[Source: Benchmark Education]Learning List recently reviewed Benchmark Education’s Benchmark Advance. This comprehensive product is developed to address the California English language arts/reading (ELAR) and English language development (ELD) instructional frameworks for grades K-6. Resources are available in print and eBook formats. Instruction develops close reading skills and addresses the five themes of the California frameworks: Content Knowledge, Making Meaning, Foundational Skills, Language Development, and Effective Expression.
Benchmark Advance organizes content in ten 3-week units that focus on a single topic (e.g., Developing a Nation). Units focus on specific “knowledge strands” (e.g., character, life science, economics) and include content addressed by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and California History and Social Studies Standards (HSS). Instruction relies on the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) and incorporates predictable routines (e.g., read alouds). Each unit’s first week focuses on modeling and guided practice and weeks two and three provide opportunities for students to apply and extend what they have learned.
Resources include “Texts for Close Reading,” “Texts for English Language Development,” and “Reader’s Theater” scripts. Texts for Close Reading are available as print consumables and eBooks. Print books have space for notes and numbered paragraphs that help students cite evidence from the text in written and spoken communication. eBooks contain interactive annotation tools (e.g., highlighters and note taking tools). Texts for English Language Development help English language learners and struggling readers build the skills to become on-level readers. Students develop fluency skills using engaging Reader’s Theater scripts. Units include sets of resources to support small group instruction, including letter and high frequency word flashcards.
About Benchmark Education*
[Source: Benchmark Education]Our award-winning print and digital solutions feature content-rich leveled texts in English and Spanish; explicit instruction in close reading and analysis, genre, and cross-text study; and a wide array of differentiated resources that enable educators to target literacy intervention. Our powerful supplemental and core programs give diverse learners precisely the support they need to accelerate achievement. Professional Development, a top priority for Benchmark Education since its founding close to twenty years ago, can be customized for schools or districts, and has been demonstrated by scientific research studies to improve teacher effectiveness and help schools build essential capacity. Many educational publishing companies say their literacy programs are the best, but our classroom-tested resources speak for themselves. Proven time and again in field research, our programs help boost reading proficiency under the new state standards. Since our inception in 1998, our mission has remained to provide classroom-tested solutions that help educators differentiate instruction and enable EVERY student to achieve success.
*The content in this section is provided by or adapted from Benchmark Education.
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