New Jersey K–5 Literacy and Math Resources: Phonics, Handwriting, Fluency and Grade 3–4 Math
New Jersey K–5 Literacy and Math Resources: Phonics, Handwriting, Fluency and Grade 3–4 Math
New Jersey teachers have three changes landing close together: a new adaptive state test from spring 2026, K–3 literacy screening under the 2024 literacy law, and cursive back in grades 3–5 this school year. This page sorts our K–5 units by grade and explains where each one fits.
Browse the K–5 reading and writing resources →Resources for New Jersey classrooms
Seven units for phonics, handwriting, fluency and grade 3–4 math
The cursive unit is the most urgent item for many New Jersey grade 3–5 teachers this year. The other six cover the early reading routines the 2024 literacy law points to and the grade 3–4 math and fluency work.
Phonemic Awareness Daily Routines | 36 Weeks of Oral Sound Routines | Kindergarten
A daily oral sound routine; children answer with sounds, not letters.
Decodable Readers Grade One | 20 Stories with Word Work & Comprehension | Grade 1
Stories built from taught patterns, so children blend instead of guess.
Manuscript Handwriting | Basic Strokes & A–Z Letter Practice | Grades K–1
Basic strokes, then a model for every letter.
Cursive Writing | Strokes, Letters a–z & Joining Words | Grades 2–3
Stroke families, all lowercase letters and joins in ten lessons, ready for New Jersey's new grade 3–5 cursive requirement.
Multiplication Fact Fluency | Strategies, Fact Families & Array Labs | Grade 3
Hard facts built from easier ones, with array labs.
Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division | Area Model, Partial Products & Partial Quotients | Grade 4
Area model and partial products before the algorithm.
Reading Fluency Passages | 24 Original Passages with Meaning Checks | Grade 4
Twenty-four passages, each with a meaning check.
New Jersey standards in plain terms
What New Jersey expects in K–5 reading, writing and math
New Jersey teaches to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards: NJSLS-ELA for English language arts, NJSLS-M for math and NJSLS-S for science. From spring 2026, the NJSLA-Adaptive (New Jersey Student Learning Assessments–Adaptive) replaces the NJSLA for ELA and math. Check your district's testing calendar for the grades and dates that apply to you.
We don't tag pages with NJSLS codes. Each unit is written for a US grade and focuses on one skill: hearing sounds in words, decoding, letter formation, multiplication strategies or reading with meaning. That makes them easy to place next to your core program, whatever it is, and easy to pull into an intervention block.
Grade bands
Which resource fits which New Jersey grade
Each unit is listed at the grade it is written for. These are practice and lesson sets to use alongside your district's core program, not a state-adopted curriculum.
| Grade | Resource | New Jersey note |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten |
Phonemic Awareness Daily Routines Manuscript Handwriting K–1 |
Oral sound work for the skills K–3 screening checks. |
| Grade 1 |
Decodable Readers Grade One Heart Words |
Decodable text and word mapping for structured early reading. |
| Grades 2–3 | Cursive Writing Grades 2–3 | Cursive is required in grades 3–5 from 2026–27; grade 3 can start the unit at lesson 1. |
| Grade 3 | Multiplication Fact Fluency | Fact strategies for grade 3 multiplication. |
| Grade 4 |
Multi-Digit Multiplication and Division Reading Fluency Passages |
Multi-digit methods and fluency for upper elementary. |
| Grades 3–5 |
Multisyllabic Word Decoding Text Evidence and Constructed Response |
Small-group practice for older students who still stall on long words, and written answers backed by the text. |
Early reading
New Jersey's 2024 literacy law
The literacy law signed on August 13, 2024 calls for evidence-based literacy instruction, K–3 universal screening twice a year starting in 2025–26, and a statewide Working Group on Student Literacy. If your school ran its first screening round last year, you have likely seen which skills need more time.
For the youngest children, the Phonemic Awareness Daily Routines give you a short daily oral routine. Grade 1 has the Decodable Readers and Heart Words for blending and sound-by-sound mapping. For grades 3–5, the multisyllabic decoding lessons and the Dyslexia-Friendly Reading Support Pack work as small-group practice for students the screening flags.
Handwriting
Cursive is back in New Jersey grades 3–5
On January 19, 2026, New Jersey signed S1783/A3865, which requires cursive instruction in grades 3–5 starting with the next full school year, 2026–27. For many schools that means bringing cursive back into the timetable this year.
Our Cursive Writing unit is written for grades 2–3, which makes it a good fit for grade 3 and a workable catch-up for grades 4 and 5 in the first year. It begins with posture and movement, then the stroke families: undercurves, overcurves, ovals and loops. Lesson 8 joins letters into words, lesson 9 deals with capitals and lesson 10 moves to fluent writing. Older students usually get through the early lessons quickly. Spend the saved time on joins and on writing real sentences.
Classroom use
How to use these units in a K–5 week
Teachers can use these sets in small groups, an intervention block or a short daily routine.
- Read the teacher guide firstIt explains the routine and where children usually get stuck.
- Pick the grade by skill, not only by ageIn the first year of the cursive law, grades 3, 4 and 5 may all be beginners. Start everyone at lesson 1 and let the older grades move faster through the stroke families.
- Keep sessions shortSound routines take a few minutes a day; handwriting works best as ten-minute practice several times a week.
- Edit the DOCXChange names, examples or word lists to match your class.
- Print on US LetterThe A4 PDFs print on US Letter with fit-to-page.
By subject: K–2 phonics, grades 1–4 math, grades 3–6 reading and K–3 handwriting.
Questions teachers ask
Frequently asked questions
Do these resources match the New Jersey standards?
We don't claim alignment or approval from the state. Each unit is written for a US grade and sits closest to the skills in the grade-level NJSLS expectations. Compare the lesson list with the NJSLS and your district materials.
Does New Jersey require cursive?
Yes. S1783/A3865, signed on January 19, 2026, requires cursive instruction in grades 3–5 from the 2026–27 school year. Your district decides how it is scheduled.
What do I get when I buy a unit?
A classroom material PDF, a teacher guide PDF, an editable DOCX and an editable PowerPoint. Page counts are on each product page.
Is the cursive unit too young for grade 5?
The unit is built around movement, stroke families and joins, which works at any age. Grade 5 beginners usually move through lessons 1–7 quickly and spend more time on joins and fluent writing.
Will these replace my district curriculum?
No. They are focused sets for practice and intervention, used next to your core program.
Planning for a New Jersey classroom
For every subject and grade we cover, the New Jersey Teaching Resources & Worksheets (Grades K–12) page collects it in one place.
See the elementary math resources →