Interactive read-alouds are versatile in that teachers can teach an array of literacy skills through this instructional strategy. However, our observations of six primary grade teachers and prior research revealed that teachers' implementation of interactive read-alouds varies. Without the necessary planning and preparation for interactive…

In this article, we report on a cross-age peer learning program, the Martha's True Stories Reading Buddies program, focused on supporting the vocabulary and comprehension of multilingual learners and their peers in elementary school. We describe the principles of the program and provide information about our evaluation of the program. Then, we…

Evidence-based core instruction partnered with evidence-based supplemental interventions are vital for students' literacy learning, particularly for students who need additional support (Petscher et al., 2020). Identifying instructional materials that reflect the translation of effective practices is challenging, (Solari et al., 2020) and made…

A university's literacy festival can promote reading and foster the idea that books make a difference, especially to undersupported students from Title I schools. A literacy festival featuring a variety of diverse authors presenting hands-on workshops showcasing their literary craft can enable students from Title I schools to engage with the…

This article features a multilingual family literacy project to enhance family engagement in children's literacy development. First, the authors expand the emerging framework of translanguaging beyond the individual competency toward a collaborative practice across family/community members and diverse sign systems. Then, the authors describe how a…

Readers Theatre has been used to introduce critical issues, promote fluency among English learners and non-English learners, teach vocabulary, and integrate content in the classroom. Previous studies of Readers Theatre application have demonstrated an increase in student reading fluency, motivation, and confidence. The focus of this systemic…

This article introduces SAIL, an instructional framework designed to help teachers optimize students' learning during small-group word study instruction. Small-group word study interactions afford opportunities for teachers to engage students in thinking, talking, advancing vocabulary knowledge (including general academic vocabulary), and making…

The purpose of this article is to provide guidance on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts (CCSS-ELA). Toward this end, suggestions and cautions are provided that focus on understanding the vision, understanding the anchor and grade-level standards, and understanding the implications for instruction. In…

When schools and teachers adopt core reading programs they can use them with fidelity or make intelligent decisions about the texts, lessons and components they select to use. The evidence suggests that these programs are not research-based documents, but rather compromises between what the research suggests about effective reading instruction and…

The role of the Common Core English Language Arts Standards in grades K-5 literacy instruction is the focus of the article. The authors begin by raising four questions: (1) What is the essential philosophy of the Common Core State Standards?; (2) What do educators need to know to use the College and Career Readiness Standards and Common Core State…

Story innovation is a form of scaffold writing in which the sentence and text patterns remain intact but the content is altered through the substitution of vocabulary to change the setting, characters, or action in a story. Story innovation is presented as a way to develop vocabulary knowledge through deep processing and to provide fluency…

Describes how teachers implement a spelling decoding strategy within a first-grade language arts curriculum. Considers how the investigation of one spelling-decoding instructional strategy was a coming-to-know process that led the authors to value intentional word study that was connected to but not necessarily embedded in authentic contexts. (SG)

Describes how one elementary school developed and carried out the Million Minute Reading Incentive Program over the course of the 1996-97 school year to improve reading fluency in class and encourage students to read more at home. (SR)

Describes how two university instructors implemented the staff development component of a competitive U.S. federal literacy initiative in two elementary schools. Notes that Reading Excellence Act (REA) was enacted to give schools direct financial assistance to improve reading instruction. Suggests the greatest lesson the authors learned was…

Guided reading is a major component of a comprehensive or balanced reading program. Most teachers understand the value of guided reading in the classroom but have difficulty managing effective implementation. They often ask, "What will the other students be doing when I am working with a guided reading group, and how do I manage all the children…