The Making Meaning® program is designed to serve as the comprehension component of a literacy program. Teachers can use it to replace or enhance the comprehension component of other programs. Following are suggestions for integrating this program with others.

Basal programs

Read the basal reading selection on Monday and use it to teach the week’s grammar, spelling, word study, and writing. Use the Making Meaning® program to replace the basal’s comprehension lessons for the rest of the week.

Reading workshop

Use Making Meaning® lessons before the students do their independent reading.

Guided reading

Use the Making Meaning® program for the read-aloud part of your literacy program. Use the Optional Library texts for small group or guided reading instruction.

The four-block model

Incorporate the Making Meaning® lessons into the self-selected reading block of the four-block model, which calls for a teacher read-aloud, individual daily reading, student-teacher conferences, and collaborative sharing.

Making Meaning® Vocabulary

The Vocabulary supplement is taught the week AFTER the corresponding Making Meaning® week. Waiting a week helps ensure that the students have thoroughly discussed the read-aloud text before revisiting it for the vocabulary lesson.

The Being a Writer™ program can be used alongside with Making Meaning® to teach the craft, skills, and conventions of writing. Some read-alouds are used in both programs; this allows the students to explore a book from the points of view of both writers and readers.

Use the Making Meaning® program as the comprehension complement to the SIPPS® (Systematic Instruction in Phoneme Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words) decoding program.

Class meetings help to build and sustain the reading community.

Assessments help teachers make informed decisions about instruction. In kindergarten and grade 1, informal assessments evaluate the needs of the whole class. In grades 2–8, more formal assessments are used.

The program uses “best practices” in comprehension instruction for English Language Learners (ELL).

Professional development can help teachers develop techniques that enhance their students’ ability to make sense of text.

A support kit for school principals provides tools and support for effective leadership and program implementation.