K-5 Literacy
In Huntley 158, we are deeply committed to delivering on the promise of education and equipping every child with the ability to read -- and read well! Learning to read is such an essential skill to not only find success in school and to thrive in society, but to also experience the joy that reading brings to life. We want every child to be successful in reading! We continue to learn more about what research says about how children learn to read, and what to do when a child encounters difficulty in learning to read. The research that we’re learning about and implementing is known as the Science of Reading. ALL students benefit from this type of instruction.
When We Know Better, We Do Better
Decades of research have determined that reading occurs in a specific way in the brain in all people. It does not occur naturally the way that speech does. The process must be taught. It is a process of building neuro-pathways in the brain that link sounds of speech to written symbols or letters. The strings of letters are attached to meaning, and then those letter strings with meaning are stored in the brain’s “letterbox” for later retrieval that is instantaneous and effortless. This process is called orthographic mapping and it is our goal to help our students build a giant ‘letterbox’ of instantly retrievable words. That translates into fluent reading and subsequent comprehension. Guessing at words based on context does not aid in orthographic mapping, phonic decoding does.
We now know a great deal about how the brain develops as we learn to read and which instructional practices are most effective for all children. We are committed to stop doing what doesn’t work and be guided by scientific research to ensure that we deliver on the promise of literacy for every student in Huntley 158. We are excited to partner with you on your child’s literacy journey!
What does this look like?
If your family has been part of Huntley 158 for some time, you have probably noticed some changes over the years in how we teach reading. If you are new to the district, you will find that your child’s journey towards reading is aligned to set them up for success!
Emphasis on "Cracking the Code" in Primary Grades
In grades K-2 we focus on helping students acquire skills to "crack the code" of our alphabet to the speech sounds in English. (There are 44 speech sounds in English and 150 ways to read and spell them!) Students must first learn to decode/sound-out words before they can understand the meaning of text.
Explicit and Systematic Phonics Instruction
We have an order or continuum of phonics skills, progressing from simple to complex, that is followed throughout the early grades. Students will progress through the continuum as they master skills. In the intermediate grades (3-5), word study will continue with more grammar and morphology (learning about word parts, such as Greek and Latin roots).
Early Intervention
If we see any signs that your child may be struggling with the foundational skills of reading, we will not take a "wait and see" approach; we will immediately implement interventions and monitor their progress. The best solution to the problem of reading failure is early identification and intervention.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness pertains to a student's ability to learn the individual sounds in words by listening and to identify and manipulate those sounds orally. While this skill will be emphasized in grades pre-K through second grade, we will ensure all students have this necessary foundation. Students in the intermediate grades may need to practice these skills until they have firmed up this foundation of reading. This is an area that the research has indicated is hugely important!
Decodable Text
Early readers work with decodable readers. These are books or passages that include words that the students can "decode" (sound-out) according to the skills they have been taught thus far. Students need practice with the phonics skills they are learning and these books and passages provide that practice. So be aware that, at times, elementary students may bring home a sheet of paper with a passage for practice rather than a book.
Assessment
Students are not assigned a Fountas & Pinnell reading level, such as A, M, or R (any level A-Z). Instead, students will be assessed on the letter-word-sound fluency or oral reading fluency rate for their grade level. These nationally normed one-minute assessments give us a good indication of how easy or difficult reading is for your child. From there, we will give diagnostic assessments to find out (or diagnose) which areas in the continuum of phonics skills students need help with. They may be given a spelling survey that shows which phonics patterns they are able to apply in their writing or be assessed on phonemic awareness to ensure student possesses these crucial foundational skills.
Assessment (cont'd)
As students become proficient word readers, comprehension is a natural outcome. Comprehension will also be checked during the annual STAR assessment three times a year as well as in case unit assessments. If a child shows a weakness in any area, they may be progress monitored and/or given interventions in or outside of the classroom to help them become stronger in this area.
Knowledge Building and Vocabulary
Research has indicated that reading comprehension is closely connected to the background knowledge we have on a topic we’re reading about and by understanding the vocabulary contained in the text. Huntley 158 utilizes a knowledge-building language arts curriculum in grades K-5. Our students will have the opportunity to build a broad knowledge base of history/social studies, science, and the arts. Students will have access to complex text, sometimes read aloud by their teacher, and in the process, gain more complex vocabulary. Research tells us that building knowledge and vocabulary early on contributes significantly to reading comprehension and should be taught at the earliest grade levels.
Language, Grammar and Writing
In our curriculum, writing is closely connected to what students are learning across subject areas, especially in reading, science, and social studies. This knowledge-building approach gives students rich content to write about, helping them develop strong ideas and vocabulary. Our writing instruction also emphasizes the building blocks of language—grammar, sentence structure, and oral language development. Students first learn to speak and build sentences aloud using academic vocabulary and correct grammar. These oral language skills then support their writing, helping them craft clear and coherent sentences. As students grow, they learn to expand their writing into organized paragraphs and essays, always building on firm sentence-level foundations. This integrated approach ensures that students become confident, capable writers who can express their knowledge clearly and effectively.
Comprehension
The ultimate goal of all reading instruction is for students to understand what they read. Reading comprehension occurs only when students have both decoding/word recognition skills and language comprehension skills. Children need the essential skills to get the words off the page as well as knowledge, vocabulary, and a solid understanding of how our language works in order to comprehend what they read. We must provide instruction that will help students achieve these goals.
The body of work referred to as the Science of Reading is not an ideology, a philosophy, a political agenda, a one-size-fits-all approach, a program of instruction, nor a specific component of instruction. It is the emerging consensus from many related disciplines, based on literally thousands of studies, supported by hundreds of millions of research dollars, conducted across the world in many languages. These studies have revealed a great deal about how we learn to read, what goes wrong when students don’t learn, and what kind of instruction is most likely to work the best for the most students.
~Dr. Louisa Moats, Ed.D., leading authority on the Science of Reading movement