It’s time to turn the page.
Reading to learn while learning to read.
Give emerging readers the rich experience and knowledge they crave.
Wonder awaits.
On the outside, a geode looks like any other rock. It doesn’t appear special. But when you crack one open, a previously unseen world of color and wonder awaits.
Developed by Great Minds® and Wilson Language Training, Geodes® are a collection of breakthrough books for emerging and developing readers designed to inspire and fascinate students. They’re built on best practices of traditional decodables but without sacrificing highly engaging stories and rich information about history, science, and the arts.
Layered Knowledge
The world isn’t flat and boring, so why should texts for beginning readers be? Geodes unite phonics instruction with rich stories, compelling facts, and beautiful art to build student knowledge multidimensionally on topics as engaging as how astronauts eat in space to the story behind the Grimm brothers’ collecting of fairy tales.
Deliberate Decoding
Geodes are at least 80 percent decodable based on the Fundations® scope and sequence, and non decodable words are strategically placed within sentences to support content knowledge.
Geodes
Rich Perspectives and Reflections
Written and illustrated by a diverse group of talented authors and illustrators, Geodes reflect a broad range of identities and experiences, allowing children to see themselves, others, and worlds both familiar and distant.
Unmatched Accessibility
All students find moments of pride and accomplishment as they progress from Wordless Picture Books and Sound Search Books to Duet Books and, finally, independent reading.
Geodes support success by reinforcing phonetic concepts while building knowledge from the very first book.
open up a world of knowledge.Fundations® is a registered trademark of Wilson Language Training.
Context is everything.
Pat sat on a mat. Okay. But does that teach young readers anything about the world? In the Geodes book Smell Tells, students decode while learning that ants use their sense of smell to tell whether another ant is the queen or a worker. Students also learn that ants communicate through scent to find food or to warn of danger.
We believe books for beginning readers should honor the natural curiosity of children and build their knowledge with every turn of the page. Geodes are written and designed to support knowledge building for every student, of every ability.
Many decodable texts I have seen have a repetitive sentence that has a one- or two-word change on each page, requiring limited reading from the student. The Geodes decodable texts are dynamic in nature, providing full sentences allowing students to truly read a text at their level.
—Stephanie K. Dill
Learning Specialist Teacher K–5, Fitzmorris Elementary
Bringing the wonder home
For young readers, the only thing more exciting than reading a Geodes book is sharing what they discovered inside with their families. My Geodes™ provide students with both print and digital options to access all the books they are reading in class for practice and sharing at home.
Each Geodes book extends learning through a More section that gives students an opportunity to build additional knowledge and vocabulary. To support a shared experience with family, the More sections in My Geodes are in both English and Spanish.
Additionally, our Family Tip Sheets help spark knowledge-rich conversations at home about everything from the impact of droughts, explored in The Dust Bowl, to how a family in Peru uses alpaca wool to make clothing, a story told in The Fabric of the Andes.
Unpacking the knowledge
Every Geodes level includes modules based on a unique knowledge-building topic. The sets of books in every module each take a different look at the topic.
Level K includes the following:
48 unique titles organized into four modules with six copies of each Duet Book and 12 copies of each Wordless Picture Book and Sound Search Book
My Geodes for student practice at home
Inside Geodes®, a teacher resource for incorporating Geodes into literacy instruction
Levels 1 and 2 include the following:
64 unique titles organized into four modules, with six copies of each title
My Geodes for student practice at home
Inside Geodes, a teacher resource for incorporating Geodes into literacy instruction
Geodes Level 1 Module 1 resources
A researched-based approach
Geodes help teachers apply the Science of Reading to their literacy instruction. Students reinforce their phonetic knowledge while building strong content knowledge and new vocabulary with every turn of the page.
Level K
Level K Geodes begin with Wordless Picture Books like Pelé, the story of a great soccer player to introduce students to the concept of story structure as they also build new vocabulary. Sound Search books like Fabric of the Andes help students develop their letter-sound awareness. From there, students move on to Duet Books like Fly, Amelia, Fly that they read along with an adult while building their decoding and word recognition skills—and new knowledge of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.
Level 1
As students build their phonetic knowledge, the Geodes they read grow with them. In Elephant Talk, emerging readers practice decoding glued sounds (ng, nk) while learning how elephants communicate with one another.
Level 2
By Level 2, students are reading with confidence, and books like Sampson’s Disguise allow them to build reading stamina and focus on double vowel syllables (ai, ay, ee, ea, ey) while learning about the contributions of one woman during the American Revolution.
Unlike traditional decodables that focus solely on the application of sound-spelling patterns, Geodes allow students to practice language while building knowledge and vocabulary.
Teacher knowledge makes the difference.
Approximately 75 percent of our 1,200 employees are or have been teachers, so we know the importance of improving teacher practice.
We continually seek ways to empower educators with inspiring professional learning that strengthens classroom instruction.
To this end, Great Minds offers professional development focused on helping teachers understand the research-based how and why of Geodes and the best practices for classroom implementation.
Because when teachers feel prepared, supported, and appreciated, curricula come to life and students thrive.
To learn more, visit greatminds.org.
The world around us is endlessly interesting.
People, places, cultures and ideas are just waiting to be discovered.
So why make our youngest, most curious children wait to start exploring them? Why make students wade through uninspired stories to practice their phonetic skills?
Geodes approach early literacy differently—with the utmost respect for children, their thirst for knowledge, and their capacity to learn.
With Geodes , children read to learn while learning to read.
© 2023 Great Minds PBC 011223
We are a knowledge company.
Not just a curriculum provider.
We believe every child is capable of greatness.
Not just a few.
It is our mission to make knowledge accessible to all.
To do so, we partner with educators who work tirelessly to inspire greatness in every student, every day.
Our curricula are unique because they empower educators to go beyond teaching skills. They lead their students in building deep knowledge through curiosity, exploration, and the true joy of learning.
Because if we can instill a lifelong thirst for knowledge, children can do anything they put their minds to.
Great Minds.