Montana Four-Day Week Schools: Literacy Practice for Grades 1–6 in One Set
Montana Four-Day Week Schools: Literacy Practice for Grades 1–6 in One Set
Montana schools on a four-day week, especially small ones with combined grades, need literacy practice that covers several grade levels at once without six separate purchases. The Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum holds 24 packs: grammar, writing prompts and phonics or word study for every grade from 1 to 6, plus six reading comprehension stories, all for $49.99.
Browse the 24 literacy packsFor a Montana classroom on a four-day schedule, the Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum ($49.99) gives you grade-level grammar, writing prompt and phonics or word study packs for each grade from 1 to 6, plus six reading comprehension stories. It suits multi-grade rooms, intervention groups and teachers who want practice ready for each grade. It is practice material, not a reading program, and it is not written for Montana's standards, so check the fit with your district.
The resources
Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum, Grades 1–6
24 resources in one download: $49.99 instead of $95.76 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum | Grammar, Writing, Phonics & Reading Packs for Every Grade
Grade 1 ELA Pack | Grammar, Writing Prompts, Phonics, Reading & Vocabulary
Grade 3 ELA Pack | Grammar, Creative Writing, Phonics, Reading & Vocabulary
Grade 5 ELA Pack | Grammar, Writing Prompts, Phonics & Two Reading Stories
ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle | Everyday English, Grammar & Vocabulary | 9 Resources | Grades 2–6
The real problem
Long days, Fridays off and several grades in one room
Montana opened the door to four-day weeks in 2005, when the state replaced its 180-day requirement with a minimum number of instructional hours. Since then the model has spread. Florence-Carlton approved a four-day week with a longer school day and Fridays off, and in Richland County the model is the norm. For literacy, a longer day brings more minutes but also more fatigue, and young readers need short, frequent practice more than long sittings. Three missed Fridays add up, too: a phonics pattern taught on Thursday has three days to fade before Monday. Small rural schools add another layer. One- and two-room schoolhouses still operate in Montana. At Malmborg School near Bozeman a single teacher covers K–8, with older students helping younger ones, and Sunset School in Greenough is among the small rural schools still running. A teacher in that kind of room may have a first grader learning letter sounds next to a sixth grader working on prefixes and roots. Finding grade-level practice for every child, in grammar, writing and word study, is where the planning hours disappear. A set that already sorts the skills by grade lets you hand each student the right page and spend your time on the reading group in front of you.
Why it fits
How the 24 packs work in a Montana week
Every grade from 1 to 6 gets the same three strands, which keeps a multi-grade room organized.
- Grammar packs for each grade let a combined class practice the same skill at different levels.
- Writing prompts from sentence starters in Grade 1 to editing tools in Grade 6 fill independent work time.
- Phonics in the early grades grows into morphology and academic word study with roots and prefixes in Grades 5–6.
- Six reading comprehension stories give a long day a quieter stretch of reading and answering questions.
- Short packs suit a quick Monday review of patterns that faded over the long weekend.
- One purchase covers a one-teacher room spanning several grades, or an intervention group with mixed levels.
Getting started
A suggested literacy routine for four long days
This is one way to use the packs, not a required schedule. Change it to match your grades and your reading program.
- Sort students by grade or skillList which grammar, writing and phonics pack each student needs. In a combined room, a strong second grader may use Grade 3 phonics while a struggling fifth grader uses Grade 4 grammar.
- Open Monday with a short reviewStart the week with a few minutes from the phonics or word study pack to bring back what faded over the three-day weekend. Keep it brisk and familiar.
- Run practice while you teach a groupWhile you work with one reading group, others work in their grammar or writing pack. Older students can check younger ones' work, much as older students help younger ones at Malmborg School.
- Give long days a reading stretchPlace a comprehension story in the afternoon, when students need a calmer task. Read it together with younger children; let older ones read and answer independently.
- End Thursday with writingUse a writing prompt before the long weekend, so each child leaves with a finished piece. You can read them on Friday or the following Monday.
What to buy
The full set or a single grade?
Buy the Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum ($49.99, parts bought separately $95.76) if you teach more than one grade, run intervention, or want every level on hand. If you teach a single grade, a grade pack can be enough: the Grade 1 ELA Pack ($12.99), Grade 3 ELA Pack ($13.99) or Grade 5 ELA Pack ($13.99) each include a vocabulary trainer or second story on top of the core packs. For students who are new to English, the ESL Newcomer Curriculum Bundle ($79.99, parts $159.91) covers everyday English, grammar and vocabulary for Grades 2–6.
Honest limits
Where the set stops
These packs are practice material, not a complete reading program, and they were not written for Montana. There are no Montana standards codes and no state-specific content, so compare them with Montana's standards and your district's reading program before you rely on them. You supply printing, the time to teach new skills, and your own assessment of each reader. The licence covers your own teaching; for several teachers or a whole school, send Teach Lessons a short message first. If it is not a fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value, not a cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Does the set follow Montana's ELA standards?
No. The set is not aligned to, endorsed by or approved for Montana's ELA standards, and it contains no Montana-specific content. It offers grade-level practice in grammar, writing, phonics and word study, plus reading stories, for Grades 1–6. Compare the skills with your grade-level standards and your reading program, and use the packs where they match.
Can I use it in a one-room or two-room school?
That is one of the situations it suits well. Because every grade from 1 to 6 has its own grammar, writing and phonics or word study pack, a single teacher can give each student practice at the right level during the same block, while working with one group at a time.
Does it replace our reading curriculum?
No. The packs are practice for skills you teach, plus six short comprehension stories. They do not include a full phonics scope and sequence, a leveled reading library or a reading assessment system. Treat them as the practice layer next to the program your school already uses.
Which reading stories are included?
Six comprehension stories: Daisy the Brave Little Duck for Grade 1, Mia and the Moonlight Garden for Grade 3, The Mystery of the Missing Map from the Grade 4 set, The Secret Garden Door and Mia and the Magic Kite for Grade 5, and The Lighthouse Mystery for Grade 6. Each is built for reading and answering questions.
How do I get the packs after buying?
The set is a digital download. You get a link by email right after purchase, and the files are also in your customer account under Orders. Print the pages each student needs or use them in a digital classroom. With nothing to ship, you can have Monday's review ready on Sunday.
Can the other teacher in our school use it too?
The licence covers your own teaching. If a colleague, an aide or the whole school wants to use the packs, send Teach Lessons a short message before buying and describe who would use them. Please do not copy the files to a shared drive others can open, resell them or post them online.
Every grade's practice in one folder
Open the product page to see all 24 pack titles by grade.
Browse the 24 literacy packs