Learn about TELL! An evidence-based Tier 1 curriculum for preschoolers.

Overview of the TELL Curriculum Package

TELL is a Tier 1, whole-class curriculum designed to increase both the quality and quantity of code-related and oral language instruction that has been shown to support early literacy and language growth.

What sets TELL apart is its design for whole-class implementation for the entire school year and that it was iteratively and collaboratively developed and tested with early childhood teachers, early childhood special education teachers, administrators, speech-language pathologists, and research teams.

TELL has a comprehensive approach to supporting learning throughout the day. Key components include:

  • A scope and sequence of instruction linked to early childhood education standards

  • Objective-based lesson plans with teaching activities for whole group, small-group story time, transitions, snack time, small-group phonological awareness, early writing, and social emotional skills plus integrations for art, math, and science.

  • Suggested adaptations for children who need additional learning supports

    Suggested activities for fine motor, dramatic play, and outdoor play

  • Lesson materials including a teacher’s guide, high-quality books, fact chat cards, social stories, music lists, ABC action cards, transition cards, and phonological awareness cards

  • A customizable parent newsletter for each theme

  • Curriculum-based measures administered 6 times per year

  • Professional development classes (on-site or virtual) for teaching teams

  • Professional Learning Communities available to support TELL implementation

TELL is organized by biweekly themes with review weeks every fifth week. Just prior to the review week, teachers administer curriculum-based measures to assess children’s progress. Data from the curriculum-based measures helps determine how best to differentiate instruction during review weeks.

“I love the themes, the themes worked really well with my library, I have my little library setup just like those themes...”
“I personally really enjoyed having a curriculum that had a lot of the materials already there, and I loved how they were organized in the blue bags.”
“I do think it’s all-inclusive it’s like going to a resort it’s fabulous. It’s got everything you need...”

Teachers love TELL!

“ I taught elementary school for several years, and then this is my first year back in pre-k..having the TELL curriculum right here to use really offered me like a base and a structure... it made it a lot easier for me.”
“So I’ve really grown to enjoy seeing the progress. I love the data behind it. Our speech pathologist and I talk all the time about how it’s been guiding [teaching].”
“I feel like it’s a very strong framework for early childhood educators that may need more support and resources to understand developmental processes, cognitive, social, emotional, for children. I loved it. I loved the boxes and the color.”
“ I liked the structure of it, but there was flexibility within that... So, I was able to adapt it to the level of the kids right, which is what you want to do.”
“...as I started using it I just got so excited about it...it had all of those components. It helped me think differently about my teaching.”
“It’s been brilliant and my speech pathologist loves it, you know she knows what book we’re using. She knows what sounds we’re working on...it’s just really been really nice to dovetail with all the others.”
“I enjoyed it, and again I felt it just kind of fit right in with what I was already doing. So it wasn’t like a huge shift for me to have to change anything that we were doing in class.”

Contact Us

For more information about TELL don’t hesitate to reach out to our TELL team!