McGraw-Hill Expands English Language Arts Offerings, Adds Personalized Pre-K and Balanced Literacy Programs to Wonders Suite

NEW YORK, June 14, 2016 – As part of an ongoing effort to empower educators to precisely adapt literacy instruction to the needs of diverse learners, McGraw-Hill, the learning science company, today announced two new additions to its trusted line of Wonders ELA solutions: World of Wonders, designed for pre-kindergarten classrooms, and Wonders Balanced Literacy, designed for balanced literacy environments. The expanded offerings represent the first time that programs within the leading Wonders line will be tailored for both pre-kindergarten and balanced literacy classrooms.

“Every student deserves a chance to succeed, both in school and beyond, and few skills and abilities are as fundamentally important to future success as literacy,” said Dr. Shawn Mahoney, chief academic officer of McGraw-Hill's K-12 group. “With these two new offerings, we’re helping to ensure that more students have access to our personalized literacy solutions than ever before, and that the foundational elements of literacy instruction begin at an earlier age.”

What is World of Wonders?

Providing developmentally appropriate, cross-curricular literacy instruction for early learners (ages 3 to 5), World of Wonders builds strong pre-reading and social-emotional skills while incorporating math, science, social studies, music and movement. Young students gain rich learning experiences through engaging literature selections, instruction in early literacy skills, and thematic cross-curricular connections. These threads combine to develop in students the skills and knowledge that they need to enter kindergarten with confidence.

“Early development, including the years prior to kindergarten, provides an opportunity for learners to begin building crucial foundational skills for reading and literacy,” Mahoney said. “As a direct and purposeful extension of and alignment with our research-based Wonders literacy curriculum, World of Wonders is the ideal solution for a growing number of states and districts that have wisely chosen to make early development and learning a priority.”

What is Wonders Balanced Literacy?

Wonders Balanced Literacy offers K-5 educators the ability to create unique instructional paths and to customize program recommendations. With flexible pathways designed to meet a variety of classroom needs and unitized student and teacher materials that include complex, authentic texts and a focus on close reading and text evidence, Wonders Balanced Literacy empowers educators to find their own balanced instructional path, while providing rigorous instruction.

The Wonders suite offers a differentiated and personalized approach to reading that motivates students to exceed their current reading level and provides teachers with explicit lessons and differentiated resources to help accelerate learning. Wonders offers interconnected digital platforms for students and teachers across any device. The teacher platform provides instructors with the exact resources they need for each day and a built-in plan, and facilitates digital whole-group lessons through a revolutionary presentation tool. Students are equipped with a digital platform of their own, where they can complete and save their work, access and submit assignments and games, and collaborate digitally with their peers and teachers.

For more information about World of Wonders and Wonders Balanced Literacy, as well as McGraw-Hill's full suite of Wonders solutions, visit: www.mhreadingwonders.com.