ELA/Literacy Curriculum Overview

In September 2024, early childhood classrooms throughout CPS will fully implement the Focus on 4s (CPP) and Focus on K (Kindergarten) curriculum. Focus curricula incorporate educational principles that enhance the overall growth and autonomy of young learners, integrating research-backed instructional methodologies while aligning to the Massachusetts and Common Core Curriculum Frameworks. 

Focus activities are designed to nurture students' emerging independence as both learners and responsible members of society, fostering connection, communication and collaboration skills. The framework was crafted to ensure synergy among its components, promoting students' proficiency in literacy and language, science and engineering, social studies, the arts, and social-emotional development. Literary and informational texts take center stage in each unit, serving as catalysts for conceptual learning, vocabulary enrichment, and the cultivation of critical thinking skills. Each unit incorporates dedicated Writing, in addition to integrating Social Studies and Science standards that are complemented by the CPS Science and S.S. units. 

In addition, all early childhood classrooms participate in explicit, daily, research-based phonemic awareness and phonics instruction using the Heggerty (Phonemic Awareness) and Fundations or TLA Phonics curricula. ensuring their proficiency of foundational literacy skills.

We encourage caregivers to visit the Cambridge Office of Early Childhood here.

Assessments
All CPP students complete early literacy screeners/diagnostics 2-3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. 

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework is not assigned in CPP classrooms, however, activities may be sent home by classroom teachers based on the needs of specific students. These may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills. 

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities:
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students. 

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Focus on 4s: Units of Instruction

Unit 1: Together in Our Community
The primary goal for the first unit of study, Together in Our Community, is for children and teachers to build the foundation for a strong community of learners—developing caring and respectful relationships and routines and expectations for how the classroom works. From the very first day of school, children and adults share experiences with stories and in play, exploring what it means to be in school, feelings, identity and family, and community. They develop shared ways of interacting, solving problems, and doing and making things. They begin a year-long study of weather. The eight-week unit closes with a Showcase of Learning for families and other community members, displaying children’s self-portraits and celebrating their launch to the school year.

Books we’ll be reading in Unit 1 

• Lola Goes to School by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw
• Too Many Mangos: a story about sharing by Tammy Paikai
• What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold
• Sometimes I’m Bombaloo by Rachel Vail and Yumi Heo
• The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
• Saturday by Oge Mora
• Everybody in the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter and Oge Mora
• My Day with Gong Gong by Sennah Yee and Elaine Chen
• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
• Hair Love by Matthew Cherry and Vashti Harrison
• Frederick by Leo Lionni

Unit 2: Building Our Working City
As children look around the city where they live, as they listen to the sounds it makes and see the people who populate it, they might begin to wonder what makes the city function. Who does what? What purpose does this serve? Why is it organized or built that way? What else can we imagine? In the this unit of study children and adults build on the community they have formed and the systems they have routinized in Unit 1 to learn together about some of the structures, features, and people that make things happen in the city around us. In the last two weeks of the unit, children create a model of a city street—including elements and features of a working city: transportation, communication, and infrastructure systems, construction, public art, and people’s roles.

Books we’ll be reading in Unit 2

• My City by Joanne Liu
• Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer
• Quinito’s Neighborhood / El vecindario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano and José Ramírez
• The Lost Package by Richard Ho and Jessica Lanan
• City Shapes by Diana Murray and Bryan Collier
• Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long
• Dream Street by Tricia Elam Walker and Ekua Holmes
• Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle and G. Brian Karas
• Song in the City by Daniel Bernstrom and Jenin Mohammed
• Dreaming Up by Christy Hale
• I’ll Be an Engineer by Connie Colwell Miller and Silvia Baroncelli
• Maybe Something Beautiful by Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell

Unit 3: Animals All Around
Children tend to be fascinated by animals. In this unit, children notice and learn about animals in the immediate, urban environment, those that live outside the city but still close by (in Massachusetts), and those that live in the ocean. They also make direct connections between themselves and other animals. Throughout, children entertain questions about how animals live in their environments: Why and how do animals communicate? What body parts do different animals have, and how do they use those parts to help them live? How do animals move? How do we move? We also continue the year-long thread about weather, by considering how animals respond to varying weather and seasonal conditions. Towards the end of the unit, children’s knowledge about animals is incorporated into a class play!

Books we’ll be reading in Unit 3

• Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Pulley Sayre and Steve Jenkins
• Nuts! by Lou Peacock and Yasmeen Ismail 
• Have You Heard the Nesting Bird? by Rita Gray and Kenard Pak
• Over in the Forest by Marianne Berkes and Jill Dubin
• May I Come In? by Marsha Diane Arnold and Jennie Poh
• The Mitten (We will read our own version of this folktale, but you can find books by Alvin Tressalt, Jan Brett, Jim Aylesworth, and others)
• Shh! Bears Sleeping by David Martin, Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson
• The Lion and the Little Red Bird by Elisa Kleven
• Move! by April Pulley Sayre and Steve Jenkins
• Over and Under the Waves by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal
• Noah’s Seal by Layn Marlow
• We All Play/kimêtawânaw by Julie Flett 
• Bedtime for Sweet Creatures by Nikki Grimes and Elizabeth Zunon

Unit 4: Growing and Changing
All year long, children have been changing, and they will continue to do so as they move into the summer and perhaps a new school environment in September. This final unit, Growing and Changing, celebrates the multiple dimensions of children’s growth and encourages them to notice, wonder about, and represent other living things as they also change and grow. Children start plants and observe butterflies as they change from caterpillars to adults, recording what they notice. How does a seed become a plant? How does a baby become an adult? What changes can we observe? What impacts the growth and health of living things? To close the unit and the school year, children set up a Growing Gallery, sharing how they have grown and changed and their ideas about that, and sharing their work across the unit as their understanding about living things has grown and they look across their experience together and toward what comes next.

Books we’ll be reading in Unit 4

• Eco Girl by Ken Max-Wilson
• A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis
• Planting Seeds by Kathryn Clay
• The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
• Seed to Plant (National Geographic Kids) by Kristin Baird Rattini
• The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksei Tolstoy and Niamh Sharkey
• Caterpillar and Bean by Martin Jenkins and Hannah Tolson
• Animals Here We Grow! by Shelley Rotner
• Rooftop Garden by Danna Smith and Pati Aguilera (with a song by Holly Turton)
• Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
• Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer, Adam Schaefer, and Frann Preston-Gannon
• Love Makes a Garden Grow by Taeeun Yoo
• Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller
• Everybody Has a Body by Molli Jackson Ehlert and Lorian Tu
• I’m Not Small by Nina Crews
• Red Shoes by Karen English and Ebony Glenn

Relevant Links

• Boost Caregiver Hub
• Learn more: Focus on K Curriculum
• Components of Core Literacy Preschool to Grade 3
• Cambridge Office of Early Childhood

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

In September 2024, early childhood classrooms throughout CPS will fully implement the Focus on 4s (CPP) and Focus on K (Kindergarten) curriculum. Focus curricula incorporate educational principles that enhance the overall growth and autonomy of young learners, integrating research-backed instructional methodologies while aligning to the Massachusetts and Common Core Curriculum Frameworks. 

Focus activities are designed to nurture students' emerging independence as both learners and responsible members of society, fostering connection, communication and collaboration skills. The framework was crafted to ensure synergy among its components, promoting students' proficiency in literacy and language, science and engineering, social studies, the arts, and social-emotional development. Literary and informational texts take center stage in each unit, serving as catalysts for conceptual learning, vocabulary enrichment, and the cultivation of critical thinking skills. Each unit incorporates dedicated Writing, in addition to integrating Social Studies and Science standards that are complemented by the CPS Science and S.S. units. 

In addition, all early childhood classrooms participate in explicit, daily, research-based phonemic awareness and phonics instruction using the Heggerty (Phonemic Awareness) and Fundations or TLA Phonics curricula. ensuring their proficiency of foundational literacy skills.

We encourage caregivers to visit the Cambridge Office of Early Childhood here.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring. 

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently. 

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework 
Homework is not assigned in Kindergarten classrooms, however, activities may be sent home by classroom teachers based on the needs of specific students. These may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills. 

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). This adaptive online program creates a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data. 

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here. 

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students. 

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school (at home, during after school programs, when absent or on vacation). Both of these online programs provide a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Focus on K: Units of Instruction

Unit 1 - Our Community
For many children, the kindergarten year is their first experience of being in a group beyond their family. If that group becomes a community that cares about each other and supports each other emotionally as well as intellectually, the school experience is a more positive one for children. A supportive learning community creates things together, gives each other feedback on their work, and raises and solves problems as a group. In this first unit of study, Our Community, the goal is for children and teachers to build relationships and form the foundation for a strong, interdependent community of learners, developing shared dispositions, language, and habits that will grow throughout the year. When children are part of a strong community, they are better poised to confront challenges that they will encounter in school and beyond.

Unit 2 - Animals & Habitats
Kindergarteners are naturally drawn to learning about animals. They tell and enjoy stories filled with animal characters and are curious to learn information about animals as well. They might have pets at home or see animals in their communities – a dog out for a walk, a squirrel in a tree, or ants on the sidewalk. In Animals and Habitats, this natural curiosity opens a door to deep learning about animals both familiar and unfamiliar to kindergarteners. Building off the previous unit, Our Community, children continue to explore concepts of living in a community, working with Beautiful Stuff, and Storytelling/Story Acting. Looking ahead, the concepts that children develop about animals and their habitats during this unit will come into play again in Our Earth, when the scope widens to consider people as stewards of the earth.

Unit 3 - Construction
People construct; one of the defining characteristics of humanity is that we make. We make structures, institutions, rules, ideas, and works of art. Kindergartners are also makers. A defining characteristic of kindergarten-aged children is their initiative. Children may be particularly intrigued with structures and places they make for themselves: forts, homes, secret hideouts, and the like. They also have unique and valuable perspectives about what makes structures attractive, useful, and fair. The threads of community and citizenship continue from previous units. Themes of collaboration and group work reemerge from Unit 1 (Community), as you now guide children to consider how people collaborate in constructing. And from Unit 2 (Animals & Habitats), the focus on protecting and caring for animals is now extended to consider issues of fairness, equity, and access that arise when something is constructed.

Unit 4 - Our Earth
Our kindergartners will inherit a complex world where scientific, environmental, social, and moral issues intertwine. In order to meet the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century, our children need an equally complex set of skills and abilities. During the Our Earth unit, children explore the natural world by investigating and researching the earth’s properties, focusing on its surface and plant life. Responsibility, sustainability, and stewardship for the environment, as individuals and as members of a community, are explored in literature, discussions, activities, and a Capstone Project.

The unit begins by fostering children’s intellectual and emotional connections with nature, as explored in Animals and Habitats. The second phase focuses on sustainable systems that reduce human impacts on the earth, such as recycle/reuse and food production/urban agriculture. The final phase engages the children as citizens, first introduced in Our Community, who can contribute to our earth. Drawing on the design process of Construction, children generate ideas for sustainable choices in their classrooms and school communities.
 

TLA

To support partner districts, TLA developed a four-year phonics program (K – 3) with a systematic scope and sequence, daily written lesson plans and our own special blend of training, support and encouragement for teachers, coaches and administrators. In addition to phonics instruction, TLA’s program includes explicit phonological awareness instruction (especially in Kindergarten) where children play with, segment, blend and otherwise manipulate the sounds of oral language using voice and pictures. TLA’s program also includes direct instruction in high-frequency words that include words that are difficult to decode (ie., said) and in the early grades, words that may be phonetic in 2nd or 3rd grade, but are high-frequency words needed by kindergarten and first graders to read (such as “look.”) TLA believes that phonics, phonological and high-frequency word instruction should consist of daily, whole-class lessons that follow an established scope and sequence and has created a joyful, program that promotes true word curiosity among children with daily 20-30 minute lessons written out for grades K – 3.

Although lessons are “scripted,” the values that drove them include:

• Active Teaching
• Gradual Release of Responsibility
• Multi-sensory approaches
• Strategies connected to actual reading and writing
• Aimed at developing automaticity, fluency and comprehension
• Teacher choice and judgement
• Linking Research and Practice

Relevant Links

• Boost Caregiver Hub
• Learn more: Focus on K Curriculum
• Components of Core Literacy Preschool to Grade 3
• Cambridge Office of Early Childhood

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Beginning in September 2024, all 1st-5th grade classrooms will implement the Amplify CKLA (2nd Edition) Curriculum.

Amplify CKLA is a top-rated literacy program offering explicit, systematic instruction of grade-level literacy standards through thematic, knowledge- and vocabulary-building content. With engaging units focused on ancient civilizations, astronomy, ecology, literary genres, research, contemporary novels, and more, students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes and are prepared to use literacy as a tool for creativity, self-expression, access, and agency.

Prior to implementation, interdisciplinary leaders and educators worked collaboratively to develop program revisions and supplements that ensure CKLA aligns with CPS systems, schedules, and expectations for culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction.

Students in grades 1-2 engage in 120 minutes of daily CKLA instruction, broken into two 60-minute blocks.

• The “Skills” blocks (60 minutes daily) are aligned with the Science of Reading and the Science of Writing, providing explicit, systematic instruction that ensures proficiency in foundational literacy skills. Daily lessons cover phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, language, spelling, grammar, comprehension, and writing. By the end of grade 2, students will have mastered the complete English code, encompassing 26 letters and 44 phonemes spelled in 150 different ways.
• The “Knowledge” blocks (60 minutes daily) immerse students in complex narrative and informational read-alouds, building critical background knowledge, vocabulary, speaking, and comprehension skills. Students analyze and discuss rich, interdisciplinary texts and media featuring diverse authors, characters, and topics spanning history, science, literary genres, and the arts. In addition, every grade includes an exciting project-based Research Unit.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework assignments are strategically determined by classroom teachers based on the needs of their classroom. This may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (3-5) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). Both of these adaptive online programs create a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 1 Knowledge Domains

Research Units

CKLA Instructional Practices: Skills + Knowledge

This two-strand approach to ELA instruction builds literacy skills and the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of increasingly complex text.

Core Practices of Skills Lessons
Teach correspondence between sounds and spellings, starting with the most common spelling

• Phonics instruction follows a “sounds-first” approach, ensuring students can hear, identify, differentiate, and manipulate phonemes as a precursor to formal phonics instruction, before attaching sounds to spellings. CKLA focuses on phonemes first, using oral activities. For example, in grade 1, students practice the /oi/ sound before learning to spell it as ‘oi’.
• Phonics instruction introduces students to the most common spelling for a sound first, with more complex spelling alternatives introduced later as students gain confidence. By grade 2, all 150 spellings for the 44 sounds in English are taught in a sequenced progression, with ongoing opportunities for students to automatize their reading and writing skills. In grade 3, foundational skills are reinforced with a focus on morphology.

Provide systematic practice and reinforcement of foundational reading skills

•  Research identifies three key parameters for building automaticity in reading: engaging and successful practice that builds motivation, intense and consistent foundational skills practice, and extended application of skills in varied contexts. The Amplify CKLA program integrates these dimensions across lessons, units, and grades. In grades K–2, phonics includes daily practice in sound/spelling relationships, extended practice through reading and writing activities, and the use of decodable Student Readers.

Core Practices of Knowledge Lessons:
Use read-alouds to strengthen language skills (Critical to later reading comprehension)

• Amplify CKLA Read-Alouds focus on oral language development through vocabulary work, questions, discussions, and integrating oral and written language. Students hear and discuss complex texts read aloud, practicing complex conversations with expanding vocabulary.

Systematically build vocabulary and knowledge (Critical to later reading comprehension)

• Early language comprehension is crucial for later reading success. Critical reading depends on a wide breadth of knowledge and vocabulary. Decoding a word doesn't mean understanding it; students need prior experience with words. Amplify CKLA’s Knowledge strand uses read-alouds organized into units across history, science, and the arts to build knowledge. Units are sequenced to build on prior content and vocabulary within and across grades. Pre-reading activities review prior knowledge to set a learning purpose and comprehension strategies are taught within the text context, with questions and discussions to support understanding.

Relevant Links

• CKLA Caregiver Hub
• Boost Caregiver Hub
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Beginning in September 2024, all 1st-5th grade classrooms will implement the Amplify CKLA (2nd Edition) Curriculum.

Amplify CKLA is a top-rated literacy program offering explicit, systematic instruction of grade-level literacy standards through thematic, knowledge- and vocabulary-building content. With engaging units focused on ancient civilizations, astronomy, ecology, literary genres, research, contemporary novels, and more, students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes and are prepared to use literacy as a tool for creativity, self-expression, access, and agency.

Prior to implementation, interdisciplinary leaders and educators worked collaboratively to develop program revisions and supplements that ensure CKLA aligns with CPS systems, schedules, and expectations for culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction.

Students in grades 1-2 engage in 120 minutes of daily CKLA instruction, broken into two 60-minute blocks.

• The “Skills” blocks (60 minutes daily) are aligned with the Science of Reading and the Science of Writing, providing explicit, systematic instruction that ensures proficiency in foundational literacy skills. Daily lessons cover phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, language, spelling, grammar, comprehension, and writing. By the end of grade 2, students will have mastered the complete English code, encompassing 26 letters and 44 phonemes spelled in 150 different ways.
• The “Knowledge” blocks (60 minutes daily) immerse students in complex narrative and informational read-alouds, building critical background knowledge, vocabulary, speaking, and comprehension skills. Students analyze and discuss rich, interdisciplinary texts and media featuring diverse authors, characters, and topics spanning history, science, literary genres, and the arts. In addition, every grade includes an exciting project-based Research Unit.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework assignments are strategically determined by classroom teachers based on the needs of their classroom. This may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (3-5) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). Both of these adaptive online programs create a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 2 Knowledge Domains

Research Units

CKLA Instructional Practices: Skills + Knowledge

This two-strand approach to ELA instruction builds literacy skills and the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of increasingly complex text.

Core Practices of Skills Lessons
Teach correspondence between sounds and spellings, starting with the most common spelling

• Phonics instruction follows a “sounds-first” approach, ensuring students can hear, identify, differentiate, and manipulate phonemes as a precursor to formal phonics instruction, before attaching sounds to spellings. CKLA focuses on phonemes first, using oral activities. For example, in grade 1, students practice the /oi/ sound before learning to spell it as ‘oi’.
• Phonics instruction introduces students to the most common spelling for a sound first, with more complex spelling alternatives introduced later as students gain confidence. By grade 2, all 150 spellings for the 44 sounds in English are taught in a sequenced progression, with ongoing opportunities for students to automatize their reading and writing skills. In grade 3, foundational skills are reinforced with a focus on morphology.

Provide systematic practice and reinforcement of foundational reading skills

•  Research identifies three key parameters for building automaticity in reading: engaging and successful practice that builds motivation, intense and consistent foundational skills practice, and extended application of skills in varied contexts. The Amplify CKLA program integrates these dimensions across lessons, units, and grades. In grades K–2, phonics includes daily practice in sound/spelling relationships, extended practice through reading and writing activities, and the use of decodable Student Readers.

Core Practices of Knowledge Lessons:
Use read-alouds to strengthen language skills (Critical to later reading comprehension)

• Amplify CKLA Read-Alouds focus on oral language development through vocabulary work, questions, discussions, and integrating oral and written language. Students hear and discuss complex texts read aloud, practicing complex conversations with expanding vocabulary.

Systematically build vocabulary and knowledge (Critical to later reading comprehension)

• Early language comprehension is crucial for later reading success. Critical reading depends on a wide breadth of knowledge and vocabulary. Decoding a word doesn't mean understanding it; students need prior experience with words. Amplify CKLA’s Knowledge strand uses read-alouds organized into units across history, science, and the arts to build knowledge. Units are sequenced to build on prior content and vocabulary within and across grades. Pre-reading activities review prior knowledge to set a learning purpose and comprehension strategies are taught within the text context, with questions and discussions to support understanding.

Relevant Links

• CKLA Caregiver Hub
• Boost Caregiver Hub
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Beginning in September 2024, all 1st-5th grade classrooms will implement the Amplify CKLA (2nd Edition) Curriculum.

Amplify CKLA is a top-rated literacy program offering explicit, systematic instruction of grade-level literacy standards through thematic, knowledge- and vocabulary-building content. With engaging units focused on ancient civilizations, astronomy, ecology, literary genres, research, contemporary novels, and more, students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes and are prepared to use literacy as a tool for creativity, self-expression, access, and agency.

Prior to implementation, interdisciplinary leaders and educators worked collaboratively to develop program revisions and supplements that ensure CKLA aligns with CPS systems, schedules, and expectations for culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction. 

Grades 3-5
In grades 3-5, students engage in 110-120 minutes of ELA instruction that integrates skills and knowledge-building content.

• Instruction emphasizes student engagement in increasingly complex texts, with daily reading, writing, analysis and discussion. Students learn and apply advanced language skills related to grammar, syntax, morphology and writing, and engage in structured and informal discussions to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.
• In addition, 3-5th graders engage in debates, acting performances, interactive Quests, a project-based Research Unit, and contemporary novel studies.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework assignments are strategically determined by classroom teachers based on the needs of their classroom. This may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (3-5) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). Both of these adaptive online programs create a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 3 Knowledge Domains

Grade-Level Novel Study

In her first middle-grade novel, award-winning picture book author and illustrator Angela Dominguez tells a heartwarming story based on her own experiences growing up Mexican-American. Stella Diaz loves marine animals, especially her betta fish, Pancho. But Stella is not a betta fish. Betta fish like to be alone, while Stella loves spending time with her mom, brother, and best friend, Jenny. Trouble is, Jenny is in another class this year, and Stella feels very lonely. When a new boy arrives in Stella's class, she really wants to be his friend, but sometimes Stella accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. Plus, she has to speak in front of her whole class for a big presentation at school! But she better get over her fears soon, because Stella Diaz has something to say!

Research Units

Core Instructional Practices Of The Integrated (Grades 3-5) CKLA Curriculum Include:

Engage students in ongoing analysis of complex texts
ELA/Literacy standards emphasize reading and writing in response to increasingly complex texts. Amplify CKLA provides daily exposure to such texts, with discussions and written responses to literal, evaluative, and inferential questions. Students frequently revisit passages for deeper analysis. Both informational and literary texts build upon earlier units, increasing in complexity. Writing instruction is integrated with reading, including daily journal entries, single-sitting prompts, and longer projects. Grades 4 and 5 include immersive digital writing Quests.

Foster student discourse & written expression
Through engaging texts and tasks, students develop the ability to present, debate, and build on oral and written responses. Speaking and Listening activities in Grade 3 focus on read-alouds and complex conversations about texts using evidence. In grades 3–5, activities expand to include short and long-term writing assignments, presentations, debates, acting performances, and pitching ideas and inventions.

Provide explicit language instruction
Grades 3-5 offer explicit language instruction covering all language standards. Instruction includes English grammar, punctuation, syntax, morphology and spelling through targeted activities and daily writing.

Offer a rich variety of texts and contexts
Students read knowledge-rich texts, including informational texts on scientific topics, ancient history, poetry, and classic fiction, including selected vignettes from The House on Mango Street and more. In addition, students read articles and primary source documents to write opinions, arguments and narratives, crafting their own increasingly complex texts.

Maximize vocabulary acquisition
Critical reading depends on a wide breadth of knowledge and vocabulary. Decoding a word doesn't mean understanding it; students need prior experience with words. Through the intentional sequence of CKLA units, students are repeatedly exposed to complex vocabulary through connected content. In grades 3-5, students also engage in structured and informal discussions, combined with independent reading, to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.

Continuously build background knowledge
Strong reading comprehension requires broad knowledge and vocabulary. Grades 3-5 continue to build on the K-2 CKLA content. The Core Connections section in each unit’s introduction overviews this accumulated knowledge which enables students to comprehend complex texts, make connections, and engage in extended discussions. Read-Alouds are used frequently in Grade 3 and selectively in Grades 4 and 5, transitioning to small group and individual reading of complex texts.

Relevant Links

• CKLA Caregiver Hub
• Boost Caregiver Hub
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Beginning in September 2024, all 1st-5th grade classrooms will implement the Amplify CKLA (2nd Edition) Curriculum.

Amplify CKLA is a top-rated literacy program offering explicit, systematic instruction of grade-level literacy standards through thematic, knowledge- and vocabulary-building content. With engaging units focused on ancient civilizations, astronomy, ecology, literary genres, research, contemporary novels, and more, students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes and are prepared to use literacy as a tool for creativity, self-expression, access, and agency.

Prior to implementation, interdisciplinary leaders and educators worked collaboratively to develop program revisions and supplements that ensure CKLA aligns with CPS systems, schedules, and expectations for culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction. 

Grades 3-5
In grades 3-5, students engage in 110-120 minutes of ELA instruction that integrates skills and knowledge-building content.

• Instruction emphasizes student engagement in increasingly complex texts, with daily reading, writing, analysis and discussion. Students learn and apply advanced language skills related to grammar, syntax, morphology and writing, and engage in structured and informal discussions to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.
• In addition, 3-5th graders engage in debates, acting performances, interactive Quests, a project-based Research Unit, and contemporary novel studies.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework assignments are strategically determined by classroom teachers based on the needs of their classroom. This may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (3-5) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). Both of these adaptive online programs create a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 4 Knowledge Domains

Grade-Level Novel Study

A Coretta Scott King Honor Book and the winner of the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Fiction Caleb and his big brother Bobby Gene are excited to have adventures in the woods behind their house. But Caleb dreams of venturing beyond their ordinary small town. Then, Caleb and Bobby Gene meet their new neighbor, Styx Malone. Styx is sixteen and oozes cool. Styx promises the brothers that together, the three of them can pull off the Great Escalator Trade—exchanging one small thing for something better until they achieve their wildest dream. But as the trades get bigger, the brothers soon fine themselves in over their heads. Styx has secrets—secrets so big they could ruin everything.

Research Units

Core Instructional Practices Of The Integrated (Grades 3-5) CKLA Curriculum Include:

Engage students in ongoing analysis of complex texts
ELA/Literacy standards emphasize reading and writing in response to increasingly complex texts. Amplify CKLA provides daily exposure to such texts, with discussions and written responses to literal, evaluative, and inferential questions. Students frequently revisit passages for deeper analysis. Both informational and literary texts build upon earlier units, increasing in complexity. Writing instruction is integrated with reading, including daily journal entries, single-sitting prompts, and longer projects. Grades 4 and 5 include immersive digital writing Quests.

Foster student discourse & written expression
Through engaging texts and tasks, students develop the ability to present, debate, and build on oral and written responses. Speaking and Listening activities in Grade 3 focus on read-alouds and complex conversations about texts using evidence. In grades 3–5, activities expand to include short and long-term writing assignments, presentations, debates, acting performances, and pitching ideas and inventions.

Provide explicit language instruction
Grades 3-5 offer explicit language instruction covering all language standards. Instruction includes English grammar, punctuation, syntax, morphology and spelling through targeted activities and daily writing.

Offer a rich variety of texts and contexts
Students read knowledge-rich texts, including informational texts on scientific topics, ancient history, poetry, and classic fiction, including selected vignettes from The House on Mango Street and more. In addition, students read articles and primary source documents to write opinions, arguments and narratives, crafting their own increasingly complex texts.

Maximize vocabulary acquisition
Critical reading depends on a wide breadth of knowledge and vocabulary. Decoding a word doesn't mean understanding it; students need prior experience with words. Through the intentional sequence of CKLA units, students are repeatedly exposed to complex vocabulary through connected content. In grades 3-5, students also engage in structured and informal discussions, combined with independent reading, to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.

Continuously build background knowledge
Strong reading comprehension requires broad knowledge and vocabulary. Grades 3-5 continue to build on the K-2 CKLA content. The Core Connections section in each unit’s introduction overviews this accumulated knowledge which enables students to comprehend complex texts, make connections, and engage in extended discussions. Read-Alouds are used frequently in Grade 3 and selectively in Grades 4 and 5, transitioning to small group and individual reading of complex texts.

Relevant Links

• CKLA Caregiver Hub
• Boost Caregiver Hub
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Beginning in September 2024, all 1st-5th grade classrooms will implement the Amplify CKLA (2nd Edition) Curriculum.

Amplify CKLA is a top-rated literacy program offering explicit, systematic instruction of grade-level literacy standards through thematic, knowledge- and vocabulary-building content. With engaging units focused on ancient civilizations, astronomy, ecology, literary genres, research, contemporary novels, and more, students are empowered to achieve strong academic outcomes and are prepared to use literacy as a tool for creativity, self-expression, access, and agency.

Prior to implementation, interdisciplinary leaders and educators worked collaboratively to develop program revisions and supplements that ensure CKLA aligns with CPS systems, schedules, and expectations for culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction. 

Grades 3-5
In grades 3-5, students engage in 110-120 minutes of ELA instruction that integrates skills and knowledge-building content.

• Instruction emphasizes student engagement in increasingly complex texts, with daily reading, writing, analysis and discussion. Students learn and apply advanced language skills related to grammar, syntax, morphology and writing, and engage in structured and informal discussions to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.
• In addition, 3-5th graders engage in debates, acting performances, interactive Quests, a project-based Research Unit, and contemporary novel studies.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Homework assignments are strategically determined by classroom teachers based on the needs of their classroom. This may include additional readings from the curriculum, opportunities to continue working on a written response, or extended practice with specific skills.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (3-5) in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). Both of these adaptive online programs create a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 4 Knowledge Domains

Grade-Level Novel Study

Named one of the best books of the year by NPR, the Chicago Public Library, and Kirkus Reviews  This is an uplifting story about friendship, family, and the complicated science of the heart.  When Natalie's science teacher suggests that she enter an egg drop competition, she thinks it could be the perfect solution to all of her problems. With the prize money, she can fly her botanist mother to see the miraculous Cobalt Blue Orchids—flowers with the resilience to survive against impossible odds. Her mother has been suffering from depression, and Natalie is positive that the flowers' magic will inspire her mom to fall in love with life again. But she can't do it alone. Her friends step up to show her that talking about problems is like taking a plant out of a dark cupboard and exposing it to the sun. With their help, Natalie begins an unforgettable journey to discover the science of hope, love, and miracles.

Research Units

Core Instructional Practices Of The Integrated (Grades 3-5) CKLA Curriculum Include:

Engage students in ongoing analysis of complex texts
ELA/Literacy standards emphasize reading and writing in response to increasingly complex texts. Amplify CKLA provides daily exposure to such texts, with discussions and written responses to literal, evaluative, and inferential questions. Students frequently revisit passages for deeper analysis. Both informational and literary texts build upon earlier units, increasing in complexity. Writing instruction is integrated with reading, including daily journal entries, single-sitting prompts, and longer projects. Grades 4 and 5 include immersive digital writing Quests.

Foster student discourse & written expression
Through engaging texts and tasks, students develop the ability to present, debate, and build on oral and written responses. Speaking and Listening activities in Grade 3 focus on read-alouds and complex conversations about texts using evidence. In grades 3–5, activities expand to include short and long-term writing assignments, presentations, debates, acting performances, and pitching ideas and inventions.

Provide explicit language instruction
Grades 3-5 offer explicit language instruction covering all language standards. Instruction includes English grammar, punctuation, syntax, morphology and spelling through targeted activities and daily writing.

Offer a rich variety of texts and contexts
Students read knowledge-rich texts, including informational texts on scientific topics, ancient history, poetry, and classic fiction, including selected vignettes from The House on Mango Street and more. In addition, students read articles and primary source documents to write opinions, arguments and narratives, crafting their own increasingly complex texts.

Maximize vocabulary acquisition
Critical reading depends on a wide breadth of knowledge and vocabulary. Decoding a word doesn't mean understanding it; students need prior experience with words. Through the intentional sequence of CKLA units, students are repeatedly exposed to complex vocabulary through connected content. In grades 3-5, students also engage in structured and informal discussions, combined with independent reading, to build and solidify a robust academic vocabulary.

Continuously build background knowledge
Strong reading comprehension requires broad knowledge and vocabulary. Grades 3-5 continue to build on the K-2 CKLA content. The Core Connections section in each unit’s introduction overviews this accumulated knowledge which enables students to comprehend complex texts, make connections, and engage in extended discussions. Read-Alouds are used frequently in Grade 3 and selectively in Grades 4 and 5, transitioning to small group and individual reading of complex texts.

Relevant Links

• CKLA Caregiver Hub
• Boost Caregiver Hub
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Cambridge Public Schools uses Fishtank ELA in Grades 6-8. This high quality curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking, reading, writing and oracy skills. In every unit, students engage in rigorous instruction that addresses vocabulary, reading, oracy, and writing assignments across literary genres. Each unit is developed around a topic that connects to a yearlong theme.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Students have daily ELA homework in middle school. Often this is reading from the core text or working on a written response about the core text. Students may also have an Independent Reading book they are expected to read. Expect to spend 30 minutes on ELA homework every day.

In addition, students can access i-Ready Personalized Instruction in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). This adaptive online program creates a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 6 Units

Grade 6: Coming of Age
Texts feature protagonists from diverse backgrounds, places, and time periods, all of whom face challenges as they struggle to define their identities and claim their place in the world. Texts include (but are not limited to): Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice; The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963; The Giver; The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees; and more.

• Across these units, students deepen their writing skills through argumentative, informational, and narrative tasks, and continue to build their academic vocabularies, speaking and listening skills, and social-emotional competencies.
• Throughout the course, students address all ELA Standards as they engage with increasingly complex texts, participate in class discussions, and write daily. Each unit helps build students’ knowledge and understanding of the world around them through thematically organized core and supplemental texts, embedded writing instruction and extended writing assignments in response to Essential Questions, and daily opportunities to engage in multiple tiers of academic discourse.

Relevant Links

• Grade 6-8 Fishtank Curriculum
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Cambridge Public Schools uses Fishtank ELA in Grades 6-8. This high quality curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking, reading, writing and oracy skills. In every unit, students engage in rigorous instruction that addresses vocabulary, reading, oracy, and writing assignments across literary genres. Each unit is developed around a topic that connects to a yearlong theme.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Students have daily ELA homework in middle school. Often this is reading from the core text or working on a written response about the core text. Students may also have an Independent Reading book they are expected to read. Expect to spend 30 minutes on ELA homework every day.

In addition, students can access i-Ready Personalized Instruction in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). This adaptive online program creates a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 7 Units

Grade 7: Belonging
Texts address diverse aspects around the concept of belonging. Students think deeply about the complex past, present, and future of America, and how to define their ever-changing identity as a nation. Texts include (but are not limited to): The Outsiders, A Raisin in the Sun, The House on Mango Street Cisneros, American Born Chinese; and more.

• Through these texts, students will think deeply about the complex past, present, and future of America, and how to define their ever-changing identity as a nation. Across the 6 units, students deepen their writing skills through argumentative, informational, and narrative tasks, and continue to build their academic vocabularies, speaking and listening skills, and social-emotional competencies.
• Throughout the course, students address all ELA Standards as they engage with increasingly complex texts, participate in class discussions, and write daily. Each unit helps build students’ knowledge and understanding of the world around them through thematically organized core and supplemental texts, embedded writing instruction and extended writing assignments in response to Essential Questions, and daily opportunities to engage in multiple tiers of academic discourse.

Relevant Links

• Grade 6-8 Fishtank Curriculum
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

Cambridge Public Schools uses Fishtank ELA in Grades 6-8. This high quality curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking, reading, writing and oracy skills. In every unit, students engage in rigorous instruction that addresses vocabulary, reading, oracy, and writing assignments across literary genres. Each unit is developed around a topic that connects to a yearlong theme.

Assessments
All students complete the mCLASS (K-2) or i-Ready (3-5) literacy screener/diagnostic 3x annually. These screeners provide educators and caregivers with important information about each students’ strengths and areas for continued support. Students in grades 3-5 also take the MA State ELA MCAS each spring.

In addition to district and state-mandated assessments, each curricular unit ends with an assessment of students’ domain knowledge and literacy skills. These assessments allow teachers, students and caregivers to know how students are performing independently.

Learn more about grade-specific assessments here.

Homework
Students have daily ELA homework in middle school. Often this is reading from the core text or working on a written response about the core text. Students may also have an Independent Reading book they are expected to read. Expect to spend 30 minutes on ELA homework every day.

In addition, students can access i-Ready Personalized Instruction in school and outside of school (at home, after school programs, vacations). This adaptive online program creates a unique sequence of lessons for each student based on their diagnostic data.

Caregivers can learn more about how their child can access Personalized Instruction at home here.

Intervention & Acceleration Opportunities
Using multiple forms of student data, educators design learning experiences that provide each student with appropriately challenging learning opportunities. This includes opportunities for acceleration/advancement and intervention/remediation from classroom teachers and/or interventionists. Educators routinely reflect on student learning and assessment data to differentiate instruction for their students.

In addition, students can access Boost Reading (K-2) or i-Ready Personalized Instruction (grades 3-5) in and outside of school. Learn about personalized instruction here.

Learn more about literacy intervention here.
 

Grade 8 Units

Grade 8: Justice
Students consider how access to power influences human behavior and how everyday people respond in the face of injustice and oppression. They contemplate their power as young people to create the future they wish to see. Texts include (but are not limited to): All American Boys, The Diary of Anne Frank, Night, The 57 Bus, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood; and more.

• Across these units, students deepen their writing skills through argumentative, informational, and narrative tasks, and continue to build their academic vocabularies, speaking and listening skills, and social-emotional competencies.
• Throughout the course, students address all ELA Standards as they engage with increasingly complex texts, participate in class discussions, and write daily. Each unit helps build students’ knowledge and understanding of the world around them through thematically organized core and supplemental texts, embedded writing instruction and extended writing assignments in response to Essential Questions, and daily opportunities to engage in multiple tiers of academic discourse.

After completing the 8th grade ELA course, students will have the reading, writing, and speaking / listening skills, and the relevant background knowledge to set them up for success in high school and beyond.

Relevant Links

• Grade 6-8 Fishtank Curriculum
• i-Ready Caregiver Hub

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.

CPS English/Literacy courses in 9-12 encourage students to explore the critical role language and literature play in the shaping of culture and the human experience.

Department courses strengthen students' knowledge, skills and academic independence, preparing them for lifelong success through an emphasis on critical thinking, reading, writing and discussion. All courses emphasize:

• Reading, understanding, interpreting, and appreciating a variety of complex, contemporary and classic text and media that represent diverse cultures, eras, and perspectives.
• Effective oral and written communication, for a variety of purposes and audiences.
• Engagement in research to acquire, organize, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information.
• Collaboration and discourse to effectively and persuasively build on and express ideas, opinions and arguments.

Learn more about specific course offerings using the CRLS website and course catalog.

Relevant Links

• Learning Expectation and Rubric (Reading): Grades 9 and 10
• Learning Expectation and Rubric (Reading): Grades 11 and 12
• Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy (Preschool - Grade 12)

Find specific information regarding 9-12 ELA/Literacy courses on the CRLS website.

Family Guides to State Standards
From the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Learn what your child will learn this year! These translated guides support caregivers in understanding what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. 

• Translated Family Guides: Grade Level Expectations

We value your thoughts and are here to answer your questions! Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, principal, or the ELA Department as needed.