The eStem Literacy Curriculum is intentionally and coherently structured to develop rich content knowledge within and across grades. To build a foundation for college and career readiness, the literacy curriculum provides students opportunities to read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/social studies, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. The goal of literacy instruction is to develop independent, lifelong learners.

The eStem Literacy curriculum includes a balance of instructional approaches and authentic, ongoing assessment. Instruction is planned and delivered to meet the needs of all students. The curriculum is delivered through the model of the literacy block. Students learn through modeled, shared, guided, and independent practice. This instructional model provides various levels of support and meets the needs of all students. The goal of literacy instruction is to develop independent, lifelong learners.

Curriculum materials are based on content from a number of sources including Wilson Fundations & Just Words, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, Core Knowledge, Connections, 6+1 Traits of Writing, Wheatley Portfolio, National English Teachers Association (NCTE), Notice and Note Fiction and Non-Fiction, Best Practices, Laying the Foundations, and Arkansas AIMs.

The acquisition of content knowledge and skills is paramount in a robust social studies program rooted in inquiry. The K-12 Curriculum is written around the practices of The College, Career, and Civic Life framework for social studies state standards.

• Construct compelling questions that promote inquiry around key ideas and issues

• Develop supporting questions that contribute to inquiry: identifying facts, concepts, and interpretations

• Answer compelling and supporting questions using appropriate and available sources that consider multiple points of view

• Gather relevant information from multiple perspectives and a variety of sources; evaluate the credibility of the source by determining its relevance and intended use

• Use evidence from multiple sources to answer compelling and supporting questions by developing arguments with claims and counterclaims and providing explanations

• Construct arguments and explanations that convey ideas and perspectives to appropriate audiences using print, oral, and digital technologies

• Critique the credibility, relevance, and use of evidence in arguments and explanations proposed by self and others

• Use disciplinary lenses within the social sciences to understand local, regional, and global problems, proposing solutions or assessing strategies and options for action while applying deliberative processes