Content Stages

First Weeks of School

Every Wit & Wisdom lesson focuses on one of five Content Stages, and a Content Framing Question guides students through the text and toward the module’s Essential Question. Understanding what each stage asks of students—and of you—is key to teaching these lessons effectively.

1. Wonder: Students read a text for the first time, notice details, and ask questions. Don’t worry if they don’t fully grasp the text yet—they’ll return to it. Encourage observations backed by textual evidence. Your role here is to build curiosity, not resolve it.

2. Organize: Students develop literal understanding of the text. Keep the focus on what the text says and save analysis for Reveal. This stage builds the factual foundation that deeper thinking depends on.

3. Reveal: Students examine craft—word choice, figurative language, text structure. Guide them to read and reread more closely. This is where students begin to see how an author’s choices shape meaning.

4. Distill: Students zoom out to explore central ideas and themes through thinking and/or writing. Let students lead, and encourage interpretations grounded in the text. Your role shifts from guide to facilitator.

5. Know: Students reflect on what they’ve learned and connect the text to the module’s topic and the world. Celebrate their growth—this stage is where everything comes together.