Use of the curriculum research framework (CRF) for developing a reading-comprehension curricular supplement for the primary grades

This article describes nine phases of curriculum development activities conducted by the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC), the end result of which was to arrive at a research-based supplemental curriculum that could be used by teachers of English-speaking or bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children in prekindergarten and English-speaking children in kindergarten to third grade to bring about significant changes in students’ language skills as a route to improved reading comprehension. LARRC followed the Curriculum Research Framework (CRF) proposed by Douglas Clements as a means for developing curricula that can be called research-based; CRF phases include establishing the foundations of the curriculum (Phases 1–4), establishing the learning model (Phase 5), and evaluation of the curriculum and its components (Phases 6–10). This description of the iterative process followed by LARRC provides the educational field with a substantive example of how research-based curricula in reading comprehension and other areas can be developed using the CRF.