Elementary School Curriculum Maps

Literacy Learning and Curriculum Updates

At the elementary level, our teachers and staff have been deeply engaged in professional learning around literacy. This important work is preparing us for upcoming changes in Michigan’s dyslexia legislation, which will soon release an approved list of literacy curricula. In anticipation, we are investing first in our teachers’ learning so they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide the very best instruction.

Our goal is simple but powerful: to ensure every child receives high-quality literacy instruction, grounded in research and best practices, so that all students grow into confident and successful readers.

Some of the ways our literacy instruction has grown include:

• Phonics progression: Developing a clear K–5 phonics roadmap and strengthening explicit phonics instruction.
• Decodable texts & assessments: Adding decodable books aligned with our phonics progression, and using decodable running records to monitor growth (replacing F&P until proficiency is reached).
• Evidence-based practices: Removing strategies that rely on guessing and ensuring students focus on letters and sounds to decode words.
• Targeted assessments: Using tools to pinpoint the specific learning needs of students who are developing foundational reading skills.
• Early literacy measures: Adding Star Early Literacy in Kindergarten and continuing it in grades 1–2 until students are ready for Star Reading.