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Sign the Petition!  Join the Literacy Alliance of Ontario in calling on the provincial government to fully implement and fund the OHRC Right to Read Recommendations!

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Sign the Petition!  Join the Literacy Alliance of Ontario in calling on the provincial government to fully implement and fund the OHRC Right to Read Recommendations!

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We call on the Government of Ontario to implement an evidenced-based literacy curriculum that is aligned with the science of reading and with the recommendations laid out by the Ontario Human Rights Commission's (OHRC) Right to Read Inquiry. OHRC Right to Read Executive Summary and Key Recommendations

The OHRC's Right to Read report has highlighted the flaws in reading instruction in Ontario schools which currently specify that students are taught to read using ineffective and discredited guessing strategies known as 3-cueing or Balanced Literacy. Ontario's current approach to literacy instruction has led to the following outcomes in Ontario:

In Grade 10 - 40% of students fail to meet provincial literacy standards In post-secondary - 33% of students have below expected literacy skills In Grade 3 - 30% of students fail to meet provincial reading standards

It has long been said that students "learn to read and then read to learn." Difficulties in reading affects all areas of learning. It also negatively impacts student mental health, and it has been associated with limited educational and life opportunities, higher rates of suicide and higher rates of incarceration.

But we know that 95% of students can learn to read and meet grade level expectations when instruction is aligned with the science of reading - which includes explicit and systematic instruction in the foundational skills required for reading including: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Solving this issue is possible. It will have wide ranging positive impacts for Ontario students, teachers and our province by addressing current educational inequities, reducing stigma and breaking cycles of poverty.

It is time to remove the use of cueing systems for word reading and implement evidenced-based literacy instruction in Ontario schools. The time for change in Ontario schools is now!

For more information and other ways to get involved visit the Literacy Alliance of Ontario website at http://www.righttoread.info

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We call on the Government of Ontario to implement an evidenced-based literacy curriculum that is aligned with the science of reading and with the recommendations laid out by the Ontario Human Rights Commission's (OHRC) Right to Read Inquiry.

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On October 3, 2019, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced a public inquiry into human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario's public education system. The Right to Read inquiry, which focused on early reading skills, found that Ontario's public education system is failing students with reading disabilities (such as dyslexia) and many others, by not using evidence-based approaches to teach them to read.

The Right to Read inquiry report highlights how learning to read is not a privilege but a basic and essential human right. The report includes 157 recommendations to the Ministry of Education, school boards and faculties of education on how to address systemic issues that affect the right to learn to read. The report combines research, human rights expertise and lived experience of students, parents and educators to provide recommendations on curriculum and instruction, early screening, reading interventions, accommodation, professional assessments and systemic issues. Implementing the OHRC's recommendations will ensure more equitable opportunities and outcomes for students in Ontario's public education system.

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On October 3, 2019, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) announced a public inquiry into human rights issues that affect students with reading disabilities in Ontario's public education system. The Right to Read inquiry, which focused on early reading skills, found that Ontario's public education system is failing students with reading disabilities (such as dyslexia) and many others, by not using evidence-based approaches to teach them to read.

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OHRC Right to Read Report Launch Event Video

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OHRC Right to Read Report Launch Event Video

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The OHRC hosted this one hour press conference to discuss the findings and key recommendations of the Right to Read Inquiry.

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What is the Science of Reading, A Preamble 

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What is the Science of Reading, A Preamble 

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The Science of Reading: Defining Movement - A preamble by Dr. Tracy Weeden

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Our first speaker Dr. Maria Murray is the founder, President and CEO of the Reading League.  The Reading League offers training and resources to teachers and partners with school boards to implement large scale science of reading professional development.

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The Science of Reading - The Reading League

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The Reading League's mission is to advance the understanding and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction through the science of reading.

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Science of Reading: The DEFINING MOVEMENT COALITION

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Science of Reading: The DEFINING MOVEMENT COALITION

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Free E-Book: Science of Reading A Defining Guide

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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.

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This "Look for" tool includes a list of "green flags" and "red flags" that can be used to evaluate resources and inform classroom instructional practices.

not

aligned

with the science of reading.

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The FIVE from FIVE project was developed with the objective of promoting effective, evidence-based reading instruction, by providing free resources to teachers, principals and parents and advocating for evidence-based policy with politicians and policy makers.

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Effective, evidence-based reading resources - Five from Five

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Five From Five aims to improve literacy levels by ensuring all children receive effective, evidence-based reading instruction.

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MultiLit: Making Up Lost Time In Literacy

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MultiLit: Making Up Lost Time In Literacy

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Dr. Jennifer Buckingham is Director, Strategy and Senior Research at MultiLit (Making Up Lost Time In Literacy) is a leading provider of effective literacy instruction in Australasia.

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Providing effective literacy instruction grounded in scientific evidence-based practice Shop Programs & Products Calendar PD Workshops Latest News and Publications About MultiLit MultiLit Pty Ltd (Making Up Lost Time In Literacy) is a leading provider of effective literacy instruction in Australasia. Our programs are uniquely placed to be effective because they are all grounded in...

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New South Wales Australia: Effective Reading Instruction in the Early Years of School

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New South Wales Australia: Effective Reading Instruction in the Early Years of School

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The department of education in NSW Australia has published a guide for effective early reading instruction and also created a suite of professional learning modules for Australian educators. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/literacy-and-numeracy/teaching-and-learning-resources/literacy/effective-reading-in-the-early-years-of-school

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Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade

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Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade

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The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. This guide synthesizes the best available research on foundational reading skills and shares practices that are supported by evidence. It is intended to be practical and easy for teachers to use. The guide includes many
examples in each recommendation to demonstrate the concepts discussed.

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New Brunswick's new guide to reading instruction

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New Brunswick's new guide to reading instruction

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Ontario isn't the only province in Canada that is beginning to transition reading instruction to align with the findings of the science of reading.  In 2021 New Brunswick published a new guide to reading instruction along with developmental reading continuum and a professional development series for teachers.

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Structured Literacy and Typical Literacy Practices: Understanding Differences to Create Instructional Opportunities

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Structured Literacy and Typical Literacy Practices: Understanding Differences to Create Instructional Opportunities

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This article by Dr. Louise Spear-Swerling outlines the similarities and differences between a structured literacy approach and the practices that are common in schools in Ontario currently. This article provides detailed examples and suggestions for educators who are transitioning to structured literacy.

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Integrating structured literacy into Ontario's play based Kindergarten Program.

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Integrating structured literacy into Ontario's play based Kindergarten Program.

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Speaker Emily Moorhead of LSDSB shared her story of integrating a structured literacy approach into her play based kindergarten classroom.  For more information watch these free webinars that where Emily shares more details.

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Literacy Leaders: Spotlight on ground breaking educators in Ontario's Catholic School Boards

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Literacy Leaders: Spotlight on ground breaking educators in Ontario's Catholic School Boards

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This webinar was recorded on March 3rd for the Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officers Association. During this presentation we showcase the shifts in instruction that are already underway in five Ontario Catholic school boards. We discuss the challenges in making these change and present some practical solutions that are working well in these boards.

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Right to Read: Embracing the Opportunity to Improve Equity

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Structured Literacy in the French as a second language classroom

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Structured Literacy in the French as a second language classroom

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Speaker Kim Lockhart shared how she has had success integrating a structured literacy approach into her instruction within a French immersion program. You can learn more about what Kim does here.

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Structured Literacy in the French as a Second Language Classroom

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Gaab Lab: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience - linking neuroscience and education

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Gaab Lab: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience - linking neuroscience and education

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Dr. Nadine Gaab is an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Nadine’s work focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly in language-based learning disabilities. Her research in the GaabLab examines the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills in the pediatric brain and pre-markers of learning disabilities and the development of screening tools for screening literacy milestones and dyslexia.

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Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: linking neuroscience and education Gaab lab @ HGSE Learn More

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The state of Colorado has a transparent process for evaluating classroom resources, intervention programs and assessment tools.  They have created and made public the detailed rubrics they have used to evaluate dozens of resources.   This is a valuable resource for vetting new materials.  Please note: the website only lists approved resources, there were many others that were vetted by Colorado that did not meet the standards including Units of Study, Fountas and Pinnell classroom, Levelled Literacy Intervention and others.

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You are here

Approved Programs

The READ Act requires the department to identify evidence-based instructional programs and professional development programs for use by local education agencies. This page includes links to providers and programs that have been identified and approved for the use of READ Act per pupil funds through the READ Act Instructional Programming Review Process. Districts choosing to use READ Act per pupil funds to purchase these instructional programs and professional development related to these programs will submit the request through the annual READ Budget Submission.

The Advisory List of Instructional Programming was updated on May 2, 2022.

The next instructional programming review will be conducted during the 2023-2024 school year.

Questions & Rubric Requests

Completed rubrics for any reviewed program will be made available upon request. Please contact READAct@cde.state.co.us with all rubric requests and questions related to instructional program review.​

This page includes information and resources for selecting scientifically and evidence-based instructional materials.
Jump to a Section: Download READ Act Instructional Programming Advisory List Information Spreadsheet (XLXS)

Core Programming

Core Instruction is instruction provided to all students, and is typically guided by a comprehensive core reading program. Part of core instruction is typically provided to the class as a whole, and part is provided during the small group, differentiated instruction period. Although instruction is differentiated by student need during the small group period, materials and lesson procedures from the core program can frequently be used to provide reteaching, or additional teaching to students according to their needs.

Approved for Grades Kindergarten Through Third

Benchmark Education- Benchmark Adelante (2022) Spanish program

Houghton Mifflin- Arriba la Lectura (2020) Spanish program

McGraw Hill- Maravillas (2020) Spanish program

Spalding - The Writing Road to Reading (2012)

Approved for Grades Kindergarten Through Second

Approved for First through Third Grade

Supplemental Programming

Supplemental Instruction is instruction that goes beyond that provided by the comprehensive core program because the core program does not provide enough instruction or practice in a key area to meet the needs of the students in a particular classroom or school. For example, teachers in a school may observe that their comprehensive core program does not provide enough instruction in vocabulary or phonics to adequately meet the needs of the majority of their students. Selection and implementation of a supplemental program in these areas can strengthen the initial instruction and practice provided to all students.

95 Percent Group - 95 Phonics Core Program, First Edition

American Reading Company - Foundational Skills Toolkits (2020)

Benchmark Education Company - Benchmark Phonics

Carnegie Learning - Mondo Bookshop Phonics 1st Edition

Curriculum Associates - iReady

Curriculum Associates - Magnetic Reading

Edgenuity - MyPath

Imagine Learning - Language and Literacy

Istation - Istation Early Reading

Istation- Istation Espanol Lectura Temprana Spanish program

Lexia - Core 5 Reading

Literacy Resources - Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum

Open Up Resources - EL Education Foundational Skills Block, First Edition

Reading Horizons - Reading Horizons Discovery

Reading Simplified - Reading Simplified Academy

Really Great Reading - Blast

Savvas Learning Company -Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading

Spalding - The Writing Road to Reading

Step By Step Learning - Small Group Automation Tool

Vista Higher Learning - Discover Phonics, 1st edition

William Sadlier - From Phonics to Reading

Wilson - Fundations

Zaner-Bloser - Superkids Phonemic Awareness Daily Lessons and Intervention

Zaner Bloser - The Superkids Foundational Skills Kit

Supplemental Programming - Approved by Specific Grade and Literacy Component

American Reading Company - ENIL Toolkits Spanish program
Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade for Phonological & Phonemic Awareness, Phonics & Word Study, and Text Reading Fluency

Center on Teaching and Learning- ECRI
Kindergarten (Phonological & Phonemic Awareness and Phonics & Word Study), First Grade (Phonological & Phonemic Awareness, Phonics & Word Study, and Text Reading Fluency), and Second Grade (Phonics & Word Study, and Text Reading Fluency). This program must be used in combination with Wonders 2017.

Waterford - Waterford Reading Academy

Kindergarten and First Grade - Phonological & Phonemic Awareness, Phonics & Word Study, Vocabulary, and Text Reading Fluency

Kindergarten - Listening Comprehension

Intervention Programming

Intervention is the practice of providing scientifically-based, high-quality instruction and progress monitoring to students who are below proficient in reading. Intervention is provided withintensity that is matched to student need. This involves more time daily, above and beyond 90+ minutes of universal (Tier 1 or core) instruction, which is focused on the specific needs of the student as identified by a diagnostic measure. Instruction can be intensified in three ways: (1) more time, (2) more targeted instruction, and (3) smaller group size.

95 Percent Group - Teaching Blending, Phonics Screeners for Intervention, Phonics Chip Kit, Phonics Lesson Library, Multisyllable Routine Cards

95 Percent Group - Phonological Awareness, Screener for Intervention, Phonological Awareness PA Lessons Deluxe Kit

95 Percent Group - Vocabulary Surge: Unleashing the Power of Word Parts (Level A & B)

Benchmark Education Company - Benchmark Phonics Intervention (Level 1, Level 2)

Cengage - Reach into Phonics Foundations

Center for Collaborative Classroom - SIPPS

Curriculum Associates -Ready Reading

Edgenuity - MyPath

Imagine Learning - Language and Literacy

Istation- Istation Espanol Lectura Temprana Spanish program

McGraw Hill - Corrective Reading

McGraw Hill - Reading Mastery Signature Edition

McGraw Hill - WonderWorks (2022)

McGraw Hill - Wonder Works

Reading Simplified - Reading Simplified Academy

Really Great Reading Company - HD Word, First Edition

Really Great Reading - Blast

Step By Step Learning - Small Group Automation Tool

Valley Speech - Esperanza Spanish program

Intervention Programming - Approved by Specific Literacy Component

Center on Teaching and Learning- ECRI
Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade for Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Word Study, and Text Reading Fluency. This program must be used in combination with Wonders 2017.

Learning By Design - Spell-Links
Phonological & Phonemic Awareness (basic & advanced levels), Phonics & Word Study, and Text Reading Fluency

Valley Speech and Learning Center - WELLS 2 Spanish program
Phonological & Phonological Awareness, Phonics & Word Study, Vocabulary and Text Reading Fluency

*Programs marked with an asterisk must be teacher directed in combination with the online component for approval in the budget planning survey.

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Advisory List of Instructional Programming

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The READ Act requires the department to identify evidence-based instructional programs and professional development programs for use by local education agencies. This page includes links to providers and programs that have been identified and approved for the use of READ Act per pupil funds through the READ Act Instructional Programming Review Process.

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National Center on Intensive Intervention review of screen tools

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National Center on Intensive Intervention review of screen tools

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This tools chart has three tabs that include ratings on the technical rigor of the tools: (1) Classification Accuracy, (2) Technical Standards, and (3) Usability Features.

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Use the briefs to evaluate academic interventions available on the academic intervention tools chart across the seven dimensions of the Taxonomy of Intervention Intensity.

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Connecting research to policy and practice.   This paper aims to provide an overview and some insight into what is known about screening for dyslexia risk. It provides a brief overview of “what is dyslexia” and the importance of screening for dyslexia risk, a robust presentation of viewpoints and considerations for best practices in behavioral screening and a brief overview of key statistical considerations one should consider when evaluating a screener with a companion technical report provided. It concludes with a checklist to support teachers, school psychologists, and school-based assessment teams in evaluating and choosing universal screeners.

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Winter 2022 Edition of IDA Journal Perspectives - special issue on Screening 

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Winter 2022 Edition of IDA Journal Perspectives - special issue on Screening 

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IDA publishes the quarterly journal Perspectives on Language and Literacy. This special edition on screening is open access, to read more editions of Perspectives consider joining IDA as a member.

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Menu

Winter Edition 2022 Margie B. Gillis, Theme Editor PERSPECTIVES on Language and Literacy A Quarterly Publication of the International Dyslexia Association Volume 48, No. 1 From Science to Policy to Practice Screening: 11 Screening for Early Literacy Milestones and Reading Disabilities: The Why, When, Whom, How, and Where Nadine Gaab and Yaacov Petscher 21 Universal Screening Within an RTI Framework: Recommendations for Classroom Application Kristen Troester, Rhonda Raines, and Nancy Marencin 27 Systems and Processes to Support Data-Based Decision Making Within an MTSS Model Cynthia Pirani-McGurl, Kaitlin Leonard, Shira Cohen-Goldberg, Kelly Soule, and Darci Burns 38 Translating the Science of Reading Screening into Practice: Policies and Their Implications Zachary T. Barnes and Tiffany K. Peltier Until Everyone Can Read!

Issue List

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Library

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Menu Winter Edition 2022 Margie B. Gillis, Theme Editor PERSPECTIVES on Language and Literacy A Quarterly Publication of the International Dyslexia Association Volume 48, No.

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Intensifying Literacy Instruction - Essential Practices 

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Intensifying Literacy Instruction - Essential Practices 

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By Dr. Kim St. Martin. The purpose of this document is to increase the capacity of practitioners and educational leaders to support a broad range of learners who need more literacy supports to become skilled readers and writers by identifying a set of essential practices that are research-supported and should be the focus of professional development. These practices for intensifying literacy instruction apply to those learners with severe and persistent reading and writing challenges who have not responded when provided with high quality general classroom instruction, regardless of disability status.

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Hexagon Tool: Recommend by Dr. St. Martin for choosing intervention programs

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Hexagon Tool: Recommend by Dr. St. Martin for choosing intervention programs

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https://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/resources/hexagon-exploration-tool

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Michigan’s MTSS Technical Assistance Center

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Michigan’s MTSS Technical Assistance Center

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Speaker Dr. Kim St. Martin the Assistant Director of MiMTSS. Her focus is on regional and district implementation infrastructure efforts to scale-up the successful use of an MTSS framework. The MiMTSS website has useful information for any board leaders tasked with implementing the RTI/MTSS framework recommended by the OHRC.

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The MiMTSS TA Center and Michigan Department of Education will host the 18th Annual MiMTSS Conference on
November 28 & 29, 2022, at the Lansing Center Learn from national and state-recognized keynote and guest speakers
and connect and share with your fellow educators. Watch for more conference information in the months ahead.

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The MiMTSS TA Center and Michigan Department of Education will host the 18th Annual MiMTSS Conference on November 28 & 29, 2022, at the Lansing Center Learn from national and state-recognized keynote and guest speakers and connect and share with your fellow educators. Watch for more conference information in the months ahead.

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Reading Rockets: Q&A with Dr. Todd Cunningham

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Reading Rockets: Q&A with Dr. Todd Cunningham

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In this Q&A with Dr. Todd Cunningham, you'll learn the basics about assistive technology (AT) and how AT tools can help students with language-based learning disabilities to reach their full potential in the classroom.

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Dr. Todd Cunningham is a school and clinical child psychologist and an assistant professor in the Applied Psychology and Human Development department at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Cunningham started the organization LearnDifferent.org as a place for students with learning differences (and their parents) to better understand their assessments, and develop strategies for managing those differences so they don't stand in the way of learning.

What's your perspective on speech-to-text software?

For some students with writing challenges, the thought is, "Oh my goodness, if you're having difficulties with spelling, why not just talk to your computer?" The challenge with talking to your computer is the computer literally writes down word for word, and sound for sound on what you say. Now, six years ago, to be able to train a voice recognition program, it took about six hours to train at around an 80% accuracy rate. So if I dictated 100 words, 80% or 80 of those 100 words would be recognized properly.

Today, with absolutely no training at all, we're at about a 98% accuracy rate. So right out of the box, I can sit down and start talking to the computer, and it will write down 98% of what I say perfectly. The challenge though is, as I've been talking here, I haven't actually said any punctuation. So in spoken language, we don't say periods, commas, quotation marks, we just speak, and the listener kind of fills in where the gaps are. But often, when you're talking to the computer, you have to dictate all that information. You have to say, "How are you doing today? Question Mark." "I'm doing fine. Period." So you have to dictate your grammar right into the software. In addition, a lot of students don't actually know how to speak in a way that translates into formal writing. Formal writing has its own unique style. Oral communication has its own unique style, and being able to talk to a computer in the way that writes out a nice perfectly structured paragraph is very, very challenging for most students. So, though voice recognition may seem like a great technology that's going to help so many students, what we actually find is the amount of time it takes to edit what a student has dictated to the computer can be even longer than if they just typed it up themselves.

How can teachers and parents help students with attention issues, who have trouble getting organized or paying attention?

We have a whole host of tools these days. One interesting thing about students with ADHD is they often have real difficulty with the perception of time. So often a student will sit down, and they'll start doing their homework, and they say, "You know what? I'm going to take a five minute break," and the next thing they know, their parents are getting mad at them, because an hour and a half has gone by, and they've only done six questions out of the 30 questions that they have to complete. So that student, who meant to take just a five-minute break, didn't realize that they're actually off task for 45 minutes or an hour. So there's this new wonderful app for the computer called Rescue Timer. It actually tracks the amount of time that you're doing productive things on your device, or on your computer. And you can set it to say, "Hey, if I'm not productive for five minutes, or 10 minutes, then give me a bunch of warnings, or lock me out of this other program, so that I can't go onto Minecraft for 45 minutes." So Rescue Timer gives students simple feedback how much time they're spending off-task. And the second part is to help them get back on task, by giving them prompts and reminders, or even restrictions to help make sure they get there.

Another great technology that comes in our smartphones is just our general reminders, reminding us do our homework, or to bring the homework assignments home at the end of the day. A couple of years ago, I had one father who came in, and said to me: "My daughter is using these reminders, but after school the reminder goes off and she just ignores it, because she still wants to talk to her friends. So let's just say the custodian and I have become really good friends, because every night after dinner when my daughter sits down to do her work, soon enough we're driving back to school, because there's some textbook that she's forgotten."

Now, with the smart phones, we can actually have GPS-based reminders. So as the phone detects that it's leaving the school, it can bring up a reminder that says: "Here is the list of homework assignments that you have to do tonight." And hopefully that helps students remember that they need to bring their math book home.

There are also a lot of tracking or tagging devices such as The Tile that let you put a smart tag on a student's books or other important possessions. So when a student is running around in the morning thinking, "Oh my goodness, where is my notebook?," they can push a button, and the tracker will start beeping so they can see where that notebook actually is. It's great for people who lose keys. It's also great for students, who lose their textbooks on a regular basis.

We know that a lot of students have trouble keeping their papers organized. I love how students come into a clinic, and you say, "Can you take out your science binder?" And they open their knapsack, and they start taking out handfuls of paper, and spreading it out for you, and then they say, "Oh, sorry, that's September's work. And I think these papers are from math class. Oh wait, here's the November stuff that we're working on now." But if students have a smartphone, they can take a picture of that science worksheet, and have that automatically load up into a cloud device, such as Dropbox, or Google Drive, or Microsoft's version of it. So suddenly, they don't have to worry about losing that paper. You can take a picture and have it in the right place, so you can refer back to it when you have to study for that upcoming exam. By getting the document in a digital format, either by their teachers providing it to them, or by taking a picture of it themselves, now they have it when they need it.

What would you say to parents and teachers who don't know much about technology and might be a little intimidated?

Don't be afraid! A lot of these tools are really easy to use. For many of the assistive technology tools out there today, we often find that students either know how to use it already, or in five minutes they will figure it out. And obviously that's not true for every student or every tool, but in many cases we just need to give students an opportunity and they will find the solution. Teachers often feel, because it's something new to them, that they must teach the student how to use the assistive technology. Often what we need to do is just create the environment in which the technology can be used. We need to identify the barriers that might prevent the student from using the technology. If I have a student who's using a laptop to read everything out loud, then handing them a paper copy of a worksheet is an immediate barrier. How do they get that piece of paper onto the computer? We have to think about those barriers and clear them out.

What is your perspective on Universal Design for Learning, or UDL?

CAST has developed a wonderful website on universal design for learning. It offers a terrific guide to developing lessons in a way that will be accessible and engaging for all students.

So from a UDL perspective, giving a worksheet in a digital format, as well as a printed format, helps all learners, because in that digital format the student who's visually impaired, w can use a program called Zoom Text to enlarge the text, so that they can be able to see it. The student who has reading challenges can have that text read out loud to them using text to speech. The student who has writing difficulties could use word prediction, or voice recognition to get their ideas down onto that worksheet. The student who has ADHD, who just simply loses that worksheet, now, it's in a digital format, and they can find it more easily and refer back to it. So giving it in that digital format, that worksheet, suddenly you're helping a whole group of students, who have special needs be able to access that worksheet in different ways. You didn't have to go teach each of those students how to use their different pieces, you just had to create that environment, so that all the students could use their different tools to access that task that you wanted them to do.

And what we see increasingly is that there's nothing special about assistive technology at this point. These tools are often just good general technology that we're all using already. What makes it special is when we put it to use to help every child succeed.

What change would you most like to see in the field of assistive technology?

For some reason, we still feel we have to teach kids how to use all the technology. We feel that technology is very special and sacred, and that we need experts who are trained in it to work with the students, and to teach them all of the nuts and bolts of every program. When you learned Microsoft Word, I bet you didn't learn how to use all 125 features that Microsoft Word probably has in it. So when we teach a student how to use a text-to-speech software program, why are we teaching them how to use all 84 of the pieces in it? Students usually need just one or two specific pieces of a program. So let's focus on those one or two pieces. Once we do that, a lot of students will figure it out for themselves. And if not, we can teach them, and then the students are good to go.

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Dr. Todd Cunningham is a school and clinical child psychologist and an assistant professor in the Applied Psychology and Human Development department at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cunningham started the organization LearnDifferent.org as a place for students with learning differences (and their parents) to better understand their assessments, and develop strategies for managing those differences so they don't stand in the way of learning.

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Speaker Dr. Todd Cunningham's Academic Intervention Lab investigates how to best identify and support students with learning difficulties.  Check out their latest research here.

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Speaker Kelly Butler is CEO of The Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI). BRI is a Mississippi-based philanthropic organization devoted to improving significantly our state’s pre-literacy and reading skills.

For almost two decades, BRI has worked in K-3 classrooms with elementary teachers and principals to align early literacy instruction with up to date cognitive and educational science.

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BRI Programmatic Priorities

To significantly improve the pre-literacy and reading skills of Mississippi's children.

Goal: to improve the quality of early childhood experiences and kindergarten readiness through parental/family engagement

Literacy Professional Development

Goal: to significantly improve the quality of K-3 literacy achievement by designing and disseminating a gold standard of professional development & pre-service education

Goal: to significantly improve the quality of pre-service teacher preparation and grade level reading through state and national partnership

Goal: to strengthen the knowledge base and capacity of school leaders to build a healthy school culture and effectively support literacy development

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BRI Programmatic Priorities To significantly improve the pre-literacy and reading skills of Mississippi's children.

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The Reading Universe is a website created by the Barksdale Reading Institute. The Reading Universe is free to join and offers information for teachers on how to implement evidence based practices in the classroom. BRI has received a sizeable grant to upgrade this website and offer even more detailed free resources going forward. Be sure to join the Reading Universe to be notified of the launch of the new site.

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The Reading Universe is a creation of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI), a Mississippi-based philanthropic organization devoted to improving significantly our state’s pre-literacy and reading skills.

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Big Dippers: Science of Reading Short Course

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Big Dippers: Science of Reading Short Course

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This course offers a one-of-a-kind overview of the science behind effective reading instruction that’s just the right start and the right size to begin or continue your journey to becoming a knowledgeable reading teacher. It was developed by a coalition of reading experts to give practitioners just like yourself critical information about what comprises the reading process and lays a solid conceptual and practical foundation for how to teach reading. Best of all you can learn at your own pace and complete the entire course within a 10-hour timeframe

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You've landed on The Big Dipper's website,
which means you're about to reach the North Star:

The Science of Reading Short Course!

This course offers a one-of-a-kind overview of the science behind effective reading instruction that's just the right start and the right size to begin or continue your journey to becoming a knowledgeable reading teacher. It was developed by a coalition of reading experts to give practitioners just like yourself critical information about what comprises the reading process and lays a solid conceptual and practical foundation for how to teach reading. Best of all you can learn at your own pace and complete the entire course within a 10-hour timeframe, earn a certificate that can qualify for continuing education credits, and finish with recommendations for where to go next! Thanks for making your way here. Let's get started.

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Welcome! You've landed on The Big Dipper's website, which means you're about to reach the North Star: The Science of Reading Short Course! This course offers a one-of-a-kind overview of the science behind effective reading instruction that's just the right start and the right size

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Top Ten Tools: SOR aligned professional development course for teachers and administrators 

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Top Ten Tools: SOR aligned professional development course for teachers and administrators 

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Developed by Dr. Deb Glaser, Top 10 Tools is an online comprehensive reading course designed to immerse educators in the science of reading.  This course is aligned with IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards (KPS) for Teachers of Reading and is designed to prepare educators or support personnel to provide evidence-based reading and language arts instruction and support schools in the process of building Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).

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Top 10 Tools™ is now part of the Tools 4 Reading family!

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LETRS: Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling

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LETRS: Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling

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The LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Suite is professional learning that provides educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading. Developed by renowned literacy experts Dr. Louisa Moats, Dr. Carol Tolman, and Dr. Lucy Hart Paulson, it is a flexible literacy professional learning solution for educators and administrators. LETRS teaches the skills needed to master the fundamentals of reading instruction—phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and language.

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Lexia Learning Systems https://www.lexialearning.com/Assets/img/logo.svg 1984 978-405-6232 info@lexialearning.com 300 Baker Avenue, Suite 320 Concord MA 01742 USA

Lexia ® LETRS ® Professional Learning

The Lexia LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Suite is comprehensive professional learning designed to provide early childhood and elementary educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading. Developed by Dr. Louisa Moats and leaders in the field of literacy, Lexia LETRS teaches the skills needed to master the foundational and fundamentals of reading and writing instruction-phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written language.
Download brochure

Why LETRS?

Research shows that only 35% of students are reading proficiently, but 95% of students CAN learn to read. And while teachers are the most essential factor in student success, only about half of teaching institutions effectively prepare teachers for literacy instruction. Teaching reading requires a deep understanding of the processes and science behind it. LETRS is the professional learning program rooted in the science of reading that empowers teachers.

Transform Your Teaching with The Lexia LETRS® Science of Reading Grant

September 12-December 31, 2023

Learn about how to enter and see content rules and eligibility.

LETRS®

Lexia LETRS provides a professional learning course of study based in the science of reading for elementary educators. The course teaches the how, what, and why of literacy acquisition to improve instructional practice and achieve long-term systemic change in literacy instruction.

LETRS for elementary educators is an investment in teachers' literacy knowledge and professional practice. Teachers gain essential knowledge and skills to master the fundamentals of literacy instruction required to apply and transform student learning.

LETRS® for Early Childhood Educators

LETRS® For Early Childhood Educators professional learning provides deep knowledge of literacy instruction for the youngest learners. The more children know about language and literacy before they begin kindergarten and first grade, the better equipped they are to succeed in literacy learning and beyond.

LETRS® for Administrators

Lexia LETRS® for Administrators is a professional development course designed specifically for school leadership, coaches, principals, and district administrators. The course defines the systems and infrastructures required to successfully implement a literacy initiative aligned to scientifically based research. Built from the research in implementation science and sustainability, school improvement, and shared leadership, the course provides numerous tools-including an analysis of the current systems required for improved literacy outcomes-for guiding an implementation through various stages.

Learn More

Engaged Students

Lexia LETRS provides a professional learning course of study based in the science of reading for elementary educators which teaches the how, what, and why of literacy acquisition to improve instructional practice and impact long-term systemic change in literacy instruction. The more children know about language and literacy before they begin kindergarten and first grade, the better equipped they are to succeed in literacy learning and beyond.

Empowered Educators

Many educators and education leaders are not well prepared to teach reading, or lead those who teach reading. The Lexia LETRS Suite provides science of reading-based professional learning through three different courses of study designed for elementary educators, education leaders, and early childhood educators. Each course of study teaches the how, what, and why of literacy acquisition to educators to improve literacy instruction and positively impact long-term systemic change in literacy outcomes.

Why even trained teachers need support:

Learn More about Empowered Educators

Improved Outcomes

Lexia LETRS empowers educators by going beyond the essential components of literacy. Lexia LETRS gives teachers the skills they need to master how to teach the five essential components of literacy, plus writing, spelling, and oral language.

Lexia LETRS includes five essential elements for literacy success:

Science of reading based

Teaches the content of explicit instruction

Converts research to practice

Enhances educator and leader effectiveness

Transforms instruction

A Cambium Learning® Group Brand

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Professional Learning for Educators Grades Pre-K-5 | Lexia

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The state's reliance on cognitive science explains why.

Credit... Celia Krampien

Ms. Hanford is the senior education correspondent for APM Reports.

"Thank God for Mississippi."

That's a phrase people would use when national education rankings came out because no matter how poorly your state performed, you could be sure things were worse in Mississippi.

Not anymore. New results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a standardized test given every two years to measure fourth- and eighth-grade achievement in reading and math, show that Mississippi made more progress than any other state.

The state's performance in reading was especially notable. Mississippi was the only state in the nation to post significant gains on the fourth-grade reading test. Fourth graders in Mississippi are now on par with the national average, reading as well or better than pupils in California, Texas, Michigan and 18 other states.

What's up in Mississippi? There's no way to know for sure what causes increases in test scores, but Mississippi has been doing something notable: making sure all of its teachers understand the science of reading.

Yes, there is a science to how people read. For the past several decades, in labs and classrooms all over the world, scientists have been studying how skilled reading works, what children need to learn to become skilled readers, and what's going on when students struggle. Reading is probably the most studied aspect of human learning.

But a lot of teachers don't know this science. In 2013, legislators in Mississippi provided funding to start training the state's teachers in the science of reading.

To understand what the science says, a good place to start is with something called the "simple view of reading." It's a model that was first proposed by researchers in 1986 to clarify the role of decoding in reading comprehension. Everyone agrees the goal of reading is to comprehend text, but back in the 1980s there was a big fight going on over whether children should be taught how to decode words - in other words, phonics.

The simple view says that reading comprehension is the product of two things. One is your ability to decode words: Can you identify the word a string of letters represents? For example, you see the letter string "l-a-s-s" and you are able to sound it out and say the word.

You may have no idea what "lass" means. This is where language comprehension comes in. Language comprehension is your ability to understand spoken language. So, when someone says to you, "Let's have all the lads and lasses line up at the door," you know that's what all the boys and girls are supposed to do.

The simple view is an equation that looks like this:
decoding ability x language comprehension = reading comprehension
Notice that reading comprehension is the product of decoding ability and language comprehension; it's not the sum. In other words, if you have good language comprehension skills but zero decoding skills, your reading comprehension will be zero, because zero times anything is zero. The simple view also says that if you have good decoding skills but poor language comprehension skills, your reading comprehension isn't going to be very good either.

The simple view model was proposed more than 30 years ago and has been confirmed over and over again by research. But a study in Mississippi several years ago showed that teachers were not being trained to use this model and that many professors and deans in colleges of education had never even heard of it. Now, through workshops and coaching paid for by state taxpayers, teachers in Mississippi are learning about the simple view and other key takeaways from the science of reading.

The simple view is critical for understanding how children learn to read. Most children entering school have very little decoding skill. They know the meaning of lots of words, but they don't know how to decode those words. If the goal is to get to reading comprehension, children have to learn how to decode. That's why people who know the science of reading call for an emphasis on phonics instruction in the early grades.

Now, the simple view clearly shows that focusing only on decoding would be a mistake because that's only half the equation. Reading instruction has to include language comprehension, too. This means lessons and activities that expand children's oral vocabularies and knowledge, so they know the meaning of the words they can decode.

In my reporting on the debates about reading, I've found there's a lot of confusion in schools about the role of decoding in learning how to read. Teachers want their students to love reading, and phonics has a reputation for being rote and boring.

So, reading instruction tends to begin with having children focus on making meaning from text while giving short shrift to helping them develop the skills involved in reading words. Some children develop good word reading skills anyway. Research suggests that about 40 percent of children will learn to read no matter how inadequate the instruction.

What about the other 60 percent? The lack of skills instruction can be a disaster for them, especially for pupils from low-income families. When children from higher-income homes struggle to read, their parents will often pay for tutoring or specialized private school. But children from poor families tend to have no backup if schools don't teach them how to read words.

And while children from poor families often enter school at a disadvantage when it comes to language comprehension, if they're taught how to decode they've just been given their best shot at catching up because now they have the means to gain knowledge and expand their vocabulary through reading.

For years, everyone assumed Mississippi was at the bottom in reading because it was the poorest state in the nation. Mississippi is still the poorest state, but fourth graders there now read at the national average. While every other state's fourth graders made no significant progress in reading on this year's test, or lost ground, Mississippi's fourth-grade reading scores are up by 10 points since 2013, when the state began the effort to train its teachers in the science of reading. Correlation isn't causation, but Mississippi has made a huge investment in helping teachers learn the science behind reading.

And when children are taught in ways that line up with the science, they can learn.

Emily Hanford (@ehanford) is the senior education correspondent for APM Reports and the producer of several podcasts and articles about the science of reading.
The Times is committed to publishing Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Opinion | There Is a Right Way to Teach Reading, and Mississippi Knows It (Published 2019)

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The state's reliance on cognitive science explains why. Ms. Hanford is the senior education correspondent for APM Reports. "Thank God for Mississippi." That's a phrase people would use when national education rankings came out because no matter how poorly your state performed, you could be sure things were worse in Mississippi.

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AIM Pathways: Online training for teachers, administrators and board literacy leaders

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AIM Pathways: Online training for teachers, administrators and board literacy leaders

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AIM Pathways is a unique, interactive digital teacher training platform designed to deliver research and evidence-based content in the science of reading. AIM offers several courses including: Pathways to Proficient Reading, Pathways to Literacy Leadership, Pathways to Proficient Writing and Pathways to Structured Literacy.

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Refund/Cancellation Policy
Pre-registration with AIM Institute is required for all training. Details of our refund/cancellation policy can be found here.

Imagine you had the tools to

teach every child to read

AIM PathwaysTM Interactive Digital Teacher Training Platform Is Available to Educators and Schools Nationwide

The AIM Pathways training is a must for anyone working with developing readers. The platform uses a variety of modalities to engage with the content which helps ensure retention of the material. The student-teacher videos are truly unique; it's as though you're in the classroom observing a master teacher who is implementing the strategies you just learned. I highly recommend the AIM Pathways training as a great first step toward investing in your student's literacy skills.

-Steve Brady, Assistant Principal, Inwood Academy for Leadership

I appreciate the opportunity to be part of this learning experience! It is a great opportunity to gain new information about the science behind the teaching of reading and to refresh my skill set. The format (reading through material at my own pace and meeting virtually every other week) has been easy to incorporate into my busy schedule. The opportunity to connect with other educators has been valuable as well.

-AIM Pathways Participant and Special Education Teacher, Chester County Intermediate Unit

Learn, Practice, Apply

Research shows that traditional stand and deliver workshops are ineffective at changing instructional practices. Teachers find it difficult to translate theoretical models into classroom practice. For that reason, AIM PATHWAYS ™courses are designed to follow a Learn, Practice and Apply cycle. Participants acquire knowledge and then have the opportunity to practice that knowledge by completed specially designed activities that will help them begin that translation. Once they have learned and practiced their new skills, participants demonstrate their understanding of the content by applying their knowledge to real life scenarios via student case studies. Our Pathways to Proficient Reading course has has received accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association for its alignment to the IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.
HOW IT WORKS

AIM Pathways™ Introduction

Learn more about the unique, interactive digital platform designed to deliver research and evidence-based content in the science of reading and the first course, Pathways to Proficient Reading, which has received accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association for its alignment to the IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.

Literacy Instruction for Educators in a Revolutionary Platform

AIM PATHWAYS ™ is a research-driven, digitally-delivered learning tool that teachers can learn, practice, and apply in their classrooms.
Who Benefits from AIM Pathways?

Classroom Teachers K-5

Learning Specialists

Special Educators

Administrators

University Education Programs

State Departments of Education

Easy to access and enhanced by a supportive community

AIM Pathways puts diagnostic and prescriptive tools at your fingertips with on-demand, mobile-friendly access, and connects you with IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards.
How is AIM Pathways Used?

As a Professional Development Solution at Scale

To Meet Statewide Dyslexia Training Requirements

Use Completely Online or as a Complement for Stand and Deliver PD

Unique, Evidence-Based Learning opportunity for Teachers

AIM Pathways provides research-driven courses that can transform teaching with scalable training and interactive learning through case studies and classroom simulations.
What Will You Get with AIM Pathways?

A Robust Online Community of Informed Practitioners

AIM Pathways Online Platform and Courses

AIM Virtual Community of Practice Coaching

AIM Pathways Orientation and Implementation Plan

Opportunity to purchase and receive three graduate credits from Arcadia University

Register for a Pathways Cohort

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AIM Pathways - AIM Institute for Learning & Research

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AIM Pathways - A unique, interactive digital teacher training platform designed to deliver research and evidence-based content in the science of reading. for teachers, schools, school districts and state boards of education. Puts diagnostic and prescriptive tools at your fingertips with on-demand, mobile-friendly access, and connects you with IDA Knowledge and Practice Standards.

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Kareem Weaver: What it takes to be a literacy education changemaker

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Kareem Weaver: What it takes to be a literacy education changemaker

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Kareem Weaver is a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and a leader of the organization Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate (FULCRUM). He was also an award-winning teacher and administrator in Oakland, California, and Columbia, South Carolina. Kareem discusses what the Science of Reading is at the simplest level and why it’s important that educators are undivided in backing the research. He goes on to give an impassioned plea to educators to come together, because this is an issue that impacts all kids. Kareem also highlights the importance of meeting educators where they are and realizing that change cannot happen if teachers aren’t given the tools and support they need first. Lastly, Kareem calls for systemic changes to education so that teachers can do their jobs in a way that is balanced, sustainable, and ultimately benefits the students.

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In this episode, Susan Lambert sits down with Kareem Weaver to discuss change management for educators implementing the Science of Reading. Kareem Weaver is a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and a leader of the organization Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate (FULCRUM). He was also an award-winning teacher and administrator in Oakland, California, and Columbia, South Carolina. Kareem discusses what the Science of Reading is at the simplest level and why it's important that educators are undivided in backing the research. He goes on to give an impassioned plea to educators to come together, because this is an issue that impacts all kids. Kareem also highlights the importance of meeting educators where they are and realizing that change cannot happen if teachers aren't given the tools and support they need first. Lastly, Kareem calls for systemic changes to education so that teachers can do their jobs in a way that is balanced, sustainable, and ultimately benefits the students.

"In order to save our kids and to get them competitive in the information age, they have to be able to access information. And so we've got to focus on literacy." -Kareem Weaver
Show Notes:
FULCRUM:Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate

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S4-E14: What it takes to be a literacy education changemaker: Kareem Weaver - Science of Reading: The Podcast

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In this episode, Susan Lambert sits down with Kareem Weaver to discuss change management for educators implementing the Science of Reading. Kareem Weaver is a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and a leader of the organization Full an...

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Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate

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Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate

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Speaker Kareem Weaver is the founder of FULCRUM -

Full and Complete Reading is a Universal Mandate.  FULCRUM

represents the point of equilibrium at which everything is in balance - people's lives, our communities, our society at large.

This will only be achieved when all people have had access to high quality, evidence-based literacy instruction . Period.

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Our Goal to ensure that every Oakland child is an 'on-time' reader provided with full LITERACY: a fundamental civil right, a powerful protection from the school to prison pipeline, and the cornerstone for a life of choice and fulfillment

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Remediation Plus is an acknowledged leader in providing both preventative and remedial teaching solutions that are structured, cumulative, multisensory, and cognitive - and are proven effective from kindergarten to adults.

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Are you a private school or private clinic?

The Remediation Plus 3 day training and certification has been approved by the Canada Jobs Grant you can bring this expertise into your existing business or hire a new person that will be responsible for delivering this intervention. Learn more.

The Remediation Plus System

Teachers

Remediation Plus Clinics

Videos

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phonemic awareness programs for kindergarten

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The Remediation Plus 3 day training and certification has been approved by the Canada Jobs Grant you can bring this expertise into your existing business or hire a new person that will be responsible for delivering this intervention. Learn more. The Remediation Plus System Teachers Remediation Plus Clinics

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Teaching Reading is Rocket Science - Dr. Louisa Moats

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Teaching Reading is Rocket Science - Dr. Louisa Moats

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Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science, 2020: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do. This report, written by Louisa C. Moats (a teacher, psychologist, researcher, and professor
who has been at the forefront of science-based reading instruction for five decades), translates the latest reading research into accessible language so that those of us who are not steeped in the pedagogy of reading can apply it to our own teaching and learning.

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The Science of Reading Implementation Guide

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The Science of Reading Implementation Guide

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Ideas and Tools for Integrating Scientifically Based Strategies into Early Reading Instruction - by EAB Global

This guide is intended for administrators and school board leaders and includes a practical plan for implementing effective changes in literacy instruction across an entire school board.

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Let's Create a Nation of Readers

2 out of every 3 children in America enter fourth grade without being proficient in reading The National Assessment of Educational Progress

And What About Level 4 and 5?

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm on these levels. We are working on them, we promise!

Level 4

Fall 2022 thru 2023

Level 4 Chapter Books are set to release one at time starting in Fall 2022.

Systematic phonics instruction makes a more significant contribution to children's growth in reading than do alternative programs providing unsystematic or no phonics instruction. National Reading Panel

Whole Phonics in Action

The Whole Phonics™ program consists of five levels. The first three levels each contain fifteen decodable readers dedicated to a specific phonetic element and new sight word(s). Every new reader builds on the sounds presented in the prior readers. Workbook pages, games and supplemental activities accompany each reader. The final two levels of Whole Phonics™, organized into chapter books with similar supporting materials, will be ready at the end of 2022 through 2023.

Kids struggle to read when schools leave phonics out. Emily Hanford

Why Phonics?

A review of our nation's literacy statistics reveals that we are not effectively teaching our children how to read. A mounting body of research clearly indicates that most children need explicit instruction as to the relationship between sounds and letters. With phonics, children have a strategy to tackle nearly 85% of the words they encounter. Most importantly, efficient decoding is the critical first step needed for comprehension.

There is a nearly 90% probability that a child will remain a poor reader at the end of fourth grade if he/she is a poor reader at the end of first grade.
Dr. Ernest L. Boyer

Our Mission

Whole Phonics is a social enterprise committed to supporting communities in need. A percentage of the sales will be directed to assisting schools with the weakest reading scores. We also aim to support teachers in their quest to teach all children to read, which includes knowledge of phonics instruction. With super fun materials and teacher education, we can improve our literacy statistics. Let's make sure that every child has the tools needed for a productive life.

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Whole Phonics™ Beginning Reading Literacy Program

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Let's Create a Nation of Readers 2 out of every 3 children in America enter fourth grade without being proficient in reading The National Assessment of Educational Progress Thank you so much for your enthusiasm on these levels. We are working on them, we promise!

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Sound Readers Games for K-3 

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Sound Readers Games for K-3 

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Home | Science of Reading Literacy Training & Games for Teachers Sound Readers

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Science of Reading Teacher Training & Sound Readers' Crazy Cards for K-3 Teachers looking for structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, and/or systematic and explicit phonics information. Phonics Card Games for Literacy Centres played like Crazy 8's only with words. Learning to read games!

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Focus on Phonemic Awareness

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Focus on Phonemic Awareness

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A Comprehensive Resource to Screen, Teach, and Remediate Phonemic Awareness. Developed by three Speech-Language Pathologists for use by Educators, Speech-Language Pathologists, and other professionals to use both in-person and for virtual instruction.

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FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING!

When students are taught the FUNDAMENTALS of our language system they become empowered advocates for their own learning.
They begin to look for patterns and meaning in the structure of our highly ordered morphophonemic language system and learn that English is NOT crazy!

Phonology, morphology, and etymology all have a role to play, as do syntax and semantics.
Reading, writing, and spelling takes us on a journey through time as we encounter the fascinating history that is our language.

If you looking to go beyond phonemic awareness and phonics to learn more about
how the English language actually works, come and join us!
Fundamentals, Classroom Educator, Associate, and Certified Training opportunities
Toronto, ONTARIO
Fundamentals, Classroom Educator, and Associate training - summer 2022 registration is now open

Introduction to Multisensory GRAMMAR 101 - Workshop series -completed
Introduction to Structured Word Inquiry - Workshop Series - co mpleted

ALL TRAINING is ONLINE using a BLENDED format

adjective: Forming a necessary base or core; of central importance; essential underlying foundation or structure

noun: (usually plural) A central or primary rule or principle on which something is based.

Fundamental Learning believes that it is fundamental

to teach the fundamentals of the English language.

ORIGIN / ETYMOLOGY

late Middle English: from French fondamental, or late Latin fundamentalis, from Latin fundamentum, from fundare 'to found'.

I have the unique perspective of having had the pleasure to witness the magic that Liisa brings to her teaching and tutoring as both an elementary school teacher who attended her Orton - Gillingham training and as a parent of a child who painfully struggled with both reading and writing.
I have yet to meet someone as able, knowledgeable, committed and passionate about teaching her students the fundamentals of reading. It is amazing what happens when you systematically train a student using the O-G approach. Her students begin to feel, perhaps for the first time, the beauty of language and the pride and success of unlocking the rules and patterns, origins and complexities of the English language. Her lessons are engaging, meticulously planned and individually tailored to engage the student from where ever they begin their journey to reading.
I am completely in awe of the skills, results and enthusiasm that Liisa has been able to provide for my child. This approach coupled with this exemplary educator has been a very bright light along our journey to reading.

Elisa Mauro

Parent and teacher

My experience with the O-G courses (the Associate and the Certified levels) has been unexpected. I remember being skeptical at first and not entirely convinced that I would get anything out of it especially since I already had a Master's degree in Special Education and had been actively tutoring for about 12 years. I have to say that even though the theoretical aspects came easily to me, especially that I was familiar with the terminology, it challenged some of my set beliefs. A good example would be learning to use morphology and etymology to explain and make sense of many sight words, rather than just teaching them as "rule breakers". I was also in for a surprise when I started the practicum. The amount of planning, note taking and analyzing that was involved, forced me to look at my methods and lesson content under a microscope. Liisa's meticulous and honest feedback was especially valuable to me. She is always exceedingly generous with her knowledge and guidance; she readily shares resources and information to give support in any way that she can. It is good to know that I am now able to give my students the best, evidence-based, individually-tailored intervention that they deserve. Becoming a part of the O-G community has been, and continues to be, a growing experience and a privilege.

Azza Daba

Remedial Educator / Dyslexia Specialist

All through my life I've had difficulty with reading and writing. I am an adult and it came to a point that I needed to find a solution to this problem. My wife was supportive of my problem along the way, and I had tried a few different courses that weren't successful. Then we found Liisa through the Internet. I contacted Liisa and met with her in March. Since meeting with her, I have noticed a huge improvement in my reading and writing. Now I can pick up a book and read because I want to and I am not scared to, something I have never done before, thanks to the methods Liisa has taught me. I have since taken a course to better my career, which is something I would never have had the courage or ability to do before. Liisa's teaching has changed my life. It is never too late to get help for your learning needs.

L.C.

Adult student

FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING was born of the passion to teach the structure of the English language in a way that makes sense.

We teach students of all ages - and that includes teachers!

Whether you are a parent looking for help for your child, a teacher looking for professional development, or a client looking to further develop your reading and writing skills - we are here to help.

Offering beginning instruction to advanced levels for teachers, parents, tutors, and other professionals.

CERTIFICATION COURSES as well as WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS.

Supporting teachers and tutors as they apply their newly learned skills.

Matching trainees with students.

Working with students of all ages and all levels - from pre-school to graduate school!

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When students are taught the FUNDAMENTALS of our language system they become empowered advocates for their own learning. They begin to look for patterns and meaning in the structure of our highly ordered morphophonemic language system and learn that English is NOT crazy!

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Cheryl has studied under various Academy Fellows for her Associate and Certified designations, which allow her to be an independent OG practitioner at all levels of instruction. She is listed as an 'OG Practitioner' with the Academy. Currently, Cheryl is a "Fellow-in-Training" (FIT); a Fellow is the highest designation offered by the OGA. As a member of the 'OGA Diversity Committee', she is working to ensure that issues of equity, diversity and inclusion are part of Academy processes.

A list of tutors is available only through email.

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Cheryl has studied under various Academy Fellows for her Associate and Certified designations, which allow her to be an independent OG practitioner at all levels of instruction. She is listed as an 'OG Practitioner' with the Academy. Currently, Cheryl is a "Fellow-in-Training" (FIT); a Fellow is the highest designation offered by the OGA.

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Canadian Education Warehouse/Éduco Entrepôt Canada - Facile à lire

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PRIZE SPONSOR: Canadian Education Warehouse/Éduco Entrepôt Canada - Facile à lire

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Decodable books series for FSL classrooms and francophone schools.

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Canadian Education Warehouse / Educo Entrepot Canada

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fal9ens facile à lire facile à lire - les 9 ensembles

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Don't be caught off guard when your child finishes a series! Here are the nine Facile à lire "First Readers" bundles in one package. In Les syllabes, Introduction 1, 2 and 3, readers encounter the sounds in isolation and in a progressive way.

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Ontario Literacy Alliance: Open Letter in support of the Right to Read

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Ontario Literacy Alliance: Open Letter in support of the Right to Read

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Dr. Jennifer Buckingham: More Information

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Dr. Jennifer Buckingham: More Information

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Dr. Jennifer Buckingham presented resources including free live online presentations. Scan the QR code to find out more!

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Click the link to access Dr. Todd Cunningham's presentation slides.

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This pdf document contains an organized list of the links sent throughout the Right to Read Symposium. Categories range from research articles, French resources, videos, podcasts, and many more! Thank you to all who contributed in providing these helpful tools.

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View the slides for Dr. Jennifer Buckingham's presentation.