Ohio elementary schools are moving to the Science of Reading, an approach that emphasizes phonics along with vocabulary- and knowledge-rich content. Keen on learning what this transition looks like inside classrooms, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute asked Ellen Belcher, a former journalist with the Dayton Daily News, to visit Margaretta Local…

Purpose: Having a clear understanding of the types and amounts of classroom literacy learning opportunities is important for contextualizing children's early literacy performance. In this study, we examine the content, context, and management of literacy learning opportunities in a large, geographically diverse sample in the United States. We also…

This study surveyed all-day and half-day Ohio kindergarten teachers regarding their reading or reading readiness instructional practices. First grade teachers in the same schools assessed the preparation and experiences of their incoming students. A Chi Square analysis comparing all-day and half-day programs revealed more areas of similarity than…

Presented by the originator of the project, this speech addresses Reading Recovery as a prevention model to reduce literacy problems, as a model of what an early intervention strategy based on grounded theory looks like, and as a breakthrough in a conceptual barrier pointing to what is possible. Sections of the speech include: (1) "Who Needs…

During the 2000-2001 school year, an 18-month evaluation of Ohio's Phonics Demonstration Program (PDP) was conducted by the same evaluation team that had conducted a similar evaluation in 1997. In addition to evaluating phonics instruction in PDP schools, the evaluation also addressed the preparation of teachers for reading/phonics instruction in…

Building on prior teacher workshops, online courses were developed to support classroom implementation of Ohio's English language arts standards by providing models of exemplary classroom practices and creating an online teacher community for sharing experiences and ideas. Although participants in the first course were primarily older teachers…