Units of Study in Reading, Grades K–5

The Units of Study in Reading, Grades K–5 fosters engagement and a genuine love of reading by providing students with opportunities to read and discuss whole books, not just excerpts or short passages. Every lesson is centered around complete, high-quality trade books and mentor texts, giving students meaningful opportunities to build stamina, deepen comprehension, and develop a lifelong love of reading.

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Take a Look at the NEW Units of Study in Reading

The Units of Study in Reading, Grades K–5 have been completely revised and updated to reflect current research in literacy instruction. Aligned with science of reading principles and the Reading Rope framework, they support the integration of word recognition and language comprehension, while reinforcing the development of foundational skills—including phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding—in the early grades and continued work with fluency, vocabulary, knowledge-building, and comprehension across Grades 3–5.

K–5 Overview

Explicit Teaching Meets Authentic Reading

The workshop model is a research-informed instructional framework that gives students consistent time and support to engage in authentic reading and writing. Grounded in decades of classroom practice and research, it combines clear, explicit teaching with time to read whole books and responsive feedback.

The workshop model is a powerful form of instruction that works whether with an existing core program or using it as your primary spine of instruction.

Discover the Reading Workshop Model and Why It Works on our blog.

The Reading Workshop eBook

What’s New Across K–5

The Units of Study in Reading have been completely revised and updated for Grades K–5 to reflect current research in literacy instruction.

Standards-Alignment
A coherent, research-based, standards-aligned curriculum encompassing daily vocabulary (Grades 3–5), read-aloud, and reading workshop instruction.
Daily Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary lessons tied to unit topics to support students’ word knowledge and build morphological awareness, using quick research-based routines.
Daily Read-Aloud Plans
Fully-planned read-alouds that are perfectly aligned to unit goals—rich with discussion and close reading.
Supporting All Readers
A companion book that includes more than 150 ready-to-teach small groups, helping pinpoint next steps for students and teach responsively.
Streamlined Minilessons
Each minilesson is presented as a clean, two-page spread with everything a teacher needs at-a-glance: teaching point, materials, vocabulary, and more.
Science and NGSS-Aligned
Nonfiction topics like insects, oceans, plant adaptations, Earth processes, and space spark curiosity and meet Next Generation Science Standards.
Assessments
Integrated unit assessments with rubrics and progressions for data-driven instruction.
Alignment with Writing Workshop
Designed to work seamlessly with the Units of Study in Writing, many units incorporate mentor texts and key teaching points from writing.

Grades K–2: Building Strong Readers from the Start

The Units of Study in Reading, Grades K–2 have been thoroughly updated to reflect current research on how children learn to read. They combine research-informed instruction with the proven benefits of a workshop model that prioritizes time to read, authentic texts, and responsive teaching.

Aligned to Science of Reading principles, the Units integrate foundational skills, language comprehension, and knowledge building to ensure students build both the ability to read and the capacity to understand what they read. Students develop foundational skills alongside daily opportunities to apply those skills in connected reading and writing experiences. Instruction is cumulative and coherent across units and grade levels.

Grades K, 1, and 2 Units of Study in Reading products

Note: To ensure students receive the full range of skills required for early literacy success, the Units of Study in Reading need to be paired with a foundational skills program that offers structured, sequential lessons in phonics and word recognition. Together, these programs work in harmony to build both the code and the meaning of language. These new editions reflect a clear commitment to research-aligned practice. There is no instruction anchored in three-cueing nor do the new editions encourage kids to guess at words in lieu of decoding. Instead, students are taught to attend to print and read with increasing independence and understanding.

Grades 3–5: Expanding Skills and Deepening Thinking

Grades 3, 4, and 5 Units of Study in Reading products

The Units of Study in Reading, Grades 3–5 provide a fully integrated approach to comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and knowledge building, grounded in the Science of Reading.

Grades 3–5 build on K–2 foundations to help students become skilled, thoughtful, and independent readers of complex texts. Students engage in close reading of fiction and nonfiction, text-based discussion, and writing about reading, developing the ability to think critically, synthesize ideas, and support their thinking with evidence. They also build knowledge across content areas through research and topic-based units, including NGSS-aligned studies that deepen understanding and extend learning beyond the literacy block.

Read-Alouds and Shared Reading

Interactive read-alouds are a cornerstone of effective literacy instruction. Through read-aloud, students engage with complex texts beyond their independent reading level, building vocabulary, background knowledge, and critical thinking skills.

Read-aloud is intentionally embedded throughout the Units of Study in Reading:

In Grades K–2, read-aloud plans support the development of high-level comprehension skills. Plans highlight essential vocabulary and include structured opportunities for partner talk and whole-class discussion, fostering collaborative, text-based thinking.
In Grades 3–5, read-aloud is embedded within each unit as a central instructional tool. Teachers model increasingly sophisticated comprehension work—such as analyzing characters, building knowledge across texts, and interpreting ideas—before students apply these strategies in their own reading.

Students participating in a read-aloud or shared reading lesson

Classroom Libraries

Classroom libraries play an important role in supporting students' growth as readers. Time to read and access to engaging books lead to increased reading volume, which helps students build knowledge and vocabulary while strengthening word recognition and comprehension over time.

Classroom library books and reading materials

The Units of Study offer curated classroom libraries and shelves organized by genre and topic to support students’ reading development and align with instruction across the Units of Study. Grade-level collections bring together texts across genres and topics, along with additional library shelves aligned to specific Units of Study.

In Grades K–2, decodable book collections including Jump Rope Readers (fiction and nonfiction) and Moonlit Mountain Readers are a key component of classroom libraries.

Explore Classroom Libraries

Bring the Units of Study in Reading to Your Classroom

Learn more about the updated K–5 reading curriculum and how it can support your literacy goals.

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