Modules 1-3 Resources

Module 3 Participant Notebook

There are key brain regions and networks that support skilled reading. The understanding of how the brain processes spoken and written language can provide insight into the cognitive processes that occur when skilled and less skilled readers decode symbols to make meaning of printed language. We can use this understanding to inform our instructional practices so that all students have opportunities to become skilled readers and writers. Examine the video to learn more about what the brain does when we read!

Through decades of research on beginning readers, Linnea Ehri developed a theory about how word reading skills develop. Her research findings focus on the phases of written English that are particularly useful to teachers. Her theory helps us understand the phases children move through on their way to proficient reading. Knowledge of this theory helps us facilitate reading development for all children.

The orthography of alphabetic languages can range from opaque to transparent. What do these terms mean? Let’s take a moment to explore the video and find out.

As we have learned so far, teaching students to read and write requires a deep understanding of the processes children go through to develop into skilled readers and writers. In order to help Texas teachers cultivate these processes, the English and Spanish language arts and reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) have been created to embody the interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking through the seven integrated strands. The video below demonstrates the interconnected relationship all the strands have on building skilled readers and writers. As you move through the content in this module, consider how the TEKS align with what we have learned about the science of teaching reading.

Evidence-based literacy instruction refers to the:

• Explicit (direct) and systematic teaching of foundational language skills;

• Inclusion of rich and varied opportunities for students to build vocabulary, comprehension, and composition skills; and

• Implementation of high-quality, evidence-based, content-rich curriculum aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

These instructional practices, based upon fifty years of cognitive and classroom research, are referred to as the science of teaching reading (STR).

New learning should be scaffolded and new skills introduced sequentially over the course of the instructional school year. When providing instruction using the Gradual Release of Responsibility, consider what responsibilities and actions you (as the teacher) take and what responsibilities and actions your students tak

View this short interview with Dr. José Medina on the importance of understanding the structure of literacy and language to support multilingual learners.

When building a literacy community in class, begin by thinking about your own personal identities. All of us have multiple, evolving identities, and those identities shape the ways we use language and how we engage in literacy practices.

Informed teachers make data-informed decisions using many tools, including appreciative inquiry. Appreciative inquiry is especially important because it is a way teachers can learn more about students’ strengths to support them, no matter what their unique needs might be. Formative, summative, and state benchmarks are important, but tools that help us see our students' strengths—the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they bring to the classroom—are even more crucial.