New Curriculum Review: McGraw Hill’s Literacy Summit!
Selecting middle school English language arts instructional materials requires careful consideration of how a program develops students’ literacy skills, promotes critical thinking, and supports teachers in delivering rigorous instruction.
McGraw Hill’s Literacy Summit! (Summit!) is a comprehensive English language arts program for grades 6–8. Available in print and digital formats, the program integrates reading, writing, listening, and speaking through thematic units designed to build knowledge and strengthen students’ ability to communicate effectively.
Learning List has reviewed Summit! for grades 6–8, evaluating its alignment to academic standards, instructional quality, and technology compatibility. Below are a few highlights from our review.
Essential Questions Drive Learning and Critical Thinking
One of Summit!’s strengths is its use of essential questions and embedded assessments to focus learning and promote critical thinking. Designed around the Understanding by Design (UbD) instructional model, the program organizes learning into thematic units that connect texts, instructional activities, and assessments. Essential questions encourage students to explore ideas, make connections across texts, and synthesize their learning.
Comprehensive Teacher Planning and Instructional Resources
Another strength of Summit! is its substantial collection of resources designed to support teachers in planning and delivering instruction. Each unit begins with a comprehensive Planning Guide that walks teachers through a backward-design process, focusing instruction on the learning students will demonstrate in the embedded assessment. Additionally, the Unit Features page summarizes the skills and organization of each unit. At the Activity level, teachers receive step-by-step instructional guidance to support lesson delivery.
The program also includes a library of videos and digital resources to support planning and implementation. Together, these resources provide teachers with guidance for understanding the instructional sequence, preparing lessons, and implementing the program
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What Else Should Educators Know About McGraw Hill’s Literacy Summit!?
Beyond its instructional strengths, Summit! includes several features that district and campus leaders should consider when evaluating the program. Learning List's editorial review provides additional insights into the program's approach to differentiated instruction, its selection of authentic and diverse texts, and the digital tools available to support student writing.
Understanding these features can help educators determine how well the program aligns with their instructional priorities and implementation needs.
Want to learn more About Summit?
Read Learning List's independent alignment, editorial, and technology compatibility reviews of McGraw Hill's Literacy Summit! for grades 6–8 to explore our findings and make informed curriculum decisions.
About Learning List
Learning List provides curriculum support services, including its hallmark instructional materials review service for school districts. This subscription service provides immediate access to independent, evidence-based alignment, quality, and technology compatibility reviews of more than 4,000 widely used PreK–12 instructional materials. Subscribing districts can submit materials for review at no additional charge.
About McGraw Hill*
McGraw-Hill Education’s mission is to accelerate learning through intuitive, engaging, efficient, and effective experiences – grounded in research. By partnering with educators around the globe, McGraw-Hill learning engineers, content developers, and pedagogical experts are developing increasingly open learning ecosystems that are proven to improve pass rates, elevate grades, and increase engagement for each learner while improving outcomes for all.
*Information in this section is provided by or adapted from McGraw Hill Education.
