Strategic Instruction Model

This page provides resources for teachers and administrators in Virginia superintendent regions 1 and 8 who are interested in the Strategic Instruction Model. These resources are also valuable for teachers who are already implementing any part of the Strategic Instruction Model. Implementation of the Strategic Instruction Model may or may not be part of a Content Literacy Continuum initiative.

The information on this page is an extension of the SIM-CLC Instructional Coaching offered by our professional development network in regions 1 and 8.

Instructional coaching

Instructional coaches are partners with teachers in the ongoing effort to improve student performance. Instructional coaches might also be considered partners with educators in the change process. They work one-on-one with teachers to make it easier to adopt the research-validated instructional methods that are proven to make a difference in the success of students. Instructional coaches are team members, who help pull together and lead the right combination of school staff to reach common goals. 

Visit Instructional Coaching Group to learn more.

Strategic Instruction Model

The Strategic Instruction Model is an integrated model of research-validated practices to address many of the needs of diverse learners. It is primarily focused on adolescents. SIM has been developed through rigorous, ongoing research at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning since 1978. The KUCRL was founded in 1978 with the mission of dramatically increasing the performance of at-risk students through research-based interventions in grades 4-12. That mission has never changed. The SIM model is made up of the Content Enhancement Routines and the Learning Strategies Curriculum. 

Visit the University of Kansas SIM website to learn more.

Content Literacy Continuum

The Content Literacy Continuum describes five increasingly intensive levels of literacy support that should be in place in every school. The CLC promotes the understanding that some students need increased intensity and experiences of instruction to learn critical skills, strategies and content in secondary classes. The purpose of this continuum is to ensure that students are equipped with the literacy skills and strategies necessary for success in the general classroom.

Visit the KU CLC overview page to learn more.