Collaborating Organizations Early Literacy
Topical ResourcesComprehensive
Literacy ResourcesEarly Literacy
Research
Putting It All Together:
Guided Reading in
a Comprehensive
Literacy ClassroomAugust 6 - 8, 2001
Smith Middle School, Glastonbury, CTYou can access this online at http://www.lite.iwarp.com/sercsummer.htm
Welcome teachers and literacy specialists. This web site was created to provide you with easy access to a myriad of research and resources available online about guided reading, comprehensive literacy, and components of effective early literacy instruction. If you have other favorite links to add to these pages as your study of literacy continues, feel free to email your suggestions to Julie Coiro, so that this resource can provide a common place from which to exchange successful lessons and inspire new ideas.
Collaborating Organizations Find out more about the following organizations that worked together to bring you this summer institute.This web site is intended to enhance public access to information related to the components of comprehensive literacy and practices in literacy instruction. Not all web sites are necessarily supported by research and descriptions of, or references to, anything within these pages, does not constitute endorsement of their services by any or all of the organizations collaborating on the Summer Institute.
- Literacy Initiative and Urban Initiative from the Special Education Resource Center (SERC)
- Office of Priority Schools and Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction from Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE)
- Early Reading Success Demonstration Site - Haskins Laboratories
- Connecticut's Regional Education Service Centers (RESCs): ACES, CREC, CES, EASTCONN, Education Connection, and LEARN
Early Literacy Topical Resources Oral Language and Literacy
- Oral Language: What have we learned about good instruction? a short summary of how teachers can provide providing appropriate levels of “scaffolding” to foster oral language
- ERIC Digest: Oral language across the curriculum, K-12: an overview of the teacher's role in oral language development
- Nurturing Oral Language in Infants and Young Children from LD Online
- Reader's Theatre Resources from Aaron Shepard, Lois Walker and Storycart
- Storyteller, Storyteacher: Discovering the Power of Storytelling for Teaching and Living by Marni Gillard (entire text online in chapters)
Phonological Awareness
- TeachersPlanet.com provides a great list of ERIC digests, articles, documents and teaching materials for developing phonological and phonemic awareness
- Beginning Reading And Phonological Awareness For Students With Learning Disabilities By Michael M. Behrmann at KidSource Online
- PALS: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening and Activities: developed by the University of Virginia for teachers in that state, but activity center ideas are helpful for all teachers
- Phonological Awareness and Nursery Rhymes Lesson Example
- Did Someone Say Phonemic Awareness? lessons from the Core Knowledge Foundation
Read-Aloud
- Let the Words Work Their Magic, Scholastic Article by Lucy Calkins
- Education World: Read-Aloud--Is It Worth It? article and links
- Jim Trelease on Reading: learn much more about reading aloud from this expert and author
- Locating Books For Reading Aloud
Shared Reading
- Shared Reading: A Strategy That Leads Towards Better Readers
- Read It Again, Shared Reading Revisited by Brenda Parkes (entire text online in chapters)
- Shared Reading: An Effective Instructional Model
- Predictable Pattern Books: Lists for strong and less obvious patterns
- Predictable Booklists from Monroe County and from Gallaudet University
Guided Reading
- Excellent Guided Reading web site: developed by teacher and staff development trainer Jeanne Morris, creator of the Not Just Another Inservice web site listed below
- Guided Reading: Excerpts from MCPS Early Literacy Guide
- Guided Reading Case Study by Janet Seymour. These case studies set Guided Reading within the context of a rich English program.
Word Solving
- Teaching Word-Identification Skills and Strategies: A Balanced Approach from John Pikulski
- Phonics and Decoding from ProTeacher.com: Hotlist of related links
- Word Identification Lesson during Shared Reading from AskERIC Lesson Plans
- Climbing the Word Walls by Lori Jamison Rog
- Spelling Strategies
- Unique online interactive spelling and word building games from Harcourt Brace
- Spelling Inquiry: How One Elementary School Caught the Mnemonic Plague by Kelly Chandler and the Mapleton Teacher-Research Group (entire text online in chapters)
- Spelling, K-8: Planning and Teaching by Diane Snowball and Faye Bolton (entire text online in chapters) Includes chapters on phonological awareness, onset & rime, and high frequency words.
Leveling Books
- Portland Public Schools Leveled Book Lists (trade books)
- Reading Recovery List of Leveled Books for Teachers in Grades K-3
- LeveledBooks.com: search the most frequently taught trade paperbacks for Reading Recovery, Title I, and all K-3 reading teachers
- A list of Leveled Books for the K-3 Teacher
- This excerpt from Guiding Literacy Learners, by Susan Hill outlines how to select texts with increasing levels of difficulty.
Comprehension
- Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension, written by Nell K. Duke and P. David Pearson
- Ideas for Comprehension, summary of strategies by Rigby Publishers
- Ready to Print Resources to Accompany Mosaics of Thought and Strategies that Work, two popular books about comprehension strategy instruction
- Rubrics, Graphic Organizers and StoryMaps from a K-3 Teacher; links to resources to print out or books to purchase
- Literacy Circles in the Primary Grades from the Literature Circles Resource Center
Independent Reading
- Strategies Help Reluctant Silent Readers Read to Learn, by Joyce Melton Pages
- Effects of Independent Reading on Reading Achievement from Education Place
Assessment
- Classroom Based Assessment of Literacy and Language Development from the Maryland's School Improvement Plan
- R.E.A.D (Reading Assessment Evaluation Diagnosis): Early Reading Assessment Tools that Support the Reading Initiative A listing of ways to assess student development in the areas of print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, vocabulary development and comprehension.
- PALS: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening and Activities: developed by the University of Virginia for teachers in that state, but activity center ideas are helpful for all teachers
- Checkpoints In Reading: The Council for Educational Development and Research (CEDaR) has
created a list of “checkpoints in reading”---for Kindergarten and grades 3, 6, 9, and 12---to help parents better understand their child’s reading development.- Early Literacy Advisor: measurement instruments and teaching techniques "built upon 30 years of research on the field of literacy development"
- Building Bridges Virtual Conference: answers to questions asked by teachers about reading instruction and assessment; includes "Growing Readers", a 10 minute video on Early Literacy
Motivation and Literacy
- Book Adventure: A free, reading incentive program dedicated to encouraging kids in grades K-8 to read from the more than 5,000 of the most popular and acclaimed titles.
- Refer to the K-5 Language Arts Links from Tucson, Arizona to help find Internet resources for reading that will inspire students with a wide range of interests.
- Motivate readers with constantly updated reading materials from Weekly Reader and Scholastic NewsZone
Comprehensive Literacy Resources Connecticut's Blueprint for Reading Achievement: The Report of the Early Reading Success Panel, Connecticut State Department of Education The Reading Village: TEAMS Distance Learning, Joint Project from Pepperdine University and Loyola Marymount University. Unique areas set up with information about launching K-3 readers, access to research and journal articles, readers with special needs, assessment, classroom management and more. ProTeacher's Literacy Resources: Tons of activity ideas for all aspects of literacy tested in real classrooms and access to the Busy Teacher's Literacy Bulletin Board. Patricia Cunningham's 4-Blocks Literacy Model Website and Teachers.net companion Sifting and Sorting Through the 4-Blocks Literacy Model, a popular and ever-growing series of articles and much more about the components of good literacy instruction written by Cheryl Sigmon, one of the creators of the 4 Blocks Literacy Model. ReadingLady: An online resource for educators seeking to interact with other educators as they expand their understanding of literacy teaching. Access and download many, many resources for guided reading, management tips about reading, comprehension strategies, reader's theatre and more. Join several different electronic discussion groups to interact with other teachers just like yourself. Not Just Another Inservice: Summaries of Guided Reading techniques and other components of Comprehensive Literacy. Developmental Levels and The Reading Process from Washington County, Maryland. Student profiles, process lessons and activity ideas for reading and writing. K-2 Balanced Literacy Pack from Jordan School District in Utah: Although this professional development web site from Utah uses the term balanced literacy, it includes extensive resources for helping teachers effectively integrate the various stages of reading and writing instruction used in a comprehensive literacy classroom. Resources include training handouts, opportunities for online collaboration and many valuable Internet resources. Balanced Literacy Components from Tucson, Arizona. Brief summaries of important concepts to remember about reading and writing instruction. Includes shared and guided reading, strategy instruction, word identification skills, text selection, classroom management and much more. Also links to outlines that describes these components at the middle and high school level. Early Childhood Technology Literacy Project from Montgomery County Public Schools in Marylandlearn more about how to integrate technology into instruction and increase early childhood students' skills in reading and writing What's Dot's Secret?: Read Dottie Fowler's translation of findings from the report "How to Prevent Reading Difficulties in Young Children" into practical strategies that will help her students learn to read. Literacy Links from Literacy Leadership in New Zealand: Though many links are specific to programs in New Zealand, this list includes lots of information about quality literacy instruction. Apprenticeship in Literacy: Transitions Across Reading and Writing by Linda J. Dorn, Cathy French, and Tammy Jones. The entire text of this wonderful resource about components of literacy is available online to read. Visit Stenhouse Publishers online to read many other incredible literacy texts.
Early Literacy Research & Documents State Comprehensive Literacy Initiatives: Compare Connecticut's interpretation of comprehensive literacy with similar documents developed in other states.
- Connecticut's Blueprint for Reading Achievement
- California's Teaching Reading : A Balanced, Comprehensive Approach to Teaching Reading in Prekindergarten Through Grade Three
- North Carolina's Reading Strand Components of Language Arts Curriculum: Includes some helpful information about the crucial components of engagement and motivation.
- Idaho's Comprehensive Literacy Plan
Relevant Literacy Research: Read some of the most up-to-date findings about effective literacy instruction for early readers.
- Learning to Read: Resources for Language Arts and Reading Research: Includes lots of research on many of the components of Comprehensive Literacy", examples of Interactive Lessons, links to related professional organizations and book publishers.
- Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: Online version of this important book published by the National Research Council and edited by Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin. You can also read the companion book Starting Out Right, A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success, by the National Research Council
- Reading Programs That Work: A Review of Programs from Pre-Kindergarten to 4th Grade, Dr. John Schacter authors this 72 page extremely comprehensive review of literacy programs.
- Issues in Literacy Development: This hyperlinked document, by John J. Pikulski and J. David Cooper, "summarizes the best available research and professional expertise to help teachers provide high-quality literacy instruction for students from kindergarten through Grade 8." This document comes from the Professional Development Literacy Series provided by Education Place.
- Reading: How to Learn It and How to Teach It: This literacy expert from New Zealand outlines and compares the three approaches to reading instruction and concludes that a mixture of components from each approach is most effective.
- A developmental path to reading: An excellent 52 page issue of ERIC Review that focuses on the developmental path that children typically take when learning to read and the steps that parents can take to ensure that children make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn.
- Preventing Reading Problems: Factors Common to Successful Early Intervention Programs, by John Pikulski
- P. David Pearson's Literacy Presentations: Dr. Pearson is a distinguished professor of education in the area of literacy and speaks around the country about best practices in early literacy instruction.
- The Nature of Effective First Grade Early Literacy Instruction from the Center of English Learning and Achievement
Early Literacy Organizations: Find out more about comprehensive literacy frameworks from these important organizations.
- SEDL Cognitive Foundations of Learning to Read: A Framework
- NCREL Critical Issues in Literacy including Addressing the Literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers
- Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA)
- International Reading Association: creators of the Literacy Connection and Reading Online
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) This organization provides online access to many reading articles in the journal Young Children and a position statement on Learning to Read and Write.
Staff Development in Literacy: Learn more about literacy coaching and job-embedded mentoring.This page was last revised by Julie Coiro on July 11, 2001National Staff Development Council (NSDC) Association for Curriculum and Development (ASCD): includes an online tutorial titled Phonics /Whole Language, an article titled The Good Mentor, and a link to its sister site Mentoring Leadership and Resource Network Ohio Literacy Initiative: A Basic Framework for Literacy Development