Reading and writing are implicitly related, and at LitLife we work to forge connections between the teaching of the two. The Complete 4 integrates reading and writing, making it feel clear, relevant and engaging to students and teachers alike.

We believe that the best teaching consists of a balance between the Complete 4 components: process, genre, strategy and conventions.

Process involves developing one’s identity and capacities as a reader and writer.
Genre involves identifying different types of writing, and using that knowledge to deepen comprehension and craft.
Strategy involves developing critical thinking: the skills for drawing inferences, making predictions, and synthesizing information.
Conventions involve building vocabulary and an understanding of syntax.

In tackling these four key areas, students build a strong foundation for years of reading and writing.

Curriculum Mapping and the Complete 4

In consulting, LitLife uses the Complete 4 as a curriculum and teaching model to help teachers craft beautifully-designed years. Within its framework, teachers have the freedom to adjust and adapt the model until it feels just right to them. Rather than simply following any one “program,” we encourage teachers to use what they feel passionate about in their teaching. The Complete 4 framework is flexible: it was created to accommodate a wide variety of materials and needs.

Any effective curriculum offers students challenge, enjoyment, breadth, depth, a progression and differentiation of skills, and personal choice and expression. In order to achieve a balance among these needs, individual units within the Complete 4 are structured by four phases: Immersion, Identification, Guided Practice, and Commitment.

We help teachers use the Complete 4 to create year-at-a-glance curriculum maps driven by big-picture goals; to build individual units based on framing questions; to draft mini-lessons to create a focus within a unit; and to weave together lesson strands connecting different units across the year.

The Complete 4 spirals throughout the grade levels. LitLife plans curriculum that builds a thoughtful progression of core reading and writing skills from kindergarten to senior year. Our curriculums are planned not in isolation, but in collaboration with other grades to create a continuum of learning. Students flow from grade level to grade level, and curriculum should be equally fluid in carrying students through their learning.