Cosmo ELA Curriculum and Teaching Method
Cosmo's Philosophy
At Cosmo (formerly known as ClassUp), our mission is to revolutionize K-12 education through technology. We believe that every child has the potential to succeed, and with the right tools, they can thrive. Cosmo 1:1 delivers high-quality, personalized learning at scale. Our AI-enabled system creates Personalized Learning Plans, supported by an interactive feedback loop and engaging tools. By partnering with top US educators like you, we offer 1:1 online classes using our proprietary, standards-aligned curriculum.
As a Cosmo teacher, you are more than an expert in your subject. You are a mentor, a motivator, and a guide. You invest in your students' growth, show up with energy and purpose, and lead with reliability and heart. You are a role model for young minds, helping them build confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning. When you bring your best self to the classroom, you inspire students to do the same — and that's the magic we create together at Cosmo.
ELA Curriculum
Our ELA curriculum is carefully crafted to meet the diverse needs of our students. The ELA curriculum covers both reading, writing, and language/grammar, each playing a large role in literacy development.
Reading lessons are divided into 2 main areas: foundational skills and comprehension.
Foundational reading lessons largely focus on phonics and follow the science of reading. They help students develop their understanding of how letters, sounds, and words work. We also touch on concepts of print and fluency
.Reading comprehension lessons cover both literary and informational texts. We focus on helping students understand characters, plot, main ideas, text structures, and more, and we dive deeper into analyzing an author's words.
Writing lessons also cover 2 main areas: language and composition.
Language lessons emphasize grammar, vocabulary, and conventions, like capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
Writing composition lessons encourage students to express their thoughts through opinion (or argumentative) pieces, informational texts, and narratives.
Our curriculum is based on national and state standards and is designed to progressively build upon key skills in each grade level. For example, a first grader may begin to "describe characters, settings, and events in a story" whereas a fifth grader will dive deeper to "compare and contrast characters, settings, and events by drawing on specific details in the text."
While a lesson is identified by grade level for teachers to reference, they're not indicated on the student-facing slides. Any level can be used with any student to fit their learning needs. Let's say you find that your fifth grader is struggling to write an opinion essay. You may choose to start with the 3rd or 4th grade lesson and build up to the 5th grade content. Similar language and graphic organizers are purposefully used throughout lessons on similar topics for a cohesive learning journey.
Teaching method
Our lesson design sets teachers up to use a gradual release model, or the "I do, we do, you do" approach.
Each set of slides begins with a key concept for the teacher to provide explicit instruction, the "I do" portion of the lesson. The teacher can set the purpose for learning a skill or strategy, define tricky vocabulary, clearly explain the concept, and assess the student's initial understanding.
Moving on to the activity, this is designed for guided practice or the "we do" phase - a chance for teachers to model a skill and think-aloud. This is a vital component of the gradual release, especially for students who need many repetitions to internalize a skill or concept. Doing it with the teacher before doing it independently builds both confidence and understanding.
Finally, students can complete the practice slides independently - the "you do" portion. As the student completes independent practice, the teacher quietly observes, assesses, and supports as needed. Of course, each student is unique and may require more or less teacher support throughout the lesson. This is the crucial that the teacher plays in delivering impactful lessons!
