Summer 2025 Newsletter
On deck: MORE Summer Leadership Institute
This July and August, READS Lab will host teams of education leaders from rural districts across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin at our annual Summer Leadership Institute (SLI). District and school-based leaders will come together on Harvard’s campus to learn about MORE’s foundational principles and to co-design a plan to implement MORE in their settings.
We’re excited to launch these new partnerships, which will benefit both practitioners and researchers, and we hope they will continue for a long time. This co-design work that we do with our district partners is what sets us apart from most research centers. It is built into the DNA of READS Lab and how we approach all our work.
MORE is on the shelves!
In a new book, Natalie Wexler focuses on READS Lab’s longitudinal study of MORE as evidence that:
- Building students’ knowledge is an effective strategy to improve standardized test scores in literacy and math
- Our research shows that a systematic approach to knowledge building takes time, but produces valuable results
- These results last for years after the lessons are completed
Interested in learning more about the study? Check out our two-pager.
Teacher tip: Use concept mapping as a team unit-planning activity
A MORE teacher shared the following reflection:
I find it helpful to build out an idea for a concept map as I plan a unit, knowing that it will be completely flexible and subject to change as it unfolds with students.
We love this idea and think it could work well as a “getting to know our unit” activity during a PLC meeting.
- Identify words. Write the unit’s vocabulary words (and other important words) on small pieces of paper.
- Play with connections. As a team, come up with a few different ways to connect the words. Note: You might need to add an additional word or two!
- Try with your students. Instead of using a word wall, experiment with introducing both word meanings and word connections during the unit.
Concept-map example: Force
- Force is a push or a pull.
- Force can come from gravity, which pulls things down.
- Force can come from magnets, which have poles that attract or repel.
- Force can be slowed or stopped by friction.
Piloting MORE/MÁS
To better meet the needs of our partner districts, we’re collaborating with local educators to develop and pilot a bilingual version of MORE called MORE/MÁS.
We’d love to learn more about your school or district’s needs and wants around bilingual curriculum materials! Sign up on the MORE website and leave us a note.