Research and Best Practices
The Handbook is designed to guide state, district, and school Title I personnel in providing high-quality, research-based family and community engagement programs and experiences. Thirty-six experts on a range of topics contributed to the Handbook. Each chapter provides grounding in research and practical action principles for the field. A concluding chapter lists specific recommended practices for the state, district, and school. The.....
Reading Resources
Synopsis of "Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading"
This synopsis of Graham and Hebert's meta-analysis presents an overview of their findings and describes implications for practice. It is intended to serve as a first step that will encourage further exploration of the "Writing to Read" document. The authors describe a range of instructional practices that have demonstrated a positive effect on reading outcomes and provide guidance on how teachers can use writing instruction to strengthen students' reading performance.
This resource pertains to the following categories:
Literacy.....
A Comprehensive K-3 Reading Assessment Plan: Guidance for School Leaders (COI)
Because scientific studies have repeatedly demonstrated the value of regularly assessing reading progress, a comprehensive assessment plan is a critical element of an effective school-level plan for preventing reading difficulties. This guide from the Center on Instruction provides valuable information for school leaders. While the general principles, such as the early identification of students who are struggling in learning to read, are all based on scientific findings, the detailed recommendations for implementation derive from practical.....
What Are Rural Districts Doing? (Ideas for rural districts and others considering or committed to using SIG Funds)
In order to help districts considering or committed to using School Improvement Grant funds to rapidly improve persistently low-performing schools, CII researchers searched websites of major cities and districts to discover tools and processes already in use. The results, while not exhaustive, may provide models for implementing turnarounds, restarts, school closure, or transformations.
Response to Intervention in Primary Grade Reading
Response to Intervention (RTI) in Primary Grade Reading is one of four sections within the newly added Data-Driven Improvement area on the Doing What Works website. The section is divided into four sub-sections: Universal Screening, Progress Monitoring and Differentiation, Systematic Skill Instruction, and Response to Intervention. Each sub-section contains a practice summary along with practical help in three tabs: Learn What Works (video interviews with nationally known research experts, key concepts, research evidence, and related links),.....
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade
This guide, developed by a panel of experts, presents a set of evidence-based practices that teachers and other educators can use to successfully teach reading comprehension to young readers. The panel review indicates that students who read with understanding at an early age gain access to a broader range of texts, knowledge, and educational opportunities, making early reader comprehension instruction particularly critical. The guide also describes the evidence that supports the practices and gives examples of how they can be implemented in.....
NEW Practice Guides
The What Works Clearinghouse has issued two new practice guides, with practical recommendations for educators to help them address the challenges they face in their classrooms and schools. “Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through Third-Grade” recommends five specific steps that teachers, reading coaches, and principals can take to improve reading comprehension for young readers: teach students how to use reading comprehension strategies; teach students to identify and use the text’s organizational structure to.....
Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers, 2nd edition
This suite of resources developed by the Center on Instruction has two purposes. First, it is designed to guide the delivery of instruction for adolescent struggling readers, particularly secondary interventions in the general education context. Second, it seeks to deepen technical assistance providers’ knowledge of reading-related issues for adolescents with reading difficulties and learning disabilities and enrich providers’ work with SEAs and LEAs.
Bringing Literacy Strategies into Content Instruction
This document provides research-based guidance on academic literacy instruction in the content areas, specifically focusing on the effective use of text in content areas. It reviews the research evidence about content-area literacy instruction for adolescents and suggests ways teachers can use content-area texts to enable students to understand the vocabulary and concepts they contain. This document also provides a brief synopsis of working with adult learners and the most promising professional development practices identified in research......
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices
For the purposes of this website, these recommendations have been merged into four practices: Vocabulary Instruction; Comprehension Strategies; Engaging Text Discussion; and Intensive Intervention. This Practice Guide was developed by an expert panel convened by the Institute of Education Sciences. It is designed to address challenges in improving literacy levels in middle and high school and providing interventions for struggling adolescent readers. The Practice Guide offers a set of five research-based recommendations. A summary of the.....
Instructional Models and Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners [K-12]
This publication offers educators and policy-makers guidance on research-based strategies that have been effective in instructing English Language learners (ELLs). Regardless of the model that school districts select, teachers--especially those who have not been trained to work with ELLs--need help to determine the most effective strategies to accelerate student learning and maximize instructional time. This document outlines key contextual factors that decision-makers should take into account when making instructional choices for ELLs,.....
Intervention Report on three Voyager Reading Programs by the What Works Clearinghouse
What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is releasing an Intervention Report on three Voyager Reading Programs. The three programs are Voyager Passport, a supplemental reading intervention system for students in grades K-5, Voyager Passport Reading Journeys, a reading intervention program designed for adolescents who struggle with reading, and Voyager Universal Literacy System, a K-3 reading program. The Clearinghouse examined the research on these Voyager reading programs for students with learning disabilities and identified 44 studies that were.....
WWC Intervention Report on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) Program
WWC Intervention Report on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) program that is designed to teach students the skills they need to decode words and to identify individual sounds and blends in words. The Clearinghouse reviewed 31 studies that investigated the effects of LiPS on students with learning disabilities. One study that falls within the scope of the Students with Learning Disabilities review protocol meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. Based on this study, the WWC found LiPS to have potentially positive.....
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement
This report from the Alliance for Excellent Education (2007) contends that content teachers at the middle and secondary levels should engage their students in literacy training through integrated reading and writing activities that teach students how to recognize the particular conventions specific to the different subjects. The report concludes with practical policy goals to foster a greater integration of literacy training and content matter.
Effective Strategies That Boost Reading Comprehension
This multimedia overview highlights key research findings and specific practice implications for comprehension strategy instruction. (5:26 min)
Big Ideas in Beginning Reading
This website is designed to provide information, technology, and resources to teachers, administrators, and parents across the country.
Big Ideas in Beginning Reading focuses on the five BIG IDEAS of early literacy:
* Phonemic Awareness
* Alphabetic Principle
* Accuracy and Fluency with text
* Vocabulary
* Comprehension
The website includes definitions and descriptions of the research and theories behind each of the big ideas, describes how to assess the big ideas, and provides information on how to teach the.....
Sustaining Reading First
The resources in this link provide a conceptual framework on sustainability, tools for assessing readiness to sustain, and briefs on specific topics related to sustaining evidence based reading instruction.
The Center On Instruction Catalog
The Center On Instruction catalog is an excellent collection of scientifically based research and information on K-12 instruction in reading, math, science, special education, and English language learning. Part of the Comprehensive Center network, the Center on Instruction is one of five content centers serving as resources for the 16 regional U.S. Department of Education Comprehensive Centers. ACC will be happy to download, copy and mail to.....
Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners
Use this multimedia overview to learn the importance of teaching English learners to read in English while they are developing oral proficiency, and how this helps them increase vocabulary, speak in English, and learn other subject-matter content. See how the five recommended practices fit together to create a full research-based solution for schools, teachers, and students. (6:05 min)
