Grades 6-8 (First Edition) | EL Education Curriculum

Grades 6-8 (First Edition)

To support your implementation of the Grades 6-8 ELA (First Edition) curriculum, we've created several supporting materials to help get you started. 

To access resources for the new Grades 6-8 Language Arts (Second Edition) curriculum, please see our updated Tools page

Please note that we have discontinued the first edition of our Grades 3-5 ELA curriculum. However, these documents are still relevant to support the implementation of the Grades 6-8 ELA (First Edition) curriculum published in 2012.

Curriculum Overview Documents

Grades 6-8 Trade Book List 

The list of resources that need to be purchased in order to implement the modules for the Grades 6-8 curriculum.

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Curriculum Plan

A high-level overview of the recommended sequencing and pacing of topics, texts and writing tasks for each grade.

View Grades 6-8

Curriculum Maps

The single-best source to understand the year's work for each grade level: a detailed view of the scope and sequence of the modules showing module titles, topics, targets, and standards assessed in each module.

View Grades 6-8


Appendix: Protocols and Resources (Grades 6-8 ELA Curriculum)

A compendium of protocols used in the lessons and strategies related to checking for understanding, ongoing assessment, and building academic vocabulary, useful as an ongoing reference document alongside the module.

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Common Core-Aligned Interventions for Adolescent Readers

A guide to support students in grades 6-8 during intervention or in a supplemental setting, including suggestions for additional work with related text, word study and vocabulary, fluency, grammar and syntax, and independent reading.

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Preface to the Modules: Introduction to Grades 3-8 ELA Curriculum

A must-read orientation to the Grades 3-8 ELA curriculum: the big picture of how the modules were designed, how they address the Common Core shifts, and how critical it is to understand the logic of the "backward design" before considering any adaptation.

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Preparing to Teach a Module: Guidance for Coaches and Teacher Leaders

A recommended process for analyzing the modules before teaching them.

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Assessment Design in EL Education's ELA Curriculum, Grades 3-8

A step-by-step process for designing effective assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards.

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Writing Instruction in EL Education’s ELA Curriculum, Grades 3-8

An overview of writing instruction in our ELA curriculum.

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Helping Students Read Closely in EL Education’s ELA Curriculum, 
Grades 3-8 

Instructional strategies for helping students read complex texts independently and proficiently.

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Teaching the Research Standards in EL Education’s Grades 3-8 ELA Curriculum

An overview of the Common Core research techniques to address Common Core research standards.

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A Guide to Supporting English Language Learners 

Guidance for planning scaffolds for English language learners in your classrooms.

View the guide

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