An integrated approach to
early literacy development.
EVIDENCE-ALIGNED, INTEGRATED INSTRUCTION, DECODABLE LITERATURE,
AND ASSESSMENTS
Our integrated approach aligns with the converging, interdisciplinary research around the Science of Reading. We intentionally design our products to offer opportunities for explicit and systematic instruction, assessment, and application of all components of early literacy development. The result is a continuum of integrated instructional experiences that mirror the remarkable way our brains simultaneously employ skills, strategies, and processes when making meaning from text.
The Science of Reading
Our commitment to developing instructional materials grounded in the Science of Reading began in 1998. It was guided by research that supported models like the Simple View of Reading1 and Scarborough’s Reading Rope,2 and it continues to evolve as we acknowledge research findings that inform new models, including the Active View of Reading Model.3
Systematic Instructional Design
Our systematic instructional design is grounded in a developmental continuum illustrated by the color-coded progression of our Spectrum of Literacy and in the details of our Foundational Skills and Close Reading Scope and Sequences. Our scope and sequences document the breadth, depth, and order of early literacy skills, strategies, and processes that are systematically taught, applied, and assessed using our instructional materials.
Integrated Instructional Materials
Our Foundational Skills and Close Reading Teacher's Guides are designed to support teachers in explicitly teaching the skills, strategies, and processes required to make meaning from text. Students are gradually released to apply what they are learning to authentic decodable literature they can read independently. Formal and informal assessments of word reading, fluency, and comprehension skills provide teachers with information to monitor student progress and make the instructional adjustments necessary to guide each student as they develop on their unique literacy journey.
Footnotes
- Gough, P.B., & Tunmer, W.E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7(1), 6–10.
- Scarborough, H.S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S.B. Neuman & D.K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 1, pp. 97–110). New York, NY: Guilford.
- Duke, N. K., & Cartwright, K. B. (2021). The science of reading progresses: Communicating Advances Beyond the Simple View of Reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1), S25-S44.
Join Our Community
We believe that early literacy development happens when a student, an informed teacher, and quality instructional materials meet.
Our community is a space to share valuable instructional resources and ideas about early literacy development. Please join us. Together, we can increase human potential by supporting literacy development in young children.
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