Curriculum at a Glance

Amplify Science is a K–8 science curriculum that blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers.

Each unit of Amplify Science engages students in a relevant, real-world problem where they investigate scientific phenomena, engage in collaboration and discussion, and develop models or explanations in order to arrive at solutions.

The NYCDOE K-8: Passport to Social Studies program is a comprehensive instructional resource that integrates the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework to support strong social studies teaching and learning.

An effective social studies program allows students to make sense of the world in which they live, make connections between major ideas and their own lives, and see themselves as active members of a global community. While knowledge of content is very important, it is equally important to engage our students in historical thinking. This program challenges students to think like historians and encourages them to raise questions, think critically, consider many perspectives, and gather evidence in support of their interpretations through the practice of chronological processing, decision-making, and historical research and analysis. These real-world skills will serve students well as participating citizens of a democracy.

Investigations 3 is a focused, coherent, and rigorous K-5 mathematics curriculum. Fully aligned to the content and practice standards of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), deep and careful attention is paid to mathematics content and to student thinking and understanding. Making sense of mathematics is the heart of the work, for students and teachers.

The culmination of over 25 years of research and development aimed at improving the teaching and learning of elementary mathematics, Investigations 3 maintains and builds on the philosophy and pedagogy of the first and second editions, and continues to be based on the work of real teachers and students. The goals remain the same, as do the underlying guiding principles.

Lucy Calkins founded the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) in 1981 as a think tank, field-based research team, and provider of curriculum and professional development. Since then the organization has evolved in important ways, becoming more directly involved with school leaders, data, international schools, technology, classroom libraries, and with an effort to fight oppression and to be anti-racist. The organization itself has grown as its mission has expanded, offering monthly events for school leaders and organizing weekly virtual conversations with notable voices in the field.

Our goal is to support young people, teachers, and families in order to develop future generations of expert, passionate, and critical thinkers— young people who use literacy to speak out and to live as engaged, curious, justice-seeking citizens in the world. We aim to create and support teaching that is anti-racist and anti-oppressive, teaching that fosters democratic engagement, empathy, and inclusivity.

Through research, curriculum development, and critical attention to methods of instruction, we strive to provide all students with opportunities for powerful and joyful engagement with literacy. Our work centers on young people working with agency, learning skills in phonics, comprehension, and the craft of writing, transferring their learning across the curriculum and throughout their lives.