Compass
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Hours per week 10-15+
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Levels 7
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American English
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Embark on a thrilling voyage through the realms of knowledge, exploring life’s essential questions! Do words have power? What is the purpose of art? Who am I? Students navigate these questions using a pioneering blend of ESL and EFL methodologies: the ESL strand (Writing/Reading/Phonics & Spelling Logs) develops literary competence with rich, authentic content and scaffolded learning outcomes; while the EFL strand (Language/Vocabulary & Grammar Logs) teaches a solid language curriculum integrating language skills development. Alongside these blended curricula, students develop vital skills for the 21st century – the 7 Cs. Plot your students’ course to sail the seven seas of bilingual adventure!
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Sample unit
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Scope & sequence
With Compass, students will:
- develop in-depth communicative skills and become highly strategic learners.
- increase their cultural awareness of the world and their critical thinking.
- experiment with language using flexible, interrelated print books and extra activities on the Compass Learning Platform.
- experience and analyze a wide range of texts and genres, discovering reading for pleasure.
- follow a scaffolded writing process to improve their planning, writing and editing skills.
- share their learning process at home with their families, using the Compass Bonding Booklet.
- prepare for the Cambridge YLE, A2 Key for Schools, and B1 Preliminary for Schools examinations.
Components and resources
Language Log
Vocabulary and Grammar Log
Reading Log
Writing Log
Phonics and Spelling Log
Bonding Booklet
Learning Platform
Learn more about Compass: Language Log
With the Language Log, students follow a comprehensive thinking-, content-, and skills-based curriculum. They discuss nine Big Questions a year, exploring fiction and non-fiction sources, and learn explicit grammar and vocabulary in a methodical, competency-based CEFR approach to the four skills. At the end of each topic, students do an extended project to apply their new knowledge, and rethink their previous answers to the Big Question. In earlier levels, the topic questions are more concrete, becoming more complex and abstract as the levels progress.
Learn more about Compass: Vocabulary and Grammar Log
This step-by-step guide to how vocabulary and grammar work follows a solid language curriculum based on the CEFR. You can use the Vocabulary and Grammar Log, which mirrors the Language Log, to extend the core language program, making Compass more structural than literacy-based. This means your students can practice, organize, and test their learning of the new vocabulary and grammar, in context, even when they are mainly studying language skills in the other Logs. The Answer Key is at the back of your Language Log Teacher’s Guide.
Learn more about Compass: Reading Log
This vibrant reading program equips students to become stronger readers by developing reading strategies, and building students’ awareness of literary and author techniques, giving them a collection of skills to increase overall comprehension and encourage critical thinking. Students analyze each Big Question in more depth, using a fiction and nonfiction text from a range of genres, across six lessons each. Each text includes audio, two Comprehension activity pages to check understanding, and the Reading Strategy Focus and Literary or Author Technique. The stories also invite learners to reflect on and practice lifelong values by understanding characters’ actions.
Learn more about Compass: Writing Log
The scaffolded writing program in this Log covers US Common Core writing strategies following a detailed process writing approach. Students learn about and produce a wide range of age- and level-appropriate texts in different genres, through guided writing tasks with a Model Text. Topics are organized into eight lessons which teach the steps with examples, showing students how to plan and organize their ideas carefully before writing – and how to draft, peer-review, and edit for the final piece of work. This encourages a habit of planning, writing and editing, ensuring more thoughtful, organized work.
Learn more about Compass: Phonics and Spelling Log
The Phonics and Spelling Log follows US Common Core Standards, with an expanded syllabus for early literacy support in basic sounds and spelling conventions. Scaffolded presentation and practice of English sounds and spelling rules help younger readers decode words, learning about short and long vowels, digraphs, consonant combinations, the silent “e”, inflections, and sounding out long complex words. In levels 5-6, students learn higher decoding skills, working with roots, affixes, syllables, word transformation and common misspelling, as well as homophones, homonyms and word- and syllable stress.
Learn more about Compass: Bonding Booklet
The unique bilingual Bonding Booklet is included with the Language Log, for parents to explore the Big Questions together with their children and support and connect with their language learning process at home. There are usually four pages per topic, with sections on Developing Skills, Critical Thinking and Mindfulness, information on how to approach the topic and the Big Question, what strategies will be taught, and what specific reading parents and children can do together at home.
Learn more about Compass: Learning Platform
On our exclusive Compass Learning Platform, students can access all their classroom material anywhere, anytime, and from any device. They can do extra interactive listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary activities at different levels, based on the Language Log content, and even play a spelling game with other students around the world! They can record their own voice to practice pronunciation, and post their writing to the groundbreaking Writing Blog when using the online Writing Log, making skill practice truly authentic – and meaning family and friends can post, too (with your prior supervision). As well as accessing all teacher's guides, audio, videos and flashcards, teachers will find tests to assess students’ grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Teachers will also be able to check students’ performance in all interactive activities, manage classes, and access practice tests focused on international certifications.
Audio and Video
Students can access all the course video and audio material from the different Logs, including the Language Log videos, the Phonics and Spelling chants, and the Reading Log stories and texts in karaoke-style!
Online practice
Both the Vocabulary and Grammar Log and the Phonics and Spelling Log are fully interactive, so students can do all the activities 100% online, with audio – and their scores are recorded electronically in their gradebook!
For parents
The family Bonding Booklet is also online, giving parents activities and ideas for discussion to help them get involved in their child’s learning.
Flashcards
Flashcards with key vocabulary are embedded in the texts, for students to consult at the click of a mouse.
Writing Blog
Students can write and illustrate their texts online! The platform has a user-friendly classroom blogging tool for students to publish their work digitally! You check all content before it’s published, and other students can then comment on it (you can moderate comments, too, keeping them appropriate and constructive).
Language Log Teacher's Guide
Language Log Flashcards
Language Log Map Posters
Reading Log Teacher's Guide
Reading Log Flashcards
Writing Log Teacher's Guide
Phonics and Spelling Log Teacher's Guide
Learn more about Compass: Language Log Teacher's Guide
An overview of each topic gives you useful information about how to answer the topic question and the reasoning behind the language and skills focuses. Each lesson starts with a Lead in to the Lesson activity to introduce students to the themes. Your Guide and the Language Log are interleaved, and answers to all activities and Worksheets are included in the step-by-step teaching notes. All lessons have a presentation section to present the Vocabulary, the Grammar, Skill or Project, to suggest ways of explaining the main focus of the lesson.
Learn more about Compass: Language Log Flashcards
Levels 1-3 and the starter level include word and picture Flashcards of the active vocabulary for each topic. Ideas for using them are suggested in the Present the Vocabulary sections of your Language Log Teacher’s Guide.
Learn more about Compass: Language Log Map Posters
Each topic in levels 4–6 comes with a Word Map Poster, with pictures and definitions of active vocabulary.
Learn more about Compass: Reading Log Teacher's Guide
Each 50–60-minute lesson plan begins with a Lead in to the Lesson activity to engage learners, and step-by-step instructions to help you guide them through the reading process, with comprehension and reading strategy development, worksheets, and answers for all activities. Most lessons end with a Take the Lesson Further activity to personalize learning and confirm students’ understanding. Level-appropriate teacher language is suggested throughout in green (for fiction stories) or orange (for nonfiction texts). In addition, Know Your Students and Manage Your Class boxes give you helpful insights into supporting differentiated learning, and teaching or class management tips, respectively.
Learn more about Compass: Reading Log Flashcards
Flashcards for levels 1-3 help you present the Key Words from the stories and non-fiction texts, giving students a visual reference to make learning and reviewing the new vocabulary easier. You can use them together with the first Worksheet for each text, fiction and nonfiction, to support the students.
Learn more about Compass: Writing Log Teacher's Guide
Each topic overviews the genre, format and Writing Strategy Focus; and includes a Subject Connection, incorporating CLIL activities and showing how these link to the subject and topic. Lesson 1 reading strategies help students analyze the Model Text, while every lesson focuses on different, level-appropriate writing strategies. Lesson 8 reading strategies, in contrast, help students develop their reading aloud for an audience, and their presentation skills – and ends with a reflection for students to understand and internalize their learning from the topic. A Writing Rubric for each topic helps you assess students.
Learn more about Compass: Phonics and Spelling Log Teacher's Guide
For each topic in the Phonics and Spelling Log, an overview page shows What will students do? and a Lessons Preview chart for quick reference to the topic content. Four interleaved 50–60-minute lesson plans – one for each Log section Engage, Explore, Expand and Check Your Understanding – begin with the usual Lead in to the Lesson activity, and end with Take the Lesson Further, including Know Your Students and Manage Your Class entries.
