CKLA Knowledge & Skills

CKLA, which stands for Core Knowledge Language Arts, is the language arts curriculum used at Odyssey. CKLA is divided into two complementary parts: the Skills strand and the Knowledge strand. CKLA Skills teaches students how to read and write through phonics, spelling, grammar, and writing instruction, while CKLA Knowledge builds comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking through rich texts about literature, history, science, geography, and the arts.

Knowledge

The CKLA Knowledge strand centers on engaging read-alouds and class discussions organized into units called domains. Through these domains, students explore important topics, encounter increasingly complex ideas, and develop the background knowledge and vocabulary needed to understand what they read. Our 12 domains this year include,

Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Early Asian Civilizations
Ancient Greek Civilization
Greek Myths
The War of 1812
Cycles in Nature
Westward Expansion
Insects
The U.S. Civil War
The Human Body—Building Blocks and Nutrition
Immigration
Fighting for a Cause

I have been incredibly impressed by CKLA’s rich texts and the meaningful learning they inspire. I am a strong supporter of multidisciplinary learning, and I love how CKLA allows students to strengthen their literacy skills while making connections to history, science, geography, art, and other areas of study.

Skills

CKLA Skills provides direct instruction in reading, spelling, grammar, and writing, CKLA Knowledge focuses primarily on comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking, and meaningful connections across subjects. Lessons include opportunities for students to listen, discuss, ask questions, explain their thinking, and respond through speaking and writing.

During CKLA Skills, students receive explicit, systematic instruction in phonics, decoding, fluency, spelling, grammar, handwriting, and written expression. Students practice applying these skills through daily reading and writing activities, including reading texts that align with the spelling patterns and skills being taught. They will also study spelling words and patterns and complete regular spelling tests to demonstrate their understanding. This structured instruction helps students become increasingly accurate, fluent, confident, and independent readers and writers.

Spelling lists will be sent home on Mondays for practice for the spelling test on Fridays. These do not need to come back to school and are for your reference.