I’m a big believer in online web-based curricula that can be accessed from any browser, any digital device, any location. It makes learning organic, part of life rather than something that must happen from a certain book or room. To me, the growing popularity of web-based curricula is no surprise. The problem is trying to blend them effortlessly into a class LMS or learning platform without lots of extra clicks and logins.
Kiddom’s partnership with highly-rated Open Up Resources changes that. It is now possible to deliver curricula lessons and materials directly through the Kiddom platform. This includes:
- grades 6–8 Math curriculum
- EL Education K–5 Language Arts
- Reading with Relevance
Before I get into the details of this new relationship is, let me introduce the two partners–Kiddom and Open Up Resources.
Who is Kiddom?
Kiddom is an easy-to-use education platform designed as a centralized hub for teaching and learning. Its pages are visual and easy-to-understand, enabling teachers to quickly create lesson plans, find targeted resources, and determine how students are doing. Click here for my full review.
Who is Open Up Resources?
Open Up Resources (OUR) is a series of free competency-based Common Core-aligned curricula (math, ELA, and reading). They received excellent ratings from EdReports, a leader in evaluating textbooks and curricula for rigor, usability and alignment to academic standards. OUR stood out for a lot of reasons: 1) it is authored by experts in their fields, 2) it is designed for diverse classrooms, and 3) it includes a full-service professional learning suite to support teachers. Additionally, the curricula are refined through extensive in-classroom experiences with a focus on the equitable distribution of learning. They are available digitally (printable if that is your preference), allowing districts to move away from costly often-outdated textbooks that must be renewed constantly at great expense.
What is the Kiddom-Open Up Resources Partnership?
Thanks to this partnership between Kiddom and Open Up Resources, you can download the OUR curricula directly into your Kiddom platform making it easy to deliver lessons, access materials, assign homework, track student progress, and view real-time reports of student progress that enable teachers to see where intervention may be needed, spot school-wide trends and metrics on curricula usage.
“A growing body of research names curriculum as a critical factor in academic success. However, teachers are scrapped for time and can’t spend hours scoping and sequencing curriculum if we want them to individualize instruction. Kiddom’s partnership with Open Up Resources helps us improve teachers’ lives in their quest to improve learning outcomes.” — Ahsan Rizvi, CEO of Kiddom
This partnership “helps bridge the gap that currently exists between curriculum, instruction, assessment and intervention,” (says Kiddom’s chief academic officer Abbas Manjee). By having the curriculum seamlessly available on the Kiddom platform, teachers can quickly see what they’ve taught, who knows what, and then differentiate assignments based on student needs.
The Kiddom-OUR partnership does a few more amazing things I love:
- Kiddom will automatically align the scope and sequence of Open Up’s materials to any district’s standards.
- Kiddom will recommend follow-up activities and exercises specific to areas where a student may struggle.
What’s the curricula look like
Here’s a quick (very quick) overview of the OUR curricula in Math, ELA, and Reading that can now be pushed out through your Kiddom platform:
Open Up Resources Math (Grades 6-8)
OUR’s Math curriculum for grades 6-8 is a problem based curriculum authored by Illustrative Mathematics. It is aligned with Common Core and includes not only student and teacher resources but parent materials–a great way to encourage the parent-teacher-student trilogy. The latest version includes enhanced English Language Learner supports within every lesson and a fully translated Spanish version.
This curriculum received an unprecedented high score from EdReports. In fact, it’s the highest rating for a math curriculum on EdReports, as well as the first and only middle school math series to receive the highest designation by EdReports in all three review categories.
This ELA curriculum includes a broad range of instructional protocols designed to promote student engagement, discourse, and collaboration. It places a premium on communication, collaboration, and social-emotional learning while Incorporating student goal-setting and reflection.
This curriculum is another top-rated K–5 ELA curriculum on EdReports. It also earned a “Tier 1” rating by the Louisiana Department of Education. It has been proven to improve literacy outcomes, higher-order thinking, and teacher effectiveness when paired with professional learning
Reading with Relevance SEL (Grades 2-12)
The OUR Reading curriculum offers comprehensive, proven reading and writing core programs while incorporating strong, clear protocols to support excellent classroom instruction. It includes a thoughtful balance of fiction and non-fiction selected to span a variety of topics and encourage student engagement. Teachers who use it see notable gains in PARCC, SBAC, and Georgia Milestone districts results.
This curriculum was approved by the Center for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as an academically-integrated SEL program. It’s evidence-based, modular in nature, and enables teachers to adopt units independently or to supplement ELA curriculum and/or after-school programs.
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What’s the takeaway? Top-quality curricula from OUR can now be managed through your Kiddom platform. That makes it easier for both teachers and students to use, more intuitive to push out, and saves time for everyone. This is a great step forward for educators and learners.
@OpenUpResources
@KiddomApp
More
EdSurge announcement and details on the Kiddom-OUR partnership
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
