A Closer Look at RISE Summer School Curriculum
The RISE curriculum is carefully designed to help students SHINE brighter in literacy and math, setting them up for a successful school year. This high-impact summer curriculum is designed to fit the time constraints of summer and aligns with Common Core, state standards, and the science of reading. Our carefully crafted daily schedule includes 90 minutes of dedicated literacy instruction and 75 minutes of engaging math curriculum.
Rise ELA Curriculum
We believe that learning to read should be a joyful journey. The RISE K-2 literacy curriculum fosters confidence and a love of learning through an interactive approach.
As students move beyond the foundational skills emphasized in earlier grades, ELA instruction transitions to strengthening comprehension and analytical skills. This shift recognizes that students need to decode words accurately, engage deeply with the meaning of texts, and develop the ability to think critically about their reading.
RISE’s systematic approach to phonics instruction is carefully designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to master foundational reading skills.
RISE Phonics Curriculum Includes:
Explicit Instruction: Teachers clearly explain phonics rules and patterns to students.
Cumulative and Sequential Learning: Phonics lessons in the RISE program follow a logical progression, each building on previously taught concepts.
Multisensory Activities: RISE incorporates visual aids and manipulatives into phonics instruction, creating a multisensory approach that caters to diverse learning styles and makes learning more engaging.
Decodable Readers: These books feature carefully controlled vocabulary and progressively introduced phonics patterns, allowing students to practice their skills in context. At RISE, we believe in the power of engaging stories to support phonics instruction. That’s why we use RedThread Readers. These books are more than just practice tools—they’re engaging stories that captivate young readers.
Curious to see how our decodable readers can help your students shine?
Download a sample of our systematic phonics curriculum
Close reading is a structured approach to analyzing complex texts used in grades 3-8 of the RISE Summer Learning Program. It involves multiple readings of the same text, each time with a different focus.
For example, the first reading might be for understanding the basic plot, while later readings could focus on the text structure, exploring themes, or evaluating the author’s intent.
RISE Close Reading for Meaning Curriculum Includes:
Text-Dependent Questions: Teachers use questions that require students to refer back to the text for evidence, encouraging a deep understanding of the material and developing the habit of using evidence to support their thinking.
Annotation and Note-Taking: Students mark important parts of the text, write down questions, and note connections as they read. This active engagement helps them track their thoughts and improves their comprehension.
Collaborative Discussion: After reading, students discuss the text, share their understanding, ask questions, and respectfully challenge each other’s interpretations.
Author Study and Novel Study Workshops
RISE’s Author Study and Novel Study Workshops help students move beyond foundational reading skills to become more thoughtful, engaged readers. By focusing on a single author or immersing in a complete novel, these workshops encourage deeper comprehension, vocabulary development, and a love of reading.
Rise math Curriculum
The math curriculum maintains a uniform structure across all grade levels, focusing on two core components: story problems and routines.
Story problems are included in the RISE Summer Learning Program so students can see how math is used in real-world situations, making it more interesting and relevant.
RISE Math Story Curriculum Includes:
Engaging Contexts: Story problems are in familiar contexts, like going shopping, playing sports, or going on a trip. This approach makes the problems more relatable and interesting.
Variety of Problem Types: There are different kinds of story problems that need different math operations. These range from simple arithmetic for younger students to more complex things like fractions, ratios, and even basic algebra for older students.
Focus on Process and Explanation: RISE emphasizes that it’s important not just to get the right answer but also to explain how you got there and what steps you took. This focus on the process helps students understand math better and feel more confident.
Created specifically for RISE, these shorter, structured activities target common gaps in student knowledge and strengthen foundational math skills, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The routines are designed to build fluency and accuracy through regular practice.
RISE Math Routine Curriculum is:
Short, structured, and targeted activities: Teachers can easily incorporate routines into daily math instruction without consuming excessive time.
Focused on foundational math skills: The routines emphasize the essential math concept building blocks.
Designed to promote fluency and accuracy: Regular practice with these routines helps students develop speed and confidence in performing fundamental math operations.
Codified: This means they follow a structured format, making them easy for teachers to implement consistently across different grades and classrooms.
Curriculum Alignment
RISE is committed to aligning with state standards through High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), ensuring adaptability across various states.
Adapting to State Standards
View MoreFocusing on Power Standards
View MoreAddressing Unfinished Learning
View MoreOngoing Curriculum Refinement
View MoreDownload Common Core Standards Alignment
Want to see how RISE aligns with your state standards?
Fill out this form for a customized breakdown of how RISE aligns with your state’s specific standards. Our team will provide the resources you need to ensure RISE fits seamlessly into your local curriculum.
How
RISE
Curriculum
Aligns with Year-Round HQIM
Literacy
Math
Evidence-Based Approach: The curriculum is grounded in the science of reading—including a focus on explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Mathematical Reasoning: There are opportunities within every lesson for students to participate in mathematical reasoning, both abstractly and quantitatively.
Knowledge-Building: The materials provide a coherent sequence or collection of connected texts that consistently build vocabulary knowledge and knowledge about themes with connected topics and ideas.
Real-World Application: Students regularly solve problems that connect math to real-world scenarios, using models to explore relationships and variables.
Rich, Engaging Texts: Students work with a mix of controlled and complex texts, enhancing vocabulary and comprehension. Materials also include read-alouds to model fluent reading and build background knowledge.
Skill Development: The curriculum focuses on accuracy, efficiency, and recognizing patterns, helping students build a deep, flexible understanding of math concepts through repeated practice and generalizations.
Writing Integration: The program includes text-based tasks that require students to write about the topic using vocabulary and language appropriate for their grade level.
Teacher Support: Easy-to-navigate teacher guides offer clear connections between resources and guidance on scaffolding and differentiating complex tasks.
Interactive Learning: Every lesson offers opportunities for students to engage in interactive discussions, make conjectures, defend their reasoning, or examine the reasoning of others.
Clear Instructional Design: It provides age-appropriate, structured lessons with regular assessment opportunities to monitor progress.
Building Bright Futures Together
Together with schools, districts, and funders across the nation, we’re helping students shine bright.
Spotlight: Summer Discovery and RISE
Ballmer Group partnered with United Way to launch Summer Discovery to address a clear need in Southeast Michigan–a lack of accessible summer learning options for K-8 students.
This initiative provided free, high-quality summer learning programs big and small, from charter schools to traditional districts and community-based organizations.
But what makes a summer program more than just a checkbox on a to-do list? How do we ensure it leads to meaningful, lasting outcomes for students?
Recognizing the need for impactful summer learning, Summer Discovery partnered with the RISE Summer Learning Program.
Schools receiving funding through Summer Discovery could implement RISE, bringing a structured, engaging curriculum to their students.
Request More Info
Curious about how the RISE Summer Learning Program can make a difference for your students? Fill out the form below, and our team will contact you.