Committed to reading equity

We believe that all students have the right to read complex texts and engage in rich classroom discussions. They should also see themselves reflected and experience new worlds through reading.

This commitment guides our text selection, unique artwork, and dedication to reaching every student where they are.

A student with curly hair reads a book in a classroom, while other students are visible in the background, sitting at desks.

Text selection

Texts in the Amplify ELA curriculum cover a wide range of topics, themes, and genres, with differentiated supports that ensure that all students can work through each reading and lesson. Taken as a whole, the texts show students a diverse picture of the world, while fostering a lifelong love of reading.

Illustration of diverse people and landscapes, featuring native designs, botanical elements, and a silhouetted airplane against a script background.

A painted scene shows a blue sky with scattered white dots resembling stars and red clouds, against a backdrop of dark and light color gradients.

In the Liberty & Equality unit, students reflect on the harrowing journeys and avenues to freedom that enslaved African-Americans were forced to forge.

Character & Conflict

Students read A Raisin in the Sun, a play that focuses on the impact of poverty and racial tensions on family relationships and identity within an African-American family.

Summer of the Mariposas

In the Summer of the Mariposas unit, students dive into a retelling of the Odyssey through a contemporary Hispanic lens as they explore sibling and extended-family relationships.

A pencil sketch of an airplane is shown on a textured background with orange and yellow watercolor paint.

In the Perspectives and Narrative unit, students explore a coming of age moment for an adolescent daughter of immigrant parents.

Red Scarf Girl

In the Red Scarf Girl and Narrative unit, students learn about a key historic moment in Asian and world history, while making connections to relatable themes like authority figures imposing rules on children, and family and peer loyalties standing at odds.

Mysteries & Investigations

In the Mysteries & Investigations unit, many of the texts present an ethnically and culturally diverse group of characters, including many pre-teen or teen protagonists rebelling against authority, navigating their relationships with their peers and families, and figuring out their unique identities.

Created with diverse perspectives

With our new illustrations, time spent in our classrooms will feel relevant and relatable to every student. We’ve brought together an art team with unique perspectives and visual styles so that their diversity can shine along with the
complex texts in our curriculum, and illuminate their relationship with our literature. Everyone deserves to see themselves as the hero of a story. It is our hope that our students will find themselves within our program, and will be ever more curious in their learning, and engaged in their reading.

https://youtu.be/_FLV_Le7Zoc

A person sits at a desk with art supplies, flowers, and plants, speaking on camera. An orange play button overlays the image, indicating a video. A colorful artwork hangs on the wall behind them.

Paige Womack

Dive into the world of Mysteries &
Investigations with Dr. Womack,
the illustrator who may have once
become a scientist…

A person sits on a couch in a room decorated with colorful artwork and a wooden sculpture; a play button icon is overlaid at the center.

Tre McClendon

Meet Tre, a seeker and traveller that became homies Fredrick Douglass through illustrating his narrative for our program…

A woman with long dark hair in a red top sits indoors near a window with yellow flowers and colorful decorations; a play button overlay is at the center.

Jackie Pierson

There’s no one way to be a maker, and Jackie certainly has made a lot of things. Check out the weird and mysterious world of her miniatures…

A person with curly hair and hoop earrings speaks indoors, with colorful posters and decorations visible in the background. An orange play button overlays the image.

Elizabeth Dantzler

She’s been drawing characters and comics ever since middle school. Now see the drama of Edel’s work in the mythos of the Greeks…

A woman stands in front of a wall covered with colorful artwork. An orange play button icon is overlaid on the center of the image.

Caroline Hadilaksono

Travel through countries and narratives with Caroline, as she shares her delicate watercolors for illustrating the hero’s journey…

A man with short brown hair and a beard sits at a desk near a window, with artwork displayed on the wall behind him. An orange play button is centered over the image.

Patrick Mahony

The haunting work that Patrick creates will leave you feeling a sense of melancholy and longing, but not without hope for the future…

A woman in a red blazer sits in an office with open books and art prints on the wall. An orange play button is overlaid in the center of the image.

Edel Ferri

She’s been drawing characters and comics ever since middle school. Now see the drama of Edel’s work in the mythos of the Greeks…

A man in a light blue shirt speaks while seated in a creative workspace with colorful artwork and sketches displayed on the wall behind him.

Eddie Pena

As a latino American, Eddie is an illustrator, a father, and a teacher. He is working in collaboration with Poetry in America to use his heritage as inspiration…

A woman sits in front of a wall covered with colorful educational posters, partially obscured by a large play button icon in the center.

Tory Novikova

Listen to a word from Tory, the Art Director at Amplify, on how the vision
was set for the project and how she brought the team together that would get to illustrate ELA…

Fanart

Here is a library of all the inspiring art that our beloved fans have submitted for our program. Do you or your students have a favorite literary character from our program? Send us your fanart to be shared with our community here!

A collage of various portrait illustrations and drawings, including stylized faces, historical figures, animals, and astronauts, in both color and black and white.