Into Literature

Name: Into Literature
Brand: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ElaGrades 6–12

About This Curriculum

<cite index="3-5">Built on texts that connect with students' lives, HMH Into Literature curriculum builds confidence, standards mastery, and college and career readiness for every learner in the classroom.</cite>

What makes it unique: <cite index="3-6,3-7">HMH Fresh Lit is a new collection of culturally affirming YA short stories written exclusively for HMH, with engaging stories focused on topics young readers care about, available in English and Spanish.</cite> <cite index="3-8,3-9">The program comes equipped with Writable®, a powerful online tool offering opportunities for daily practice, peer review, and timely writing feedback, with Notice & Note signposts for close reading embedded in each selection.</cite>

Into Literature: Blended Secondary ELA with Contemporary Text Focus

Into Literature is HMH's comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6-12 that emphasizes contemporary, student-relevant texts in both print and digital formats. The program integrates reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills through thematic text sets and formal writing instruction positioned as unit culminating tasks.

Best for

Secondary teachers (grades 6-12) seeking a blended ela curriculum with contemporary texts, strong digital integration, and collaborative learning emphasis

Evaluation Criteria

3 strengths · 1 concern · 2 neutral · 3 insufficient evidence

Text ComplexityStrength

The curriculum meets grade-level text complexity expectations with high-quality selections.

EdReports rates it 'Meets Expectations' for 'alignment to grade-level text demands' and Learning List describes 'high-quality, thought provoking reading selections'

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum provides teacher support materials and digital resources for implementation.

EdReports rates it 'Meets Expectations' for 'teacher support' and Learning List notes 'numerous online tools and resources' supporting blended learning

Writing InstructionStrength

The curriculum includes structured writing instruction integrated with reading, positioned as unit culminating activities.

Learning List states 'formal writing instruction occurs at the end of units and generally serves as a culminating task' and notes integration of 'reading and writing instruction'

Whole Books Vs ExcerptsConcern

The curriculum appears to use text sets and reading selections rather than whole books as its primary approach.

EdReports notes 'range and quality of texts' and Learning List mentions 'reading selections' and 'text sets for each unit,' suggesting an excerpt-based model

Knowledge RichNeutral

The curriculum shows some knowledge-building through thematic text organization but lacks evidence of systematic domain knowledge development.

EdReports rates it as 'Meets Expectations' for building knowledge through texts, and Learning List notes 'text sets correlate to numerous themes and topics'

Direct InstructionNeutral

The curriculum provides structured learning activities but emphasis appears more on collaborative work than explicit instruction.

Learning List notes 'learning activities that provide numerous opportunities and structures for effective group and partner work'

Retrieval PracticeInsufficient Evidence

No evidence of systematic retrieval practice or spaced review components.

Reviews do not mention quizzing, recall exercises, or spaced review features

Systematic PhonicsInsufficient Evidence

Not applicable for this secondary-level curriculum serving grades 6-12.

Phonics instruction is not relevant for middle and high school grades

Vocabulary BuildingInsufficient Evidence

Limited evidence of explicit vocabulary instruction approaches.

Reviews mention 'high-quality, thought provoking reading selections' but do not specifically address vocabulary development strategies