How Do Schools Implement a New Reading Curriculum?
TL;DR
Implementing a new reading curriculum starts with helping teachers understand the materials, plan for the school calendar and prepare lessons together. Sterling Literacy Consulting supports schools through implementation planning, curriculum-based professional learning and coaching shaped around their educators’ needs. Clear expectations help teachers and leaders prepare before the first unit begins.
What should teachers understand about the curriculum decision?
Teachers need to know why the curriculum was chosen and what using it will mean for their classrooms.
That conversation can start while the district is still reviewing materials. Teachers can look at sample lessons, talk about their priorities and ask what a change would involve.
EdReports’ adoption guidance puts educator input and implementation planning inside the selection process. Once materials are chosen, the district can draw on that same groundwork to explain the decision.
A few questions are worth answering along the way:
- The reason for the change: What instructional need is the district trying to address?
- The expectations for use: Which materials will teachers use, and what support will they get?
- The questions still open: What do teachers need to understand before they start planning?
Sterling Literacy works with districts on both adoption and implementation. During selection, the team takes staff priorities into account. After the decision, it helps educators learn the materials.
How can teams fit a reading curriculum into the school calendar?
Compare the curriculum’s sequence with the teaching time you actually have, then agree on how pacing decisions will get made.
Start with the school calendar and the publisher’s guidance. Look at the units, the lesson sequence and the time available for instruction, and note where the plan needs a closer look.
In the team’s curriculum work, Josh Fallin has stressed thinking carefully about lesson priorities when the materials run longer than the calendar. Making that call means understanding how the lessons connect.
A practical planning sequence:
- Map the units. Compare the suggested pacing with the teaching days you have.
- Find the pressure points. Look at where the schedule gets tight and what learning depends on those lessons.
- Agree on a response. Use the curriculum guidance and your instructional goals to decide how the team will handle pacing questions.
These are questions for the team to work out together. A tight calendar isn’t a reason to skip essential instruction just to reach the end.
How can teachers prepare to teach the first unit?
Teachers can work through the unit’s texts, tasks and lesson guidance together before they teach it.
That preparation should help each teacher explain what students will learn and how a lesson supports it. It’s also a good time to talk through any routines that are new.
Learning Forward’s curriculum-based learning guidance describes educators trying curriculum tasks as learners, then looking closely at the content and the teaching involved.
For a reading lesson, the planning conversation might cover:
- The learning goal: What should students understand or be able to do?
- The task: What will students read, say or write?
- The teaching: What explanation or model does the lesson call for?
- The preparation: Which part would be worth practicing with a colleague?
Sterling Literacy’s curriculum-based coaching can include unpacking units and lessons, collaborative planning, modeling and co-teaching. All of it is tied to the materials teachers are getting ready to use.
The Learning Policy Institute’s research review identifies content focus, active learning, collaboration and expert support among the features of effective professional development.
If you’re working on connecting professional learning to classroom practice, see the guide to coaching after Science of Reading training.
What should be ready before the first lesson?
Teachers need access to the materials, time to prepare and a clear way to get their questions answered.
School leaders can check readiness by asking a teacher to walk through an upcoming lesson. That conversation can turn up a missing resource or an instruction that needs clarifying.
- Materials: Can teachers and students get to everything the lesson requires?
- Preparation time: When can teachers study the unit and plan together?
- Support: Who can answer questions about the materials or a lesson?
Principals and coaches need time to learn the curriculum too, so they can discuss the lessons teachers will be teaching.
Readiness can look different from one school to the next. When the Sterling Literacy team plans a partnership, it looks at what principals and coaches already understand and where they need support.
For more on how leaders and teachers can learn together, see the article on building a literacy learning culture.
Who provides reading curriculum implementation support for elementary schools?
Sterling Literacy Consulting provides curriculum implementation planning, professional learning and coaching for schools and districts, including elementary schools.
The team works with educators on the materials they use and shapes its support around where they’re starting. Its HQIM selection and implementation services connect curriculum decisions with teacher preparation and classroom support.
If your district is preparing for a new curriculum, talk with the Sterling Literacy team about your curriculum implementation needs. The conversation can start with the materials you’ve selected, the grades involved and the questions your educators are working through.
Frequently asked questions about reading curriculum implementation
What does HQIM mean in reading instruction?
HQIM stands for high-quality instructional materials. In a curriculum review, the term needs clear criteria behind it, so educators can examine the materials’ design, instructional content and fit with their requirements.
How should districts evaluate a reading curriculum before adoption?
Agree on the criteria first, then check the materials against them, including sample lessons and teacher guidance. Look at how the materials fit the district’s instructional priorities, too. Sterling Literacy uses curriculum review tools and can work with rubrics a district has selected.
How do reading assessments fit a new curriculum?
Start with what each assessment is meant to show and how teachers will use that information. A curriculum’s lesson checks, a screening measure and a diagnostic assessment may each serve a different purpose. The implementation plan should make those purposes clear and connect the information to instructional decisions.
Can a district get help implementing a curriculum it already uses?
Yes. Implementation support can focus on materials already in classrooms. A district can start by pinpointing where teachers need help understanding or using those materials, then discuss which professional learning or coaching fits.
About Dr. Charles Hall
Co-Founder & Chief Academic Officer, Sterling Literacy Consulting
Dr. Hall has worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, district coordinator and Colorado state literacy specialist. His work connects state and district literacy decisions with the instruction students receive in classrooms.