Early Literacy part of the Education Reform Network

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Collegiate

• Approaches to Professional Development
  Typical inservice models of professional staff development are the training model and the reflective practice model. Outcomes for both models are suggested.
• Best Practices Programs
  Various approaches to the teaching of reading, all considered best practice in literacy teaching and learning, include Project READ, The Kamehameha Early Education Program, Follow Through, Reading Recovery, and SRA/Open Court Reading. This piece is part of a larger NCREL publication entitled Professional Development for Teachers of Reading (2001) by Peggy A.
• CELA
  (from their website) CELA conducts "research dedicated to gaining knowledge to improve students' English and literacy achievement in schools across America. CELA is affiliated with the Albany Institute for Research in Education (AIRE) in the School of Education at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) and works in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.".
• Coaching and Mentoring
  Three programs of coaching and mentoring are currently found in school settings. These include peer coaching, building resource teachers, and the Success For All program.
• Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative
  This collaborative includes the Information Technology Group (ECAP/ITG) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Website includes a link to the former ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) .
• Elements of Effective SDAIE Instruction
  This matrix from a university course presents various scaffolds (modeling, bridging, contextualization, schema building, and metacognitive development) for use with English language learners in the classroom. Also included in this SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) model is a description of how each scaffold supports building of student understanding and examples of appropriate tasks for each scaffold.
• Family and Intergenerational Literacy in Multilingual Communities
  This article presents research that has informed family and intergenerational literacy work, policy initiatives that affect family literacy work, goals of family and intergenerational literacy programs, program design, and curricula for family literacy programs. The article concludes with promising directions for the future.
• History of Professional Development in Reading Instruction
  Focus is given to the role of the teacher, the nature of literacy instruction, and the nature of professional development from 1800 through the beginning of the 21st century. Links to reports and articles on expertise in teaching reading are included.
• NRC (National Reading Conference) Online
  NRC is a professional organization for individuals who share an interest in research and the dissemination of information about literacy and literacy instruction.
• Phonemic Awareness: An Important Early Step in Learning to Read
  Sections of this on-line article include: What is Phonological/Phonemic Awareness?, Why Is It So Important? , Relation to the "Great Reading Wars," Teaching Methods, and References.
• Professional Development Policies
  This article highlights goals, characteristics, gaps, future directions, and federal leadership related to professional development. An appendix to this piece includes guidelines from the U.S.
• Vocabulary
  This site contains interactive grade level puzzles and word activities to support vocabulary development. Material starts at junior high/middle school level, but would be valuable for teachers to use to enhance their own vocabulary knowledge.
• Vocabulary University
  This site contains many word building activities including Fill-in-the-Blanks, Definition Match, Synonym & Antonym Encounters, Crosswords, Word Finds, True/False and Word Stories.