Dear Mustang Family,
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!
As we continue to focus on effective reading instruction, the Science of Reading has become an essential framework guiding our approach. Grounded in research from fields like developmental psychology, educational psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, the Science of Reading encompasses practices that have been proven to effectively teach children how to read.
The Science of Reading focuses on five key components: assessment, curriculum, intervention, personalized learning, and ongoing professional development. These elements work together to ensure we meet the diverse needs of all students using research-based, aligned practices.
One program that supports our efforts is the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), which is being adopted by districts like ours to implement the best practices identified by reading researchers. LETRS emphasizes the five essential components of reading instruction: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary,and Comprehension.
Key Elements of Teaching Reading:
- Phonics: Understanding the relationship between letters or combinations of letters in written language and the individual sounds in spoken language.
- Phonetic Awareness. Phonemes are the smallest units making up spoken language, combined to form syllables and words. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate these individual units of sound.
- Vocabulary: Building the words necessary to understand and communicate meaningfully.
- Fluency: Reading smoothly and with expression, without needing to stop and decode each word.
- Comprehension: Connecting what we read with prior knowledge to create meaningful understanding.
As we continue to incorporate the Science of Reading into our classrooms, we’re already seeing exciting progress in our students' reading abilities. Our goal is to ensure that all students become proficient readers, which will have a lasting impact on their future success.
For those interested in learning more, I’ve attached articles about the Science of Reading and the LETRS program. If you have any questions or would like to discuss these literacy strategies further, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to enhance our students' literacy skills.
Warm regards,
Principal Balli
