What does it take to build confident, capable readers? In this session, discover how real-time data and targeted resources can help teachers meet the wide range of literacy needs of students in grades K–8. Hear directly from school leaders who’ve successfully implemented a structured literacy system and learn how they supported teachers, families, and students every step of the way.
Joining our webinar will be Lisa Matthes, director of curriculum at Christian Community Ministries, and Lisa Fenning, literacy project lead advisor at Catholic Education Tasmania. They’ll share their experiences guiding large-scale literacy initiatives, offering insights into how they supported teachers through the transition and built stronger outcomes for students across their schools.
Celebrating the 2026 Science of Reading Star Awards finalists
Every day, teachers and education leaders guide students toward a future lit up by literacy. It’s not always easy, especially for those championing shifts toward programs grounded in the Science of Reading.
That’s why we’re thrilled to celebrate the finalists of the 2026 Science of Reading Star Awards! These awards recognize educators, schools, and districts who go above and beyond to make evidence-based instruction a reality.
Empowering students through literacy
The Science of Reading Star Awards shine a beacon on the champions of literacy—the educators putting research into action.
Studies show that systematic phonics instruction leads to significantly higher achievement, particularly for students experiencing reading difficulties. Literacy instruction grounded in the Science of Reading strengthens critical thinking by building the vocabulary and background knowledge students need to make meaning from complex texts.
But shifting to this instruction is about more than swapping programs—it’s about leading change and inspiring others. With these awards, we celebrate the educators and districts whose innovative approach does just that.
Here are this year’s categories and finalists:
The District Captain: For the district that exemplifies strong Science of Reading practices across the board
Keppel Union School District, CA
Traverse City Area Public Schools, MI
DeSoto County School District, MS
Colton Joint Unified School District, CA
The Literacy Legend: For the school that’s seen significant reading gains among their students school-wide when using the Science of Reading
Albuquerque Collegiate Charter School, NM
Faircrest Memorial Elementary School, OH
Grantsburg Elementary School, WI
The Background Knowledge Builder: For showing the world that the Science of Reading empowers students with knowledge, context, and vocabulary from elementary through middle school
Sara Allen, Spring Hill Unified School District 230, KS
Joy Villahermosa, North Slope Borough School District, AL
Jesse Muehler, St. John-Emmanuel Lutheran School, IN
The Changemaker: For showcasing exemplary Science of Reading routines and practices, and serving as an inspiration to others on the journey
Olivia Eastwood, Dedham Public School District, MA
Amy Sell, Lower Dauphin School District, PA
Rob Murray, Romeo Community School District, MI
The Comprehension Champion: For fostering deep understanding and critical thinking by expertly guiding students to make meaning from complex texts, ask thoughtful questions, and connect reading to their world and experiences
Kiera Bridley, Webster School District, WI
Sandi Bourque, Ascension Parish School District, LA
Rebecca Zandbergen, Kamaile Academy Public Charter School, HI
The Data Dynamo: For expertly using data to drive instruction within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework, identifying student needs with precision, and implementing targeted interventions that accelerate literacy growth for every learner
ZaTaya Rivenbark, Charleston County School District, SC
Yaneth Acosta, Buncombe County School District, NC
Diana Van Osdell, Northwestern School Corporation, IN
Kelly Scheurich, Stratford Public Schools, CT
The Language Luminary: For outstanding success in developing the skills and strengths of multilingual/English learners
Melissa García, Passaic Public Schools, NJ
Maria Monsivais, Cicero School District 99, IL
Yessenia Viera, Carthage R9 School District, MO
Jennifer Gomez Vallejos, Buncombe County School District, NC
The Science of Reading Rookie: For a teacher in their first three years of teaching already making strides with the Science of Reading
Johanna Vargas, Grand Island Public Schools, NE
Christian Watkins, Cornerstone Prep Denver, TN
Marissa Riley, Urbana School District 116, IL
The Writing Whiz: For integrating writing instruction with the Science of Reading, cultivating articulate and confident writers through innovative and effective practices
Joandra Mendoza, Rome City School District, GA
Jennifer Csolkovits, Walton-Verona Independent School District, KY
Caitlyn Bacom Dominguez, Cambridge Public School District, MA
William Strunk, South Bend Community School Corporation, IN
A closer look at grades 3–5
Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver age-appropriate, high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that enables students to take on the roles of scientists and engineers to solve real-world phenomena every day.
In the 3–5 classroom, this looks like students:
Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
Formulating convincing scientific arguments.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science California to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the California NGSS in just 88 days.
Scope and sequence
Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).
Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.
Unit types
Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades 3–5:
One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
One unit emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation Units
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling Units
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering Design Units
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Units at a glance
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
Along with compelling print materials, powerful digital resources, and more hands-on materials than any other program, Amplify Science California also includes engaging and realistic experiences, access to diverse role models, countless a-ha moments, and the inspiration and confidence to consider a future as a scientist or engineer.
Amplify Science California is organized around units where students explore compelling phenomena and real-world problems, develop and strengthen claims by collecting evidence and testing assumptions, and apply their learning in new contexts.
Units at a glance
In each Amplify Science California unit, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to investigate a real-world problem. These problems provide relevant, 21st-century contexts through which students investigate different scientific phenomena.
1
Needs of Plants and Animals
Students take on the role of scientists in order to figure out why there have been no monarch caterpillars in the community garden since vegetables were planted. They investigate how plants and animals get what they need to live and grow, and make a new plan for the community garden that provides for the needs of the monarch caterpillars in addition to producing vegetables for humans.
2
Pushes and Pulls
Students take on the role of pinball machine engineers as they investigate the effects of forces on the motion of an object. They conduct tests in their own prototypes (models) of a pinball machine and use what they learn to contribute to the design of a class pinball machine. Over the course of the unit, students construct a foundational understanding of why things move in different ways.
3
Sunlight and Weather
The principals of Woodland Elementary and Carver Elementary need student weather scientists to help them explain why Woodland’s playground is warmer than Carver’s at recess. Students gather data from models of the sun and Earth’s surface and observe their own playgrounds to figure out how sunlight causes changes in the temperatures of different surfaces. Students then use models to figure out why Woodland’s playground sometimes floods.
1
Animal and Plant Defenses
Students play the role of marine scientists. In their role, students apply their understanding of plant and animal defense structures to explain to aquarium visitors how a sea turtle and her offspring can defend themselves from ocean predators when they are released into the wild.
2
Light and Sound
Students take on the role of light and sound engineers for a puppet show company as they investigate cause and effect relationships to learn about the nature of light and sound. They apply what they learn to design shadow scenery and sound effects for a puppet show.
3
Spinning Earth
As sky scientists, students explain why a boy living in a place near them sees different things in the sky than his grandma does when he talks to her on the phone. Students record, organize, and analyze observations of the sun and other sky objects as they look for patterns and make sense of the cycle of daytime and nighttime.
1
Plant and Animal Relationships
In their role as plant scientists, students work to figure out why there are no new chalta trees growing in the Bengal Tiger Reserve, which is part of a broadleaf forest. Students investigate what the chalta tree needs to survive, then collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to solve the mystery.
2
Properties of Materials
As glue engineers, students are challenged to create a glue for use at their school that meets a set of design goals. Students present an evidence-based argument for why their glue mixture will be good for their school to use.
3
Changing Landforms
The director of the Oceanside Recreation Center gets a scare when a nearby cliff collapses overnight. Research reveals that the distance between the Recreation Center’s flagpole and the edge of the cliff have changed over time. Students play the role of geologists and work to figure out why the cliff has changed over time. Based on what they learn about erosion, they advise on whether it is safe to keep the center open even though the cliff is changing.
1
Balancing Forces
People in Faraday are excited to hear that a new train service will be built for their city, but concerned when they hear that it will be a floating train. Students are challenged to figure out how a floating train works in order to explain it to the citizens of Faraday. They develop models of how the train rises, floats, and then falls back to the track, and then write an explanation of how the train works.
2
Inheritance and Traits
Students play the role of wildlife biologists working in Greystone National Park. They study two wolf packs and are challenged to figure out why an adopted wolf (“Wolf 44”) in one of the packs has certain traits. Students observe variation between and within different species, investigate inherited traits and those that result from the environment, and explain the origin of several of the adopted wolf’s traits.
3
Environments and Survival
In their role as biomimicry engineers, students work to figure out how the traits of grove snails affect their survival in different environments. They then explore how the traits of different organisms make them more likely or less likely to survive, collecting and interpreting data to understand how organisms’ traits affect their survival in different environments. Students then apply their understanding to a new challenge: designing effective solutions for the removal of invasive plants.
4
Weather and Climate
In their role as meteorologists, students gather evidence to decide where to build an orangutan reserve by analyzing patterns in weather data. After choosing the strongest evidence, students use data to make arguments about which of three fictional islands has weather most like that of orangutans’ existing habitats, Borneo and Sumatra. They then discern patterns in the locations of natural hazards in order to figure out which ones the Wildlife Protection Organization must prepare for.
1
Energy Conversions
Students take on the role of systems engineers for Ergstown, a fictional town that experiences frequent blackouts, and explore reasons why an electrical system can fail. Students apply what they learned as they choose new energy sources and energy converters for the town, then write arguments for why their design choices will make the town’s electrical system more reliable.
2
Inheritance and Traits
As conservation biologists, students work to figure out why a population of Tokay geckos has decreased since the installation of new highway lights in the rainforest. Students use their understanding of vision, light, and information processing to figure out why an increase in light in the geckos’ habitat is affecting the population.
3
Environments and Survival
Playing the role of geologists, students help the director of Desert Rocks National Park explain how and when a particular fossil formed and how it came to be in its current location. Students figure out what the environment of the park was like in the past and why it has so many visible rock layers.
4
Weather and Climate
In their role as marine scientists, students work to figure out how mother dolphins communicate with their calves. They write a series of scientific explanations with diagrams to demonstrate their growing understanding of how sound waves travel. Then they apply what they’ve learned about waves, energy, and patterns in communication to figure out how to create patterns that can communicate information over distances.
1
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Playing the role of astronomers, students help a team of archaeologists figure out what the missing piece of a recently discovered artifact might have depicted. As they learn about the sun and other stars and the movement of Earth, students can explain what is shown on the artifact and what might be on the missing piece.
2
Modeling Matter
In their role as food scientists at a fictional company, students are introduced to the idea that all matter is made of particles too small to see, and that each different substance is made of particles (molecules) that are unique. They are then challenged to solve two problems: one requires them to separate a mixture, and the other requires them to make unmixable substances mix. Students are challenged to use the particulate model of matter to explain their work to the CEO of the company.
3
The Earth System
The cities of East Ferris and West Ferris are located on different sides of a mountain on the fictional Ferris Island. East Ferris is having a water shortage while West Ferris is not. As water resource engineers, students learn about the Earth system to help figure out what is causing the water shortage problem and design possible solutions, including freshwater collection systems and proposals for using chemical reactions to treat wastewater.
4
Ecosystem Restoration
As ecologists, students work to figure out why the organisms in a part of a Costa Rican rainforest ecosystem aren’t growing and thriving. As they solve this problem, students learn more generally how organisms in an ecosystem get the matter and energy they need to survive, and then write a series of restoration plans that include arguments about why the rainforest ecosystem is not thriving and recommend actions to restore its health.
Print & digital components
Amplify Science California includes instructional guidance and student materials in English and Spanish for a year of instruction, with lessons and activities that keep students engaged every day.
Component
FORMAT
NEW! Classroom Slides
Meet your new hands-free TG! These lesson-specific PowerPoints make delivering daily instruction a snap with embedded links to related resources and suggested teacher talk in the Notes section of each slide.
Digital
Teacher’s Reference Guide
Available digitally and in print, this unit-specific reference guide includes scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, and tips for delivering instruction and differentiating learning.
Print and digital
Hands-on materials kits
Each unit-specific kit contains consumable and nonconsumable materials for use during hands-on investigations. In each kit you will find:
Hands-on materials
18 copies of each of the Student Books
Big books (grades K–1)
Classroom display materials
One Student Investigation Notebook
Kit
NGSS Benchmark Assessments
Delivered four times per year in grades 3–5 and three times per year in grades 6–8, our benchmark assessments report on students’ facility with each of the grade-level appropriate DCIs, SEPs, CCCs, and performance expectations of the California NGSS.
And now, Amplify Science California users can choose to administer the NGSS Benchmark Assessments (grades 3–8) through their Illuminate assessment platform.
*Also available in Spanish
Digital
Component
FORMAT
Student Investigation Notebooks
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
*Also available in Spanish
Print and digital
Big books (grades K–1)
Amplify Science California never asks our youngest readers to read alone. Rather, we provide scaffolded literacy experiences every step of the way. With our large-format big books, introducing and revisiting concepts though read-aloud and shared reading experiences is a breeze.
*Also available in Spanish
Print
Simulations and practice tools (grades 2+)
Developed exclusively for the Amplify Science California program, these serve as venues for exploration and data collection, allowing students to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
*Spanish versions coming soon
Digital
Explore more programs
Our programs are designed to support and complement one another. Learn more about our related programs.
What’s included in our phenomena-based science curriculum
Amplify Science is a phenomena-based science curriculum for grades K-8. This program is designed to give students engaging, realistic experiences that mirror how scientists and engineers actually work. To do this, the Lawrence Hall of Science and Amplify created compelling print and digital resources that work seamlessly together to enable students’ investigations and explorations.
Year at a glance
Amplify Science is organized around units where students are introduced to compelling phenomena and real-world problems, develop and strengthen claims by collecting evidence and testing assumptions, and apply their learning in new contexts.
Units at a glance
In each Amplify Science unit, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to investigate a real-world problem. These problems provide relevant, 21st-century contexts through which students investigate different scientific phenomena.
1
Needs of Plants and Animals
Students take on the role of scientists in order to figure out why there have been no monarch caterpillars in the community garden since vegetables were planted. They investigate how plants and animals get what they need to live and grow, and make a new plan for the community garden that provides for the needs of the monarch caterpillars in addition to producing vegetables for humans.
2
Pushes and Pulls
Students take on the role of pinball machine engineers as they investigate the effects of forces on the motion of an object. They conduct tests in their own prototypes (models) of a pinball machine and use what they learn to contribute to the design of a class pinball machine. Over the course of the unit, students construct a foundational understanding of why things move in different ways
3
Sunlight and Weather
The principals of Woodland Elementary and Carver Elementary need student weather scientists to help them explain why Woodland’s playground is warmer than Carver’s at recess. Students gather data from models of the sun and Earth’s surface and observe their own playgrounds to figure out how sunlight causes changes in the temperatures of different surfaces. Students then use models to figure out why Woodland’s playground sometimes floods.
1
Animal and Plant Defenses
Students play the role of marine scientists. In their role, students apply their understanding of plant and animal defense structures to explain to aquarium visitors how a sea turtle and her offspring can defend themselves from ocean predators when they are released into the wild.
2
Light and Sound
Students take on the role of light and sound engineers for a puppet show company as they investigate cause and effect relationships to learn about the nature of light and sound. They apply what they learn to design shadow scenery and sound effects for a puppet show.
3
Spinning Earth
As sky scientists, students explain why a boy living in a place near them sees different things in the sky than his grandma does when he talks to her on the phone. Students record, organize, and analyze observations of the sun and other sky objects as they look for patterns and make sense of the cycle of daytime and nighttime.
1
Plant and Animal Relationships
In their role as plant scientists, students work to figure out why there are no new chalta trees growing in the Bengal Tiger Reserve, which is part of a broadleaf forest. Students investigate what the chalta tree needs to survive, then collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data to solve the mystery.
2
Properties of Materials
As glue engineers, students are challenged to create a glue for use at their school that meets a set of design goals. Students present an evidence-based argument for why their glue mixture will be good for their school to use.
3
Changing Landforms
The director of the Oceanside Recreation Center gets a scare when a nearby cliff collapses overnight. Research reveals that the distance between the Recreation Center’s flagpole and the edge of the cliff have changed over time. Students play the role of geologists and work to figure out why the cliff has changed over time. Based on what they learn about erosion, they advise on whether it is safe to keep the center open even though the cliff is changing.
1
Balancing Forces
People in Faraday are excited to hear that a new train service will be built for their city, but concerned when they hear that it will be a floating train. Students are challenged to figure out how a floating train works in order to explain it to the citizens of Faraday. They develop models of how the train rises, floats, and then falls back to the track, and then write an explanation of how the train works.
2
Inheritance and Traits
Students play the role of wildlife biologists working in Greystone National Park. They study two wolf packs and are challenged to figure out why an adopted wolf (“Wolf 44”) in one of the packs has certain traits. Students observe variation between and within different species, investigate inherited traits and those that result from the environment, and explain the origin of several of the adopted wolf’s traits.
3
Environments and Survival
In their role as biomimicry engineers, students work to figure out how the traits of grove snails affect their survival in different environments. They then explore how the traits of different organisms make them more likely or less likely to survive, collecting and interpreting data to understand how organisms’ traits affect their survival in different environments. Students then apply their understanding to a new challenge: designing effective solutions for the removal of invasive plants.
4
Weather and Climate
In their role as meteorologists, students gather evidence to decide where to build an orangutan reserve by analyzing patterns in weather data. After choosing the strongest evidence, students use data to make arguments about which of three fictional islands has weather most like that of orangutans’ existing habitats, Borneo and Sumatra. They then discern patterns in the locations of natural hazards in order to figure out which ones the Wildlife Protection Organization must prepare for.
1
Energy Conversions
Students take on the role of systems engineers for Ergstown, a fictional town that experiences frequent blackouts, and explore reasons why an electrical system can fail. Students apply what they learned as they choose new energy sources and energy converters for the town, then write arguments for why their design choices will make the town’s electrical system more reliable.
2
Vision and Light
As conservation biologists, students work to figure out why a population of Tokay geckos has decreased since the installation of new highway lights in the rainforest. Students use their understanding of vision, light, and information processing to figure out why an increase in light in the geckos’ habitat is affecting the population.
3
Earth’s Features
Playing the role of geologists, students help the director of Desert Rocks National Park explain how and when a particular fossil formed and how it came to be in its current location. Students figure out what the environment of the park was like in the past and why it has so many visible rock layers.
4
Waves, Energy, and Information
In their role as marine scientists, students work to figure out how mother dolphins communicate with their calves. They write a series of scientific explanations with diagrams to demonstrate their growing understanding of how sound waves travel. Then they apply what they’ve learned about waves, energy, and patterns in communication to figure out how to create patterns that can communicate information over distances.
1
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Playing the role of astronomers, students help a team of archaeologists figure out what the missing piece of a recently discovered artifact might have depicted. As they learn about the sun and other stars and the movement of Earth, students can explain what is shown on the artifact and what might be on the missing piece.
2
Modeling Matter
In their role as food scientists at a fictional company, students are introduced to the idea that all matter is made of particles too small to see, and that each different substance is made of particles (molecules) that are unique. They are then challenged to solve two problems: one requires them to separate a mixture, and the other requires them to make unmixable substances mix. Students are challenged to use the particulate model of matter to explain their work to the CEO of the company.
3
The Earth System
The cities of East Ferris and West Ferris are located on different sides of a mountain on the fictional Ferris Island. East Ferris is having a water shortage while West Ferris is not. As water resource engineers, students learn about the Earth system to help figure out what is causing the water shortage problem and design possible solutions, including freshwater collection systems and proposals for using chemical reactions to treat wastewater.
4
Ecosystem Restoration
As ecologists, students work to figure out why the organisms in a part of a Costa Rican rainforest ecosystem aren’t growing and thriving. As they solve this problem, students learn more generally how organisms in an ecosystem get the matter and energy they need to survive, and then write a series of restoration plans that include arguments about why the rainforest ecosystem is not thriving and recommend actions to restore its health.
Print & digital components
The program includes instructional guidance and student materials for a year of instruction, with lessons and activities that keep students engaged every day.
Component
Format
Teacher’s Guides
Available digitally and in print, the Teacher’s Guides contain all of the information teachers need to facilitate classroom instruction, including detailed lesson plans, high-level overview documentation, differentiation strategies, standards alignments, materials and preparation steps, teacher support strategies and in-context professional development, possible student responses, and more.
Print and digital
Hands-on materials kits
Hands-on learning is integrated into every unit of Amplify Science. Each hands-on activity is supported through clear instructions for the teacher, as well as easily accessible materials in unit-specific kits. Each kit contains hands-on materials, both consumable and nonconsumable, and various print materials (e.g., Vocabulary and Key Concept cards). With Amplify Science, students can actively participate in science: gathering evidence, thinking critically, making observations, and communicating their claims.
Kit
Component
Format
Student Investigation Notebooks
Available for every unit, the Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
Print and digital
Student books
The age-appropriate Student Books in Amplify Science allow students to engage with content-rich text, obtain evidence, develop research and close reading skills, and construct arguments and explanations about the ideas they are learning in class.
Print and digital
Simulations and practice tools (grades 2+)
Developed exclusively for the Amplify Science program, these serve as venues for exploration and data collection, allowing students to explore scientific concepts that might otherwise be invisible or impossible to see with the naked eye.
Digital
Explore more programs
Our programs are designed to support and complement one another. Learn more about our related programs.
Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver age-appropriate, high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that enables students to take on the roles of scientists and engineers to solve real-world phenomena every day.
In the 3–5 classroom, this looks like students:
Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
Formulating convincing scientific arguments.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science California to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the California NGSS in just 88 days.
Scope and sequence
Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).
Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.
Unit types
Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades 3–5:
One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
One unit emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation Units
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling Units
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering Design Units
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Units at a glance
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver age-appropriate, high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that enables students to take on the roles of scientists and engineers to solve real-world phenomena every day.
In the 3–5 classroom, this looks like students:
Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
Formulating convincing scientific arguments.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 88 days.
Scope and sequence
Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).
Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.
Unit types
Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades 3–5:
One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
One unit emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation Units
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling Units
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering Design Units
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Units at a glance
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Inheritance and Traits
Domains: Life Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Environments and Survival
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Weather and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Energy Conversions
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.
Vision and Light
Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Earth’s Features
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Waves, Energy, and Information
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Modeling Matter
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
The Earth System
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering Design
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Ecosystem Restoration
Domains:Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.
Thank you for taking the time to review Amplify Science. On this site, you’ll find all the resources you need to learn more about this engaging and robust NGSS program. Below, you will also have the opportunity experience our program firsthand with a demo account to access the digital platform.
With Amplify Science, students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the roles of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and make sense of real-world phenomena. They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
Listen to these educators share how the program empowers students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers every day.
Grades K–5
Grades 6–8
Amplify Science Grades K-5 Tour for Idaho Educators
Amplify Science Grades 6-8 Tour for Idaho Evaluators
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon. It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more.
Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our program to address 100 percent of the NGSS and Idaho Standards in fewer days than other programs:
In just 120 lessons at grades 6–8
In just 66 lessons at grades K–2
In just 88 lessons at grades 3–5
Unit types
Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.
Investigation units
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling units
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering Design units
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units
Argumentation units are introduced at grade 3 and provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Launch units
Launch units are the first units taught in each year of Amplify Science. The goal of the Launch unit is to introduce students to norms, routines, and practices that will be built on throughout the year, including argumentation, active reading, and using the program’s technology. For example, rather than taking the time to explain the process of active reading in every unit in a given year, it is explained thoroughly in the Launch unit, thereby preparing students to read actively in all subsequent units.
Core units
Core units establish the context of the unit by introducing students to a real-world problem. As students move through lessons in a Core unit, they figure out the unit’s anchoring phenomenon, gain an understanding of the unit’s disciplinary core ideas and science and engineering practices, and make linkages across topics through the crosscutting concepts. Each Core unit culminates with a Science Seminar and final writing activity.
Engineering Internship units
Engineering Internship units invite students to design solutions for real-world problems as interns for a fictional company called Futura. Students figure out how to help those in need, from tsunami victims in Sri Lanka to premature babies, through the application of engineering practices. In the process, they apply and deepen their learning from Core units.
Idaho Science Standards Alignment
Amplify Science was built from the ground up to fully embrace the instructional shifts outlined in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012), the same framework on which Idaho Science Content Standards were founded. Most grade levels’ respective set of Amplify Science units therefore fully address the necessary Idaho Science Content Standards (see correlation). Grade 1 teachers should plan to also use the companion mini-lesson provided below to achieve full standards coverage for their grade.
Grade 1 Companion
Standard: 1-LS-1.3 Use classification supported by evidence to differentiate between living and non-living things.
Recommended placement: Following Lesson 1.1 of the Animal and Plant Defenses unit.
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Scientists
Phenomenon: There are no monarch caterpillars in the Mariposa Grove community garden since vegetables were planted.
Pushes and Pulls
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Pinball engineers
Phenomenon: Pinball machines allow people to control the direction and strength of forces on a ball.
Sunlight and Weather
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Weather scientists
Phenomenon: Students at Carver Elementary School are too cold during morning recess, while students at Woodland Elementary School are too hot during afternoon recess.
Animal and Plant Defenses
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Spruce the Sea Turtle lives in an aquarium and will soon be released back into the ocean, where she will survive despite ocean predators.
Light and Sound
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Light and sound engineers
Phenomenon: A puppet show company uses light and sound to depict realistic scenes in puppet shows.
Spinning Earth
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Sky scientists
Phenomenon: The sky looks different to Sai and his grandma when they talk on the phone.
Plant and Animal Relationships
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Plant scientists
Phenomenon: No new chalta trees are growing in the fictional Bengal Tiger Reserve in India.
Properties of Materials
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Glue engineers
Phenomenon: Different glue recipes result in glues that have different properties.
Changing Landforms
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: The cliff that Oceanside Recreation Center is situated on appears to be receding over time.
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Inheritance and Traits
strong>Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Environments and Survival
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Weather and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Energy Conversions
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.
Vision and Light
Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Waves, Energy, and Information
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Earth’s Features
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Modeling Matter
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
The Earth System
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering Design
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Ecosystem Restoration
Domains:Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.
Geology on Mars
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Planetary geologists
Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable.
Earth, Moon, and Sun
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An astrophotographer can only take pictures of specific features on the Moon at certain times.
Thermal Energy
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Thermal scientists
Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school.
Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: During El Niño years, the air temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand is cooler than usual.
Weather Patterns
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic meteorologists
Phenomenon: In recent years, rainstorms in Galetown have been unusually severe.
Populations and Resources
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea has increased.
Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The biodome ecosystem has collapsed.
Traits and Reproduction
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biomedical students
Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.
Microbiome
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Microbiological researchers
Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.
Metabolism
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Medical researchers
Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.
Force and Motion
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.
Force and Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents.
Plate Motion
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.
Rock Transformations
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.
Natural Selection
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.
Evolutionary History
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Paleontologists
Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.
Harnessing Human Energy
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Energy scientists
Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.
Phase Change
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Chemists
Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.
Phase Change Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Chemical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature.
Chemical Reactions
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic chemists
Phenomenon: A mysterious brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.
Magnetic Fields
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.
Light Waves
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Spectroscopists
Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer is higher in Australia than in other parts of the world.
Earth’s Changing Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: The ice on Earth’s surface is melting.
Earth’s Changing Climate Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Civil engineers
Phenomenon: Designing rooftops with different modifications can reduce a city’s impact on climate change.
Access program
In addition to the grade-level sample boxes that we provided, we’ve also created custom demo accounts just for Idaho reviewers.
To access the digital portion of the program, click the link below, select “Log In with Amplify,” and then refer to the Start here digital access flyer for your personalized login credentials.
With Amplify Science, students don’t just passively learn about science concepts. Instead, they take on the role of scientists and engineers to actively investigate and figure out real-world phenomena. They do this through a blend of cohesive and compelling storylines, hands-on investigations, collaborative discussions, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools.
Watch the videos below to learn how our program empowers students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers every day.
What Educators Say
The NGSS classroom
EdReports
Amplify Science for grades K–8 has been rated all-green by EdReports..
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. We designed our program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 66 days for grades K–2 and 88 days for grades 3–5.
Unit sequence
Our lessons follow a structure that is grounded in regular routines while still being flexible enough to allow for a variety of learning experiences.
In fact, our multi-modal instruction offers more opportunities for students to construct meaning, and practice and apply concepts than any other program. What’s more, our modular design means our units can be flexibly arranged to support your instructional goals.
Needs of Plants and Animals
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Scientists
Phenomenon: There are no monarch caterpillars in the Mariposa Grove community garden since vegetables were planted.
Pushes and Pulls
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Pinball engineers
Phenomenon: Pinball machines allow people to control the direction and strength of forces on a ball.
Sunlight and Weather
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Weather scientists
Phenomenon: Students at Carver Elementary School are too cold during morning recess, while students at Woodland Elementary School are too hot during afternoon recess.
Animal and Plant Defenses
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Spruce the Sea Turtle lives in an aquarium and will soon be released back into the ocean, where she will survive despite ocean predators.
Light and Sound
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Light and sound engineers
Phenomenon: A puppet show company uses light and sound to depict realistic scenes in puppet shows.
Spinning Earth
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Sky scientists
Phenomenon: The sky looks different to Sai and his grandma when they talk on the phone.
Plant and Animal Relationships
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Plant scientists
Phenomenon: No new chalta trees are growing in the fictional Bengal Tiger Reserve in India.
Properties of Materials
Domains: Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Glue engineers
Phenomenon: Different glue recipes result in glues that have different properties.
Changing Landforms
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: The cliff that Oceanside Recreation Center is situated on appears to be receding over time.
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Inheritance and Traits
strong>Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (Wolf 44) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Environments and Survival
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Weather and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Energy Conversions
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.
Vision and Light
Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Earth's Features
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Waves, Energy, and Information
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Modeling Matter
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
The Earth System
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering Design
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Ecosystem Restoration
Domains:Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.
Access program
Watch the video to the right showing you how to navigate our digital platform. When you’re ready, follow the instructions below to log into your live demo account.
Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Explore as a teacher with this username (t1.cartwrightsd@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password (Amplify1-cartwrightsd).
Explore as a student with this username (s1.cartwrightsd@demo.tryamplify.net) and this password (Amplify1-cartwrightsd).
Amplify Science is based on the latest research on teaching and learning and helps teachers deliver age-appropriate, high-quality, literacy-rich instruction that enables students to take on the roles of scientists and engineers to solve real-world phenomena every day.
In the 3–5 classroom, this looks like students:
Collecting evidence from a variety of sources.
Making sense of evidence in a variety of ways.
Formulating convincing scientific arguments.
Program structure
Our cyclical lesson design ensures students receive multiple exposures to concepts through a variety of modalities. As they progress through the lessons within a unit, students build and deepen their understanding, increasing their ability to develop and refine complex explanations of the unit’s phenomenon.
It’s this proven program structure and lesson design that enables Amplify Science to teach less, but achieve more. Rather than asking teachers to wade through unnecessary content, we designed our 3–5 program to address 100% of the NGSS in just 88 days.
Scope and sequence
Every year of our grades 3–5 sequence consists of 4 units and 88 lessons. Said another way, each unit contains 20 lessons plus two dedicated assessment days (a Pre-Unit Assessment and End-of-Unit Assessment).
Lessons for grades 3–5 are written to last a minimum of 60 minutes, though teachers can expand or contract the timing to meet their needs.
Unit types
Each unit delivers three-dimensional learning experiences and engages students in gathering evidence from a rich collection of sources, while also emphasizing a particular science and engineering practice.
In grades 3–5:
One unit emphasizes the practice of investigation.
One unit emphasizes the practice of modeling.
One unit emphasizes the practice of engineering design.
One unit emphasizes the practice of argumentation.
Investigation Units
Investigation units focus on the process of strategically developing investigations and gathering data to answer questions. Students are first asked to consider questions about what happens in the natural world and why, and are then involved in designing and conducting investigations that produce data to help answer those questions.
Modeling Units
Modeling units provide extra support to students engaging in the practice of modeling. Students use physical models, investigate with computer models, and create their own diagrams to help them visualize what might be happening on the nanoscale.
Engineering Design Units
Engineering design units provide opportunities for students to solve complex problems by applying science principles to the design of functional solutions, and iteratively testing those solutions to determine how well they meet preset criteria.
Argumentation units
Argumentation units provide students with regular opportunities to explore and discuss available evidence, time and support to consider how evidence may be leveraged in support of claims, and independence that increases as they mount written arguments in support of their claims.
Units at a glance
Balancing Forces
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The town of Faraday is getting a new train that floats above its tracks.
Inheritance and Traits
Domains: Life Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park (“Wolf 44”) has some traits that appear similar to one wolf pack in the park and other traits that appear to be similar to a different wolf pack.
Environments and Survival
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over the last 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed: The number of grove snails with yellow shells has decreased, while the number of snails with banded shells has increased.
Weather and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an Orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Energy Conversions
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering design
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts.
Vision and Light
Domain: Physical Science, Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Earth’s Features
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Waves, Energy, and Information
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park seem to be communicating with their calves when they are separated at a distance underwater.
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Investigation
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times — the sun during the daytime and different stars during the nighttime — but it is missing a piece.
Modeling Matter
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Modeling
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Chromatography is a process for separating mixtures. Some solids dissolve in a salad dressing while others do not. Oil and vinegar appear to separate when mixed in a salad dressing.
The Earth System
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering Design
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Ecosystem Restoration
Domains:Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Argumentation
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing and thriving.
The plea to preserve deep reading, with Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D.
A name known throughout the literacy world, Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D., directs the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles. She’s published over 170 scientific articles and four books focusing on the science of the reading brain. In this episode she discusses the reading brain in a digital context and delves into some of the tensions around literacy instruction in the present moment, including the Science of Reading beyond just phonics, the plea to preserve deep reading, and literacy and screens. She also talks about the topics she’s most focused on and the ones she feels are most pressing in general when it comes to research on the brain and literacy. And she ends with an impassioned message to teachers, expressing her deep respect and gratitude.
Maryanne Wolf advocates for children and literacy. She directs UCLA’s Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice. She has published over 170 articles and four books, including Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain; Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain; Tales of Literacy for the 21st Century: The Literary Agenda; and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World. She is a frequent speaker at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at Amplify, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“What I would say to any teacher of balanced literacy: Let us bring our best selves and expand our knowledge. We both have things we can learn from each other. ”
“Pass on why you learned to be a teacher. Pass it on to your students. Let’s make that next generation of teachers truly excited about what we can do to release the potential of every child.”
Welcome, Amplify Reading families
Welcome to the Amplify Reading Caregiver hub. We are here to support you and your child with all things Amplify!
Welcome to Amplify Reading! We know how important—and challenging—it is for parents and caregivers to support kids’ remote learning. That’s why we are here to support you. On this site, you’ll find valuable information and resources to help you guide your child as they use Amplify Reading.
What is Amplify Reading?
Amplify Reading provides your child with the opportunity to learn and practice literacy skills within an engaging story world that adapts to each student as they move through the program. Your child can learn with Amplify Reading during school hours and independently at home.
Learn about Amplify Reading in middle school here.
What is my role in Amplify Reading?
Ensuring your child can log in independently
We recommend that caregivers assist their children by helping them log in at home. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step video on how to log in to the program with the login information or QR code provided by your child’s teacher.
Note that your child may log in via Clever or another platform. Reach out to your child’s teacher if you’re unsure or did not receive login information.
Watch the video below for an overview of how to get your elementary schooler started with Amplify Reading:
How to get your child started with Amplify Reading
Tips
Practice logging in with your child consistently until they can log in independently.
Keep your child’s login information in a single place so they know where to go if they forget it!
Giving your child the time and space to play independently
Amplify Reading is personalized to your child’s needs, so you do not need to assist students with their learning. Once your child can log in, they’re ready to start using the program. Students will need headphones or to be in a quiet place when they play.
Some students will begin with a placement Quest. Their answers help the Amplify Reading program match them to the best content and games for their reading skill levels. To ensure the most accurate placement, it is important that your child complete each activity independently. If your child needs help understanding the instructions, you can refer to this instruction guide. And it is always helpful to encourage your child to have fun and do their best!
Students in grades K–5 encounter eReader texts along their adaptive learning path. These texts give students the opportunity to transfer the skills they practice in the games to actual texts. Consider watching the following read aloud videos with your child for some extra exposure to the texts and skill transfer activities, as well as opportunities for discussion.
Hedgehog and Fox – Fox keeps taunting Hedgehog that he can beat him in a race. But Hedgehog may have a trick up his sleeve that Fox doesn’t know about…
Lifting Up the Sky – A Snohomish legend that explains how the constellations came to be in the sky.
The Best Present – Anjali and Anuj try to find Mom the best birthday present while they’re at a baseball game. What will they choose?
The Big Ride – Rosa and her dad are about to go on a roller coaster, but Rosa is a little frightened. Will she enjoy it after all?
The Busy Wolf – The Big Bad Wolf wasn’t trying to be bad, he was just too busy! Join us in Bookerton to hear this spin on classic fairy tales and engage with embedded skill practice and discussion prompts!
The Day They Became Americans – Three students who were born in different countries come together on a special day when they become American citizens.
Knowing where to go for help
Whether you have questions about your technology or want to know more about the program, Amplify’s Support Team is here to help!
Contact Support via telephone at (833) 97-Care-8 (833-972-2738) or caregiver@amplify.com.
Our support hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
Frequently asked questions for caregivers
We recommend that your child use Amplify Reading two to three times per week for a weekly total of 30-45 minutes. However, your child’s teacher might have different daily or weekly recommendations.
If your child is having trouble with the content, Amplify Reading will adapt to provide your child with additional support and instructions within the game. For this reason, it is not recommended that caregivers help their child. While this can be hard, the program is carefully designed to provide the level of support your child needs to move forward.
If your child is having any technical challenges, please contact Amplify customer support at (833) 972-2738 or caregiver@amplify.com from Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. EDT and Saturday – Sunday from 10 a.m. – 6 pm. EDT.
We’re excited that you want to learn more! This recorded webinar for caregivers provides a deeper dive on the program and how you can support your child.
Welcome, Ohio educators!
Designed from the ground up to teach students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers, Amplify Science combines literacy-rich activities with hands-on learning and digital tools to engage students in exploring compelling phenomena in every unit.
Overview
Developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, our program features:
A phenomena-based approach where students construct a more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
Newly crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Hear what these educators have to say about the program. >
Engaging middle school students in complex science texts.
Elementary school
Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >
In Grades K–3 we recommend the national grade level units of Amplify Science to provide students with the appropriate grade level literacy and background knowledge. Individual units are available to purchase.
When you’re ready:
Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
Download some helpful resources to support your review.
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
Unit 1
Needs of Plants and Animals
Student role: Scientists
Phenomenon: There are no monarch caterpillars in the Mariposa Grove community garden ever since vegetables were planted.
Unit 2
Pushes and Pulls
Student role: Pinball engineers
Phenomenon: Pinball machines allow people to control the direction and strength of forces on a ball.
Unit 3
Sunlight and Weather
Student role: Weather scientists
Phenomenon: Students at one school are too cold during morning recess, while students at another are too hot during afternoon recess.
Unit 1
Animal and Plant Defenses
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Spruce the Sea Turtle will soon be released back into the ocean, where she will survive despite predators.
Unit 2
Light and Sound
Student role: Light and sound engineers
Phenomenon: A puppet show company uses light and sound to depict realistic scenes in puppet shows.
Unit 3
Spinning Earth
Student role: Sky scientists
Phenomenon: The sky looks different to Sai and his grandma when they talk on the phone at night.
Unit 1
Plant and Animal Relationships
Student role: Plant scientists
Phenomenon: No new chalta trees are growing in the fictional Bengal Tiger Reserve in India.
Unit 2
Properties of Materials
Student role: Glue engineers
Phenomenon: Different glue recipes result in glues that have different properties.
Unit 3
Changing Landforms
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: The cliff on which Oceanside Recreation Center is situated appears to be receding.
Unit 1
Balancing Forces
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.
Unit 2
Inheritance and Traits
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.
Unit 3
Environments and Survival
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.
Unit 4
Weather and Climate
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Unit 1
Energy Conversions
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.
Unit 2
Earth’s Features
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Unit 3
Modeling Matter
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Some ingredients dissolve in a salad dressing while others, like oil and vinegar, appear to separate.
Unit 4
The Earth System
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Unit 1
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times of the day, but it appears to be missing a piece.
Unit 2
Vision and Light
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Unit 3
Waves, Energy, and Information
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.
Unit 4
Ecosystem Restoration
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing or thriving.
Middle school
Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >
When you’re ready:
Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
Download some helpful resources to support your review.
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
CORE
Rock Transformations
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.
CORE
Phase Change
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Chemists
Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Phase Change Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Chemical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature.
CORE
Thermal Energy
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Thermal scientists
Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school.
LAUNCH
Microbiome
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Microbiological researchers
Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.
CORE
Metabolism
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Medical researchers
Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Metabolism Engineering Internship
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Food engineers
Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.
LAUNCH
Harnessing Human Energy
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Energy scientists
Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.
Phenomenon: Implementing a restoration project to improve the health of coral reef populations in Hawaii.
LAUNCH
Geology on Mars
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Planetary geologists
Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable.
CORE
Plate Motion
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Plate Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Patterns in earthquake data can be used to design an effective tsunami warning system.
CORE
Force and Motion
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Force and Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents.
CORE
Magnetic Fields
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.
CORE
Traits and Reproduction
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biomedical students
Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.
CORE
Natural Selection
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Natural Selection Engineering Internship
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Student role: Clinical engineers
Phenomenon: Designing malaria treatment plans that use different combinations of drugs can reduce drug resistance development while helping malaria patients.
CORE
Rock Transformations (optional)
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.
CORE
Evolutionary History
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Paleontologists
Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.
Amplify is here to help! Amplify Science will soon feature product enhancements and new resources that will help manage the new landscape of back-to-school 2020.
Ready to explore with digital access and physical samples?
Start your digital review and request physical samples with these three easy steps.
Note these Ohio specific login credentials for your digital access. Username: t.ohscience@tryamplify.net Password: AmplifyNumber1
Click Review now.
Complete the form and select Log in with Amplify to input the Ohio specific login.
Contact an Amplify representative
For any questions, fill out the form to the right and a member of our sales team will reach out to you soon.
Katie Cannon Senior Account Executive
Casie Rayes Account executive
Matt Paupore Senior Account Executive
Welcome, Nebraska educators!
Designed from the ground up for the NGSS to teach students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers, Amplify Science combines literacy-rich activities with hands-on learning and digital tools to engage students in exploring compelling phenomena in every unit.
Overview
Developed by UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, our program features:
A phenomena-based approach where students construct a more complex understanding of each unit’s anchor phenomenon.
A blend of cohesive storylines, hands-on investigations, rich discussions, literacy-rich activities, and digital tools.
Newly crafted units, chapters, lessons, and activities designed to deliver true 3-dimensional learning.
An instructional design that supports all learners in accessing all standards.
Hear what these educators have to say about the program. >
Explore your grade level
Get started by watching this class share what they’re figuring out with Amplify Science. >
Then select your grade level below to learn more about how we make this type of rich learning accessible to all students at every grade.
Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
Download some helpful resources to support your review.
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
Unit 1
Needs of Plants and Animals
Student role: Scientists
Phenomenon: There are no monarch caterpillars in the Mariposa Grove community garden ever since vegetables were planted.
Unit 2
Pushes and Pulls
Student role: Pinball engineers
Phenomenon: Pinball machines allow people to control the direction and strength of forces on a ball.
Unit 3
Sunlight and Weather
Student role: Weather scientists
Phenomenon: Students at one school are too cold during morning recess, while students at another are too hot during afternoon recess.
Unit 1
Animal and Plant Defenses
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Spruce the Sea Turtle will soon be released back into the ocean, where she will survive despite predators.
Unit 2
Light and Sound
Student role: Light and sound engineers
Phenomenon: A puppet show company uses light and sound to depict realistic scenes in puppet shows.
Unit 3
Spinning Earth
Student role: Sky scientists
Phenomenon: The sky looks different to Sai and his grandma when they talk on the phone at night.
Unit 1
Plant and Animal Relationships
Student role: Plant scientists
Phenomenon: No new chalta trees are growing in the fictional Bengal Tiger Reserve in India.
Unit 2
Properties of Materials
Student role: Glue engineers
Phenomenon: Different glue recipes result in glues that have different properties.
Unit 3
Changing Landforms
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: The cliff on which Oceanside Recreation Center is situated appears to be receding.
Unit 1
Balancing Forces
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.
Unit 2
Inheritance and Traits
Student role: Wildlife biologists
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.
Unit 3
Environments and Survival
Student role: Biomimicry engineers
Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.
Unit 4
Weather and Climate
Student role: Meteorologists
Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.
Unit 1
Energy Conversions
Student role: System engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Ergstown experiences frequent blackouts. Their electrical system seems to be failing.
Unit 2
Vision and Light
Student role: Conservation biologists
Phenomenon: The population of Tokay geckos in a rain forest in the Philippines has decreased since the installation of new highway lights.
Unit 3
Earth’s Features
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: A mysterious fossil is discovered in a canyon within the fictional Desert Rocks National Park.
Unit 4
Waves, Energy, and Information
Student role: Marine scientists
Phenomenon: Mother dolphins in the fictional Blue Bay National Park communicate with their calves despite the distance between them.
Unit 1
Patterns of Earth and Sky
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An ancient artifact depicts what we see in the sky at different times of the day, but it appears to be missing a piece.
Unit 2
Modeling Matter
Student role: Food scientists
Phenomenon: Some ingredients dissolve in a salad dressing while others, like oil and vinegar, appear to separate
Unit 3
The Earth System
Student role: Water resource engineers
Phenomenon: East Ferris, a city on one side of the fictional Ferris Island, is experiencing a water shortage, while West Ferris is not.
Unit 4
Ecosystem Restoration
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The jaguars, sloths, and cecropia trees in a reforested section of a Costa Rican rain forest are not growing or thriving.
Middle school
When you’re ready:
Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
Download some helpful resources to support your review.
Explore the digital Teacher’s Guide by clicking the orange “Review now” button.
LAUNCH
Microbiome
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Microbiological researchers
Phenomenon: The presence of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in the human body may keep the body healthy.
CORE
Metabolism
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Medical researchers
Phenomenon: Elisa, a young patient, feels tired all the time.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Metabolism Engineering Internship
Domains: Life Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Food engineers
Phenomenon: Designing health bars with different molecular compositions can effectively meet the metabolic needs of patients or rescue workers.
CORE
Traits and Reproduction
Domain: Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biomedical students
Phenomenon: Darwin’s bark spider offspring have different silk flexibility traits, even though they have the same parents.
CORE
Thermal Energy
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Thermal scientists
Phenomenon: One of two proposed heating systems for Riverdale School will best heat the school.
CORE
Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: During El Niño years, the air temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand is cooler than usual.
CORE
Weather Patterns
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic meteorologists
Phenomenon: In recent years, rainstorms in Galetown have been unusually severe.
CORE
Earth’s Changing Climate
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Climatologists
Phenomenon: The ice on Earth’s surface is melting.
Engineering Internship
Earth’s Changing Climate Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Civil engineers
Phenomenon: Designing rooftops with different modifications can reduce a city’s impact on climate change.
LAUNCH
Geology on Mars
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Planetary geologists
Phenomenon: Analyzing data about landforms on Mars can provide evidence that Mars may have once been habitable.
CORE
Plate Motion
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Mesosaurus fossils have been found on continents separated by thousands of kilometers of ocean, even though the Mesosaurus species once lived all together.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Plate Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Patterns in earthquake data can be used to design an effective tsunami warning system.
CORE
Rock Transformations
Domain: Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Geologists
Phenomenon: Rock samples from the Great Plains and from the Rocky Mountains — regions hundreds of miles apart — look very different, but have surprisingly similar mineral compositions.
CORE
Phase Change
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Chemists
Phenomenon: A methane lake on Titan no longer appears in images taken by a space probe two years apart.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Phase Change Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Chemical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing portable baby incubators with different combinations of phase change materials can keep babies at a healthy temperature.
CORE
Chemical Reactions
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Forensic chemists
Phenomenon: A mysterious brown substance has been detected in the tap water of Westfield.
CORE
Populations and Resources
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The size of the moon jelly population in Glacier Sea has increased.
CORE
Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Ecologists
Phenomenon: The biodome ecosystem has collapsed.
LAUNCH
Harnessing Human Energy
Domains: Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Engineering Design
Unit type: Launch
Student role: Energy scientists
Phenomenon: Rescue workers can use their own human kinetic energy to power the electrical devices they use during rescue missions.
CORE
Force and Motion
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: The asteroid sample-collecting pod failed to dock at the space station as planned.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Force and Motion Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Physical Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Mechanical engineering interns
Phenomenon: Designing emergency supply delivery pods with different structures can maintain the integrity of the supply pods and their contents.
CORE
Magnetic Fields
Domain: Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Physicists
Phenomenon: During a test launch, a spacecraft traveled much faster than expected.
CORE
Light Waves
Domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Spectroscopists
Phenomenon: The rate of skin cancer is higher in Australia than in other parts of the world.
CORE
Earth, Moon, and Sun
Domains: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Astronomers
Phenomenon: An astrophotographer can only take pictures of specific features on the Moon at certain times.
CORE
Natural Selection
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Biologists
Phenomenon: The newt population in Oregon State Park has become more poisonous over time.
ENGINEERING INTERNSHIP
Natural Selection Engineering Internship
Domains: Engineering Design, Life Science
Unit type: Engineering internship
Student role: Clinical engineers
Phenomenon: Designing malaria treatment plans that use different combinations of drugs can reduce drug resistance development while helping malaria patients.
CORE
Evolutionary History
Domains: Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Unit type: Core
Student role: Paleontologists
Phenomenon: A mystery fossil at the Natural History Museum has similarities with both wolves and whales.
Resources to support your review
Select a topic below to explore helpful resources with more information about Amplify Science, the program’s development, and pedagogy.
Amplify is here to help! Amplify Science will soon feature product enhancements and new resources that will help manage the new landscape of back-to-school 2020.
Amplify Science California is so effective you can cover 100% of the NGSS in half the time of other programs.
You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing all you need is:
88 days per year
2-3 lessons per week
45 minutes per lesson
What students learn
Lauren Learner loves science. Watch this video to find out what she learns in third grade. >
When you’re ready:
Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
Click on the orange “See how the unit works” link to download a helpful Unit Guide. These guides make great companions to busy reviewers looking for a big-picture understanding of how each unit works.
Unit 1
Balancing Forces
Student role: Engineers
Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.
Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.
Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.
Tom Teacher feels confident delivering 3-D instruction with our resources by his side. Watch this video to learn more. >
When you’re ready:
Scroll down and take a closer look at your classroom resources.
Click on the orange links below each component to see grade-specific samples.
Classroom Slides
These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.
Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.
Login to platform below to access
Materials Kits
Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumable items to support 72 students. In other words, each kit can last two years! Plus, our unit-specific kits mean you just grab the tub you need and then put it all back with ease.
Our award-winning Student Books include content-rich nonfiction and informational texts designed to introduce concepts and also deepen understanding. Books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher in whole-class, small-groups, and student pairs.
Our digital Practice Tools feature easy-to-use drag-and-drop and data-entry activities that support the practice of important SEPs like sorting, modeling, or visualizing information. Practice Tools can be used as a whole group, in small groups, or with a partner.
Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.
Our exclusive partnership with Mystery Science means you get our NGSS core curriculum plus two years of free access to Mystery Doug and his extensive library of captivating videos that deepen students’ understanding of each unit’s phenomenon.
Unlike other publishers, we don’t make you wait until your next adoption to get the latest and greatest from Amplify. We’re always launching new and exciting features. What’s more, we’ll push them out to you even after you adopt us!
Welcome to the Amplify Science classroom showcase!
The Amplify Science K–8 curriculum blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists.
Discover inspiring classroom examples and teacher resources from educators nationwide who are bringing Amplify Science to life.
Want to showcase your classroom?
We love seeing how you bring learning to life! Share photos to inspire fellow educators.
Classroom Wall
Every Amplify Science unit includes a Classroom Wall that grows and evolves as students build understanding. Here are a few examples from real Amplify Science classrooms!
Grades K–5
Credit: Shannon Cox, Sabine Parish School District, LA
Credit: Rebecca Steindler O’Brien, P.S. 051 The Elias Howe School, NY
Credit: Veeh Nguyen, Belle Chasse Academy, LA
Credit: Brittney Gooden, LaSalle Parish, LA
Credit: Buffy Scott Marcantel, Maplewood Elementary, LA
Credit: Chrissy Campenni, Wyoming Area School District, PA
Credit: Christy Flynn, Grant Parish School Board, LA
Credit: William Howard Taft Elementary School, OH
Credit: Cristina Cullen, Glendora Unified School District, CA
Grades 6–8
Credit: Erica Fernandez, Elsinore Middle School, CA
Credit: Sheyenne Cahalan, Knox County R-1 School District, MO
Credit: Joshua Ryan Abellera, Fertitta Middle School, NV
Credit: Karen Wynne, Portola Middle School, CA
Credit: Crystal Cuaron Baker, Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
Credit: Natalia Seoane, Heritage Intermediate School, CA
Credit: Lisa Anglim, Elizabeth Ustach Middle School, CA
Credit: Maria Katsanos, New York City Public Schools, NY
Credit: Lindsey Hampf, Upper Township School District, NJ
Credit: Anna Radef, Cadwallader Middle School, NV
Credit: Jessica Kruger, Gardner International, MI
Credit: Albert Hutchful, Clark County School District, NV
Credit: Kim Eich, Anoka-Hennepin Public School District 1, MN
Credit: Shannon Cox, Sabine Parish School District, LA
Credit: Anna Radef, Clark County School District, NV
Hands-on science activities
Students engage in hands-on science activities throughout Amplify Science. These photos capture curiosity in action and showcase real students exploring, building, testing, and investigating in Amplify Science classrooms.
Grades K–5
Grade 1: Animal and Plant Defenses Designing animal defenses during the Animal and Plant Defenses unit Credit: Veeh Nguyen, Belle Chasse Academy, LA
Grade 1: Light and Sound Exploring shadows for the Light and Sound unit Credit: Brittney Gooden, LaSalle Parish, LA
Grade 1: Light and Sound Investigating vibrations during the Light and Sound unit Credit: Jennifer Baker, Rapides Parish School Board, LA
Grade 1: Light and Sound Puppet show for the Light and Sound unit Credit: Anna Dardar, Rapides Parish School Board, LA
Grade 2: Changing Landforms Exploring sand samples for the Changing Landforms unit Credit: Rebecca Steindler O’Brien, P.S. 051 The Elias Howe School, NY
Grade 3: Balancing Forces Exploring forces with magnet tricks for the Balancing Forces unit Credit: Maureen Patt, Broad Street Elementary School, NH
Grade 3: Inheritance and Traits Imaginary clay creatures to investigate traits in real organisms for the Inheritance and Traits unit Credit: Maribel Ramos, Esperanza Academy Charter School, PA
Grade 3: Inheritance and Traits Students showing off their knowledge for the Inheritance and Traits unit by creating their own drawings. Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 3: Inheritance and Traits Determining which offspring belong to which set of parent pigeons based on similar traits for the Inheritance and Traits unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 3: Inheritance and Traits Using celery as a real-life example of how the environment can impact traits, during the Inheritance and Traits unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 3: Environments and Survival Modeling how ruby-throated hummingbirds with different traits meet their need for food during the Environments and Survival unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 3: Weather and Climate Learning the best ways to collect, measure, and compare rainfall data for the Weather and Climate unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 4: Energy Conversions Students created their own simple systems using a solar panel, alligator clips, wires, an LED light, and a buzzer during the Energy Conversions unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 4: Energy Conversions Designing wind turbines during the Energy Conversions unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 4: Vision and Light Planning vision models for the Vision and Light unit Credit: Maribel Ramos, Esperanza Academy Charter School, PA
Grade 4: Vision and Light Writing a scientific explanation for the Vision and Light unit Credit: Chrissy Campenni, Wyoming Area School District, PA
Grade 5: Patterns of Earth and Sky Investigating daytime and nighttime during the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 5: Patterns of Earth and Sky Hands-On Flextension: Making artifacts for the Patterns of Earth and Sky unit Credit: Adriana Barrera, J.W. Bishop Elementary School, TX
Grade 5: Modeling Matter Flavor ingredients test for the Modeling Matter unit Credit: Kevin Butters, Grand Island Public Schools, NE
Grade 5: Modeling Matter Testing ingredients to make salad dressing during the Modeling Matter unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 5: Modeling Matter Discussing solubility and attraction during the Modeling Matter unit Credit: Cristina Cullen, Glendora Unified School District, CA
Grade 5: The Earth System Designing freshwater systems for The Earth System unit Credit: Sandi O’Brien, Parkmead Elementary School, CA
Grade 5: Ecosystem Restoration Building terrariums for the Ecosystem Restoration unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 5: Ecosystem Restoration Leaves and Roots game board from the Ecosystem Restoration unit Credit: Cyndi Thompson Crouch, Smithville School District, MO
Grade 5: Ecosystem Restoration Food web models with students’ favorite stuffed animals for the Ecosystem Restoration unit Credit: Halli Trinker, Boonton Township School District, NJ
Grades 6–8
Grade 6: Microbiome Drawing scale models of microorganisms for the Microbiome unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 6: Microbiome Hands-On Flextension: Investigating microscopic evidence of life for the Microbiome unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 6: Metabolism Investigating chemical reactions with water, phenol red, baking soda, and calcium chloride for the Metabolism unit Credit: Jessica Kruger, Gardner International Magnet School, MI
Grade 6: Metabolism Introducing the classroom body systems model for the Metabolism unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 6: Metabolism Engineering Internship Healthy bars for the Metabolism Engineering Internship Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 6: Thermal Energy Simulating hot and cold water during the Thermal Energy unit Credit: Whitney Stewart, Rapides Parish School Board, LA
Grade 6: Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate Playing the Ocean Currents game for the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 6: Weather Patterns Modeling a warm air parcel for the Weather Patterns unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 7: Geology on Mars The Flowing Water Model for the Geology on Mars unit Credit: Kim Eich, Anoka-Hennepin Public School District 1, MN
Grade 7: Plate Motion Engineering Internship Modeling a tsunami wave for Plate Motion Engineering Internship Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 7: Chemical Reactions Investigating substance changes for the Chemical Reactions unit Credit: Ashlie Beals Arkwright, SCAPA at Bluegrass, KY
Grade 7: Populations and Resources Conducting a yeast experiment during the Populations and Resources unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 8: Harnessing Human Energy Investigating energy systems for the Harnessing Human Energy unit Credit: Lisa Anglim, Elizabeth Ustach Middle School, CA
Grade 8: Force and Motion Investigating forces on different objects for the Force and Motion unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 8: Force and Motion Engineering Internship Designing an Egg Drop Model during the Force and Motion Engineering Internship Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 8: Magnetic Fields Hands-On Flextension: Exploring electrostatic force for the Magnetic Fields unit Credit: Melanie Wenger, Lincoln Park Middle School, NJ
Grade 8: Light Waves Students observing that light can cause materials to heat up, change color, and move for the Light Waves unit Credit: Gloria Davis, Panama-Buena Vista Unified School District, CA
Grade 8: Light Waves Students discover what happens to light as it travels for the Light Waves unit Credit: Gloria Davis, Panama-Buena Vista Unified School District, CA
Grade 8: Light Waves Students participating in a fishbowl discussion to share observations and evidence for the Light Waves unit Credit: Gloria Davis, Panama-Buena Vista Unified School District, CA
Grade 8: Earth, Moon, and Sun Paper model of the Moon’s phases for Earth, Moon, and Sun unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
Grade 8: Evolutionary History Hands-On Flextension: Reconstructing owl pellet skeletons for the Evolutionary History unit Credit: Elizabeth DeBoo, St. Frances Cabrini Academy, MO
What is mCLASS?
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Text Reading and Comprehension (a.k.a. running records via mCLASS: Reading 3D)
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support the use of running records?
Track your students’ reading progress from every angle with the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment. When TRC is paired with the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment, classroom teachers unlock the ability to record reading behaviors through running digital records. Available in English and Spanish, it measures reading comprehension and provides insight into how each student finds meaning in text.
Measures include:
Lesson plans for whole class, small-group, and one-on-one instruction.
Small-group advisor, which organizes students into groups based on strengths and gaps.
Item-level advisor, which drills deep into student responses to uncover patterns, strengths, and gaps.
Instructional resources for each student’s parent/guardian(s).
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a proprietary scoring algorithm that pinpoints a student’s specific area(s) of growth and improvement, providing classroom teachers in-depth insight into a students’ instructional needs.
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
Find the Class/Group dropdown field and select Grade 1.
Right above the Class Summary, click Beginning of Year or Middle of Year and explore the data.
Scroll down to the class list. Each column within the class list is sortable by clicking the double arrow in the column header.
Click on any score to see the measure transcript.
Click on a student’s name to see historical data and progress monitoring graphs.
After exploring the Benchmark tab in the purple bar:
Click on the Instruction tab.
If you don’t see groups, click Updated recommendations.
Explore freely! The Groups, Students, and All Activities tabs have rich information.
Click the Progress tab.
Click on Home Connect to see a sample of our caregiver letters.
What is mCLASS?
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators across the state are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
How is mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a scoring algorithm which aligns to the Colorado Department of Education’s stated purpose of a diagnostic assessment.
Our innovative approach to diagnostic assessment leverages an item-level evaluation of individual student responses in order to provide deeper insights into specific student weaknesses and areas of improvement. mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a scoring algorithm which aligns to the Colorado Department of Education’s stated purpose of a diagnostic: “… to pinpoint a student’s specific area(s) of weakness and provide in-depth information about students’ skills and instructional needs.”
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Colorado READ Plans
Amplify recommends that a student who is categorized by the DIBELS 8th Edition composite score as “At High Risk” (denoted in all reports as “red”) be considered as potentially having a “Significant Reading Deficiency,” then further diagnosed using mCLASS’ Instruction diagnostics.
When devising a READ Plan, teachers and instructional staff should first consider students at high risk on DIBELS 8th Edition as potentially having a “Significant Reading Deficiency,” and eligible for a READ Plan. Students are then further diagnosed using mCLASS’ Instruction diagnostics. When devising a READ Plan, teachers can rely on the relevant mCLASS Instruction and Reports to comply with the READ Act.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Explore our self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
Looking to speak directly with your Colorado representative? Get in touch with a team member by emailing HelloColorado@amplify.com or by calling us directly.
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Text Reading and Comprehension (a.k.a. running records via mCLASS: Reading 3D)
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support the use of running records?
Track your students’ reading progress from every angle with the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment. When TRC is paired with the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment, classroom teachers unlock the ability to record reading behaviors through running digital records. Available in English and Spanish, it measures reading comprehension and provides insight into how each student finds meaning in text.
Measures include:
Lesson plans for whole class, small-group, and one-on-one instruction.
Small-group advisor, which organizes students into groups based on strengths and gaps.
Item-level advisor, which drills deep into student responses to uncover patterns, strengths, and gaps.
Instructional resources for each student’s parent/guardian(s).
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a proprietary scoring algorithm that pinpoints a student’s specific area(s) of growth and improvement, providing classroom teachers in-depth insight into a students’ instructional needs.
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
What is mCLASS?
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Text Reading and Comprehension (a.k.a. running records via mCLASS: Reading 3D)
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support the use of running records?
Track your students’ reading progress from every angle with the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment. When TRC is paired with the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment, classroom teachers unlock the ability to record reading behaviors through running digital records. Available in English and Spanish, it measures reading comprehension and provides insight into how each student finds meaning in text.
Measures include:
Lesson plans for whole class, small-group, and one-on-one instruction.
Small-group advisor, which organizes students into groups based on strengths and gaps.
Item-level advisor, which drills deep into student responses to uncover patterns, strengths, and gaps.
Instructional resources for each student’s parent/guardian(s).
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a proprietary scoring algorithm that pinpoints a student’s specific area(s) of growth and improvement, providing classroom teachers in-depth insight into a students’ instructional needs.
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
Find the Class/Group dropdown field and select Grade 1.
Right above the Class Summary, click Beginning of Year or Middle of Year and explore the data.
Scroll down to the class list. Each column within the class list is sortable by clicking the double arrow in the column header.
Click on any score to see the measure transcript.
Click on a student’s name to see historical data and progress monitoring graphs.
After exploring the Benchmark tab in the purple bar:
Click on the Instruction tab.
If you don’t see groups, click Updated recommendations.
Explore freely! The Groups, Students, and All Activities tabs have rich information.
Click the Progress tab.
Click on Home Connect to see a sample of our caregiver letters.
What is mCLASS?
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Text Reading and Comprehension (a.k.a. running records via mCLASS: Reading 3D)
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
What makes mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support the use of running records?
Track your students’ reading progress from every angle with the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) assessment. When TRC is paired with the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment, classroom teachers unlock the ability to record reading behaviors through running digital records. Available in English and Spanish, it measures reading comprehension and provides insight into how each student finds meaning in text.
Measures include:
Lesson plans for whole class, small-group, and one-on-one instruction.
Small-group advisor, which organizes students into groups based on strengths and gaps.
Item-level advisor, which drills deep into student responses to uncover patterns, strengths, and gaps.
Instructional resources for each student’s parent/guardian(s).
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a proprietary scoring algorithm that pinpoints a student’s specific area(s) of growth and improvement, providing classroom teachers in-depth insight into a students’ instructional needs.
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
Find the Class/Group dropdown field and select Grade 1.
Right above the Class Summary, click Beginning of Year or Middle of Year and explore the data.
Scroll down to the class list. Each column within the class list is sortable by clicking the double arrow in the column header.
Click on any score to see the measure transcript.
Click on a student’s name to see historical data and progress monitoring graphs.
After exploring the Benchmark tab in the purple bar:
Click on the Instruction tab.
If you don’t see groups, click Updated recommendations.
Explore freely! The Groups, Students, and All Activities tabs have rich information.
Click the Progress tab.
Click on Home Connect to see a sample of our caregiver letters.
What is mCLASS?
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Targeted teacher-led instruction with ready-to-use mini-lessons
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus assessment on priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in PA skills without the additional FSF measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For NWF, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, ORF assessment will take a third of the time.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators across the state are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
How is mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a innovative scoring algorithm that leverages an item-level evaluation of individual student responses in order to provide deeper insights into specific student weaknesses and areas of improvement.
Ready-to-teach instruction
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Explore our self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
mCLASS is a best-in-class assessment platform that houses a suite of proven, gold-standard assessment measures and tools that can be flexibly combined to meet the unique literacy needs of both teachers and students across grades K–6, including:
Universal screening
Diagnostic assessment
Dyslexia screening
Progress monitoring
Dual language reporting
Targeted teacher-led instruction
What is the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment?
Developed by the University of Oregon, the DIBELS 8th Edition is the latest version of the DIBELS® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment.
With this latest version, the University of Oregon Center on Teaching and Learning (UO CTL) made significant efforts to ensure measures would meet state-level screening requirements for universal screening, diagnostic assessment, and dyslexia screening. To support this, measures were updated based on the latest research to meet increased standards of reliability and validity. In addition, adaptive procedures and discontinue rules focus on the assessment of priority skills and prevent over-testing.
Summary of changes:
Consistent measures within grades will provide improved growth measurement.
All subtests have been revised to be grade-specific and to increase in difficulty, covering a full progression of skills and minimizing floor and ceiling effects. This provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate what they know and further pinpoint what they don’t know.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency replaces First Sound Fluency. The expanded coverage minimizes floor effect and provides information about difficulty in Phonemic Awareness skills without the additional First Sound Fluency measure.
A new subtest, Word Reading Fluency, helps identify students with poor sight word reading skills that other subtests miss.
For all measures, the basic scoring procedures remain the same. For Nonsense Word Fluency, credit is given for recording words as whole words even if the student misses in the first attempt.
Oral Reading Fluency is now only one passage, instead of three. Retell has been removed. Thus, Oral Reading Fluency assessment will take a third of the time.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition combines the power of the mCLASS assessment platform and the effectiveness of the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment measures. As a result – educators across the state are empowered with the latest and greatest assessment tool.
More than a test, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition is an integrated system that closes the knowing-doing gap by helping teachers take immediate instructional action that’s right for each and every student.
Assessment systems must enable and compel educators to answer not just the “What” questions, but also the “So What” and “Now What” questions. These are the questions that are essential in transforming classroom instruction, and the questions that mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition helps teachers answer with confidence.
How is mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition different?
It gives teachers access to the latest digital version of the DIBELS assessment. Amplify is the only licensed provider of the digital DIBELS 8th Edition assessment. As such, our solution is the only one to enhance the DIBELS 8th Edition assessment with the power, reliability, and quickness of the mCLASS system.
It makes it faster and easier to understand where every student is in their early literacy journey. By combining 1:1 observational diagnostic assessments, dyslexia screening, progress monitoring, instant scoring, rigorous reporting, automatic student grouping, and targeted instruction all in one place, it reduces the instructional delays associated with manual scoring, manual data analysis, and manual lesson planning.
It brings more equity to the classroom. When used in conjunction with mCLASS Lectura, teachers have access to dual language reports that highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses in both English and Spanish.
It makes every instructional minute count. In addition to one-minute measures that quickly gauge student progress toward reading proficiency, it leverages a teacher’s most powerful instructional tool — their own 1:1 observations.
It drives growth more efficiently. Rather than relying on broad composite scores alone, granular data and in-depth insights for every student help teachers pinpoint exact skill gaps and areas of unfinished learning, making whole-group, small-group, and 1:1 instruction more targeted and effective.
It saves teachers time. Instant reports, automatic student groups, and ready-to-teach lessons mean teachers spend less time cobbling together materials and more time working directly with students and responding to their needs.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition support screening for dyslexia risk?
DIBELS 8th Edition measures have been updated based on the latest research. They now offer stronger measures of processing speed, phonological awareness, and alphabetic principles for dyslexia screening purposes.
To support this, a new subtest in Word Reading Fluency was introduced and revisions were made to Letter Naming Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Fluency subtests to improve their ability to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. These measures provide early warning signs for neurological processing difficulties that contribute to risk for dyslexia (Wolf & Bowers, 1999; Denckla & Rudel, 1974).
Moreover, measures in Oral Language and Vocabulary are included to provide additional information to help evaluate additional risk areas associated with dyslexia risk.
How does mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition turn data into instant action?
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition gives you instant results and clear next steps for each student.
Quick and actionable reports provide detailed insight into students’ reading development across foundational literacy skills for teachers, specialists, administrators, and caregivers.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a scoring algorithm which aligns to the Colorado Department of Education’s stated purpose of a diagnostic assessment.
Our innovative approach to diagnostic assessment leverages an item-level evaluation of individual student responses in order to provide deeper insights into specific student weaknesses and areas of improvement. mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition analyzes individual student response data through a scoring algorithm which aligns to the Colorado Department of Education’s stated purpose of a diagnostic: “… to pinpoint a student’s specific area(s) of weakness and provide in-depth information about students’ skills and instructional needs.”
For a full list of diagnostic observations, click the button below to download the Digital Assessment Materials navigation guide.
Immediately following the analysis of individual student responses, mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides an in-depth diagnostic report complete with suggested next steps, also known as “mCLASS Instruction.”
mCLASS Instruction evaluates each student’s responses on each individual subtest and instantly:
Provides a list of specific needs by student, such as struggling with medial vowel sounds or difficulty reading words with consonant blends.
Groups students automatically based on similar discrete skill needs, not simply composite scores like other assessment tools.
Recommends a variety of ready-to-teach lessons that specifically target each individual student’s areas of need or common areas of need for small-group instruction.
Classroom skill and benchmark summary
The Classroom Skill Summary report is a dashboard showing benchmark performance on each skill. Teachers can use it to determine which skill areas need instructional focus at a classroom level.
The Classroom Benchmark Summary report is a classroom-wide view of overall reading performance. Teachers can use this report to determine if composite scores improved, declined, or remained the same each semester.
Detailed benchmark performance
Teachers can see each student’s performance during the current school year, on each subtest as well as the overall composite. The benchmark goal displays below the subtest name when applicable. The ability to sort the columns in this report gives teachers more flexibility to analyze data the way they prefer.
Dyslexia screening
Identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia, based on their results from foundational skills measures and additional measures as needed by local policies.
Progress monitoring summary
See which subtests have been assessed since the most recent benchmark assessment, how students performed on the three most recent progress monitoring assessments for each measure, and which students have not been progress monitored since the benchmark assessment.
Goal setting tool
The Zones of Growth (ZoG) analysis uses a rich set of national data to determine student goals for the next benchmark period. Teachers can use the Goal Setting Tool to view these recommended goals or modify the default goals for individual students as they see fit, if the default goal is too challenging or not challenging enough.
Growth outcomes
Teachers and interventionists can see each student’s actual growth achieved and how it compares to the goal that was set for the student.
Colorado READ Plans
Amplify recommends that a student who is categorized by the DIBELS 8th Edition composite score as “At High Risk” (denoted in all reports as “red”) be considered as potentially having a “Significant Reading Deficiency,” then further diagnosed using mCLASS’ Instruction diagnostics.
When devising a READ Plan, teachers and instructional staff should first consider students at high risk on DIBELS 8th Edition as potentially having a “Significant Reading Deficiency,” and eligible for a READ Plan. Students are then further diagnosed using mCLASS’ Instruction diagnostics. When devising a READ Plan, teachers can rely on the relevant mCLASS Instruction and Reports to comply with the READ Act.
Caregiver supports
The mCLASS Home Connect websitehouses literacy resources for parents and caregivers, including at-home lessons organized by skill. Our mCLASS parent/caregiver letters in English and Spanish ensure that families know how to best support their child.
Explore our self-guided tour
Our self-guided tour is a great way to orient yourself to the organization of our mCLASS platform. Click the button below to get started.
Looking to speak directly with your Colorado representative? Get in touch with a team member by emailing HelloColorado@amplify.com or by calling us directly.
You know how engaged middle-school students are—in their own emotions, relationships, and TikToks. How do you engage them in your ELA classroom?
It’s tough! It’s not just about holding their attention while they’re in class. We need to provide the kind of real engagement that leads to real learning.
Research confirms (not surprisingly) that getting middle schoolers ready for college and career depends on it, and requires a truly engaging ELA curriculum.
The stakes are high. Sixth-grade students who fail a literacy course are more than 50% more likely to not graduate from high school.
Yet, on average, middle-school ELA students spend less than 20% of class time engaged with the text. In a 50-minute class period, that’s only 10 minutes of text.
At Amplify, we believe greater engagement with text is key not only for ELA success, but for all academics. That’s why we created these four actionable principles of middle-school ELA engagement.
Middle-school is a moment—one we must seize.
First, here’s why middle schoolers require an approach and curriculum designed just for them.
Young people at middle-school age are becoming increasingly independent, and increasingly self-conscious. They need to feel respected and safe when they participate, especially when they make mistakes. They’re super focused on their peers, but they still depend on guidance from you.
There’s a lot going on in their worlds, and there’s a lot going on in their brains. In fact, early adolescence is the second-biggest stage of rapid brain development.
The development is happening largely in the prefrontal cortex. It’s the area that brain researcher Maryanne Wolf calls “the cognitive workspace.” When it comes to middle-school ELA curriculum, we want to use strategies that engage students in using their cognitive workspaces.
The 4 principles of middle-school engagement
We believe these four principles are most essential to engaging middle-school students in developing their literacy skills—and becoming confident, active learners.
Enable all students to work up. Provide multiple entry points and scaffolds so that every student can find their way into a text or activity. Here are some differentiation strategies:
Incorporate multimedia. Often a video dramatization or audio recording can help students connect with a complex text.
Scaffold with passage previews, read-alongs, and questions that make students want to re-read.
Don’t forget vocab! Daily practice makes a huge difference, especially with assignments designed to challenge students at their level.
Provide just right feedback. At this age, it’s important for students to see opportunity rather than failure.
Quick over-the-shoulder notes feel actionable and encouraging.
Training all students to offer helpful comments creates a positive vibe around feedback.
Focusing on specifics helps students know how to proceed and improve.
Engage multiple modalities, especially collaboration. Students comprehend text in all sorts of ways—hearing, speaking, writing, seeing, performing, and more. Try alternate modalities like dramatic readings or debates, which also give students the benefits of working together.
Promote critical thinking. This one’s the biggest idea beneath all the others.
To be fully engaged, middle schoolers need to know that their work is relevant and recognized. A truly engaging curriculum supports a range of observations and interpretations. Some approaches:
Be clear that the text, not the teacher, has the answers. Ask questions like “How did you get to that response?” Help students follow this rule: If you can justify it in the text, you can hold on to your interpretation.
Guide students to develop theories rather than get it right. For example, ask questions like “Why does (or doesn’t) this make sense?”
Try the Socratic style. Emphasizing inquiry and discussion brings home the power of open-ended questions. It also positions the teacher as facilitator, not deliverer of all knowledge.
These principles won’t just help your students get through middle-school—they’ll help you get through to your middle schoolers.
Learn more.
Read more about Amplify ELA, including an overview of the components of the curriculum in grades 6–8.
mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition for Colorado
Welcome to the Interactive Classroom trial!
Season 10, Episode 3
Finding fluency at the heart of comprehension, with Doug Lemov
In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Doug Lemov, former teacher and school principal, to discuss how teachers can identify when disfluency is actually the root cause for students’ struggles with comprehension—and what they can do about it. Using his new book, The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading, to guide the discussion, Susan and Doug address building attention stamina, the argument for reading whole books, and the value of expressive read-alouds. Finally, Doug ends the episode asserting that humans are meant to live in community, and that a deeper level of comprehension is unlocked through empathic connection to text and the experience of reading with others.
Doug Lemov is a former teacher and school principal whose books describe the techniques of high-performing teachers. His best-known book, Teach Like a Champion, has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading, published in July 2025 and co-written with Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway, looks at how cognitive science can be better applied to the teaching of reading. Doug holds a bachelor’s in English from Hamilton College, a master’s in English Literature from Indiana University, and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is Chief Academic Officer of Literacy at Amplify and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. A former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, she’s dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Quotes
“When you know the science, you should have the autonomy to make real decisions and to solve problems in your classroom. That's how education works.”
“If you're not a fluent reader, you can't be a deep reader.”
“The research is clear that when you start to read expressively externally, then your internal reading voice while reading silently is much more expressive and therefore infused with more meaning.”
“Fluent reading, when it includes prosody, is meaning made audible.”
“I just think it's easy for us to overlook how profoundly groupish we are, how we yearn for group formation, how stories, when they're told well, when they're shared, they bind us together in an experience.”
“When we're sharing this experience that we're able to connect with the text itself, we're able to infuse some meaning through how we're reading that text. That lends us to a depth of comprehension that's really where we want any reader to get to.”
“Comprehension just isn't coming out of a book knowing what the author said; it’s deeply connected to the content that you just experienced.”
