This video is a short overview of what phonics is, why it's important, and a few tips on how to teach it.

Implementing literacy coaching is a complex process that includes several areas for consideration. District and school-level administrators, coaches, and teachers may be unaware of what they can do to help ensure coaches are as effective as possible in their role. Presented in this infographic are four specific areas shown from the research to be important when planning for and implementing literacy coaching.

This infographic dissects some reading instructional practices to highlight whether or not they are aligned with the science of reading and determine if they have the green light to use with all learners. This infographic will help teachers build a repertoire of direct and systematic instructional practices that will allow our students to access text effectively and efficiently.

Panelists, including Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, discuss key features of structured literacy within K-6 literacy systems. They highlight the importance of teaching systematically and explicitly to improve student outcomes.

This podcast interview with Drs. Piasta and Hudson discusses teacher content/pedagogical knowledge, phonological awareness instruction, and phonics instruction, why it all matters, and what it means for instruction.

"The target audience for this guide is a broad spectrum of school practitioners such as administrators, curriculum specialists, coaches, staff development specialists and teachers who face the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English language learners in the elementary grades. The guide also aims to reach district-level administrators who develop practice and policy options for their schools" (IES, 2007).

This brief is designed to support practitioners, instructional coaches, and school leaders in designing and implementing procedures for choosing literacy assessments, analyzing data, setting criteria, and making decisions based on student data when implementing multitiered systems of support that accommodates English learners (ELs). Classroom teachers and EL interventionists will find this brief helpful for selecting measures, making group and individual decisions, and monitoring student progress across languages. This brief uses scientific evidence from research to share a framework for assessment and data-based decision-making to improve literacy instruction for ELs. This brief also addresses issues that school and district personnel frequently encounter when designing and implementing tiered instruction in schools that implement bilingual programs or that serve ELs in English as a second language programs.

This fact sheet from the International Dyslexia Association provides information about important considerations when evaluating English learners for dyslexia. Classroom teachers may find it helpful as they observe students for possible referral for further assessment. It also includes guidelines for assessment specialists who may provide screening and assessment support.

Establishing a whole-school culture of data use helps all stakeholders make thoughtful, consistent, and appropriate data-based decisions. Schools can develop a data plan and team to guide the use of data and to support a culture of data use. The data team can develop a shared vocabulary for critical concepts of data use and learning.

Assessment for learning plays a critical role in informing and driving literacy instruction. A comprehensive assessment system allows educators to adjust instruction to meet the specific needs of students, which is critical for students in terms of both the prevention of reading difficulties and intervention to remediate skill gaps. Use the infographic to help understand how and when to use universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring, and outcome evaluation to guide the literacy instruction and intervention.

Research provides insight into specific instructional strategies that should be used in every classroom to support elementary English learner students in developing both English language skills and academic content. This infographic is a quick reference to these evidence-based practices that can be used daily by elementary classroom teachers to support effective instruction for their English learner students

Teacher understanding of effective evidence-based practices is vital for supporting student achievement and closing achievement gaps. While many alternative pathway teachers know what content they must teach, many have never had classes on how to teach the content using evidence-based practices. This infographic is a quick reference guide containing evidence-based practices that can impact learning that teachers can use daily to support effective instruction.

The literacy brief from the International Literacy Association summarizes key points from research that will help teachers explain phonics to noneducators. The brief includes information about phonics for emerging
readers, phonological awareness, the layers of writing, word study instruction, approaches to teaching phonics, and teaching English learners. The references include research that supports the ideas presented and phonics resources that you can use and share with others.

The science of reading has established that explicit instruction is associated with beneficial outcomes for students and may be the secret sauce of instructional success. In this article, Vaughn and Fletcher examine and explain the five key components of effective explicit instruction. They include: segmenting complex skills into manageable tasks; modeling or thinking aloud to address the important features of the content; promoting successful engagement using faded supports and prompts; providing feedback, and creating purposeful practice opportunities.

A research lab at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, investigates what good readers do with their eyes

The Science of Reading has identified features of effective instruction that work in combination and are the basis of high-quality reading instruction for all students. This PDF provides an overview and characteristics of each feature of effective reading instruction, including a scope and sequence, systematic instruction, explicit, scaffolded, and differentiated instruction. These evidence-based features work together to form the essentials of reading success.

Formative assessment can be a powerful day-to-day tool for teachers and students. This article discusses formative assessment as an approach to teaching and learning that uses feedback as its centerpiece in a supportive classroom context. Formative assessment is a practice that empowers teachers and students to give their best to enable learning.

A teacher discusses the importance of giving students a choice over what to write about, what to write with, and where to sit when they are writing. When given these choices, students are able to write more, they enjoy it more, and the quality of their writing improves.

This Educator’s Toolbox, developed in Partnership with The Reading League Journal, provides practical ways to incorporate fluency instruction within your classroom.