Research shows little benefit from phonics instruction in Grades 2 through 12. However, more recent studies show that students who fall below a decoding threshold fail to benefit from other kinds of reading instruction. This exploration of the evidence suggests that these students are likely to need support in the reading and spelling of…

In early childhood classrooms, increased pressures to prioritize literacy acquisition skills have shifted learning environments from more open-ended and exploratory to regulatory in nature particularly in the field of literacy. Despite that research suggests the important role of exploratory and agentic literacy practices, the field is…

There is considerable research evaluating the effects of family members implementing shared book reading interventions, especially during early childhood. However, less is known about the effects of family members providing instruction to help their school-aged children develop literacy skills, including both code-focused and meaning-focused…

If the White Christian nationalist movement has significantly galvanized parent, community, and larger-scale political groups whose guiding ethos challenges teacher professional roles in shaping literacy curriculum and instruction, then how can literacy teachers and teacher educators better understand this movement, its interpretive orientation to…

Language and culture hold power and significant connections to students' identities. However, these connections are often minimized, especially for students from diverse racial-ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds who are neither white nor monolingual speakers of English. In literacy instruction, we often see complete disregard and…

There is good evidence that high-quality instruction targeting reading-related skills in the classroom leads to gains in reading. However, considerably less is known about the possible efficacy of "remote" instruction. This study evaluated the efficacy of an interactive evidence-based language-rich literacy programme. 184 children were…

Concepts of print are essential, foundational literacy understandings about words in their written, or print form. Concepts include discerning pictures from written words, reading print from top to bottom and left to right with one-to-one correspondence between words read and words in print. Reading aloud from a big book is widely accepted and…

This article underscores the intimate connection between reading and writing as communication skills that share a common linguistic and orthographic foundation, and which combine in complex ways to support practical literacy tasks. Developing higher order literacy skills requires teachers to develop metacognitive skills and self-regulation, both…

Preparing literacy teachers for culturally relevant teaching is increasingly critical amidst growing student diversity and pandemic-associated learning needs. However, despite the prevalence of existing reporting on culturally relevant literacy teaching, there remains a disconnect between the theoretical conception and realized implementation of…

All too often lost in the pressure and intensity of the current practice of English teachers and literacy educators is due acknowledgement of the continuing importance of history. This paper brings together two concerns: the work of Margaret Meek Spencer as a key figure in the history of English teaching, reading pedagogy and literacy education,…

In recent years, there has been a special interest in promoting literacy learning in early childhood education programs. It is presumed that teaching literacy early can ensure better literacy outcomes in later years. Currently, in a renewed effort to improve children's literacy learning through science of reading supported practices, most states…

This paper, drawing on Margaret Meek Spencer's work, considers the value of reflecting on literacy histories, whether of children, teachers, authors or academics. Margaret argued that teachers need to be open to literacy as lived, and to look, listen and learn about literacies that develop "without" direct instruction and stretch beyond…

The "Science of Reading" (SOR) has gained traction due to public media, resulting in a nationwide prioritization of teacher training and changes in the way reading is taught. The nationwide emphasis on the SOR led to new teacher certification requirements in Texas. Although teacher candidates already take a content exam to demonstrate…

This cross-lagged study examined the classroom-level associations between the reading performance of first-grade students (N = 537) and observed literacy instruction activities in classrooms (N = 30) in the autumn and spring terms. The multilevel analyses indicated that lower average word reading skills in the classrooms (i.e., there were more…

The study aims to verify the validity and reliability of a set of tests for measuring Indonesian students' reading literacy achievement that has been developed by the Center for Language Strategy and Diplomacy Development as well as the Educational Assessment Center, two institutions under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture,…