The purpose of this paper is to explain how teachers can build on children's oral language resources to support writing. Thus, we offer recommendations and specific examples for classroom applications that connect oral language with written expression. Specifically, we provide examples on the transition from phonemic awareness to phonics to word…

Data Mountain is a program that teaches three self-determination skills: positive attributions, self-monitoring, and goal setting. Instruction of these skills is situated within the context of oral reading fluency (ORF) practice. There is evidence of positive impacts to ORF performance when instructors teach students to self-monitor and set goals…

For children to become strong readers, they need to learn a huge number of words--at least 100,000 by the time they get to eighth grade. It is impossible to teach that much vocabulary directly; children gain most of their vocabulary indirectly, as their knowledge of the world expands. This article discusses how much of this learning happens…

Question asked in a preschool/primary teacher PD session on read-alouds: "After our Family Night presentation on home read-alouds, we got so many questions from families and caretakers. How can we give follow-up support?" This teaching guide suggests three simple ideas for supporting parent home-read-alouds with preschool, kindergarten,…

Text reading fluency is an important reading goal for all students. Students with a known reading disability often need systematic and evidence-based instructional supports to reach grade-level benchmarks in fluency. A recent focus on high-impact tutoring practices has given attention to the virtual or remote implementation of programs. This…

Recent research has demonstrated that self-correction is particularly important for beginning and struggling readers; readers who self-correct more make progress more quickly. The authors describe findings from that research, outline how self-correcting behavior might vary, and provide suggestions for how students' self-corrections can inform…

Referring to the "vital parts" of speech that do not appear in print, E. B. Huey (1908/1968) described prosody in reading as "the rise and fall of pitch and inflection, the hurrying here and slowing there, what we have called the melody of speech." In this paper, we discuss the role prosody plays in reading, contextualized in…

According to Ruetzel & Cooter, "… writing and reading are mirror processes with reciprocal benefits" (2019, p. 316). When teachers provide opportunities for reading and writing practice every day, children flourish. What better place to infuse this practice than through children's play. As children play, they think critically, answer…

Children's brains develop faster in the early years than at any other time in their lives. If you want to make the most of this pivotal period, there is no time to waste. With newly updated research, the second edition of this bestseller provides parents and educators with strategies for building a brain-compatible environment where young learners…

This technical report describes the development of oral reading fluency passages for use in the CBMSkills assessment system. Seventeen passages were created for each of Grades 1 through 5. Passages were designed to target the fluency component of a developmental model of reading. All passages were written with the specification to use language and…

This article is a chronological description of the author's growth as a teacher, through both her direct experiences with Vivian Paley and the years of their correspondence. Mrs. Paley's qualities as a human being, directly translated into her role as a classroom teacher, are shown to be powerful influences on the author's own development. The…

Fluency is the ability to read words, phrases, sentences, and stories accurately, with enough speed, and expression. It is important to remember that fluency is not an end in itself but a critical gateway to comprehension.

Text-related oral participation is ubiquitous in literacy and language instruction. As such, considering how invitations to these interactions are framed is critical, as this framing is directly implicated in the design of equitable classrooms. In this Teaching Tip, one common technique teachers have been encouraged to use--a class set of…

Significant traumatic events affect communities and schools. Teachers need tools to help navigate challenging conversations with their students. Consequently, we utilized our children's literature course on the use of picture books that would invite dialogue supporting children responding to traumatic events. Specifically, we reconceptualized an…

Elementary-level teacher Redford dispels the idea that instructional time should not be spent teaching content material because content is now Googleable. As research shows, background knowledge significantly influences basic comprehension, even in very young students; students need a core of background knowledge to decipher texts and understand…