Skip to content
SPECIFICTION
Get listed

EL Education Curriculum

eleducation.org

Free plan Open source WebiOS
Visit eleducation.org
Spec score 8.9 #2 of 29 in K-12 Curriculum Platforms

What it is

EL Education Curriculum is a free, web-based K–8 Language Arts curriculum for educators and schools. It is standards-aligned and includes teacher tools and built-in assessments. The design draws on the science of reading and the science of learning and development. Students use complex, grade-level texts by diverse authors while building science and social studies knowledge. Original research and interdisciplinary investigations develop inquiry, analysis, critical thinking, and craftsmanship. Differentiated opportunities address English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and advanced learners. Connections to students’ communities support compassionate leadership and thoughtful citizenship. Grade-level index pages provide downloads such as Teacher’s Guide PDFs and Teacher Supporting Materials or Student Workbook Word documents. Creating an account provides access to hundreds of free resources. EL Education offers coaching and strategic planning for guided curriculum pilots. The digital resources plan costs nothing; some resources require an account. A 2025 K–5 professional learning course costs $350, paid once and provides 365-day access.

Spec sheet

What it does
EL Education provides a standards-aligned K-8 language arts curriculum built around knowledge-rich literacy, authentic texts, reading, writing, speaking, listening and student ownership.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Purpose
EL Education offers a standards-aligned K–8 Language Arts curriculum for educators and schools.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Audience
The 2025 K–5 curriculum course lists teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders as its intended audience.Read 8 Oct 2026 · online-courses.eleducation.org
Integrations
EL Education said Open Up Resources planned digital options integrating with common learning-management systems and Microsoft OneNote.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.happyfox.com
Support
EL Education offers aligned coaching and strategic planning for guided curriculum pilots.Read 8 Oct 2026 · tryelacurriculum.eleducation.org
Headquarters
New York, NY, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · eleducation.org
App availability
EL Education publishes a free EL Education Events app for iPhone and iPad; the listing requires iOS 17 or later and iPadOS 17 or later.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Assessments
K-2 units include summative assessments and formative checks, while grades 3-5 use mid-unit and end-of-unit assessments with scoring sheets.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Company founding
EL Education’s LinkedIn description says it was founded in 1991, while the profile metadata lists 1993.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company headquarters
LinkedIn lists New York, New York as headquarters and gives a 247 West 35th Street address.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company reach
EL Education says it serves 1.1 million students across the United States.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company size
LinkedIn lists EL Education in the 201-500 employee size range.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company type
LinkedIn identifies EL Education as a nonprofit education- administration organization.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Content-based literacy
Lessons build literacy through extended study of science, social studies or literature topics using rich texts and shared grade-level reading experiences.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Core design
The curriculum is built on the science of reading and the science of learning and development.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Download formats
Supporting materials are downloadable as Word documents and PDFs, while lesson text is viewed online.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.happyfox.com
Downloads
The curriculum index pages provide grade-level links and downloads, including Teacher’s Guide PDFs and Teacher Supporting Materials or Student Workbook Word documents.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Earlier licence
The 2017 K-5 edition is generally Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, subject to third-party copyright restrictions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · openupresources.org
English-language support
The curriculum embeds multilingual-learner scaffolds, Language Dives and Conversation Cues in lessons.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Equity and differentiation
Its design includes differentiated and inclusive opportunities for English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and advanced learners.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Family partnership
Teacher materials include sample family letters and activities that extend module learning at home.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Grade coverage
The curriculum covers kindergarten through grade 8, with K-5 and 6-8 editions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · education.delaware.gov
Grades 3-5 ALL Block
Grades 3-5 pair module lessons with an Additional Language and Literacy block to provide a comprehensive literacy experience.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
K-2 Skills Block
The K-2 Skills Block teaches print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency through whole-group and differentiated small-group instruction.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Knowledge building
Students build science and social studies knowledge to strengthen literacy skills.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Licence
The 2025 K-5 Language Arts curriculum is generally licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0, with third-party content excluded from that licence.Read 15 Oct 2026 · openupresources.org
Limit: implementation burden
Philadelphia’s first-year evaluation found insufficient training, unclear compliance messages, difficulty locating and preparing materials and limited time for foundational remediation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chalkbeat.org
Limit: intervention gaps
Philadelphia educators said the curriculum lacked dedicated interventions for students substantially below grade level.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chalkbeat.org
Limit: material navigation
A National Education Policy Center article relayed teacher complaints that assessments and required materials can be difficult to locate across guides, supplemental books and notebooks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · nepc.colorado.edu
Limit: phonics concerns
Philadelphia teachers and principals reported that K-2 phonics lessons were not direct or explicit enough, especially for struggling readers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chalkbeat.org
Limit: workload and scripting
Concord teachers described long preparation nights and said the curriculum initially felt highly scripted and demanding to absorb.Read 15 Oct 2026 · concordbridge.org
Materials access
Teachers can create a free account to access modules and lesson plans online.Read 15 Oct 2026 · tryelacurriculum.eleducation.org
Module structure
K-5 students study four modules during the year, selected from six available modules; modules 2 and 3 each have Innovator and Explorer options.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Notable materials requirement
The Grade 5 required and recommended texts page says listed “Texts to Buy” need to be procured.Read 8 Oct 2026 · curriculum.eleducation.org
Notable news: Philadelphia evaluation
Philadelphia published its first-year EL Education implementation evaluation on August 28, 2026 and corrected one report reference in September 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · philasd.org
Open-source status
EL Education describes the K-5 curriculum as open source and says teaching materials are available online.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.happyfox.com
Performance tasks
Modules culminate in performance tasks requiring students to apply reading, writing and content knowledge.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Platform delivery
The curriculum is delivered through a web curriculum site with browser-based lesson pages and downloadable resource files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · curriculum.eleducation.org
Praise: coherent instruction
Charlotte-Mecklenburg leaders selected EL Education for sophisticated reading, writing and discussion activities plus civic-minded social-emotional learning, with coaching and technical support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · carnegie.org
Praise: knowledge building
Philadelphia literacy professor Mary Jean Tecce DeCarlo said the curriculum is strong at increasing students’ background knowledge.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chalkbeat.org
Praise: student engagement
A Concord report described students debating texts, using academic vocabulary and connecting lessons with the outside world after implementation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · concordbridge.org
Professional learning
The paid K-5 implementation course is self-paced, uses 15-25 minute mini-modules and targets teachers, coaches and school leaders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · online-courses.eleducation.org
Resource access
Creating an account gives users access to hundreds of free resources.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Security and privacy
EL Education says it protects user information with appropriate physical security measures and keeps financial information in locked or password-protected files.Read 8 Oct 2026 · characterframework.eleducation.org
Social emotional learning
The curriculum encourages compassionate leadership and thoughtful citizenship by connecting learning to students’ communities.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Student inquiry
The curriculum includes original research and interdisciplinary investigations that develop inquiry, analysis, critical thinking, and craftsmanship.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Support documentation
The support center documents print and online resource navigation, downloading modules, accessing lessons, assessments, Labs, ALL Block and Skills Block materials.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.happyfox.com
Texts
Students work with engaging, complex, grade-level texts by diverse authors.Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Trade-book requirement
Implementation requires schools to procure listed trade books and other resources in specified quantities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
Unlock Phonics
Unlock Phonics gives grades 3-5 students semi-asynchronous video, phonemic-awareness and phonics practice with weekly teacher progress checks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org

Plans and prices

EL Education Language Arts Curriculum Free Free account provides online curriculum access · print materials and trade books may require purchase Read 15 Oct 2026 · tryelacurriculum.eleducation.org
EL Education Language Arts Curriculum digital resources Free Hundreds of free resources; account required for some resources Read 8 Oct 2026 · eleducation.org
K-5 Language Arts Curriculum 2025 Edition online course $350, paid once 365-day access · 2–6 hours · minimum 4 licenses for purchase orders Read 15 Oct 2026 · online-courses.eleducation.org
K-5 Language Arts Curriculum 2025 Edition professional learning course $350, paid once $350; 365-day access Self-paced course; 2–6 hours; minimum 4 licenses for purchase orders Read 8 Oct 2026 · online-courses.eleducation.org

Every EL Education Curriculum plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Covers grades K–8
  • Standards alignment and built-in assessments
  • Includes differentiated learner opportunities
  • Provides downloadable teacher materials
  • Hundreds of free resources available

Limits

  • Some resources require an account
  • Listed Grade 5 texts to buy require procurement
  • Professional learning course costs 350.00 USD once

Who it suits

It suits K–8 educators, instructional coaches, and school leaders seeking standards-aligned language arts materials with teacher tools and assessments. Schools should also account for required texts that must be procured separately.

Verdict

EL Education provides a broad, free web curriculum with structured literacy, interdisciplinary knowledge building, differentiation, and downloadable materials. Schools should review account requirements, required text purchasing, and the separate professional-learning course.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to EL Education CurriculumAll alternatives →