Open Educational Resources
Nonprofit Launching 2 New OER English Language Arts Curricula
Open Up Resources is launching new open educational resources for K–12 — two complete English language arts curricula (one for K–5 and one for secondary schools).
Open Up is a nonprofit that provides OER curriculum for K–12 schools, which it distributes freely in electronic format (with an option for printed materials), along with teacher resources (such as tools for differentiation). Professional development options are also available.
Open Up has been around just over a year, and, according to the group, "educators from more than 3,500 school districts, covering a quarter of U.S. schools, have engaged with Open Up Resources to explore or use its first two curricula...." Some of the nonprofit's previous releases have included Illustrative Mathematics 6–8 Math, released in August, and EL Education K–5 Language Arts, developed by EL Education.
Students using Illustrative Mathematics 6–8.
The newly announced curricula include:
- K–5 Reading & Writing, to be developed in conjunction with Sharon Walpole of the University of Delaware; and
- A new version of ELA Guidebooks 2.0, a high school ELA curriculum used by the state of Louisiana — which will participate in its development, along with Odell Education.
"Our first-year traction makes Open Up Resources the fastest growing startup in K–12. The exceptional interest in our curricula confirms that districts are craving alternatives to the costly, often poorly standards-aligned materials that have dominated K–12. We are delighted to provide excellent alternatives to all schools, regardless of district resources, and the expansion of our ELA offering to all K–12 grades will accelerate the fulfillment of our equity mission," said Open Up Resources CEO Larry Singer in a prepared statement.
Further information can be found at openupresources.org.