Why We Care About Early Literacy
We know that a child’s earliest experiences set the foundation for all future learning and that 90 percent of brain development happens before age 5. When young children develop language skills and learn to read, they are better equipped to engage in learning and become empowered to learn.
Literacy skills also set children on a path to greater opportunity in their education and for their future selves. Literacy helps offset oppression and poverty, and when our systems ensure all learners acquire literacy skills, especially our youngest, then they are oriented toward justice.
Before the pandemic, only 46 percent of all students in Oregon were reading proficiently by the end of third grade. When kids don’t learn to read by third grade, the chances of dropping out of high school increase four fold (Hernandez, 2011). In response, the 2023 Oregon Legislature created its biggest early literacy investment in decades, the Early Literacy Success Initiative. We applaud this investment and believe it has the potential to change outcomes for students across the state.
Support for early learning and care providers, especially culturally-specific organizations, community-based organizations, and school districts, is essential. By prioritizing early literacy and using research-backed strategies, we expect to see measurable improvements in the coming years.
To support these efforts, Children’s Institute partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest (REL NW) to collect existing, readily accessible resources on evidence-based literacy practices for children ages birth through grade 3.
Do you have questions or need help navigating these resources?
Please contact Marina Merrill, director of research and strategy, at marina@childinst.org.
Why We Care About Early Literacy
We know that a child’s earliest experiences set the foundation for all future learning and that 90 percent of brain development happens before age 5. When young children develop language skills and learn to read, they are better equipped to engage in learning and become empowered to learn.
But literacy skills also set children on a path to greater opportunity in their education and for their future selves. Literacy helps offset oppression and poverty, and when our systems ensure all learners acquire literacy skills, especially our youngest, then they are oriented toward justice.
Before the pandemic, only 46 percent of all students in Oregon were reading proficiently by the end of third grade. When kids don’t learn to read by third grade, the chances of dropping out of high school increase four fold (Hernandez, 2011). In response, the 2023 Oregon Legislature created its biggest early literacy investment in decades, the Early Literacy Success Initiative. We applaud this investment and believe it has the potential to change outcomes for students across the state.
Support for early learning and care providers, especially culturally-specific organizations, community-based organizations, and school districts, is essential. By prioritizing early literacy and using research-backed strategies, we expect to see measurable improvements in the coming years.
To support these efforts, Children’s Institute partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest (REL NW) to collect existing, readily accessible resources on evidence-based literacy practices for children ages birth through grade 3.
Do you have questions or need help navigating these resources?
Please contact Marina Merrill, director of research and strategy, at marina@childinst.org.
Early Literacy Resources
The following resources are for families, caregivers, practitioners, and policymakers to use to support children in developing early literacy skills. Use the buttons below to jump to resources by age group and audience.
Early Literacy Resources
The following resources are for families, caregivers, practitioners, and policymakers to use to support children in developing early literacy skills. Use the buttons below to jump to resources by age group and audience.
Resources to Support Early Literacy for Children Ages 0-3
For Policymakers
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Intervention Services
This web resource from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes early intervention services and offers information about why they are critical for young children and families.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs
Evidence-based home visiting programs provide support and education to parents in the home through a trained professional or paraprofessional. This resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center helps demystify these programs and offers information about how these programs help support nurturing and responsive parent-child relationships.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Head Start
This web resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes Early Head Start programs and why they are essential for supporting child educational development as well as early relational health.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Comprehensive Screening and Connection Programs
Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Part C of IDEA—the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities—is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers ages birth–2 with disabilities, and their families. This resource includes information about the purpose of Part C, regulations, Part C services, implementation, and more.
Early Childhood Home Visiting Models: Reviewing Evidence of Effectiveness
The Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review determines which home visiting models have enough evidence to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criteria for an “evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery model.” This brief gives an overview of HomVEE and summarizes key findings from the review as of November 2023.
Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment Report
The Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment report is the first comprehensive view of Oregon’s maternal and childhood health home visiting services at the community and state levels.
Research to Practice: Early Head Start Benefits Children and Families
This research brief shares findings from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Findings show that the program is able to have an impact across a wide range of child and parenting outcomes that bode well for children’s future school success.
Research to Practice: Supporting Language and Cognitive Development in Early Head Start
This research to practice brief examines how Early Head Start helps support early childhood language and cognitive development.
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
Resources to Support Early Literacy for Children Ages 0-3
For Policymakers
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Intervention Services
This web resource from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes early intervention services and offers information about why they are critical for young children and families.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs
Evidence-based home visiting programs provide support and education to parents in the home through a trained professional or paraprofessional. This resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center helps demystify these programs and offers information about how these programs help support nurturing and responsive parent-child relationships.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Head Start
This web resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes Early Head Start programs and why they are essential for supporting child educational development as well as early relational health.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Comprehensive Screening and Connection Programs
Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Part C of IDEA—the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities—is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers ages birth–2 with disabilities, and their families. This resource includes information about the purpose of Part C, regulations, Part C services, implementation, and more.
Early Childhood Home Visiting Models: Reviewing Evidence of Effectiveness
The Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review determines which home visiting models have enough evidence to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criteria for an “evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery model.” This brief gives an overview of HomVEE and summarizes key findings from the review as of November 2023.
Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment Report
The Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment report is the first comprehensive view of Oregon’s maternal and childhood health home visiting services at the community and state levels.
Research to Practice: Early Head Start Benefits Children and Families
This research brief shares findings from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Findings show that the program is able to have an impact across a wide range of child and parenting outcomes that bode well for children’s future school success.
Research to Practice: Supporting Language and Cognitive Development in Early Head Start
This research to practice brief examines how Early Head Start helps support early childhood language and cognitive development.
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
For Families and Caregivers
What is "Early Intervention"?
This web resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines “Early Intervention” and describes how to find out if your child is eligible for early intervention services.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Early Head Start in Oregon
This webpage contains information about Oregon’s Early Head Start programs, a list of frequently asked questions, program options, and how to enroll your child in the program.
Early Head Start Programs
This web resources from the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center offers detailed information about Early Head Start Programs.
Oregon Family Support and Connections Program
This online resource offers information about the Oregon Family Support and Connections Program, how it supports families and children, and how to apply for services.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
How Parents and Families Support Background Knowledge
From birth, children have daily experiences with people, objects, and places that they store in their memory. Over time, these memories become more complex. This background knowledge is the basis for future learning, and children gain it through their wide and varied interactions with people.
This resource offers specific research-based strategies that help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop the key skills they need for later reading success. It also includes examples of how the strategies are used in daily life.
How Parents and Families Support Oral Language and Vocabulary
Oral language refers to all aspects of spoken language, including children’s growing vocabularies of new and varied words. When children have strong language models, they develop strong language skills.
Discover strategies parents and families can use to help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop key skills necessary for their later reading success. The resource includes examples of how the research-based strategies are used in daily life.
Sound Off Together!
The very first sounds infants make are the beginnings of social communication. Encouraging your infant or toddler to use sounds, and later words, to let you know what he or she wants or needs can help him or her to enter a world of shared interaction. By noticing and responding to your child’s attempts to communicate, you can lay the groundwork for language learning.
This guide offers practical tips to help support your child practice using sounds to communicate.
How Parents and Families Support Book Knowledge and Print Concepts
Alphabet knowledge and early writing are separate but related skills that together support later reading and writing. This resource offers specific research-based strategies that help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop key skills for their later reading success and shares examples of how these strategies are used in daily life.
On Your Mark!
From a baby’s first crayon marks to a preschooler’s carefully penciled name, children’s prewriting and emergent writing abilities develop in a predictable and age-related sequence. This resource shares research about the relationship between a child’s age and the development of early writing skills, and offers tools and practices for parents and caregivers.
Scribbling and Mark Making: Promoting Infants' and Toddlers' Emerging Drawing Behavior
What does research tell us about stages of infant/toddler scribbling and mark making, and what interventions facilitate and reinforce pre-writing behavior? Findings show that visual and spoken prompts, adult-child drawing activities, and children seeing the results of their drawing efforts promoted and strengthened infants’ and toddlers’ emergent drawing behavior.
How Parents and Families Support Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness involves the sounds and sound patterns of alphabetic languages (in such languages
as English, Spanish, and Arabic), apart from the meanings of words. This resource offers tips for parents and caregivers to support phonological awareness in their young children.
A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas from Research for Parents
This resource for parents, families, and caregivers offers practical ideas for playing, talking, and reading with young children to help them develop reading and writing skills.
Developmental Monitoring and Screening
This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addresses developmental monitoring. Developmental monitoring observes how a child grows and changes over time and whether a child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring.
Ordinary Activities and Not-So-Ordinary Outcomes
This resource examines the relationship between children’s participationin everyday activities and their early literacy and language development and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, and other caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Child Interests—Learning Starts Here
Child interests can lead to a range of positive language and literacy outcomes for young children. This resource looks at how interest-based learning effects young children’s early language and literacy development, and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, caregivers and early learning practitioners.
View the tools and practice guides
For Families and Caregivers
What is "Early Intervention"?
This web resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines “Early Intervention” and describes how to find out if your child is eligible for early intervention services.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Early Head Start in Oregon
This webpage contains information about Oregon’s Early Head Start programs, a list of frequently asked questions, program options, and how to enroll your child in the program.
Early Head Start Programs
This web resources from the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center offers detailed information about Early Head Start Programs.
Oregon Family Support and Connections Program
This online resource offers information about the Oregon Family Support and Connections Program, how it supports families and children, and how to apply for services.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
How Parents and Families Support Background Knowledge
From birth, children have daily experiences with people, objects, and places that they store in their memory. Over time, these memories become more complex. This background knowledge is the basis for future learning, and children gain it through their wide and varied interactions with people.
This resource offers specific research-based strategies that help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop the key skills they need for later reading success. It also includes examples of how the strategies are used in daily life.
How Parents and Families Support Oral Language and Vocabulary
Oral language refers to all aspects of spoken language, including children’s growing vocabularies of new and varied words. When children have strong language models, they develop strong language skills.
Discover strategies parents and families can use to help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop key skills necessary for their later reading success. The resource includes examples of how the research-based strategies are used in daily life.
Sound Off Together!
The very first sounds infants make are the beginnings of social communication. Encouraging your infant or toddler to use sounds, and later words, to let you know what he or she wants or needs can help him or her to enter a world of shared interaction. By noticing and responding to your child’s attempts to communicate, you can lay the groundwork for language learning.
This guide offers practical tips to help support your child practice using sounds to communicate.
How Parents and Families Support Book Knowledge and Print Concepts
Alphabet knowledge and early writing are separate but related skills that together support later reading and writing. This resource offers specific research-based strategies that help infants, toddlers, and preschoolers develop key skills for their later reading success and shares examples of how these strategies are used in daily life.
On Your Mark!
From a baby’s first crayon marks to a preschooler’s carefully penciled name, children’s prewriting and emergent writing abilities develop in a predictable and age-related sequence. This resource shares research about the relationship between a child’s age and the development of early writing skills, and offers tools and practices for parents and caregivers.
Scribbling and Mark Making: Promoting Infants' and Toddlers' Emerging Drawing Behavior
What does research tell us about stages of infant/toddler scribbling and mark making, and what interventions facilitate and reinforce pre-writing behavior? Findings show that visual and spoken prompts, adult-child drawing activities, and children seeing the results of their drawing efforts promoted and strengthened infants’ and toddlers’ emergent drawing behavior.
How Parents and Families Support Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness involves the sounds and sound patterns of alphabetic languages (in such languages
as English, Spanish, and Arabic), apart from the meanings of words. This resource offers tips for parents and caregivers to support phonological awareness in their young children.
A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas from Research for Parents
This resource for parents, families, and caregivers offers practical ideas for playing, talking, and reading with young children to help them develop reading and writing skills.
Developmental Monitoring and Screening
This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addresses developmental monitoring. Developmental monitoring observes how a child grows and changes over time and whether a child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring.
Ordinary Activities and Not-So-Ordinary Outcomes
This resource examines the relationship between children’s participationin everyday activities and their early literacy and language development and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, and other caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Child Interests—Learning Starts Here
Child interests can lead to a range of positive language and literacy outcomes for young children. This resource looks at how interest-based learning effects young children’s early language and literacy development, and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, caregivers and early learning practitioners.
View the tools and practice guides
For Educators & Practitioners
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Intervention Services
Early intervention services are child- and family-centered services and therapies to support the healthy development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, developmental delays, or who are at risk for delays.
This web resource from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes early intervention services and offers information about why they are critical for young children and families.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs
Evidence-based home visiting programs provide support and education to parents in the home through a trained professional or paraprofessional. This resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center helps demystify these programs and offers information about how these programs help support nurturing and responsive parent-child relationships.
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Research to Practice: Early Head Start Benefits Children and Families
This research brief shares findings from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Findings show that the program is able to have an impact across a wide range of child and parenting outcomes that bode well for children’s future school success.
Research to Practice: Supporting Language and Cognitive Development in Early Head Start
This research to practice brief examines how Early Head Start helps support early childhood language and cognitive development.
Early Childhood Home Visiting Models: Reviewing Evidence of Effectiveness
The Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review determines which home visiting models have enough evidence to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criteria for an “evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery model.” This brief gives an overview of HomVEE and summarizes key findings from the review as of November 2023.
Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Part C of IDEA—the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities—is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers ages birth–2 with disabilities, and their families. This resource includes information about the purpose of Part C, regulations, Part C services, implementation, and more.
Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment Report
The Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment report is the first comprehensive view of Oregon’s maternal and childhood health home visiting services at the community and state levels.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
Background Knowledge
Background knowledge is the information that children learn and store in their memories—including information about themselves, other people, objects, and the world around them. Use this resource to learn more about why background knowledge matters, how children develop background knowledge and what it looks like at different stages in their development, and find examples of effective practices to develop children’s background knowledge in various early learning settings.
Oral Language and Vocabulary
This summary introduces oral language and vocabulary, which is the foundation of early language and literacy development. Discover the role culture plays in language learning and six research-based principles to guide language learning at home and in group care settings. Review examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development and in various early learning settings.
Learning to Talk and Listen
This resource is intended for early childhood caregiverss—teachers in centers, and those caring for children in homes. It is intended to help caregivers learn more about how children develop the ability to use words to communicate their thoughts and needs and ask questions, and to understand language they hear in conversations and books.
Book Knowledge and Print Concepts
Learn more about book knowledge and print concepts—important precursors to reading and writing. Explore the research around why book knowledge and print concepts matter and the roles language and culture play. Find out how to use books and the different types of children’s books that are available. Take a look at examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development in various early learning settings.
Alphabet Knowledge and Early Writing
This summary introduces alphabet knowledge and early writing, key literacy skills. Review research around why alphabet knowledge and early writing matter and the roles language and culture play. This resource explains how children develop the skills and what these skills look like at different stages in children’s development. Find examples of effective alphabet knowledge and early writing practices in various early learning settings.
Phonological Awareness
Explore this introduction to phonological awareness to learn about a key element of early language and literacy development. Discover the important role of language and how playing with language can be both meaningful and fun. Learn how children develop phonological awareness in English as they learn to recognize that language can be broken into words, syllables, and smaller sounds. Take a look at examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development in various early learning settings.
Preparing Young Children for School
The Preparing Young Children for School Practice Guide details seven evidence-based practices designed to be used by teachers; center and program directors; district or state personnel involved in adopting curricula for preschool programs; and parents and caregivers.
The guidance will help to prepare young children to benefit from the learning opportunities they will encounter in school.
A Guide to Serve and Return: How Your Interaction with Children Can Build Brains
In this resource from Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, learn more about what serve and return is, the science behind it, and how easy it is to help build strong brains by engaging in serve and return with a child.
Ordinary Activities and Not-So-Ordinary Outcomes
This resource examines the relationship between children’s participationin everyday activities and their early literacy and language development and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, and other caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Child Interests—Learning Starts Here
Child interests can lead to a range of positive language and literacy outcomes for young children. This resource looks at how interest-based learning effects young children’s early language and literacy development, and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Developmental Monitoring and Screening
This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addresses developmental monitoring. Developmental monitoring observes how a child grows and changes over time and whether a child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring.
For Educators & Practitioners
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Early Intervention Services
Early intervention services are child- and family-centered services and therapies to support the healthy development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, developmental delays, or who are at risk for delays.
This web resource from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center describes early intervention services and offers information about why they are critical for young children and families.
Oregon Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap: Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs
Evidence-based home visiting programs provide support and education to parents in the home through a trained professional or paraprofessional. This resource from Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center helps demystify these programs and offers information about how these programs help support nurturing and responsive parent-child relationships.
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Research to Practice: Early Head Start Benefits Children and Families
This research brief shares findings from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Findings show that the program is able to have an impact across a wide range of child and parenting outcomes that bode well for children’s future school success.
Research to Practice: Supporting Language and Cognitive Development in Early Head Start
This research to practice brief examines how Early Head Start helps support early childhood language and cognitive development.
Early Childhood Home Visiting Models: Reviewing Evidence of Effectiveness
The Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review determines which home visiting models have enough evidence to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criteria for an “evidence-based early childhood home visiting service delivery model.” This brief gives an overview of HomVEE and summarizes key findings from the review as of November 2023.
Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Part C of IDEA—the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities—is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers ages birth–2 with disabilities, and their families. This resource includes information about the purpose of Part C, regulations, Part C services, implementation, and more.
Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment Report
The Oregon Home Visiting Needs Assessment report is the first comprehensive view of Oregon’s maternal and childhood health home visiting services at the community and state levels.
Oregon Department of Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education
This web resource from the Oregon Department of Education explain’s Oregon’s Early Intervention/Early Special Education (EI/ECSE) system.
Home Visiting in Oregon: A Growing System
Home visiting is a proven strategy for strengthening families and improving the health status of women and children. This web resource from Oregon Health Authority provides an overview of Oregon’s home visiting system.
Background Knowledge
Background knowledge is the information that children learn and store in their memories—including information about themselves, other people, objects, and the world around them. Use this resource to learn more about why background knowledge matters, how children develop background knowledge and what it looks like at different stages in their development, and find examples of effective practices to develop children’s background knowledge in various early learning settings.
Oral Language and Vocabulary
This summary introduces oral language and vocabulary, which is the foundation of early language and literacy development. Discover the role culture plays in language learning and six research-based principles to guide language learning at home and in group care settings. Review examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development and in various early learning settings.
Learning to Talk and Listen
This resource is intended for early childhood caregiverss—teachers in centers, and those caring for children in homes. It is intended to help caregivers learn more about how children develop the ability to use words to communicate their thoughts and needs and ask questions, and to understand language they hear in conversations and books.
Book Knowledge and Print Concepts
Learn more about book knowledge and print concepts—important precursors to reading and writing. Explore the research around why book knowledge and print concepts matter and the roles language and culture play. Find out how to use books and the different types of children’s books that are available. Take a look at examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development in various early learning settings.
Alphabet Knowledge and Early Writing
This summary introduces alphabet knowledge and early writing, key literacy skills. Review research around why alphabet knowledge and early writing matter and the roles language and culture play. This resource explains how children develop the skills and what these skills look like at different stages in children’s development. Find examples of effective alphabet knowledge and early writing practices in various early learning settings.
Phonological Awareness
Explore this introduction to phonological awareness to learn about a key element of early language and literacy development. Discover the important role of language and how playing with language can be both meaningful and fun. Learn how children develop phonological awareness in English as they learn to recognize that language can be broken into words, syllables, and smaller sounds. Take a look at examples of effective practices at different stages of children’s development in various early learning settings.
Preparing Young Children for School
The Preparing Young Children for School Practice Guide details seven evidence-based practices designed to be used by teachers; center and program directors; district or state personnel involved in adopting curricula for preschool programs; and parents and caregivers.
The guidance will help to prepare young children to benefit from the learning opportunities they will encounter in school.
A Guide to Serve and Return: How Your Interaction with Children Can Build Brains
In this resource from Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, learn more about what serve and return is, the science behind it, and how easy it is to help build strong brains by engaging in serve and return with a child.
Ordinary Activities and Not-So-Ordinary Outcomes
This resource examines the relationship between children’s participationin everyday activities and their early literacy and language development and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, and other caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Child Interests—Learning Starts Here
Child interests can lead to a range of positive language and literacy outcomes for young children. This resource looks at how interest-based learning effects young children’s early language and literacy development, and offers tools and practice guides for parents, families, caregivers and early learning practitioners.
Developmental Monitoring and Screening
This resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addresses developmental monitoring. Developmental monitoring observes how a child grows and changes over time and whether a child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving. Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring.
Resources to Support Literacy for Children
in Preschool Through Grade 3
For Policymakers
Why Does Preschool Matter?
Developing Early Literacy Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
This guide for early literacy PLCs was developed to help state education agencies, local education agencies, and early childhood center leaders implement evidence-based emergent literacy instruction
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Fostering Early Literacy in the Pacific Region
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.
Resources to Support Literacy for Children
in Preschool Through Grade 3
For Policymakers
Why Does Preschool Matter?
Developing Early Literacy Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
This guide for early literacy PLCs was developed to help state education agencies, local education agencies, and early childhood center leaders implement evidence-based emergent literacy instruction
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Fostering Early Literacy in the Pacific Region
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.
For Families and Caregivers
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.
Supporting Your Child’s Reading at Home
Learning to read begins at home through everyday interactions with children, long before they attend school. Your continued support of literacy development as children enter elementary school and progress through the grades positively affects their reading ability.
This resource provides family activities with easy-to-follow instructions to help children practice foundational reading skills at home.
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
Practice Guide Series: Supporting Children’s Early Reading Instruction at Home
This series of guides helps families, afterschool providers, and other caregivers support students with early reading instruction.
The Importance of Early Literacy for Future Success
Students who reach grade-level proficiency in reading by grade 3 are four times more likely to graduate and succeed in their careers. In order to help students achieve positive outcomes, it is important for teachers and families alike to be aware of the influencing factors that can affect early literacy achievement level.
View this infographic for more information about these influencing factors.
Webinar: Recommended Practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading
This recorded webinar discusses recommended practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading. These practices are from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Preparing Young Children for School.
For Families and Caregivers
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.
Supporting Your Child’s Reading at Home
Learning to read begins at home through everyday interactions with children, long before they attend school. Your continued support of literacy development as children enter elementary school and progress through the grades positively affects their reading ability.
This resource provides family activities with easy-to-follow instructions to help children practice foundational reading skills at home.
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
Practice Guide Series: Supporting Children’s Early Reading Instruction at Home
This series of guides helps families, afterschool providers, and other caregivers support students with early reading instruction.
The Importance of Early Literacy for Future Success
Students who reach grade-level proficiency in reading by grade 3 are four times more likely to graduate and succeed in their careers. In order to help students achieve positive outcomes, it is important for teachers and families alike to be aware of the influencing factors that can affect early literacy achievement level.
View this infographic for more information about these influencing factors.
Webinar: Recommended Practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading
This recorded webinar discusses recommended practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading. These practices are from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Preparing Young Children for School.
For Educators & Practitioners
Developing Early Literacy Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
This guide for early literacy PLCs was developed to help state education agencies, local education agencies, and early childhood center leaders implement evidence-based emergent literacy instruction
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Fostering Early Literacy in the Pacific Region
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons from the classroom
Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that develop during the preschool period. Significant amounts of research support the causal and predictive relation between phonological awareness and children’s ease of learning to decode and spell.
This article summarizes what is known from high-quality research about the development of phonological awareness and about how this informs effective pedagogical strategies for its instruction.
Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating P-3 Approaches
The Framework is designed to address key questions facing those who are developing and implementing comprehensive P-3 approaches in their school, district, or community.
The Framework is divided into eight major “buckets” or categories of effort that require alignment within and between ECE/0-5 and PreK-12. Each bucket includes strategies that have been identified as essential to high-quality and comprehensive P-3 approaches.
Best Practices for Teaching Beginning Readers
The early literacy skills that students develop set them on course to gain reading proficiency by grade 3, which is a strong indicator of later
academic success.
This quick reference draws on What Works Clearinghouse™ practice guides to identify research-based
instructional practices for supporting beginning readers, along with the level of evidence behind the
practices and core literacy skills to target for early screening and progress monitoring.
Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction Rubric
This rubric provides a tool for school leaders to support the implementation of these recommendations in their schools.
School leaders can support implementation by setting clear expectations and providing instructional coaching on phonological awareness and phonics. The rubric—and the recommended process for its use detailed in this document—will enable school leaders to communicate with teachers about the need to incorporate recommended instructional practices into primary classrooms and then to measure how teachers implement instructional practices in phonological awareness and phonics.
Rubric for Evaluating Reading/Language Arts Instructional Materials for Kindergarten to Grade 5
This rubric is a tool for evaluating reading/language arts instructional materials for grades K–5. Based on rigorous research, the rubric can be used by state-, district-, and school-level practitioners and by university faculty who review instructional materials.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Kindergarten: Observation Guide
Kindergarten can provide a sturdy bridge between early childhood and elementary educational experiences. During this time, it is critical for adults to meet children where they are developmentally through developmentally appropriate practice.
This observation guide is designed to help state leaders, school administrators, and teaching staff reflect
upon developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten classrooms. This guide can assist observers in
identifying areas of strength of kindergarten programs and resources needed to support teachers, schools,
and districts in ensuring equitable, developmentally appropriate experiences for all kindergartners.
Self-Study Guide for Evidence-Based Coaching for Literacy: PreK–Grade 12
The purpose of this self-study guide is to increase the knowledge, skills, and ability of teachers to implement evidence-based instructional practices by improving the effectiveness of literacy coaching.
Self-study Guide for Implementing Early Literacy Interventions
This Self-study Guide for Implementing Early Literacy Interventions was developed to help district- and school-based practitioners conduct self-studies for planning and implementing early literacy interventions. It is intended to promote reflection about current strengths and challenges in planning for implementation of early literacy interventions, spark conversations among staff, and identify areas for improvement.
A Kindergarten Teacher's Guide to Supporting Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills
Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent–child interactions, long before children attend school. Parents’ continuing support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects their children’s reading ability.
This practice guide provides teachers and practitioners with information on how to support families as they practicefoundational reading skills at home.
What Does 20 years of Research Say About Teaching Language and Literacy in Preschool?
This interactive report summarizes 20 years of research, identifying instructional practices that best support the language and literacy development of preschool students.
How Educators in Alaska Can Build Students' Early Literacy Skills
High-quality teachers have a significant positive impact on student outcomes. Educators can play a
critical role in ensuring that students develop the literacy skills they need to succeed in school and in life.
This resource shares recommendations for educators to help young learners develop literacy skills. Although this resourcse is Alaska-specific, these recommendations are applicable in other regions and contexts.
Evidence-Based Recommendations for Remote Reading Instruction in the Elementary Grades
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) maintains a library of practice guides for educators and school
officials to use to address challenges in their classrooms and schools. These guides synthesize WWC research
reviews, the experience of educators, and expert advice into recommendations that can be implemented in the
classroom. Many of these recommendations can be implemented for free or at a low cost in remote
learning settings by making only small adaptations.
This document summarizes the findings from three practice guides about interventions for elementaryschool instruction in reading. The recommendations included here have strong evidence, meaning that there is consistent evidence that the recommended practices improve student outcomes for a diverse population of students.
Play as a Teaching Strategy for Children in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3: Findings from the Evidence Review
This resource summarizes the findings from an evidence review that the Pennsylvania Office
of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) asked the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) MidAtlantic to conduct on play as a teaching strategy for children in pre-kindergarten to grade 3.
Preparing Young Children for School
The Preparing Young Children for School Practice Guide details seven evidence-based practices designed to be used by teachers; center and program directors; district or state personnel involved in adopting curricula for preschool programs; and parents and caregivers.
The guidance will help to prepare young children to benefit from the learning opportunities they will encounter in school.
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills.
Tips for Supporting Reading Skills at Home
This tool offers recommendations and tips to support children and families develop reading skills at home.
Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 years of Research
Children entering kindergarten vary greatly in their language and literacy skills. Therefore, up-to-date
information about evidence-based practices is essential for early childhood educators and policymakers
as they support preschool children’s language and literacy development.
This study summarizes the last 20 years of early literacy research to provide early childhood educators and policymakers a single up-to-date resource they can use to make curricular choices for use in state-supported prekindergarten programs and other agencies, increase knowledge regarding evidence-based practices for kindergarten readiness, and inform professional development efforts.
Running Records for Early Literacy Assessment Training
This presentation from REL Midwest offers information about how to use running records as a literacy assessment tool.
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
This video explains the need for systematic, direct, and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics and discusses the most effective evidence-based practices for teaching decoding to early readers.
Promoting Sustained Environments to Maintain the Pre-K Boost
This video talks about how to maintain the “Pre-K boost” through sustained environments, both in the classroom level and at a policy level.
A Teaching Routine for Academic Vocabulary in Grades PreK-1
This video walks viewers through a 3-step routine for teaching new vocabulary to young children that includes lots of opportunities to practice using the new word in different ways—through repetition, images, sentence frames, and more. It can be adapted for at-home learning and to supplement family reading activities.
Interactive Readalouds: Learning from Books Together
This REL West video demonstrates how to facilitate an interactive readaloud of a story with young students in a face-to-face or distance learning environment. The routine is aligned with evidence-based recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade and may be especially beneficial for students whose home language is not English.
Integrating Play into Literacy Instruction: Strategies for Your Classroom
This video shows how to implement research-based literacy practices from the What Works Clearinghouse through play-based learning.
Webinar Series: Joyful Reading Webinar Series
This webinar series by Regional Educational Laboratory West was designed to help preK–1st grade educators learn a routine for storybook reading, explore ideas for creating school-to-home connections, and extend storybook reading to creative expression activities.
Access all webinars and supplemental materials at the following links:
- Webinar 1: Joyful reading at school and at home: A storybook reading routine
- Community of Practice 1: Joyful reading at school and at home: Sharing our reading routines
- Webinar 2: Joyful reading at school and at home: Creative expression activities
- Community of Practice 2: Joyful reading at school and at home: Sharing our creative expression activities
Webinar: Evidence-Based Literacy Interventions: REL Southeast Resources for Supporting Reading at Home
This recorded webinar from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest provides early childhood (PreK – grade 3) educators with effective strategies to help students develop reading skills efficiently during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Literacy experts share evidence-based strategies that educators can incorporate into their summer and/or end-of-year planning to support students during the 2021/22 school year. In addition, early childhood practitioners present several strategies they plan to use to support early literacy instruction.
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
Students who read with understanding at an early age gain access to a broader range of texts, knowledge, and educational opportunities, making early reading comprehension instruction particularly critical.
This practice guide recommends five specific steps that teachers, reading coaches, and principals can take to successfully improve reading comprehension for young readers.
Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years
As early childhood education moves front and center in the public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life.
This policy brief synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations.
Practice guide series: Supporting Children’s Early Reading Instruction at Home
This series of guides helps families, afterschool providers, and other caregivers support students with early reading instruction.
Blanding Letters, Recognizing, and Reading Words
The Importance of Early Literacy for Future Success
Students who reach grade-level proficiency in reading by grade 3 are four times more likely to graduate and succeed in their careers. In order to help students achieve positive outcomes, it is important for teachers and families alike to be aware of the influencing factors that can affect early literacy achievement level.
View this infographic for more information about these influencing factors.
Webinar: Recommended Practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading
This recorded webinar discusses recommended practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading. These practices are from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Preparing Young Children for School.
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.
For Educators & Practitioners
Developing Early Literacy Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
This guide for early literacy PLCs was developed to help state education agencies, local education agencies, and early childhood center leaders implement evidence-based emergent literacy instruction
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was convened in 2002 to conduct a synthesis of the
scientific research on the development of early literacy skills in children ages zero to five. This report summarizes scientific evidence on early literacy development and how home and family influence that development.
Fostering Early Literacy in the Pacific Region
Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework
The Los Angeles County Birth to Kindergarten Transition Systems Alignment Framework supports families, teachers, and schools to achieve sustained, effective birth to kindergarten transitions through the Three C’s of Transition—Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration.
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles
El Marco del Alineamiento de los Sistemas de Transición dese el Nacimiento al Kindergarten del Condado de Los Ángeles apoya a los padres de familia, maestros, y administradores de escuela para obtener un sistema de transición sostenible y efectivo entre el aprendizaje temprano y el kindergarten.
Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons from the classroom
Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that develop during the preschool period. Significant amounts of research support the causal and predictive relation between phonological awareness and children’s ease of learning to decode and spell.
This article summarizes what is known from high-quality research about the development of phonological awareness and about how this informs effective pedagogical strategies for its instruction.
Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating P-3 Approaches
The Framework is designed to address key questions facing those who are developing and implementing comprehensive P-3 approaches in their school, district, or community.
The Framework is divided into eight major “buckets” or categories of effort that require alignment within and between ECE/0-5 and PreK-12. Each bucket includes strategies that have been identified as essential to high-quality and comprehensive P-3 approaches.
Best Practices for Teaching Beginning Readers
The early literacy skills that students develop set them on course to gain reading proficiency by grade 3, which is a strong indicator of later
academic success.
This quick reference draws on What Works Clearinghouse™ practice guides to identify research-based
instructional practices for supporting beginning readers, along with the level of evidence behind the
practices and core literacy skills to target for early screening and progress monitoring.
Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction Rubric
This rubric provides a tool for school leaders to support the implementation of these recommendations in their schools.
School leaders can support implementation by setting clear expectations and providing instructional coaching on phonological awareness and phonics. The rubric—and the recommended process for its use detailed in this document—will enable school leaders to communicate with teachers about the need to incorporate recommended instructional practices into primary classrooms and then to measure how teachers implement instructional practices in phonological awareness and phonics.
Rubric for Evaluating Reading/Language Arts Instructional Materials for Kindergarten to Grade 5
This rubric is a tool for evaluating reading/language arts instructional materials for grades K–5. Based on rigorous research, the rubric can be used by state-, district-, and school-level practitioners and by university faculty who review instructional materials.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Kindergarten: Observation Guide
Kindergarten can provide a sturdy bridge between early childhood and elementary educational experiences. During this time, it is critical for adults to meet children where they are developmentally through developmentally appropriate practice.
This observation guide is designed to help state leaders, school administrators, and teaching staff reflect
upon developmentally appropriate practices in kindergarten classrooms. This guide can assist observers in
identifying areas of strength of kindergarten programs and resources needed to support teachers, schools,
and districts in ensuring equitable, developmentally appropriate experiences for all kindergartners.
Self-Study Guide for Evidence-Based Coaching for Literacy: PreK–Grade 12
The purpose of this self-study guide is to increase the knowledge, skills, and ability of teachers to implement evidence-based instructional practices by improving the effectiveness of literacy coaching.
Self-study Guide for Implementing Early Literacy Interventions
This Self-study Guide for Implementing Early Literacy Interventions was developed to help district- and school-based practitioners conduct self-studies for planning and implementing early literacy interventions. It is intended to promote reflection about current strengths and challenges in planning for implementation of early literacy interventions, spark conversations among staff, and identify areas for improvement.
A Kindergarten Teacher's Guide to Supporting Family Involvement in Foundational Reading Skills
Learning to read begins at home through everyday parent–child interactions, long before children attend school. Parents’ continuing support of literacy development throughout elementary school positively affects their children’s reading ability.
This practice guide provides teachers and practitioners with information on how to support families as they practicefoundational reading skills at home.
What Does 20 years of Research Say About Teaching Language and Literacy in Preschool?
This interactive report summarizes 20 years of research, identifying instructional practices that best support the language and literacy development of preschool students.
How Educators in Alaska Can Build Students' Early Literacy Skills
High-quality teachers have a significant positive impact on student outcomes. Educators can play a
critical role in ensuring that students develop the literacy skills they need to succeed in school and in life.
This resource shares recommendations for educators to help young learners develop literacy skills. Although this resourcse is Alaska-specific, these recommendations are applicable in other regions and contexts.
Evidence-Based Recommendations for Remote Reading Instruction in the Elementary Grades
The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) maintains a library of practice guides for educators and school
officials to use to address challenges in their classrooms and schools. These guides synthesize WWC research
reviews, the experience of educators, and expert advice into recommendations that can be implemented in the
classroom. Many of these recommendations can be implemented for free or at a low cost in remote
learning settings by making only small adaptations.
This document summarizes the findings from three practice guides about interventions for elementaryschool instruction in reading. The recommendations included here have strong evidence, meaning that there is consistent evidence that the recommended practices improve student outcomes for a diverse population of students.
Play as a Teaching Strategy for Children in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3: Findings from the Evidence Review
This resource summarizes the findings from an evidence review that the Pennsylvania Office
of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) asked the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) MidAtlantic to conduct on play as a teaching strategy for children in pre-kindergarten to grade 3.
Preparing Young Children for School
The Preparing Young Children for School Practice Guide details seven evidence-based practices designed to be used by teachers; center and program directors; district or state personnel involved in adopting curricula for preschool programs; and parents and caregivers.
The guidance will help to prepare young children to benefit from the learning opportunities they will encounter in school.
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills.
Tips for Supporting Reading Skills at Home
This tool offers recommendations and tips to support children and families develop reading skills at home.
Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 years of Research
Children entering kindergarten vary greatly in their language and literacy skills. Therefore, up-to-date
information about evidence-based practices is essential for early childhood educators and policymakers
as they support preschool children’s language and literacy development.
This study summarizes the last 20 years of early literacy research to provide early childhood educators and policymakers a single up-to-date resource they can use to make curricular choices for use in state-supported prekindergarten programs and other agencies, increase knowledge regarding evidence-based practices for kindergarten readiness, and inform professional development efforts.
Running Records for Early Literacy Assessment Training
This presentation from REL Midwest offers information about how to use running records as a literacy assessment tool.
Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
This video explains the need for systematic, direct, and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics and discusses the most effective evidence-based practices for teaching decoding to early readers.
Promoting Sustained Environments to Maintain the Pre-K Boost
This video talks about how to maintain the “Pre-K boost” through sustained environments, both in the classroom level and at a policy level.
A Teaching Routine for Academic Vocabulary in Grades PreK-1
This video walks viewers through a 3-step routine for teaching new vocabulary to young children that includes lots of opportunities to practice using the new word in different ways—through repetition, images, sentence frames, and more. It can be adapted for at-home learning and to supplement family reading activities.
Interactive Readalouds: Learning from Books Together
This REL West video demonstrates how to facilitate an interactive readaloud of a story with young students in a face-to-face or distance learning environment. The routine is aligned with evidence-based recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade and may be especially beneficial for students whose home language is not English.
Integrating Play into Literacy Instruction: Strategies for Your Classroom
This video shows how to implement research-based literacy practices from the What Works Clearinghouse through play-based learning.
Webinar Series: Joyful Reading Webinar Series
This webinar series by Regional Educational Laboratory West was designed to help preK–1st grade educators learn a routine for storybook reading, explore ideas for creating school-to-home connections, and extend storybook reading to creative expression activities.
Access all webinars and supplemental materials at the following links:
- Webinar 1: Joyful reading at school and at home: A storybook reading routine
- Community of Practice 1: Joyful reading at school and at home: Sharing our reading routines
- Webinar 2: Joyful reading at school and at home: Creative expression activities
- Community of Practice 2: Joyful reading at school and at home: Sharing our creative expression activities
Webinar: Evidence-Based Literacy Interventions: REL Southeast Resources for Supporting Reading at Home
This recorded webinar from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest provides early childhood (PreK – grade 3) educators with effective strategies to help students develop reading skills efficiently during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Literacy experts share evidence-based strategies that educators can incorporate into their summer and/or end-of-year planning to support students during the 2021/22 school year. In addition, early childhood practitioners present several strategies they plan to use to support early literacy instruction.
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
Students who read with understanding at an early age gain access to a broader range of texts, knowledge, and educational opportunities, making early reading comprehension instruction particularly critical.
This practice guide recommends five specific steps that teachers, reading coaches, and principals can take to successfully improve reading comprehension for young readers.
Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years
As early childhood education moves front and center in the public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life.
This policy brief synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations.
Practice guide series: Supporting Children’s Early Reading Instruction at Home
This series of guides helps families, afterschool providers, and other caregivers support students with early reading instruction.
Blanding Letters, Recognizing, and Reading Words
The Importance of Early Literacy for Future Success
Students who reach grade-level proficiency in reading by grade 3 are four times more likely to graduate and succeed in their careers. In order to help students achieve positive outcomes, it is important for teachers and families alike to be aware of the influencing factors that can affect early literacy achievement level.
View this infographic for more information about these influencing factors.
Webinar: Recommended Practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading
This recorded webinar discusses recommended practices for Vocabulary, Letters, and Shared Book Reading. These practices are from the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Preparing Young Children for School.
It Takes a Village: How Community Organizations, Schools, and Families Can Work Together to Support Early Childhood Literacy
This documentary, produced in partnership with the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW, is about how community organizations can support the development of children’s early literacy skills.