Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio
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& Hughes, 2011; CAST, 2018; Clark & Graves, 2005; Gottlieb, 2013; Marino, 2009; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2007; Basham, Marino, Hunt, & Han, 2020).
Regarding literacy achievement, research is particularly promising as it relates to Universal Design for Learning (Meyer & Rose, 1998; 2005; Rose & Meyer, 2002). In this pedagogical framework, the design of the learning environment is explicitly developed from the outset to provide scaffolds that:
1) Provide multiple means of representing the content being taught 2) Provide multiple strategies aimed at building engagement
3) Provide multiple pathways in which students can express what they learned (Rappolt- Schlichtmann, Daley, & Rose, 2012; Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, 2005; Blevins, 2019).
Through this framework students are positioned to take ownership of their learning, set metacognitive goals, and monitor their learning progress, and are thought to be better able to transfer their learning to novel contexts (Bransford et al., 2000; Rappolt-Schlichtmann et al., 2012; Rose et al., 2005). Finally, literacy instruction that is responsive to students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds has been found to be highly efficacious in accelerating both the literacy development and overall academic development of students (Hollie, 2018; Hammond, 2014; Stembridge, 2015; Sleeter, 2011). This instructional approach involves providing students ample and robust opportunities to read texts where they can identify with the characters and settings presented (Cartledge et al., 2016), feel affirmed in the perspectives discussed (Vehabovic, 2021), and advance their understanding of different histories, places, and cultures, particularly those of historically marginalized groups (Conradi et al., 2022; Flores et al., 2019). An increasing number of studies have also highlighted the importance of instructional supports and practices focused on English Learners or non-English speaking students. Research suggests that 1) highlighting cross- linguistic connections that leverage a s tudents’ home language, 2) clarifying po tentially unfamiliar elements of English, and 3) helping multilingual learners notice the similarities and differences between their home language and English can serve to significantly bolster literacy outcomes (Galloway & Lesaux, 2023; Beeman & Urow, 2013). Taken in combination, these strategies create a compelling picture of the ways that strategies aimed at providing differentiated, equity-focused literacy instruction can serve to benefit young learners. The specific components and features of the Ready4Reading program that aim to align with these methods are discussed in the section that follows.
Ready4Reading Research Alignment: Equity-Focused Instruction
In the context of this research, Ready4Reading is designed with the intention of illuminating equity by providing differentiated, culturally relevant materials to ensure students have multiple pathways of achieving reading mastery.
As an overarching instructional approach, Ready4Reading aims to provide students with multiple pathways for learning. Throughout each program lesson, concepts are presented through
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