaining it the best way they could.

Eric Cross (22:10):
And the way they were speaking was kind of denigrated or it was seen as negative even though they were communicating their concept. And when I became a middle school teacher, one of my, I don’t know, it’s like sometimes when you teach, you get to, you change how you were taught or what you experience and legitimizing my students’ language, and they would tell these beautiful stories and in their most common like, casual language, but they’re explaining the concept brilliantly. And it was phenomenal to see this barrier be removed of saying, you have to talk like this in order to be a scientist or you have to say these right words. And, and that’s what I feel like I’m hearing that in how you’re describing kind of how science has been done and what language can do to certain groups of students.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (22:58):
Yeah, very much so. And you know, back to the origin story, you know, I grew up in a multi-generational household. My mom, my aunt, my grandmother, Spanish was their first language, but they lost it because my mom was raised in Riverside and she, you know, went to school in the, the fifties and sixties and back then you weren’t allowed to speak Spanish at school. And so they lost the language.

Eric Cross (23:27):
They weren’t allowed to speak it at all.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (23:29):
At all. I didn’t directly observe it, but that is the story that my family tells, that there was no English spoken anywhere on school grounds. And that was a different issue. Right? That was very much for people unfamiliar with some of the history in Southern California. Their segregated schools, severe racism, linguistic racism, racial racism against Mexicans was a real thing. But yet I grew up in this household where the sort of way of speaking, like I think many Mexican households, the context is everything. So you can’t get to the facts until you’ve told the whole context of everything happening around it. So we used to joke that we couldn’t send my grandmother to the doctor by herself ’cause he had 15 minutes, and she was gonna take 20 just to tell him how she got there before she got to why she was there. But this telling of the context, the telling of the story around the idea is part of the linguistic, this sort of linguistic way of my household. When I got to school, I had to learn to drop it because teachers found me off topic. You know, I still have to be careful how I express things and sometimes I’m not a fast storyteller <laugh>, and I monitor that for myself. So I can only imagine what it’s like to be a kid in a classroom.

Eric Cross (24:59):
Right. And there are so many constraints in the school day, you know, especially if you’re multi-subject and you’re elementary and you’re teaching multiple subjects and someone’s trying to tell a story and you’re just like, land the plane! And they’ve, you know, gotta tell ’em the story, but realizing that when you look at it through a lens of like, culturally, this is how we communicate, then it reframes what the student is trying to do. They’re communicating to you based on how they’ve learned to communicate and they’re including essential parts of the story. And so how do you both honor that while also, you know, certain things like brevity and being concise and things like that that they’ll have to learn. But also honoring that and making sure that there’s space for that in your classroom. Even me, I’m thinking about this where I had students record this video and it was one minute to two-and-a-half minutes explaining three concepts. And I had students coming up to me afterwards saying, Mr. Cross, I need to record two videos because two-and-a-half minutes is not long enough. And I was like, how? I even extended it. But I’m realizing and listening to you and going, they’re probably not just getting to the point. They’re probably including more context into this because that’s how they story tell and that was actually part of the lesson.

Eric Cross (26:12):
So now I need to go back and extend their time that I’ve given them for <laugh> that project. I wanna come back to kind of, since we’re on this topic about why this is also an equity issue. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So we were talking about language, you touched on this a bit, and we were talking about integrating into science, but can we go a little bit further into how this integrated approach maybe can benefit English language learners in particular? And maybe anything else that’s related to equity that comes to mind.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (26:40):
So there’s a couple of layers of the equity issue. The most tangible and clear is student access. If we wait until students develop English proficiency to allow them access to quality science learning, we lose a tremendous number of students that could not only could they benefit from science, we could benefit from their entering this science conversation. And I was at a university and I was in a college of natural sciences and we were dedicated to increasing the diversity of the faculty. And it was a struggle ’cause the number of Ph.D. science ed or biology or chemistry academics that come from marginalized populations is very, very small. And it’s not by accident. You know, the number of students that make it into the next level, that make it into college prep courses, that make it into STEM majors, that complete STEM majors and go on to either careers or advanced degrees narrows at every possible step.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (28:01):
And so the equity issue is really one of access. And as basic as that is, it’s the easiest to solve. So that’s the first layer of equity. But the second issue around equity is how we engage these students once they’re in this space. Do we make it possible for them to see themselves as a scientist or an engineer? Are we creating learning experiences that not only allow them to use all the sense-making resources that they have, but do we make them feel like they’re valuable and useful in that space? Because there’s a lot of people that will say, I could be successful as a scientist, but I’m not willing to give up who I am in order to do that. And that’s a real thing. There’s a lot of research about like, why are they leaving? Like why, you know, is it because they’re not able?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (29:05):
Is it because they don’t see themselves as being capable? And now I think we’re looking at this as a different issue. It’s not that students don’t see themselves as capable and not that they’re not achieving. They see the cost that it will take to enter these fields and essentially not be able to be their full selves. So that’s the second equity issue. And in both cases we lose. As a society, we lose. We lose access to the full range of human resources that we have, and we lose access to their unique perspectives that they would bring to real problems facing us. It’s like all hands-on deck. We need to stop making it too difficult to participate in the conversation and we need to be more inclusive about how we invite these other perspectives and how we respect and utilize their ways of sense-making. That may not be Western science ways that we have in our books now, but hopefully those science materials are gonna change and we’re gonna start to see other ways of sense-making and other people involved in the stories that we tell around science concepts.

Eric Cross (30:29):
And just to be clear, this practice in integration, while it lifts up equity for marginalized or underrepresented groups or students who are emerging bilinguals or students who typically we don’t see representation of, this approach also benefits native speakers as well. Correct?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (30:47):
Yeah. And there’s actually a group of native speakers that come from text poor homes. It’s typical in underserved communities. Poor people living in poverty that may be native English speakers. They may not be marginalized populations. But they don’t have access to like text. And so that’s another group altogether that needs linguistic support. And then once you have all voices in the room contributing, everybody benefits because now the conversation, the building understanding conversation we’re having or the sense-making conversation that we’re having has everybody involved. And we all benefit from that.

Eric Cross (31:33):
And we see, I think one of the benefits about a country like the U.S., is we have such a heterogeneous group of people. And when we’re moving in the same direction, we’re all coming to the same problem, but from different perspectives and we’re able to come up with more innovative and novel solutions to them. And that’s kind of what I’m hearing is like as we generate scientists that are all coming from different backgrounds, we’re gonna be able to solve future problems, current problems a lot more effectively because nobody has a monopoly on perspective. Nobody has a monopoly on knowledge or the fastest way to do something or the best way to do something.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (32:11):
Right. Right. And traditionally we really have privileged particular experiences, particular ways of sense-making particular linguistic registers. And if we could just kind of put that privileged ways aside and open up space for everybody to feel like they have a voice, I think the next generation could change the world. I think they could solve some real problems. I’m truly hopeful that they would see themselves not just as capable, but as necessary in these pursuits.

Eric Cross (32:50):
So what does it actually look like today to do this work in instruction well? So to integrate the science, to integrate literacy, to take the benefits of the things that we’ve been talking about. What are some practical things that educators could do to get started, whether it’s in early, you know, K5 or middle school or even high school.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (33:13):
So I will say, I’m gonna kind of separate ’cause in the elementary space, students are primarily developing literacy in multiple languages. The language of the classroom, typically English, home language, languages, they may be multilingual. In the secondary setting where students tend to have developed social language in some language, it’s a little different. So I’m gonna kind of separate those two. So for elementary spaces where teachers tend to teach multiple things, I recommend that you get a partner. Don’t do this work alone. You cannot do this work alone. I mean you can, but it’s very frustrating and not nearly as much fun. So you really wanna take a look at what is the science that kids are going to be engaged in. Because when we look at science first and build language development around it, the experience tends to be more authentic and organic.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (34:18):
And what we used to do is we used to, like when we were talking about the science, we’d monitor the language we were using and then use that to say these are the registers. This is the language that we use when we were thinking about this. So if students are gonna use this, these are the scaffolds they’re gonna need. ‘Cause to do it, well, to do it efficiently, the scaffolds need to be specific to the science learning. So if we’re doing cause and effect, those are specific linguistic scaffolds that are different than if, say we’re doing model and systems and systems models, those are a whole other slew of scaffolds. And so you wanna be really tending to, what is the science being discussed and what is the language that kids are going to use and build scaffolds around it.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (35:10):
And then you also wanna think about what is the social language? What are the experience that kids will have either in words or pictures that I can leverage in this space. And then you wanna do that for the arc of the unit and slowly increase sophistication around those linguistic supports, as well as the science learning. But if kids have social language and they’re now in, there’s a group we call long-term English learners who have not been reclassified way beyond what the typical reclassification is. And that actually is important to think about because if you think about the kinder group, the group of kindergartners that enter a school when they’re five or six, those kids are going to go from grade to grade to grade. And as students develop proficiency, will get reclassified and they move out of this group that we’re still calling English learners.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (36:10):
So by the time you get to like seventh, eighth, ninth grade, if they’re still students in that category, they have very different needs on average than the group we started with. Often when we talk about secondary or these long-term English learners, we can leverage social language a lot more, but have to build the scaffolds more carefully around, for lack of a better word, the more academic content transferring that those social nonverbal language into more sophisticated forms. I think in any setting, you wanna utilize your resources. If I’m in a secondary space and I have a language development teacher and I’m not talking to her or him or they, that’s a problem. You need to go talk to the other people that have these same kids and talk to them about, how are you engaging in language, what are you doing?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (37:07):
Because you know, you could actually have a lesson, maybe this is a lesson about energy and you’re using a model and the kids are creating an initial model. And over in ELD land, they’re doing some linguistic supports. They’re working on some forms and functions of language. You could talk about the catapult, you could talk about the solar heater. You could use the context of the science conversation, which has a whole bunch of tangible experiences. You know, there’s the solar heater in front of you. I don’t need to keep it all in my head ’cause it’s in front of me and we can point to things and talk about things by manipulating the materials. And then I can take all of that and my ELD partner can use that as context when available. But it takes collaboration, but it’s collaboration well spent. And it’s more challenging in the initial phases of the collaboration. Once you kind of the get into the groove, it becomes a lot easier.

Eric Cross (38:16):
The meta of this, as we talk about integrating science and literacy is, and this is great advice, but it’s basically integrate your science teachers with your English teachers and co-plan and do this work together. It’s a force multiplier. One, you’re both, you’re getting two specialists together. It also, I’m just listening to just the parallels. It also resembles what you actually do in the STEM fields of collaboration working together to problem-solve, and you’re modeling for your students what you want to happen. And if I was an administrator listening to this, someone who had control, like master schedules and things like that, there also needs to be space created for these teachers to talk to each other and plan and do all these other things to kind of maybe come up with like interdisciplinary units or even just meet and begin the conversation. It just seems like such great advice.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (39:07):
Yeah. We’re professionals. We have academic degrees and credentials and experience in the classroom and yet more often than not, we leave it to the students in the seats to make the connections between my class and the class they go to next. And that’s not fair. We need to be talking to each other. So if we’re talking about argumentation, argumentation in science and argumentation in ELA and argumentation in math–we’re not even talking about the same thing. I mean, cognitively we’re talking about taking some evidence and creating a claim and supporting it, but what we mean by evidence is very different in the different disciplines. What counts as more convincing evidence changes. And yet we assume that because we say evidence in one class, the kids know what we’re talking about. And the kids are sitting there going, which one is this? Which evidence are you talking about? Because last period it was something else. And so I think we also need to really consider who’s in the best position to clarify the connections and the integration because we leave it to kids more often than not right now.

Eric Cross (40:19):
I agree. Just having those conversations and defining your terms and agreeing on them just to make it easier for students. ‘Cause you’re right, they are left to make those connections or bridge the gaps. And when you have an education system for many schools, I think most of us, it’s still pretty siloed. You’re still kind of like, especially when you’re in secondary, it’s we’re doing this or even elementary, different times of the day you do different subjects, versus the way that we experience life itself or even our professions. We’re actually integrating science and math and reading and writing throughout the day, and ebbs and flows going back and forth. And without making those explicit connections, we’re leaving a lot of things to chance, hoping that the learning’s there in such a valuable moment. Before we go, I’m wondering if you have a parting message for listeners about the topic of integrating science and literacy. You’ve already said so many amazing things, but you have the platform speaking to educators and folks out there. What would you wanna say to them?

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (41:18):
This is not an easy endeavor. The system that we operate in does not make this effort easy, but it is worth it. It is worth it to the kids in our classrooms. It is worth it to the building of a scientific community and a scientifically literate populace. It’s important to solving problems in the future. It’s important to have kids feel like regardless of how they say things, that they belong in a classroom. If we can relax the sort of linguistic demands on kids and let them enter science learning in a way that allows them to use all their resources and they’re curious, they can really leverage both areas in a way that they don’t do individually. It’s really hard to think about what it is I’m trying to say if I’m worried about how I have to say it. And so we really need to think about, when are those times that we’re gonna let kids just tell us what it is that they’re excited about and when is it that we’re going to help them craft a more formalized language around those ideas. Right now we do a really good job at that second half. We need to do better at the first.

Eric Cross (42:46):
Susan, thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your expertise and your wisdom and your passion for serving the students and for bringing everybody to the table through language and through science. We really appreciate it and the listeners will too.

Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep (43:03):
Thank you so much. This is my favorite topic.

Eric Cross (43:06):
Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep, senior science educator and staff advocate at BSCS Science Learning. And please remember to subscribe to Science Connections so that you don’t miss any of the episodes in this exciting third season. And while you’re there, we’d really appreciate it if you can leave us a review. It’ll help more listeners find the show. Next time on the show, we’re going to continue exploring the how and why of integrating science and literacy instruction.

Speaker 3 (43:35):
When we interview scientists, they spend a lot of their time reading the work of other scientists and writing their findings, writing grant proposals, presenting at conferences. A huge part of the work of a scientist is not just at a bench conducting experiments, but even if you’re conducting experiments, you’re using your literacy processes to think about what you’re seeing in your experiment.

Eric Cross (43:57):
That’s next time on Science Connections. Thanks so much for listening.

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What Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep says about science

“When we used science as a context for language development, kids were talking more, kids were writing more, kids were engaged.”

– Dr. Susan Gomez Zwiep

Senior Science Educator, BSCS Science Learning

Meet the guests

Susan Gomez Zwiep began her career in science education as a middle school science teacher in Los Angeles where she spent over 12 years working in urban schools. Prior to joining BSCS, Susan worked at California State University, Long Beach as a Professor of Science Education.

Susan has also worked as a Regional Director for the K-12 Alliance, providing high-quality professional development in science and mathematics for K12 educators, including the CA NGSS Early Implementer Initiative. Susan consistently works toward establishing equitable access for all students to rigorous, inquiry-based science instruction and supporting teachers in their journey to become advocates for students, science education, and their own professional development.

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About Science Connections

Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. 

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S2-03: Building meaningful student connections in the science classroom

Promotional image for a podcast episode titled "Sharita Ware: Building meaningful student connections," featuring Sharita Ware and "Science Connections" branding.

In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with Indiana State Teacher of the Year, Sharita Ware, to talk about how to successfully build meaningful student connections in the science classroom. Sharita shares her journey from a corporate career to becoming Indiana’s 2022 Teacher of the Year, and her passion for creating project-based lessons for her students. Together, Eric and Sharita discuss how educators can teach students to love science content by building strong relationships, adding in other content areas, and supporting students’ imagination. Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.

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Sharita Ware (00:00):
I try to create that equal playing field where there’s nobody’s voice, that’s more important than anyone else’s and try to make them all feel that what they have to say is important.

Eric Cross (00:14):
Welcome to science connections. I’m your host Eric. My guest today is Sheta where Sheta is the 2022 Indiana state teacher of the year. And in her 10 year career, as an engineering and technology teacher, she has dedicated herself to helping students build knowledge and skills for high school and life. Beyond. In this episode, we discuss how she inspires her seventh and eighth grade students to build problem solving and critical thinking skills through hands on real world and collaborative projects. She is as humble as she is knowledgeable and through our conversation, it was easy for me to see why her students feel successful under her guidance. And now please enjoy my conversation with Sharita Ware.

Eric Cross (00:59):
Can I start off by saying congratulations on teacher of the year. Thank you for the state of Indiana. Um, that’s amazing. So I, I, I did watch, uh, your videos, uh, short interviews, and then you spoke, was it Purdue? Yes. You were there. And so, uh, to see if fellow seventh grade, eighth grade science teacher out there being celebrated, like I was so excited, so yeah, I wanted to congratulate you on that and, and just kind of talk to you about like your teaching journey and ask you, uh, maybe just kind of start off with your story about what brought you into, into the classroom, especially the middle school.

Sharita Ware (01:29):
Classroom. So what happened is when I was working in industry as an engineer and when my husband and I got married, we decided that I was gonna, um, stay home with the kids because, you know, we wanted, um, our influence to be greater on our kids than, you know, the people that would be watching them, you know, because they would ultimately spend more time with them than they would with us. And, and so, um, I stayed home and when my youngest was going to be going to kindergarten the next year, I was like, okay, what am I going to do? Cuz I really don’t necessarily feel like I need to stay at home. Mm-hmm <affirmative> but um, I knew going back to industry would be a challenge just because in my field, I, I was traveling a lot before I got married and had kids.

Sharita Ware (02:14):
And so I knew that that wouldn’t really be conducive to again, raising children. So I, I get this email, my inbox for Woodrow Wilson, teaching fellowship at Purdue. And they were just looking for people in stem fields to go into teaching. And I was like, okay. And it was a national search, you know, I filled out the application, we had to go in and do some sample teaching mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I was picked as, as one of the, the teachers to go through the program. And I started off thinking I wanted high school. And the really cool thing about this, uh, program is that we had long observation periods at high school and at middle schools. And so we would go to a school and we’d stay there two or three weeks. And so it, it kind of gave you right. A little bit more insight to what happened on a daily basis. And after those observations, I was like, I like middle school better than I, uh, like high school. And so I just kind of went that direction and you know, the rest is history. So

Eric Cross (03:19):
I feel like our stories are similar because I went into teaching thinking I wanted to do high school because I like the maturity and you a little bit more sophistication, advanced things, but yes, middle school, I felt like I can, I could get them more upstream before and kind of help shape mm-hmm <affirmative> that experience for them? Because I feel like at middle school is really where they kind of decide like what they can do based on their experiences.

Sharita Ware (03:39):
I found in the middle school that the kids, I mean, they just, they clamor around you and they’re like, what are we doing today? You know? And they get so excited and, um, they’re, they’re just, I don’t know, I guess in some ways, just more hungry in the sense of like they’re willingness to, um, now sometimes they’re a little reluctant, but you know, their willingness just to try new things. And I think, um, my students really what I have found over the years that they have found a safe space and I hear the kids, you know, say to me so many times that, you know, it it’s safe. I feel, I feel safe in here. And, and it’s not something that in my mind I’m thinking about, oh, I need to make this a safe place. It’s just, I guess part of just who I am as a person has created this environment of, of safety and, and the kids recognize that, you know, I don’t play favorites. You know, everybody starts out mm-hmm, <affirmative> on equal footing. I, I don’t care what your backstory is. I don’t care how many times I see you in the hallway when I’m walking during my prep. You know, when you hit my room, I’m, I’m gonna treat you the same way on day one, that I treat everybody else.

Eric Cross (04:54):
You really understand how to build culture with, in, with your classroom, with your students. And, and you said they feel safe, but is there anything that you do that someone could like apply? And like you found that you’ve gotten a lot of just relational capital through doing these things, or is it just your personality? Like how, how do you build those connections?

Sharita Ware (05:12):
You know, growing up being a, a very quiet person. I, I think a lot of times my voice was ignored because I was the quiet kid in the back of the room. And oftentimes I became seen or heard because of my work, you know, in the beginning it was kind of like, oh, she’s just this quiet girl in the back of the room. And then, you know, the first essay was due or the first project was due. And then it was like, oh, you know, then you’re the person to be on, you know, people’s teams. And, and that, I don’t know, that always kind of bothered me because, you know, I’m thinking just because you’re not the loudest person in the room doesn’t mean that you don’t have something to say, mm-hmm <affirmative>, you just might not be talking all the time. You know? And, and so for my students, I just, I try to create that equal playing field where there’s, nobody’s voice, that’s more important than anyone else’s and try to make them all feel like that what they have to say, or what they have to contribute is, is enough, is good.

Sharita Ware (06:14):
Enough is important as…

Eric Cross (06:16):
It is, as it is. And there’s probably a lot of things that you do. But in addition to building these relationships, what do you do? Like how do you make your learning fun for students?

Sharita Ware (06:25):
I think, um, I’m also a little bit on the silly side. Um, we do a, a Barbie prosthetic leg project, and this was after trial and error of having the kids make full size prosthetic legs. And I try to make it as real world as possible, but with none of the children being amputee or, you know, having access to someone, it was really hard for them to really visualize what needed to happen. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so, um, I found this Barbie that had a prosthetic leg and I was like, well, LA, so I just started collecting Barbies and chopping their legs off <laugh>. And so I have this jar of Barbie legs. And so, and I said, you’re gonna make prosthetic legs. And I lay this jar of legs on the counter and the kids are like, like they gasp and then they crack up and then they’re like, okay, this lady’s crazy. So…

Eric Cross (07:22):
That’s when you take off your scarf and there’s this necklace of just Barbie legs that are just around and you’re like, I’m a middle school teacher and they go, oh, okay. I understand. Yeah. Yeah. It’s totally fine. Is this a lesson that someone that you made up or is it something that you’ve re remixed? Is it something that someone could do if they looked it up anywhere?

Sharita Ware (07:38):
Um, so I think teach engineering has the, the full size leg that the kids make. And that’s where I initially got it from.

Eric Cross (07:47):
Is that the website teach engineering?

Sharita Ware (07:49):
Yes. And, um, I, in fact, I get lots of ideals from there. Um, and I, I always usually tweak them, but it’s, it’s one of those things that kind of gets your brain going. And so it was kind of a mixture of, uh, project lead the way gateway to technology and the teach engineering. And I think the project lead the way had us making like braces, uh, for, um, kids with, um, like cerebral palsy or, or something like that. And the kids did okay with that project. Uh, but I wanted to go just a little bit, uh, deeper with it because part of what I was wanting them to do is that context and that connection, that human connection, because for me, it’s not just enough for them to make a project. Uh, before we start this prosthetic leg, I read them a story out of a Scholastic magazine, and it’s a, a teenage girl that lost her leg in a boating accident.

Sharita Ware (08:42):
And she was super active, um, playing sports and running. And, and so I was, you know, trying to get the kids to, you know, make that connection, someone close to their age. Um, and then how it’s not, it’s, it’s more than about her physical healing. It’s also about her mental healing and how she had to, you know, talk to herself to say that she could, you know, recover and, and come back from this and still go on to do all of the things that she was doing before. Um, and in some ways it’s kind of cool because, um, you know, she has a running prosthetic, she has a, a swimming prosthetic, and she has her every day with the pain and toils prosthetic. So just trying to, you know, help them to see that it’s more than just the, you know, the biomedical mechanical engineering aspect of the project.

Sharita Ware (09:30):
And so they have to design for comfort. They have to design for, um, swelling. And then, um, they also can, if they, if they want to, they don’t have to, if they want to, they can create their own backstory. So when they get there, um, we have a day where they are introduced to their client, so they get to meet their Barbie and, and then they get to decide if they want a backstory and, and then do their research based off of that. So if it’s someone that was a runner, then they can design a prosthetic running blade. So just, they have lots of, uh, flexibility.

Eric Cross (10:04):
The, that aspect of adding the narrative. It does so much for like listening to it on the outside. It one, it adds this humanity to, you know, what can sometimes just feel like it may be cold, logical stem. We’re just, we’re just doing things. We’re fixing things. We’re, you know, we’re discovering things, but really the stem has value when we’re actually applying it to, to, to serve humanity or our ecosystem or whatever it is. There was a, a coding, uh, class I was doing with my students and I showed them this app called be my eyes. And it’s for people who are visually impaired and it pairs them with a volunteer. And when they call, and there’s a whole huge pool of volunteers and I’m one of them. And when my, when it happens in class, I answer and it uses the FaceTime. So the person who’s visually impaired is holding up their phone and you see what they see and you tell them and real time what’s happening.

Sharita Ware (10:54):
Oh, wow. That’s so cool.

Eric Cross (10:56):
These are, these were the things I think for students that the story, the, the human part of it, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, it must bring in so many more students into engagement.

Sharita Ware (11:05):
Yeah. I, I feel like it does because I, I think, um, and, you know, along the journey, they kind of lose, um, they lose sight a little bit because, you know, they get out in the lab and they have access to all of these different materials. And I think, you know, truly making it, you know, project based for me is I try not to control the materials too much. Um, I try not to make it so wide that they just get lost, but I try to throw a few curve balls in there, you know, of, of materials that really don’t make sense to use, but they kind of think they make sense to use. Um, because the, the, the meat of it is that the prosthetic leg is a similar size of the original leg and that the, the knee functions. And so I don’t limit, and I grade them off of efficient use of materials.

Sharita Ware (11:59):
So, and that just throws them off because I think, well, how many Popsicle sticks can I use? And I’m like, you can use as many as you like, but remember, this is a prosthetic leg that, um, your Barbie, which is one six scale, um, is going to be wearing all day. So you could think that a Popsicle stick, if you chose to use a Popsicle stick is kind of like dragging around a two by four <laugh>, you know? So do, is that what you really want to use as your material? And some of the kids really think about it and saying, okay, I’m, I’ve got this aluminum rod, okay. This is probably what I would use for my bone structure, because it’s lightweight, but yet it is supportive. And then sometimes they come up with their own ideas in terms of materials, like one student brought in his, um, 3d doodle pin mm-hmm <affirmative> and he made joints and everything with this pin.

Sharita Ware (12:54):
And I’m, and I had delayed buying one, cause I’m like, I, how do you have control over that thing? Mm-hmm <affirmative> he brought that in and he did probably two or three iterations of it and, and got it to work where even the knee where it bit back 90 degrees, but it stopped. He made like, so that it didn’t bend forward. It blows my mind. I’m like so many UN unexpected things have, have happened just from my, um, teaching style. Now I did have, my first few years, I had a, a teaching coach, um, come in and, um, I asked her to come into my room because I just wanted to make sure because I was not a traditional teacher. She said, this classroom is amazing. And, and I think the one thing that she helped me with was, was purpose and consistency and the sense of making sure that with the standards that all of these cool things and ways of being, um, that I was doing in my classroom, that, that I kept it purposeful and intentional. So many times as educators, I know in having student teachers again, ask yourself the question, what is the big picture I want the kids to take away. And once you ask that question, then everything that you have them do will lead to that big picture. Well, it should lead to that big picture.

Eric Cross (14:22):
So it sounds like they’re, you’re starting with this end goal in mind and then kind of backwards planning to get there. Yeah. Do you think you would’ve been the same type of teacher if you would’ve gone straight from college into the classroom? No. And if, if, no, as you’re shaking your head, what do you think it is about? Cause I’ve been asking myself these questions, like just over the years, what is it about coming from industry and going into the classroom? Do you feel like, is how has that impacted you in how you teach?

Sharita Ware (14:45):
Well, I think it’s twofold cuz I was older. I already had three children. I think the combination for me, I think is I was already a mom and I had worked in industry. So the behavior aspect of kids and, and then having that real world experience. And I, I just feel like whether it’s in the classroom, um, marriage, kids, to me, it’s 90% relationship, you know, and the rest will work itself out. That’s, that’s just my, my take on it. But I, I feel like having kids, so some of the behavioral things I kind of was aware of, you know, and just learned many times just not to react to some of the things that they did.

Eric Cross (15:31):
Which is huge. Right. Especially in middle school is controlling your reactions.

Sharita Ware (15:35):
Yes. Cuz that’s what they want. You know? And, and I had this student last year as well. She’s brilliant. And so if she cannot wrap her mind around the purpose of what you’re doing and, and you’re pushing her to do something that she doesn’t think is necessary, mm-hmm <affirmative>, she kind of has these meltdowns. And, and so we just had this, you know, I don’t know, we just came to this understanding and it, and it works to control the meltdowns. I tried to make sure. And, and I used her as a gauge because I knew she wasn’t, she wasn’t getting upset because she didn’t understand. She didn’t understand the why mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so I felt like if she got the why then so would everyone else. So when she, if she was okay with it, then I was like, okay, then I must have explained it well enough.

Sharita Ware (16:25):
And so in my mind that I really need to make sure they understand the, again, going back to that purpose <laugh> and intention, making sure that that is clear. And then I think that’s what gets lost. Sometimes mm-hmm <affirmative> uh, with us as teachers, we, we know where we want the kids to go and we want us to trust the process, you know, just do it because I said so, but sometimes, you know, empowering your children to under to understand the why, because that again is what allows them to be able to do bigger and greater things on their own. So on that next project comes along. They’re starting to tell you, well, first we need to make sure we understand what, um, we’re being asked to do to do. So we have to define the question. We have to make our driving question that will help us stay focused. And, and you’re just standing up there going, okay, now you don’t need me. I’ll go here and sit down. <laugh> so it’s, uh, it is really cool.

Eric Cross (17:28):
Now I’m thinking about my own kids. Like, do my students know the why behind the lesson we did today? It’s one area of growth that I wanna make sure I do this year with my students. And so I really appreciate that. So the, and you just hit on something that is, has been in the forefront of my mind lately and math and English as you know, tend to be prioritized in schools everywhere because it’s what state tested. And it’s what, you know, this is a whole other conversation, but I’ve been talking to math teachers frequently about one of the challenges that they experience or they’ve been telling me is that math is kind of taught. Like it’s just computational, you’re solving these problems, but it’s really separated from any real life application. A lot of times, you know, it’s pizza or gumballs or, or just fictional scenarios and students don’t perform well many times. And some of the reasons why is cuz just no connection. I don’t want to solve puzzles. Like it’s not my jam. Do you have any just inside or, or perspective on how math is, is taught in maybe a way that you think it would students would benefit more?

Sharita Ware (18:32):
You know how kids learn in elementary school, you’ve got this, the same teacher teaching all of the subjects. And so wouldn’t that be an awesome opportunity for you to have like these, these projects where I feel like you could, a class could legit work on the same project for a whole entire year. And so couldn’t the English be writing your persuasive letter to the mayor, asking him to do this or do that. And the process of doing that they’re, they’re, they’re writing with a purpose with a true purpose. Um, and then when they’re doing math, you know, they want, they want a new neighborhood park. So, you know, well how much is this gonna cost? Well, math, what size is it gonna be math? Let’s see what it looks like, art, you know, you just, you have all of this things. And then of course then science.

Sharita Ware (19:32):
So if it’s on a heel, how can we, you know, deal with erosion? And you know, you can just pull so many different things into that. And so not only are they learning, but they’re narrowed in and focused on a project, they’re, they’re able to dive deep into, you know, learning more of learning, how to express themselves and communicate with real people. So it’s more of taking these compartmentalized learning that we do in middle school and high school. Mm-hmm, <affirmative> where you’re almost learning apprenticeship style. Mm-hmm <affirmative>, you know, you have these master educators and it’s not about them being the best at math or being the best at this or that. Cuz there’s so many tools now that could help you through that. But you’re, you’re giving, you’re teaching them so many life skills and so many ways to think and problem solve that, that we’re just that the kids just don’t have.

Eric Cross (20:27):

I think that that is amazing. And I think that in that situation, what I’m hearing is we’re going deeper, not wider because there are a lot of different concepts that kids are expected to learn. Or I should say there are several concepts that teachers are expected to teach doesn’t necessarily mean that our kids are learning, but we’re teaching them. And this way you’re embedded it into an authentic context. Students are able to go through this cycle just like real life. And then they’re also able to build these kind of really transdisciplinary skills. Not only am I learning the math, the English, the the, but I’m also learning the interpersonal skills of being able to sell myself and present myself in a way that’s winsome. And it’s especially powerful coming from someone from industry. Last question, even just listening to you, I know you, you are this for a lot of people, but I wanted to ask you who inspires you?

Sharita Ware (21:14):
I think there have been lots of people over the years. Like I’m thinking of my shop teacher who has since, uh, the last few years passed away. Um, he was one of those people, I think similar personality to me, super quiet person, but he was always in the background on my journey and his name was Joe Mo and we called her Madam Carol was my 10th grade English lit teacher. And she was the one that started reading my work out in front of the class. And you know, and that just gave me courage, not so much to be seen. Uh, but that the work I was doing was, was good. And, and I think I needed that kind of encouragement. Lastly, my students inspire me because when I look at their faces and see the excitement, I think of those students for the first time and, and, and think about this seventh and eighth graders for the first time feeling like they really have something to say, they really have something to contribute of value. And, and I do it for them. You know, the reason why I am here in this moment is because of them. Um, without them, you wouldn’t be talking to me <laugh>

Eric Cross (22:37):
This is, this is true. This is, this is true. You would probably never say this about yourself, but you just exude a humility and a service in how you talk about your students and yourself. And I just wanna thank you for using your gifts, but I don’t wanna just call them gifts because it makes it sound like you didn’t earn ’em and your skills that you’ve earned and worked very hard to acquire over the years to go back into the classroom and leave industry, cuz you, you could have gone back to industry too, but you decided not to. And you could have worked in the industry and your hours were a little different pay is a little different, but you came back to serve the kids of Indiana and because of you and because of that choice, those students have a brighter future and believe in themselves and they’re finding their voice. And I want to thank you for that and for representing all of us stem teachers who are in middle school and being that leader. So thank you for that and thank you for being on the podcast.

Sharita Ware (23:24):
You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.

Eric Cross (23:28):
Thank so much for listening. Now we wanna hear more about you in the amazing work you’re doing for students. Do you have any educators who inspire you? You can nominate them as a future guest on science connections by emailing stem, amplifycom.wpengine.com. That’s ST E M amplifycom.wpengine.com. Make sure to click, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and join our Facebook group science connections, the community until next time.

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We’ll also share new and exciting free resources for your classroom every month!

What Sharita Ware says about science

“Sometimes, empowering your students to understand the why is what allows them to be able to do bigger and greater things on their own.”

– Sharita Ware

Engineer and Technology Teacher, 2020 Indiana Teacher of the Year

Meet the guest

Sharita Ware, a Purdue University graduate, is in her 10th year of teaching engineering and technology education to middle school students in the Tippecanoe School Corporation. Ware challenges her students with real-world, problem-based design scenarios that will help them contribute to global technology and integrated STEM. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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About Science Connections

Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. Listen here!

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Check out Eric’s recent blog post on how the pandemic has changed teaching…

Overview

With Amplify Science, 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.

Watch the videos below to learn how our program empowers students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers every day.

Overview

What Educators Say

The NGSS classroom

EdReports

Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all-green by EdReports..

Read the review on Edreports.

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. We designed our program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 66 days for grades K–2 and 88 days for grades 3–5.

Unit sequence

Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.

In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.

Unit sequence
Mariposa en vuelo sobre plantas en macetas sobre una mesa, con una oruga en un tallo frondoso cerca, una regadera roja a la izquierda y un paisaje brillante al fondo.

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. 
Una mano tirando de una cuerda atada a una bola blanca, que interactúa con un tablero de madera con varias clavijas y bandas elásticas.

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. 
An illustration from the Sunlight and Weather unit

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. 
Una ilustración de una tortuga marina nadando bajo el agua, acompañada por una tortuga más pequeña, una tortuga más grande y un tiburón distante. Al fondo se ven algas.

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. 
An illustration from the Light and Sound unit

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. 
Ilustración que muestra un paisaje urbano dividido en noche a la izquierda con una luna y estrellas, y día a la derecha con un sol, nubes y un avión.

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. 
Un elefante se encuentra debajo de un árbol y usa su trompa para arrancar un trozo de fruta.

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. 
A hand holds a red bean on a table, while a wooden stick spreads white glue and scattered beans. Also on the table are a white cup and a yellow pen.

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. 
An illustration from the Changing Landforms unit

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. 
An illustration from the Balancing Forces unit

Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks. 
An illustration from the Inheritance and Traits unit

Inheritance and Traits

strong>Domain: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (Wolf 44) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 
An illustration from the Environments and Survival unit

Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased. 
Un orangután con un pelaje naranja cuelga de una enredadera en una densa y verde jungla con árboles y plantas, mientras el sol brilla de fondo.

Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns. 
An illustration from the Energy Conversions unit

Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. 
An illustration from the Vision and Light unit

Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights. 
Ilustración de una costa rocosa con acantilados angulares en tonos rojizos a la izquierda y una masa de agua azul debajo.

Earth's Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park. 
An illustration from the Waves, Energy, and Information unit

Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater. 
An illustration from the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit

Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece. 
An illustration from the Modeling Matter unit

Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing. 
An illustration from the Earth System unit

The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not. 
An illustration from the Ecosystem Restoration unit

Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving. 

Access program

Watch the video to the right showing you how to navigate our digital platform. When you’re ready, follow the instructions below to log into your live demo account.

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Explore as a teacher with this username (t1.cartwrightsd@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password (Amplify1-cartwrightsd).
  • Explore as a student with this username (s1.cartwrightsd@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password (Amplify1-cartwrightsd).
  • Choose your grade level from the drop-down menu.

 

Access the digital platform now

Resources

Minimalist illustration of three pencils outlined in white on an orange background, with the lines of the pencils forming part of a continuous single line drawing.

Arizona State Standards Alignment

See how well Amplify Science aligns to your state standards.
A computer screen displays an educational platform featuring teacher notes, interactive content, quick links to activities, and easy navigation tools.

New! Digital experience

Our Amplify Science digital experience is getting even better for the upcoming school year. Click to learn more!
Un adulto y un niño se sientan en un sofá beige con cuadernos abiertos. El adulto usa una computadora portátil, mientras el niño escribe en un libro. La luz del sol entra por las ventanas detrás de ellos.

Remote and Hybrid Learning Guide

Learn more about new product enhancements and resources to help you deliver engaging science instruction in any instructional scenario—remote, hybrid, or in-person.
Una mujer lee un libro titulado "Postales de accidentes geográficos" a un grupo de niños atentos sentados en el suelo de un salón de clases.

Course structure for K–5

Take a closer look at how the program is organized.
Illustration of a pixelated green mountain cliff deconstructing into a digital grid, with red dots floating over a tranquil sea and flying white birds.

Unit phenomena for K–5

Take a closer look at the elementary unit phenomena featured in each grade level.
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What’s so phenomenal about phenomena?

Learn actionable strategies that will help you implement 3-D teaching and learning.
A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.

Literacy-rich instruction in K–5

Scientists do not just get messy. They read and write with purpose too. Explore how we do that in our program.
A young boy and girl sitting in a classroom, reading a book together with focused expressions.

Student Books in K–5

Read a summary of each of our award-winning K–5 student books.
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

Take a closer look at the digital Simulations included at each grade level.
Two children in safety goggles conducting a science experiment with liquids in a classroom.

Investigations for K–5

Explore the types of investigations that take place in elementary classrooms.
Amplify Science California supports 3-D learning with more materials than any other program.

Materials Kits for K–5

See what components come in our materials kits!
Un maestro se encuentra al frente de un salón de clases, explicando una lección que se muestra en una pantalla. Los estudiantes se sientan en sus escritorios y algunos levantan la mano.

Approaches to assessment in K–5

Learn about our elementary embedded assessments.

Welcome to Grade 4

BACK TO MAIN TK–5 PAGE

Amplify Science California is so effective you can cover 100% of the NGSS in half the time of other programs.

You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing all you need is:

  • 88 days per year
  • 2-3 lessons per week
  • 45 minutes per lesson
Students engage in various science experiments, including testing conductivity with a lamp, playing with slime, examining objects, and using sand trays.

What students learn

Lauren Learner loves science. Watch this video to find out what she learns in second grade. >

When you’re ready:

  • Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  • Click on the orange “See how the unit works” link to download a helpful Unit Guide. These guides make great companions to busy reviewers looking for a big-picture understanding of how each unit works.
Illustration of a nighttime cityscape with illuminated windows and streetlights, a visible moon, and stars in the sky. A solitary figure stands out in one of the windows.

Unit 1

Energy Conversions


Student role: System engineers


Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.

See how this unit works

A gecko prepares to catch a cricket under a streetlight at night. The yellow arrows illustrate the lamplight hitting the cricket and reflecting in the gecko's eyes.

Unit 2

Vision and Light


Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.

See how this unit works

Illustration of a rocky coastline with angular cliffs in reddish tones on the left and a body of blue water below.

Unit 3

Earth’s Features


Student role: Geologists


Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.

See how this unit works

Two dolphins swim underwater in a blue-tinged environment, facing each other, and one appears to open its mouth slightly.

Unit 4

Waves, Energy, and Information

Student role: Marine scientists


Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.

See how this unit works

How teachers teach

Tom Teacher feels confident delivering 3-D instruction with our resources by his side. Watch this video to learn more. >

When you’re ready:

  • Scroll down and take a closer look at your classroom resources.
  • Click on the orange links below each component to see grade-specific samples.
A laptop displays a PowerPoint presentation in presenter view, with slides about observing objects in plastic containers and related sensory instructions.

Classroom Slides

These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.

Video introduction to Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides (Spanish)

A computer screen displays an educational website titled "Earth's Features" with chapters and illustrations of canyons; a printed teacher’s guide is shown beside it.

Teacher’s Reference Guide

Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.

Login to platform below to access

A variety of craft materials arranged on a white surface, including cardboard sheets, plastic cups, yarn, binder clips, pink balls, yellow pom-poms, and other assorted supplies.

Materials Kits

Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumable items to support 72 students. In other words, each kit can last two years! Plus, our unit-specific kits mean you just grab the tub you need and then put it all back with ease.

List of investigations by unit

List of materials by unit

Two book covers titled "¡Apagón!" and "BLACKOUT!" show a dark city street with headlights from a car illuminating the scene at night.

Student Books

Our award-winning Student Books include content-rich nonfiction and informational texts designed to introduce concepts and also deepen understanding. Books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher in whole-class, small-groups, and student pairs.

List of Student Books by unit

Systems

Energy Past and Present

Sunlight and Showers

Blackout!

It’s All Energy

A laptop displays a diagram showing the upper river, floodplain, and river delta with labeled cross-sections above a landscape map of a river flowing to the sea.

Simulations and Practice Tools

Our digital Simulations and Practice Tools are powerful resources for exploration and data collection, and allow students the ability to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.

Video overview of digital tools

Device calendars by unit

List of digital tools by unit

Two science workbooks, one in Spanish and one in English, titled "Energy Conversions: Blackout in Ergstown" with white covers and orange labels at the bottom.

Consumable Notebooks

Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

Sample Student Investigation Notebook

Sample Student Investigation Notebook (Spanish)

A man wearing glasses and a maroon shirt smiles at the camera on a laptop screen with the words "MYSTERY doug" and a speech bubble saying "Doug.

Mystery Science

Our exclusive partnership with Mystery Science means you get our NGSS core curriculum plus two years of free access to Mystery Doug and his extensive library of captivating videos that deepen students’ understanding of each unit’s phenomenon.

Mystery Science lesson alignment

A person with headphones works on a laptop; a line from their head transforms into a rocket, symbolizing imagination, innovation, and the foundational skills essential for multilingual learners.


Coming Soon

Unlike other publishers, we don’t make you wait until your next adoption to get the latest and greatest from Amplify. We’re always launching new and exciting features. What’s more, we’ll push them out to you even after you adopt us!

See what’s coming for 2020-2021

Navigating the program

Watch this video showing you how to navigate our digital platform. Then following the instructions below. >

  • Click the orange button below to access the platform.
  • Choose the resources you’d like to review.
  • Pick your grade level from the drop-down menu.
  • Scroll down to find additional grade-level resources.
Access the digital platform now
A woman sits at a desk in a classroom, working on a laptop with an open binder and papers in front of her.

[VIDEO] TG Walkthrough

Watch this video to get familiar with the organization of our printed TG.

A spiral-bound teacher’s guide titled “Energy Conversions: Blackout in Ergstown” is shown beside a laptop displaying digital chapters of the same topic.

[Grade 4] Energy Conversions

Get a big picture overview of this unit with an at-a-glance view of each chapter…

A spiral-bound teacher’s guide and a laptop displaying a digital interface, both titled “Vision and Light: Investigating Animal Eyes” from Amplify Science.

[Grade 4] Vision and Light

Get a big picture overview of this unit with an at-a-glance view of each chapter…

A teacher’s guide notebook and a laptop screen display educational materials titled "Earth’s Features: Mystery in Desert Rocks Canyon" with illustrated canyon graphics.

[Grade 4] Earth’s Features

Get a big picture overview of this unit with an at-a-glance view of each chapter…

A collection of science learning materials including books, balloons, seeds, windmill parts, and other educational tools arranged on a white surface.

[Grade 4] English components

Take a closer look at our grade 3 program components.

Two book covers titled "¡Apagón!" and "BLACKOUT!" show a dark city street with headlights from a car illuminating the scene at night.

[Grade K–5] Spanish components

Learn more about what components are available in Spanish.

[Grade 4] NGSS Alignment

See how our program addresses 100% of the NGSS Standards.

Cuatro niños reunidos alrededor de una mesa en un salón de clases, mirando de cerca un objeto que uno de ellos sostiene. Hay libros, papeles y materiales educativos sobre la mesa.

[Grades 3–5] Pilot support brochure

S2-01: How teachers are really feeling this school year

science connections S02-01 Episode Cover

In this special solo episode, Eric Cross starts the season by sharing his personal journey as an educator, and how the difficulties of the last few years have shaped his mindset going into the upcoming school year. Eric also addresses teacher burnout and what inspires him to continue working as a classroom educator. Explore more from Science Connections by visiting our main page.

Download Transcript

Eric Cross (00:02):

Welcome to Science Connection, Season Two. As we begin the next season, I thought it would be a good time to share my story. As the host, I get to ask people questions about their journey, but I’ve actually never shared much about my own. So I’ve taken some of my most frequently asked questions to guests and asked them to myself. I hope you enjoy.

Eric Cross (00:23):

So the origin story question, I think really gets to the heart of why a person does what they do, because so much of who we are, especially as adults and teachers, is a result of experiences that we had in our lives when we were kids or in school with other teachers. And my life’s no different. I was born to a 19-year-old single mom. And when you’re a young boy growing up, especially with a young single mom, you often look to older men in different positions as kinda like a surrogate or like a mentor. And you may not even tell them that they are that to you. You kind of keep it close to the chest. And that’s what I did growing up. One of the ones that really stood out to me is, in seventh grade, I went to a middle school here in San Diego that was called Keiller Middle School. And we were a magnet program that specialized in science. And they had this program that brought professors from the local universities and they did this high-level enrichment. They would even take us to the college campus and we would work in these labs as seventh graders. It was amazing. And one of the people there, his name was Dr. Tress, and he was a professor. And Dr. Tress took a liking to me. I reminded him of his son. We were doing this great embryology experiment. We would take purple sea urchins. And we would inject them with potassium chloride, which would cause them to spawn. And we would fertilize these eggs, and then we would run different experiments using them. And these were things that I had never done before. I had always loved science. I’d always loved tinkering and building things. But this was my introduction, really, to high-level biology and to higher levels of education. I didn’t—I didn’t have many figures like that in my life growing up. I mean, I’m a first-generation, you know, high school, college graduate. Many of these are first generations for me. So, this was a new experience. And so Dr. Tress really unlocked a core memory and was one of my first mentors, as far as academics are concerned. And during my seventh-grade year, I entered the science fair and won first place, which was a huge deal. They took us out to Balboa Park. We got to miss school for a week. We got to go to all the museums for free. It was the best. And I think at that point in time, it really solidified something in me that would lay dormant until later on in my adult life. High school, I was really fortunate: the high school I went to was Morse High School, not too far from Keiller, and they had an aeronautics program. So I was able to enroll in that aeronautics program. And I learned how to fly before I learned how to drive. And I had this great instructor named Mr. Klon, who was this like 6′ 4″, 250-pound hippie guy. And he—we would get in the plane and we would have these like philosophical conversations. And through that, especially looking back now as a teacher, I realized that he was making connections with me and investing into who I was as a person. And it was something that I so needed at the time. Because at home I didn’t have that. You know, my safe place, a lot of time, was school. It was my only structure. It was where I knew I would get encouragement. It was where I knew things were reliable and consistent. For a lot of people, and a lot of kids, their home life isn’t like that. School was that for me. So Mr. Klon, I mean, he was this authentic, you know, consistent person in my life and made a huge difference at this time.

Eric Cross (03:23):

After I graduated high school, I left home just to get away from a difficult environment. And I was homeless for a little while and that was a huge moment in my life. And around that time, an aunt found out and she said, “You’re gonna come stay with us.” And this was like this three-year process of me living with them in this, like, functional family that ate dinner together. And they went to the zoo. They had family passes. And they took family photos at Christmastime. This was all weird stuff. Like, I didn’t know—I didn’t know who did these things. It was—I felt like a puppy that like lived in a home that was like…it was a home that was just always kind of like violent or like just really toxic. And then it gets put into a healthy home and doesn’t know how to act. That’s how it felt. And this was around like 19, 20 years old. During that time I started putting myself through school. So I went to community college and I was broke as a joke. And so I couldn’t afford the textbooks while I was going. So I would just go to the bookstore, the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Mira Mesa here in San Diego. And I would stay there all night using the textbooks or using the books there for doing my work. And then I would just put the books back on the shelves. Because let’s just face it. Textbooks are expensive, brother wasn’t trying to pay for all that. So I really had to earn that time. So I was working full-time. I was going to school. And, eventually I got a job in working in finance with a really great friend who mentored me during my younger twenties. And I didn’t wanna be broke and finance made sense.

Eric Cross (04:44):

And so I did that for a little while, until I got to a point in my career where I was watching an episode of The Office, the UK version, the Ricky Gervais version, and a character said, “I’d rather be at the bottom of a ladder I want to climb than halfway up one I don’t.” And I realized, working in finance, that I was halfway up a ladder I never wanted to climb. So I wanted to move into something that, if I was gonna spend eight hours a day or 10 hours a day doing something, I wanted it to be something that actually filled me up inside. And this is how I got into teaching. So I had always been working with young people, specifically 12- to 18-year-olds, like a non-profit or volunteering, mentoring, after-school programs. And I’ve always managed to rationalize my job in the finance world as meaningful because it let me do the real work that fulfilled me. So the real work was working with the kids. But my day job, my, like, Clark Kent-type job, was just, you know, doing the finance thing of like helping people that have a lot of money make more money. Which at the end of my life, I look back and I said, “That’s not what I want my legacy to be.”

Eric Cross (05:43):

And when the finance crash happened in 2008, that’s when I think I started looking back on it and said, “If I’m gonna spend all my time doing something and spending 40 or 60 or 80 hours of my day of my week doing things, I want it to matter. And that’s when I decided to pivot and leave that field and go and get my master’s in education and get my teaching credential, teaching science specifically. Now, one of the questions we get asked a lot and I’ve been asked is, is “How has teaching changed as a result of the pandemic?” And I feel like this could be several podcasts in and of itself, and it’s also regional, because everybody’s experienced it differently, And we’re still experiencing it! That’s the crazy thing! It’s like, it’s not over, we’re still in it. And some places have innovated and pivoted and some places just did what they needed to and they are trying to go back to business as usual. But if anything has happened, the pandemic revealed how much more, how much schools are more than places of just content learning. For many students it’s where they have their only community, their structure, their emotional wellness. They get regular meals, access to tech, and adults that care about them that are outside of their family. The schools are so much more than that. I mean, my school, they were a place, like a hub, that was giving out food every single day during the pandemic to families that would kind of drive by. So for a lot of schools, they became places like that. It also…the pandemic revealed the intensity of the educator workload. I mean, being able to manage your family, having the capacity, to be a content expert, you need to be a counselor, a trauma-care specialist, a coach, an encourager, a tech expert.

Eric Cross (07:23):

I mean, the term mental health is now more common and starting to become prioritized. Now we’re focusing so much more on the whole child. And we know from research that how a child feels about themselves and their safety and their security impacts their ability to learn. So the more comfortable and safe a student feels in the classroom with teachers and with friends, the better they’re gonna be able to learn. And ultimately the higher they’re gonna be able to achieve. You can’t, you can’t have one without the other. In addition, I think less teachers, see themselves teaching into retirement. I think that’s a big thing. I read these articles about teacher shortages and I think the reality is it’s actually teacher exodus. It’s teachers leaving. And that’s been really difficult. I’ve had many friends who’ve left for the private sector. And I get it, especially if you’re one that has—if you’re the first in your family to graduate from college, with a STEM degree, to them taking a teaching position can mean walking away from a salary in the private sector that pays two or three times more.

Eric Cross (08:23):

And in many places around the country, in order to be a teacher and maintain a median standard of living, you need either dual income, multiple jobs, or a multi-generational household. For a lot of people it just doesn’t make sense. And even right now, today, as I’m recording this, I’m reading articles and getting text messages…and I received a text message three days ago from a teacher that said, “My goal this year is to just not resign.” And that’s where a lot of teachers are feeling right now: isolated, challenged, and under-appreciated. And Plato said, “What’s honored in a country is cultivated there.” And I’ve been looking at how teachers are honored and one of the ways is just, like, practical. Like, look, I gotta pay my bills. You know, love the Starbucks gift card. Love the CPK, the gift card. The cards, all those other things…but brother got a car payment. And at the end of the day, if we care about our kids, we need to take care of the people that take care of them. And there’s very practical ways for that to happen. And everybody in different sectors around the country is dealing with that in different ways. I think the pandemic also revealed, now the public can see how our kids don’t receive the same quality of education. And once you’re aware of that, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. So once you see on Zoom or once you see in a meeting, or once you see on the news, that students in different areas, whether it’s the rural South or a suburb in Seattle, are not getting equitable educations, well, ultimately that impacts all of us. Now. It’s not all doom and gloom. Good things have come from, as a result of, the pandemic. Many schools have made progress towards narrowing the technology gap, ’cause they had to! ‘Cause you can’t do Zoom and you can’t do Google Meet and all that stuff with a packet! You gotta get those Chromebooks. And Chromebooks and the internet and access to tech is not a new thing. It’s been out for a long time. The technology gap is not a new thing. It’s been written about extensively, but all of a sudden districts and schools started figuring out how to close that gap. And that’s awesome. We didn’t want a pandemic to be the catalyst for that to happen. But at the end of the day, we started closing it. A lot of schools did an amazing job and districts did an amazing job with deploying the hardware, sending out buses with wifi, putting lessons and videos on USB sticks and dropping them off to parents who live in sparsely populated areas. I mean, there were so many stories that I’ve heard about schools and teachers just doing amazing things, going above and beyond what they needed to on behalf of kids.

Eric Cross (10:51):

I think in addition to that, there’s also been students and families are now having more options to personalize their learning. So we have this in-person model, we have this Zoom or kind of online model, and this hybrid model, and it hasn’t all been perfect, you know, at all. But some families have come out and said, you know what actually doing this hybrid model is better for my son or better for my daughter or better for my student, because they’re able to get the socialization, but also able to focus better at home than they are in a classroom of 36. And that’s legitimate. You know, we talk about personalized learning, but it’s not exactly personalized when everybody has to wake up at the same time, same schedule, go to the same, the same classroom of, you know, up to 40 kids, and do the same lesson. I mean, we have to be honest about our limitations with personalizing learning for students. And when we can provide more options and we give teachers the infrastructure to be able to use different platforms, then we’re able to personalize learning a lot more.

Eric Cross (11:51):

There’s also been an emphasis on the whole-child wellness. I think the spotlight on mental well-being heavily impacts their academic success, but counseling teams, social workers, school psychologists—I think more than ever we’ve realized the value that they bring to the schools. And unfortunately many of them have caseloads of 200 students or more. And they’re seeing students most often that are in crisis. And especially after the pandemic, we’re realizing how valuable they are and how much we need to, one, honor them and give them the support that they need, and also recruit more. Because as we start recognizing how our brains are impacted by the things that we’re dealing with, we’re also gonna see how that’s gonna impact our students’ performance. And we need the specialists in those positions to be able to support our kids. I think, last, I think more innovation and lesson design and how we assess students. And so we’ve been talking about in education just kind of critiquing: how do we assess what a student knows? How do we make what a student actually does at school relevant to real life? I mean, so many times I have students who’ve graduated that are like, “I feel like the things I learned in school, like, they’re not always transferable to real life. It helped me on a test, but like, I don’t know how to do my taxes.” Or “I memorized these facts, but I don’t really apply it in my job.” Or “The facts that I learned I could have actually learned on the fly in my job. I wish I would’ve actually focused on the skills or had an earlier opportunity to get some experience because when I’m trying to apply for a job, <laugh> they ask for experience and I’m 22 years old.”

Eric Cross (13:28):

And so all these things kind of come up. And so I think there’s been some great conversations around “how do we rethink what education looks like?” And there’s different pockets around the country that have been doing that, I think, really well. And I think it’s important for us as teachers to stay connected to those people who are kind of pushing the boundaries and thinking outside the box, because when we get siloed, it’s really easy to get calcified and cynical. I get it. And it impacts me too. But when we’re around those people who have those fresh ideas, who are really pushing the limits, it inspires us. And that’s something I think during the pandemic that I’m grateful that I was intentional about, is staying connected with other teachers. There’s a big question; Why do you continue your work in the classroom and what keeps you motivated? And I was thinking really hard about this question, because depending on <laugh>, depending on my day, I feel like my answer’s gonna be a little bit different. So I’ve had to step back from this 30-foot, thousand-foot perspective and answer the question. And my answer is this: I think because I still feel like I can be effective to influence positive change in my classroom with my students and within the larger education system as a whole. I think if I lost either of those two, then I’d rethink my profession. Look, I’m an innovator. I like asking “why” questions and things like that. And I’m not always the most popular person when you do that. But education is like just a huge ship. It doesn’t pivot on a dime. And asking why questions and pushing for change on behalf of kids isn’t easy, fun, or glamorous, but it’s it’s necessary. And I feel like over the last few years, I’ve been able to see these kind of glimmers of a trajectory change, at least where I am locally. And that’s something that has given me a lot of hope. I’m very fortunate to be connected to educators and people in leadership that are really about making a difference beyond just kind of the cliched platitudes. They actually wanna make systemic change, in a way that’s positive. And that’s been really helpful for me. So as long as I feel like I’m useful in the classroom for students, and as long as I feel like I’m bringing, I think change, on behalf of teachers and students and administrators and our community in a way that moves the ball down the field, that’s what keeps me motivated. And what I like to ask teachers when I close in the podcast is. “What teacher or teachers have inspired you?”

Eric Cross (15:54):

And for me, I think it would start off with the teachers who cared about me when they didn’t have to, in elementary school all the way through college. And there are numerous teachers. My science-teacher community of practice. For the last two years, I’ve been fortunate to spend every month, once a month, meeting with just a core group of science teachers that really care about some of the things that we are impacted by in the classroom. And when the pandemic was going on, we still met regularly. And because we’re not all teaching in the same place, we kind of were able to bring different perspectives to the table. I think the current classroom teachers and former classroom teachers that I have in my community really inspire me. The ones who are dedicated to opening doors for students. The graduate students that I teach at the University of San Diego, they keep me fresh. I love leaving teaching my 12- and 13-year-olds, and then driving down the street to the university and teaching 20somethings who are all about to be in the classroom. They come with new ideas, they’re asking questions, and I get to actually share things that I just did three hours ago. I think that’s one thing that continues to inspire me. And it’s one of the reasons why I love teaching at the University of San Diego. Their energy and enthusiasm is super-refreshing. And then all the teachers that are willing to take risks and fail forward, to try things different, to ask hard questions, to push the envelope. Teaching’s hard. It’s easy to point out the problems in education as a whole. But after we do that, it’s important to figure out the practical ways we can make the changes that we wanna see.

Eric Cross (17:23):

Now, that’s to say that if you have the capacity for it and the resources and the support. Some of us, we don’t. Some of us, we are on an island, and that’s a really, really difficult place to be, especially when you have family and kids to take care of. And you have to make decisions on what’s best for you and for your own students. We do this work on behalf of kids. And it’s one of the most honorable services a person can provide to our community. But one area for growth that I think we have kind of as a society, is teachers spend their lives, daily, on behalf of the future of our country. For other people’s children. They fall asleep at night worrying about other people’s kids. They spend their own money to create opportunities and experiences that students might not otherwise have. And it’s important that we collectively, and I know I’m preaching the choir when I say this, but this is one of my messages, is that we honor them in turn. We create programs that allow them to be able to afford housing. We create opportunities for them to be able to generate wealth. We create ways for them to be able to find rest, to get connection. And then internally we create systems where they can just work on themselves, fill themselves, get trained, and be whole, so they can bring their best self to the kids in front of them. That’s one of my personal platforms. It’s something that I think is vital. We gotta take care of the people that take care of our kids. So there’s a saying that says, “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” And it takes one person to blow out a candle, but one candle can light thousands of other candles, without diminishing its own light. And that’s what we have to be. So my encouragement, teachers, as you’re going into this new school year, and you’re thinking about what’s going on, you’re thinking about all the challenges—and they’re there, and they’re real, and trust me, it’s not like some Pollyanna, like, “Hey, just be positive!” mindset and everything’s gonna be great—no, no, no, no, no. It’s not that. But my encouragement…if I can tell you one thing that’s helped me more than anything else, it’s being connected to other people who are candle-lighters. Because there are a lot of places that are gonna blow out the candle. It could be the staff lounge. It could be Twitter, it could be Reddit. It could be Instagram. It could be TikTok. It could be, you know, anybody. Someone next door to you. There’s a lot of folks that are gonna be willing to point out and say, “Look, this is what’s wrong.” But find the helpers. Find the people that are candle-lighters. And stay connected with them. Find that community. I can tell you for me, that’s been the thing that’s been able to help me sojourn through all of this—I couldn’t do this by myself—is being able to share my story with other teachers and knowing that I’m doing this work alongside of other folks who are doing this work, and I can share my story with them and listen to their stories, is something that’s been able to fill my cup. And so I hope I can do the same for you and for other people listening to other people I come in contact with.

Eric Cross (20:08):

Teachers, I wish you a great school year. Hang in there. Be those candle-lighters and bring your best self on behalf of the students. Thanks so much for listening. Now, we wanna hear more about you. If you have any stories you wanna share about the classroom, please email stem@amplify.com. That’s STEM at amplifycom.wpengine.com. And make sure to click subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And join our Facebook group, Science Connections: The Community. Until next time.

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What Eric Cross says about science

“We do this work on behalf of kids, and it’s one of the most honorable services a person can provide to our community.”

– Eric Cross

K–8 Science teacher, Host of Science Connections: The Podcast

Meet the guest

Eric Cross is a 7th grade science/technology teacher, grade level lead, and digital learning innovator for Albert Einstein Academies, International Baccalaureate schools. He is also an adjunct professor of learning and technology at the University of San Diego and a Google certified innovator. Eric earned a bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Education from the University of San Diego. He had 17 years of experience working with at-risk youth and underserved populations before becoming a middle school teacher. By building relationships with students, colleagues, and the community, he has become an empowered leader in and out of the classroom. Through meaningful learning experiences centered around student agency, STEM has become accessible to students through highly engaging lesson design, thoughtful integration of digital tools, and culturally relevant pedagogy.

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About Science Connections

Welcome to Science Connections! Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So…how do we help kids figure that out? We will bring on educators, scientists, and more to discuss the importance of high-quality science instruction. In this episode, hear from our host Eric Cross about his work engaging students as a K-8 science teacher. Listen here!

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Weaving Literacy Instruction Into the Science Classroom to Accelerate Learning

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Introducing mCLASS Lectura!  This revolutionary Spanish assessment ensures complete parity between English and Spanish-speaking students.  

*For mCLASS Texas Edition customers who have already opted into the program, please visit our onboarding site to learn how to get started. 

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What is mCLASS Texas Edition?

mCLASS Texas Edition is an integrated, gold standard literacy system that offers teacher-administered assessment and holistic instruction for grades K–6. Teachers often complain about the need to cobble together a number of different tools. They don’t trust their screener so they use something else to monitor progress.

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We’re excited to introduce mCLASS Lectura! mCLASS Lectura works with mCLASS’s DIBELS 8th Edition to deliver universal and dyslexia screening in both languages. This powerful tool is the only assessment to offer a dual language instructional report that shows how a student is reading in each language.

Built for Texas educators

TEA has established a bold vision for teaching and learning by:

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mCLASS Texas Edition is built on decades of research at the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon, a national center for early childhood assessment and instruction. The measures are already in use in hundreds of districts in Texas.

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mCLASS® Texas Edition and mCLASS Lectura Reporting

Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for classroom teachers and literacy specialists, principals and district leaders, and parents and guardians at home.

mCLASS Texas Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student. 

When mCLASS Texas Edition is used in tandem with the brand new, mCLASS Lectura, educators will have access to a dual language instructional report that shows how a student is reading in each language.

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Introducing mCLASS Lectura: Dual Language assessment and instruction for K-6!

Here’s what mCLASS Lectura delivers to help teachers know what instruction to prioritize:

  • An authentic dual language assessment that works in tandem with mCLASS Texas Edition to deliver universal and dyslexia screening in both languages.
  • The only assessment to offer a dual language instructional report that shows how a student is reading in each language.  This helps the teacher tailor instructional recommendations for each student based on the identified transferable skills from one language to another.
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Emergency Rules Related to Dyslexia Screening are available that address the 2019-20 school year kindergarten end-of-year dyslexia screening and have implications for the 2020/2021 school year 1st grade BOY administration of Commissioner-approved or LEA designated reading instrument. This new screening requirement applies to 1st grade students who were not screened for dyslexia at EOY of their kindergarten year.

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mCLASS Texas Alignment with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

mCLASS Texas Edition includes multiple measures. In English, it includes DIBELS 8th Edition and screeners of vocabulary, spelling, and oral language. In Spanish, it includes IDEL, screeners of vocabulary, oral language, and spelling. 

Curious about required kindergarten beginning-of-year measures for ECDS Texas? Check out more details here!

View TEKS alignment

Complete K–6 solution

Amplify also provides additional top-rated literacy programs that connect with mCLASS Texas Edition to give educators a robust, comprehensive package that covers all of their instructional needs. 

  • mCLASS Intervention is a staff-led reading intervention for K–6 that performs data analysis and lesson sequencing with Tier 2 and Tier 3 small-group intervention to get struggling readers back on track.
  • Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) for K–6 provides teachers with additional comprehension measures within the mCLASS platform, featuring a digital reading record and connected book sets.
  • mCLASS Math offers universal screening and progress monitoring with diagnostic interviews to provide a rich view of at-risk students and gauge the effectiveness of math instruction.
Learn more
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Frequently asked questions

Interested in learning more? Read this FAQ we’ve put together based on questions we’ve received about mCLASS Texas Edition.

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Remote and hybrid assessment and learning guide

mCLASS® Texas Edition has created a collection of resources to help users plan for a variety of scenarios for the 2020–2021 school year.

*The TEA has offered a a one-time waiver to school districts for the 2020-2021 school year. They continue to encourage LEAs to adopt a kindergarten screener, as districts will still need to meet dyslexia screening requirements for grades K and 1 for the 2020–21 school year.

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Contact your Texas representative

Looking to speak directly with an mCLASS Texas Edition representative? Get in touch with the mCLASS Texas team to learn more about using the program:

Email: texas@amplify.com

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Vice President, South Central

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Account Executive

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Account Executive, Inside Sales

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Melanie Ferry

Senior Account Executive, Inside Sales

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Kelley Simpson

Account Executive, Inside Sales

Opt in today

Fill out the form to sign up for mCLASS/mCLASS Lectura! If you have any questions as you complete the form, you can reach our Texas team at texas@amplify.com.

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A closer look at grades 3–5

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 3–5 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.
Un collage de cuatro imágenes que muestran a estudiantes realizando experimentos científicos: secando estructuras, trabajando con plantas, vertiendo la mezcla en un vaso de precipitados y regando plantas en contenedores.
A four-step process diagram: Spark, Explore, Explain and elaborate, and Evaluate, each with an icon and description, connected by arrows, ending with a summary statement below.

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 3–5 program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 88 days.

Scope and sequence

Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).

Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.

Grid of nine educational lesson cards, each featuring a different science topic like "balancing forces" and "weather systems" with grade levels and lesson durations listed.

Unit types

Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.

In grades 3–5:

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

Argumentation units

Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.

Units at a glance

Illustration of a high-speed train traveling on an elevated track with a red light on the front, set against a blue sky and green landscape.
Balancing Forces

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.  

Illustration of wolves in the foreground, quail perched on a branch, a bear, and elk in a grassy, wooded landscape with hills in the background.
Inheritance and Traits

Domains: Life Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack. 

A bird stands on the ground, looking down at a yellow snail near some green grass against a blue background.
Environments and Survival

Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.  

An orange orangutan climbs a vine in a dense green jungle with tall trees and the sun visible in the background.
Weather and Climate

Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.  

City buildings at night with lit windows, a full moon, stars in the sky, and a person standing by a window on the left.
Energy Conversions

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

Unit type: Engineering design

Student role: System engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.  

A streetlight shines at night; arrows show its light reflecting off a cricket to a gecko, illustrating how the gecko sees its prey.
Vision and Light

Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Conservation biologists

Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.  

Illustration of rocky cliffs with reddish and brown tones beside a flowing blue river under a clear sky.
Earth’s Features

Domain: Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Geologists

Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.  

Two dolphins are facing each other underwater against a blue background.
Waves, Energy, and Information

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

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Marine scientists

Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.

Earth orbits the Sun in space, shown by a dashed blue line; an arrow on Earth indicates its rotation direction.
Patterns of Earth and Sky

Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science

Unit type: Investigation

Student role: Astronomers

Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.  

Red blood cells scattered over a swirling red and white background, creating an abstract representation of blood flow.
Modeling Matter

Domain: Physical Science

Unit type: Modeling

Student role: Food scientists

Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.  

Illustration of wind carrying particles from the ocean, over a coastal town, and up a steep, green mountain slope under a clear blue sky.
The Earth System

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

Unit type: Engineering Design

Student role: Water resource engineers

Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.  

Illustration of a cheetah standing on the ground and a sloth hanging from a tree surrounded by various plants and mushrooms in a jungle scene.
Ecosystem Restoration

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

Unit type: Argumentation

Student role: Ecologists

Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.  

Resources

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

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 award-winning K–5 student books.

Investigations for K–5

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

Sims for 4–8

Pilot support brochure for 3–5

The CER model in 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.

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