Is the Science of Reading the same as phonics?

The Science of Reading has identified five foundational reading skills that are considered crucial for early reading development. One of those skills is phonics. In other words, the Science of Reading has established that phonics are crucial, but the Science of Reading is not the same as phonics. Phonics instruction helps students learn how to sound out and blend letters to read words accurately. As we know from the Simple View of Reading, two fundamental skills are required for reading with comprehension: Decoding—the ability to recognize written words (via phonics) Language comprehension—understanding what words mean And the Science of Reading also reminds us that students do not have to learn phonics or decoding before knowledge comes into the equation. “The background knowledge that children bring to a text is also a contributor to language comprehension,” says Sonia Cabell, Ph.D., associate professor at Florida State University’s School of Teacher Education, on Science of Reading: The Podcast.

What Amplify programs utilize the Science of Reading?

Actually, we have a full literacy suite built on the Science of Reading! It includes: mCLASS® assessment, powered by DIBELS® 8th Edition, a gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener, plus a progress monitoring tool, all in one. Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), which provides explicit, systematic foundational skills instruction combined with intentional knowledge building. Boost Reading, a highly adaptive personalized reading program that reinforces the core curriculum and supports enrichment, remediation, and intervention for each student in your classroom. mCLASS Intervention, a staff-led intervention program targeted to Tiers 2 and 3, made easy with automatic data-driven grouping and sequenced explicit, systematic skills lesson plans to support at-risk students.

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.

Program 2: Basic ELA/ELD (K–8) 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

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

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!

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.