CommonLit’s ELA curriculum includes novel units in each grade and robust independent reading resources to spark a love of books
Who is CommonLit? What is CommonLit 360?
CommonLit is a teacher-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering teachers with everything they need to make literacy instruction both effective and joyful. CommonLit 360 is a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum for grades 6-12 that is designed to drive student growth in reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. CommonLit 360 was built alongside 50 schools nationally and is based on a strong body of evidence on instructional best practices for adolescents. Our ELA curriculum is centered around the idea that students learn best when they are engaged in meaningful, relevant, and challenging work.
CommonLit 360 is highly effective and proven. It has received strong external reviews for standards-alignment and quality, including an all-green (highest) rating by the independent curriculum review body EdReports (found here). CommonLit 360 has been the subject of multiple research studies – including nine that meet ESSA evidence standards – showing a consistent relationship between use of our instructional program and student reading growth.
Novels & Texts in CommonLit 360
Students realize strong literacy growth and develop a love of books when they engage with rich, challenging literature. CommonLit 360 exposes students to diverse genres so they can experience the wide range of literature they will encounter in the world:
- full-length novels,
- dramas and plays,
- short stories,
- scientific articles,
- historic speeches,
- Supreme Court cases,
- and more.
The curriculum for each grade is structured into six units of instruction, with each unit spanning 4-6 weeks of instruction. Rich literature is the anchor of every unit. Within each grade, students will experience at least one full-length novel or full-length drama, and potentially even more full-length novels through independent reading practice. CommonLit’s Independent Reading Guides encourages teachers to set up an independent reading practice to supplement daily instruction and foster a love of books throughout the whole year.
Full-length Novel Units
In a CommonLit 360 classroom, students read full-length novels and full-length dramas by award-winning authors such as George Orwell, Jacqueline Woodson, Ray Bradbury, and Shakespeare with their classmates. This literature was hand-picked by our team of veteran educators with input from over 2,000 middle school students during the initial development of our curriculum. We want students to love the literature they encounter!
Here is a snapshot of books students will encounter through direct instruction in CommonLit 360:
Independent Reading of Novels & Other Long-Form Texts
Students develop stamina for reading when they engage deeply with long-form texts. In addition to our dedicated novel units, CommonLit 360 encourages teachers to create classroom routines that introduce more novels and long-form texts throughout the year through independent reading. Teachers have access to Independent Reading Teacher Guides that help them support students in reading full-length, self-selected books that align closely to unit themes. The guides help teachers develop accountability systems and check for understanding with the goal of encouraging a deep love of literature.
These supports include:
- Suggested novel lists connected to unit themes (10 suggested novels per unit)
- Accountable independent reading routines (ex. reading logs, narrative prompts)
- Student-led book club resources to make independent reading collaborative and discussion-rich
For instance, in 9th Grade Unit 1, Following the Crowd students wrestle with the essential question: Why do people follow the crowd, and what happens when someone doesn’t? To support their exploration of the themes of the unit, teachers can optionally introduce these full-length novels and corresponding activities to assign to their students during independent reading time, as shown below.
To view a sample Independent Reading Teacher Guide for this unit, click here.
Want to learn more?
Interested in learning more about how your team can use CommonLit 360 to drive student reading growth and encourage students to engage deeply in rich novels and texts? Reach out to the CommonLit at partnerships@commonlit.org.
