The thoughtful, community-based design sets Odell apart from other curricula. Each grade is designed as a yearlong experience. Students begin to form learning communities in the first unit of each grade level as they explore a significant question, like “Who Changes the World?” or “What Does it Mean to Live a Life Well-Lived?”
In the units that follow, the learning community takes root: students focus on the learning and practice of literacy, as they engage with their peers, building social and civic perspective and navigation. They develop their perspectives on authors like Alvarez, Achebe, and Shakespeare and issues like feeding the world and making public health decisions.
Each year culminates in a student-driven research project, in which students form teams to investigate a topic of their choosing to present to the larger learning community.
The heart of the Odell Education approach to secondary literacy is using questions to frame students’ initial reading, guide students through analysis, and initiate inquiry. Students engage in an iterative process that leads to more questions as their understanding of the text or topic becomes more complex, resulting in students producing effective and interesting writing and encouraging robust academic discussion.
Students connect, associate, collaborate, and cooperate with their peers in an accepting, respectful community to exchange ideas and build toward independence by participating in formal and informal academic discussions in which they are expected to use academic language.
Every unit is designed to build students' writing prowess. From short writing-based assessments to the Culminating Task, students learn to back their analysis with solid textual evidence. The final section of every unit guides students through a recursive writing or presentation.
Every lesson comes packed with extensive teaching notes. Whether it's background information on a text, strategies for teaching, or ideas for further support, our program ensures teachers have all they need. Plus, the Literacy Toolbox, includes graphic organizers and academic guides, as well as resources for all learners, including specific support for English learners.
Teacher choice is central to the program–from the units they choose to teach, to student groupings, which optional lessons and activities best meet the needs of their students, and when to implement supports like the guides and tools in the literacy toolbox. The Odell HSLP empowers teachers and helps them prepare their students for college, careers, and civic life.
