Educators are expected to balance and deliver assessment, differentiated curriculum, opportunities for higher-level thinking, and remediation—not to mention engaging content that holds student interest and hones early literacy skills. We’ve got to become efficient in numerous systems and platforms in order to pull it all off and help students succeed in early reading. It sounds nearly impossible—and I can honestly say that earlier in my career, it felt that way, too.
What changed that? The Amplify literacy suite. These products have not only fostered incredible growth among our students, but also transformed my experience as a teacher and, now, a literary coach.
I started my journey with Amplify products as a seasoned mCLASS® DIBELS® customer, where I put a lot of stock in the reading foundations’ measures and the data this system offers. The program led to rich data discussions and conversations around appropriate interventions and necessary classroom supports, yet it sometimes felt out of alignment with the curriculum content we used at the time. Our students weren’t always able to put their skills into practice in real time.
Then, a couple of years ago, the Science of Reading became a priority and we adopted Amplify CKLA. This program brought us worldly topics to expand our learners’ experiences, levels of rigor, differentiation, cyclical units of study, and science-based methods. This was the systematic, explicit early literacy curriculum we needed to connect skills and content!
Extending that connection, we found that mCLASS DIBELS paired with Boost Reading provided another layer of support for our students. This combo creates a personalized pathway to strengthen and challenge each learner at their level through engaging, interactive play. Together, these programs provide the perfect blend of actionable data and customized learning.
And just when I thought one platform could never meet the needs of all my students, we added mCLASS Intervention—the culminating piece to the suite, which serves our Tier 3 students (a group that includes even those who have received the Dyslexia Indicator through the mCLASS DIBELS assessment).
Balancing the needs of our readers can be overwhelming. We’re operating in a time of heightened need for proper reading instruction. Our world has never been more connected, and communication has never been a more important skill. The Amplify literacy suite is truly the most effective, balanced approach I have found. It meets your needs from start to finish—whether you’re the student, educator, interventionist, administrator, or parent.
More to explore
- Want to learn more about Amplify’s early literacy suite? Request your free sample or demo to start exploring.
- Listen to inspiring advice for educators, from educators at Teacher Connections—a collection of videos with practical advice and tools from your very own Amplify Ambassadors.
- Join thousands of educators like you by subscribing to Science of Reading: The Podcast.
