This case report describes a decoding intervention that was developed for and implemented with a 15-year-old female with significant word-level reading challenges. The intervention integrated multiple evidence-based approaches to improve decoding, including instruction in (a) phonemes-graphemes (sounds-symbols) that the participant did not know at…

In "Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives," leading literacy expert Timothy Shanahan curates a lively tour of the history of reading instruction in the United States, arguing that the most popular reading instruction method is failing students and suppressing their literacy achievement. He breaks down the reasons why teachers and researchers…

Vocabulary teaching has traditionally focused on word meanings to aid reading comprehension, however evidence also suggests that vocabulary knowledge influences phonemic awareness and word reading. Vocabulary instruction concentrating on the sound structure of new words alongside meaning (combined sound-meaning vocabulary instruction) improves…

Some Swedish schools do not identify and support students with reading difficulties efficiently enough during the first years at school. A longitudinal design was used to examine a multitiered RtI-model for identifying and supporting students at risk of reading difficulties in a Swedish school context. The results demonstrated that the RtI-model…

The acquisition of reading skills is a critical component of early education in the United States, beginning with the introduction of pre-literacy skills to children as young as pre-school age. Students are tasked with developing the ability to decode and comprehend text across various subject areas. However, national reading data indicates that a…

Literacy skills are instrumental to unlocking a child's full potential and have a well-established link to long-term life outcomes. Children who can't read at grade level by 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of school, have fewer career prospects, and earn lower incomes as adults. However, despite some progress on literacy rates,…

Virtually every teacher works with at least some and sometimes many, students who struggle to read on grade level. Recent research has demonstrated success in improving the reading level of students in grades 4-9 with reading difficulties. This practice guide, developed by the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) in conjunction with an expert panel,…

Academic outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain poor, especially in the area of reading, in particular, reading comprehension. In recent years, researchers have begun to investigate subcomponent skills of reading comprehension for children with ASD in order to better understand its development and potential…

There have been few areas in England over the last 50 years where government has drawn more heavily on research to inform policy and practice than in the area of teaching reading. The focus of this article is an analysis of the research and evidence on early reading, in particular the role of phonics, on which government policy in England and the…

This article describes four key principles from Targeted Reading Instruction (TRI, formerly called Targeted Reading Intervention), an evidence-based early reading intervention and professional development program. Focused on accelerating the growth of students not yet meeting grade-level expectations, one-on-one 15-minute daily TRI lessons engage…

Difficulties in writing can emerge as early as preschool, and often coincide with developing difficulties in reading (Berninger et al., 1997; Graham & Santangelo, 2014; Graham et al., 2020), as reading and writing are fundamentally connected skills (e.g., Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000). Writing instruction in general has had positive effects…

The purpose of this article is to describe recommendations for providing evidence-based literacy instruction to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), including students with comorbid autism spectrum disorder (autism). We identify six evidence-based practices, highlight key research that supports each practice, and then…

In theory, teacher knowledge predicts instructional practice, thus impacting student outcomes. When it comes to knowledge to teach elementary-grade reading, most previous surveys have focused on knowledge essential for word reading development; few surveys have provided a picture of educator knowledge to teach both word reading and language…

As students move beyond foundational decoding, many still require targeted support to develop vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. IMSE's Morphology+ program meets this need through explicit, systematic instruction in prefixes, suffixes, and Latin and Greek roots. Designed for grades 3-5, the program uses multimodal strategies and embedded…

Purpose: Reading involves the ability to decode and draw meaning from printed text. Reading skill profiles vary widely among learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One fairly common pattern is relative strength in decoding combined with weak comprehension skills--indicators of this profile emerge as early as the preschool years. In order…