Teacher Materials

A 20-page teacher guide for each level fully supports the teacher by providing examples of explicit modeling of strategies such as predicting, connecting, questioning, and visualizing, as well as critical thinking. Instruction builds background for each topic, develops strategies to help students during reading, and promotes higher level thinking about the texts. Each lesson also provides tips for supporting ELL and struggling students.

Activities for pairs and small groups promote cooperative learning as students think about and discuss ideas and issues. Multisensory instruction provides opportunities for students to participate in reading, writing, talking, thinking, and role-playing within the topics.

Student Materials

The student materials have been purposefully written to provide ideal opportunities for students to learn and practice critical, deep thinking. Each text has been leveled to align with the Fountas and Pinnell criteria and fits easily into any differentiated reading instruction.

A pair of books for each topic at grades K–2 provides different points of view on a familiar topic or story, for example, the viewpoint of Miss Muffet and the viewpoint of the spider or whether an ant or a rhino is best.

A three-part anthology for each topic at grades 3–5 begins with a nonfiction text to provide context and background, such as whether or not downloading music is fair or the effect of wolves in Yellowstone. The nonfiction text is followed by two fiction stories, which present different points of view on the topic through engaging characters and fun story lines.