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   Curriculum Overview
   For Families

 

From Great Minds®, the organization that created Eureka Math®, is a K–8 English language arts curriculum that brings the rich content everyone loves into your child's classroom.  We believe that classrooms are places where students and teachers encounter wit, wisdom, wonder, rigor, and knowledge and that literature, history, art, and science all have a place in ELA instruction. Wit & Wisdom® helps your student meet the expectations of the new standards while celebrating the joy of reading and writing. 

START HERE

An Introduction to Wit &Wisdom

Watch this 10-minute introduction to see how Wit & Wisdom:

  • Uses diverse complex texts to build knowledge
  • Supports the needs of diverse learners
  • Invites families to engage with the content alongside their student

For families

Para familias

 

This video provides a brief overview of Wit & Wisdom instruction for districts or schools to share with families and caregivers.

 

Este video contiene información general sobre Wit & Wisdom para que los distritos o escuelas la compartan con familias o cuidadores.

Why is Knowledge Building Important for Learning? 

Knowledge has a multiplier effect—the earlier you learn, the better you do in later years. These time-tested and much-used materials help kids get a head start learning essential literacy skills, knowledge across different fields, and important values of empathy and perseverance. Building this knowledge prepares students to reach their full potential and become empathetic and productive citizens in the real world.

Learn more with our FREE Knowledge Building Primer.

Knowledge Primer Booklet Image

MATERIALS FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Module-level tip sheets that provide module content, a list of all texts students will read in the module, sample questions to ask, and other activities to extend students' thinking at home.

Use las páginas de consejos de Wit & Wisdom para que los padres y guardianes se involucren en conversaciones en casa ricas en contenido y conocimiento. Las páginas de consejos incluyen un resumen del contenido de los módulos, una lista de todos los textos que los estudiantes leerán en el módulo, una lista de libros adicionales para leer en casa, ejemplos de preguntas para hacer en casa y actividades para extender la reflección y el aprendizaje.

Grade K  (Grado K)

Grade 1  (Grado 1)

Grade 2  (Grado 2)

Grade 3  (Grado 3)

Grade 4  (Grado 4)

Grade 5  (Grado 5)

Grade 6  (Grado 6)

Grade 7  (Grado 7)

Grade 8  (Grado 8)

 

To access Family Tip Sheets in other languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian-Creole, and more, please add our Materials for Multilingual Learners and Their Families resource to your Great Minds account.

English

Español

 

To access Family Welcome Letters in other languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian-Creole, and more, please add our Materials for Multilingual Learners and Their Families resource to your Great Minds account.

Grade K  (Grado K)

Grade 1  (Grado 1)

Grade 2  (Grado 2)

Grade 3  (Grado 3)

Grade 4  (Grado 4)

Grade 5  (Grado 5)

Grade 6  (Grado 6)

Grade 7  (Grado 7)

Grade 8  (Grado 8)

 

To access Multilingual Glossaries in other languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian-Creole, and more, please add our Materials for Multilingual Learners and Their Families resource to your Great Minds account.

Read the Latest Family Engagement Posts on the Aha! Blog

Activities to Engage Families Year-Round with Wit & Wisdom®

Engaging families and caregivers in Wit & Wisdom can have a positive impact on student learning. Consider some of the ideas below for engaging families in Wit & Wisdom, hosting an annual literacy...

Humanities CAO Rachel Stack Shares Tips for Encouraging Summer Reading

Rachel Stack, chief academic officer for the Great Minds® Humanities team, has some great suggestions for encouraging kids to read over the summer. She shares them in this op-ed in her hometown...

Wit & Wisdom Fellow Shares 5 Tips for Encouraging Students to Read for Fun

Wit & Wisdom® Fellow Britton King had a favorite moment during last winter’s Super Bowl. No, it wasn’t a touchdown or an interception. It was when photographers caught Los Angeles Rams star Andrew...

Dual Sides of Family Engagement

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on how they engage families and caregivers in Wit & Wisdom® curriculum. Ami Smith, a content developer for Great Minds®, reflects on her...

Pathways to Family Engagement

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on how they engage families and caregivers in the Wit & Wisdom® curriculum. Anna Bradshaw, a multi classroom leader in Crossett School...

Engaging Families in Wit & Wisdom®

As educators, we are experts in curriculum and instruction. We understand, broadly, students’ needs and how to help students grow academically. Families and caregivers, on the other hand, are experts...

At the Core of Wit & Wisdom

The Facts About Wit & Wisdom

It starts with the books. Excellent texts are at the center of Wit & Wisdom. Students build knowledge through carefully curated core texts that

  • are rich with content that piques curiosity,
  • represent grade-level complexity, and
  • showcase diverse perspectives.

Read more about our approach to selecting texts.

Students in Frames_Wit&Wisdom

Engage and Motivate All Students

The carefully selected texts allow students to engage in content that provides:

  • Windows into different time periods, cultures, and parts of the world that students may otherwise never experience.

  • Mirrors for students to see themselves represented so that they can engage with content that they can relate to.

  • Sliding glass doors for students to pull back and use their imagination to step into the shoes of characters, as they build perspective and understanding of other citizens of the world.

Read more about the importance of engaging students in reading complex texts.

Fine Art

Students engage with significant works of art, including paintings, illustrations, prints, sculpture, architecture, and photographs, that provide diverse access points to a topic so learners at all levels can build strong literary skills. 

Read more about how Wit & Wisdom uses visual art to build students' literacy.

 

At the Core of Geodes



Geodes

A new approach to early literacy from Great Minds and Wilson Language Training® that allows students to learn how to read while reading to learn.

Learn more about our approach to early literacy.

 

Watch this 1-minute introduction video

LEARNING TO READ WHILE READING TO LEARN

A new collection of accessible, knowledge-building books for developing readers, Geodes are aligned to the science of reading and designed to be paired with an explicit, systematic foundational skills program.

While most early literacy books are quite basic, Geodes are rich with facts and ideas that spark students’ curiosity about the world around them.

Take a look inside Geodes books and access support resources for Levels K–2 below.   

Enhanced Supports for Multilingual Students and Families

Each Geodes book extends learning through:

  • Family Tip Sheets
  • My Geodes™, take-home versions of the titles
  • My Geodes™ digital platform
  • a More section that gives students an opportunity to build additional knowledge and vocabulary in English and in Spanish

Level K includes 48 unique book titles with six copies of each book. The collection includes Wordless Picture Books, Sound Search Books, and Duet Books.

Geodes Level K Book List

 

Pelé

Illustrations by Madelyn Goodnight


Pelé Book Notes

Level 1 includes 64 unique book titles with six copies of each book for continued practice for emerging readers.

Geodes Level 1 Book List

Anansi and the Pot of Beans

Words by Rachel Zindler
Pictures by Christopher Cyr


Anansi and the Pot of Beans Book Notes

Level 2 includes 64 unique book titles with six copies of each book, providing independent readers with opportunities to expand their phonetic understanding while building reading stamina.

Geodes Level 2 Book List

 

And The Winner Is...

Words by Tami Charles
Pictures by Eva Sánchez Gómez


And the Winner Is... Book Notes