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Curriculum Design

Overall design and approach to our curriculum

HMH Into Reading, a comprehensive core program for Grades K–5, has an approach that presents the clear, holistic, flexible, and active methodology based on trusted research in the areas of literacy education, the science of learning and cognition, teacher preparedness and instructional practices, equity and diversity in literacy education, social-emotional learning, and digital learning.

The program’s design uses a gradual-release framework that builds students’ skills and confidence. The technology powers a data-driven ecosystem to keep all students moving forward. The content of HMH Into Reading has a module – lesson organization. Modules are organized to include instruction across all domains of English Language Arts. In Kindergarten, a module spans approximately four weeks. A module in Grades 1–5 takes about three weeks to complete. Each module has a unifying theme and an overarching Essential Question. Students explore the theme and build knowledge through a module’s texts, multimedia features, activities, and projects.

Evidence-based practices or research that guided the development of our curriculum

HMH’s solution employs research-based approaches that develop students’ literacy and language skills. Aligned with the science of reading, HMH Into Reading presents instruction that is explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and cumulative. The program is expertly designed to develop students into successful readers, writers, and communicators. Please refer to the overview of the research-based practices espoused by HMH Into Reading.

Components included in our curriculum by grade level

The following codes are used to identify the priorities. If a component is not included in a particular grade-level, N/A will be displayed in that cell.

• C = Core Universal Component
• T = Targeted Support/Intervention for some students
• I = Intensive Support/Intervention for few students
• X = Not addressed

HMH Into Reading Foundational Skills Scope and Sequence: https://hmhco.box.com/v/IntoReadingK6FdnSS

More information about phonemic awareness taught as a core component in Grades 2-3: Aligned with the science of reading, HMH Into Reading presents instruction that is explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and cumulative. Instruction uses a gradual release model, which is evident in the teacher materials’ labeling of instructional verbiage—I Do It/Introduction, We Do It/Guided Practice, and You Do It/Apply. The program is expertly crafted for students to develop strong foundational skills that give rise to ongoing achievement in literacy and in life.

The HMH Into Reading lessons for phonological awareness, which include the subskill of phonemic awareness, follow a research-based scope and sequence. Lessons focus on phoneme identification, onset-rime identification, blending, segmenting, deletion, manipulation, alliteration, and rhyme. The explicit instruction includes teacher explanation and modeling before students give it a try. The instruction draws upon the reciprocal relationship between phonics and phonemic awareness. Lessons have an emphasis on word play and exploration. The program’s projectable Daily Show and Teach Slides present fun, multisensory ways for students to build skills.

HMH Into Reading employs a spiral approach that introduces and then returns to each skill several times across the year. This benefits students who may not master a skill initially but have greater success with repeated exposure. Finally, weekly lessons feature a few selected phonological/phonemic skills across the week (not just one focus), which benefits students who may have difficulty with one skill that week but have success with another.

Phonological and phonemic awareness skills from Grade 1 are reviewed in Grade 2 and applied to increasingly challenging words and syllable patterns. Special focus on phonological and phonemic awareness is evident in the daily Word Work Warm-Up and in the Spotlight on Sounds section at the beginning of each phonics lesson.

The phonics lessons in HMH Into Reading follow a research-based scope and sequence. The general sequence in HMH Into Reading is from easier to harder and most useful to less useful. The Teacher’s Guides include daily support for phonics. After direct, whole-group instruction, students apply their new phonics skills in context. Lessons at Grades 2 and 3 focus on phonemes and patterns of gradually increasing complexity, multisyllabic words and syllable patterns, and affixes. Please see pp. 44–55 of https://hmhco.app.box.com/v/IntoReadingK6FdnSS for the full scope and sequence for Grades 2 and 3.

Lessons include consistent Instructional Routines, Blend and Read Lines, Display and Engage slides, and Show and Teach slides that get all students actively engaged. The teacher materials give step-by-step guidance for implementing instruction and having students adopt skills and routines as their own. Students practice and apply skills with the program’s texts, the Know It Show It resources, Literacy Center activities, and fun Interactive Phonics Practice. The program’s ready-made Anchor Charts offer student-friendly visual support and reinforcement. The decodable Start Right Readers are included in Grade 2, and they can be accessed by Grade 3 teachers (teachers can access content from all grade levels on the Ed platform). The decodable Start Right Readers align with lessons and present entertaining stories with vibrant illustrations.

In Grades 2 and 3, students also receive direct instruction for all six syllable types, and the program’s research-based routines give students reliable tools for dividing words into syllables. The Blend and Read Line activities have students read multisyllabic words in isolation and within sentences, and they are paired with prompts for word comparison discussion.

The program’s Six Syllable Types Anchor Charts are a great source of visual support as students develop their understanding of syllables and patterns. All of the program’s Anchor Charts are projectable, downloadable, and printable, which makes it for these visual supports to be used around the classroom and given to students as a reference they can rely on anytime.

The program’s Blending Board on the Ed platform gives students a fun, interactive way to build words. It engages visual and tactile senses as words can be made and changed by tapping (touchscreen) or clicking (mouse). The Blending Board is an especially great tool to use during small-group instruction. There are many options for configuring the board—cv, cvc, cvce, various endings/suffixes, r-controlled vowels, long vowel patterns, vowel teams, diphthongs, double consonants, consonant blends, digraphs, and trigraphs. Teachers can assign the Blending Board tool to students and use the tool’s presentation mode to project it onto a screen. See the Blending Board in action here, and try it out by going to the Discover tab on the Ed platform > All Resources > Foundational Skills > Filter: Component – Foundational Skills Toolbox.

A fluency focus is integrated, and students work on accuracy and self-correction, rate, or expression.

If intensive instruction and practice are needed, teachers can use the HMH Into Reading program’s Foundational Skills and Word Study studio, which provides a bank of sequenced lessons that target phonics skills. Lessons feature direct, explicit instruction, hands-on activities and games, and downloadable and reproducible pages.

Unaddressed components in our curriculum for any given grade-level and supplements to meet the DDOE definition of K-3 HQIM

HMH’s solution fully meets DDOE’s definition of high-quality instructional materials. It (1) includes a full year’s worth of teacher and student materials that support student mastery of grade-level material; (2) fully aligns with Delaware’s standards for what students should know and be able to do at the end of each school year; and (3) has achieved a “green” rating on EdReports. The solution—inclusive of HMH Into Reading, the Amira assessment and practice resource, and professional development services—also supports SB 133, SB 4, and HB 304, which ensure that Delaware’s K–3 students are taught to read by teachers who are trained in evidence-based reading instruction, have access to high-quality curricular materials rooted in the science of reading, and are screened for dyslexia and other language-based reading disabilities so that early intervention can occur.

How our curriculum is aligned to the science of reading

HMH Into Reading guides beginning readers to master essential literacy skills through an explicit, systematic, coherent, incremental, and cumulative approach based on the latest research and evidence-informed, best-practice methods. To move students from simple to complex using the latest evidence-informed resources, HMH Into Reading includes: Whole Class Lesson Slides to seamlessly teach foundational skills each day of instruction. Dedicated Teacher’s Guide resources to outline explicit, stepped-out instruction for each lesson, including teacher support notes to provide background information, quick teacher tips, correct & redirect notes, and support for multilingual learners. Decodable Passages embedded to immediately support students as they apply their new phonics skills to text and build automaticity & fluency independently – as well as additional decodable text options to differentiate instruction in small groups.

HMH Into Reading’s model of connecting skills to reading in every lesson is clearly outlined in its lesson sampler

Each grade level contains an explanation of each component. If a component is not included in a particular grade-level, “N/A” will be displayed.

How our curriculum aligns with the common core state standards and shifts

HMH Into Reading fully aligns with the Common Core State Standards. The solution robustly represents the key shifts (complex texts and language; evidence-based reading, writing, and speaking; and knowledge-building with nonfiction). For your review, downloadable correlations are available at https://hmhco.box.com/v/HMHIntoReadingv2CCSS.

HMH makes it easy to see standards alignment and students’ progress towards mastery of the standards. The CCSS are embedded on the Ed platform. Teachers can view resources by standard, see the correlated standards in the resource’s/content’s Detail card on Ed, and see standards displayed on reports.

How our curriculum support students’ achievement of grade-level content

The solution employs research-based approaches that develop students’ literacy and language skills. Aligned with the science of reading, HMH Into Reading presents instruction that is explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and cumulative. Please see https://hmhco.box.com/v/HMHIntoReading2RB for an overview of the research-based practices espoused by HMH Into Reading. The research base for Amira is available at https://hmhco.box.com/v/AmiraResearchBase.

With HMH Into Reading and Amira, instructional pathways are driven by data. The technology is instrumental to the solution’s growth-focused design. HMH Into Reading and Amira support the goal of helping teachers identify and respond to each student’s unique needs as quickly as possible. The design takes students’ performance data and presents teachers with directly connected differentiated instruction strategies and options for remediation, intervention, language development, and enrichment. Data from assignments/assessments are reported in real-time to teachers. The reports enable teachers to identify needs immediately and close gaps quickly to keep students moving forward.

Embedded supports included in the curriculum for students with diverse learning needs

The solution’s teacher-friendly planning guides, point-of-use options for differentiating instruction, reports, connected resources, and expertly crafted content simplify the practice of meeting diverse learning needs. Aligned with the science of reading, HMH Into Reading presents instruction that is explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and cumulative. Students are presented with scaffolding, language supports, and spiraled practice. Please see https://hmhco.box.com/v/DelawareDifferentiation032023 for examples.

Curriculum Topics

Alignment of Curriculum to Curricular Aims as Outlined in Delaware Law

The study of Black History serves to educate students about how Black persons were treated throughout history. Please describe how and to what degree your curriculum attends to the following curricular aims as outlined in Delaware law:

•       Examines the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and intolerance
•       Prepares students to be responsible citizens in a pluralistic democracy
•       Reaffirms the commitment of free peoples to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Minimum Requirements Included in Grade K-3 Curriculum

C=Core, S=Supplemental, I=Independent

Professional Learning

What competency-based professional learning our organization offers on our curriculum

Each grade level contains an explanation of each component. If a component is not included in a particular grade-level, “N/A” will be displayed.

How our professional learning is aligned to Delaware’s definition of high-quality professional learning

HMH professional learning is high-quality, ongoing, and accessible and provides teachers with the knowledge and evidence-based practices to meet the literacy needs of all students. It defines best practices and high-impact instructional strategies and practices for effective teaching and learning and positively shifts teacher behavior and knowledge as teachers build their understanding of the science of reading and learn to apply that knowledge in the classroom. HMH is a Rivet Education Certified Professional Learning Provider.

How our professional learning is grounded in Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning

HMH professional learning is grounded in Learning Forward’s eleven Standards for Professional Learning. HMH focuses on the essential content needed to meet the literacy needs of all students, including equitable teaching and learning practices, increased knowledge of curriculum, assessment, and instruction, and the development of professional expertise. Using transformational processes, HMH Coaches deliver professional learning to sustain changes in teachers’ knowledge, skills, practices, and mindsets. HMH employs conditions for success in professional learning to establish equity foundations, a culture of collaborative inquiry, leadership, and resources.

SB4 requires that the competency-based professional learning provided to educators on reading instruction be provided during the school day. How our professional learning can be facilitated through a coaching model

HMH uses a blended model of online and in-person training, targeted literacy learning, coaching, and on-demand resources for professional learning that is high-quality, ongoing, and accessible. HMH provides teachers with the skills to help students develop literacy proficiency, build topical knowledge, read meaningful texts, effectively express ideas through speaking and writing, and solve complex problems. During coaching, teachers engage in a cycle of data analysis, goal setting, observation, learning, applying, and reflecting to improve instruction.

HMH provides complimentary implementation planning, program training, guided learning pathways, and on-demand resources with the purchase of HMH Into Reading. In addition, HMH offers professional learning course modules, job-embedded coaching, and leadership advisory services as a separate purchase.

HMH is recognized as Recommended Professional Learning Partner by Rivet Education, a nationwide, independent evaluator of High-Quality Professional Learning. Rivet evaluates organizations from across the country and selects those that provide the best curriculum-aligned professional learning services for inclusion in its Professional Learning Partner Guide.

Complimentary Professional Learning

Program Training. To get teachers up and running with their new programs, HMH provides Getting Started training and guided learning pathways on Ed, the HMH teaching and learning platform.  Each Getting Started session is streamlined to prepare teachers for the first weeks of instruction. This professional learning course provides an overview of the research-based components of HMH Into Reading and how they work together to improve literacy skills. Teachers have opportunities to explore, collaborate, and ask questions to build understanding and confidence. The number of sessions provided varies in proportion to the number of student licenses purchased. At the conclusion of the session, teachers receive a summary of learning, guidance for individual learning, and links to essential program resources. To aid the District in building capacity and sustainability, HMH Getting Started courses may be tailored to lead teachers and instructional coaches so that they may support current teachers and train new teachers.

HMH complimentary Getting Started sessions are available for the life of the adoption. In Year 1, Getting Started sessions are scheduled by the District, and the HMH Coach works directly with District participants. Year 1 Getting Started sessions are conveniently delivered online or in person. At any time during the adoption, educators can register to participate in national Getting Started sessions through the Live Events section of Teacher’s Corner.

Getting Started sessions are only the first step on a teacher’s path to a successful first 30 days. Additional training and support are provided on Ed, where teachers access the HMH Into Reading Teacher Success Pathway. This guided learning pathway is a recommended sequence of live sessions, on-demand interactive media, and videos to help teachers plan, teach, and assess learning using their new HMH program. Teachers can join live sessions, rewatch recorded sessions, access shared materials, and download completion certificates. With resources like scaffolded lesson plans for the first two weeks, teachers have the right tools at their fingertips to make planning achievable from day one. Learn more about Teacher Success Pathways.

Continued Support and Learning with Teacher’s Corner. HMH provides HMH Into Reading teachers with complimentary professional learning for the life of the adoption through HMH Teacher’s Corner located on the Ed platform. Teacher’s Corner offers live events and a searchable library of training materials, articles, videos, and additional resources for point-of-use assistance, quick help, recommendations, and extended learning. Please visit us at https://www.hmhco.com/programs/teachers-corner for a quick video tour.

•   Live Events support new teachers’ program implementation and build experienced teachers’ instructional practice. Live sessions include Getting Started courses, subject-specific sessions to build on initial learning, and general sessions that feature motivating and relevant content delivered by prominent speakers and HMH Coaches. Please visit this link for a preview of the current Live Events calendar https://hmhco.box.com/v/TeachersCornerLiveEvents.
• The Getting Started area offers teachers support in learning about their HMH programs and Ed in digestible, on-demand modules to reinforce learning from the pre-implementation Getting Started training course.
• The Program Support area provides more specific content for teaching each HMH program using authentic model lessons, articles, professional learning videos, tips, and best practices. This just-in-time learning guides educators as they discover how to teach a new program’s lessons using new resources. With videos from peer educators and HMH Instructional Coaches, teachers can see exactly what HMH Into Reading routines look like in the classroom. As teachers watch these videos, they take special note of how their peers incorporate various program materials and routines to support student learning. Example routines include Shared Reading, Generative Vocabulary, Small-Group Instruction, and Writing Workshop.
• The Breakroom inspires teachers to stay engaged with program-agnostic resources.

Family Room and Leader’s Corner. For parents, families, and caregivers, the Family Room located on the Ed platform provides opportunities to familiarize themselves with the platform, learn about their students’ instructional programs, and gather insights on how they can support students. Leader’s Corner offers district and site-based leaders program and lesson-integrated information, and access to a constantly growing library of resources to support teachers with program implementation.

• Professional Learning Course Modules
• In addition to the complimentary program training, HMH offers professional learning course modules designed to boost literacy teaching and learning. The HMH model is fluid, flexible, and tailored to the needs of the school and the participants. Each professional learning experience begins with a one-hour session to gather information from school leaders. Together we design a series of one-hour courses that address the specific instructional needs of the teachers. These live online course modules provide teachers with tools and strategies to use with HMH Into Reading. Teachers have opportunities to work through various strategies, collaborate with colleagues, and learn implementation practices to support success.
• Some module courses are focused on content and others on instructional strategies. For example, in How We Learn to Read: The Science of Reading, teachers dive into the research into how we learn to read, including the Simple View of Reading and the Reading Rope. In Capitalizing on Formative Assessment Opportunities, teachers focus on designing quality formative assessments that build bridges to learning across flexible learning environments. They investigate oral and written assessment strategies that they can use to continuously respond to students’ evolving needs. In Prioritizing Content to Create Focused Instructional Plans, educators learn how respond to students’ varying academic needs by investigating how they can use priority standards and high-yield instructional strategies to develop focused plans and maximize their instructional time.
• Examples of suggested course modules to support teachers’ understanding of the science of reading include:
  • How We Learn to Read: The Science of Reading
  • Phonological Awareness
  • Phonics
  • Fluency
  • Vocabulary
  • Comprehension
  • Monitoring and Supporting Young Readers in Foundational Skills
• Each professional learning experience is accompanied by a participant guide, which serve as places to anchor learning and to process, collect, and shape ideas. For example, the Participant Guide for Developing Vocabulary could be to build teachers’ knowledge of foundational literacy instruction. Here teachers learn how to create language and word-rich environments as they examine strategies for intentionally selecting and explicitly teaching words. Each professional learning module incorporates best practices for adult learning, time for reflection and collaboration, links for additional learning, and links to lesson-planning resources.
• For a complete list of available live online course modules, click here or visit us at https://www.hmhco.com/classroom-solutions/professional-services.
• Job-Embedded Coaching
• To further support District teachers, HMH offers online and blended coaching. HMH coaching provides teachers with personalized support focused on lesson design, instructional practices, content, and data-driven decision-making to promote continuous improvement over time. HMH Instructional Coaches improve teachers’ standards-based literacy instruction with HMH Into Reading by modeling high-impact instructional strategies, answering program and practice questions, leading grade-level program sessions centered on evidence of student learning, and helping teachers select, monitor, and achieve goals.

HMH’s research-based coaching is partner-based, student-centered, and goal-driven to help teachers develop and implement the skills they need to engage students effectively. Whether side-by-side or remotely, the coach and the teacher work together to:

• Analyze student data, like formative assessments, student work, and testing data, to establish goals for the coaching process.
• Set student learning targets with measurable goals based on the student data to increase student understanding and/or learning behaviors.
• Learn new instructional skills that are directly related to the established student learning targets to have the greatest impact.
• Apply the instructional skills in the classroom with students.
• Reflect and Review Progress by reflecting on the measurable results demonstrated by student learning behaviors and student data from the classroom.

We believe planning, analysis of student work, and progress monitoring are integral parts of the coaching cycle.

Lesson Modeling and Co-Teaching. Lesson modeling, co-teaching, and feedback are important aspects of HMH’s job-embedded coaching. The model lesson cycle typically includes the following:

• Lesson Pre-Brief—Instructional Coach and teacher (or teacher team) co-plan the lesson. The Coach might teach or co-teach the lesson with the teacher.
• The Lesson—Instructional Coach teaches or co-teaches the lesson to a class of students, while teachers observe with a specific focus identified during the lesson planning sessions.
• Lesson Debrief—Instructional Coach provides support and feedback as teachers collaborate to debrief the lesson with a focus on student learning and student misconceptions, identifying specific aspects and strategies used that supported student learning. Finally, the team reflects on next instructional steps for students.

HMH Coaching Studio

All HMH coaching offerings are powered by an annual membership to the HMH Coaching Studio. The HMH Coaching Studio is a web and mobile-based platform designed to support the online and blended coaching model. Through the Coaching Studio, teachers and leaders are empowered to make continued progress toward their goals, reflect on their learning, and set goals for their next in-person and/or online coaching session. HMH Coaching Studio is a 2020 EdTech Awards Cool Tool Finalist, 2022 SIIA CODiE Finalist, and Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence winner. Please watch this video about HMH’s Coaching Studio at https://www.hmhco.com/programs/instructional-coaching. Features of the Coaching Studio include:

• ESSA-aligned. Supports ESSA best practices by enabling professional learning that is sustained, job-embedded, collaborative, and data-driven.
• Goal Tracker. Allows teachers to create and track growth goals personalized to them.
• Model Lesson Library. Hundreds of HMH Classroom and Expert Videos of best practices. Examples can be aligned to instructional goals.
• Collaboration Hub. Discussion forums, resource-sharing, and video-based reflection to drive collaboration with coaches and peers.
• Video-powered Coaching. Allows teachers to capture video of their own instruction for their own reflection or to share with their coach and peers.

An HMH coaching membership provides teachers with a cohesive experience across their online and blended coaching services and continued access to coaching resources and team collaboration after the formal coaching visits have ended. By pairing our coaching services with Coaching Studio, coaches, teachers, and other stakeholders can share resources, engage in meaningful discussions, and reflect on their learning at any time in one centralized location. See Attachment 3c. for sample timelines

The HMH coaching experience begins with an agreement on coaching goals, purpose, and roles at the district or school level. Coaches then work with the district, instructional leaders, and teachers to build community and understand the purpose, value, and use of Coaching Studio before the first scheduled session.

Using HMH Coaching Menus and the HMH Coaching Practices as their guide, HMH Coaches and district educators collaboratively progress through their partnership as they set goals and engage in professional learning and application experiences that result in measurable student growth. Over the term of the coaching membership, HMH Coaches facilitate a structured yet personalized pathway providing time for teachers to learn a little, try a little, and refine a little as they work toward their goals.

As the pathway “ends,” HMH Coaches and teachers review and submit evidence of the progress of their time together, reflecting on how their students have grown as a result of the partnership. Coaches support teachers in understanding how continued use of the resources and discussions within Coaching Studio can extend their learning and support next instructional steps.

If additional coaching sessions are purchased (past the eight sessions shown in the sample pathway), the same structure repeats, either by way of a deeper dive into the already-identified goals, or by transitioning to a different area of focus based on student and teacher needs.

HMH Coaching Menus and Content Bundles HMH Coaching Menus focus the coaching partnership and help teachers and HMH Coaches plan coaching experiences. This approach provides schools with:

•   Support for evidence-based practices that are grounded in our programs
•   Intentional extensions from the learning that occurs in program training and Course Modules
•   The opportunity for teachers to “work with an expert to grow their practice”
•   Structured choices for targeted professional learning and application experiences that impact student growth

Each Coaching Menu and Content Bundle contains the following:

•   Narrow the Coaching Focus. During goal-setting conversations, HMH Coaches help teachers narrow the goals and activities of the coaching partnership. They guide teachers to choose one pathway per coaching cycle to ensure a focused and meaningful experience.
•   Facilitate Actionable Learning. Each Content Bundle contains minilessons to launch the learning path selected by the teachers.
•   Support Ongoing Application and Reflection. Following the minilesson, HMH Coaches use the Coaching Studio to push suggested discussion questions and aligned resources to teachers. Coaches then monitor responses and foster additional conversation.
•   Extension Resources. HMH Instructional Coaches use these ideas to guide extended practice and application throughout the coaching membership.

HMH’s collaborative coaching model builds the capacity of teachers and instructional leaders to sustain a district’s literacy initiative. HMH’s five-step coaching process strengthens a culture of best practices through coaching, lesson modeling, co-teaching, and providing support and feedback. This continuous improvement model recognizes that improvement is a process that allows for incremental and ongoing analysis, reflection, and revision. Part of the process includes the HMH Instructional Coach working with the teacher to analyze student data, such as formative assessments, student work, and testing data, to set student learning targets. Teachers then learn new instructional skills that are correlated to the established student learning targets and apply the instructional skills in the classroom with students. We believe planning, analysis of student work, feedback, and progress monitoring are an integral part of the coaching cycle.

HMH Advisory Services HMH’s specialized leadership division, the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE), provides personalized advisory services to District and school-level leaders to ensure that the HMH implementation meets the expectations of the District’s literacy initiative. ICLE’s expert and experienced practitioners work with the District and school leaders collaboratively and responsively to plan, implement, and refine action agendas as the District implements its new HMH program.

How we demonstrate that educators have not only completed the required professional learning called for in the legislation, but that teacher practice has positively changed in order to improve student literacy

Throughout the courses, participants share their learning, including any stumbling blocks or obstacles they encountered so that HMH Coaches can address gaps in learning or understanding. Participants also complete a Course Evaluation Survey after each learning session, which includes Checks for Understanding such as how the teacher plans to implement their new knowledge of the key literacy components in becoming proficient, fluent readers, identified areas for growth, and their plans for sustaining their learning.

HMH believes that the effectiveness of professional development is measured by how learning is brought back into classroom instruction. Therefore, HMH assesses outcomes both at the point of professional learning sessions and on an ongoing basis. During professional learning sessions, teachers are asked to stop, reflect, and record what they have learned and how they intend to use the new knowledge in the classroom. Please visit https://hmhco.box.com/v/DEDOEIntoReadingPD.

To monitor implementation fidelity, HMH facilitates walkthroughs with principals, assistant principals, and other building-level instructional leaders. Using the best practices of a model classroom as outlined in the Instructional Practices Inventory, the HMH team guides leaders through classroom observations and feedback. Data from the observations are analyzed and reported at a district level as well as for individual school buildings. HMH Instructional Coaches help administrators analyze multiple data points, including those generated by observation and feedback tools, to correlate student achievement and instructional effectiveness. Feedback helps improve teacher instruction and brings classrooms to best practices. An initial walkthrough establishes a baseline and provides a context for the professional learning plan. Mid-year walkthroughs provide data indicating the level of implementation and allow leaders and coaches to adjust training and coaching. An end-of-year walkthrough enables leaders to assess the level of implementation and determine the next steps.

In gathering evidence of the effectiveness of our professional learning, we look to all five of Thomas R. Guskey’s levels of information: Participant Reaction, Participant Learning, Organizational Support and Change, Participants’ Use of New Knowledge and Skills, and Student Learning Outcomes.

Participants’ Reaction

How information is gathered

• Participants complete a survey immediately following training asking if professional learning will help them be more effective, increase student learning, implement the learning objectives, effectively reach goals, and the effectiveness of the instructor.

 What is measured or assessed

• Survey measures whether the information participants learned will improve student achievement, whether participants will use information in teaching, and the effectiveness of the facilitator.
  • 0% of participants believe what they learned in training will improve student achievement.
  • 6% of participants will use the instructional strategies they learned during training in their teaching.
  • 1% of participants agree or strongly agree that the instructors effectively facilitate learning.

 How information will be used

• The Instructional Coach reviews the results of these surveys with their manager who uses them to make any adjustments that may be necessary to improve HMH content design and delivery and, if part of a larger professional learning implementation, to keep the professional learning implementation on track.

Participants’ Learning

How information is gathered

• Participants rate their level of knowledge on a scale of 1 to 10 before and after the professional learning session.
• Reflection is a critical part of each session. To evaluate participants’ learning, participants pause after small segments of instruction and at the conclusion of the session for participants to engage in various reflective practices.

What is measured or assessed

• The survey measures or assesses the level of knowledge gained from the session, the relevance of professional learning, what new knowledge the teacher gained, and how the teacher will implement new knowledge. Participants report their level of knowledge increases by 75% after HMH Getting Started training and by an average of 53% after all professional learning in general.
• Participants reflect on their understanding of concepts through journal writing and connect those concepts to their work. At the end of each day, participants engage in deeper reflection and create action steps individually and/or in teams. They set collaborative objectives to work on in their home schools or districts.

How information will be used

• The Instructional Coach reviews the participants’ ratings with their manager. They discuss and plan for ways to increase the teachers’ knowledge of the content during ongoing professional learning.
• Instructional Coaches engage in reflection with participants and review action plans to assess learning and share them with their manager. They discuss and plan for ways to increase the teachers’ knowledge of the content during ongoing professional learning. HMH sends follow-up messaging to district administrators after workshops summarizing learning and objectives met and offering follow-up resources and services.

Organizational Support and Change

How information is gathered

• HMH is dedicated to helping districts plan for success and track progress against building and district goals. To evaluate organizational support and change, HMH collaborates with district leadership to create a professional learning plan.

What is measured or assessed

• This plan includes the scope of work, project goals, and the ongoing monitoring of success towards those goals. School and district leaders and HMH gather and analyze key data points to set goals and establish beginning-of-year benchmarks. During implementation, HMH provides status reports to document the progress of services and outcomes for each participating school. Work and findings from the school support group help inform routine status updates and updates on the research action project findings.

How information will be used

• At mid-year, leadership teams meet with the HMH to gather and analyze key data points to monitor progress toward goals and student mid-year performance benchmarks. Finally, at the end of the year, teams gather and analyze key data points to monitor progress toward goals and student end-of-year performance. Data points are drawn from classroom walkthroughs, embedded program growth measures and assessments, formative and summative assessments, and teacher analysis.

Participants’ Use of Knowledge and Skills

How information is gathered

• Participants prepare Action Plans to incorporate their learning from the session into an actionable plan for classroom instruction. They choose a standards-aligned action step and select a data collection tool to measure their efforts related to the action step. Participants then form partnerships for ongoing collaboration and accountability. They share the items on the action plan and touch base with each other at a set point in the future to discuss how one another’s efforts are progressing. These goals are tracked through coaching sessions using the Instructional Practices Inventories, Rigor, Relevance, and Engagement Rubrics, and walkthroughs with instructional leaders.

What is measured or assessed

• Most teachers set goals either after the session or during their first coaching session. The process of tracking their progress to achieving those goals is ongoing for this school year.
• To evaluate participants’ use of new knowledge or skills and student learning outcomes, HMH facilitates walkthroughs with principals, assistant principals, and other building-level instructional leaders. Walkthroughs have a dual purpose—to provide a context for ongoing support for building-level leadership and to collect data that communicates the level of implementation and next steps.

How information will be used

• This data will be used to evaluate the goal-setting process and Instructional Practices Inventory to ensure the goals, exemplars, and actions are clear, actionable, and achievable.
• Data from the walkthroughs is analyzed and reported at a district level as well as for individual school buildings. HMH instructors help analyze multiple data points, including that generated by the Instructional Practices Inventory and rubrics, to correlate student achievement and instructional effectiveness. By providing building-level leaders and Instructional Coaches with the tools and strategies to conduct walkthroughs and the ability to analyze data generated, each school can build capacity from within.

Student Learning

How information is gathered

• Students’ learning is measured using student data from formative assessments, student work, and testing data.

What is measured or assessed

• During the coaching cycle, teachers and instructors analyze student data and student learning targets with measurable goals based on the student data to increase student understanding and/or learning behaviors. Teachers then apply newly learned instructional skills in the classroom with students.
• During the next visit, the teacher and Coach review progress by reflecting on the measurable results demonstrated by student learning behaviors and student data from the classroom.

How information will be used

• Data is then used for instructional improvement by helping teachers plan upcoming lessons. Instructors use data to improve HMH courses and coaching for subsequent sessions. Future professional learning is designed to fill in observed learning gaps.

HMH offers professional learning course modules, job-embedded coaching, and leadership advisory services as a separate purchase.

How our Professional Learning attend to the differences in the Science of Reading for students who are Multilingual Learners, specifically students with varied levels of English Proficiency and students being educated in dual language programs

Striving readers require explicit and systematic instruction in key literacy concepts, including phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Professional learning includes direct guidance and hands-on practice with research-based, multisensory strategies and activities teachers can use to differentiate instruction for students who need targeted support with one or more of these key components of reading instruction. Teachers learn strategies to monitor each student’s progress toward learning goals and reading success.

During professional learning sessions, teachers are introduced to HMH Into Reading. They learn how this comprehensive literacy curriculum is accessible for all students and develops analytical readers, independent thinkers, and proficient writers. Throughout the two-hour Getting Started session, teachers engage in hands-on practice to explore how HMH Into Reading supports the varying learning needs of all students, including English Learners and students with disabilities. Teachers begin using program instruction, tools, and resources for teaching, learning, and differentiating.

• They are introduced to the point-of-use support for English Learners and students with disabilities in the Teacher’s Guide.
• Teachers explore the Teaching Pal, for Grades 1–6, which provides an annotated version of the students’ myBook and includes point-of-use high-yield instructional strategies for diverse learners, including prompts, think-alouds, scaffolds, checks for understanding, academic discussion, and annotation tips.
• Participants review the student materials to see how the online student materials enable students to hear the text read aloud, see text highlighted as it is read aloud, and add annotations which is especially helpful for English Learners and students with disabilities.
• As they review the HMH Into Reading Resource Overview, HMH Coaches point out Teaching with Priority Standards bucket and explain how the resources can help teachers individualize instruction based on student needs.
• Daily lessons begin with direct instruction and guided practice in the following strands: foundational skills, vocabulary, reading, and writing.

Participants learn more about the built-in support for diverse learners and grade-level specifics in daily instruction throughout the session.

• As they discuss small-group instruction, collaborative group work, and independent practice, participants learn about support for English Learners and differentiation and intervention resources in daily instruction.
• HMH Coaches demonstrate how Tabletop Minilessons provide opportunities for English Learners to practice and apply language functions across the four domains – listening, speaking, reading and writing – and collaborative problem solving.  They also make it easier for teachers to differentiate and meet the individual needs of English Learners.

During the session, participants review HMH Into Reading research-based instructional routines to supports students in mastering new skills. These Instructional Routines help student better access reading and writing, especially multilingual learners and students with disabilities:

• The growing predictability and familiarity of each routine helps students focus on learning the lesson content instead of learning the steps for a new activity. This is especially valuable for those students who lack confidence that they can be successful readers and writers.
• Routines help students work through their thinking, while still leaving room for students’ individual thought processes to emerge.

During the sessions, teachers participate in small-group rotations to explore small group resources and note how the resources benefit diverse learners, including English Learners.  HMH Instructional Coaches walk teachers through a Daily Lesson beginning with how HMH Into Reading instruction is grounded in the Science of Reading. As they progress through the lesson, Coaches connect the Online Teacher’s Guide to the Week at a Glance to instructional pages. Participants are prompted to reflect on how daily instruction in each literacy strand connects to the Science of Reading. Coaches introduce the reading rotation model and how it may be used to support diverse learners (whole-group minilesson, followed by rotations and a wrap-up). Participants then engage in a reflection on HMH Into Reading’s instructional flow.

At the completion of the session, participants have access to further targeted learning, including resources from Teacher’s Corner on Ed, including sections on Differentiated Support and Intervention and Support English Learners in the Program Guide. The Program Guide has extensive support on using assessments to identify areas for intervention, plan flexible groups for teaching, and monitor progress throughout the year.  

Assessments

Our curriculum assesses students’ mastery of grade-level content

The solution includes diagnostic, formative, summative, and adaptive benchmark assessments that check understanding and measure growth. They measure foundational skills and all strands of ELA. There are pre-made assessments (interactive format and PDF format) and a test-item bank that allows teachers to edit items, create items, and make customized assessments. Teachers can assign from the platform. Assessments taken online are automatically scored by the system (all but responses to open-ended questions). Teachers get real-time reports.

The components of our balanced assessment system (universal screeners, diagnostics, and progress monitoring) including frequency of administration during the school year

The solution’s assessments include diagnostic, formative, summative, and adaptive benchmark assessments that check understanding and measure growth. The assessments measure foundational skills and all other strands of English Language Arts. The technology has automatic scoring and reporting capabilities. See https://hmhco.box.com/v/DelawareDOE-Sec5.

House Bill 304 with HA1 identifies “Universal reading screener” as a tool used as part of a multi-tiered system of support to determine if a student is at risk for developing reading difficulties and the need for intervention and to evaluate the effectiveness of core curriculum as an outcome measure

Explain how your curriculum leverages universal reading screening to measure the following:

1. 1. phonemic awareness,
   2.  phonological awareness, 
   3. symbol recognition, 
   4. alphabet knowledge, 
   5. decoding and encoding skills, 
   6. fluency, 
   7. and comprehension.

Our curriculum will identify students who have a potential reading deficiency, including identifying students with characteristics of dyslexia:

Timely data collection and reporting of universal screening is a required curriculum component from House Bill 304 with HA1

HMH’s solution has data collection and reporting tools that indicate Lexile range, scaled score, grade-level equivalence, skill-specific performance level, standards-specific performance level, and growth index. The reports identify the number and percentage of students. Data can be disaggregated by grade and by individual school. Please see https://hmhco.box.com/v/DelawareDOE-Sec5.

Professional learning provided to educators on how to use the assessments included in our curriculum

During online and in-person program training, teachers receive a preview of beginning-of-year and formative assessments, practice selecting assessments based on instructional purpose, and learn how to customize and assign assessments on Ed, the teaching and learning platform. HMH Coaches provide teachers with a deeper understanding of best practices for using program assessments during live online professional learning modules and job-embedded coaching. Additional learning and resources are available in Teacher’s Corner located on Ed.

Additional professional learning and assessment information