Connecting to Your Core: Aligning and Simplifying Your Foundational Skills Block

I recently visited an elementary school that had reached out for support. They were looking for a fresh perspective—and new ideas—to help improve their student data. During my visit, I spent time doing one of my favorite things: following a student through their full school day. I always find that I learn more by experiencing a student’s day from start to finish rather than observing isolated blocks of time.

What I noticed on this visit struck me.

The student I shadowed was a striving reader receiving targeted foundational reading instruction from three different educators. But each educator was using a different program—or, in one case, no program at all, just teacher-created materials. Each had slightly different instructional routines and used different language to explain the same concepts. So, this student—already working hard to master the code of reading—had to shift gears and adapt to three different instructional styles, three different sets of expectations, and three different ways of talking about reading. It was a lot to manage.

From a systems-level perspective, the school had a lot to be proud of. They had a robust tiered support model and multiple adults wrapping around their most at-risk learners. But I left asking myself a big question:

What would happen if we created a more coherent instructional experience for students like this one? Could greater alignment across teachers and settings lead to stronger reading outcomes?

In my search for answers, I learned a lot. One thing is clear: elementary educators are constantly navigating the challenge of delivering high-quality foundational literacy instruction—while juggling mixed student needs, fragmented resources, and limited time. The more I reflected, the more I realized this wasn’t just one school’s challenge—it was everyone’s.

That’s why we launched Connecting to Your Core, a three-part edWebinar series from Learning A-Z^® designed to help educators streamline and align their literacy block—from whole-group to small-group instruction and beyond. In the series, we dig into the practical tools, planning strategies, and research-based frameworks that can help create the kind of coherence all students deserve.

In case you missed it, here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways and practical strategies we shared across all three sessions.

Session One: Why Alignment Matters in Foundational Skills Instruction

Too often, small-group instruction is treated as a separate island from whole-group instruction. Educators are left cobbling together materials—whether they’re scripted programs, tech tools, or teacher-created resources—with little guidance on how to ensure coherence across the day.

In the first session, I explored why alignment matters, especially for our most at-risk readers. Research shows that students make stronger literacy gains when small-group and Tier 2 instruction align with what’s taught whole group (Coyne et al., 2024; Stevens et al., 2024). Disconnected instructional routines, terminology, or scope and sequence can increase students' cognitive load and create confusion.

I introduced a practical three-step Instructional Alignment Framework to support educators in this work:

Identify routines used across settings
Modify routines for small-group use if needed
Script new aligned routines that can be reused regardless of content

This framework isn’t about replacing your curriculum—it’s about leveraging what you already have, more effectively.

Session Two: Planning Small-Group Instruction With Intention

Once educators recognize the need for alignment, the next question is: How do I actually plan small-group lessons that build on my core instruction?

In part two of the webinar series, I zoomed in on routine types—review, explicit instruction, and practice—and how to use them to address specific student needs. I offered a simple planning template that aligns focus skills and routines across the week. Teachers can plug in content from their core program while tailoring pacing and support for each group.

Some of my favorite planning tips include:

Start with what students are learning as a whole group and adjust for depth and pace.
Ground practice in familiar routines so students know what to expect.
Use decodable texts and word-level activities from your core or Raz-Plus^® to reinforce skills to mastery.

Remember: You don’t need new materials. You need a new lens on what you already use.

Session Three: Creating Coherence Across the Entire Literacy Block

In the final webinar, I addressed the big picture: how to create cohesion across all instructional formats: whole group, small group, and independent practice.

I discussed the distinct roles these formats play:

Whole group: Builds background knowledge and delivers grade-level content
Small group: Provides explicit, differentiated instruction to mastery
Independent practice and centers: Reinforces previously taught skills with meaningful practice

I also shared insights from research on thematic instruction and knowledge-building, which showed that when content is coherent across the day, students make deeper connections and retain more (Puspita et al., 2020; Hale, 2010).

My advice? Let your core curriculum drive your entire literacy block. Instead of finding “center time fillers,” design your independent tasks to reinforce the same vocabulary, phonics skills, and content knowledge introduced in other formats.

Coherence is Key

The strongest literacy blocks aren’t the ones with the most programs—they’re the ones with the most coherence. By using your existing resources more strategically and aligning your routines across settings, you can make instruction more efficient for you and more effective for your students.

Missed the live sessions? No problem. Catch all three recordings here.

Let’s keep connecting to our core—and with each other.