Aha!

In school year 2022–2023, Elmhurst Community School Unit District 205 in Illinois began implementing new instructional...

This month’s blog builds on the Self-Study Series content from July and October. July’s post presented Read and Reflect...

Wit & Wisdom® lessons incorporate best fluency practices for every grade. In this post, we explore fluency instruction...

This fall, Great Minds^® is expanding the Wit & Wisdom^® Coaching Series with a new offering: Teaching with a Focus on...

Rick Romain has been an educator at P.S. 268 (Brooklyn, NY) for eight years, first as assistant principal and now as...

In this post, Rebecca Burgess, a Grade 3 teacher in Denver, Colorado, shares how she supports multilingual students in...

This month’s blog continues the Self-Study Series introduced this summer. In July, we shared Read and Reflect...

The Focusing Question Arc Study Protocol is one tool Wit & Wisdom® teachers use to prepare effective instruction. In...

In this blog post, Portland Public Schools teacher Teri Joseph shares her journey from teaching reading and writing...

The English Learner Success Forum, a collaboration of educators and leaders focused on ensuring multilingual learners...

I'm a teacher in New York City, and I'm excited about city leaders’ new focus on ensuring all students get great...

In this month’s blog, we launch our first Self-Study Series. This series supports educators as they deepen their...

This month, we focus on fluency. Wit & Wisdom® lessons incorporate best practices for fluency instruction at every...

The time had come in Westside Community Schools (NE) to search for a new K–8 English language arts curriculum. With new...

This month, we turn our attention to the Volume of Reading libraries in Wit & Wisdom®. The Volume of Reading text lists...

Hi Teacher Friends,

Lori and Melissa from the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast are taking over this month’s blog....

The Multilingual Glossaries are available in 14 languages and accessible to all Wit & Wisdom® educators in the Teacher...

At Great Minds^®, we believe that every student deserves access to the highest quality education possible. That's why we...

When working with high-quality instructional materials such as Wit & Wisdom^®, teachers need professional learning to...

Congratulations to Wit & Wisdom implementation leaders Megan Faughnan and Jessica Boisen, whose article on teaching...

The power of curriculum-based assessments comes from reviewing students’ assessment tasks to understand their strengths...

Until recently, elementary writing instruction has received little attention, especially as more educators focus on the

Strong implementation of Wit & Wisdom® relies on using curriculum-based assessments to inform instruction. Every...

The Sentinel in Aurora, Coloradorecently featuredWit & Wisdom® in an education article spotlighting efforts by...

When I walk into a Wit & Wisdom® classroom, I enter an exciting place where I see Word Walls and anchor charts. I see...

Can curriculum and instructional materials be developed to not only support students in building knowledge and skills,...

As a secondary educator and Literacy Coach at the Stadium School in Baltimore, Maryland, LaCrystal Wiggins has seen...

English Language Arts Coach Alex Evans has been an educator for 10 years with the Urban Choice Charter School in...

In 2019, 5.1 million students—10.4 percent of students across the US—were formally identified as English learners (...

Master Teacher and Instructional Coach Korneeka James has been a teacher for 16 years and a Wit & Wisdom^® user for the...

The recent release of the Nation’s Report Card presents a cause for deep concern, particularly the shocking statistic...

As educators across the country work hard to help students rebound academically from the pandemic, many parents are...

The Humanities team at Great Minds® stays updated on the current scientific research on literacy. We bring research to...

Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a model for understanding the components of skilled reading. This blog series...

The science of reading is getting increased attention from national media, including this cover story,

This Month’s Focus 

The Humanities team at Great Minds® stays updated on the current scientific research on literacy....

Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a model for understanding the components of skilled reading. This blog series...

In an op-ed in the New York Daily News, Great Minds® CEO and Founder Lynne Munson gives the Big Apple a shout-out for...

When Orangeburg County School District (SC) began implementing Wit & Wisdom® in Grades K–8 during the 2020–2021 school...

Engaging families and caregivers in Wit & Wisdom can have a positive impact on student learning. Consider some of the...

Switching from the CKLA’s Grades K–2 curriculum in 2021–2022 to the combination of Wit & Wisdom® (English language...

Louisiana is making important strides to innovate when it comes to state reading assessments, and Lior Klirs, director...

This Month’s Focus 

The Humanities team at Great Minds® stays updated on the current scientific research on literacy....

Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a model for understanding the components of skilled reading. This blog series...

As the sun set on a truly special school year, I was preparing for what my next steps were. Typically, teachers spend...

The July/August/September 2022 edition of Literacy Today from the International Literacy Association features an essay...

During my last year of teaching, my school was affected by budget cuts. As a result, I was the only ESL teacher...

When Kristen Santilli became district-wide director of curriculum, instruction, and data for Grades PK–12 at Shelton...

This Month’s Focus  

The Humanities team at Great Minds® stays updated on the current scientific research on literacy....

Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a model for understanding the components of skilled reading. This blog series...

Rachel Stack, chief academic officer for the Great Minds® Humanities team, has some great suggestions for encouraging...

Wit & Wisdom® Fellow Britton King had a favorite moment during last winter’s Super Bowl.No, it wasn’t a touchdown or an...

This Month’s Focus 

At Great Minds®, the Humanities team stays updated with the current scientific research on...

Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides a model for understanding the components of skilled reading. This blog series...

Worried about the “need” for test prep this time of year and its impact on your teaching?George Galindo, an...

Katie Waters, content lead for Wit & Wisdom®, has an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News on positive changes to the Texas...

This Month’s Focus

At Great Minds®, the Humanities team stays updated with the current scientific research on literacy....

Before becoming the director of curriculum and instruction at Friendship Aspire Academy–Pine Bluff, Angela Dixon was a...

When school leaders at P.S. 236 in the Bronx, NY, found that Units of Study, a reading curriculum produced by Columbia...

Teaching Wit & Wisdom lessons demands intellectual energy to engage students in deep thinking. For teachers, working...

This month, Amina Naseer shares her reflections on some of the principles that ground Wit & Wisdom^®’s approach to...

Over a decade ago, E.D. Hirsch and Robert Pondiscio argued that reading tests are actually tests of knowledge. In other...

This Month’s Focus

Our focus this month turns to state testing. Testing occurs each spring, but for many educators...

It’s great to see Jackson County Public Schools get the attention it deserves for taking important steps to improve...

I remember flipping through the Wit & Wisdom® Teacher Edition for the first time six years ago. I relished the...

“Trust in the process” was a common phrase I heard as I began implementing Wit & Wisdom® in my classroom. So I did just...

Our focus this month is on maximizing instructional time. In this leadership blog post, Andrea Baldwin shares a process...

Tanisha Washington, a regional director of implementation services for Wit & Wisdom®, shares her story of getting...

The Pentucket (Massachusetts) Regional School District’s journey to using high-quality mathematics and English language...

There is a lot of talk about how today’s math instruction looks pretty different from how most adults learned math as...

Improved achievement on state tests tell part of the success story at Capitol Collegiate Academy, a K–8 public charter...

This month, we encouraged educators across the country to reflect on access and equity, specifically for students with...

This month, we encouraged educators across the country to reflect on access and equity, specifically for students with...

Equitable instruction includes careful consideration of and planning for access by all students, including students...

When Tabitha Garvin, a grade 5 educator, first heard about Wit & Wisdom^® as an instructional coach in her district, she...

Grade 5 and 6 Humanities Educator Devin L. James shares an experience teaching with Wit & Wisdom^® that many can...

This month, we encouraged educators across the country to reflect on their transition to using the Wit & Wisdom®...

This month, we encouraged educators across the country to reflect on their transition to using the Wit & Wisdom®...

Conversations are happening in school districts around the country about what children are learning and, notably, what...

This Month’s Focus

The importance of high-quality curriculum is no secret. A 2015 study conducted by the Center for...

When the principal of Clayton Elementary School in this Denver suburb announced English language arts state test scores...

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on how they engage families and caregivers in Wit & Wisdom...

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on how they engage families and caregivers in the Wit &...

As educators, we are experts in curriculum and instruction. We understand, broadly, students’ needs and how to help...

Terri Downing offers great advice to parents in an op-ed in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on their preparation for Wit & Wisdom® instruction. Mandy...

This month, we asked educators across the country to reflect on their preparation for Wit & Wisdom^® instruction....

Most educators graduate from teacher preparation programs ready to plan their lessons but not to internalize...

Prioritized Instruction for the 2021–2022 Academic Year:A Position Paper from the Great Minds® Humanities Team

At Great...

This month, we asked teachers across the country to reflect on how they engage their students in Wit &Wisdom’s® complex...

This month, we asked teachers across the country to reflect on how they engage their students in Wit & Wisdom’s®...

At Great Minds^®, we believe all students deserve opportunities to read complex texts, complete grade-level tasks, and...

Guidance

Deep understanding of each module and the Wit & Wisdom approach will empower you to fully leverage the...

For the K–6 students in Springfield, Ohio, the Wit & Wisdom^® curriculum is not only opening doors and windows to...

I've always been a bookworm. It's one reason I became an English teacher. Each year, one of my top goals is to share my...

Educators have cause for concern. Only about a third of Grade 4 students are proficient readers. A disproportionate...

Despite a lot of other national news dominating headlines, reading instruction in the early grades has been getting...

THIS MONTH’S FOCUS

In last month’s issue, we discussed the cycle Wit & Wisdom educators can follow to strengthen their ...

Despite many obvious complications, starting to implement Wit & Wisdom® (the language arts curriculum from Great Minds®...

Under the leadership of principal Julissa Lambert-Yank, Acorn Woodland Elementary School in Oakland, California is...

THIS MONTH’S FOCUS

“Few people can learn in a vacuum—all but the most solitary creatures among us crave reflection and...

Be patient and trust the process. Give yourself and your students some grace, especially during the pandemic. And know...

For many years, I coached teachers on the art of incorporating social-emotional skills into classroom instruction. Many...

Superintendent Shawn Kimble and his leadership team were clear. Despite the many challenges caused by the pandemic, the...

For Sumner County Schools north of Nashville in Gallatin, Tennessee, quality curriculum has been a great equalizer,...

I studied French for eight years in school before I moved to Paris and found out I was still pretty bad at speaking...

OVERVIEW

Speaking and listening are at the core of learning. As babies, we learn by listening. As we begin to speak, we...

“Wit & Wisdom has been transformational, a real game-changer for us,” says Becky Michael, language arts content area...

THIS MONTH’S FOCUS To be successful in school, at work, and as citizens, students must learn to write. Writing well is...

When it came time to select a new English language arts curriculum during the 2019–2020 school year, educators at...

THISMONTH’SFOCUS

Teachers of English language arts (ELA) know the complexity of their discipline. Reading...

There’s no magic wand to conjure successful curriculum implementation. To be successful, teachers must intensely...

On October 26, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. posed a profound yet simple question to a group of junior high school...

Great Minds^® asked Kyair Butts, the 2019 Teacher of the Year for Baltimore City Public Schools, why diversity in...

Students at Saville Elementary School in the Mad River Local School District near, Dayton, Ohio, jumped in their state...

THISMONTH’SFOCUS

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

The new year offers a...

Jan Busey was nervous. After years in the classroom, the retired teacher was about to start recording literacy video...

THISMONTH’SFOCUS

All Wit & Wisdom students engage in a transferable process—the Content Stages—to read grade-level...

THISMONTH’SFOCUS

By systematically building students’ knowledge within and across Kindergarten through Grade 8, Wit...

Educators have cause for concern. Only about a third of Grade 4 students are proficient readers. A disproportionate...

this month's focus

Many of the key elements of Wit & Wisdom® translate well to distance learning, and through strategic...

As an artist and educator, I was thrilled to see The New York Times spotlight and guide readers through a close...

Educators in Rogers Public Schools in northwest Arkansas have seen first-hand how students benefit from productive...

IDEA Public Schools is one of the largest and most successful public charter networks in the country. Started in 2000...

Great Minds^® checked in with Baltimore City Public Schools Grade 6 teacher and 2019 Baltimore Teacher of the Year Kyair...

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chad Colby: Chad.Colby@greatminds.org

Monday, March 2, 2020—Grades K–2 of Wit & Wisdom®,...

Talk about commitment.  

The four Grade 3 teachers at Grass Valley Elementary School in Humboldt County, Nevada, meet at...

Shawn Kimble, superintendent of rural Lauderdale County Schools northwest of Memphis, was planning to roll out Wit &...

Jen Arellano was drawn to education after volunteering to teach reading in her son’s first grade classroom. She already...

Angela Patzer remembers the day she realized that Linford Elementary School’s new English language arts curriculum, Wit...

The Scholarship Prep Public Schools network in southern California continues to make strong gains in student...

Mad River Local Schools was one of the first districts to adopt Wit & Wisdom®, the English language arts curriculum...

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chad Colby: chad.colby@greatminds.org

Tuesday, November 19, 2019—Great Minds® is seeking...

When instructional coach Amy Holbrook describes the impact of Wit & Wisdom® on the Mad River Local Schools outside...

Center City Public Charter Schools (PCS) opened in 2008 as the first Catholic-to-charter school conversion in the...

When did the leaders of Brooklyn Charter School know that Wit & Wisdom® was having an impact beyond the impressive...

What if a student could not only read Green Eggs and Ham but also explore cooking green eggs and ham?

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chad Colby: Chad.Colby@greatminds.org

Friday, Sept. 27, 2019—An NBC News story highlig...

Great Minds® embraces the research that knowledge building should start at the outset of a student’s education. But...

For Immediate Release

Contact: Chad Colby: chad.colby@greatminds.org

Monday, Aug. 5, 2019—Teachers now have the option...

In Ohio's Mad River Local Schools, the Wit & Wisdom® philosophy of "teach more meaningful English" is taking root...

In Part 1 of this blog series, we discussed the definition of volume of reading as well as why volume of reading is...

What exactly is avolume of reading? If you put the day’s schedule on the board for students to read, is that a volume...

My daughter is bright, creative, and loves history.  She’s intellectually curious.  

She’s also dyslexic. That meant for...

Three Tips for Twitter Chat Success

Educational Twitter chats are a great opportunity to grow your professional network...

Do you remember that look of excitement and joy on your students’ faces when they discovered “that book” that was the...

Before becoming an elementary school teacher, I was an art educator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. My goal...