Is Peabody connected to Great Minds?

No. Peabody is not connected to Great Minds. This page describes what the publisher's pages say and links to free practice you can use beside the program.

The publisher says each module has a Check for Understanding in every lesson, three to six Focusing Question Tasks, two or three New-Read Assessments, two or more Socratic Seminars and one End-of-Module Task.

Does it teach phonics?

The publisher says it supports early reading when paired with an explicit foundational skills program, and names none on its program page. Plan a phonics program beside it for early readers.

How much does it cost?

The publisher's pages read do not state a price. They offer a sample request and a way to contact sales.

Wit & Wisdom

Also called Wit and Wisdom, Great Minds Wit & Wisdom.

Ages Kindergarten through grade 8, roughly ages 5 to 14Grades K–8Planning Laid out for youScreens Some screen timeShelf Reading, writing and EnglishUpdated November 2026

Wit & Wisdom is a kindergarten to grade 8 literacy curriculum from Great Minds. Its page says it brings reading, writing, speaking and listening together while building knowledge through authentic texts, in modules that each end in one writing task. Peabody is not connected to Great Minds; this page only describes what the publisher's pages say, and points to free practice you can use beside the program. The publisher says it supports early reading when paired with a separate foundational skills program.

1 Where it came from

Peabody is not connected to Great Minds, and nothing here is written or checked by the company. Great Minds publishes Wit & Wisdom for kindergarten to grade 8. Its page says teachers get Teacher Edition books, an Implementation Guide and professional learning. The page gives no price and offers a sample request and a way to contact sales. The company also reports that reading proficiency more than doubled at one school after adopting the program; that is the company's own claim about a single school.

2 The big ideas

Knowledge comes first. The publisher says its modules build background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning and literacy knowledge.
Reading, writing, speaking and listening go together. The page says the curriculum integrates all four, using high-quality, authentic texts.
Each module has a question and an answer. The End-of-Module Task answers the module's Essential Question and asks students to use evidence from the module's texts.
Students talk about texts. Each module includes two or more Socratic Seminars, which are student-led discussions of a question about the module's content.
Early reading needs its own program. The page says Wit & Wisdom supports early reading when paired with an explicit foundational skills program.

3 What a lesson looks like

The publisher's assessment page describes what sits inside each module. Each lesson has at least one Check for Understanding, an informal check built into the lesson. Each module has three to six Focusing Question Tasks, one at the end of each Focusing Question Arc, and two or three New-Read Assessments, which ask students to use reading and language skills on a new section of text. There are two or more Socratic Seminars and one End-of-Module Task. The pages read do not give a minute-by-minute day, so use the sample the publisher offers, and its digital preview, to see how one lesson runs.

4 The adult's job

The teacher leads lessons from the Teacher Edition, uses the built-in checks to see what students understand, and runs the Socratic Seminars. The publisher lists an Implementation Guide and professional learning, including workshops, coaching and on-demand tools.

5 How progress is checked

The publisher lists five kinds of assessment in each module: Checks for Understanding in every lesson, Focusing Question Tasks, New-Read Assessments, Socratic Seminars and the End-of-Module Task. It also offers more than 250 digital and PDF assessments for grades 2 to 8, with some items scored automatically and reports on student and class performance.

6 Strengths and criticisms

Strengths

Builds each module around knowledge, so reading, writing and talk all draw on the same texts and topic.
Has assessment built into every lesson and every module, with a clear end-of-module writing task.
Gives teachers support in print and in professional learning, from an Implementation Guide to coaching.
Is plain about early reading: it says it needs a separate foundational skills program.

Criticisms and watch-outs

It does not teach early reading on its own. The publisher says it supports early reading when paired with an explicit foundational skills program.
No independent review was read. This page did not find an EdReports rating it could read, so it states none.
Price is not stated. The page offers a sample request and a way to contact sales.
The publisher's school result is one school. The reading growth the company reports comes from the company's own page and covers a single school.

7 What the research says

This page makes no claim about how well Wit & Wisdom works. The publisher reports that reading proficiency more than doubled at one school, which is the company's own account of a single school and not a study. A district director quoted on the publisher's page praises increased student engagement in texts and discussions, which is one opinion. No independent review was read for this page, so none is stated. Ask the publisher for its sample and ask nearby schools what their results have been.

8 How to try it

Request the sample, or open the digital preview, and read one module for the grade you teach.
Read the module's Essential Question and End-of-Module Task first so you know where the module is going.
Plan how you will use the Checks for Understanding in the moment, to change what you do next.
In kindergarten to grade 3, decide which foundational skills program will run beside it.
Run one Socratic Seminar once children know the module's texts, and let them lead the talk.

9 Using Peabody with it

DecodablesGive an early reader decodable texts for the sound-by-sound work the publisher says needs a separate program.
CVC worksheetsUse these for a beginner who is still learning short vowel words beside the module's read-alouds.
Elkonin boxesLet a child push counters for each sound in a word to practice hearing and spelling sounds.
Decodable readersHand a young reader a decodable book at their own level beside the topic reading.

Peabody is free and has no ads. Pages on peabody.kids are for children; pages here are for the adults teaching them.

10 Programs that follow it

Programs and materials often named with this approach: modules, Focusing Question Tasks, New-Read Assessments, End-of-Module Task, Socratic Seminars.

Questions people ask

Is Peabody connected to Great Minds?: No. Peabody is not connected to Great Minds. This page describes what the publisher's pages say and links to free practice you can use beside the program.
What is in a module?: The publisher says each module has a Check for Understanding in every lesson, three to six Focusing Question Tasks, two or three New-Read Assessments, two or more Socratic Seminars and one End-of-Module Task.
Does it teach phonics?: The publisher says it supports early reading when paired with an explicit foundational skills program, and names none on its program page. Plan a phonics program beside it for early readers.
How much does it cost?: The publisher's pages read do not state a price. They offer a sample request and a way to contact sales.

Sources

Wit & Wisdom K-8 literacy curriculum, Great Minds.
Wit & Wisdom assessments, Great Minds.

Knowledge-building English: Reading and writing organized around weeks-long topics in science, history and the arts, so children build the knowledge and words comprehension depends on.
Common Core and state standards: A list of what a child should know and be able to do in each grade: the goal posts, not the lessons. Most US public schools follow a set like it.
Every approach in the curriculum guide

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