English language arts

Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Into Reading Curriculum

Curriculum overview

HMH Into Reading is a K–5 research-based English language arts curriculum focusing on explicit, systematic instruction in reading, vocabulary, foundational skills, and writing, using both digital and print resources to foster independent readers and writers. It emphasizes a gradual release model for foundational skills, provides culturally diverse texts and differentiated instruction to support all learners, and integrates reading and writing to build cross-disciplinary knowledge. The program offers teachers extensive planning, support, and assessment tools, with a module-based structure that uses essential questions to connect learning to the real world.

Massachusetts English Language Arts Frameworks

Click image to access Frameworks.

K-5 Into Reading Overview

Through the use of Into Reading, K-5 teachers will implement:

A fundamental belief in the ability of all students to learn.
- - Educators have high expectations for every student, regardless of background, accompanied by a set of positive attitudes and dispositions towards them.
A wide range of curricular content.
- - Students have access to characters and settings that look like them and their communities. They also read texts that encourage them to look outward and learn about others' worlds.
Dynamic Instruction
- - Students will participate in whole-group instruction, pair-share, and small-group activities that require them to share, discuss, disagree, and think individually and collectively. Should will participate and demonstrate mastery of content in a multitude of ways.
Community Involvement
- - Parents, caregivers, grandparents, and community members can share stories, give historical overviews of the community and changes that have happened over time, offer support, share immigration stories, and provide cultural bridges between the larger community and the school community.

Literacy at Home

Here are some ideas you can implement at home to go along with Into Reading. The ideas are flexible for different grade levels and focus on keeping literacy meaningful, fun, and connected to family life:

🌟 Daily Reading Routines

Family Read-Alouds – Take turns reading books, articles, or poems out loud. Stop to ask “What do you think will happen next?”
Shared Reading Time – Everyone in the family reads at the same time (each with their own book). End with a quick “book chat.”
Bedtime Connections – Read a short story or chapter together each night, then talk about the characters’ choices.

📝 Comprehension & Vocabulary

“Ask 3 Questions” – After reading, family members take turns asking three questions about the text.
Word Jar – Pick a new word from the week’s reading, write it on a card, and post it in a jar. Use it in conversations.
Text-to-Life Connections – Ask: “Does this remind you of something that happened to you or our family?”

🎲 Reading Games & Fun

Story Retelling – Act out part of the story as a skit or use toys to retell the plot.
Family Book Club – Choose a story from the Into Reading texts and have a “book talk” over dinner.
Character Interviews – Pretend to interview a character from the book. (Kids love being the character!)

✍️ Writing Connections

Family Journal – Keep a shared notebook where everyone writes a few sentences about their day.
Letters to Characters – Write a short letter giving advice to a character from the story.
Comic Strip Summaries – Turn a story into a simple comic strip with dialogue bubbles.

🌍 Real-Life Literacy

Everyday Reading – Read recipes, instructions, grocery lists, or signs together.
Research Projects – If the weekly story is about animals, space, or history, look up more information together.
Story Sharing – Invite grandparents or relatives to tell family stories; kids can write or draw about them.

Amira

Amira is a reading assistant designed to provide personalized, in-the-moment tutoring for students, in kindergarten through sixth grade. Utilizing the Science of Reading principles, Amira listens to students read aloud, analyzes their performance, and delivers targeted micro-interventions to address specific reading challenges. This approach aims to enhance fluency, comprehension, and foundational skills such as phonics and working memory.

Spot

Students can access Amira at home by clicking on the "ED" app on their Clever page. Amira is designed to provide independent reading practice, so it’s important that students complete their sessions on their own without assistance. This helps the program accurately assess their reading skills and provide personalized support tailored to their needs.

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