Research & Validation | Ready4Reading: A Literature Review

Scholastic Ready4Reading: A Literature Review on Foundational Research

ESSA Tier IV Evidence Portfolio

December 2023

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

Contents Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 2 Program Overview and Theory of Action ...................................................................................... 3 Literature Review: Foundational Research Underlying Ready4Reading ....................................... 7 Systematic, Explicit Phonics Instruction .................................................................................... 7 Integration of Phonics Instruction with Teaching Essential Literacy Skills............................. 16 Focus on Engagement with Reading......................................................................................... 21 Formative Assessment to Facilitate Data-Driven Instruction ................................................... 25 Equity-Focused Instruction ....................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 32 References ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Appendix A: Ready4Reading — Component Examples................................................................ 50 Appendix B: Ready4Reading Artifact Library ............................................................................. 60

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

Introduction

This evidence portfolio summarizes the foundational research literature that serves as the empirical basis for the Ready4Reading Program. Produced by Scholastic Education, Reading4Reading is a supplemental phonics curriculum aimed at enhancing literacy outcomes for students in grades K – 3. The program’s approach to phonics teaching aims to sequentially and systematically help children acquire the foundational reading skills they need to “learn to read and read to learn.” Developed in conjunction with a varie ty of notable experts in early literacy development, including Wiley Blevins, Dr. Anne Cunningham, Dr. Tanji Reed Marshall, and Linda Gutlohn, the program incorporates components, including phonics lessons and activities, reading activities centered on “short read ” decodables, and “Read to Know” decodable text sets. Using a modular approach, the program ultimately works to blend print and digital resources that allow for the curriculum to be flexibly implemented alongside core reading programs across whole groups as well as small groups and learning centers. 1 In the context of these overarching features, this evidence portfolio seeks to summarize the research that forms the foundation of the Ready4Reading theory of action and documents the research support for the primary components embedded within this program. This research was conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research and Reform in Education in consultation with Scholastic Education senior leadership and involved reviewing the extant scholarship related to the program’s core components as well as reviewing the program’s core instructional materials. In specific, program components and foundational research were reviewed for purposes of documenting the program’s inclusion in the Tier IV evidence category under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This document is organized as follows. First, we provide an overview of Ready4Reading ’s central features and outline a logic model that depicts the relationships between Ready4Reading program components and its intended instructional outcomes. In the following sections, we then summarize the contemporary research literature related to the instructional components and pedagogical strategies employed by Ready4Reading. Here, we discuss the literature examining the impact of systematic, explicit phonics instruction; integrated early literacy instruction that blends phonics teaching with other foundational literacy skills; student engagement in reading; and research on key strategies for differentiation and formative assessment in early literacy. To accompany these sections, we provide detailed overviews of Ready4Reading program components, as well as an appendix offering examples of program artifacts and documentation of the program’s instructional design and research alignment. Conclusions and recommendations for future research directions are then provided at the close of this document.

1 Program information pulled from: https://www.scholastic.com/content/educators/en/learn/ready-for-reading.html

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

Program Overview and Theory of Action

As an overarching theory of action, Ready4Reading seeks to improve literacy outcomes for burgeoning readers in grades K – 3 by serving as a comprehensive instructional resource for phonics teaching in adopting schools. The program features a research-based phonics teaching system (Wiley Blevins) that is delivered through whole-class lessons and targeted activities for small- group instruction, and features a robust library of decodable short texts and content- facing “Read to Know” text sets aimed at simultane ously developing students ’ decoding skills and academic content knowledge. The program provides for a minimum of 60 minutes of program instructional material each week for the duration of the school year. A detailed overview of the program’s features, components, and scope and sequence is provided in subsequent sections and the appendix of this evidence portfolio. In brief, these main program features are described below: o Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics Program. Wiley Blevins ’s Phonics lessons serve as the main point of whole-class instruction through Ready4Reading. These lessons are explicitly designed to provide research-based, systematic, whole-class comprehensive phonics instruction to students in grades kindergarten through third. Instruction offers a variety of evidence-based strategies to aid teachers in teaching essential phonics skills and to help young learners become confident and successful readers. Lesson cards provide teachers with research-based instruction in the alphabetic principle, phonics, word study, and morphology. Each lesson includes a brief phonemic awareness activity, a connected passage to contextualize learning, and activities for teacher-led small-group instruction, including interactive digital activities and activity book pages (available digitally and in print). Program components include: o 68 Digital & Print Lessons – Including 27 Alphabetic, 27 Phonics, and 14 Word Study Lessons o 309 Digital Teaching Activities – Including 107 Alphabetic, 160 Phonics, and 42 Wordy Study Activities o 50 Assessments – Including 41 Quick Checks (weekly assessments), 7 Benchmark assessments, and two comprehensive (placement/summative) assessments o 408 Practice Materials, including: ▪ 270 Blackline Masters Workbook Pages ▪ 68 Printable Learning Centers ▪ 70 Printable Extension Activities o Multimedia, including: ▪ 44 Articulation Videos ▪ 28 Alphabet Chants ▪ 1 Alphabet Song ▪ “Little Red Bag” Manipulatives Kit, which includes metal trays , magnetic letter tiles, sound cubes, Elkonin boxes, and flash cards o Short Reads Decodables. Short Reads Decodables offer short, compelling decodable texts for teacher-led, small group instruction. These two-sided Student Cards are designed to incrementally target individual sound-spellings and help young readers practice and solidify the discrete phonics elements they are learning. The informational and fiction texts

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

incorporated in the program are aimed to reflect a broad range of text types and genres. Key program components include:

o 90 Student Cards (6 copies of each title) o 9 Teacher’s Guides with 90 title -specific lessons (print and digital) o Digital decodable Student Cards and activities o Digital teacher and student resources o Downloadable Student Cards o A Downloadable Oral Reading Rubric for assessment o Downloadable Word Study Lessons o Downloadable Spelling Lists for encoding practice

o Read to Know Text Sets. The program’s Read to Know text sets offer decodable texts that aim to build children’s academic content knowledge as they practice and apply decoding skills and position them to “read to learn . ” Aligned to the program’s “Watch & Learn” videos , which aim to feature high-interest topics, pique children’s curiosity , and build background knowledge, the text sets feature informational and fiction texts with controlled decodable text aligned to an aggregation of Ready4Reading’s systematic phonics scope and sequence. Read to Know text sets can be implemented in small groups and independently, depending on student mastery. Components include: o 18 text sets of three decodable books each o 6 Review Books o 19 Watch & Learn Videos (English and Spanish) o 1 Teacher’s Guide with lessons for each text set and Review Book (print and digital) o Digital decodable books and activities o Digital teacher and student-teacher resources o Downloadable decodable take-home books o Downloadable Oral Reading Rubric for Assessment o Downloadable Respond & Write resources o Downloadable Spelling Lists for encoding practice In addition to these primary components, Ready4Reading offers a variety of instructional supports, student practice materials, multimedia, and tools for differentiation, along with formative assessment tools for student progress monitoring, and robust teacher professional development and support. Across the program ’ s instructional offerings and student-facing materials, the aim is for teachers to utilize these tools to provide for a data-informed learning experience that is adapted to students’ individual n eeds. Ultimately, Ready4Reading intends for each of these program components to work cohesively and, in combination, serve as a comprehensive point of foundational reading instruction for adopting classrooms. As a byproduct of schools implementing the program and leveraging these features with fidelity, Scholastic Education aims for the program to serve as an efficient and effective way of enhancing and accelerating the literacy development of students. Figure 1, on the next page, presents a logic model for how Ready4Reading theoretically facilitates these intended impacts:

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

Figure 1. Ready4Reading Logic Model

In reviewing the intended outcomes and instructional objectives within Ready4Reading ’s programming and situating these facets within the broader research literature on early literacy development, the JHU CRRE research team created the logic model shown in Figure 1. This model serves as an illustration of the relationships between Ready4Reading ’s program components and these intended outcomes and can be thought of as a form of conceptual road map outlining how the program may function to enhance student learning in reading . The program’s primary inputs and activities, including its systematic research-based phonics curriculum, instructional resources, assessment regimen, and teacher professional development options, work in tandem with the unique pedagogical strategies and techniques the program incorporates. These include the program’s use of explicit phonics instruction combined with highly decodable texts, integration of instructional techniques aimed at teaching phonics concepts with those addressing other foundational literacy skills, use of high-interest texts and activities, and incorporation of UDL- based principles and instructional features aimed at differentiation. When implemented with fidelity, these program inputs and pedagogical strategies serve to facilitate proximal outcomes for students. These short-term outcomes are those that schools can, in theory, experience relatively quickly as they utilize the Ready4Reading program. These potential outcomes include:

o Improved and more consistent school-level early literacy instruction across grades K – 3

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

o More student-centered phonics instruction that is targeted and responsive to student needs

o Improved student mastery of essential foundational reading skills including alphabetic knowledge, phonemic awareness, phonics skills, decoding skills, high-frequency words, and fluency

o Faster development of student fluency with reading grade-level text

o Enhanced student engagement in reading

In turn, as schools use the program over a sustained period of time, the accumulated benefits derived from these proximal outcomes may then lead to longer-term impacts. Among others, these may include:

o Improved long-term interest in and engagement with reading in students

o Positive leveraging of Mathew Effects that may enhance the volume of reading practice students engage in (i.e., if students are more interested in reading and experience earlier success, they may be positioned to read longer and more often) o Teachers strengthening their instructional acumen with early literacy instruction overall (including their instructional skills related to teaching phonics, oral language, vocabulary, and reading comprehension)

o Enhanced equity of school-level literacy instruction

o Improved student phonics skills and reading achievement

o Improved student learning of content-oriented subject matter by better positioning students to successfully “read to learn” in school

As Ready4Reading continues its development and engages in summative forms of evaluation exploring its efficacy, this model can serve as a guide for examining proximal, intermediate, and long-term outcomes. In the following sections, we examine the underlying research connecting these program inputs with these intended impacts.

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

Literature Review: Foundational Research Underlying Ready4Reading

Building on this theory of action, the following section summarizes the foundational research that serves as the empirical basis for the Ready4Reading program. Broadly, this section seeks to provide an overview of the research germane to the primary instructional components of Ready4Reading as well as its overarching pedagogical approach. Organized around Ready4Reading’s five primary instructional goals, these sections first summarize the research specific to these areas, and then are followed by an accompanying section that describes the specific program components within Ready4Reading that correspond with this research (“Ready4Reading Research Alignment ”) 2 . Conclusions and recommendations for future research directions are provided at the close of these sections.

Systematic, Explicit Phonics Instruction

As a key area of emphasis, Ready4Reading seeks to combine systematic, explicit phonics instruction with highly decodable texts to help students master essential foundational reading skills. Through high-level instructional routines that emphasize a four-part gradual release model (teach, practice, apply, and prove), the program aims to develop these foundational skills while simultaneously developing comprehension. As it relates to these areas, research demonstrates clear support for a combined approach of this type (Stahl, 2011; Slavin, 2009; Blevins, 2017; NICHD, 2000; Suggate, 2016; Torgerson, Brooks, Gascoine, & Higgins, 2018). Put simply, systematic, explicit, phonics-based instruction represents one of the most thoroughly and rigorously studied methods for enhancing the literacy development of young readers (Stahl, 2011; Blevins, 2017; NICHD, 2000; Stahl, Duffy-Hester, & Stahl, 1998; Suggate, 2016; Torgerson, Brooks, Gascoine, & Higgins, 2018). Developing children’s abilities with regard to recognizing the sounds within words (phonemic awareness), and then taking these letter sounds and forming them into words (phonics), ultimately forms the basis of students being able to efficiently decode and build fluency as burgeoning readers (Blevins, 2017; Slavin, 2009). While much discussion has proliferated across the field of literacy science with regard to whether “whole - language” or “phonics -based ” approaches are more effective at developing young readers, empirical evidence consistently points to the essential role that explicit phonics teaching plays in developing students’ foundational literacy skills (Ehri et al., 2001; Allington, 2011; Hunter, 2012; Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2015; Slavin, 2009; Stahl, 2011). A bevy of research points to the ways that an early systematic emphasis on teaching children to decode words leads to better reading development and achievement than a more haphazard approach or one that comes later (Stahl, 2011; Adams, 1990; Chall, 1989; 1996), in part because of the pivotal role that the ability to decode words plays in helping children become independent word learners who can develop as readers without teacher assistance (Share, 1995; Stahl, 2011). Indeed, data indicate that students who are taught systematic and explicit phonics are better able to decode, spell, and comprehend printed text compared to students who receive instruction that is either incidental or implicit (Blevins,

2 Narrative text describing Ready4Reading program components and instructional materials was provided by Scholastic Education and has been reviewed and adapted by the JHU CRRE research team for purposes of presenting this information as part of this evidence portfolio.

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

2017; Castles et al., 2018; Duke & Mesmer; Ehri et al., 2001; Ehri, 2005; Foorman et al., 2016; NICHD, 2000; Stahl, 2011).

In practice, what does such an approach to phonics instruction entail? The hallmark of systematic phonics instruction is that it directly teaches sound-spelling correspondences in a clearly defined scope and sequence that builds upon prior learning and moves from straightforward to more complex tasks (NICHD, 2000). Explicit phonics instruction teaches sound-spelling correspondence directly. It involves: 1. Establishing a clear lesson purpose and goals 2. Segmenting tasks into small chunks 3. Providing explicit instruction that employs modeling and “think alouds” that draws students’ attention to essential text features 4. Utilizing guided practice and scaffolding 5. Providing opportunities for students to receive feedback and adapt their learning accordingly (Archer & Hughes, 2011; Hughes et al., 2017; Piasta & Hudson, 2023). Through these high-level explicit teaching practices, teachers gradually release greater and greater independence to students as they engage in the learning activities at hand. Among various benefits, research particularly points to how this instructional model may be especially effective at reducing cognitive load and the resulting stress this can place on learners ’ working memory (Clark et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2016). Within the context of this overarching approach, research shows that effective phonics instruction should explicitly and systematically address the following (Castles et al., 2018; Ehri, 2021; Ehri, 2022; Foorman et al., 2016; Hudson et al., 2012; NICHD, 2000): • Phonological Awareness. Research shows that the ability to identify and manipulate different sounds within words (i.e., syllables, onsets/rimes, and phonemes) is predictive of word recognition, reading, and spelling performance (Hogan et al., 2005; Gillon, 2018; Mues et al., 2022). • Phonemic Awareness. Phonemic awareness refers to “the ability to notice, think about, and manipulate the individual phonemes in spoken words” (Foorman et al., 2016, p. 41) and is one of the strongest predictors of later reading outcomes (Carovalas, 2019; Clayton et al., 2020; Erbeli et al., 2018; NICHD, 2000; NELP, 2008). Orthographic mapping is impossible without the ability to discriminate and manipulate phonemes (Lindsey, 2022). While the ability to 1) recognize a word that starts with a specific sound, 2) isolate a phoneme within a word, 3) sort words based on similar phonemes, 4) blend phonemes to form words, 5) segment words into phonemes, and 6) delete phonemes from words — all contribute to reading. Achievement, blending and segmenting have been shown to be most critical to decoding, spelling, and reading (Brown et al., 2021; Ehri, 2014; NICHD, 2000; Schuehle & Boudreau, 2008). Literacy experts recommend teaching students to detect sounds in words by monitoring mouth positions as they say sounds and using mirrors (Boyer & Ehri, 2010). Data also support having students “ play with sounds ” through activities involving pictures, letter tiles, rhyming, and music as a

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

means of developing students ’ awareness of the sounds in language (Ehri, 2022; Foorman et al., 2016; Eccles et al., 2020).

• Alphabet Knowledge. The alphabetic principle refers to the insight that printed letters represent spoken sounds in words. This principle provides the foundation, and impetus, for learning grapheme – phoneme correspondences. During explicit alphabet instruction, the teacher shows a letter to students and provides the corresponding name and sound simultaneously. This approach has been shown to be highly impactful for letter-sound learning (Piasta et al., 2010; Roberts et al., 2018), particularly when teachers utilize fast pacing with introducing letters (e.g., three letters per week; see Vadasy & Sanders, 2021). Certain letter sounds are more difficult than others (e.g., h, y ) and may require additional instructional intensity (Piasta, 2016). One promising strategy is using embedded mnemonics (Ehri et al., 1984; Ehri, 2022; Roberts & Sadler, 2019; Shmidman & Ehri, 2010). In this approach, the teacher embeds the letter shapes into a picture that also reflects the letter sound (e.g., an f embedded into a flower ). Activities emphasizing hard-to-learn letters, such as those from the middle of the alphabet ( l, m, n, o, p ) and visually or phonologically similar letters (e.g., b, d , and c, k ), as well as those with mismatched sounds and names also appear to be particularly beneficial (Jones et al., 2012). • Sound-Spelling Knowledge. Research shows that after letter-sound pairs have been introduced, effective phonics instruction should use explicit routines to teach students how to read words systematically from left to right by blending, chunking, and sounding out letter sounds (Foor man et al., 2016; Lindsey, 2022). Instruction should “teach the highest utility sound-spelling correspondences, from the alphabet to the most common single-syllable CVC words, to more sophisticated common patterns, covering all 44 phonemes. That will allow children to access more complex patterns and give them a base to learn new words as they encounter them in reading” (Lindsey, 2022, p.103). • Spelling. Research suggests explicitly teaching spelling reinforces orthographic mapping (Ehri, 2021; Ouelette et al., 2017). More specifically, Weiser Mathes’s synthesis of research on this topic suggests that (2011) effective sound-spelling instruction focuses on encoding or “explicitly teaching beginning readers and spellers to write words according to their phoneme - grapheme correspondences, to build words using manipulatives … and to learn to m anipulate phoneme- grapheme relationships to make new words” (p. 171). • Decoding. Decoding involves “transforming graphemes into phonemes and blending them to form pronunciation of words” (Ehri, 2022, p. 1). Experts agree that students must learn explicit strategies to decode words (Mesmer & Kambach, 2022). Research suggests a learning advantage for teaching students to pronounce phonemes corresponding to letters with no pauses (e.g., decoding the word sand as ssssaaaannnd ) rather than pausing between phonemes (e.g., /s/- pause- /ӑ/ - pause- /n/- pause- /d/) — before blending (Gonzalez-Frey & Ehri, 2022). The vowel flexing strategy is another evidence-based decoding technique that teaches students to try pronunciations and match them to the sentence's meaning (Steacy et al., 2016; Mesmer & Kambach, 2022).

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

• Morphological Awareness. Morphological awareness is the ability to think about and manipulate morphemes, which are the smallest unit of language with meaning (Goodwin & Ahn, 2013). Research demonstrates that awareness of both free morphemes (independent root words) and bound morphemes (word elements that cannot stand alone, such as prefixes, suffixes, and endings that indicate possessives, plurals, and verb tenses) predicts decoding, word reading, and comprehension skills (Apel, 2014; Apel et al., 2021; Castle et al., 2018; Duncan, 2018; Goodwin et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2022; Levesque et al., 2020). This is because knowledge of morphemes enables individuals to more efficiently decode larger chunks of orthographic elements and better understand the meaning of words (Apel, 2014; Apel et al., 2021; Goodwin & Ahn, 2013; Levesque et al., 2020). • Orthographic mapping. Orthographic mapping is the process of connecting a word’s orthographic information (spelling) to its pronunciation (phonology) and semantic information (meaning). Research shows that mastery of these skills helps students read more fluently by better storing words in memory (Ehri, 2005; 2014, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2015). When readers encounter an unfamiliar word, they decode it by converting graphemes (letters or groups of letters) and then blending them to form pronunciations of words. After doing this a few times, the spelling is retained in memory, connected to its pronunciation and meaning. The next time they see the word, they recognize it immediately, as seeing the spelling activates a lexical match in memory. This process is essential for students as they free up their working memory to focus on the meaning and comprehension of what they are reading rather than working hard to decode each word they encounter. It enables readers to read words by sight (Ehri, 2014; Ehri, 2020). • High-Frequency Words. The What Works Clearinghouse recommends teaching high- frequency words with regular and irregular sound spellings “so that students can recognize them efficiently” (Foorman et al., 2016, p. 28). Word recognition occurs in developmental stages, based on knowledge of the alphabetic principle, sound-symbol correspondences, and the size of the child’s sight -word vocabulary (Combs, 2012). • Reading Practice . Research suggests that children need to apply knowledge of taught grapheme – phoneme correspondences and orthographic patterns to decode, spell, and read effectively (Mesmer, 2005; Savage et al., 2018; Weiser & Mathes, 2011). Controlled or decodable texts allow beginning readers to rely more on decoding (Adams, 1994; Juel & Roper-Schneider, 1985), apply phonics skills, and improve their alphabetic knowledge, word identification, phonemic awareness, spelling proficiency, comprehension, and reading fluency (Beverly et al., 2009; Buckingham, 2020; Cheatham & Allor, 2012; Hiebert & Fisher, 2007; Mesmer, 2008; Mesmer et al., 2012; Stahl, 2011). Once students become automatic in recognizing the majority of words in a text, however, research suggests they should move on to progressively more challenging texts that provide new vocabulary and address more complex ideas (Adams, 2009; Harmon & Wood, 2018). Texts on the same topic are likely to share vocabulary, and the familiarity with terms that students have acquired from more straightforward texts will enable them to read increasingly challenging texts (Allor et al., 2022; Conradi Smith et al., 2022). Much research points to the variety of learning benefits that can result from such instructional programming, particularly that which organizes readings around

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

topically connected texts that can simultaneously address a variety of cross-curricular content (Allor et al., 2022; Conradi et al., 2022; Blevins, 2019).

Taken in combination, the research discussed throughout this section points clearly to the value of not only phonics- based instruction as it relates to establishing students’ foundational literacy skills, but also the specific ways that teachers can best optimize this pedagogy — one that Ready4Reading seeks to emphasize. In the following section, key Ready4Reading components, features, and instructional resources aimed at addressing these specific areas are discussed in greater detail.

Ready4Reading Research Alignment: Systematic, Explicit Reading Instruction

In the context of this research base, Ready4Reading aims to combine systematic, explicit phonics instruction with highly decodable texts in an effort to help students master essential foundational reading skills. The program is designed to intentionally follow a clearly defined, systematic scope and sequence that progresses from simple letter-sound relationships to blending and applying more complex aggregated (chunked) sound spellings to provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their decoding skills. Instruction begins by addressing alphabet knowledge and teaches consonant and short vowels, consonant blends, and digraphs. The program then progresses to long vowels and complex vowels. Word study is integrated throughout, beginning just as students blend CVC words, starting with simple inflectional endings and going through the scope and sequence to inflectional endings with base changes, syllabication, and morphemes.

The program employs an explicit, four-part instructional framework: teach, practice, apply, and prove. All lessons aim to:

• Establish a clear lesson purpose: Each Ready4Reading lesson outlines a specific outcome, target, or focus of the lesson. In Wiley Blevins ’ s Teaching Phonics, the focus of each lesson is written on the front cover and at the top of each lesson card. Short Reads Decodables display the “Phonics Focus,” which targets the sound -spelling for the task. In Read to Know Text Sets, the Phonics Focus and Other Targets of each decodable is written on the back cover of each book. • Segment complex tasks into smaller segments: Ready4Reading is designed to prioritize high-leverage phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills. Skills and concepts are introduced through routines that provide step-by-step directions for exploring new ideas and applying knowledge. • Draw students' attention to essential content features through modeling and examples: Each instructional activity in Ready4Reading begins with teacher modeling with the aim of helping students understand the skill and recognize what mastery looks like. For example, teachers will model each phonemic awareness activity, model blending a target word, or engage in a modeled fluent read of a text before guiding students to repeat the activity. They draw students’ attention to essential features of word structure, including phonology, morphology, and orthography. Teachers guide students in activities such as interrupted reading

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

(e.g., breaking the text into small chunks, examining each piece thoroughly before moving on to the next), echo reading (e.g., when the teacher reads aloud a text line by line or sentence by sentence, modeling appropriate fluency —while students “echo” the reading back in return ), choral reading (e.g., reading aloud in unison with a whole class or group of students), questions, and prompts. They then apply phonics knowledge to read and make meaning from decodable texts. • Offer opportunities for practice and review with varying levels of scaffolded support: Throughout Ready4Reading lessons, students have regular opportunities to practice new skills, starting with a high level of support and transitioning to less support as they become more experienced and demonstrate increased competence. Spiraled review is built into the program with the goal of helping prevent learning loss. Further, the Read to Know Text Sets include Review Books after every three text sets read, and Short Reads Decodables include Review Cards after every four cards read. The review materials and books offer a consolidated review of prior phonics skills that can be used as a formative assessment to measure children’s progress at regular intervals. • Include frequent checks for understanding and the ability to receive feedback and respond: Ready4Reading includes daily, weekly, and cumulative checks for understanding. Students are asked to answer code-focused questions with oral, written, or action responses. During face-to-face instruction, teachers are guided to provide feedback that reinforces correct performance and helps students adjust as needed.

Ready4Reading offers color-coded lesson cards that aim to provide explicit code-focused instruction in word recognition:

• Phonological Awareness : Ready4Reading aims to recognize that phonological awareness instruction cues children to attend to the sound structures of words. Students learn that syllables (units of pronunciation) can be divided into onsets (beginning sounds of words that proceed the vowel; /c/ in cat ) and rimes (the part of the word after the beginning sound — vowel and consonant; /at/in cat ). The program teaches students that a syllable is a word part with a vowel sound, so if a word has more than one vowel sound, it has more than one syllable. One strategy the program uses to teach syllables is to have students notice when their chin falls when saying a multisyllabic word. The program also intends to strategically engage students in interactive games to sort words by their number of syllables and provides oral blending activities with onsets and rimes. These activities also include opportunities to substitute onsets or rimes to make new words. • Phonemic Awareness: Ready4Reading provides instruction that aims to teach students that words are comprised of phonemes and to associate these phonemes with letters. Throughout the program, students practice hearing, identifying sounds, and putting them together to make words. Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics emphasizes phonemic awareness skills, such as blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds. In addition, Short Reads Decodables teaches phonemic awareness skills such as phoneme identification and distinguishing between phonemes — for example, teachers say the word tap and then ask children to identify each sound in the word. What is the beginning sound? (/t/) What is the middle sound? (/a/) What is

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

the ending sound? (/p/). Similarly, other lessons ask students to listen to three CVC — consonant-vowel-consonant — words, two of which have the same beginning sounds — sat sit mat (response: mat has a different beginning sound). Students are also asked to use three CVC words, two of which have the same ending sounds. Children must name the word that ends with a different sound than the other two — tap sat map (response: sat has a different ending sound). Students are then asked to blend and combine three- sounds words to say a word (e.g., students sound out /r/ /a/ /n/ and then say ran ). Finally, they segment each phoneme in a word (e.g., tell me each sound in yam — the response is /y/ /a/ /m/) and manipulate phonemes (e.g., tell me what word sun becomes if you change the /s/ to /f/ — response: sun becomes fun ). Because working with beginning sounds is easier than ending sounds, initial instruction focuses on continuous sounds at the beginning of words and incorporates more difficult ones over time. • Alphabet Knowledge: The program’s instruction begins by teaching students the name, sound, shape, and formation of the 26 alphabet letters and their most common sounds to encourage students to build and read words as they become available. Students in Ready4Reading are expected to learn letter names and sounds through visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile activities. These include the alphabet song, chants, articulation cards and videos, mirrors, sound boxes, letter-sound flash cards, alphabet cards, picture-sound sort activities, magnetic tiles, and alphabet books. The first introduction of ABC s is in alphabetical order. When learning to blend words, letters are introduced based on frequency and utility ( m, s, t, short- a, p, c, n, d, r , short- i, h, b, l, f o , j, x, k, e, g, v, w, u, y, q, and z ). Instruction uses mnemonics, pictures, and words when introducing letter-sound relationships. Lessons stress the differences and key features of letters that may look similar. Instruction also engages students in letter-writing practice, where they say a le tter’s sound each time they write it to reinforce the letter-sound connection. Students have multiple opportunities to practice letter identification to foster mastery and automaticity.

All alphabet lessons follow a three-step instructional routine that employs a gradual release model:

o Step 1: Develop Phonemic Awareness and Letter-Sound Correspondence: Students are first tasked with identifying the target sound in spoken words. For example, in the “ Alphabet: Mm ” lesson in Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics, students are asked to say /m/ whenever they hear the words mop, man, mess, mix, and monkey . In order to prepare children to produce the sound, teachers use articulation guides and mirrors to point out how the /m/ sound is made (lips together). Children put their hands on their throats and watch their mouths as they form the /m/ sound. Then students engage in oral blending, beginning with onset and rime then sound by sound. For example, students say /j/ /a/ /m/ and then the word (jam). Finally, they segment whole words ( mat, meat, mean, time, team, and steam) into their sounds. For support, students use program scaffolds such as Sound Boxes and Counters.

Teachers then explicitly teach the letter name and its primary sound using a mnemonic (e.g., stating that Mm stands for /m/ and showing a picture of a muffin). The teacher then

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

uses the letter-sound flash card to show the letter in different positions in a word. They then sing a “silly chant” about the letter: /mmmmmmm/ [Extend the sound, rubbing your belly to indicate you like the food.] That muffin smells yummy! /m/ /m/ /m/ is spelled Mm . Teachers then use digital or print “Handwriting Practice” activities to help students connect their knowledge of the letter sound to their production of its printed form. Children write the uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter (using directionality lines) while saying its sound. • Step 2: Sort by Letter Sound and Introduce High-Frequency Words. Using the digital or print “Picture -Sound Sort: Mm ” activity, children sort pictures with names that begin and end with /m/. (Answers: Beginning — man, map, mask, mirror, mitten, monkey, moon, mop, mouse ; Ending — broom, drum, game ). Teachers then introduce students to the lesson’s high-frequency words ( this, my ), using a Read/Spell/Write/Extend routine. • Read: The teacher writes a high-frequency word in a context sentence, underlines it, and reads it aloud (e.g., “ This milk is warm ” ). Students repeat and then segment the word orally. For example, the teacher may say, “ tell me the sounds you hear in the word this ” (/th/ /i/ /s/). The teacher models as needed and then guides children to repeat. Teachers have students hold up one finger for each sound. Then, if the word has an irregular sound-spelling pattern, the teacher highlights the spelling that children need to remember. For example, the teacher may say “ the first sound in this is /th/. It is the same first sound in the word the . We spell the /th/ sound with two letters: th . This is the part of the word we need to remember. Underline, highlight, or draw a heart above this part of the word that must be remembered: ‘ by heart. ’” • Spell: The teacher will then spell a word for students, and the students will say it back to the teacher. The teacher and students will then chorally spell a new word together.

• Write: The teacher then has students write the word as they say aloud each letter's name.

• Extend: T o show that they understand the word’s meaning, students copy and complete a sentence frame that uses the word.

o Step 3: Connect to Reading/Spelling, and Fluency. Finally, teachers share the digital or print Storybook associated with the target letter. Teachers pre-teach any necessary vocabulary or high-frequency words in the book. To reinforce print concepts, teachers preview the book’s title and track the print on the page with their finger as they read aloud. During reading, students are directed to reinforce the letter name and sound being studied. They then use the lesson planner in the Program Guide to guide children through a second book reading and invite students to reread the book during their free time and at home.

• Phonics Knowledge: Ready4Reading instruction is designed to explicitly teach students to focus on each word’s letters, sounds, pronunciation, and orthography to access meaning. After

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

learning the letter-sound connection of the letters of the alphabet, the program then teaches students about the relationship between sounds and spelling patterns. Students are expected to learn that there is a predictable relationship between sounds and their symbols by studying the spelling patterns of consonant blends ( s -Blends, l- Blends, and r- Blends) and reviewing consonants and short vowels (single-syllable words with open long vowels, double final consonants, and final consonant blends) in spoken and print words. The program includes instruction where students study diagraphs and trigraphs -- consonant letters that together make a new sound (e.g., sh, th, ch, -tch, wh, -ng, and ph ) — which is aimed at teaching students that pairs or groups of letters sometimes represent a single sound. Instruction is also provided where students explore how two vowel letters can work together to make a single sound (e.g., long vowels with final e, ai, ay, ee, ea, ie, ie, igh, oa, ow, ew, ue, y, ey, eigh) . The program also includes instruction on a variety of additional complex vowel patterns including instruction on r -controlled vowels, such as ar, or, ore, er, ir, ur , air, ear, and are, as well as complex and variant vowels, such as oo, al, au, aw , and diphthongs, such as oi, oy, ou , and ow. Each Ready4Reading phonics lesson employs a routine aimed at reinforcing sound-spelling relationships. Lessons start with a phonemic awareness warm-up using words with the target sound. The teacher then provides sound-spelling instruction using example words that include each of the spelling patterns that represent the target sound (or, in the case of blends, sounds). Students encode each new spelling pattern by writing it as they say each sound. Students also blend words with the target sound spelling(s), learn new High-Frequency Words, build words, sort words, spell words, and apply their knew phonics knowledge to the reading of texts. • Morphology/Word Study Knowledge: Ready4Reading is also designed to teach students the meaning of words based on word parts. Students are taught how to identify compound words, syllable types, root words, and affixes, and to apply their understanding of each word part to their understanding of the entire word. Word study lessons in Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics follow a gradual release model: o Step 1 — Develop Phonological Awareness and Introduce Sound Spelling o Step 2 — Model Blending o Step 3 — High-Frequency Words and Word Building o Step 4 — Word Spelling o Step 5 — Connect to Reading and Build Fluency

• High-Frequency Word Recognition: Ready4Reading is constructed to teach high-frequency words selected from the Dolch and Fry word list:

o In Wiley Blevins ’s lessons, students practice identifying and decoding high-frequency words using a Read/Spell/Write/Extend routine.

o Short Reads Decodables include high-frequency words students will encounter in reading texts. Students are encouraged to practice reading the words with partners during small-group instruction.

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

o The program’s Read to Know Text Sets are designed to pre-teach the high-frequency words students will encounter using a three-step routine. First, a teacher displays the word and has students say it aloud. Next, the teacher uses the word in a sentence and discusses the word and its meaning. Finally, the teacher identifies known and unknown parts of the word. Across the program’s three primary components— Wiley Blevins ’s Teaching Phonics Lessons, Scholastic Short Reads Decodables, and Scholastic Read to Know Sets — decodable, informational, and fictional texts with photographs and illustrations are incorporated to help guide students to apply their decoding skills and prepare them to bridge to authentic grade-level reading. The program’s decodable readers are designed to control word choice so that students can decode most of the words using skills they have been directly taught, according to how far they have moved through the progression of targeted elements in the program’s scope and sequence. The decodable texts are intended to present high- interest topics that pique students’ curiosity and interest— with the characters, communities, and experiences featured being relevant to diverse students' lives.

Integration of Phonics Instruction with Teaching Essential Literacy Skills

Within the broader context of this explicit teaching model, Ready4Reading works to integrate phonics knowledge with other essential literacy skills, such as oral language, knowledge building, and vocabulary, so that students “learn to read and read to learn.” As it relates to these areas, research demonstrates a high degree of support for an explicitly integrated approach to early literacy development that builds foundational literacy skills and comprehension skills concurrently (Slavin, 2009; Guthrie, 2008; Fairbanks et al., 2014; Metsala et al., 2021; Owens, 2020; Blevins, 2019). Put simply, the ultimate goal of developing foundational literacy skills related to phonemic awareness, phonics, and oral language development, is to position students so that they can effectively comprehend text, and thus leverage reading as a means of learning content and writing as a form of communication (Deshler et al., 2007; Slavin, 2009; Lesnick et al., 2010). Pedagogical approaches that seek to integrate instruction across these domains can serve a valuable function in elevating students’ development in each. By simultaneously learning to read and reading to learn, research suggests that students are able to more quickly develop the skills associated with reading fluency, as well as those associated with vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Research in literacy science points to the ways in which the many domains of literacy, whether it be phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, speaking, or writing, are strongly interrelated. Oral language skills, for instance, such as those related to phonology, semantics, word knowledge, morphology, and syntax have been shown to be particularly critical in predicting children’s w ord reading ability and general reading comprehension skills (Fairbanks et al., 2014; Catts et al., 2005; Lepola et al., 2016; Lervag et al., 2018; Metsala et al., 2021; Roth et al., 2022; Snowling & Hume, 2012; Owens, 2020). By knowing the rules of speech sounds and syllables, as well as the rules governing grammar, word combinations, and vocabulary application (Owens, 2020), students are better positioned to derive accurate meaning out of text. Likewise, the development of “fluency” with reading, or the speed in which a student can decode and read at an appropriate pace, is also strongly predictive of the quality of their comprehension of a given text (Slavin, 2009). The greater a student ’ s fluency level, the less cognitive demand they experience with decoding and word recognition, thus freeing up

Ready4Reading Evidence Portfolio

working memory to focus on comprehension, rather than the mechanics of reading itself. Not surprisingly, a lack of reading fluency has been found to greatly impede a reader’s comprehension of text as well as their enjoyment of reading as a whole (Slavin, 2009). Fortunately, a variety of research points to the ways that these foundational skills can be elevated simultaneously, as well as in service of improved comprehension and vocabulary development. Perhaps most notably, research demonstrates a high degree of support for integrating phonics instruction with knowledge-building , vocabulary, comprehension , and writing lessons (Slavin, 2009; Guthrie, 2008; Fairbanks et al., 2014; Metsala et al., 2021; Owens, 2020; Blevins, 2019). Key strategies for addressing each of these areas are discussed below: • Knowledge-Building. Research points to the importance of knowledge-building while teaching students to read (Cabell & Huang, 2020). Content knowledge (i.e., students’ prior knowledge of the social and natural world) predicts reading comprehension because it helps students connect ideas across sentences and make inferences (Adams, 2009; Cabell & Hwang, 2020; Recht & Lesley, 1988; Torgesen et al., 2007). Content knowledge, however, is most useful when organized into schema, contextualized, and transferred to other contexts (National Research Council, 2000). Moreover, research shows that knowledge builds knowledge — that is, the more one knows about a topic, the more one can read and understand about the topic (Adams, 2009). Both narrative and informational texts can contribute to knowledge-building in students (Biber & Conrad, 2019; Heath et al., 2017) and a variety of key strategies can be employed by teachers to address this development. Teachers can integrate knowledge-building activities into their literacy instruction by thematically organizing units of study around content-area concepts, using a set of texts that gradually build content knowledge on a given subject, teaching relationships among words and concepts, and engaging students in content- based discussion and writing activities constructed to develop content knowledge and language acquisition (Cervetti et al., 2016; Hoffman et al., 2021). • Vocabulary. A student’s vocabulary consists of the words for which they know the meanings and thus predicts whether they can comprehend, draw meaning from, and make connections with text (Metsala et al., 2021; Slavin, 2009; August et al., 2020; Wagner & Meros, 2010; Stanovich, 1986). Unsurprisingly, vocabulary is positively and strongly correlated with reading comprehension, literacy development, and other academic, social, and vocational outcomes (Dollinger et al., 2008; Gertner et al., 1994; Rohde & Thompson, 2007). Effective vocabulary instruction:

o Prioritizes academic words with high utility across subject domains (Beck et al., 2013)

o Teaches word meanings in context, ideally with pictures and/or actions to demonstrate meanings (Beck et al., 2002; Blachowicz & Fisher, 2006; Graves et al., 2011; Hiebert & Reutzel, 2010; Wright & Cervetti, 2017; Graves, 2016; Slavin, 2009; NICHD, 2000; Graves, 2016) o Engages students in activities where they focus on the critical attributes of new words as well as activities where students explore examples, non-examples, and synonyms (Archer & Hughes, 2011)

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