California ELA/ELD Curriculum

The best ELA/ELD curriculum for California is one that meets the California standards, framework, and guidance, is evidence-based, and provides real student growth.

HMH’s ELA solutions are proven in practice in more schools nationally than any other ELA curriculum and align with California’s ELA/ELD Framework to meet Program 2 and Program 6 requirements. From supporting the unique needs of multilingual learners to providing diverse texts and a continuum of learning across all grades, HMH is committed to the success of every learner with the best ELA/ELD curriculum for California.

Absolutely. HMH supports a coherent TK–12 literacy progression, with California-aligned literacy solutions to support diverse and multilingual learners across grades TK-12.

Together, these programs allow districts to implement a coherent literacy experience that builds skills progressively from early reading through high school.

Yes, The Creative Curriculum for Transitional Kindergarten is aligned with the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF). HMH’s Into Reading California and Into Literature California programs were built specifically for California and are 100% aligned with the CA/ELA framework, standards, and guidance.

HMH’s ELA solutions, Into Reading California (K–6) and Into Literature California (6–8), include dedicated Integrated ELD and Designated ELD to support English learners.

To align with the unique needs of diverse California classrooms, HMH incorporates Integrated and Designated ELD materials that work together as a coherent system so that multilingual learners (MLLs) develop academic English in meaningful, connected ways every day.

Yes, HMH has partnered with Teaching Strategies to offer The Creative Curriculum for Transitional Kindergarten. It was built to be PTKLF-aligned and is widely used and trusted in the state.

Yes. HMH offers a comprehensive literacy curriculum for grades 9–12 through HMH Into Literature®, designed to support secondary students as they build strong reading, writing, speaking, and thinking skills.  At the secondary level, literacy instruction focuses on complex texts, academic discourse, writing, language development, and critical analysis across literary and informational genres.

HMH Into Literature for Grades 9–12 provides:

• Rigorous, grade‑level texts and text sets
• Integrated reading, writing, speaking, and listening instruction
• Support for disciplinary literacy and evidence‑based writing
• Scaffolds and supports for multilingual learners
• Embedded formative assessments, digital tools, and performance‑based tasks.

This approach helps ensure students are prepared for college and career.

Our solutions for K–6 provide effective instruction for California, in English and Spanish, supporting biliteracy instruction through Into Reading California and its parallel Spanish program, ¡Arriba la Lectura! California.

Into Reading California and ¡Arriba la Lectura! California ensure equitable access through consistent routines, explicit instruction, and scaffolded practice built on the tenets of structured literacy. When paired, the two programs offer an intentional dual-language pathway for developing literacy skills in both Spanish and English.

The Creative Curriculum® for Transitional Kindergarten: California features Spanish-language classroom materials that are not just translated but culturally adapted to reflect children’s experiences, offering deeper connections and positive identity building. 

HMH’s ELA solutions provide a structured approach to foundational skills. For Grades K–6, systematic, explicit, and cumulative instruction is supported through intentional lesson pacing and consistent routines that allow teachers to teach, reteach, and review, while providing ample time for students to practice both new and previously learned phonics skills. Students apply these skills daily in connected text through 100% decodable passages and a robust library of decodable books for Grades K–3. Teacher’s Guide lessons include clear models and kid-friendly language that make new foundational skills meaningful, memorable, and sticky for learners.
 
For Grades 6–8, teachers have access to decoding and fluency practice lessons to develop and reinforce the skills middle school students need to become proficient readers, to build students’ confidence in reading grade-level texts, and to increase their motivation and engagement.

Instruction starts with explicit decoding and word study instruction, then immediately connects to reading instruction and responses. For both programs, fluency practice builds accuracy, rate, phrasing, and expression so students can focus on meaning. Vocabulary is taught directly and reinforced through morphology, discussion, and repeated use in text. For comprehension, students are supported to make meaning from increasingly complex texts by drawing on speaking and writing skills to respond to texts with evidence that builds knowledge across module topics.

A knowledge-building throughline in every module and unit connects daily lesson elements to the focus topic and allows students to build content knowledge and meaning-making by reading, writing, and talking about rich, content-based texts and essential questions.

HMH’s ELA instructional design follows a structured literacy framework that features award-winning, diverse texts. Students build knowledge by learning and practicing skills to access grade-appropriate texts, fostering knowledge connections throughout each lesson. An engaging set of award-winning classic and contemporary texts provides opportunities for students to grow and become engaged, informed learners with a deep knowledge of topics in science, social studies, and the arts.

Throughout each lesson, students make daily connections by reading, writing, and talking
about focus topics and texts. Daily writing and purposeful scaffolding support a structured approach that encourages students to demonstrate what they are learning, clearly and coherently. Daily grammar instruction is integrated, and performance tasks, inquiry, and research projects allow students to speak informally and formally as they interact with texts and others to share understanding. Additionally, resources promoting academic language development are found throughout the lessons and within the teacher materials. These resources are designed to increase students’ proficiency and sophistication in language.

HMH’s ELA solutions place a strong emphasis on engaging California students through relevant topics, stories they will love, and diverse authorship. We focus on compelling characters and their experiences to help students of all backgrounds see themselves in what they read with a variety of stories and authors. We place the same high-quality trade literature found in bookstores and libraries in the hands of all students with a wide range of texts for whole-group, small-group, and independent reading. Additionally, we offer authentic Spanish literature at the upper grades and the curriculum in Spanish for Grades K–6!

HMH’s ELA programs incorporate implementation support in formats to support both new and experienced teachers. Notably, K–8 materials feature an Implementation Guide, based on extensive teacher input, to ensure ease of use for teachers when planning and teaching. The Implementation Guide features key details, such as the program’s gradual release instructional model, skills trace, a resource overview outlining each tool’s alignment with the daily block of instruction, and pacing options.
 
Annotations and suggestions are also presented within the context of the specific learning objectives outlined throughout K–8 teaching materials, including a Teacher Edition for Designated ELD instruction, along with scaffolded supports.
 
Explicit, stepped-out instruction aligned with the knowledge- and skills-based learning objectives at the start of each lesson in the K–8 teacher materials is evident in each lesson portion that follows the objectives.

All of HMH’s programs include embedded, ongoing professional learning designed to support successful first‑year implementation and long‑term instructional impact, aligned with the California ELA/ELD Framework. There are additional synchronous and asynchronous professional development opportunities housed within Teacher’s Corner on Ed.

Across K–12, HMH’s ELA solutions provide intentional scaffolds, below‑level and on‑level texts, and skill‑focused practice that make reteaching and intensifying instruction more efficient during core ELA time. Teachers can flex instruction through small‑group lessons, targeted practice, and data‑informed decision‑making—while keeping students connected to grade‑level standards, knowledge‑building texts, and language development.
 
For additional supports for diverse learners, California districts can use approved programs Read 180 for Program 4 Intensive Intervention and English 3D® for Program 5 Specialized Designated ELD.

Yes. Teachers can implement Into Reading California and Into Literature California in fully digital, fully print, or blended environments using Ed, the digital platform that supports flexible instruction and data reporting.