The Up the Ladder Series
When Lucy and her coauthors worked on the Units of Study, they had to make a choice whether to "make shoes that fit—or shoes to grow into." They chose the latter, writing that curriculum for kids who are growing up within Units of Study reading and writing workshops. This means that each unit assumes students have experienced the unit that came before it. But that, of course, won’t be the case for upper-grade students entering reading and writing workshops for the first time. The Up the Ladder units are designed to help classes with upper-grade students who are new to workshop instruction or who are currently working below benchmark levels. These units meet students where they are and accelerate the development of their skills in narrative, information, and opinion writing (in the 3 writing units), and fiction and nonfiction reading (in the 2 reading units).
Liz Masi Breves, Carl Ciaramitaro, Hareem A Khan, Lucy Calkins
About the Unit Up the Ladder Reading: Fiction is for upper-grade readers—and teachers—who are new to the norms and culture of reading workshop, and for readers who would benefit from foundational instruction in reading fiction. By instilling strong habits and routines, this start-of-the-year unit will prepare students to take charge of their own reading lives. The unit:
- establishes the
Lucy Calkins, Kelly Boland Hohne, Celena Dangler Larkey, Shana Frazin, Hareem A Khan, Mike Ochs, Alicia Luick
The Up the Ladder books are designed for children in grades 3–6 who may not yet have had many opportunities to practice writing narrative, information, and opinion pieces, or might not have had those experiences in workshop-style classrooms. The units give these children opportunities to engage in repeated successful practice and to move rapidly along a gradually increasing progression of challenges. The Up the Ladder... more
Liz Masi Breves, Carl Ciaramitaro, Hareem A Khan, Janet L. Steinberg, Alexandra Roman, Mike Ochs, Lucy Calkins
When Lucy and her coauthors worked on the Units of Study, they had to make a choice whether to “make shoes that fit—or shoes to grow into.” They chose the latter, writing that curriculum for kids who are growing up within Units of Study workshops. This means that each unit assumes students have experienced the unit that came before it. But that, of course, won’t be the case for upper-grade students entering reading workshops for the first time.
... more
Janet L. Steinberg, Alexandra Roman, Mike Ochs, Lucy Calkins
About the Unit Up the Ladder Reading: Nonfiction is for upper-grade readers—and teachers—who are new to the norms and culture of reading workshop, and for readers who would benefit from foundational instruction in the skills of reading nonfiction. By instilling strong habits and routines, this unit will support students in taking charge of their own reading lives and reading nonfiction with curiosity and engagement... more