Is the Science of Reading the same as phonics?

The Science of Reading has identified five foundational reading skills that are considered crucial for early reading development. One of those skills is phonics. In other words, the Science of Reading has established that phonics are crucial, but the Science of Reading is not the same as phonics. Phonics instruction helps students learn how to sound out and blend letters to read words accurately. As we know from the Simple View of Reading, two fundamental skills are required for reading with comprehension: Decoding—the ability to recognize written words (via phonics) Language comprehension—understanding what words mean And the Science of Reading also reminds us that students do not have to learn phonics or decoding before knowledge comes into the equation. “The background knowledge that children bring to a text is also a contributor to language comprehension,” says Sonia Cabell, Ph.D., associate professor at Florida State University’s School of Teacher Education, on Science of Reading: The Podcast.

What Amplify programs utilize the Science of Reading?

Actually, we have a full literacy suite built on the Science of Reading! It includes: mCLASS® assessment, powered by DIBELS® 8th Edition, a gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener, plus a progress monitoring tool, all in one. Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), which provides explicit, systematic foundational skills instruction combined with intentional knowledge building. Boost Reading, a highly adaptive personalized reading program that reinforces the core curriculum and supports enrichment, remediation, and intervention for each student in your classroom. mCLASS Intervention, a staff-led intervention program targeted to Tiers 2 and 3, made easy with automatic data-driven grouping and sequenced explicit, systematic skills lesson plans to support at-risk students.

Sessions overview

Audience	Title	Duration	Modality	Available
K–2 teachers	National Edition Language Studio initial training	Half day	Onsite/Remote	Yes
K–2 teachers	California Edition Language Studio Initial Training	Half day	Onsite/Remote	Yes
3–5 teachers	California Edition Language Studio initial training	Half day	Onsite/Remote	Yes
K–5 teachers	Writing Studio initial training	Half day	Onsite/Remote	Yes

K–2 teachers

National Edition Language Studio initial training for K–2 teachers

Half day (3 hours)

Prepare to implement the K–2 National Edition Language Studio program in your classroom! Understand the framework of the program, the structure of materials, and key lesson elements. Participants will practice identifying key instructional actions during observations and leave with an annotated lesson plan.

Note: This session is aligned to WIDA standards.

Audience: K–2 Language Studio teachers (instructional leaders welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

California Edition Language Studio initial training for K–2 teachers

Half day (3 hours)

Prepare to implement the K–2 California Edition Language Studio program in your classroom! Understand the framework of the program, the structure of materials, and key lesson elements. Participants will practice identifying key instructional actions during observations and leave with an annotated lesson plan.

Note: This session is aligned to CA ELD standards.

Audience: K–2 Language Studio teachers (instructional leaders welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

3–5 teachers

California Edition initial training for 3–5 teachers

Half day (3 hours)

Prepare to implement the 3–5 California Edition Language Studio program in your classroom. Understand the framework of the program, the structure of materials, and key lesson elements. Participants will practice identifying key instructional actions during observations and leave with an annotated lesson plan.

Note: This session is aligned to CA ELD standards.

Audience: 3–5 Language Studio teachers (instructional leaders welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

K–5 teachers

Writing Studio initial training for K–5 teachers

Half day (3 hours)

Prepare to implement the K–5 Writing Studio program in your classroom! Understand the framework of the program, the structure of materials, and key lesson elements. Participants will practice identifying key instructional actions during observations and leave with a weekly plan.

Audience: K–5 Writing Studio teachers (instructional leaders welcome), maximum 30 participants
Modality: Onsite/Remote

Pricing

We offer the following pricing for training sessions and packages:

Session type	Pricing
Half-day onsite session	$2,500
Half-day remote session	$750

Contact

Amplify welcomes the opportunity to partner with schools and districts to design professional development plans and answer your questions.

If you would like to order any of our professional development services, please contact your local Amplify sales representative or call (800) 823-1969.

Amplify Desmos Math California

Welcome, K–8 Reviewers!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify Desmos Math California. We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California Math Framework to life in classrooms across the state.

Please start with the video on the right to learn how to navigate the program and access key features referenced within our submission. Below you’ll find additional resources to support your review.

Your Review Samples

As a curriculum that incorporates both print and digital resources, it’s important that you explore both our physical materials (delivered to you in grade-specific tubs) and our digital materials (accessible through our platform). We invite you to explore both types of resources using the instructions and tips below.

Print Samples

Your print samples should have arrived in grade-specific tubs with a copy of two Reviewer binders. The K-5 Reviewer binder is contained within the Grade K shipping box and the Grade 6-8 Reviewer binder can be located in the Grade 6 shipping box. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each tub as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital Samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log into our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Access Flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Access Flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation Tips

Below you will find helpful tips for navigating Amplify Desmos Math California. We recommend reading these pages alongside the program’s print materials and digital experience to gain a deeper understanding of the program.

Click the links below to read about navigating program features including:

Built for California

The Amplify Desmos Math California program is designed around the vision articulated in the California Mathematics Framework to enable all California students to become powerful users of mathematics. Our program incorporates the latest research in student learning, meaning that we:

Focus on the Big Ideas: Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons.
Center on open and engaging tasks: Amplify Desmos Math California is grounded in engaging tasks meant to address students’ often-asked question: “Why am I learning this?” Students are invited into learning with low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that provide an entry point for all. Open tasks in Amplify Desmos Math California provide the space for students to try on multiple strategies and represent their thinking in different ways, and allow student explanation and discussion to serve as the center of the classroom. All lessons offer both print and digital representations of lessons.
Provide enhanced digital experiences: Amplify Desmos Math California includes digitally-enhanced lesson activities, incorporating interactive digital tools alongside print materials. These purposefully-placed resources allow students to visualize mathematical concepts, receive actionable feedback while practicing, encounter personalized learning support from an onscreen tutor, and engage in discussions about their thinking and approaches.
Treat core instruction and differentiation as integral partners: The Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks. Every activity has multiple entry points to ensure that all students are supported and challenged. Intervention and personalized learning activities are directly connected to lesson content and offer students the individualized support as they dive into the mathematics.

Category 1: Mathematics Content/Alignment with the Standards

Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify Desmos Math California for each grade level.

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked here is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The links below provide the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the Standards for Mathematical Practice at each grade level.

Drivers of Investigation and Content Connections

Amplify Desmos Math California incorporates the Drivers of Investigation (DIs) and Content Connection (CCs) throughout the program. Throughout the year, students engage with open and authentic tasks of varying durations — from lesson activities to unit-level Explore lessons and longer course-level Investigations. Every lesson and investigation opportunity is grounded around the why, how, and what of the learning experience, and helps teachers bring mathematical concepts to life.

A three-column chart details: Drivers of Investigation, Standards for Mathematical Practice, and Content Connections, each with their respective codes and brief descriptions.

California English Language Development Standards

The links below provide the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the California English Language Development Standards at each grade level.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts

Select lessons, performance tasks, and investigations across grade levels in Amplify Desmos Math California are aligned to one or more of the California Environmental Principles and Concepts. Click the links below to view how the California Environmental Principles and Concepts are represented in each grade level.

Category 2: Program Organization

Amplify Desmos Math California thoughtfully combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Each lesson is designed to tell a story by posing problems that invite a variety of approaches before guiding students to synthesize their understanding of the learning goals.

Big Ideas

Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons. Please refer to Keeping the Big Ideas at the Center (linked below) for specific lesson designs and alignment with the Big Ideas for each grade level.

Program Structure

Amplify Desmos Math California combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.

A diagram showing three stages: Core instruction, Integrated personalized learning, and Embedded intervention, under Screening and progress monitoring with daily tiered support.

Lessons and units in Amplify Desmos Math California are designed around a Proficiency Progression, a model that steps out problem-based learning by systematically building students’ curiosity into lasting grade-level understanding.

Five steps for learning: 1. Activate prior knowledge, 2. Collaborate, 3. Refine ideas, 4. Guide to understanding, 5. Practice and extend for lasting understanding.

In the Proficiency Progression, lessons begin by activating students’ natural curiosity and offering opportunities to generate new ideas through collaboration. Teachers are then able to refine ideas through intentional facilitation and guide students to grade-level understanding, while students retain the ability to use different strategies and methods to show their comprehension of the content. Students are provided ample opportunities to develop lasting understanding.

Scope and Sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for each grade level.

A chart displaying seven kindergarten math units with themes, number of instructional days, and assessment days, totaling 136 suggested instructional days.

Grade 1 instructional units overview showing 7 units on math topics, total suggested days is 153, with each unit listing instructional and assessment days.

Grade 2 math curriculum map showing 8 units with topics, number of instructional and assessment days, and total days; suggested instructional days: 156.

Seven instructional units are shown, each with a title, icon, number of instructional and assessment days, and total days; a note suggests 150 instructional days in total.

A Grade 4 math curriculum overview showing seven units with titles, number of instructional days, and assessment days; the suggested total instructional days is 152.

A curriculum map displays seven math units with icons, titles, instructional days, and assessment days, totaling 149 suggested instructional days.

A chart showing Grade 6 math units, each with instructional days, assessment days, and optional days. Total suggested instructional days is 142, plus 19 optional days.

Overview of Grade 7 math curriculum units, showing unit titles, number of instructional, assessment, and optional days for each, with a total of 125 instructional days plus 22 optional days.

Eight illustrated cards display Grade 8 math units, each with the unit title, topics covered, number of instructional and assessment days, and a total of 131 suggested instructional days.

Curriculum chart showing eight units split into two volumes, with topics, instructional days, assessment days, and optional days listed for each unit over an accelerated 6th-grade year.

A chart displays the breakdown of Accelerated 7 math units, indicating topics, number of instructional days, assessment days, and optional days for each of the nine units across two volumes.

Lesson Design and Structure

A four-part diagram shows: Warm-Up, Activities with a graph of student ideas to grade-level understanding, Synthesis with notes, and Practice and differentiation with students building a structure.

Amplify Desmos Math California is designed with a structured approach to problem-based learning that systematically builds on students’ curiosity and allows students to grapple with the Big Ideas of the California Framework. Every lesson activity is organized into a Launch, Monitor, Connect format.

Launch: The launch is a short, whole-class conversation that creates a need or excitement, provides clarity, or helps students connect their prior knowledge or personal experience, which ensures that everyone has access to the upcoming work.
Monitor: As students work individually, in pairs, or in groups, teachers explore student thinking, ask questions, and provide support to help move the conversations closer to the intended math learning goal.
Connect: Teachers connect students’ ideas to the key learning goals of the lesson, facilitating class discussions that help synthesize and solidify the Big Ideas.

Each lesson within Amplify Desmos Math California follows the same structure.

Warm-Up: Every Amplify Desmos Math California lesson begins with a whole class Warm-Up. Warm-Ups are an invitational Instructional Routine intended to provide a social moment at the start of the lesson in which every student has an opportunity to contribute. Warm-Ups may build fluency or highlight a strategy that may be helpful in the current lesson or act as an invitation into the math of the lesson.
Lesson Activities: Each lesson includes one or two activities. These activities are the heart of each lesson. Students notice, wonder, explore, calculate, predict, measure, explain their thinking, use math to settle disputes, create challenges for their classmates, and more. Guidance is provided to help teachers launch, monitor, and connect student thinking over the course of the activity.
Synthesis and Show What You Know: The Synthesis is an opportunity for the teacher and students to pull all the learning of the lesson together into a lesson takeaway. Students engage in a facilitated discussion to consolidate and refine their ideas about the learning goals, and the teacher synthesizes students’ learning. Show What You Know is a daily assessment opportunity for students to show what they know about the learning goals and what they are still learning.
Centers (K–5): Centers are hands-on activities for students in grades K–5 to play collaboratively to strengthen their understanding of key skills and concepts. In grades K–1, students have Daily Center Time built into every lesson.
Practice and Differentiation: Daily practice problems for the day’s lesson are included both online and in the print Student Edition, including fluency, test practice, and spiral review.

Kindergarten–Grade 1

A lesson plan timeline showing phases: Warm-Up (5–10 min, whole class), Lesson Activities (25–30 min), Synthesis (10 min), Centers (15 min), and Practice (time varies).

Grades 2–5

A horizontal flowchart shows a classroom lesson sequence: Warm-Up (5–10 min), Lesson Activities (35 min), Synthesis (10 min), and Practice (time varies); groupings vary.

Grades 6–8

A horizontal timeline shows four lesson segments: Warm-Up (5 min), Lesson Activities (30 min), Synthesis (10 min), and Practice (time varies).

Routines

Amplify Desmos Math California features a variety of lesson routines. Instructional routines and Math Language Routines (MLRs) are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote meta-cognition. Both are called out at point-of-use within the Teacher Edition and Teacher Presentation Screens. Below are the types of routines used throughout the Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum:

Math Language Routines

MLR1: Stronger and Clearer Each Time
MLR2: Collect and Display
MLR3: Critique, Correct, Clarify
MLR5: Co-Craft Questions
MLR6: Three Reads
MLR7: Compare and Connect
MLR 8: Discussion Supports

Instructional Routines

Decide and Defend
Notice and Wonder
Number Talk
Tell a Story
Think-Pair-Share
Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Category 3: Assessments

A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math California provides evidence of student learning, while helping students bolster their skills and understanding.

Unit-Level Assessment

Amplify Desmos Math California has embedded unit assessments that offer key insights into students’ conceptual understanding of math. These assessments provide regular, actionable information about how students are thinking about and processing math, with both auto-scoring and in-depth rubrics that help teachers anticipate and respond to students’ learning needs.

Pre-Unit Check: Each unit in grades 2–8 begins with a formative assessment designed to identify the student skills that will be particularly relevant to the upcoming unit. This check is agnostic to the standards covered in the following unit and serves not as a deficit-based acknowledgment of what students do not know, but rather as an affirmation of the knowledge and skills with which students come in.
End-of-Unit Assessment: Students engage with rigorous grade-level mathematics through a variety of formats and tasks in the summative End-of-Unit Assessment. A combination of auto-scored (when completed digitally) and rubric-scored items provides deep insights into student thinking. All Amplify Desmos Math California End-of-Unit Assessments include two forms.
Sub-Unit Quizzes: Sub-Unit Quizzes are formative assessments embedded regularly in Grades Kindergarten through Algebra 1. In these checks, students are assessed on a subset of conceptual understandings from the unit, with rubrics that help illuminate students’ current understanding and provide guidance for responding to student thinking.
Sub-Unit Checklists: These checklists enable teachers to observe key skills and concepts that cannot be assessed on a pencil-and-paper assessment in Kindergarten–Grade 1. The checklists outline the supports students need to achieve mathematical growth and success.
Performance Tasks: At the end of each unit in grades 3–8, there is a summative assessment performance task provided to evaluate students’ proficiency with the concepts and skills addressed in the unit.

Lesson-Level Assessments

Amplify Desmos Math California lessons include daily moments of assessment to provide valuable evidence of learning for both the teacher and student. Beyond formative, summative, and benchmark assessments, students also have opportunities for self-reflection with Watch Your Knowledge Grow. Students take ownership of their learning by reflecting and tracking their progress before and after each unit.

Show What You Know: Each lesson has a daily formative assessment focused on one of the key concepts in the lesson. Show What You Know moments are carefully designed to minimize completion time for students while maximizing daily teacher insights to attend to student needs during the following class.
Responsive Feedback™: Teachers have the ability to see and provide in-the-moment feedback as students progress through a digital lesson. Responsive Feedback motivates students and engages them in the learning process.

Diagnostic Assessment

Every grade level features an asset-based diagnostic assessment designed to be administered at the beginning of the year. Delivered digitally and to the whole class, our diagnostic assessment is uniquely designed to reveal underlying math thinking and identify what students know about grade-level math. With data beyond just right and wrong, teachers have the type of deeper level of insights need to take the right next step.

CAASPP-Aligned Assessment Preparation

Amplify Desmos Math is designed to support students’ mathematical development through problem-based learning, differentiation, and embedded assessments. The program’s emphasis on conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application aligns with the mathematical practices and content standards assessed by the CAASPP.

Amplify Desmos Math California includes a CAASPP-aligned Item Bank. This standards-aligned bank of questions allows teachers to filter and search by grade and standard to find items. Once assigned on the digital platform, students will experience CAASPP-like practice with the online digital tools.

Data and Reporting

Amplify Desmos Math California provides teachers and administrators with unified reporting and insights so that educators have visibility into what students know about grade-level math—and can plan instruction accordingly for the whole class, small groups, and individual students. Reporting functionality integrates unit assessments, lesson assessments, diagnostic data, and progress monitoring for a comprehensive look at student learning. Program reports show proficiency and growth by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concept using performance data from unit assessments, then highlight areas of potential student need to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

Administrator reporting provides a complete picture of student, class, and district performance, allowing administrators to implement instructional and intervention plans.

Category 4: Access and Equity

The Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks. Our lessons are developed using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Every activity has multiple entry points to ensure that all students are supported and challenged. Intervention and personalized learning activities are directly connected to the day’s content and offer students the individualized supports they need to be successful.

Each lesson and unit contains guidance for teachers on how to identify students who may need support, students who need to keep strengthening their understanding, and students who may be ready to stretch their learning. In addition, teachers are provided with recommendations for resources to use with each group of students.

Universal Design for Learning

Each lesson in the program incorporates opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Multiple Means of Engagement: Students engage in both print and digital learning, and are regularly participating in discussions and hands-on activities. Students are invited to build their own challenge for other students to solve, which provides opportunities for choice and
autonomy, as well as joy and play.
Multiple Means of Representation: Students are encouraged to demonstrate their learning using mathematical representations, both print and digital, and regularly engage with their peers in analyzing multiple possible solutions. Classes engage in open-ended discussions about what individual students notice and wonder about mathematical concepts.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Learners differ in how they navigate learning environments and express what they know. Students can communicate their ideas in multiple ways, including in print, sketching, uploading photos, or recording an audio response.

Accessibility

Lesson facilitation supports

Every lesson includes at least one specific suggestion the teacher can use to increase access to the lesson without reducing the mathematical demand of the tasks. These suggestions address the following areas:

Visual-spatial processing
Conceptual processing
Executive functioning
Memory and attention
Fine motor skills

Accessibility tools

Students have the ability to control accessibility tools so that each learning experience is customized to their individual needs. In many instances, these tools can be turned on or off at any point of instruction.

Text to speech: Reads text instructions to students in multiple languages
Enlarged font: Increases the size of all text on screen
Braille mode: Includes narration of digital interactions
Language selection: Toggles between languages

Differentiation: In-Lesson Teacher Moves

Within every lesson activity, teachers can use the suggestions in the Differentiation Teacher Moves table to provide in-the-moment instructional support while students are engaged in the work of the lesson. This table can help teachers anticipate the ways students may approach the activity, and provides prompts that they can use during the lesson to Support, Strengthen, and Stretch individual students in their thinking. Teachers are provided with clear student actions and understanding to look for, each matched with immediately usable suggestions for how to respond to the student thinking illustrated in each row of the table. In addition to using these suggestions in the moment as teachers monitor student work, teachers can review the Differentiation table in advance to help them anticipate how students are likely to approach the activity.

A table showing differentiation teacher moves with examples of representing groups in different ways, support prompts, and a stretch question about patterns with more teams.

Differentiation: Beyond the Lesson

Teachers are provided with recommendations for resources to use with each group of students needing support, strengthening, and stretching after each lesson. Support, Strengthen, and Stretch resources include:

Mini-Lessons: 15-minute, small-group direct instruction lessons targeted to a specific concept or skill
Item Banks: Space for teachers to create practice and assessments by using filters and searching for standards, summative-style items, and more
Fluency Practice: Adaptive, personalized practice built out for basic operations and more
Centers (K–5): Lesson-embedded routines and practice for students that are vertically aligned across grade levels
Extensions: Lesson-embedded Teacher Moves including possible stretch questions and activities for students
Lesson Practice: Additional practice problems support every lesson
Math Adventures: Strategy-based math games where students engage with math concepts and practice skills in a fun digital environment
Lesson Summary Support: Support for students and caregivers that provides efficient explanation of the learning goal with clear examples

Math Identity and Community

The Math Identity and Community feature supports teachers in helping students build confidence in their own mathematical thinking, develop skills to work with and learn from others when doing math, and learn how math is an interwoven part of their broader community. The embedded prompts throughout the lessons are designed to highlight what it means to be good at math, the value of sharing ideas, and the power of flexible and creating thinking. Here are some examples of the Math Identity and Community supports embedded in each lesson:

I can be all of me in math class. You will work with partners every day in math class. What do you want your partners to know about you?
We are a math community. What does good listening look like and sound like in a math community?
I am a doer of math. What math strengths did you use today?

Unit Stories

Every unit in grades K–5 contains a Unit Story. These Unit Stories are brief fiction stories read aloud by the teacher at the beginning of each unit that connect to the math of the unit and introduce characters that students will get to know as they engage in the unit. Teachers read the story aloud from their Teacher Edition while projecting illustrations for students from the story, found in the Teacher Presentation Screens for the story. Across the unit, the Unit Story context and characters are used at appropriate points to inspire and engage students in the math as well as in reflections about their math identity and community.

Math Language Development

Every lesson in Amplify Desmos Math California includes opportunities for all students to develop mathematical language as they experience the content. Amplify Desmos Math California purposefully progresses language development from lesson to lesson and across units by supporting students in making their arguments and explanations stronger, clearer, and more precise. This systematic approach to the development of math language can be broken down into the following four categories of support:

Vocabulary: Units and lessons start by surfacing students’ language for new concepts, then building connections between their language and the new vocabulary for that unit. This honors the language assets that students bring into their learning.
Language goals: Language goals attend to the mathematics students are learning, and are written through the lens of one or more of four language modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Math Language Routines: Math Language Routines are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote meta-cognition.
Multilingual/English learner supports: Supports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentional points within each lesson. These specific, targeted suggestions support ML/ELs with modifications that increase access to a task, or through development of contextual or mathematical language (both of which can be supportive of all learners).

Multilingual and English Learner Supports

Partnership with English Learner Success Forum

Amplify partnered with the English Learner Success Forum (ELSF), a national nonprofit organization that advocates for high-quality instructional materials that are inclusive of multilingual learners. ELSF reviewed Amplify Desmos Math California, and provided directional guidance and feedback to ensure that the program reflects their research-based instructional strategies for multilingual/English learners.

Math Language Development Resources

Our Math Language Development Resources book contains lesson-specific strategies and activities for all levels of English Learners (i.e., Emerging, Expanding, Bridging). With support for every lesson, teachers are empowered to help all students, regardless of their language skills, to participate fully, grasp the material, and excel in their mathematical journey.

Multilingual Glossary

Amplify Desmos Math California includes a digital glossary for languages other than Spanish. Translations will be provided for up to nine languages.

Spanish Version

Amplify Desmos Math California will include Spanish student-facing materials beginning in the 2026–27 school year.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Support

Amplify Desmos Math California includes a variety of embedded instructional supports to empower teachers to lead effectively and gain actionable insights into student growth and progress. Teachers are equipped with a comprehensive set of resources designed to fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Grade-level concepts

Within the Teacher Edition front matter:

Scope and sequence
Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Unit and Sub-Unit Overview:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Math that Matters Most
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Lesson:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

How to implement the program

At the course level (within the Teacher Edition front matter):

Navigating the Program (both print and digital)
Facilitating Lesson Activities with Launch, Monitor and Connect
Overview of the Digital Facilitation Tools

At the lesson level:

Suggestions for timing
What materials to prep
How to organize and group students
Key lesson takeaways with the Synthesis
Recommendations for Differentiation
Strategies for intervention and extensions (in the Intervention, Extensions, and Investigation Resources book)

At the activity level:

Differentiation recommendations
Accessibility tips
ML / EL tips
Teacher look-fors
Recommended Teacher Moves
Prompts for guiding student thinking
Sample student responses

Development of Math Language

A variety of language development supports are provided within the Student and Teacher Editions and Math Language Development Resources book.

At the lesson level:

Diagrams and visuals
Sentence frames and word banks
Graphic organizers, including Frayer models
Vocabulary routines
Embedded language supports aligned to the CA ELDs
Lesson-specific strategies for Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging

At the unit level:

Words With Multiple Meanings
Contextual vocabulary

At the course level:

English/Spanish cognates
Multilingual Glossary

Other Curriculum Guidance

Additional Practice Resources book
Assessment Resources book
Assess and Respond guidance paired with each assessment opportunity
Show-What-You-Know activities
Answer keys and rubrics
Performance tasks

Welcome to Amplify Desmos Math California!

California educators, welcome to math that motivates. Introducing Amplify Desmos Math California, a curiosity-driven TK–12 program that builds lifelong math proficiency. Each lesson poses problems that invite a variety of approaches before guiding students to synthesize their understanding of the learning goals. Students encounter math problems they’re eager to solve, while teachers spend more time where it’s most impactful—creating a collaborative classroom of learners.

Explore the California Adoption Toolkit resources and discover more about the program in the sections below.

Built for California

The Amplify Desmos Math California program is designed around the vision articulated in the Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve to enable all California students to become powerful users of mathematics. Our program incorporates the latest research in student learning, meaning that we:

Focus on the Big Ideas: Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons.
Center on open and engaging tasks: Amplify Desmos Math California is grounded in engaging tasks meant to address students’ often-asked question: “Why am I learning this?” Students are invited into learning with low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that provide an entry point for all. Open tasks in Amplify Desmos Math California provide the space for students to try on multiple strategies and represent their thinking in different ways, and allow student explanation and discussion to serve as the center of the classroom. All lessons offer both print and digital representations.
Provide enhanced digital experiences: Amplify Desmos Math California includes digitally-enhanced lesson activities, incorporating interactive digital tools alongside print materials. These purposefully-placed resources allow students to visualize mathematical concepts, receive actionable feedback while practicing, encounter personalized learning support from an onscreen tutor, and engage in discussions about their thinking and approaches.
Treat core instruction and differentiation as integral partners: The Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks. Every activity has multiple entry points to ensure that all students are supported and challenged. Intervention and personalized learning activities are directly connected to lesson content and offer students individualized support as they dive into the mathematics.

California Adoption Toolkit resources

Program Description

Linked here is the Program Description for Amplify Desmos Math California.

Our Major Conceptual Ideas Strategy

The renowned mathematician William Paul Thurston said that mathematics is about understanding. The essence of this perspective is woven into the California Mathematics Framework. The Framework is clear that mathematics calls for “original thought and connections of concepts” and that mathematics teaching should “position students as thinkers and members of the classroom community…to support students in seeing themselves as young mathematicians.”

When Amplify developed Amplify Desmos Math California, we built it with one clear priority: grounding it in student understanding. The Framework provided a basis in the Big Ideas, of course, but also in the Drivers of Investigation (DIs), Content Connections (CCs), and Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs). Using those components of the Framework, we organized student learning around how students would make sense of the mathematics.

In addition to lessons and learning experiences specifically designated as Explore lessons or Investigations, we utilized the structure of the DIs, CCs, and SMPs in each lesson. Not only is every lesson in our program tied to one or more of the Big Ideas and their connections with one another, every lesson is also framed around these additional components. Each Lesson Overview centers around these questions:

Why? Why are students learning this content?

How? How are students grappling with the mathematical concepts?

What? What contexts encourage students to apply their knowledge?

Each of these questions maps to one of the additional aspects of the Mathematical Framework. Addressing the “Why?” grounds the lesson in one or more of the Drivers of Investigation. Focusing on “How?” encourages students to develop the habits of mind described by the SMPs, becoming explorers in mathematics rather than passive recipients. And maintaining attention on “What?” centers students and teachers on the precise mathematical topics that they are exploring aligned to the four Content Connections.

The Big Ideas and the conceptual and pedagogical shifts in the California Mathematics Framework reflect a shared goal to center education on student understanding. The Amplify Desmos Math California team is eager to support educators and students in their transition to conceptual understanding through our High-Quality Instructional Materials, professional development opportunities, and continued support.

Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify Desmos Math California for each grade level.

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked here is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The links below provide the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the Standards for Mathematical Practice at each grade level.

Big Ideas

Drivers of Investigation and Content Connections

Amplify Desmos Math California incorporates the Drivers of Investigation and Content Connection throughout the program. Throughout the year, students engage with open and authentic tasks of varying durations — from lesson activities to unit-level Explore lessons and longer course-level Investigations. Every lesson and investigation opportunity is grounded around the why, how, and what of the learning experience, and helps teachers bring mathematical concepts to life.

California English Language Development Standards

The links below provide the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the California English Language Development Standards at each grade level.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts

Contact us

For questions, samples, or more information, please contact your local Amplify Account Executive:

Erin King Sales Director, CA (512) 736-3162 eking@amplify.com	Northern CA Wendy Garcia Senior Account Executive (510) 368-7666 wgarcia@amplify.com	Bay Area Lance Burbank Account Executive (415) 830-5348 lburbank@amplify.com
Central Valley and Central Coast Demitri Gonos Senior Account Executive (559) 355-3244 dgonos@amplify.com	Ventura and L.A. County Jeff Sorenson Associate Account Executive (310) 902-1407 jsorenson@amplify.com	Orange and L.A. County Lauren Sherman Senior Account Executive (949) 397-5766 lsherman@amplify.com
San Bernardino and L.A. County Michael Gruber Senior Account Executive (951) 520-6542 migruber@amplify.com	Riverside and L.A. County Brian Roy Account Executive (818) 967-1674 broy@amplify.com	San Diego County Kirk Van Wagoner Senior Account Executive (760) 696-0709 kvanwagoner@amplify.com
Under 2300 students in Bay Area, Sacramento Valley, and Northern Counties Kevin Mauser Lead Account Executive (815) 534-0148 kmauser@amplify.com	Under 2300 students in Southern CA, Central Coast, and Southern Central Valley Counties Charissa Snyder Account Executive (720) 936-6802 chsnyder@amplify.com

MTSS vs. RTI in literacy instruction: What’s the difference?

MTSS, RTI, SoR—it seems that teaching students to read requires educators to be literate in an ever-growing number of frameworks, approaches, systems, and types of developmental reading assessment and educational intervention.

It’s understandable, then, that not all educators know the differences and nuances among these terms, or that they may use them interchangeably or to mean one thing, when they actually mean another.

So, what is MTSS? What is RTI? What is MTSS vs. RTI? That is: What is the difference between an MTSS framework and RTI? What roles do they play in structured literacy? How are they informed by the Science of Reading (SoR)?

We’re here to help you sort it all out.

First, the core definitions

Science of Reading: As we described in an earlier post, the Science of Reading refers to the pedagogy and practices that extensive research has found to be most effective for teaching children to read.

And it’s not just optimism—it’s science. With explicit, systematic instruction, all students can learn to read at or near grade level.

When implemented in a classroom, the Science of Reading is part of a system—one that aligns with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports): The Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports offers this go-to definition: “A multi-tiered system of supports is a proactive and preventative framework that integrates data and instruction to maximize student achievement and support students’ social, emotional, and behavior needs from a strengths-based perspective.”

Its four defining components are as follows:

Screening
Progress monitoring
Establishing a multi-level prevention system
Making data-based decisions

RTI (Response to Intervention): The very name of RTI shows that it’s a response to an identified problem. Actually, it’s a process and series of academic responses that use data to pinpoint and address the specific challenges of struggling students.

MTSS and RTI are similar in that “they are both problem-solving models,” notes Dr. Brittney Bills, curriculum coordinator at Grand Island Public Schools, speaking with host Susan Lambert on a recent episode of Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Podcast.

Now, the fundamental differences

MTSS and RTI are similar, and can be related—even intertwined. But they are not interchangeable.

RTI is part of an MTSS framework—not the other way around. “MTSS is that broader umbrella,” says Nancy Nelson, assistant professor of special education at Boston University, in our webinar Data-driven Instruction Within an MTSS Framework: The key to implementing the Science of Reading.
MTSS starts with all students. “With the MTSS model, the thought is that the universal tier is the first intervention for all students,” says Dr. Bills, referring to the curriculum, instruction, and assessments provided to all students at a given grade level. We can ask: “What does our data demonstrate that our students need within that universal tier? And how can we apply evidence-based practices, as they relate to the Science of Reading, to beef up opportunities for our students there first? Then it’s a layering-on of supports and problem-solving at those other layers, the targeted and intensive tiers, after that.”
MTSS supports prevention. This distinction goes hand in hand with those already mentioned. We start universal, then identify issues. Though RTI is necessary and effective, MTSS has the aim, and the capacity, to both get at-risk readers back on track and prevent the need for intervention down the line. “It’s proactive and preventative,” says Dr. Bills.

Putting it all together

Amplify’s early literacy suite aligns instruction using the Science of Reading. Blending instruction and knowledge-building (Amplify CKLA and Boost Reading, formerly Amplify Reading) with assessment and intervention as needed (mCLASS^®), the system works with both MTSS and RTI models.

Where you can learn more

Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Podcast’s MTSS playlist

Webinars:

Reading and Writing: How the Simple Views can help you teach

The processes of learning to read and write are so complex, they’ve inspired an entire body of research called the Science of Reading (along with its newer cousin, the Science of Writing). Luckily, literacy experts have distilled these processes into their simplest components.

The result? Two models that help educators understand how students learn to read and write, and the best ways to teach them.

These frameworks—the Simple View of Reading and the Simple View of Writing—align with what reading research tells us about the brain’s processes for decoding, understanding, and creating text. Together, they can support your instructional practices and help all your students become proficient readers. Let’s take a closer look.

What is the Simple View of Reading?

The Simple View of Reading is a model that breaks the capacity to read into two main components:

Decoding: The ability to recognize words in print, which includes phonics and phonemic awareness.
Language comprehension: The ability to understand and interpret the meaning of those words.

It’s important to note that reading is not the sum of these parts—it’s the product. Reading success results from decoding multiplied by language comprehension. Both are crucial. If either one is weak or nonexistent, the ability to read with understanding collapses. Even if a student can decode every word on a page, they won’t truly be reading if they don’t understand what the words mean. Likewise, no matter how good their comprehension skills, if they can’t decode, they can’t access the text.

Are you curious for more detail? Explore the framework known as the Reading Rope, which breaks these components down further, showing how skills such as phonological awareness, vocabulary, and background knowledge intertwine to create skilled reading. Understanding these connections helps educators develop effective instruction and address specific gaps in literacy skills.

Why is the Simple View of Reading framework so powerful?

The Simple View of Reading gives teachers a clear roadmap.

Instead of wondering why a student is struggling with reading, we can look at their decoding and language comprehension skills separately. Are they having trouble sounding out words? That’s a decoding issue. Struggling to understand a story’s plot? That’s a language comprehension issue.

Once you know where the challenge lies, it’s easier to intervene and teach students effectively.

This model also aligns with the principles of structured literacy. By focusing on explicit, systematic instruction in both decoding and comprehension, educators can build a strong foundation for all learners and support everyone in accessing grade-level text.

The Simple View of Writing: A logical extension

Just as the components of reading can be broken down into two parts, so can writing. They are:

Transcription: The physical act of writing, including handwriting, spelling, and typing.
Composition: The ability to generate ideas, organize them, and express them effectively in written form.

Transcription ensures that students can physically put words on a page, while composition helps them turn those words into meaningful text. Writing success equals transcription multiplied by composition. A student may have great ideas (strong composition) but struggle to write them down (weak transcription), or they may write neatly but lack substance.

Putting it together: How these models transform literacy instruction

Reading and writing are closely intertwined. As students improve their decoding, their transcription often follows because both rely on an understanding of letters and sounds. Similarly, language comprehension and composition share a connection—when students build vocabulary and understanding through reading, they’re better equipped to express themselves in writing.

These models allow educators to:

Pinpoint needs. Are students struggling with spelling? Focus on transcription. Do they have difficulty understanding what they’ve read? Strengthen language comprehension.
Measure progress. These models provide clear benchmarks for assessing growth. Success in one area (like decoding) can lead to noticeable improvements in another (like comprehension).
Individualize support. No two students are the same. One child may need help with phonics, while another needs to build vocabulary. The Simple Views let teachers tailor instruction to each learner.

The Simple Views of Reading and Writing remind us that literacy is a combination of distinct yet interconnected skills. By breaking these processes into manageable parts, we can better understand how to help students thrive. And when we focus on both the mechanics and the meaning, we’re not just teaching kids to read and write—we’re giving them the tools to communicate, imagine, and succeed.

More to explore

Check out our infographic for a visual breakdown of these powerful frameworks and how they work together to support literacy success.

Plus:

Listen: Science of Reading: The Podcast: The Simple View of Reading with Laurence Holt
Follow @amplify.education on Instagram for reading resources and information
Read: “Science of Reading principles that guide early literacy”

Core STEM programs: Strengthen sessions

Professional development sets teachers and leaders up for success, whether they are new to or experienced with a program. Each Strengthen session promotes a deeper understanding of the program through targeted instructional practices.

Explore STEM Strengthen sessions by program below.

Professional Learning Partner Guide Certified Provider

Amplify professional development has been vetted by Rivet Education’s team through a rigorous three-step process and is listed in the Professional Learning Partner Guide.

Teacher attentively watching two children build with blocks at a colorful classroom table.

About Strengthen sessions

Support Amplify implementation with sessions that target specific instructional practices for teachers and leaders in year one and beyond. When you’re ready to schedule your Strengthen session, contact us. An Amplify expert will support you in selecting the session that best fits your needs and that will help you push student results forward.

Each package includes one Strengthen session. Additional sessions can be added as enhancements.

Amplify Math

Amplify Math is a core math curriculum that serves 100% of students in accessing grade-level math every day. The program delivers engaging grade-level math lessons; flexible, social problem-solving experiences both online and off ; and insights, data, and reporting that drive performance.

Explore the Amplify Math Strengthen sessions (for grade bands 6–Algebra 1) for Begin packages and beyond. Click the session title or scroll down to learn more about each session.

Begin packages

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 10 package (10 hr.)	Hybrid virtual package (15 hr.)	Virtual package (7 hr.)
One session per package	On-site 3 hr. sessions	On-site 3 hr. sessions	Virtual 1 hr. sessions	Virtual 3 hr. sessions	Virtual 1 hr. sessions
Enhancing planning
Enhancing practice
Enhancing observations for leaders
Unit-level planning
Lesson-level planning
Increasing engagement with instructional routines

Begin: Enhancing planning for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Prepare to teach Amplify Math lessons effectively, by engaging in collaborative backward planning with experts. Work alongside our facilitators to understand how to target key concepts and make successful instructional decisions across a unit, and leave with a completed unit plan for your class.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Enhancing practice for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

See the Launch, Monitor, Connect problem-based learning model in action, and practice integrating these practices into your facilitation of lesson activities. Leave with guidelines for using the Launch, Monitor, Connect model that you can implement during your next lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Enhancing observations for leaders

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn to use our non-evaluative classroom look-for tool for Amplify Math to promote the use of instructional resources, focus on instructional delivery, and monitor instruction. Leave with an action plan for collecting and analyzing observation data to support teachers in their implementation of Amplify Math.

Audience: Leaders (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Unit-level planning

Virtual, 1 hour

Dive into unit planning as you learn the story of how your upcoming unit is tied to other units and grade levels, and discover the big ideas you will explore alongside your students in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Lesson-level planning

Virtual, 1 hour

Dive into lesson-level planning as you learn how to create a road map that guides student learning, makes connections across lessons, and measures student understanding of the learning goals in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Increasing engagement with instructional routines

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore how to use Instructional Routines such as Notice and Wonder to support and engage students as they make sense of new contexts and mathematical problems in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice packages

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 15, on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 13 package (13 hr.)	Virtual package (9 hr.)
One session per package	On-site 3 hr. sessions	On-site 3 hr. sessions	Virtual 1 hr. sessions	Virtual 1 hr. sessions
Enhancing planning for teachers
Enhancing practice for teachers
Enhancing observations for leaders
Using differentiation supports for teachers
Using data to drive instruction for teachers
Addressing prerequisite skills for teachers
Orchestrating math discussions for teachers
Building language with math routines for teachers
Unit-level planning for teachers
Lesson-level planning for teachers
Increasing engagement with Instructional Routines for teachers

Practice: Enhancing planning for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Prepare to effectively teach Amplify Math lessons by engaging in collaborative backward planning with experts. Work alongside our facilitators to understand how to target key concepts and make effective instructional decisions across a unit, and leave with a completed unit plan for your class.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Enhancing practice for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Enhancing observations for leaders

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Leaders (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Using differentiation supports for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn how to leverage embedded differentiated supports in Amplify Math to ensure that all students can be successful. Walk away with a plan for supporting students in your classroom including English Language Learners (ELLs), students with disabilities, students who may need extra support, and advanced students.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Using data to drive instruction for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Grow your proficiency in data analysis.Turn student data gathered within Amplify Math into differentiated instruction targeting specific skills. Walk away ready to use the data provided in the curriculum to align embedded support to your students’ unique needs.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Addressing prerequisite skills for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Explore Amplify Math’s just-in-time approach to addressing prerequisite skills. Leave with a deeper understanding of how to use embedded curriculum resources to identify and support prerequisite skills essential for your next unit.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Orchestrating math discussions for teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn strategies for leading discussions that promote more math talk among all students in your classroom. Walk away with strategies and Amplify Math curriculum tools you can bring back to your classroom to enhance discussion in your next lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Building language with math routines for teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore how Math Language Routines support students as they make sense of new contexts and mathematical problems in Amplify Math. Leave with strategies for using these routines to support students in learning mathematical practices, content, and language in your upcoming lessons.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Unit-level planning for teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Dive into unit planning as you learn the story of how your upcoming unit is tied to other
units and grade levels, and discover the big ideas you’ll explore alongside your students in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Lesson-level planning for teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Dive into lesson-level planning as you learn how to create a roadmap for a lesson that guides student learning, makes connections across lessons, and measures student understanding of the learning goals in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Increasing engagement with Instructional Routines for teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore how to leverage Instructional Routines such as Notice and Wonder to support students as they make sense of new contexts and mathematical problems in Amplify Math.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Amplify Desmos Math

Amplify Desmos Math is a new core K–12 program from Amplify and Desmos Classroom —available in English and Spanish—that applies a problem-based approach to develop deep conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Using technology inspired by students’ natural curiosity, Amplify Desmos Math connects the classroom and fosters real collaboration, discourse, and perseverance in problem-solving. Captivating activities, powerful teaching tools, and lots of support enable students to develop math proficiency that lasts a lifetime.

Explore the Amplify Desmos Math Strengthen sessions (for grades PreK–Algebra 2) for Begin packages and beyond. Click the session title or scroll down to learn more about each session.

Begin packages

Strengthen sessions

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 15, on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 10 package (10 hr.)	Hybrid 15, virtual package (15 hr.)	Virtual package (7 hr.)
One session per package	On-site, 3 hr.	On-site, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.
Enhancing planning for K–5 teachers
Enhancing planning for 6–A1 teachers
Enhancing practice for K–5 teachers
Enhancing practice for 6–A1 teachers
Desmos Math to Amplify Desmos Math 6–A1 transition training for teachers

New session

Begin: Enhancing planning for K–5 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Dive into planning for Amplify Desmos Math, both big picture and day-to-day. Practice using lesson and unit planning protocols that will help you build a deep understanding of the math content you’ll be teaching and the planning resources available to you in the curriculum. Walk away with practical strategies for planning, even when you may not have much time.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Begin: Enhancing planning for 6–A1 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Dive into both big-picture and day-to-day planning for Amplify Desmos Math. Practice using lesson and unit planning protocols that will help you build a deep understanding of the math content you’ll be teaching and the planning resources available to you in the curriculum. Walk away with practical strategies for planning, even when you may not have much time.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Begin: Enhancing practice for K–5 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Dig into Amplify Desmos Math’s Launch, Monitor, Connect framework to level-up the student discourse in your math class. Explore in-the-moment differentiation support to help you orchestrate discussion and make the most out of key opportunities for conversation and collaboration.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Begin: Enhancing practice for 6–A1 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Dig into Amplify Desmos Math’s Launch, Monitor, Connect framework to level up the student discourse in your math classroom. Learn strategies for leveraging the tools in the Teacher Dashboard to orchestrate discussion, and practice planning moves to make the most out of key discussion moments.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Desmos Math to Amplify Desmos Math 6–A1 transition training for teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Participants will get an overview of the similarities and differences between Desmos Math and Amplify Desmos Math, including becoming familiar with changes in materials, the digital platform, and key lesson, assessment, and reporting components.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Practice packages

Strengthen sessions

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 15, on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 13 package (13 hr.)	Virtual package (9 hr.)
One session per package	On-site, 3 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.
Enhancing planning for K–5 teachers
Enhancing planning for 6–A1 teachers
Enhancing practice for K–5 teachers
Enhancing practice for 6–A1 teachers
Strengthen Focus: Teaching a digital lesson for K–5 teachers
Strengthen Focus: Snapshots in the Teacher Dashboard for 6–A1 teachers

New session

Practice: Enhancing planning for K–5 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Practice: Enhancing planning for 6–A1 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Practice: Enhancing practice for K–5 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Practice: Enhancing practice for 6–A1 teachers

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Teaching a digital lesson for K–5 teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Get ready to facilitate digital lessons with your students. Explore what’s possible with the Teacher Dashboard and plan to make the most of these exciting instructional moments.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

New session

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Snapshots in the Teacher Dashboard for 6–A1 teachers

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore how to use the Snapshots tool in the Teacher Dashboard to create a collaborative classroom that invites and celebrates student thinking. Leave with planning tips and tricks that will get you ready to use Snapshots during your busy math classes.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff (maximum 30 participants)

Amplify Science

Amplify Science is a K–8 science curriculum that blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers.

Explore the Amplify Science sessions (for grade bands K–5 and 6–8) for year one packages and beyond. Select the session title or scroll to learn more about each session.

Begin packages

Strengthen sessions

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 15, on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 10 package (10 hr.)	Hybrid 15, virtual package (15 hr.)	Virtual package (7 hr.)
One session per package	On-site, 3 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.
Enhancing planning (K–5 or 6–8)
Enhancing practice (K–5 or 6–8)
Enhancing observations for leaders (K–8)
Planning an Amplify Science lesson (K–8)
Supporting diverse learners: Exploring the resources (K–8)
Supporting diverse learners with embedded supports: Teacher modeling and student discourse (K–8)

Begin: Enhancing planning for teachers
(grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn how to use a planning protocol to internalize an upcoming Amplify Science unit. Leave with a plan to support students engaging in three-dimensional learning while also meeting the diverse needs of students in your classroom.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Enhancing practice for teachers
(grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn how Amplify Science supports phenomenon-based learning. Experience a sequence of model instruction from the curriculum, and walk away with a plan for how you can enhance the curriculum through your teaching practice to build a powerful culture of “figuring out” in your science classroom.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Enhancing observations for leaders (grades K–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn to use the non-evaluative classroom walkthrough tool for Amplify Science to promote the use of instructional resources, focus on instructional delivery, and monitor instruction. Leave with an action plan for collecting and analyzing observation data to support teachers in their implementation of Amplify Science.

Audience: Leaders grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Planning an Amplify Science lesson

Virtual, 1 hour

Develop structure and routines for planning Amplify Science lessons and leave prepared for an upcoming lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Supporting diverse learners: Exploring the resources (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Learn how to use lesson-specific differentiation briefs, embedded assessments, and activity-specific teacher support notes to maximize instruction for diverse learners with Amplify Science.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Begin: Strengthen Focus: Supporting diverse learners with embedded supports: Teacher modeling and student discourse (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore ways to leverage and build upon two key instructional elements in Amplify Science, and plan how you’ll use these supports to engage diverse learners in your next lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice packages

Strengthen sessions

	On-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 15, on-site package (15 hr.)	Hybrid 13 package (13 hr.)	Virtual package (9 hr.)
One session per package	On-site, 3 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.	Virtual, 1 hr.	Virtual, 3 hr.
Enhancing planning (K–5 or 6–8)
Enhancing practice (K–5 or 6–8)
Enhancing observations for leaders (K–8)
Supporting all learners with complex texts (K–5 or 6–8)
Supporting English learners (K–5 or 6–8)
Writing in science (K–5 or 6–8)
Assessment system (K–5 or 6–8)
Engineering Internships (6–8)
Science Seminar (6–8)
Planning an Amplify Science lesson (K–8)
Supporting diverse learners: Exploring the resources (K–8)
Supporting diverse learners: Teacher modeling and student discourse (K–8)
Analyzing student work (K–8)
Supporting diverse learners: Multimodal learning and multiple at-bats (K–8)
Grading with Amplify Science (K–8)
Enhancing the digital experience (K–5)
Planning with the Coherence Flowchart (K–8)

Practice: Enhancing planning for teachers
(grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Learn how to use a planning protocol to internalize an upcoming Amplify Science unit. Walk away with a plan to support students engaging in three-dimensional learning while also meeting the diverse needs of students in your classroom.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Enhancing practice for teachers
(grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Enhancing observations for leaders
(grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Audience: Leaders grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Supporting all learners with complex texts (grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Collaborate to solve common reading challenges alongside other educators. Learn strategies to support students in grades K–5 or 6–8 in accessing complex texts in Amplify Science units by engaging in a model reading sequence. Leave with a plan for incorporating effective strategies into your upcoming Amplify Science reading lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Supporting English learners (grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Explore strategies and engage in model activities to support multilingual/English learners in grades K–5 or 6–8 in developing their abilities to do, talk, read, write, visualize, and construct arguments in Amplify Science. Leave with strategies to support a deeper understanding of the critical role that language and literacy play in developing scientific understanding.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Writing in science (grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Develop an understanding of how the Amplify Science writing approach supports students in grades K–5 or 6–8 in engaging in science practices, making sense of science ideas, and growing as writers. Leave with a plan for supporting student writing in your next unit.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Assessment system (grades K–5 or 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Available: Fall 2024

Analyze a sample formative assessment, deepen your understanding of Amplify Science unit learning progressions, and participate in discussions to understand the relationships between different types of assessments and your unit’s learning goals. Walk away with strategies for collecting, analyzing, and responding to student assessment data.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades of K–5 or 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Engineering Internships (grades 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Plan for the first Amplify Science Engineering Internship course of your grade level (6–8) by exploring the Futura workspace and digital tools students will use during the Internship experience. Leave with an understanding of how students will apply science concept knowledge to construct design solutions. This session will feature one of the following Engineering Internships based on your need: Metabolism, Plate Motion, or Force and Motion unit.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Science Seminar (grades 6–8)

On-site or virtual, 3 hours

Experience a Science Seminar sequence of a sample Amplify Science grade 6–8 unit from the student perspective to gain an understanding of how students apply science concepts to engage in argumentation about a phenomenon. Leave with a plan for teaching a Science Seminar unit in your own classroom.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades 6–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Planning an Amplify Science lesson (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Develop a structure for planning Amplify Science lessons and leave prepared for an upcoming lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Supporting diverse learners: Exploring the resources (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Learn how to use lesson-specific differentiation briefs, embedded assessments, and activity-specific teacher support notes to supplement instruction for diverse learners with Amplify Science.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Supporting diverse learners: Teacher modeling and student discourse (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Explore ways to leverage and build upon two key instructional elements in Amplify Science and plan for ways to use these supports to engage diverse learners in your next lesson.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Analyzing student work (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Engage with a protocol to analyze real student work and plan for instructional next steps in Amplify Science. (You are required to bring student formative assessment samples to this session.)

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Supporting diverse learners: Multimodal learning and multiple at-bats (grades K–8)

Virtual, 3 hours

Learn strategies to develop an understanding of how Amplify Science’s multimodal approach supports diverse learners.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Grading with Amplify Science (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Develop an understanding of how to use assessment resources in Amplify Science to grade students three dimensionally and use practices that align with district/school guidelines.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Enhancing the digital experience (grades K–5)

Virtual, 1 hour

Learn how to go further with Amplify Science digital experience tools to enhance teaching and learning.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–5 (maximum 30 participants)

Practice: Strengthen Focus: Planning with the Coherence Flowchart (grades K–8)

Virtual, 1 hour

Practice using the Coherence Flowchart resource to plan an upcoming Amplify Science unit.

Audience: Teachers, instructional staff grades K–8 (maximum 30 participants)

Get in touch with a PD expert

We’re here to provide answers and guidance as you explore your PD journey. Fill out the form to connect with us and discover how Amplify PD can enhance your educational journey.

Amplify Desmos Math California

Welcome, Algebra 1 Reviewers!

Your Review Samples

Print Samples

Your print samples should have arrived in grade-specific tubs with a copy of your Reviewer Binder contained within the Algebra 1 shipping box. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside the tub as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital Samples

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Access Flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation Tips

Click the links below to read about navigating program features including:

Built for California

Focus on the Big Ideas: Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons.
Center on open and engaging tasks: Amplify Desmos Math California is grounded in engaging tasks meant to address students’ often-asked question: “Why am I learning this?” Students are invited into learning with low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that provide an entry point for all. Open tasks in Amplify Desmos Math California provide the space for students to try on multiple strategies and represent their thinking in different ways, and allow student explanation and discussion to serve as the center of the classroom. All lessons offer both print and digital representations of lessons.
Provide enhanced digital experiences: Amplify Desmos Math California includes digitally-enhanced lesson activities, incorporating interactive digital tools alongside print materials. These purposefully-placed resources allow students to visualize mathematical concepts, receive actionable feedback while practicing, encounter personalized learning support from an onscreen tutor, and engage in discussions about their thinking and approaches.
Treat core instruction and differentiation as integral partners: The Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks. Every activity has multiple entry points to ensure that all students are supported and challenged. Intervention and personalized learning activities are directly connected to lesson content and offer students the individualized support as they dive into the mathematics.

Category 1: Mathematics Content/Alignment with the Standards

Standards Map

Linked here is the Standards Map for Amplify Desmos Math California for Algebra 1.

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked here is the Evaluation Criteria Map Algebra 1. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

Linked here is the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the Standards for Mathematical Practice at Algebra 1.

Drivers of Investigation and Content Connections

California English Language Development Standards

Linked here is the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the California English Language Development Standards for Algebra 1.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts

Select lessons, performance tasks, and investigations across grade levels in Amplify Desmos Math California are aligned to one or more of the California Environmental Principles and Concepts. Click this link to view how the California Environmental Principles and Concepts are represented in Amplify Desmos Math California Algebra 1.

Category 2: Program Organization

Big Ideas

Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons. Please refer to Keeping the Big Ideas at the Center, linked here, for the Amplify Desmos Math California Algebra 1 lesson design and alignment to the Big Ideas.

Program Structure

Amplify Desmos Math California combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.

Scope and Sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for Amplify Desmos Math California Algebra 1.

A chart showing Algebra 1 units across two volumes, detailing instructional days, assessment days, and optional days for each unit, totaling 180 days plus 40 optional days.

Lesson Design and Structure

Launch: The launch is a short, whole-class conversation that creates a need or excitement, provides clarity, or helps students connect their prior knowledge or personal experience, which ensures that everyone has access to the upcoming work.

Monitor: As students work individually, in pairs, or in groups, teachers explore student thinking, ask questions, and provide support to help move the conversations closer to the intended math learning goal.

Connect: Teachers connect students’ ideas to the key learning goals of the lesson, facilitating class discussions that help synthesize and solidify the Big Ideas.

Each lesson within Amplify Desmos Math California follows the same structure.

Warm-Up: Every Amplify Desmos Math California lesson begins with a whole class Warm-Up. Warm-Ups are an invitational Instructional Routine intended to provide a social moment at the start of the lesson in which every student has an opportunity to contribute. Warm-Ups may build fluency or highlight a strategy that may be helpful in the current lesson or act as an invitation into the math of the lesson.

Lesson Activities: Each lesson includes one or two activities. These activities are the heart of each lesson. Students notice, wonder, explore, calculate, predict, measure, explain their thinking, use math to settle disputes, create challenges for their classmates, and more. Guidance is provided to help teachers launch, monitor, and connect student thinking over the course of the activity.

Synthesis and Show What You Know: The Synthesis is an opportunity for the teacher and students to pull all the learning of the lesson together into a lesson takeaway. Students engage in a facilitated discussion to consolidate and refine their ideas about the learning goals, and the teacher synthesizes students’ learning. Show What You Know is a daily assessment opportunity for students to show what they know about the learning goals and what they are still learning.

Practice and Differentiation: Daily practice problems for the day’s lesson are included both online and in the print Student Edition, including fluency, test practice, and spiral review.

Flowchart showing classroom activity timing: Warm-Up (5 min), Lesson Activities (30 min), Synthesis and Show What You Know (10 min), Practice and Differentiation (time varies).

Routines

Math Language Routines

MLR1: Stronger and Clearer Each Time
MLR2: Collect and Display
MLR3: Critique, Correct, Clarify
MLR5: Co-Craft Questions
MLR6: Three Reads
MLR7: Compare and Connect
MLR 8: Discussion Supports

Instructional Routines

Decide and Defend
Notice and Wonder
Number Talk
Tell a Story
Think-Pair-Share
Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Category 3: Assessments

A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math California provides evidence of student learning, while helping students bolster their skills and understanding.

Unit-Level Assessment

Pre-Unit Check: Each unit begins with a formative assessment designed to identify the student skills that will be particularly relevant to the upcoming unit. This check is agnostic to the standards covered in the following unit and serves not as a deficit-based acknowledgment of what students do not know, but rather as an affirmation of the knowledge and skills with which students come in.

End-of-Unit Assessment: Students engage with rigorous grade-level mathematics through a variety of formats and tasks in the summative End-of-Unit Assessment. A combination of auto-scored (when completed digitally) and rubric-scored items provides deep insights into student thinking. All Amplify Desmos Math California End-of-Unit Assessments include two forms.

Sub-Unit Quizzes: Sub-Unit Quizzes are formative assessments embedded regularly in Algebra 1. In these checks, students are assessed on a subset of conceptual understandings from the unit, with rubrics that help illuminate students’ current understanding and provide guidance for responding to student thinking.

Performance Tasks: At the end of each unit there is a summative assessment performance task provided to evaluate students’ proficiency with the concepts and skills addressed in the unit.

Lesson-Level Assessments

Show What You Know: Each lesson has a daily formative assessment focused on one of the key concepts in the lesson. Show What You Know moments are carefully designed to minimize completion time for students while maximizing daily teacher insights to attend to student needs during the following class.

Responsive Feedback™: Teachers have the ability to see and provide in-the-moment feedback as students progress through a digital lesson. Responsive Feedback motivates students and engages them in the learning process.

Diagnostic Assessment

CAASPP-Aligned Assessment Preparation

Data and Reporting

Amplify Desmos Math California provides teachers and administrators with unified reporting and insights so that educators have visibility into what students know about grade-level math—and can plan instruction accordingly for the whole class, small groups, and individual students. Reporting functionality integrates unit assessments, lesson assessments, diagnostic data and progress monitoring for a comprehensive look at student learning. Program reports show proficiency and growth by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concept using performance data from unit assessments, then highlight areas of potential student need to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

Administrator reporting provides a complete picture of student, class, and district performance, allowing administrators to implement instructional and intervention plans.

Category 4: Access and Equity

Universal Design for Learning

Each lesson in the program incorporates opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Multiple Means of Engagement: Students engage in both print and digital learning, and are regularly participating in discussions and hands-on activities. Students are invited to build their own challenge for other students to solve, which provides opportunities for choice and autonomy, as well as joy and play.
Multiple Means of Representation: Students are encouraged to demonstrate their learning using mathematical representations, both print and digital, and regularly engage with their peers in analyzing multiple possible solutions. Classes engage in open-ended discussions about what individual students notice and wonder about mathematical concepts.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Learners differ in how they navigate learning environments and express what they know. Students can communicate their ideas in multiple ways, including in print, sketching, uploading photos, or recording an audio response.

Accessibility

Lesson facilitation supports

Conceptual Processing
Visual-Spatial Processing
Executive Functioning
Memory and Attention
Fine Motor Skills

Accessibility tools

Text to speech: Reads text instructions to students in multiple languages
Enlarged font: Increases the size of all text on screen
Braille mode: Includes narration of digital interactions
Language selection: Toggles between languages

Differentiation: In-Lesson Teacher Moves

A chart outlines three differentiation strategies—Support, Strengthen, and Stretch—with specific actions for each. A Math Language Development box is shown at the bottom.

Differentiation: Beyond the Lesson

Mini-Lessons: 15-minute, small-group direct instruction lessons targeted to a specific concept or skill
Item Banks: Space for teachers to create practice and assessments by using filters and searching for standards, summative-style items, and more
Fluency Practice: Adaptive, personalized practice built out for basic operations and more
Extensions: Lesson-embedded Teacher Moves including possible stretch questions and activities for students
Lesson Practice: Additional practice problems support every lesson
Math Adventures: Strategy-based math games where students engage with math concepts and practice skills in a fun digital environment
Lesson Summary Support: Support for students and caregivers that provides efficient explanation of the learning goal with clear examples

Math Identity and Community

I can be all of me in math class. You will work with partners every day in math class. What do you want your partners to know about you?
We are a math community. What does good listening look like and sound like in a math community?
I am a doer of math. What math strengths did you use today?

Math Language Development

Vocabulary: Units and lessons start by surfacing students’ language for new concepts, then building connections between their language and the new vocabulary for that unit. This honors the language assets that students bring into their learning.
Language Goals: Language goals attend to the mathematics students are learning, and are written through the lens of one or more of four language modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Math Language Routines: Math Language Routines are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote meta-cognition.
Multilingual/English Learner Supports: Supports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentional points within each lesson. These specific, targeted suggestions support ML/ELs with modifications that increase access to a task, or through development of contextual or mathematical language (both of which can be supportive of all learners).

Multilingual and English Learner Supports

Partnership with English Learner Success Forum

Math Language Development Resource

Multilingual glossary

Amplify Desmos Math California includes a digital glossary for languages other than Spanish. Translations will be provided for up to nine languages.

Spanish version

Amplify Desmos Math California will include Spanish student-facing materials beginning in the 2026–27 school year.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Support

Grade-level concepts

Within the Teacher Edition front matter:

Scope and sequence
Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Unit and Sub-Unit Overview:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Math that Matters Most
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Lesson:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

How to implement the program

At the course level (within the Teacher Edition front matter):

Navigating the Program (both print and digital)
Facilitating Lesson Activities with Launch, Monitor and Connect
Overview of the Digital Facilitation Tools

At the lesson level:

Suggestions for timing
What materials to prep
How to organize and group students
Key lesson takeaways with the Synthesis
Recommendations for Differentiation
Strategies for intervention and extensions (in the Intervention, Extensions, and Investigation Resources book)

At the activity level:

Differentiation recommendations
Accessibility tips
ML / EL tips
Teacher look-fors
Recommended Teacher Moves
Prompts for guiding student thinking
Sample student responses

Development of Math Language

A variety of language development supports are provided within the Student and Teacher Editions and Math Language Development Resources book.

At the lesson level:

Diagrams and visuals
Sentence frames and word banks
Graphic organizers, including Frayer models
Vocabulary routines
Embedded language supports aligned to the CA ELDs
Lesson-specific strategies for Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging

At the unit level:

Words With Multiple Meanings
Contextual vocabulary

At the course level:

English/Spanish cognates
Multilingual Glossary

Other Curriculum Guidance

Additional Practice Resources book
Assessment Resources book
Assess and Respond guidance paired with each assessment opportunity
Show-What-You-Know activities
Answer keys and rubrics
Performance tasks

Amplify Tutor Fingerprinting

Amplify Desmos Math California

Welcome, Math 1 Reviewers!

Your Review Samples

Print Samples

Your print samples should have arrived in grade-specific tubs with a copy of your Reviewer Binder contained within the Math 1 shipping box. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside the tub as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital Samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log into our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Access Flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:
- Click the orange button below to access the platform.
- Click “Log in with Amplify.”
- Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Access Flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation Tips

Click the links below to read about navigating program features including:

Built for California

Focus on the Big Ideas: Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons.
Center on open and engaging tasks: Amplify Desmos Math California is grounded in engaging tasks meant to address students’ often-asked question: “Why am I learning this?” Students are invited into learning with low-floor, high-ceiling tasks that provide an entry point for all. Open tasks in Amplify Desmos Math California provide the space for students to try on multiple strategies and represent their thinking in different ways, and allow student explanation and discussion to serve as the center of the classroom. All lessons offer both print and digital representations of lessons.
Provide enhanced digital experiences: Amplify Desmos Math California includes digitally-enhanced lesson activities, incorporating interactive digital tools alongside print materials. These purposefully-placed resources allow students to visualize mathematical concepts, receive actionable feedback while practicing, encounter personalized learning support from an onscreen tutor, and engage in discussions about their thinking and approaches.
Treat core instruction and differentiation as integral partners: The Amplify Desmos Math California curriculum provides teachers with lessons, strategies, and resources to eliminate barriers and increase access to grade-level content without reducing the mathematical demand of tasks. Every activity has multiple entry points to ensure that all students are supported and challenged. Intervention and personalized learning activities are directly connected to lesson content and offer students the individualized support as they dive into the mathematics.

Category 1: Mathematics Content/Alignment with the Standards

Standards Map

Linked here is the Standards Map for Amplify for Math 1.

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked here is the Evaluation Criteria Map for Math 1. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Standards of Mathematical Practice

Linked here is the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the Standards for Mathematical Practice at Math 1.

Drivers of Investigation and Content Connections

A chart with three columns: Drivers of Investigation, Standards for Mathematical Practice, and Content Connections. Each column lists related activities and skills.

California English Language Development Standards

Linked here is the alignment of Amplify Desmos Math California to the California English Language Development Standards for Math 1.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts

Select lessons, performance tasks, and investigations across grade levels in Amplify Desmos Math California are aligned to one or more of the California Environmental Principles and Concepts. Click this link to view how the California Environmental Principles and Concepts are represented in Amplify Desmos Math California Math 1.

Category 2: Program Organization

Big Ideas

Amplify Desmos Math California’s courses, units, and lessons are centered around the Big Ideas. Big Ideas, like standards, are not considered in isolation. In addition to each unit and lesson’s focal Big Ideas, Amplify Desmos Math California also provides connections among the Big Ideas across units and lessons. Please refer to Keeping the Big Ideas at the Center, linked here, for the Amplify Desmos Math California Math 1 lesson design and alignment to the Big Ideas.

Program Structure

Amplify Desmos Math combines the best of problem-based lessons, intervention, personalized practice, and assessments into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.

A flowchart diagram showing "Screening and progress monitoring" linked to three phases: Core instruction, Integrated personalized learning, and Embedded Intervention, with daily support noted.

Scope and Sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for Amplify Desmos Math California Math 1.

Mathematics I syllabus: Unit 1 to Unit 7 across two volumes, covering various math topics with instructional, assessment, and optional days detailed for each unit.

Lesson Design and Structure

Infographic showing a learning process: Warm-Up, Activities, Synthesis, and Reinforcement. Activities aim to increase student understanding over time.

Connect: Teachers connect students’ ideas to the key learning goals of the lesson, facilitating class discussions that help synthesize and solidify the Big Ideas.

Each lesson within Amplify Desmos Math California follows the same structure.

Practice and Differentiation: Daily practice problems for the day’s lesson are included both online and in the print Student Edition, including fluency, test practice, and spiral review.

Routines

Math Language Routines

MLR1: Stronger and Clearer Each Time
MLR2: Collect and Display
MLR3: Critique, Correct, Clarify
MLR5: Co-Craft Questions
MLR6: Three Reads
MLR7: Compare and Connect
MLR 8: Discussion Supports

Instructional Routines

Decide and Defend
Notice and Wonder
Number Talk
Tell a Story
Think-Pair-Share
Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Category 3: Assessments

A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math California provides evidence of student learning, while helping students bolster their skills and understanding.

Unit-Level Assessment

Sub-Unit Quizzes: Sub-Unit Quizzes are formative assessments embedded regularly in Math 1. In these checks, students are assessed on a subset of conceptual understandings from the unit, with rubrics that help illuminate students’ current understanding and provide guidance for responding to student thinking.

Performance Tasks: At the end of each unit there is a summative assessment performance task provided to evaluate students’ proficiency with the concepts and skills addressed in the unit.

Lesson-Level Assessments

Diagnostic Assessment

CAASPP-Aligned Assessment Preparation

Data and Reporting

Administrator reporting provides a complete picture of student, class, and district performance, allowing administrators to implement instructional and intervention plans.

Category 4: Access and Equity

Universal Design for Learning

Each lesson in the program incorporates opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Multiple Means of Engagement: Students engage in both print and digital learning, and are regularly participating in discussions and hands-on activities. Students are invited to build their own challenge for other students to solve, which provides opportunities for choice and
autonomy, as well as joy and play.
Multiple Means of Representation: Students are encouraged to demonstrate their learning using mathematical representations, both print and digital, and regularly engage with their peers in analyzing multiple possible solutions. Classes engage in open-ended discussions about what individual students notice and wonder about mathematical concepts.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Learners differ in how they navigate learning environments and express what they know. Students can communicate their ideas in multiple ways, including in print, sketching, uploading photos, or recording an audio response.

Accessibility

Lesson Facilitation Supports

Conceptual Processing
Visual-Spatial Processing
Executive Functioning
Memory and Attention
Fine Motor Skills

Accessibility Tools

Text to speech: Reads text instructions to students in multiple languages
Enlarged font: Increases the size of all text on screen
Braille mode: Includes narration of digital interactions
Language selection: Toggles between languages

Differentiation: In-Lesson Teacher Moves

A differentiation guide for Lesson 3 showing strategies for support, strengthen, and stretch, plus a section on math language development resources, all in a structured layout.

Differentiation: Beyond the Lesson

Mini-Lessons: 15-minute, small-group direct instruction lessons targeted to a specific concept or skill
Item Banks: Space for teachers to create practice and assessments by using filters and searching for standards, summative-style items, and more
Fluency Practice: Adaptive, personalized practice built out for basic operations and more
Extensions: Lesson-embedded Teacher Moves including possible stretch questions and activities for students
Lesson Practice: Additional practice problems support every lesson
Math Adventures: Strategy-based math games where students engage with math concepts and practice skills in a fun digital environment
Lesson Summary Support: Support for students and caregivers that provides efficient explanation of the learning goal with clear examples

Math Identity and Community

I can be all of me in math class. You will work with partners every day in math class. What do you want your partners to know about you?
We are a math community. What does good listening look like and sound like in a math community?
I am a doer of math. What math strengths did you use today?

Math Language Development

Vocabulary: Units and lessons start by surfacing students’ language for new concepts, then building connections between their language and the new vocabulary for that unit. This honors the language assets that students bring into their learning.
Language Goals: Language goals attend to the mathematics students are learning, and are written through the lens of one or more of four language modalities: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Math Language Routines: Math Language Routines are used within lessons to highlight student-developed language and ideas, cultivate conversation, support mathematical sense-making, and promote meta-cognition.
Multilingual/English Learner Supports: Supports for multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs) are called out at intentional points within each lesson. These specific, targeted suggestions support ML/ELs with modifications that increase access to a task, or through development of contextual or mathematical language (both of which can be supportive of all learners).

Multilingual and English Learner Supports

Partnership with English Learner Success Forum

Math Language Development Resource

Multilingual Glossary

Amplify Desmos Math California includes a digital glossary for languages other than Spanish. Translations will be provided for up to nine languages.

Spanish Version

Amplify Desmos Math California will include Spanish student-facing materials beginning in the 2026–27 school year.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Support

Grade-level concepts

Within the Teacher Edition front matter:

Scope and sequence
Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Unit and Sub-Unit Overview:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Math that Matters Most
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

Within each Lesson:

Big Ideas, Drivers of Investigation, and Content Connections
Grade level standards
Standards for Mathematical Practice
English Language Development Standards
Environmental Principals and Concepts

How to implement the program

At the course level (within the Teacher Edition front matter):

Navigating the Program (both print and digital)
Facilitating Lesson Activities with Launch, Monitor and Connect
Overview of the Digital Facilitation Tools

At the lesson level:

Suggestions for timing
What materials to prep
How to organize and group students
Key lesson takeaways with the Synthesis
Recommendations for Differentiation
Strategies for intervention and extensions (in the Intervention, Extensions, and Investigation Resources book)

At the activity level:

Differentiation recommendations
Accessibility tips
ML / EL tips
Teacher look-fors
Recommended Teacher Moves
Prompts for guiding student thinking
Sample student responses

Development of Math Language

A variety of language development supports are provided within the Student and Teacher Editions and Math Language Development Resources book.

At the lesson level:

Diagrams and visuals
Sentence frames and word banks
Graphic organizers, including Frayer models
Vocabulary routines
Embedded language supports aligned to the CA ELDs
Lesson-specific strategies for Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging

At the unit level:

Words With Multiple Meanings
Contextual vocabulary

At the course level:

English/Spanish cognates
Multilingual Glossary

Other Curriculum Guidance

Additional Practice Resources book
Assessment Resources book
Assess and Respond guidance paired with each assessment opportunity
Show-What-You-Know activities
Answer keys and rubrics
Performance tasks

Science of Reading:
A glossary

The Science of Reading reflects decades of research on how children best learn to read and which instructional practices best support their journey. Understanding common Science of Reading definitions can help fast-track your instruction, so we’ve put together this glossary as a starting point.

Two girls in green uniforms look at a notebook together in a classroom. Educational icons and a "Built on the Science of Reading" label are overlaid on the image.

Common Science of Reading terms

Some of the most important terms for building your understanding of the Science of Reading:

Alphabetic principle: The understanding that specific sounds can be mapped onto specific letters
Biliteracy: The ability to communicate effectively in two different languages
Composition: The creation or organization of a written piece, short or long
Comprehension: The ability to understand what is written or said
Decoding: Translating a word from print to speech by understanding sound-spelling correspondences
Domain-specific knowledge: Understanding of the key principles in a specific subject area (such as scientific principles, poetry conventions)
Domain-specific vocabulary: Words key to understanding a specific subject area (such as scientific terms, poetic terms, technical terms)

Dyslexia: A language-based learning disorder or set of learning differences that makes it difficult to learn to read, write, or spell

Encoding: Translating a word from speech to print by understanding sound-spelling correspondences

Fluency: The ability to read a text with accuracy, speed, and expression

Inferences: Conclusions drawn through reasoning, without their being stated directly in a text

Learning differences: The unique ways in which brains can process information and the different rates at which they do it

Mental model: A general idea or structure of information that can be applied to many texts

Metacognition: Being mindful of one’s own thinking processes, including using knowledge of a given task, knowledge of cognitive strategies, and knowledge of one’s self, to successfully learn

Morphology: The study of word parts and how words are formed

MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support): A comprehensive framework designed to provide systematic and differentiated support to all students

Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another

Phonemic awareness: The ability to identify and work with individual sounds (phonemes) within a word

Phonics: Teaching the relationship between the sounds in oral language and the letters in written language

Reading Rope: A visual representation of the way decoding and comprehension skills work together in the brain of a skilled reader

Reasoning: The ability to apply knowledge based on new or existing information to comprehend the meaning of a passage

Science of Reading: The body of ongoing scientific research about how the brain works when one is learning to read, and how reading is best taught

Science of Writing: The body of ongoing scientific research about how the brain works when one is learning to write, and how writing is best taught

Sight recognition: The ability to recognize a written word without having to sound it out (also called word recognition)

Simple View of Reading: A framework that explains how word recognition and language comprehension work together to produce skilled reading

Simple View of Writing: A framework that explains how transcription and composition skills work together to produce skilled writing

Tier 1 instruction: Core grade-level instruction

Tier 2 instruction: Additional support for small groups of students to reinforce grade-level instruction

Tier 3 instruction: Intensive, more individualized intervention

Transcription: The process of converting speech into written text

Vocabulary: The quantity and quality of words a student knows

Word recognition: The ability to recognize a written word without having to sound it out (also called sight recognition)

Your guide to getting started with the Science of Reading

Looking for more grounding in the Science of Reading? Download our free ebook.

Download now

Cover of a guide titled "Science of Reading: A New Teacher’s Guide," featuring a teacher reading to two children, pencil and book icons, and helpful K-5 teaching resources. Perfect for those asking, "What is the science of reading?.

Artificial intelligence at Amplify

Amplify is committed to using artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities transparently, safely, responsibly, and ethically to deliver tools and resources that continue to fulfill our purpose. We are also committed to aiding students, teachers, and our staff with the skills and understanding required to use AI technology effectively and fairly.

Thoughtful and intentional integration of AI technology supports Amplify’s purpose by extending teachers’ reach, saving them time, enhancing their understanding of each student, and providing new ways to engage students in powerful and rigorous learning experiences.

At the core of our work is our belief that these technologies, if used wisely, can support teachers in creating the kind of classroom experiences every student deserves—collaborative, interesting, and personalized.

Amplify’s AI principles

Governance and risk management: Amplify is developing and maintaining a governance and risk-management program aligned to EDSAFE AI Alliance’s S.A.F.E. Benchmarks Framework and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, which includes internal policies and procedures to support compliance and safe and responsible use of AI. Amplify’s program guides the design, development, deployment, and overall implementation of AI in Amplify’s products and the tools used in Amplify’s operations. The governance program applies both to Amplify-developed capabilities and third-party development and integrations.

Amplify aligns to EDSAFE AI Alliance’s S.A.F.E. Benchmarks Framework as follows:

SAFETY: Uphold privacy, security, and reliability.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Be human-centered, responsive to human guidance, and transparent.
FAIRNESS AND TRANSPARENCY: Avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias, and assess for impact.
EFFICACY: Be purposeful and rigorous.

Privacy and security: Amplify ensures that privacy protections are included by default in AI systems, including ensuring that data collection conforms to reasonable expectations and that only data strictly necessary for the specific context is collected, in conformance with our policies around the collection, use, and sharing of personal information. Amplify’s applications use student personal information solely for the purpose of performing the service, in alignment with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and applicable state law and district policies and contracts. In addition, Amplify monitors security risks specific to AI systems, including dataset poisoning, prompt injection, and adversarial attacks, and shores up resilience against attempts to alter use, behavior, or performance, or to compromise security properties. Read more about Amplify privacy and security programs.

AI in Amplify’s products and services

Amplify uses AI in our programs in ways that respond to the demonstrated needs of districts, teachers, and students and that meet our high standards for safety, accountability, fairness, and efficacy. Amplify has established an AI Center of Excellence, with AI scientists, engineers, product managers, and designers dedicated to establishing best practices and guiding development in key areas that meet these criteria.

Some ways Amplify leverages AI in products and services:

Amplify ELA: Amplify ELA’s Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools give teachers the ability to understand, track, and support student progress with key foundational skills, which are strong indicators of students’ analytic writing proficiency. Developed in conjunction with the Writing Prompts in Amplify ELA, AWE assesses student writing for Focus, Use of Evidence, and Conventions, providing critical feedback for teachers and data for Amplify’s writing reports.

Boost Reading: Students in grades K–5 may take the Boost Reading Benchmark Assessment to determine their placement in Boost when they first log in. Students receive a set of word recognition, fluency, and comprehension activities, supported by automatic speech recognition.

Boost Math: Personalized Learning activities feature Spark, a virtual tutor that uses text-to-speech to provide personalized, engaging support to help students build mastery. The tutor incorporates student numerical responses in its conversation, but does not use student personal information.

Achieve life-changing results with the
Science of Reading—we’ll show you how.

Watching students learn to read is magic. But knowing how they get there? That’s science.

Making the shift to the Science of Reading is commendable, but it is no small feat. Our extensive experience, field-tested resources, and stories of literacy success will help you deliver the true transformation you need in your district—and see the results your students deserve.

An illustration of a brain with superimposed images: handwriting, cursive letters, and the words "once upon a time" arranged in a sequence.

Exploring the Science of Writing

Discover the captivating journey of writing with our new guide, Science of Writing: A Primer. This resource delves into the history of writing, highlights the crucial link between combining reading and writing instruction, and reveals why handwriting still matters in today’s digital world. Designed to complement CKLA 3rd Edition and our other literacy tools, this primer is set to become a trusted companion, just like those before it.

Download now

MTSS Playbook

Explore our new ebook designed to help you build an evidence-based Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) tailored to diverse literacy goals. This resource provides actionable steps and essential questions to fortify your MTSS with the Science of Reading, enhancing its effectiveness and achieving better outcomes for your students.

Download the playbook

Woman and child smiling while reading a book, with colorful cartoon animals in the background.

Cover of a "Change Management Playbook" guide, featuring two women reviewing a tablet and a teacher in an orange sweater instructing a classroom—highlighting K–5 literacy instruction and effective science of reading resources.

The science of teaching reading, coupled with the art of change management

Shifting to the Science of Reading isn’t just an overnight curriculum swap—it’s a profound culture change with multiple stages and stakeholders. We’ve helped educators succeed in that shift for years, and now we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Through each stage of implementation, our Change Management Playbook will help you mobilize your practice, process, and people to make the shift that matters most.

Download the playbook

What is the Science of Reading?

Learning to read is not innate, but it can be taught—and science tells us how. The Science of Reading refers to the vast body of growing research that deconstructs how children learn to read, and the instructional practices that can get them there.

Reading fluency requires a complex combination of skills, taught explicitly and systematically. There are two main frameworks that can help us break it all down: The Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Rope.

Learn more

Two schoolgirls in green uniforms look at a notebook together in a classroom. Science of Reading and book icons are overlaid on the image.

Cover of a guide titled "Science of Reading: A New Teacher’s Guide" by Amplify, featuring a teacher with two children and educational icons.

Science of Reading starter kit for new teachers

New to the classroom? We’ve compiled a collection of resources and insights about the Science of Reading to help you acquire more knowledge and build confidence. You’ll find the tools, information, and support you need to foster successful readers and writers in your classroom this school year—and beyond.

Access your resources

The Simple View of Reading

The Simple View of Reading, formulated by Philip Gough and William Tunmer in 1986, is the theory that proficient reading requires two main components:

Converting written words into speech, otherwise known as decoding.
Understanding that speech, otherwise known as reading comprehension.

Flowchart illustrating skilled reading as the product of language comprehension and word recognition, grounded in the science of reading.

A diagram with intertwining orange, yellow, and blue lines converging and diverging, illustrating interconnected pathways on a black background—reflecting the dynamic flow of ideas found in Core Knowledge or Amplify CKLA curricula.

The Reading Rope

The Reading Rope, developed by Dr. Hollis Scarborough in 2001, helps us visualize the strands of specific skills and instruction that support students in decoding and comprehension.

Professional development to support your shift to the Science of Reading

Ignite literacy transformation with Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Learning Lab—an inspiring three-course series.

Dive into a comprehensive overview with course one, Foundations to the Science of Reading.
Examine assessments and their roles in course two, Advanced Topics in the Science of Reading: Assessment and Reading Difficulties.
Apply effective literacy instruction to your classroom in course three, Applied Structured Literacy.

Crafted to the standards of the International Dyslexia Association, this self-paced online series provides unparalleled, research-backed instruction. Explore enriching activities, curated resources, and learn from Susan Lambert, chief academic officer and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast.

The best investment you can make is in knowledge, and the returns are priceless.

Illustration of a webpage titled "Science of Reading: The Learning Lab series" with icons of a book, paper, and other subjects below the title.

Learn more about the online courses or request a quote!

Explore the courses

Two labeled course cards: "Course 1: Foundations to the Science of Reading" and "Course 2: Advanced Topics in the Science of Reading," with a shopping cart icon in the top right.

Tap into individual online course seats.

Purchase a seat

Science of Reading podcast cover image open book

Science of Reading: The Podcast

Tune in to hear the latest insights and trends in early reading, right from leading literacy experts and practitioners.

Listen now

Build your background knowledge of the Science of Reading.

Our Science of Reading principles and primers explain the essentials: what the Science of Reading is, how it works, and why it matters for every student.

An infographic titled "Science of Reading principles" showcases ten evidence-based K–5 literacy instruction strategies, informed by interdisciplinary research, in color-coded boxes with a "NEW" badge in the top right corner.

New Science of Reading principles placemat!

Decades of research inform the updated Science of Reading principles placemat. Use these insights as a guide for evidence-based literacy instruction—perfect for committed educators aiming to achieve real improvements in student reading outcomes.

Download principles

An illustration of a girl running with a colorful kite, with text reading "Science of Reading: A Primer | Part One" and "Amplify" in the top left corner, highlighting K–5 literacy instruction.

Science of Reading
A Primer: Part 1

In part 1 of our definitive Science of Reading primer, we discuss literacy as a societal goal, walk you through how the brain learns to decode and comprehend text, and present the patterns that top-performing schools and districts follow to achieve early reading success.

Download primer 1

Illustration of two people atop a yellow pyramid, with text reading "Science of Reading: A Primer | Part Two"—an engaging look at K–5 literacy instruction. "Amplify" appears in the top left corner.

Science of Reading
A Primer: Part 2

In part 2 of our Science of Reading primer, we establish the importance of prior knowledge for comprehension, lay out the process of micro-comprehension, and demonstrate how literacy skills build on and accelerate themselves.

Download primer 2

A woman with long dark hair smiles in front of a plain background, reflecting the joy she finds in interdisciplinary research. She is wearing a dark green top and earrings.

“If you’re looking for a Science of Reading training, the [Science of Reading: Foundations to the Science of Reading] online course is great. It helps you build background knowledge on learning how students learn how to read, and then it goes deeper and it gives you strategies that correlate with those findings that you can implement right into your classroom.”

—Allie Appel, Instructional Coach

School District of Arcadia, WI

Why undertake this crucial change?

When we bring proven methods based on the Science of Reading into schools, we make sure kids are learning to read and help teachers and caregivers support a culture of reading. Together, we can solve the reading crisis and make literacy a reality everywhere.

You’ll change lives with literacy.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 35% of fourth graders in the United States are proficient in reading. But schools using a Science of Reading approach have seen significant improvements in literacy rates. Using research-based methods, educators can help give all children the chance to become successful readers.

See the report card

Young boy in a classroom sits at a desk and writes on a worksheet, with other children working at nearby desks in the background.

You’ll build a foundation with explicit, systematic skills instruction.

Reading skills don’t come naturally. We actually need to rewire our brains with intentional, structured literacy instruction—starting with sounds.

Learn more

You’ll improve outcomes with knowledge building.

Longitudinal research shows that knowledge building doesn’t just happen as a result of reading, but is also a vital prerequisite for and component of it. And when delivered intentionally and systematically, knowledge delivers literacy results.

Read the research

Illustration depicting diverse people engaged in various activities, including astronauts in space, a musician engaged in interdisciplinary research, and a child drawing, set against a whimsical celestial backdrop.

A person with long braided hair, wearing oversized glasses, earrings, a necklace, and a red top, smiles at the camera against a plain background.

“It’s not just about the curriculum. It’s about the science behind how people, how children, and how we as humans learn to read… It’s working. I wish I had this years ago. ”

—Javonna Mack, Lead Content Teacher

Caddo Parish Schools, Louisiana

Science of Reading & Early Literacy Resources FAQ

Amplify understands that making the shift to the Science of Reading is no small feat. Get some early literacy resources and guidance with our Science of Reading FAQ.

Learning to read is not innate. It needs to be taught intentionally and systematically—and science tells us how. The vast and growing body of research on early literacy is referred to as the Science of Reading. It draws on extensive research in cognitive science, linguistics, and neuroscience. It emphasizes the systematic teaching of foundational skills—such as phonics, phonological awareness, and decoding—in building vocabulary and comprehension. In other words, it deconstructs the processes behind how children learn to read, and provides evidence for the instructional practices and early literacy resources that can get them there.

Read more

The Science of Reading refers to the pedagogy and practices proven by extensive research to effectively teach children how to read. It places a strong emphasis on both components of the Simple View of Reading, demonstrating that systematic and explicit instruction in phonics and and intentionally sequenced knowledge building are critical to reading success.

In a balanced literacy environment, learning happens through reading and writing immersion, where the need for explicit instruction in phonics is recognized but is not the primary focus.

The key difference between the approaches lies in their emphasis on foundational reading skills and a coherent approach to building language comprehension.

A balanced literacy approach typically includes a combination of whole language approaches (emphasizing meaning and context) and phonics instruction. Balanced literacy instruction is designed to be flexible and open to interpretation by the instructor. It may include the three-cueing system, which encourages students to rely on syntactic and semantic clues in a text to read an unfamiliar word, rather than decoding (Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?). Balanced literacy practitioners may also use leveled reading to differentiate instruction, which can can limit vocabulary exposure, hinder in-depth comprehension skills, and further widen achievement gaps.

Balanced literacy has long been a popular approach to reading instruction, with educators appreciating its openness to variation. But advocates for the Science of Reading argue that an evidence-based approach aligned with known cognitive processes and a focus on foundational skills and language comprehension provides the most solid foundation for reading instruction—for confident and struggling readers alike.

Read more

According to our friends at The Reading League, the Science of Reading is important not because it gives us an effective way to teach reading, but because it gives us the most effective way to teach reading.

“The Science of Reading is critical because it emphasizes evidence-based instruction. Decades of scientific research on reading have consistently shown the most effective ways to teach reading. The Science of Reading incorporates this research, which includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.”

The Reading League also takes it to the next level: What happens when all children have access to the most effective early literacy and reading education? “We believe in a future where a collective focus on applying the Science of Reading through teacher and leader preparation, classroom application, and community engagement will elevate and transform every community, every nation, through the power of literacy.”

The Science of Reading has identified five foundational reading skills that are considered crucial for early reading development. One of those skills is phonics. In other words, the Science of Reading has established that phonics are crucial, but the Science of Reading is not the same as phonics.

Phonics instruction helps students learn how to sound out and blend letters to read words accurately. As we know from the Simple View of Reading, two fundamental skills are required for reading with comprehension:

Decoding—the ability to recognize written words (via phonics)
Language comprehension—understanding what words mean

And the Science of Reading also reminds us that students do not have to learn phonics or decoding before knowledge comes into the equation. “The background knowledge that children bring to a text is also a contributor to language comprehension,” says Sonia Cabell, Ph.D., associate professor at Florida State University’s School of Teacher Education, on Science of Reading: The Podcast.

The Science of Reading is an evolving field built on decades of high-quality, evidence-based research that continually integrates new insights gathered from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics. These ongoing studies constantly refine our understanding of how the human brain processes language and learning, enabling more personalized and effective teaching strategies that can adapt to the wide-ranging learning needs of students.

Like other sciences such as medicine, astronomy, or engineering – new advancements in reading technology allow us to understand how the brain works and refine our practices. Every scientific advancement in this field of reading science deepens our comprehension of reading-related challenges like dyslexia and informs the development of evidence-based interventions. We don’t believe that the Science of Reading can be reduced to a fad or trend. Rather, it is a continually evolving, enduringly effective discipline, grounded in rigorous research and driven by the quest for better comprehension of how we read and learn.

Assessment grounded in the Science of Reading can help identify children at risk of dyslexia at the earliest possible moments, creating the widest opportunity for intervention.

People with dyslexia often experience challenges in phonological awareness. They may struggle to break down words into their component sounds and to recognize the relationships between letters and sounds. Systematic and explicit instruction in phonics and phonological awareness can help individuals with dyslexia develop necessary phonological skills. This evidence-based instruction can also help students who have difficulty with decoding.

Further, evidence-based comprehension instruction, including explicit instruction in vocabulary and comprehension strategies, can support students with dyslexia in understanding and making meaning from text.

Download our free dyslexia toolkit

The Science of Reading can be integrated with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to provide comprehensive and targeted reading instruction for all students. The Science of Reading aligns with a tiered model by providing evidence-based practices for instruction at each tier. An MTSS includes universal screening to identify students at risk of reading difficulties; the Science of Reading can also guide the selection of screening measures to assess specific foundational skills. Aligning the Science of Reading with an MTSS framework can also enhance instructional practices and interventions, ensure data-driven decision making, and help meet the needs of all students.

Read more

Integrating the Science of Reading and the Science of Writing strengthens our approach to teaching literacy. Reading and writing are interdependent. Understanding how sentences are built not only contributes to better reading comprehension, it also helps writers develop clear, logical text. As students grow as readers, they also grow as writers, leading to a comprehensive literacy education. Clear thinking and effective writing are crucial for expressing ideas. By fostering both skills, teachers better support students in becoming confident readers and writers, prepared for academic challenges and beyond.

One of the research-based frameworks used in the Science of Reading is the Simple View of Reading. According to the Simple View, two cognitive capacities are needed for proficient reading: (1) understanding the language (comprehension) and (2) recognizing words in print (decoding). A true Science of Reading program is designed from the start for students to build these skills, in a developmentally appropriate way.

It will also emphasize the importance of knowledge building by exposing students to a diverse array of new topics spanning history, science, and literature, organized intentionally and coherently within and across grades. Deep and intentionally sequenced knowledge domains will help build a student’s vocabulary and understanding of complex texts. And it will include instruction in all five foundational skills: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

Download our free ebook, Science of Reading: Making the Shift, which includes a checklist of what to look for in a curriculum based on the Science of Reading. Learn more from our friends at The Reading League.

Actually, we have a full literacy suite built on the Science of Reading! It includes:

mCLASS^® assessment, powered by DIBELS^® 8th Edition, a gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener, plus a progress monitoring tool, all in one.
Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), which provides explicit, systematic foundational skills instruction combined with intentional knowledge building.
Boost Reading, a highly adaptive personalized reading program that reinforces the core curriculum and supports enrichment, remediation, and intervention for each student in your classroom.
mCLASS Intervention, a staff-led intervention program targeted to Tiers 2 and 3, made easy with automatic data-driven grouping and sequenced explicit, systematic skills lesson plans to support at-risk students.

Reading requires deliberate, systematic attention—and so does shifting to the Science of Reading in your school or district. It requires not only the right curriculum, but also all-new mindsets, metrics, and more. Reflecting years of experience supporting real educators, our resources will walk you through the process of change management in your community—and show you why the shift is worth it. View our Science of Reading change management playbook.

MTSS: The key to success

What helps students succeed in reading? It’s not just one tool, or even one toolkit. Ideally, they’ve got a whole ecosystem—from the latest science to bedtime stories—supporting them in learning to read.

So it makes sense that a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is critical to literary instruction in the classroom.

What exactly is an MTSS? How does it align with the Science of Reading? And how do they help you support your students?

MTSS, literacy instruction, and the Science of Reading

First, a broad definition.

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a comprehensive framework designed to provide systematic and differentiated support to all students. The tiered approach includes universal interventions for all learners, targeted interventions for those at risk, and intensive interventions for students with specific needs. The goal of an MTSS is to use data-driven decision-making and personalized support to improve academic, behavioral, and emotional outcomes for every student.

And that’s exactly what an MTSS does in the context of literacy instruction. An MTSS operates on the premise that readers have diverse requirements, and it aims to proactively identify and address these needs through a multi-tiered approach.

That’s where it intersects with the Science of Reading. As you know, the Science of Reading refers to the pedagogy and practices that extensive research has found to be most effective for teaching children to read. When implemented in a classroom, the Science of Reading is part of a system—one that aligns with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

What’s the difference between an MTSS and RTI?

MTSS vs. RTI: You’ve probably heard these systems mentioned in similar contexts. But just like new readers, we’ve got to learn our letters.

RTI stands for Response to Intervention, so its very name shows that it’s a response to an identified problem. Actually, it’s a series of academic responses that use data to pinpoint and address the specific challenges of struggling students.

An MTSS and an RTI are similar in that “they are both problem-solving models,” notes Brittney Bills, Ph.D., elementary school principal at Blair Community Schools, speaking with host Susan Lambert on Amplify’s Science of Reading: The Podcast.

And they can be intertwined. But they are not interchangeable. In fact, an RTI is part of an MTSS framework—not the other way around. Also:

An MTSS starts with all students. “With the MTSS model, the universal tier is the first intervention for all students,” says Bills, referring to the curriculum, instruction, and assessments provided to all students at a given grade level. Bills says we can ask: “What does our data demonstrate that our students need within that universal tier? And how can we apply evidence-based practices, as they relate to the Science of Reading, to beef up opportunities for our students there first? Then it’s a layering-on of supports and problem-solving at those other layers, the targeted and intensive tiers, after that.”
An MTSS supports prevention. Again, we start universal, then identify issues. Though an RTI is necessary and effective, an MTSS has the aim, and the capacity, to both get at-risk readers back on track and prevent the need for intervention down the line.

The four defining parts of an MTSS

Now, let’s break down the four key components that define an MTSS:

Screening: An MTSS begins with screening to identify students’ proficiency in foundational literacy skills. Screening helps you pinpoint potential challenges in literacy early on, making it possible to tailor interventions for individual students and head problems off at the pass.
Progress monitoring: An MTSS helps you regularly assess and track students’ literacy progress, allowing you to adjust instructional strategies based on real-time data and evolving needs.
Establishing a multi-level prevention system: The multi-level prevention system allows you to adapt to accommodate diverse learning styles and precise learning needs. This personalized approach both supports those at risk and helps build an inclusive classroom where every reader can thrive.
Making data-based decisions: An MTSS gives you the data you need—and guides you in analyzing it—to make the precise adjustments that support every student’s literacy journey.

An MTSS is a dynamic approach that recognizes that every student is different—and that to provide each with what they need to learn to read, teachers need systems of support, too.

More to explore

Uncover student thinking with a complete K-8 math assessment system

Expect more from your assessments with mCLASS^® Math, a complete K–8 benchmark and progress monitoring assessment system that shows how students performed, reveals their math thinking, and provides teachers with recommendations to drive grade-level success.

Explore mCLASS samples

About the program

mCLASS Math is a digital assessment system designed to evaluate student performance and growth against grade-level expectations throughout the year. The program empowers educators and students with:

Valid, reliable, and research-based assessments that take less time, so you can measure student proficiency and growth without taking time away from instruction.
Valuable insights into student math thinking that move beyond right or wrong answers, revealing students’ processes so you can accelerate grade-level learning by building on what they already know.
Data that drives instruction, turning assessment results into clear next steps for differentiation and intervention—all aligned with your core math program and MTSS framework.

mCLASS Math is available for grades K–5 in the 2025–26 school year and for grades K–8 in the 2026–27 school year.

Access deeper insights into students’ understanding

Traditional assessments focus only on right or wrong answers. mCLASS Math goes deeper, revealing how students think about grade-level math and what they already understand.

This asset-based approach recognizes that every student has their own ways of thinking. Their individual strengths, experiences, understandings, and strategies—or assets, as we collectively refer to them—inform the robust data that powers mCLASS Math. By focusing on what students already know and where they need support, teachers can confidently build on each target area for growth and accelerate grade-level learning with confidence.

A student completing math assessment that highlights their strengths.

Traditional assessments	mCLASS Math’s asset-based assessments
Focus on student deficits	Highlight what students already know and how they think to build on their strengths
Require lengthy assessments with separate questions to address each skill	Efficiently gather multiple data points per item, reducing assessment time
Judge answers solely as correct or incorrect	Reveal students’ thinking and understanding behind their answers
Provide data disconnected from core instruction and intervention	Deliver data-driven recommendations aligned with core instruction and MTSS

mCLASS Benchmark Assessments

Digitally administered to the whole class three times a year (BOY, MOY, EOY) to measure growth against grade-level expectations
Provide real-time visibility into student work and responses
Diagnostic and screening tools to identify strengths and areas for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions
Flag potential risk of dyscalculia for early support

mCLASS Progress Monitoring

Quick, targeted assessments administered between benchmarks
Track student performance in specific skills and concepts over time
Inform instructional adjustments with in-the-moment recommendations
Ensure interventions are effective to keep students on track

Instructional supports for Tiers 1–3

Support, Strengthen, and Stretch model: Flexible framework for effective differentiation and intervention

Mini-Lessons: 15-minute teacher-led interventions to build grade-level proficiency in small groups
Centers: collaborative, hands-on activities for concept reinforcement (grades K–5)
Fluency Practice: adaptive digital practice to build number sense and procedural fluency
Item Bank: customizable practice and assessments filtered by standards and skills
Extensions: student-choice activities to challenge and extend learning

Image of teacher with students on laptops taking digital math tests

A research-backed approach

mCLASS Math assessments provide valid, reliable measures of student proficiency and thinking, offering clear insight into growth and performance against grade-level expectations.

Developed by a team of researchers, mCLASS Math has undergone rigorous psychometric validity studies and is backed by the latest iteration of curriculum-based measurement tools and a state-of-the-art approach for efficiently assessing students’ mathematical thinking.

Read the research

Additionally, K–5 progress monitoring and 6–8 benchmark assessments are part of ongoing national field trials, reflecting our commitment to continuous improvement and evidence-based design. Learn more.

Data that informs instruction

mCLASS Math transforms each student’s assessment results into clear, actionable next steps, empowering teachers to provide timely scaffolds and targeted instruction where they’re needed most. Integrated insights align with your core math program and MTSS framework, making it easy to differentiate and support every learner with confidence.

One integrated math solution

Amplify’s comprehensive math suite, Amplify Desmos Math, provides seamless alignment to help teachers capitalize on strengths, foster deep investment, and build agency for all students.

Everything is in one place—with screening and progress monitoring, core instruction, integrated personalized learning, and embedded intervention teachers can trust.

Learn more

Maximize assessment impact with mCLASS PD.

Amplify offers focused professional development to help educators leverage mCLASS Math data effectively. Gain strategies to enhance instruction, drive student success, and fully utilize assessment insights.

Discover mCLASS Math PD

Ready to learn more about mCLASS Math?

Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.

Amplify Classroom

Amplify Classroom is a free teaching and learning platform that places student engagement at the center of instruction.

Amplify Classroom features free lessons, lesson-
building tools, sharing features, and more. Built by
math educators, the platform makes differentiation
easier for teachers, enabling them to personalize individual student instruction in real-time.

Create your teacher account
at classroom.amplify.com.

Explore more programs.

Amplify programs are designed to support and complement each other. Learn more about our related programs.

Amplify Desmos Math

Amplify Desmos Math: Bringing you free math resources and core curriculum lesson…

A young girl sits at a classroom desk using a laptop and wearing headphones, with other students working on laptops in the background.

Boost Math

Boost Math™ is a K–8 personalized learning and intervention program that provides…

A woman and a young girl looking at a smartphone together, both seem engaged and interested. the woman is pointing at the screen.

mCLASS (K–5)

Amplify’s mClass is the gold-standard universal and dyslexia screener grou…

See All Programs

Beyond the Building Blocks: Exploring Advanced Comprehension Frameworks and Assessment

April 14

Tuesday, 2 pm ET

In this follow-up session, Susan Lambert dives deeper into the sophisticated research shared by Anne Lucas, Melissa Farrall, and Ana Torres in the Science of Comprehension Symposium. Discover how skilled readers build mental models while reading, learn assessment approaches that go beyond surface-level questioning, and hear classroom-tested strategies from educators who’ve successfully implemented comprehension research. Susan will provide a framework for making invisible comprehension processes visible to students, share both teacher-led and digital approaches for supporting struggling readers, and offer concrete methods for using assessment data to drive targeted instruction.

Create transformation that lasts.

Embarking on educational change takes heart, intention, and determination. It also requires proven strategies and practical tools. With data, resources, and countless stories of successful implementations to guide us, we can take the first step toward true transformation together.

A woman with long dark hair is smiling while sitting at a desk in a classroom. Children in the foreground look toward her. The wall has colorful paper decorations.

Three women sit at a table in a library, engaged in conversation with notebooks and pens in front of them.

Principles for Educational Change Management

Whether you’re looking for transformative change in math, literacy, or science instruction, some essential principles apply across the board. As a teacher, administrator, or community leader, you’ll find these guiding principles can help you manage your new curriculum implementation and help each student reach their potential.

Download the principles

“This goes out to the interventionists, coaches, and administrators … support your staff. Lead staff trainings, provide push-in support, model and co-teach so that the staff will see that this is not ‘just another initiative.’ Remember, this is the start of a long, powerful journey. Take small steps, do them well, then use data to move on to the next small step.”

— Corey Beil, Instructional Interventionist

Quakertown Community School District, PA

Leading instructional shifts across all disciplines

Two women review material on a tablet next to a document titled "Literacy Change Management Playbook," featuring a flowchart illustrating k-12 education concepts and the implementation of high-quality instruction materials.

Make the shift to the Science of Reading.

Learn the key steps that will drive the success you need.

learn more

Two pages of a math change management playbook for grades K–12, featuring a cover with teachers and a sample interior page with illustrations of children and math concepts for effective curriculum implementation.

Change in math is different.

Managing change in math doesn’t have to mean starting over. It starts with a few simple shifts.

learn more

Cover and inside page of a document titled "Science Change Management Playbook," featuring photos of adults and children engaged in educational activities with high-quality instruction materials for k-12 education.

Be a science inspiration.

Intentional shifts help transform students into concerned global citizens ready to take on the world. Find out how.

learn more

Let data guide your transformation.

The right data at the right time is crucial in planning lasting instructional change. With specific metrics to guide your implementation, you’ll know exactly how to monitor your progress. Download our literacy assessment infographic as a model for the key data questions to ask at critical points in the school year.

Start your data journey

Two people sitting at a table in a bright room, engaging in a discussion with papers and a laptop in front of them.

Achieve implementation success.

Ready to navigate educational implementation with confidence? The following resources will help you discover practical strategies for decision-making, managing change, and engaging stakeholders.

A PDF page titled "The implementation journey" showing five steps, with step one, "Set the vision," highlighted and described in detail at the bottom—ideal for guiding new curriculum in schools or supporting k-12 education initiatives.

Discover five steps to successful implementation.

Balancing decision-making, data collection, and transparent communication doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Discover the five essential steps to making implementation manageable.

learn more

Cover page of a PDF titled "Transforming Leadership: Leveraging Implementation for Impact," showing a woman smiling and talking to others in a meeting room, highlighting the importance of high-quality instruction materials in curriculum implementation.

Think like a leader.

Strategic leadership requires more than sharp management skills. Find out how the leadership brain model can help you, as a district leader, connect initiatives with your broader vision.

learn more

Cover of a PDF titled “Transforming leadership: Leveraging implementation for impact,” featuring two children working together at a laptop, highlighting the importance of curriculum implementation in K-12 education.

Turn plans into results.

Educational change requires intentional effort. Key leadership imperatives can provide the framework you need for effective implementation.

learn more

Woman with wavy, shoulder-length hair and glasses, wearing a black blazer over a patterned top, smiling in front of a plain light-colored background—dedicated to supporting K-12 education and effective curriculum implementation.

What district leaders are saying

“In the past we’ve adopted a resource and we’ve left it to the teachers and the buildings to use and to put into practice. I was determined that we needed to do more than just that for both our teachers and our students. That is really where…the leadership brain concept has come into play. [It] provided the framework and key questions that I needed so that I could reflect, process, and determine what was next throughout the first year of implementation.”

—Lori Riehle, Assistant Director of Curriculum, Northwest Local School District, OH

Woman with long brown hair wearing a patterned jacket and black top stands in front of a beige siding wall, reflecting the confidence seen in leaders of K-12 education and curriculum implementation, looking directly at the camera.

What district leaders are saying

“Through the guidance and collaboration of the Amplify Team, our stakeholders participated in thoughtful conversations, relevant hands-on learning, and the development of clear guidelines for moving forward [with Amplify CKLA]. This process led to the creation of our district commitments, which, together with the six leadership imperatives, remain central to the progress we continue to make today.”

—Kristina Tucker, Coordinator of English Language Arts and Social Studies, Richland School District, WA

Woman with wavy brown hair wearing a brightly patterned blouse, large round earrings, and a necklace, smiling at the camera against a white background—perfect for illustrating curriculum implementation in schools.

What district leaders are saying

“[My advice to other leaders is to] stop trying to fix everything at once. Dig deep with systematic analysis to find your one high leverage problem; then build your entire system around solving it. You can have all the coaching and support in the world, but if you’re not focused on the right problem, those systems won’t translate to classroom impact.”

—Susan Rawlings, Assistant Principal, Charleston County School District, SC

Find out how educational leaders have transformed their districts through successful implementation, revealing the commitment and strategic approach that led to real academic improvements.

A document titled "Building sustainable implementation" by Amplify, detailing Richland School District's approach to collaborative commitments for k-12 education, with an orange "PDF" label on the top right.

Change needs commitment.

Change is achievable when everyone commits to the process. See how one district turned collaboration into a successful implementation of Amplify CKLA.

learn more

A document titled "From system to classrooms" discusses Charleston County School District’s efforts to improve teacher resources and support, featuring a Q&A with a district leader. An orange "PDF" label is overlaid.

Existing strengths need focused direction.

Strong district foundations require intentional focus. Learn how systematic analysis helped one district turn comprehensive resources into meaningful impact for teachers.

learn more

Shared responsibility transforms implementation.

Managing implementation alone limits success. Discover how one district leader used stakeholder mapping to create shared leadership and building-level ownership.

learn more

Cover page of a PDF titled "Driving impact through implementation science," featuring a simple line drawing of a head and an orange label reading "PDF." Ideal for those seeking high-quality instruction materials in K-12 education.

See implementation in action.

Learn how one district achieved positive test results across grades 1–5 within their first year of adopting Amplify CKLA.

learn more

Cover page of a PDF titled "Driving impact through implementation science," featuring an outline of Washington state, with the Richland School District highlighted and a focus on curriculum implementation in schools.

Strategic change delivers results.

Results happen when change is managed strategically. Check out how one district turned thoughtful planning into successful Amplify CKLA adoption.

learn more

Curriculum evaluation leads to confident decisions.

Explore how one district implemented Amplify CKLA (after piloting seven different programs!) and achieved powerful kindergarten reading gains.

learn more

Cover page of a PDF titled "Driving impact through implementation science," featuring an outline of South Carolina and highlighting Charleston County School District's curriculum implementation and teacher resources.

Regular communication fosters growth.

Structured coaching support transforms implementation outcomes. Find out how regular communication helped one district achieve consistency and sustained student growth with Amplify CKLA.

learn more

Cover page of a PDF titled "Driving impact through implementation science," featuring an outline map and text about Knox County Schools' academic achievement using Amplify CKLA's high-quality instruction materials.

Preparation creates lasting results.

Comprehensive training creates the foundation for sustained success. Read about how strategic summer preparation and ongoing professional learning helped one county achieve significant academic improvements.

learn more

Prepare Professional Development (PD)

Learning experiences to prepare for literacy and math instructional shifts

The following literacy and math sessions can help any educator—regardless of the program used—enhance their instructional practices.

Science of Reading sessions offering research-backed strategies to deepen understanding and improve student outcomes.
Problem-based approach to math sessions that empower educators to facilitate meaningful learning experiences and develop critical thinking skills.
Multiliterate learner sessions enable educators to make a meaningful impact on students’ literacy development.

Two women are seated at a table with laptops and papers, engaging in a discussion about program implementation in a classroom or meeting setting.

Professional learning journey

Four connected circular icons illustrating a business process: idea generation, planning, execution, and achievement, depicted with relevant symbols.

Prepare	Begin	Practice	Advance
Learning sessions will help shift literacy and math instruction in areas such as the Science of Reading and/or problem-based approaches to math.	Program-aligned packages will support those who are new to Amplify programs.	Program-aligned packages will support those who have experience using Amplify programs.	Offerings will support advanced implementation, build capacity for instructional leaders, certify in-house trainers to deliver Launch sessions, and more.

“Gain the literacy knowledge and skills you need to thrive and help your students thrive. Through these sessions, you’ll understand typical literacy development and how to describe and address literacy difficulties.”

—Susan Lambert, Chief Academic Officer, Elementary Humanities

Host, Science of Reading: The Podcast

Science of Reading learning experiences

Listening to students read is magic. But knowing how to get them reading? That’s science.

Making the shift to the Science of Reading is no small feat, but participating in professional development sessions can help you make this change seamlessly.

Amplify Science of Reading sessions offer flexible, professional learning experiences for teachers that incorporate engaging activities grounded in what science tells us about literacy development.

Two women smiling and looking at a laptop in a classroom. One woman is wearing a striped shirt and the other a black top. Classroom decor is visible in the background.

Build your knowledge of the Science of Reading

Virtual | 90-minute session

This introductory session provides educators with a foundational overview of what the Science of Reading means and what it tells us about how to teach using evidence-based reading practices.

Participants will learn to:

Define the Science of Reading by examining evidence-based research.
Explain how two frameworks, the Simple View of Reading and the Reading Rope, work in tandem to guide effective literacy instruction.
Identify instructional principles aligned to the Science of Reading.

Three people stand in front of a whiteboard with colorful sticky notes, engaging in professional development for teachers as they discuss ideas and collaborate using a tablet and a laptop.

Deepen your knowledge of the Science of Reading

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

This session will build a base of common knowledge about the Reading Rope and support educators in identifying effective instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

Participants will learn to:

Identify the strands in the Reading Rope.
Describe how each strand plays an important role in developing skilled readers and writers.
Identify key look-fors in effective Science of Reading instruction.

Science of Reading: The Learning Lab online course

This series of three self-paced online courses, crafted by literacy expert Susan Lambert and built around International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Knowledge and Practice Standards, guides you through the essential Science of Reading skills and knowledge needed to teach students to read proficiently, as well as advanced strategies for aiding struggling readers. Each course builds on the last, equipping you with the tools and confidence to make a lasting impact on your students’ literacy journeys.

Benefit from flexible learning on an interactive platform spanning 20–25 hours of instruction. Each course is accessible for 12 months. Upon completion, you’ll be provided with a downloadable certificate, validating your new expertise in the Science of Reading.

A boy kneels and reads a book near stacked books, while a girl stands with folded arms; both observe a mobile with colorful shapes and letters, reflecting elements of classroom instruction inspired by the Science of Reading.

Foundations to the Science of Reading

This course offers a comprehensive overview of research in the field. Each of the eight modules contains three lessons covering the foundations of literacy acquisition.

Explore the scope and sequence of Foundations to the Science of Reading with a Pacing Guide.

Access the free Preview Pass for this course.

A child points at large outlined letters on a board with a pointer stick, next to a stack of books—capturing an engaging moment in classroom instruction.

Advanced topics in the Science of Reading: Assessment and reading difficulties

The second course is aimed at providing an in-depth examination of assessments, a deeper understanding of reading difficulties, and familiarity with pertinent legal frameworks for educators, all of which influence instructional decision-making.

Explore the scope and sequence of Advanced topics in the Science of Reading with our Pacing Guide.

Access the free Preview Pass for this course.

Three people in lab coats stand around a lab table with test tubes and a flask, engaging in classroom instruction as they discuss and gesture to each other.

Coming soon!
Applied structured literacy

The final course in the series is designed to review key concepts and knowledge from previous coursework, explore fundamental aspects of structured literacy within lessons, observe and analyze structured literacy instruction in action, and investigate how data informs instructional decisions.

[Available June 2025]

“Amplify’s Science of Reading online course builds background knowledge on how students read, then goes deeper to give you strategies that correlate with current research that can be implemented into your classroom right away. The course opened my thinking to new ways of teaching and I can’t wait to try it with students! If you want to walk away feeling successful with helping kids read, take this course! ”

Allie Appel

Coach, WI

New

Supporting multiliterate learner sessions

Unlock the magic of teaching multiliterate learners with evidence-based literacy practices. Making the shift to effectively support diverse readers in multiple languages is no small feat, but our professional development sessions are here to guide you effortlessly.

Empower your teaching with these engaging sessions, and make a meaningful impact on your multiliterate students’ literacy development.

Two children are seated at a small table in a classroom. Engaged in classroom instruction, the girl is writing in a notebook while the boy reads a book. Colorful storage bins are visible in the background, enhancing the learning environment

Build your knowledge of multiliterate learners

Virtual | 90-minute session

This session provides educators with a foundational overview of how to teach multiliterate learners using evidence-based literacy practices.

A young boy in a striped shirt sits at a desk, focused on writing in a notebook with a pencil. Surrounding him are classroom supplies and papers, exemplifying the effective program implementation strategies from professional learning sessions.

Deepen your knowledge of multiliterate learners

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

This session will build an understanding of how the brain learns to read in multiple languages, as well as how to leverage cross-linguistic transfer, and align instruction to best practices for multiliterate learners.

Problem-based approach to math instruction sessions

Elevate educational experiences by placing students’ ideas at the core of math lessons through problem-based learning. These sessions offer flexible professional learning experiences, allowing you to gain firsthand experience with a problem-based approach as a learner. You then learn to integrate this approach seamlessly into your teaching practices, bringing renewed energy to your math classroom.

A woman sits indoors, smiling while using a tablet. Wearing a blue lanyard and casual clothing, she appears engaged in professional learning; the background shows blurred people and chairs.

Build your knowledge of a problem-based approach

Virtual | 90-minute session

This session provides you with a foundational overview of what an engaging problem-based approach in math entails for K–5 students.

During this session you’ll learn to:

Explain how a problem-based approach to math brings delight to both teaching and learning and builds lasting student understanding.
Identify actionable strategies for using a problem-based approach in a math classroom.

Deepen your knowledge of a problem-based approach

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

This session provides you with hands-on experience facilitating problem-solving in math, leaving you with an increased understanding of how to teach conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and applications of math.

During this session you’ll learn to:

Explain how a problem-based approach to math brings delight to both teaching and learning and builds lasting student understanding.
Identify actionable strategies for using a problem-based approach in a math classroom.
Connect your current teaching practice to a problem-based approach, and choose a next step to implement a more problem-based approach.

Get in touch with a PD expert

We’re here to provide answers and guidance as you explore your PD options. Fill out the form to connect with us and discover how Amplify PD can enhance your educational journey.

Prepare Professional Development (PD)

Learning experiences to prepare for literacy and math instructional shifts

The following literacy and math sessions are designed to support all educators—regardless of the program used—in enhancing their instructional practices.

Sessions devoted to Science of Reading offer research-based strategies to deepen understanding that support students’ reading development.
Sessions focusing on a problem-based approach to math empower educators to facilitate meaningful learning experiences and foster critical thinking skills in their students.
Sessions supporting multilingual/English learners enable educators to make a meaningful impact on students’ multiliteracy development.

An open book with stars on the left and a math-themed scene with numbers and shapes on the right, separated by a circular sync icon in the center.

Professional learning journey

Four circular icons in sequence—a lightbulb, pencil, whiteboard, and podium—are linked by arrows, illustrating professional learning steps ideal for professional development for teachers or Science of Reading initiatives.

Prepare	Begin	Practice	Advance
Learning sessions will help shift literacy and math instruction in areas such as the Science of Reading and/or problem-based approaches to math.	Program-aligned packages will support those who are new to Amplify programs.	Program-aligned packages will support those who have experience using Amplify programs.	Offerings will support advanced implementation, build capacity for instructional leaders, certify in-house trainers to deliver Launch sessions, and more.

“Gain the literacy knowledge and skills you need to thrive and help your students thrive. Through these sessions, you’ll understand typical literacy development and how to describe and address literacy difficulties.”

—Susan Lambert, Chief Academic Officer, Elementary Humanities

Host, Science of Reading: The Podcast

Science of Reading learning experiences

Listening to students read is magic. But knowing how to get them reading? That’s science.

Making the shift to the Science of Reading is no small feat, but participating in professional development sessions can help you make this change seamlessly.

Amplify Science of Reading sessions offer flexible professional learning experiences for teachers that incorporate engaging activities grounded in what science tells us about literacy development.

A chart outlining nine Science of Reading principles is shown, with a note to prepare for a virtual session and an estimated time of 90 minutes.

Build your knowledge of the Science of Reading

Virtual | 90-minute session

This introductory session provides educators with a foundational overview of what the Science of Reading means and what it tells us about how to teach using evidence-based reading practices.

Participants will learn to:

Define the Science of Reading by examining evidence-based research.
Explain how two frameworks, the Simple View of Reading and the Reading Rope, work in tandem to guide effective literacy instruction.
Identify instructional principles aligned to the Science of Reading.

A graphic outlines elements of early reading, showing how skills like vocabulary and reasoning support language comprehension and word recognition; “3 hours” is noted for session duration.

Deepen your knowledge of the Science of Reading

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

This session will build a base of common knowledge about the Reading Rope and support educators in identifying effective instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

Participants will learn to:

Identify the strands in the Reading Rope.
Describe how each strand plays an important role in developing skilled readers and writers.
Identify key look-fors in effective Science of Reading instruction.

Science of Reading: The Learning Lab online courses

Benefit from flexible learning on an interactive platform—each course spans 25–30 hours of instruction and is accessible for 12 months. Upon completion, you’ll be provided with a downloadable certificate, validating your new expertise in the Science of Reading.

Foundations to the Science of Reading

This course offers a comprehensive overview of research in the field. Each of the eight modules contains three lessons covering the foundations of literacy acquisition.

Explore the scope and sequence of Foundations to the Science of Reading with a Pacing Guide.

Access the free Preview Pass for this course.

Advanced topics in the Science of Reading: Assessment and reading difficulties

Explore the scope and sequence of Advanced topics in the Science of Reading with our Pacing Guide.

Access the free Preview Pass for this course.

Applied structured literacy

Explore the scope and sequence of Applied structured literacy with our Pacing Guide.

Access the free Preview Pass for this course.

“Amplify’s Science of Reading online course builds background knowledge on how students read, then goes deeper to give you strategies that correlate with current research that can be implemented into your classroom right away. The course opened my thinking to new ways of teaching and I can’t wait to try it with students! If you want to walk away feeling successful with helping kids read, take this course! ”

Allie Appel

Coach, WI

NEW

Sessions supporting multiliterate learners

Empower your teaching with these engaging sessions, and make a meaningful impact on your multiliterate students’ literacy development.

Graphic showing speech bubbles with "Hello!" and "¡Hola!" and text reading "Prepare: Virtual session" and "90 minutes.

Build your knowledge of multilingual/English learners

Virtual | 90-minute session

This session provides educators with a foundational overview of how to teach multiliterate learners using evidence-based literacy practices.

Graphic showing text bubbles with "¡Hola!" and "Hello!" and a note indicating to prepare for an on-site or virtual session lasting 3 hours.

Deepen your knowledge of multilingual/English learners

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

This session will build an understanding of how the brain learns to read in multiple languages, as well as how to leverage cross-linguistic transfer and align instruction to best practices for multiliterate learners.

Sessions focusing on a problem-based approach to math instruction

A graphic showing steps for a virtual learning session: Warm-Up, Activities, Synthesis, and Reinforce, with a progress bar and "90 minutes" indicated.

Build your knowledge of a problem-based approach for grades K–5 or 6–8

Virtual | 90-minute session

This session provides you with a foundational overview of what an engaging problem-based approach in math entails.

During this session you’ll learn to:

Explain how a problem-based approach to math brings delight to both teaching and learning and builds lasting student understanding.
Identify actionable strategies for using a problem-based approach in a math classroom.

Screenshot of a math practice activity showing an equation with blocks, a table to fill in values, and a note indicating a 3-hour preparation for on-site or virtual sessions.

Deepen your knowledge of a problem-based approach for grades K–5 or 6–8

On-site or virtual | 3-hour session

During this session you’ll learn to:

Explain how a problem-based approach to math brings delight to both teaching and learning and builds lasting student understanding.
Identify actionable strategies for using a problem-based approach in a math classroom.
Connect your current teaching practice to a problem-based approach, and choose a next step to implement a more problem-based approach.

Get in touch with a PD expert

Amplify CKLA

AI Features

Texas SLAR Literacy Adoption

Welcome, Program 6 reviewers, to Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California Transitional Kindergarten (TK). We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California ELA/ELD Framework and the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF) to life in classrooms across the state.

Your review samples

Print samples

You will receive three boxes of physical samples as part of your review. Box 1 will contain your Reviewer Binder. This binder contains logistical information and printed copies of the Evaluation Criteria Map and Foundations Alignment Map. Boxes 2 and 3 will contain physical samples. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Access Flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

Criteria Map and Standards Maps must be opened on Microsoft Word on your desktop to function as intended. If you open the documents without Microsoft Word on your desktop, citations will be cut off at the bottom of most tables within the document.

Many of our citations are deep-links to PDFs, meaning they will take you to the right page or the first page in the sequence for the citation in question. To ensure this functionality works, please disable any PDF-viewing extensions or plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Pro Browser Extension.

[Reviewer navigation video] Amplify CKLA California TK

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) content/alignment with Foundations

Alignment documents

The links below provide the alignment documents for Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten.

Category 2: Program Organization

Program structure

Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten is a comprehensive English language arts curriculum designed to prepare young children for later reading success by building foundational language and literacy skills. Amplify CKLA California TK materials and instruction provide explicit, systematic support for developing young children’s language, literacy, and content knowledge within the context of developmentally-appropriate early childhood settings, incorporating and reflecting the key themes and practices of the CA PTKLF and Framework.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization

The flexible pacing recommendations of the program provide teachers with options to decide how best to keep students engaged while completing Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten instruction (e.g., wiggle breaks, hands-on participation, singing songs, brain breaks, etc.).

[Reviewer highlight video] Lesson organization

The literacy skills, vocabulary, and content knowledge developed in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten are explicitly designed to provide a foundation for the skills and content taught in TK classrooms. The teacher-directed and student-led activities in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten reflect all strands of the CA PTKLF foundational language sub-domains:

Listening and speaking
Foundational literacy skills
Reading and writing

Amplify CKLA California TK domains of instruction are carefully chosen and sequenced to build prerequisite knowledge so that students can use that knowledge as they assimilate new, more complex information. The seven domains in Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten are:

Important People in American History
All About Me
Families and Communities
Classic Tales
Plants
Animals
Habitats

Amplify CKLA California TK empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with with the following resources:

Teacher Guides
Flip Books
Image Cards
Center Cards
Activity Pages and Take-Home Pages
Nursery Rhymes and Songs Posters
Big Book: Classic Tales
Trade Books

Activities are play-based, engaging, challenging, and adaptive for the full range of TK learners. Teacher materials also support teachers and aides in facilitating activities, establishing routines, and identifying effective procedures.

Scope and sequence

Click here to view the scope and sequence for Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten.

Category 3: Assessments

Amplify CKLA California TK assessments are designed to provide a snapshot of whether or not each student is mastering specific Core Content and Language Arts Objectives. The program incorporates multiple methods of assessing what students know and are able to do in each domain. Methods of assessments include:

Observational/anecdotal assessments.
Reteaching moments with aligned progress monitoring.
Portfolio Collections (student work samples).
Task assessments.
Developmental progression monitoring.

Amplify CKLA California TK provides tools to facilitate collecting, analyzing, and sharing data on student progress and development. These include:

Ready-made data collection forms with scoring guidelines (Not Yet, Progressing, Ready).
Caregiver communication letters.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program alignment to Category 3

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California Transitional Kindergarten materials provide students with a range of skills and abilities, with opportunities for participation across all contexts of differentiated instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.

Examples include the following:

Teacher Guides feature sidebar differentiation tips.
Classroom routines, such as taking attendance, rely on both visual and verbal prompts that can be individually tailored to students’ needs.
Small-group activities often include suggested rounds of play that increase with difficulty and give teachers the choice to move forward to increase the level of challenge or repeat levels of play that prove challenging.
Extension activities involve materials that can be adapted to scaffold students in a variety of ways; teachers can provide more or less structure and input depending on the needs of the students.
Differentiation supports grounded in UDL include visuals, realia, multimodal instruction, and other materials relevant to all students.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California TK empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction with various resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Teacher materials

Planning and preparation resources

Each Teacher Guide contains all the information needed for each day of instruction. The following sections are included in each Teacher Guide:

Assessments
Introduction
Learning Centers
Transitions
Starting the Day
Skills Instruction
Listening & Learning Instruction
Pausing Points

The Domain Calendar shows the titles of activities and read-alouds taught on each day of instruction throughout the entire domain during the three main contexts for instruction:

Starting the Day
Skills
Listening & Learning

Caregiver supports

The home-school connection letter template provides an easy way to share important information and set expectations with caregivers at the beginning of the school year.

Caregiver letters suggest ways parents and caregivers can support and reinforce learning at home through everyday activities. They also include high-quality texts and nursery rhymes and songs that parents can use to support students’ learning.

Welcome, Program 3 reviewers!

We’re honored to introduce you to Amplify California Language Arts. We’re confident you’ll find this comprehensive program to be a powerful tool for bringing the vision of the California ELA/ELD Framework to life in classrooms across the state.

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify California Language Arts, a comprehensive biliteracy program for kindergarten through grade 6.

Reviewer Binders (K–6)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–2.
The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 3–6.

Physical samples (trade books)

Your review of the program will be entirely digital with the exception of the trade books that you will be receiving as physical samples. You can expect to receive 13 boxes of physical materials for your review. Twelve boxes of trade books, one for each grade K–5, in English and Spanish, and one box containing your Reviewer Binders.

As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder.

Digital review materials

In order to access your digital review materials, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Review Credential flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grade 6

Click here for additional information on navigating the program for grade 6.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) content/alignment to standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Program 3: Basic Biliteracy (K–6) Evaluation Criteria Map

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Language Arts for each grade level.

ELD Standards Maps

Category 2: Program organization

Amplify California Language Arts’ biliteracy program is a comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, with both integrated and designated English Language Development instruction designed to give multilingual/English learners the tools to thrive. Amplify’s biliteracy program for grades K–6 includes:

Core English language arts instruction: Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California (grades K–5) and Amplify ELA California (grade 6) covering knowledge building and foundational skills.
- Provides upper grade foundational skills instruction for grades 3–6.
Core Spanish language arts instruction: Amplify Caminos California, a fully parallel SLA program that works in tandem with English core instruction across all grades.
- Provides upper grade foundational skills instruction for grades 3–6.
Designated English Language Development: Language Studio California is the designated English Language Development companion that directly aligns with and supports core English instruction.
Newcomer Support: Amplify California Language Arts Newcomer Support to facilitate instruction for students who are new to both English and the United States.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

This model is integral to the structure of the Amplify biliteracy program, which directly aligns with the CA CCSS ELA and ELD standards by combining rigorous decoding and skills instruction with research-based knowledge and language development instruction. In its early grades, the Amplify biliteracy program uses a two-strand structure—Skills/Lectoescritura and Knowledge/Conocimiento—to effectively address this learning challenge while meeting standards expectations for both language development and academic content mastery.

Diagram with three orange squares labeled: "Language comprehension," "Word recognition," and "Skilled reading," connected by multiplication and equals signs, with Spanish headings above each square.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grade 6

Amplify Caminos California lessons are designed to allow all students time to work toward learning objectives, including peer collaboration and discussion. Since each lesson activity is aligned to subsequent activities, students’ understanding and analysis develops progressively throughout the lesson.

Each lesson follows a predictable structure with clearly marked components, beginning with warm-up routines, progressing through explicit instruction with guided practice, and concluding with independent application activities. The program provides detailed teacher language, including question stems and discussion prompts, ensuring clear and consistent delivery of instruction.

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify Caminos California empower teachers to deliver effective instruction and keep students engaged with the following resources:

Teacher Guides
Assessment Guides
Authentic texts and trade books
Knowledge Image Cards
Knowledge Flip Books
Remediation and intervention resources
Decodable readers
Student Readers and novels
Student Activity Books
Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
Poet’s Journals
eReaders
Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
Instructional routine modeling videos
Assignable Practice Games
On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

Teacher Guides that include:
- Detailed lesson plans
- Standards alignment and exit tickets
- Real-time differentiation strategies
- Robust reporting

Student Editions that include:
- High-quality narrative and informational texts
- Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
- Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place

Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
Trade books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for multilingual/English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–6, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Build lasting knowledge across all grades. Through coherently sequenced, content-rich instruction that revisits key vocabulary and concepts with increasing complexity, students build meaningful connections that deepen their vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Strengthen reading through writing at every level. Regular writing instruction grounded in the Science of Writing supports reading comprehension, improves sentence-level writing, and provides the foundation for high-quality composition. As students progress through the upper grades, they engage in increasingly complex analytical tasks—synthesizing ideas, drawing generalizations, and interpreting multiple textual layers through both focused quick-writes and comprehensive essays.

Foster oral language development. Structured opportunities for academic conversation and evidence-based dialogue build students’ ability to express complex ideas with precision and allow them to participate confidently in classroom discussions.

Measure growth with comprehensive assessments. Assessments range from in-the-moment checks for understanding to summative assessments that measure progress toward skills mastery and standards proficiency, providing the data needed to drive targeted instruction.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence documents for each grade level.

Routines

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
Finger-tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-building routines:

Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

The program includes carefully structured close reading activities that guide students through multiple encounters with complex texts. These routines help students develop deeper comprehension through systematic analysis and discussion.

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Cross-Linguistic Transfer routines

The Cross-Linguistic Transfer (CLT) routines are easy-to-implement, 10–15 minute mini-lessons designed to help bridge English and Spanish literacy and language development. These structured routines are organized by grade bands for K–2, grades 3–5 and grade 6, covering five skill areas:

Oral language
Reading
Vocabulary
Language
Writing

[Reviewer highlight video] Amplify’s program alignment to Cross-Linguistic Transfer criteria

Designated English Language Development materials

Language Studio California is a K–8 content-based companion for English language learners. Built on Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California’s carefully sequenced Knowledge Domains, it combines engaging content knowledge with targeted supports and research-based strategies to help students move swiftly toward language proficiency. This program includes:

Real-world content to provide authentic opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Scaffolding strategies and differentiated instruction to offer targeted support along five English proficiency levels.
Progress monitoring tools to help teachers provide consistent and effective support.
Teacher Guides that:
- Provide impactful progress monitoring tools including formative and summative assessments, and Language Proficiency Assessment rubrics.
- Offer varied differentiation strategies including Support, Challenge, and Access supports in each lesson segment.
- Are organized into thoughtful lesson segments—Talk Time, Building Background, On Stage and more—that make learning objectives concrete.
Activities that:
- Expand on domain knowledge from core content and read-alouds and prompt collaborative conversation to practice oral fluency.
- Support hands-on language activities to promote authentic interaction in the classroom.
- Help students bridge experiences and knowledge with images, vocabulary activities, graphic organizers, anticipation guides, writing space, and more.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

In alignment with the additional 2025 Guidance 3.1.a, the assessment systems align with MTSS tiers, including universal screening, diagnostic assessments for students demonstrating a need for additional support, and progress monitoring tools that complement California’s required reading difficulties screening schedule per SB 114.

	Tier 1: Universal/ differentiated support	Tier 2: Supplemental/ targeted support	Tier 3: Intensified/ intensive support
Core instruction assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura Monthly	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California core assessments Daily	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment Optional after universal screening assessment is administered	Amplify skill diagnostic assessment Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition (K–8) and mCLASS Lectura (K–6) are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY, and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California provide a comprehensive suite of assessments for grades K–6 that range from low-stakes, informal formative assessments to more formal summative assessments. These assessments incorporate a variety of methods and question types, including multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, and oral and written responses.

Formative assessments:

Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5).
Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5).
Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grade 6).
Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grade 6).
Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“Solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grade 6).

Summative assessments:

Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2)
Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2)
End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5)
Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grade 6)
Unit reading assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grade 6)

Performance assessments

Student Performance Assessments are multi-day assessments administered in Grades K–5 at the beginning, middle, and end of year to help teachers gauge student mastery of grade-level Core content. These assessments provide critical data to help teachers set targeted instructional goals and monitor individual and class-wide progress towards core objectives.

Progress monitoring

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura provide formal progress monitoring in the discrete skills that are indicative of reading growth and predictive of overall success to provide the most instructionally meaningful information to teachers.

Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Interventions within Amplify’s literacy programs are informed by a skill diagnostic assessment that provides detailed data on foundational literacy skill deficits. The Amplify Skill Diagnostic Assessment and Amplify Spanish Skill Diagnostic assessment serve as critical tools in this process, administered specifically to students identified as at risk for reading difficulty through universal screening assessments—particularly those demonstrating mCLASS DIBELS 8th Edition or mCLASS Lectura composite scores in the Well Below or Below Benchmark ranges. These diagnostic assessments provide teachers with the precise skills to begin intervention and remediation.

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California are developed using the Universal Design for Learning framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Universal Design for Learning

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. The programs include clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including Multilingual/English Learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. Lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
- Core vocabulary building
- Core connections
- Essential background information building
- What Have We Already Learned?/What Do We Already Know?

Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data.
Amplify ELA California and Amplify Caminos California provide point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language, multi-clause and complex sentences, and informational text characteristics.

Assessment-driven MTSS resources

The K–6 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills.
Fluency packets (Grades 2–6)
Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–6 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades

Flexible Instructional Time including:
- Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities
- Pausing Point activities designed to support multilingual/English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
Boost Reading and Boost Lectura are student-led digital intervention programs that follow the scope and sequences of Amplify CKLA California and Amplify Caminos California respectively, to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, and Amplify ELA California teachers are empowered to deliver effective instruction with various print and digital resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Implementation supports across K–6

Planning and preparation resources

Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
Sub-unit Overviews (Grade 6) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grade 6) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
Activity guidance at point of use
Lesson standards clearly called out
Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
Differentiation tips at point of use
Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
On-the-Fly supports (Grade 6)—quick call-outs to the identifying features of “on track” and “needs support” students accompanied by short models of student guidance to foster strong performance

Multimedia and digital support

Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for multilingual/English learners and students struggling to read, including translated Unit Background and Context documents and Text Previews
Teacher Dashboard and reporting tools provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grade 6) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grade 6), available in English and Spanish
Unit Overview and Support documents (Grade 6) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
Games and activities on Take-Home Pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

Welcome, K–8 Program 2 reviewers!

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California and Amplify ELA California, Language Studio California for grades K–8. Physical and digital review materials will vary by grade level.

Reviewer Binders (K–8)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–4.
The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 5–8.

Physical samples (K–5)

You can expect to receive 15 boxes of physical materials for your review. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder. Please note you will not receive any physical samples for grades 6–8 ELA or Language Studio for grades K-8. Your review of the program for grades 6–8 ELA and Language Studio for grades K-8 will be entirely digital.

Digital samples

In order to access your digital samples, you’ll need to log in to our platform using your unique login credentials found on a Digital Review Credential flyer inside of your Reviewer Binder. Once you have located the flyer:

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades 6–8

Click here for additional information on navigating the digital materials for grades 6–8.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) Content/Alignment to Standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Program 2: Basic ELA/ELD (K–8) Evaluation Criteria Map

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Language Arts for each grade level. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Standards Maps.

ELD Standards Maps

The links below provide the ELD Standards Maps for Amplify California Core Language Arts for each grade level.

Category 2: Program Organization

The Amplify California Language Arts Program 2 submission includes Amplify CKLA California for Grades K–5, Amplify ELA California for Grades 6–8, and Amplify Language Studio California for Grades K–8. This comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, with both integrated and designated English Language Development instruction designed to give English learners the tools to thrive.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading and The Reading Rope–bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.

Diagram illustrating the interplay between language comprehension and word recognition in reading, as seen in early literacy stages. It highlights pathways through knowledge, vocabulary, and sentence understanding, reflecting principles from the CKLA reading program.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 6–8

Amplify CKLA California empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with with the following resources:

Teacher Guides
Assessment Guides
Authentic texts and trade books
Knowledge Image Cards
Knowledge Flip Books
Remediation and intervention resources
Decodable readers
Student Readers and novels
Student Activity Books
Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
Poet’s Journals
eReaders
Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
Instructional routine modeling videos
Assignable Practice Games
On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

Teacher Guides that include:
- Detailed lesson plans
- Standards alignment and exit tickets
- Real-time differentiation strategies
- Robust reporting
Student Editions that include:
- High-quality narrative and informational texts
- Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
- Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place
Dedicated ELD support with Language Studio California
Trade Books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Provide intentional ELD support. Honor students’ linguistic assets while building academic English through both integrated and designated instruction.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–8, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for each grade level.

Routines

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
Finger-tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-Building Routines:

Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Designated English Language Development materials

Language Studio California is a K–8 content-based companion for English language learners. Built on Amplify CKLA California’s and Amplify ELA California’s carefully sequenced Knowledge Domains and units, it combines engaging content knowledge with targeted supports and research-based strategies to help students move swiftly toward language proficiency. This program includes:

Real-world content to provide authentic opportunities to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Scaffolding strategies and differentiated instruction to offer targeted support along with five English proficiency levels.
Progress-monitoring tools to help teachers provide consistent and effective support.
Teacher Guides that:
- Provide impactful progress monitoring tools including formative and summative assessments and Language Proficiency Assessment rubrics.
- Offer varied differentiation strategies including Support, Challenge, and Access Supports in each lesson segment.
- Are organized into thoughtful lesson segments—Talk Time, Building Background, On Stage and more—that make learning objectives concrete.
Activities that:
- Expand on domain knowledge from core content and read-alouds and prompt collaborative conversation to practice oral fluency.
- Support hands-on language activities to promote authentic interaction in the classroom.
- Help students bridge experiences and knowledge with images, vocabulary activities, graphic organizers, anticipation guides, writing space, and more.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

In alignment with the additional 2025 Guidance 3.1.a, the assessment systems align with MTSS tiers, including universal screening, diagnostic assessments for students demonstrating a need for additional support, and progress monitoring tools that complement the California’s required universal screening schedule per SB 114.

	Tier 1: Universal/ differentiated support	Tier 2: Supplemental/ targeted support	Tier 3: Intensified/ intensive support
Core instruction assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura Monthly	mCLASS DIBELS and Lectura Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify Caminos California, Amplify ELA California core assessments Daily	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment Optional after universal screening assessment is administered	Amplify skill diagnostic assessment Amplify Spanish skill diagnostic assessment After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition and mCLASS Lectura are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide a comprehensive suite of assessments for Grades K–8 that range from low-stakes, informal formative assessments to more formal summative assessments. These assessments incorporate a variety of methods and question types, including multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, and oral and written responses.

Formative assessments:

Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5).
Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5).
Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grades 6–8).
Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grades 6–8).
Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grades 6–8).

Summative assessments:

Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2)
Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2)
End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5)
Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grades 6–8)
Unit Reading Assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grades 6–8)

Performance Assessments

Student Performance Assessments are multi-day assessments administered in Grades K-5 at the beginning, middle, and end of year to help teachers gauge student mastery of grade-level Core content. These assessments provide critical data to help teachers set targeted instructional goals and monitor individual and class-wide progress towards core objectives.

Progress monitoring

Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Category 4: Universal Access

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California were built on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and reviewed by CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization. The program is developed using the Universal Design for Learning framework to proactively ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Universal Design for Learning

The programs incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. In Amplify CKLA California, the Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. Amplify CKLA California includes clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including English Learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. In Amplify ELA California, lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

Throughout the Teacher Guides, point-of-use Differentiation icons provide targeted instructional strategies and supports. These icons indicate specific guidance for advanced learners, students who need additional support, and English learners, allowing teachers to easily identify and implement appropriate scaffolds and extensions during instruction. In addition, teachers are provided with recommendations for resources to use with each group of students.

Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
- Core vocabulary words
- Core Connections
- Essential Background Information or Terms
- What Have We Already Learned/What Do We Already Know?
Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small-group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data.
Amplify ELA California provides point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language, multi-clause and complex sentences, and informational text characteristics.

Assessment-Driven MTSS resources

The K–8 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills
Fluency Packets (Grades 2–5)
Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–8 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades
Flexible Instructional Time including:
- Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities
- Pausing Point activities designed to support English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
Boost Reading is a K–5 student-led digital intervention program. Boost Reading follows Amplify CKLA California’s scope and sequence to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California teachers are empowered to deliver effective instruction with various print and digital resources. The program provides comprehensive planning and support materials designed to help teachers prepare for and execute lessons effectively and fulfill the requirements of Category 5.

Implementation supports across K–8

Planning and preparation resources

Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
Sub-unit Overviews (Grades 6–8) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grades 6–8) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
Activity guidance at point of use
Lesson standards clearly called out
Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
Differentiation tips at point of use
Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
Student Supports in all core lessons that provide teachers with targeted supports in daily core instruction, addressing which might serve the student best in the moment—support, strengthen, stretch—with additional call-outs for newcomers

Multimedia and digital support

Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for English learners and students struggling with reading, including translated Unit Background and Context documents and Text Previews
Teacher dashboard and reporting tools (Grade 6–8) provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grades 6–8) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grades 6–8), available in English and Spanish
Unit Overview and Support documents (Grades 6–8) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
Games and activities on take-home pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

Welcome, K–8 Program 1 reviewers!

Your review samples

We’re excited for you to begin your review of Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) California and Amplify ELA California. Physical and digital review materials will vary by grade level.

Reviewer Binders (K–8)

Your physical samples should have arrived in grade-specific boxes with three Reviewer Binders.

The first binder will contain logistical program review information and the printed Evaluation Criteria Map.
The second binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades K–4.
The third binder will contain the printed Standards Maps for grades 5–8.

Physical samples (K–5)

You can expect to receive 15 boxes of physical materials for your review. As you begin the process of organizing your materials, please refer to the inventory checklist found inside each box as well as within your Reviewer Binder. Please note you will not receive any physical samples for grades 6–8. Your review of the program for grades 6–8 will be entirely digital.

Digital samples (K–8)

Click the orange button below to access the platform.
Click “Log in with Amplify.”
Enter the username and password provided on your Digital Review Credential flyer.

Digital Access

Navigation tips

Before you get started, please review these important functionality notes:

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades K–5

[Reviewer program navigation video] Grades 6–8

Click here for additional information on navigating the digital materials for grades 6–8.

Category 1: English Language Arts (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD) Content/Alignment to Standards

Evaluation Criteria Map

Linked below is the Evaluation Criteria Map for grades K–8. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Evaluation Criteria Map.

Program 1: Basic ELA (K–8) Evaluation Criteria Map

ELA Standards Maps

The links below provide the Standards Maps for Amplify California Core Language Arts for each grade level. Please note that you will need to be logged into the digital platform to access the links in the Standards Maps.

Category 2: Program Organization

The Amplify California Language Arts Program 1 submission includes Amplify CKLA California for Grades K–5 and Amplify ELA California for Grades 6–8. This comprehensive curriculum provides a full year of evidence-based instruction for each grade level, transitioning from foundational literacy to advanced text analysis.

Program structure

Amplify’s California Language Arts programs are built on what the research shows: Strong readers need both word recognition and language comprehension. Our comprehensive curriculum suite follows the Simple View of Reading and The Reading Rope–bringing together foundational skills and knowledge building to deliver instruction grounded in evidence-based literacy practices.

[Reviewer highlight video] Program organization for Category 2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades K–2

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 3–5

[Reviewer highlight video] Program structure for grades 6–8

Amplify CKLA California empowers teachers to deliver effective instruction and keeps students engaged with the following resources:

Teacher Guides
Assessment Guides
Authentic texts and trade books
Knowledge Image Cards
Knowledge Flip Books
Remediation and intervention resources
Decodable readers
Student Readers and novels
Student Activity Books
Poet’s Journals
eReaders
Sound Library featuring articulation videos and songs
Instructional routine modeling videos
Assignable Practice Games
On-demand professional development

Amplify ELA California students stay engaged with the following resources:

Teacher Guides that include:
- Detailed lesson plans
- Standards alignment and exit tickets
- Real-time differentiation strategies
- Robust reporting
Student Editions that include:
- High-quality narrative and informational texts
- Videos, audio supports, and digital experiences that capture their attention
- Personal Writing Journal to keep all student writing in one place
Trade Books

Core literacy philosophy

Support every learner. Meet all learning needs with a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that brings together universal screening, scaffolded core instruction, support for English learners, and data-driven intervention to ensure every student gets what they need to succeed.

Deliver consistent foundational skills instruction. Daily explicit, systematic skills instruction in grades K–2, with targeted yet flexible support for students still building decoding confidence in grades 3–8, ensures mastery of essential reading foundations.

Scope and sequence

Below you can view the scope and sequence for each grade level.

Kindergarten
- Amplify CKLA California Knowledge Strand
- Amplify CKLA California Skills Strand
Grade 1
- Amplify CKLA California Knowledge Strand
- Amplify CKLA California Skills Strand
Grade 2
- Amplify CKLA California Knowledge Strand
- Amplify CKLA California Skills Strand
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8

Routines

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California include several structured instructional routines that provide predictable patterns for both teachers and students:

Discussion and collaboration routines:

Turn and Talk: Partners discuss text-specific content using sentence starters and frames
Think-Pair-Share: Students engage in individual thinking, partner discussion, and whole-class sharing
Partner reading: Students sit shoulder-to-shoulder, taking turns reading and listening

Foundational Skills routines:

Sound-spelling review: Warm-up activities that reinforce phonics patterns
Oral blending warm-ups: Teacher-guided practice progressing to independent application
Finger tapping: Techniques for blending sounds
Chaining activities: Students manipulate letters to transform one word into another
Word Work: Daily short activities focused on domain-specific and academic vocabulary

Knowledge-building routines:

Vocabulary preview: Introduction of new words before reading
Read-aloud procedures: Established routines for introducing and discussing complex texts
Text discussions: Structured comprehension conversations with scaffolded questioning

Fluency routines:

Teacher modeling: Demonstration of proper intonation, expression, and pacing
Choral reading: Whole-class reading practice
Partner reading: Paired fluency practice

Close reading routines

Each routine includes comprehensive instructional guides with clear-cut directions for implementation, straightforward explanations of concepts, and suggestions for discussion.

Category 3: Assessments

Systematic MTSS alignment

	Tier 1: Universal/ differentiated support	Tier 2: Supplemental/ targeted support	Tier 3: Intensified/ intensive support
Core instruction assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California assessments Daily, Weekly, Monthly
Universal screening assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY
Formal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura 3 times per year – BOY, MOY, EOY	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura Monthly	mCLASS DIBELS and mCLASS Lectura Bi-weekly
Informal progress monitoring assessments Frequency of administration	Amplify CKLA California, Amplify ELA California core assessments Daily	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit	Intervention Toolkit progress monitoring assessments When linked to a lesson in the toolkit
Diagnostic assessment Frequency of administration		Amplify skill diagnostic assessment Optional after universal screening assessment is administered	Amplify skill diagnostic assessment After universal screening assessment is administered

Universal assessment system

Amplify’s mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition (K–8) and mCLASS Lectura (K–6) are universal and dyslexia screening assessments that should be administered three times per year (BOY, MOY and EOY) to all students. The assessments evaluate student literacy risk, determine progress toward grade-level goals, and indicate the level of instructional support a student may need. Beginning-of-year screenings require adequate instructional time before administration, particularly in grades K–1, while mid-year and end-of-year assessments evaluate instructional effectiveness and guide tier placement adjustments. These screenings also identify students at risk for dyslexia. Universal screening provides essential data for targeting instruction and measuring instructional system effectiveness.

Core instruction assessments

Formative assessments:

Checks for Understanding: Incorporated into each lesson segment throughout daily instruction. Quick pulse-checks that provide immediate feedback during lesson delivery (grades K–5).
Daily formative assessments: Highlighted moments within each lesson for teachers to plan to track mastery of Primary Focus objectives and standards of each lesson to get a clear snapshot of individual and whole-class progress (grades K–5).
Activity pages: Completed as part of lessons and can be used to assess lesson content understanding through various formats (grades K–5).
Exit Tickets: Located at the end of lessons, these provide a quick gauge of students’ ability to meet the lesson’s focus standards (grades 6–8).
Writing Prompts: Prompts integrated throughout lessons during writing activities that provide skill snapshots within lessons and tracks patterns of skill development over time (grades 6–8).
Independent reading activities (Solos): At the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“Solo”) with reading questions that are scored to measure comprehension (grades 6–8).

Summative assessments:

Skills end-of-unit assessments (grades K–2)
Knowledge end-of-domain assessments (grades K–2)
End-of-unit assessments (grades 3–5)
Unit essays: A culminating end-of-unit set of lessons that guide students through crafting an essay with a rubric to score mastery of writing skills (grades 6–8)
Unit Reading Assessments: Auto-scored responses and two constructed response items evaluate comprehension, content understanding, and reading skills using the passages students read during the unit (grades 6–8)

Performance Assessments

Progress monitoring

Informal progress monitoring tools can be found within the Intervention Toolkit, including materials for teachers to record, track, and evaluate student progress.

Diagnostic assessment

Category 4: Universal Access

Universal Design for Learning

The programs incorporate opportunities for engagement, representation, action, and expression based on the guidelines of Universal Design for Learning.

Multiple Means of Engagement: The programs incorporate interesting and motivating ways for students to interact with information and content. In Amplify CKLA California, the Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students. Scaffolding for students with various levels of need is incorporated into the design of each lesson.
Multiple Means of Representation: The programs provide multiple means of presenting content to maximize student understanding. This includes digital component files that allow for a range of presentations of images and text to support learning. Amplify provides access to universal supports such as point-of-use audio for all core texts, embedded definitions for critical vocabulary, and glossaries in multiple languages. Amplify CKLA California includes clarification on language found throughout the program, with sidebars that include support on transition words and syntax, and illustrations to help students understand the concepts they are learning.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: The programs include a range of methods for all students, including English learners, to navigate and demonstrate learning. This includes physical actions, a range of methods for response, appropriate tools for composition, and varied scaffolding. In Amplify ELA California, lessons provide multiple ways for students to interact with text, allowing their brains to process the language through distinct pathways. Activities harness multiple learning modes, using media tools, digital apps, and a variety of visual and physical experiences to strategically support and enhance student learning.
Accessibility: Universal access features include visual aids, enlarged materials, physical objects, and multiple learning modalities through activities like Push & Say and Wiggle Cards. The Universal Access section in the introduction of each lesson provides specific lesson-level options based on the needs of individual classrooms and students.

Embedded differentiation

Amplify CKLA California and Amplify ELA California provide built-in differentiation strategies in every lesson for all students.

Pre-teaching supports include mini-lessons on:
- Core vocabulary building
- Core connections
- Essential background information building
- What Have We Already Learned?/What Do We Already Know?
Differentiated Support for Core Instruction tables, located in the overview of each K–2 Skills Teacher Guide, provide a list of specific opportunities for reteaching and additional support in each lesson based on skill.
Support and Challenge Sidebars in lesson margins offer educators immediate guidance in implementing point-of-use differentiation techniques.
Flexible Grouping within lessons provides opportunities for teachers to facilitate small groups, partners, or individualized support based on students’ needs. In the Skills Strand, teachers receive specific guidance for differentiated small-group instruction, with targeted support and activities outlined for both Group 1 (students needing additional support) and Group 2 (on-level students) based on data.
Amplify ELA California provides point-of-use supports embedded within key core lesson activities with six levels of differentiation. The goal of these supports is to fully enable access to grade-level content for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and students ready for an additional level of challenge.
The Universal Access section of Advance Preparation in each lesson includes varied strategies to ensure all students can access and engage in each lesson.
Frequent use of graphic organizers and visual supports in lessons provide opportunities for differentiation based on need. The program also includes a variety of technological supports, such as eReaders with audio.
Extension opportunities are suggested throughout lessons, often embedded in writing tasks, which include prompts to use more complex and descriptive vocabulary, figurative language, multi-clause and complex sentences, and informational text characteristics.

Assessment-driven MTSS resources

The K–8 Intervention Toolkit is available online and provides easy-to-use resources that assist teachers in filling gaps in students’ reading skills, with activities to support print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and other key skills
Fluency Packets (Grades 2–5)
Foundational Skills Intervention Program for Grades 3–8 support students who would benefit from direct and explicit intervention instruction in the full continuum of foundational skills in the upper grades
Flexible Instructional Time including:
- Pausing Points built into the curriculum that provide teachers with dedicated time to address specific student needs through targeted reteaching, remediation, practice, and extension activities
- Pausing Point activities designed to support English learners’ competence and confidence through differentiated whole-group, small-group, or individual instruction
Boost Reading is a K–5 student-led digital intervention program. Boost Reading follows Amplify CKLA California’s scope and sequence to reinforce the same foundational skills taught in core instruction. It integrates easily into daily routines, while the robust data provided by mCLASS® DIBELS® 8th Edition offers a detailed view of how students progress across all instructional tiers.

Category 5: Instructional Planning and Teacher Support

Implementation supports across K–8

Planning and preparation resources

Unit Overviews that provide important background and context for the texts students will read, including highlighted elements within the text and guidance for how students will work with those elements
Sub-unit Overviews (Grades 6–8) that provide an overview of Lesson Objectives and reading and writing assignments, as well as a list of any projections, multimedia, or digital apps that can be projected from the teacher’s included digital license
Lesson-by-lesson preparation checklists (Grades 6–8) accompanying each Sub-unit Overview
Lesson Briefs for each individual lesson providing important background and context
Content knowledge materials regarding topics that students will examine

Point-of-use instructional guidance

Teacher Editions that feature insets of the same text and activity instructions as the corresponding Student Edition, wrapping teacher instruction around these materials
Activity guidance at point of use
Lesson standards clearly called out
Discussion suggestions embedded in lessons
Differentiation tips at point of use
Detailed Instructional Guides in each activity that include sequencing and grouping suggestions, tips for facilitating discussion, possible student responses and exemplars
Student Supports in all core lessons provide teachers with targeted supports in daily core instruction, addressing which might serve the student best in the moment—support, strengthen, stretch—with additional call-outs for newcomers

Multimedia and digital support

Teacher tip videos provide modeling and guidance for implementing key foundational skills routines within the program
Digital platform access where teachers can access printable PDFs of differentiated support materials for English learners and readers struggling with text, including translated Unit Background and Context Documents and Text Previews
Teacher Dashboard and reporting tools (Grade 6–8) that provide real-time visibility into student progress and work for immediate instructional response

Caregiver supports

Communication and overview resources

Caregiver Hub available in English and Spanish that provides an overview of the curriculum
Caregiver Letters for each K–2 Knowledge Domain and unit in Grades 3–5 that provide an overview of the content, the skills students learn, as well as practical methods that continue the learning and knowledge building at home
Unit-specific Caregiver Letters (Grades 6–8) that provide detailed information regarding what students will read and learn in each unit, including conversation starters that allow caregivers to ask questions and discuss specific aspects of a unit with their student
Welcome letters that explain the assessment and placement process while inviting parent involvement and offering support
Editable Home-School Communication letters available in English and Spanish
Editable Progress Reports for teachers to update parents and guardians on what their child is learning

Content and learning support materials

Unit Background and Context documents that provide an introduction and overview to the unit’s topic and themes, available in English and Spanish
Text Previews that provide a brief introduction to formative, independent reading assignments (called Solos in Grades 6–8), available in English and Spanish
Unit Overview and Support documents (Grades 6–8) designed for caregivers that provide information about important questions, assignments, and key aspects of the unit texts, available in English and Spanish
Conversation starters included in Knowledge Strand Caregiver Letters to discuss domain topics at home

Home practice and extension activities

Take-Home pages in the Skills Strand that include copies of decodable passages, enabling students to share their reading progress with families and continue practicing their skills outside of school
Take-Home Letters in the Skills Strand that provide specific guidance for parents to support skills practice at home, such as sound-sorting activities, with detailed instructions and materials for home practice activities
Take-Home pages in the Knowledge Strand that provide suggested activities families can do together to reinforce and extend learning beyond the classroom
Games and activities on Take-Home Pages that extend classroom instruction, including all the materials and instruction necessary to help families assist students in a fun and engaging way
Digital access to decodable texts through the Amplify Caregiver Hub, allowing students to practice their reading skills both in class and at home
Weekly spelling lists and directions to decoding activities that can be practiced at home

What is the Science of Reading?

Diagram illustrating the pathways of language comprehension and word recognition merging into skilled reading, with processes becoming increasingly strategic or automatic.

The Science of Reading is a large body of research that helps answer a key question about the human experience: How do people learn to read?

It also helps answer a fundamental question for educators: How should we teach reading?

The Science of Reading draws on decades of research from fields like cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, and education. This vast (and still growing) body of research describes our up-to-date understanding of what reading requires, and therefore shapes our approach to effective literacy instruction.

Two frameworks are widely used to capture and communicate those core takeaways:

The Simple View of Reading
The Reading Rope

In this overview, we’ll walk you through both.

Why reading needs science

Spoken language develops naturally. Children typically learn to understand and use language simply by being around other people who talk.

Reading, on the other hand, works differently. Written language is a human invention; our brains did not evolve to read. When we are born, the parts of our brain that see letters are completely separate from the parts that hear sounds. So to become readers, students require explicit instruction. They have to be taught specifically to build new connections between what they see on the page and the language they already know.

For a brain to read words, it needs to create new pathways that connect letters with sounds. For example, when a child sees the letter “f” and connects it to the /f/ sound in “funny,” their brain builds a new bridge between the areas that handle sight and sound. Reading actually rewires the brain, bringing together the regions for vision, speech, sound, and meaning into one coordinated reading system.

The Science of Reading explains what those new connections involve—and why some students need more support than others to build them.

The Simple View of Reading

At the heart of the Science of Reading is one of the most widely accepted frameworks in reading research: the Simple View of Reading, first proposed by experts Philip Gough and Bill Tunmer in the 1980s.

The Simple View answers a basic question: What has to be in place for a reader to understand a text?

According to the Simple View, reading comprehension depends on two essential components:

Decoding: the ability to turn written words into spoken language
Language comprehension: the ability to understand the meaning of that language

Both are necessary, and neither works on its own. One reader may decode words accurately but struggle to understand what they read, while another may understand spoken language well but be unable to read the words on the page. In either case, comprehension breaks down.

The Simple View captures this core finding of reading research: Skilled reading depends on both word reading and language understanding working together.

Decoding: Reading the words on the page

Decoding involves learning how letters and letter patterns represent sounds. This task is complex in alphabetic writing systems like English, where many letters represent more than one sound, and many sounds can be spelled in different ways.

When children begin learning to read, they already understand a great deal of spoken language. What they don’t yet understand is written language. Letters and printed words are unfamiliar in a way that speech is not.

As students practice decoding, they become more accurate and more fluent. Over time, decoding becomes increasingly automatic.

And this automaticity matters—when students no longer have to focus most of their attention on reading the words, they can devote more mental energy to understanding what the text means.

Language comprehension: Understanding what you read

Language comprehension includes vocabulary, knowledge about the world, and an understanding of how language works across sentences and texts.

Research shows that what readers already know plays a major role in comprehension. As shown in the baseball experiment, students understood and remembered more when the text described a familiar activity—even when their reading skills were relatively weak.

When students read about unfamiliar topics, comprehension becomes more difficult. This is true even for students who can read the words on the page accurately.

So what’s the best way to teach reading comprehension? Combine both elements of the Simple View. In other words, reading comprehension grows alongside vocabulary and knowledge, and exposure to a wide range of topics supports reading development.

The Reading Rope

The Simple View of Reading identifies what reading requires, while the Reading Rope reflects how those requirements develop and become integrated over time.

The Reading Rope organizes reading into two broad strands:

Word recognition, which includes phonological awareness, decoding, and fluent word reading
Language comprehension, which includes vocabulary, background knowledge, and the ability to make meaning from text

Each strand of the Rope is made up of multiple interconnected skills. With effective instruction and practice, these skills become more coordinated and more automatic. As that happens, reading becomes smoother and less effortful, allowing readers to focus more fully on meaning.

The Reading Rope builds on the Simple View by showing how skilled reading emerges as these components strengthen and work together.

Instructional practices: Putting it all to work

The Science of Reading is the broad body of research on how reading develops, and the Simple View of Reading and Reading Rope capture the core takeaways of that research.

Together, they show that skilled reading depends on both accurate word reading and strong language comprehension, and that these abilities develop through explicit and systematic instruction, practice, and growing knowledge over time.

For educators, this understanding provides the strongest possible foundation for reading instruction. When students become skilled readers, new possibilities open up—in their classrooms today, and for the rest of their lives.

Webinar: Data-Driven Instruction within an MTSS Framework: The Key to Implementing the Science of Reading

August 31

Madison County Schools: Early literacy success through the Science of Reading

A group of thirteen women pose together on outdoor steps, with one woman handing a teacher award to another. All are dressed in colorful, business-casual attire, celebrating achievements in the Science of Reading curriculum.

Madison County Schools is a diverse district serving nearly 13,000 students across 23 schools in central Mississippi. Over the past few years, the district has shifted its approach from balanced literacy to structured literacy. The transition wasn’t quick or simple—but it worked.

In 2016, the district’s elementary ELA proficiency was at 47.1%. By the spring of 2024, it had reached almost 70%, with all elementary schools receiving A ratings for the first time.

“Today, structured literacy is at the core of our instruction, and the results speak for themselves,” said Kacey Matthews, dyslexia coordinator for the district. “This historic achievement affirms that when we commit to evidence-based instruction, students thrive.”

That commitment, and the resulting achievement, has earned Madison County Schools our 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards District Captain award. These teacher awards honor educators, schools, and districts who’ve transformed their classrooms and empowered their students with the Science of Reading.

The constants: Building literacy and a love of reading

Madison County Schools spans four zones, from suburban to rural. Roughly one-third of its schools are Title I, and its teachers support more than 1,200 multilingual/English learners representing 36 languages. Nearly 40% of students in the district receive free or reduced-price lunch.

Madison County originally followed a balanced literacy model, but over time, educators began to see gaps—particularly among students experiencing reading difficulty and students with dyslexia.

“Our diverse student body underscores our belief that literacy is the key to unlocking potential,” Matthews said. Teachers came to understand that their shared desire to support a love of reading in their students and their dedication to paramount literacy goals had to be anchored in a curriculum aligned to the Science of Reading: explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, decoding, and language comprehension.

A clear glass award etched with "Amplify 2025 Science of Reading Star Awards, The District Captain, Madison County Schools" stands against a blue background, celebrating excellence in early literacy and dedication to the Science of Reading curriculum.

Shifting practices and mindsets

According to Matthews, transitioning from balanced to structured literacy required more than a change in instructional methods. “The biggest challenge,” she said, “was shifting instructional mindsets.”

In classrooms, educators needed to trade in the familiar tools of running records and predictable texts for a new framework built on foundational skills data. “Initially, some educators were hesitant, but ongoing professional learning, hands-on support, and student success stories built trust and proved the effectiveness of this approach,” Matthews said.

District leaders, principals, and teachers also worked together to create a shared vision for literacy grounded in evidence and collaboration. Madison County invested in professional learning through LETRS, Phonics First, and the AIM Institute, ensuring every educator had the tools to teach early literacy skills effectively.

Each school added trained literacy specialists who provided classroom coaching and MTSS interventions, and the district instituted dyslexia training for all 1,500 staff members every three years, ensuring consistent understanding of structured literacy principles across every grade.

Principals received targeted professional development to lead with clarity, and the district introduced new, research-based curricula—including Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)—to align instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade. To unify these efforts, Madison County also rewrote its Literacy Expectations guide, a districtwide roadmap detailing the five essential components of literacy, classroom strategies, and links to foundational research.

All told, Madison County teachers and leaders have reimagined classroom practice, embracing a structured literacy framework grounded in the Science of Reading.

From anxiety to confidence

In addition to the district’s impressive leap in literacy proficiency of more than 20 percentage points, they also saw transformation on the Mississippi Third-Grade Reading Assessment, a high-stakes gate test of readiness for fourth grade. Equipped with strong foundational skills, Madison County’s third graders are now thriving—with a 99.7% promotion rate in 2024.

“Instead of facing [the test] with fear, our students now enter with confidence,” Matthews said. In other words, data only tells one part of the story. “Students who previously dreaded assessments now approach them with readiness,” she said. “Students who once struggled with decoding now read with confidence and fluency.”

Sustaining a culture of literacy and growth

Madison County’s progress rests on persistence as much as innovation. The district’s educators continue to meet regularly for data discussions, lesson study, and reflection—sustaining the same mindset shift that began this journey. Professional learning remains a constant for them, demonstrating their dedication to teaching excellence and their belief that educational approaches are never static.

According to Matthews, Amplify has been a trusted partner in that work. Teachers can target support with precision by using mCLASS® for progress monitoring and the mCLASS Dyslexia Screener for early identification. Several schools also use Amplify CKLA to build decoding and comprehension simultaneously, engaging students with content-rich texts that deepen knowledge and vocabulary.

“When we commit to the Science of Reading, we are not just building better readers,” Matthews said, “we’re building a brighter future.”

More to explore

The case for grade-level ELA instruction in middle school

Teaching middle school comes with unique challenges—especially in ELA, where a single classroom may include students from all walks of life and all reading levels. Recent data shows that more than 30% of middle school students struggle to read at grade level. So a teacher’s instinct might—understandably—be to match students with texts at their individual reading levels.

But research shows that’s not the best approach for meeting student needs. In fact, a critical way to help middle schoolers read at grade level is … to teach them at grade level.

All students benefit when they are challenged with grade-level content, along with the necessary support and scaffolding to promote their growth. This approach ensures that no student—whether below, above, or on grade level—is left behind or held back from their full potential.

The problem with the remediation trap

Providing struggling students with simpler texts seems like a logical way to build confidence. But this approach often reinforces learning gaps instead of closing them. When students aren’t exposed to grade-level material, they miss out on critical opportunities to:

Build knowledge and vocabulary necessary for long-term academic success.
Engage in meaningful discussions that deepen comprehension.
Develop confidence in their ability to tackle complex texts and new concepts.

But when students interact with rigorous content and new information alongside their peers, they gain the skills, exposure, and engagement they need to improve—no matter where they start.

Scaffolding in education: Why does it matter?

If students need help reaching grade-level standards, focus on providing the right scaffolding rather than lowering expectations.

Pre-teaching key vocabulary to support comprehension.
Breaking down complex texts into smaller, digestible parts.
Using guided questions and discussion prompts to deepen understanding.
Encouraging peer collaboration so that students can learn from each other.
Incorporating visual aids like diagrams, charts, and graphic organizers to clarify concepts and support comprehension.

By using these strategies, teachers can keep students engaged in grade-level work while addressing skill gaps in a way that fosters real growth.

How grade-level instruction works for every student

Grade-level instruction builds confidence and motivation. Middle school students are deeply social learners who thrive when they feel included. When struggling students are placed in remedial groups with lower expectations, they can feel discouraged. But when they read and discuss the same challenging texts as their peers, they’re more motivated to participate and push themselves.
Grade-level instruction develops critical thinking skills. Grade-level texts expose students to richer vocabulary, more complex sentence structures, and deeper themes. This helps all students—whether they’re working above or below grade level—develop essential thinking and analytical skills that prepare them for high school, college, and beyond.
Grade-level instruction prepares students for real-world literacy. Success in the real world depends on the ability to read and comprehend challenging material. If students aren’t exposed to complex texts in middle school, they’ll struggle in high school, the workplace, and life. Providing grade-level instruction ensures that they develop the reading stamina and skills they need for the future.

Bridging skill gaps without lowering expectations

Some students may need additional support in decoding, fluency, or foundational skills. However, this doesn’t mean they should be separated from grade-level content. Instead, they should receive targeted interventions alongside their core instruction.

Here’s how to bridge skill gaps while keeping all students on track:

Use structured reading supports—such as read-alouds or guided reading along with explicit fluency practice—so struggling students can follow along with grade-level texts.
Incorporate explicit vocabulary instruction to help students understand and use new words.
Provide sentence starters and discussion frameworks to support writing and comprehension.
Encourage independent reading at different levels to build fluency while keeping classroom instruction rigorous.

With these strategies, students receive the help they need without missing out on the rich, challenging materials that promote deeper learning.

Teach up, not down: The best approach for middle school ELA

While scaffolding allows struggling readers to access the same grade-level content as their peers, advanced learners can benefit from opportunities to go deeper with discussions, analytical writing, and extension activities—all within the same instructional framework.

Key takeaways for middle school ELA success:

Every student should engage with grade-level content, regardless of their starting point.
Scaffolding in education helps all learners access complex texts and grow as readers.
Effective literacy instruction prepares students for the demands of high school, college, and beyond.

More to explore

If you’re looking for research-backed strategies to support all students with grade-level instruction, check out our free ebook, Every Student at Grade Level: The Case for Grade-Level ELA Instruction in Middle School. It’s packed with actionable insights for teaching middle school ELA effectively and implementing powerful scaffolding techniques.

Welcome to Amplify Desmos Math California!

Keep reading to learn more about the program and explore sample materials.

About the program

Amplify Desmos Math California is a TK–12 core math program designed to meet the CA Math Framework and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Amplify Desmos Math California thoughtfully combines conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application through a structured approach to problem-based learning. Through engaging activities, Amplify Desmos Math California invites curiosity and math discourse into the classroom to create lifelong math proficiency.

Continue reading to learn more about the K–8, Algebra 1, and Math 1 programs and to explore sample materials. (Spanish, TK and high school materials are in development and will be available in the 2026–27 school year. Geometry and Algebra 2 beta pilots will be available in the 2025–26 school year.)

A powerful math suite

Amplify Desmos Math California combines the best of assessment, problem-based core lessons, personalized practice, and intervention into a coherent and engaging experience for both students and teachers.

Laptop displaying a math problem interface with student assessment reports in the background.

Screening and progress monitoring

mCLASS^Ⓡ Math benchmark assessments, along with the embedded program assessments, measure not just what students know, but how they think. The asset-based assessment system provides teachers with targeted, actionable insights, linked to core instruction and intervention resources. Unit- and lesson-level core assessments give teachers data at their fingertips to guide and differentiate instruction. In grades 3–8, core assessments and performance tasks are designed to prepare students for success on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing.

Core instruction

Amplify Desmos Math California core lessons pair problems students are eager to solve with clear instructional moves for teachers. Each lesson is designed to tell a story by posing problems that invite a variety of approaches before guiding students to synthesize their understanding of the learning goals. With built-in differentiation and multilingual/English learner support, Amplify Desmos Math California enables every student to find success in the math classroom.

A digital math activity asks users to choose a block that makes 10 with a given number; a worksheet shows a similar "make 10" math exercise with blank spaces to fill in.

A digital educational screen showing a math problem about converting meters to centimeters. It involves a diving toy sinking 5 meters into a pool. Text prompts users to input the conversion.

Personalized Learning

Boost Personalized Learning activities help students access grade-level math through engaging, independent digital practice. Responsive Feedback adjusts to students’ work, providing item-level adaptivity to further support their learning.

Differentiation and intervention

Amplify Desmos Math views differentiation as an ongoing process where teachers are both reactive and proactive to student needs, ensuring that all students have clear pathways to proficiency. Through rich data and teacher support, Amplify Desmos Math uses flexible categories of intervention and enrichment that adjust daily according to student thinking.

In-the-moment differentiation supports are available for every lesson, both digitally and in the print Teacher Edition.

Learn more

Two pages of a math worksheet and teacher’s guide about determining coordinates after a rotation, featuring diagrams, tables, and step-by-step problem-solving instructions.

An approach that supports teachers

Clear, step-by-step instructional moves help teachers plan and teach student-centered lessons that use
student thinking to differentiate instruction and guide to grade-level understanding. They include:

Guidance on what to listen for and how
to respond.
Clear learning objectives to keep learning on
track for each activity and lesson.
Daily reinforcement activities to provide direct
instruction when needed.

A woman writes on a whiteboard using math teaching resources while a man sits at a desk, smiling. There are books and papers on the desk.

Network diagram with interconnected nodes labeled: Measure and Compare Objects, Represent Data, Dollars and Cents, Problem Solving with Measure, Skip Counting to 100, Number Strategies, Squares in an Array, Seeing Fraction in Shapes.

Big Ideas

The CA Mathematics Framework encourages a shift from power standards to thinking about math as a series of connected Big Ideas. Each Amplify Desmos Math California lesson supports one or more Big Ideas and the connections between them. The grade-level diagram changes through the course based on the math concepts addressed within.

Please refer to the following Keeping the Big Ideas at the Center documents to review specific lesson designs and alignments with the Big Ideas for each grade level.

Click here to see how the Big Ideas are represented within the K–8 core lessons.

Focus, coherence, and rigor

Amplify Desmos Math California incorporates the Drivers of Investigation (DIs) and Content Connection (CCs) throughout the program. Throughout the year, students engage with open and authentic tasks of varying durations—from lesson activities to unit-level Explore lessons and longer course-level Investigations. Every lesson and investigation opportunity is grounded in the why, how, and what of the learning experience, and helps teachers bring mathematical concepts to life.

An educational slide on addition story problems, detailing goals for solving problems, language goals, and strategies using equal expressions, tens and ones, and number sense.

Please refer to the following Amplify Desmos Math California alignments to the Standards for Mathematical Practice, provided by grade level.

A screen titled "Match the Score" with a 2D target graph showing various scores. Instructions request four ordered pairs to total 400. Four pairs are listed: (4, 2), (7, 4), (7, 6), (10, 6). A "Try again" button is shown.

Built-in authentic tasks

Mathematics is not learning in isolation. Students are connected to each other’s thinking and can use math to understand the world. With accessible invitations to authentic tasks, all students can experience mathematical success. Amplify Desmos Math California provides these authentic invitations in a variety of ways:

Each unit begins with an “Explore” lesson, which allows students to engage with authentic exploration in low-floor, high-ceiling tasks. These tasks are designed to promote an inclusive and differentiated learning environment—allowing all students to access basic mathematical concepts, while offering advanced exploration and problem-solving for those ready for more complex work.

Our innovative course-level investigations are designed to facilitate multi-part exploration. Students grapple with Big Ideas, diving deep into key concepts that encourage comprehensive understanding. Data science is infused into the approach, giving students a solid foundation from which to interpret and apply data-driven solutions. They’re also encouraged to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness of Earth’s environmental systems via our lesson’s focus on the Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs).

Explicit support for multilingual/English learners

Three overlapping educational worksheets for first grade math, including a cover page, a list of learning goals, and a lesson plan with bilingual English and Spanish text.

Amplify partnered with the English Learner Success Forum (ELSF), a national nonprofit organization that advocates for high-quality instructional materials that are inclusive of multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs). ELSF reviewed Amplify Desmos Math California, and provided directional guidance and feedback to ensure that the program reflects their research-based instructional strategies for multilingual/English learners.

Amplify Desmos Math California recognizes the diverse language needs of our students and is designed to be inclusive. Each lesson in the program features a parallel language activity, designed to be available to all students, in the form of teacher guidance and student activities. The activities in the Math Language Development Resources have level ELD differentiation to support all levels of ML/ELs. This approach ensures that all students, regardless of their language skills, can participate fully, grasp the material, and excel in their mathematical journey.

Our Multilingual Glossary includes, in addition to Spanish, nine languages: Simplified Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, European French, Russian, Brazilian-Portuguese, Haitian-Creole, and Urdu.

Amplify Desmos Math California will include Spanish student-facing materials beginning in the 2026–27 school year.

Assessments

By starting with what students already know, Amplify Desmos Math helps build a strong foundation for success to guide and support future learning. Teachers are empowered to transform every classroom into an engaged math community that invites, values, and develops student thinking. With explicit guidance on what to look for and how to respond, teachers can effectively support students as they develop their understanding.

Open math workbook showing an End-of-Unit Assessment with multiple-choice and written response questions on fractions and equivalent values.

Program assessments

A variety of performance data in Amplify Desmos Math provides evidence of student learning while helping students bolster their skills and understanding.

Unit-Level Assessments

Our embedded unit assessments offer key insights into students’ conceptual understanding of math. These assessments provide regular, actionable information about how students are thinking about and processing math, with both auto-scoring and in-depth rubrics that help teachers anticipate and respond to students’ learning needs.

Lesson-Level Assessments

Amplify Desmos Math lessons are centered around sense-making and in-the-moment feedback. Daily moments of assessment provide valuable evidence of learning for both the teacher and student.

Learn more

Data and reporting

Amplify Desmos Math provides teachers and administrators with unified reporting and insights so that educators have visibility into what students know about grade-level math—and can plan instruction accordingly for the whole class, small groups, and individual students.

A table displays students' performance levels across various items, with a detailed score distribution for a specific assessment shown in a separate overlay. Geometric design elements accented the background, providing an engaging visual touch ideal for any math classroom using Amplify Desmos Math.

Assessment reports

Reporting functionality integrates unit assessments, lesson assessments, personalized learning, Benchmark assessments, and Progress Monitoring for a comprehensive look at student learning.

Our reports show proficiency and growth by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concept using performance data from unit assessments. Then our reports highlight areas of potential student need to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

At-a-glance views of unit-level assessment results inform your instructional planning, and you can also drill down to item-level analysis.

Standards reports

Our standards report allows you to monitor proficiency at the class and individual student levels. Proficiency and growth are shown by domain, cluster, standard, and priority concepts. Areas of potential student need are highlighted to allow teachers to modify their instruction and target differentiated support.

Administrator reports

Amplify Desmos Math provides a complete picture of student, class, and district performance, allowing administrators to implement instructional and intervention plans.

Track student, class, and district performance with usage, completion, and assessment data.
Accurately group students and classes with the Benchmark and Progress Monitoring data of mCLASS Assessments and allow teachers to reliably implement and track the progress of Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention.
Provide one data-driven solution that educators can rely on for high-quality math instruction.

Elementary review resources

To learn about the elementary program, please start by watching the Amplify Desmos Math California Elementary Program Overview video.

For additional program information and helpful navigation tips, download the Amplify Desmos Math California Elementary Program Guide.

View the Elementary Program Components Guide here.

View the Hands-on manipulatives brochure here.

Middle School review resources

To learn about the middle school program, please start by watching the Amplify Desmos Math California Middle School Program Overview video.

For additional program information and helpful navigation tips, download the Amplify Desmos Math California Middle School Program Guide.

View the Middle School Program Components Guide here.

View the middle school manipulative kit components here.

The digital experience

In Amplify Desmos Math, embedded interactions and animations allow students to test predictions, get feedback, share ideas, and connect representations.

The digital interactions included in lesson activities are designed to elicit student thinking in a way that feels fun and inviting. As students play and explore math concepts, teachers can highlight the ideas that students share, connect those ideas to other students’ ideas, and build on their thinking through productive class discussion.

Watch the video to preview the digital experience and for helpful platform navigation tips.

A laptop displays a math activity about platform heights and tube length, while a worksheet titled "Hamster Homes" is visible in the background.

Explore grade level samples

All lessons in Amplify Desmos Math California include print materials and rich digital experiences. Every lesson is supported with Student Edition pages, teacher presentation screens, and interactive digital resources for practice and differentiation. Some lessons also enable students to use devices to interact with lesson content.

You’ll find sample materials by grade level in the following drop-downs. Please refer to your physical samples and the digital platform (accessed through the demo account provided by your account executive) for a comprehensive program review.