The teachers and parents of the students involved in the study filled out surveys. Professional Development and Support Professional development related to implementation depends upon the needs of each individual site. Expenses for onsite training depend upon school location and needs. The Four Blocks framework is not a commercial program or a curriculum, but rather an instructional delivery system. Relatively little, beyond the materials needed for any good language arts program is necessary for implementation.
Students use both basal readers and trade books.
The developer also suggests that not every teacher needs to have this quantity of books. Although, some teachers who use Four Blocks will already have extensive book collections, those who do not may be able to borrow what they need from libraries. Ideally, schools should implement the Four Blocks when all students are present so every child can receive instruction under every method. Teachers may prefer to have additional adult support, such as parent volunteers or paraprofessionals, during the guided reading and writing blocks. Guided reading is the hardest block to accommodate all reading levels as the teacher must select a set of books with similar themes, but written for different reading abilities.