With what level of confidence can you say a given literacy instructional practice may work to help students in your school or district learn to read? It all depends on the available research and evidence for that practice.

Address a literacy challenge by setting a SMART goal, establishing benchmarks in the journey toward that goal, tracking the entire process using progress monitoring, and modifying instruction when progress monitoring suggests you should.

We examine the misunderstanding that over the summer, some students are losing months-worth of what they learned about reading during the school year.

Sentence expanding helps students write strong, clear, and detailed sentences. Teach students this writing technique through explicit instruction.

By conducting a root cause analysis, schools and districts can identify the fundamental reasons for a literacy challenge. Learn the three types of root causes and how to verify you have actually identified the root causes.

Teachers can help students become better writers by teaching and encouraging practice of the mechanics of writing, as well as establishing an environment that motivates them to write.

To become better writers, students need dedicated time to practice writing and instruction on a variety of strategies for writing for multiple purposes and audiences.

School districts involved in the Iowa Reading Research Center’s PROPeL initiative form their local teams and write literacy challenge statements using student literacy data.

Young readers can connect their background information to a new text for greater comprehension. Sample lesson plans show how to use this technique in the classroom.

Monitoring and reviewing student literacy data, teacher commitment, and setting clear expectations have led to success for two principals implementing small-group, skills-based instruction in elementary schools in Sioux City.