GET STARTED
Use these checklists to help make sure your
Arts & Letters™ pilot experience is successful.
Pilot Checklist for Leaders (PDF, 529kb)
Pilot Checklist for Teachers (PDF, 1.2mb)
GET DEEPER
Continue learning about Arts & Letters through free Learning Labs that support pilot users.
STEP 1
Gather Your Materials
Ensure you have print materials.
- Teach book (1 per teacher)
- Learn book (1 per student)
- Arts & Letters Prologue™ book (1 per teacher; student materials included in the appendices)
- Knowledge Deck™ Cards (with Art Terms cards)
- 2 sets; one for practice, one for display
- Journal (1 per student)
- Journals are not provided with Arts & Letters; teachers choose the format that works best in their context—composition book, spiral notebook, or binder.
- Trade books (Students have individual copies of some texts and shared copies of others.)
Confirm you have access to digital materials (for modules 1 and 2 pilots only).
- Teacher account access, including the following resources
- Daily lesson slides for Teach and Prologue lessons
- More videos for whole-class instruction
- Fine art texts for digital display
- Assessments
- Fillable, assignable student pages from the Learn book
- Student account access, including the following resources
- More videos for individual review
- Fine art for independent viewing
Note that Arts & Letters will transition to a new platform with additional resources and enhanced functionality for school year 2025–2026. Additionally, schools piloting module 3 in school year 2024–2025 will only have print materials and need to source trade books separately.
STEP 2
Get to Know Arts & Letters
Explore the Teach book.
Read the module texts.
Explore your additional resources, such as Knowledge Deck Cards and Prologue, to plan needed student supports.
Engage in ongoing professional learning with Great Minds.
- The greatminds.org website includes additional information about and resources for Arts & Letters.
STEP 3
Plan for Your Classroom Schedule and Pacing
Each Arts & Letters pilot module has 37–40 lessons. Plan to teach one 60-minute lesson each day of instruction as part of your complete literacy block. If possible, plan to pace with your grade-level team so you can plan together; share ideas for flexible lessons, like responsive teaching days or bookend lessons; and/or collaboratively score student assessment tasks.
STEP 4
Set Up Your Classroom
Arts & Letters students work independently and engage in discussions and tasks with classmates in pairs, small groups, and whole group.
Ensure that you have flexible seating arrangements.
Plan for wall space for classroom displays.
Allow space for materials storage.
Step 5
Prepare to Teach
Arts & Letters modules include the same sections, and lessons follow a Launch-Learn-Land structure. Once you learn one module and lesson arc, future preparation will go more quickly.
Backwards map from the End-of-Module Task.
Study a lesson. Arts & Letters lessons are designed with a clear sequence of numbered instructional steps and suggestions for meeting student needs.
- Read the lesson.
- When applicable, read the corresponding Prologue lesson.
- Note what happens and why. Consider these questions:
- What do teachers do? What do students do?
- Why? What are the lesson’s learning goals?
- How will you deliver the lesson?
- How will you give directions?
- How will you pace the lesson?
- How will you transition between activities?
- How will you set up the classroom?
- Review the corresponding slides.