W1
Sound–symbol awareness and CVC reading
Connect common speech sounds to letters and blend short words accurately.
Helpful before
Attending to sounds; recognizing most letters
Possible next
Blends, digraphs, and glued sounds
Skills and prerequisites map
See what comes before—and what could come next.
Use the pathways to locate a likely instructional entry point. They show common connections, not a rigid lockstep sequence. Learners may work in more than one part of a pathway at the same time.
W2
Blends, digraphs, and vowel patterns
Read increasingly complex one-syllable words using known patterns.
Helpful before
CVC blending and basic sound–symbol knowledge
Possible next
Silent-e, advanced endings, and syllable types
W3
Syllables and multisyllabic decoding
Break longer words into readable parts and flex vowel sounds when needed.
Helpful before
Common vowel patterns and accurate one-syllable reading
Possible next
Prefixes, suffixes, roots, and word meaning
W4
Word parts and vocabulary
Use meaningful word parts and context to unlock unfamiliar words.
Helpful before
Basic multisyllabic decoding
Possible next
Phrase reading and connected-text fluency
W5
Fluency with purpose
Read connected text accurately, at a workable pace, with phrasing that supports meaning.
Helpful before
Reasonably accurate word reading
Possible next
Deeper comprehension and independent strategy use
W6
Comprehension and evidence
Identify important ideas, sequence, infer, summarize, and support thinking with text evidence.
Helpful before
Vocabulary, background knowledge, and readable text
Possible next
More complex text, writing, and content-area transfer
M1
Number sense and place value
Understand quantity, magnitude, comparison, place value, and flexible representations.
Helpful before
Counting, one-to-one correspondence, and numeral recognition
Possible next
Operations and estimation
M2
Operations and fact strategies
Use meaning, properties, and efficient strategies for the four operations.
Helpful before
Number relationships and place value
Possible next
Fractions, decimals, and multi-step computation
M3
Fractions and decimals
Represent, compare, estimate, and calculate with rational numbers.
Helpful before
Division meaning, equivalence, place value, and number lines
Possible next
Ratios, rates, proportions, and percent
M4
Ratios, rates, and percent
Reason multiplicatively about comparisons and real-world quantities.
Helpful before
Fraction equivalence and multiplicative relationships
Possible next
Expressions, equations, and proportional applications
M5
Expressions and equations
Represent unknowns, maintain equality, and solve using connected models and steps.
Helpful before
Operations, inverse relationships, and mathematical language
Possible next
Multi-step modeling and generalization
M6
Word-problem structures and application
Identify structure, create a model, choose an operation, estimate, solve, and check.
Helpful before
Relevant operation concepts and language
Possible next
More complex, multi-step, and real-life problems
L1
Body signals and emotion recognition
Notice internal cues, name a workable range, and recognize when support may help.
Helpful before
Safety, trust, and nonjudgmental adult support
Possible next
Choosing and practicing regulation tools
L2
Regulation and coping tools
Try breathing, grounding, movement, sensory, or cognitive strategies and notice fit.
Helpful before
Recognizing signals and permission to use support
Possible next
Communication and using tools during real demands
L3
Social communication and boundaries
Practice conversations, help-seeking, perspective, consent, and clear boundaries.
Helpful before
A workable regulation state and communication access
Possible next
Conflict repair and more complex social situations
L4
Executive skills and task initiation
Make time visible, organize materials, break tasks down, and begin a first action.
Helpful before
Clear expectations and an achievable task
Possible next
Independent planning and self-monitoring
L5
Conflict repair and problem-solving
Pause, describe the problem, hear perspectives, choose a response, and repair when possible.
Helpful before
Regulation, communication, and boundary skills
Possible next
Generalizing to less predictable situations
L6
Decisions, safety, and independence
Consider consequences, use resources, manage time or money, and know when to ask for help.
Helpful before
Communication, planning, and basic regulation tools
Possible next
Increasing independence with appropriate safeguards
Cross-Lab connections matter.
A student may understand the math but struggle to read the problem, know the answer but be too overloaded to begin, or communicate well until a task becomes unpredictable. Use the map to identify the actual barrier, then combine Labs when that is more honest than forcing everything into one subject area.
Prerequisite does not mean gatekeeper. A student can work on grade-level ideas while receiving explicit support for an unfinished foundation. Use observation and teacher judgment to decide whether to preteach, scaffold, practice in parallel, or temporarily step back.