Rethink ELA Instruction Utilizing the Science of Reading

The Science of Reading research shows us that literacy is more than just decoding. Building knowledge is essential for students to become confident, independent readers—and skilled, purposeful writers. Skilled reading and writing require fluent and coordinated execution of word recognition, language comprehension, and written expression, but viewing these components as a set of discrete skills to be mastered misses the central role that prior knowledge plays in both the reading and writing process. At Great Minds®, we’ve placed knowledge at the center of our ELA programs to build confident, independent readers and writers.

Arts and Letters logo

Language Comprehension

With Great Minds ELA programs, Arts & Letters™ and Wit & Wisdom^®, students engage with information-rich texts, building their content knowledge, expanding their vocabulary, and understanding of both written and spoken language conventions.

Foundational Skills Program

Word Recognition

With a foundational skills program, students build word recognition skills like phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words.

Knowledge-Building Foundational Skills Practice

With Geodes^®, students practice and apply foundational reading skills to information-rich books that systematically build knowledge about their world.

Skilled Reading

By the end of grade 2, students can read a variety of multisyllabic words, words with common prefixes and suffixes along with the first 200 high-frequency words. In their independent reading, students demonstrate their comprehension of a broad range of texts by applying their decoding skills and knowledge in fluent reading.