What’s New in Wit & Wisdom?

At Great Minds^®, we believe that every student deserves access to the highest quality education possible. That's why we are committed to building instructional materials that reflect the latest research and meet the needs of both students and educators. As part of this commitment, we are excited to announce some recent revisions and additions to Wit & Wisdom^®, our English language arts curriculum. These changes are designed to provide an even more engaging and effective learning experience for students, while also supporting educators and families in their important work of preparing students for greatness. Let’s explore some of the key updates to Wit & Wisdom and how they can benefit your classroom.

Enhanced Support for Multilingual Learners

Wit & Wisdom is intentionally crafted to deepen and accelerate learning for all students, regardless of their background or language proficiency. The curriculum offers multiple entry points to new topics while honoring the unique lived experiences and knowledge each learner brings to the classroom. Research shows that background knowledge of a given topic exponentially improves a student’s learning experience. We are excited to introduce two new instructional resources to better support multilingual learners and enhance your teaching experience.

Multilingual Learner Resources for Grades K–5

This research-aligned support puts the spotlight on existing lesson elements found in Wit & Wisdom modules that specifically benefit multilingual learners in grades K–5 and include:

• a Multilingual Learner Resource Module Map, which lists the lessons and their supports in module sequence,
• an overview of module learning alignment to World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) and English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards,
• targeted reading, writing, language, and speaking and listening supports for specific lessons, and
• implementation support videos, including:
  • The Multilingual Learner Resources Grades K–5 Video Overview,
  • The Multilingual Learner Resources Grades K–5: Reading Supports,
  • The Multilingual Learner Resources Grades K–5: Writing Supports,
  • The Multilingual Learner Resources Grades K–5: Language Supports, and
  • The Multilingual Learner Resources Grades K–5: Speaking & Listening Supports.

Wit & Wisdom Prologue™ for Grades 6–8

Wit & Wisdom Prologue supports grades 6–8 multilingual learners and students with language-based disabilities by front-loading key content and language from specific Wit & Wisdom lessons. Prologue comes with the following free resources to serve as guidance on how to connect Prologue lessons with Wit & Wisdom modules and topics:

• Prologue Implementation Guide
• Preparation Protocols
• Prologue Implementation Videos, including:
  • Welcome to Wit & Wisdom Prologue
  • Wit & Wisdom Prologue: Preparing for Implementation
  • Wit & Wisdom Prologue: Scaffolds for Student Success
  • Wit & Wisdom Prologue: Prepare a Prologue Lesson
  • Wit & Wisdom Prologue: Navigating Prologue
  • Wit & Wisdom Prologue: Collaborating for Effective Implementation

• Prologue Glossaries

Materials for Multilingual Learners and Their Families

This new packet of resources, located in your dashboard, invites families and caregivers of multilingual students to participate in their child’s learning. The following new supports are available in 14 different languages including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic:

• Grades K–8 Multilingual Glossaries
• Family Welcome Letters
• Family Tip Sheets
• Knowledge Building Primer

We’ve also included additional activities for educators to share during parent-teacher events so that families can get a hands-on preview of the knowledge their child will learn and build on.

Enhanced Implementation Supports

• *New* Getting Started Videos for grade-level guidance
• *New* Projected Slides: slide presentations that correspond to Wit & Wisdom lessons
• Wit & Wisdom Question Sets for supplementary standardized test preparation

Updated Teacher Resource Pack

• Updated Implementation Guide
• Updated Moving Forward with Wit & Wisdom booklet
• Updated Preparation Protocols
• *New* Wit & Wisdom Components and Features
  • Breaks down all the elements of the curriculum and where both print and digital users can access resources and materials
• *New* Scope and Sequence guide on Wit & Wisdom’s alignment to Common Core State Standards
• *New* Multilingual Glossaries

For users of Wit & Wisdom Affirm, there is now a complimentary Navigating Wit & Wisdom Affirm Video for on-demand assistance with assigning and evaluating digital assessments on Affirm.

How to Access the Resources

If you’re a Wit & Wisdom teacher, we encourage you to watch our Resource Overview Session for step-by-step guidance on how to create your free Great Minds account and add these and other helpful supports to your teacher dashboard.  

To learn more about our offerings for multilingual learners and discover strategies to make the most of these new supports, watch the recordings for our Ensuring Equitable ELA Outcomes: Research-Based Supports for Multilingual Learners webinar series: Multilingual Learners, the Science of Reading, and Wit & Wisdom, Wit & Wisdom and the K–5 Multilingual Learner Resources, Wit & Wisdom and Prologue for Grades 6–8, and Ask Us Anything About Wit & Wisdomand Multilingual Learners.