What does the series contain for Grades 3-5?
Units of Study in Reading (3, 4, 5)
The Units of Study provide daily, explicit instruction aligned to the standards and organized around essential questions, knowledge-building, vocabulary, writing about reading, and assessment. Each session features a focused minilesson connected to priority standards, strategies for supporting all learners, and a structured work time. It includes If/Then charts, conferring, small groups, as well as mid-workshop teaching and a share. Each grade level has 5 Units. Each Unit has 21 sessions and is divided into three “bends”: the first introduces key skills and concepts, the second extends and deepens learning, and the third offers new ways to apply it—ensuring that skills are revisited and strengthened across the year and grade levels.
Read-Aloud Plans
Within each session, you’ll find read-aloud plans aligned to the minilessons that build high-level comprehension skills. Each plan highlights essential vocabulary to deepen understanding and enrich academic conversations, while structured opportunities for partner talk and whole-class discussion promote collaborative, text-based thinking. Close reading support is included, featuring text-dependent questions. There are also knowledge-building activities and culminating tasks to extend and solidify learning.
Vocabulary Extensions
Within each session, you’ll also find daily instruction for vocabulary is provided through brief five-minute lessons. Across each unit, students learn new words and engage in a variety of vocabulary games. Students also learn a collection of morphemes, including prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Instruction emphasizes active use, giving students frequent opportunities to apply new words in speaking and writing, helping them master vocabulary, and expanding their oral language skills.
Phonics and Morphology (3)
The Grade 3 word study curriculum includes five units that strengthen foundational word knowledge by explicitly teaching the six syllable types, introducing common prefixes and suffixes, and providing high-frequency word instruction. Students also learn consistent strategies for decoding multisyllabic words, all within playful, engaging themes that connect to their reading work. Phonics instruction is not provided for Grades 4–5, as most students have mastered these skills by that point; however, additional phonics support is recommended for students who still need it.
A Guide to the Reading Workshop (3–5)
This guide provides a comprehensive introduction to the essentials of reading instruction and development. It explains how reading workshop fits into the school day, outlines the architecture and principles of effective minilessons, and offers strategies for leading powerful work-time instruction.
Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences (3–5)
This book supplements the units, providing teachers with ready-to-use small-group lessons, conferences, charts, and tools. Whether the goal is to increase reading volume, improve multisyllabic word reading, build vocabulary, or deepen character analysis, teachers will find progressions of small groups at varying levels of support, ensuring accessible and challenging options for every reader.
