Instructional Materials » English Language Arts

English Language Arts

For elementary students, language arts curriculum focuses on building foundational skills that help students become efficient communicators. This includes everything from reading, grammar, and mastering phonics to expanding vocabulary knowledge and more.


Our elementary English Language Arts Curriculum (ELA) currently follows the Wit & Wisdom Program. 

 

Materials List:

Module 1

Picture Books (Informational)

My Five Senses, Aliki

My Five Senses, Margaret Miller

Rap a Tap Tap, Leo and Diane Dillon

Picture Books (Literary)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault; Illustrations, Lois Ehlert

Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña; Illustrations, Christian Robinson

 

Module 2

Picture Books (Informational)

Farm Animals, Wade Cooper

The Year at Maple Hill Farm, Alice and Martin Provensen

Picture Books (Literary)

The Little Red Hen, Jerry Pinkney

The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Paul Galdone

Three Little Pigs, Adaptation, Raina Moore; Illustrations, Thea Kliros

 

Module 3

Picture Books (Informational)

Communication Then and Now, Robin Nelson

Home Then and Now, Robin Nelson

Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin, Gene Barretta

School Then and Now, Robin Nelson

Transportation Then and Now, Robin Nelson

When I Was Young in the Mountains, Cynthia Rylant

Picture Books (Literary)

The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton

 

Module 4

Picture Books (Informational)

Africa, Rebecca Hirsch

Antarctica, Rebecca Hirsch

Asia, Rebecca Hirsch

Australia, Rebecca Hirsch

Europe, Rebecca Hirsch

Introducing North America, Chris Oxlade

South America, Rebecca Hirsch

World Atlas, Nick Crane; Illustrations, David Dean

Picture Books (Literary)

Moon Rope, Lois Ehlert

The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf; Illustrations, Robert Lawson

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale, Verna Aardema; Illustrations, Leo and Diane Dillon

Module 1

Picture Books, Literary

Tomás and the Library Lady, Pat Mora and Raul Colón

Waiting for the Biblioburro, Monica Brown and John Parra

That Book Woman, Heather Henson and David Small

Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss

Picture Books, Informational

Museum ABC, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

My Librarian Is a Camel, Margriet Ruurs

 

Module 2

Picture Books, Literary

Seven Blind Mice, Ed Young

Picture Books, Informational

Me…Jane, Patrick McDonnell

Never Smile at a Monkey, Steve Jenkins

Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea, Chris Butterworth, John Lawrence

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, Steve Jenkins, Robin Page

 

Module 3

Picture Books, Literary

Brave Irene, William Steig

Owl at Home, “The Guest,” Arnold Lobel

Gilberto and the Wind, Marie Hall Ets

Picture Books, Informational

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Feel the Wind, Arthur Dorros

Feelings, Aliki

 

Module 4

Picture Books, Literary

Adelita, Tomie dePaola

Bigfoot Cinderrrrrella, Tony Johnston; Illustrations, James Warhola

Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella, Robert D. San Souci; Illustrations, Brian Pinkney

Cinderella, Marcia Brown

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella, Paul Fleischman; Illustrations, Julie Paschkis

The Korean Cinderella, Shirley Climo; Illustrations, Ruth Heller

The Rough-Face Girl, Rafe Martin; Illustrations, David Shannon

Module 1

Poetry

“Weather,” Eve Merriam

Picture Book (Informational)

How Do You Know It’s Fall?, Lisa M. Herrington

Why Do Leaves Change Color?, Betsy Maestro

Sky Tree, Thomas Locker

Picture Book (Literary)

The Little Yellow Leaf, Carin Berger

A Color of His Own, Leo Lionni

 

Module 2

Picture Book (Informational)

The Buffalo Are Back, Jean Craighead George

Journey of a Pioneer, Patricia J. Murphy

Plains Indians, Andrew Santella

Picture Book (Literary)

Johnny Appleseed, Steven Kellogg

John Henry: An American Legend, Ezra Jack Keats

John Henry, Julius Lester

The Legend of the Bluebonnet, Tomie dePaola

The Story of Johnny Appleseed, Aliki

 

Module 3

Picture Books (Informational)

I Have A Dream, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; paintings, Kadir Nelson

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington, Frances E. Ruffin; illustrations, Stephen Marchesi

Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story, Ruby Bridges

The Story of Ruby Bridges, Robert Coles; illustrations, George Ford

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, Duncan Tonatiuh

 

Module 4

Picture Book (Informational)

The Digestive System, Christine Taylor-Butler

The Digestive System, Jennifer Prior

Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition, Lizzy Rockwell

The Vegetables We Eat, Gail Gibbons

Picture Book (Literary)

Bone Button Borscht, Aubry Davis

Stone Soup, Marcia Brown

Module 1

Art

Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai

The Boating Party, Mary Cassatt

The Gulf Stream, Winslow Homer

Picture Book (Informational)

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas, Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Dan Yaccarino

Giant Squid: Searching for a Sea Monster, Mary M. Cerullo and Clyde F. E. Roper

Shark Attack!, Cathy East Dubowski

Picture Book (Literary)

Amos & Boris, William Steig

 

Module 2

Picture Book (Informational)

Moonshot, Brian Floca

One Giant Leap, Robert Burleigh

Starry Messenger, Peter Sís

Picture Book (Literary)

Zathura, Chris Van Allsburg

 

Module 3

Picture Book (Informational)

Coming to America: The Story of Immigration, Betsy Maestro

Picture Book (Literary)

Grandfather’s Journey, Allen Say

Tea with Milk, Allen Say

Family Pictures, Carmen Lomas Garza

The Keeping Quilt, Patricia Polacco

Photography

The Steerage, Alfred Stieglitz.

Untitled photograph of evacuees seeing the Statue of Liberty.” History Extra.

Architecture

Liberty Enlightening the World, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

Gateway Arch, Eero Saarinen. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Kelly Mooney

Visiting the Washington Monument,” Robert Mills

 

Module 4

Picture Books (Informational)

Alvin Ailey, Andrea Davis Pinkney

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant

Action Jackson, Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

When Marian Sang, Pam Muñoz Ryan

Picture Book (Literary)

Emma’s Rug, Allen Say

Paintings

I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, Charles Demuth

My Egypt, Charles Demuth

Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), Jackson Pollock

Number 11, 1952 (Blue Poles), Jackson Pollock

Module 1

Novel (Literary)

Love That Dog, Sharon Creech

Scientific Text (Informational)

The Circulatory Story, Mary K. Corcoran; Illustrations, Jef Czekaj

 

Module 2

Novel (Literary)

Hatchet, Gary Paulsen

Short Story (Literary)

“All Summer in a Day,” Ray Bradbury

Scientific Text (Informational)

Mountains, Seymour Simon

SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere, John “Lofty” Wiseman

Poems

“Dust of Snow,” Robert Frost

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” Robert Frost

 

Module 3

Novel (Literary)

Woods Runner, Gary Paulsen

Picture Book (Literary)

The Scarlet Stockings Spy, Trinka Hakes Noble

Poetry

Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak, Kay Winters

Historical Account (Informational)

George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides, Rosalyn Schanzer

 

Module 4

Drama (Literary)

Pushing Up the Sky: Native American Plays for Children, Joseph Bruchac

Historical Account (Informational)

Understanding Greek Myths, Natalie Hyde

Myth (Literary)

Gifts from the Gods: Ancient Words & Wisdom from Greek & Roman Mythology, Lise Lunge-Larsen

Novel (Literary)

Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech

Module 1

Novel (Literary)

Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, Scott O’Dell and Elizabeth Hall

Speech

“Lincoln Hall Speech,” Washington D.C., January 14, 1879, Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

Module 2

Novel (Literary)

The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Module 3

Historical Account (Informational)

The Boys’ War, Jim Murphy

Novel (Literary)

The River Between Us, Richard Peck

Module 4

Cutout

The Fall of Icarus (1943), Henri Matisse

Literary Nonfiction (Informational)

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, Kadir Nelson

Sculpture

Image 1: Joie de Vivre, Mark di Suvero (Getty Images)

Image 2: Joie de Vivre, Mark di Suvero (Wikimedia)

Image 3: Joie de Vivre, Mark di Suvero (Getty Images)

Image 4: Joie de Vivre, Mark di Suvero