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Radically transforming language and literacy instruction so every child is on a path to deep reading. #LiteracyandJusticeforALL

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Content

The Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan has been released for a second round of feedback. Feedback received from October 18-November 18 will be considered during the next round of revisions.

Links to:

The details for each listening tour location are provided below. Please register for the Listening Tour here.

Monday, Nov. 6 - 4 p.m.
ROE #21 Training Center
502 W. Jackson Street, Marion

Tuesday, Nov. 7 - 5 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
Morris University Center, Oak/RedBud Room (2nd floor)
6 Hairpin Drive, Edwardsville
*Parking code for Lot B: 1500.

Wednesday, Nov. 8 - 6 p.m.
Champaign Public Library, Douglass Branch
Meeting Room
504 E. Grove Street, Champaign

Thursday, Nov. 16 - 4 - 6 p.m.
Illinois State Board of Education
Lincoln Room
555 W. Monroe, Chicago

Participation in the Listening Tour will require a careful reading of the revised Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan and the completion of a feedback form prior to attending.

​More revisions will be made after the second round of listening and before the final adoption of the plan by the Illinois State Board of Education in January. The plan is required to be in place by January 31, 2024, as required by Public Act 103-0402​.​​​

Should you require translation services or sign language interpretation , please contact Ana Arredondo at :

Email: aarredondo@isbe.net​
Phone: 312-814-5818
TTY/TDD: 888-261-2708​​​​

Presentation to ISBE Boar​d

Listening Tour & Focus Groups

Revised Plan to ISBE Board

2nd Listening Tour & Public Comment

Begin the year with a finalized literacy plan for Illinois​

We encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in the review and feedback process. Your input will play a pivotal role in shaping the final version of the literacy plan, which will guide literacy instruction and support across the state.

To sign up to receive literacy updates via list serv, please complete the Illinois Literacy Plan Updates sign-up form.

For more information regarding the Literacy Summit from October 2022, please see the Literacy Stakeholder Engagement Meeting, October 25, 2022: Summary of Themes .

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to advancing literacy in our state.

The Illinois Literacy Plan team at ISBE can be reached by email at ILTeachTalkLearn@isbe.net.​​​​​​​​​​​

Draft Literacy Plan

Listed below are the first draft writing team members and their associated organizational affiliation(s).

Lulia Sarmiento - Belvidere School District #100

Rochelle Luttrell - Arthur CUSD305

Kimetrice Tate - Teach Plus Illinois

Joanna Marek - Spring Avenue Elementary School, LaGrange School District 105 and Association of IL School Library Educators (AISLE)

Kellyn Sirach - Teach Plus Policy Fellow, Champaign Unit 4 Jefferson Middle School

Dr. Chris Becker - Highland High School

Anne Peiffer - Rockford Public Schools #205

Molly Allen - ROE 17 - DeWitt, Livingston, Logan, McLean

Dr. Sarah Epplin - Tri-County Special Education Association

Shannon Hammond - National Louis University

Dr. David Paige - Northern Illinois University

Dr. Lindsay Meeker - Western Illinois University/Bilingual Advisory Council/Latino Policy Forum

Verity Sandell - Parent of children in Illinois schools and Hartlieb Horste & Sandell

Diane Wendt Uher - IL Early Literacy Coalition, Parent Volunteer Structured Literacy Advocate

Tinaya York,PhD - Literacy for Life, LLC

Jessica Handy - Stand for Children IL, IL Early Literacy Coalition

Laura Beltchenko - IL Advisory Council for the Education of Gifted and Talented Children

Cristina Sanchez-Lopez - Illinois Resource Center; National Committee for Effective Literacy; Paridad Education Consulting; Illinois Committee for Effective Literacy

Robin Thoma - Specific Learning Disability Project - EIU

Shira Raviv Schwartz - Everyone Reading Illinois​

* * * This page has been archived. The content on this page may no longer be in effect. * * *

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Content The Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan has been released for a second round of feedback. Feedback received from October 18-November 18 will be considered during the next round of revisions. Links to: The details for each listening tour location are provided below. Please register for the Listening Tour here. Monday, Nov.

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In 2022, a group of teachers and school leaders from 17 different primary schools across Australia participated in The Syntax Project, facilitated by Stephanie Le Lievre from Serpentine Primary School (WA).

Teachers were accepted into the project if they had experience with an explicit-instruction model and could demonstrate an understanding/experience with syntax level instruction.

All Lesson objectives were allocated to individuals based on experience/expertise and the grade they were currently teaching.

All lessons submitted went through a review process by one of our project moderators:

All lessons were created in teachers' own time. They are being shared freely to encourage professional collaboration amongst teachers and schools.

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The Syntax Project - The Grammar Project

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In 2022, a group of teachers and school leaders from 17 different primary schools across Australia participated in The Syntax Project, facilitated by Stephanie Le Lievre from Serpentine Primary School (WA). Teachers were accepted into the project if they had experience with an explicit-instruction model and could demonstrate an understanding/experience with syntax level instruction.

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The Morphology Project - The Grammar Project

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In 2022, three educators and a speech pathologist from Rivergums Primary School, Serpentine Primary School and Fremantle Language Development Centre collaborated on a series of morphology lessons for Grades 3-6. This project is a bank of explicit, direct instruction style PowerPoint lessons that align with the Reading Science in Schools (RSiS) morphology scope and sequence created by Jasmine Shannon.

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The science of reading is a term used to describe instruction based upon decades of rigorous research and proven successful methods in teaching reading.

Teaching reading
is complex!

Literacy How Mentors help educators understand the science of reading in order to use effective, evidenced-based practices, and data-driven instruction to ensure their students' succees.

Literacy How uses a Structured Literacy approach to help teachers and administrators build their background knowledge in the evidence-based content areas shown in our Reading Wheel. Then we teach them how to apply best practices for effective instruction for EVERY student.

WHAT IS STRUCTURED LITERACY?

"Structured Literacy (SL) is a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction, not a program, although educators can use one or more programs to deliver this kind of instruction. SL explicitly and systematically teaches the structure of language - from granular elements to global skills. SL integrates the full scope of this instructional content (WHAT is taught) with essential principles or methods of teaching (HOW content is taught) to develop automaticity and fluency needed for proficient reading and writing...This instruction benefits ALL students - particularly those with risk factors, such as dyslexia." (IDA Perspectives, 2024)

Series 1

In this 45-hour course developed by Dr. Margie Gillis, a Certified Academic Language Therapist and founder of Literacy How, we will provide classroom teachers with knowledge to enhance their classroom and Tier 2 instruction. The Simple View of Reading framework provides a structure to the series acknowledging the importance of explicitly and systematically teaching word recognition skills (i.e., phonemic awareness, decoding, encoding and reading fluency) while simultaneously supporting the development of students' language comprehension abilities.

Series 2/3

In this 30-hour course developed by Dr. Margie Gillis, a Certified Academic Language Therapist and founder of Literacy How, teachers will learn how to teach word recognition skills explicitly and systematically to students with SLD/Dyslexia.

The series will also demonstrate how to combine word recognition instruction that teaches foundational skills (i.e., phonemic awareness, decoding, and encoding) with methodology in reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and written expression.

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The science of reading is a term used to describe instruction based upon decades of rigorous research and proven successful methods in teaching reading. Literacy How Mentors help educators understand the science of reading in order to use effective, evidenced-based practices, and data-driven instruction to ensure their students' succees.

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The Science of Reading: Defining Guide provides a firm definition of what the science of reading is, what it is not, and how all stakeholders can understand its potential to transform reading instruction.

Download the Spanish version

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The Reading League's new book, Science of Reading: Defining Guide, provides in-depth information on the science of reading and key instructional practices to help you make the shift in your practice.

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Blend Reading: Transform your phonics instruction

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The modern virtual blending board designed by and for educators.

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S1-E1: Conversation with Ben Zulauf A conversation with Dr. Ben Zulauf on the shift to Structured Literacy and the importance of following the research. In this initial episode, Dr. Ben Zulauf, Director of Reading and Language Arts, will share why District 99 is shifting to a structured literacy

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National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ)

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We have a literacy crisis in this country. Last year's NAEP scores found that more than one third of fourth grade students can't read at a basic level, and that rate climbs even higher for students of color, those with learning differences, and those who grow up in low-income households. This dismal data has nothing to do with the students and families, and everything to do with inequities in access to effective literacy instruction. But there is good news: Decades of research has resulted in a rich, robust understanding of how children learn to read. So what does this research say? Inspired by a conversation at a recent Barksdale Reading Institute Lunch & Literacy forum, researcher Dr. Reid Lyon developed a clear, concise summary of the research on how children learn to read. Here we share Dr. Lyon's "Ten Maxims," originally published by - Dr. Heather Peske Reading Universe. These maxims underlie NCTQ's own work to advocate for the science of reading in teacher preparation. By increasing understanding and adoption of scientifically based reading instruction, together we can address the literacy crisis head-on, reversing historical patterns of inequity and changing the lives of millions of our children.

Ten maxims: What we've learned so far about how children learn to read

By Dr. Reid Lyon

Over the last 50 years, there's been a vast outpouring of research about reading development, drawing on insights from neuroscientists, psychologists, linguists, speech pathologists, educators and other experts. I'm sometimes asked to summarize, in plain language, what we've learned so far. These ten maxims represent my best attempt at doing that.

This may seem like a fool's errand, because no set of maxims can fully convey the scope or the nuance of thousands of studies. I hope nevertheless that these maxims might be useful in crystallizing some of the most essential findings. In collaboration with some outstanding researchers and practitioners, I've compiled here a selective list of studies that underlie each of the ten maxims. The research behind the maxims addresses a wide range of individual differences in reading development, reading difficulties and reading instruction. Taken as a whole, the studies encompass children identified as having dyslexia and other learning disabilities as well as children who struggle with reading as a result of inadequate instruction. Many of the studies also include proficient readers.

Because these maxims are very broad, there is of course more to say about specific subpopulations of students with distinct strengths and needs. I encourage advocates for these students to formulate additional maxims that are not adequately covered by these first ten. Any additions should be in clear, consumer-friendly language and supported by cited studies that report relevant empirical findings.

The overarching message is that learning to read is a complex process involving multiple abilities, skills, and knowledge. Each is essential but none is sufficient on its own.

With that as prologue, here are my ten maxims:

1. Almost all children learn to speak naturally; reading and writing must be taught.

2. Literacy begins at birth. It is rooted in early social interactions and experiences that include regular exposure to oral language and print. Strong roots tend to produce stronger readers.

3. All good readers are good decoders. Decoding should be taught until children can accurately and independently read new words. Decoding depends on phonemic awareness: a child's ability to identify individual speech sounds. Decoding is the on-ramp for word recognition.

4. Fluent readers can instantly and accurately recognize most words in a text. They can read with expression and at an appropriate rate for their age. Reading fluency requires comprehension AND it supports comprehension.

5. Comprehension-the goal of reading-draws on multiple skills and strengths, including a solid foundation of vocabulary and background knowledge.

6. One size does not fit all: use student data to differentiate your instruction.

7. Direct, systematic instruction helps students develop the skills they need to become strong readers. Indirect, three-cueing instruction is unpredictable in its impact on word reading and leaves too much to chance.

8. These maxims apply to English Learners/Emergent Bilinguals, who often need extra support to bolster their oral language as they learn to read and write in a new language.

9. We should support students who speak languages or dialects other than General American English at home, by honoring their home language and by giving them expanded opportunities to engage with General American English text.

10. To become good readers and writers, students need to integrate many skills that are built over time.

This piece originated with the Barksdale Reading Institute's Lunch & Literacy forum and originally appeared on the Reading Universe website. Reading Universe is a joint project of the Barksdale Reading Institute, WETA/Reading Rockets, and First Book that provides free resources for educators and families.

About the guest author:

Dr. Reid Lyon, a neuroscientist and specialist in learning disorders, joined the faculty of Communication Science and Disorders at Northwestern University in 1980 where he also directed the neuropsychology laboratory. In 1983 Dr. Lyon was recruited by the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Burlington, Vermont where he served as the director of research. He also served as a clinical associate professor of neurology at the University of Vermont Medical School. From 1992 to 2005, Dr. Lyon served as a research neuropsychologist and the chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the NICHD at the National Institutes of Health; in this role he developed and oversaw research programs in cognitive neuroscience, learning and reading development and disorders, behavioral pediatrics, cognitive and affective development, School Readiness, and the Spanish to English Reading Research program. He designed, developed and directed the 44-site NICHD Reading Research Network. After leaving the NIH, Dr. Lyon held distinguished scientist and distinguished professorships at the University of Texas, Dallas (neuroscience) and Southern Methodist University (educational leadership).

Dr. Lyon is the author and co-author of over 130 peer reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters addressing developmental neuroscience, learning and reading disorders/dyslexia, and the translation of science into practice and policy. He also co-authored the definition of dyslexia used at the NIH and worldwide. Dr. Lyon received the NIH Director's Award twice. Once for his contributions to the neuroscience of learning and learning disorders. He also received the Vietnam Veterans of America Excellence in The Sciences Award for contributions to educating veterans about the neuroscience of Combat PTSD in 2013. Dr. Lyon, a former paratrooper and combat veteran, received the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge among other combat awards during his 15th month tour in Vietnam including the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Additional contributors to this piece include: Jane Ashby, Louise Dechovitz, Linda Diamond, Jan Hasbrouck, Kari Kurto, and Julie Washington. With appreciation to Kelly Butler, Claude Goldenberg, and Noel Gunther.

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Ten maxims: What we've learned so far about how children learn to read by Dr. Reid Lyon

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Together we can address the literacy crisis head-on, reversing historical patterns of inequity and changing the lives of millions of our children.

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Make decodable sentences based on selected sound/letter pairs (known as correspondences). The sentence generator will make up to 20 sentences for you that can be used in classrooms or individual students!

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The word mapping tool lets you type in a word and see its graphemes and phonemes mapped out. It’s great for teaching phonics!

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Build word lists based on sound/letter pairs (known as correspondences). Create phonics based lesson plans by searching and sorting words. Check out the help to get started!

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Build a word chain by selecting correspondences you want to see in the words. Word chains are created by adding, deleting, and substituting one sound between words.

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Reading Universe: All About Reading and Writing

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Explore ready-to-use teaching strategies, resources, and concrete answers to common questions about teaching reading and writing -- developed by experts.