July 29, 2024
Literacy News
A collection of news, data, viewpoints, and reports worth reading. Click on a headline to get the full story.
LEARNING LOSS
The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling
The New York Times | July 1, 2024
Teachers this year saw the effects of the pandemic's stress and isolation on young students: Some can barely speak, sit still or even hold a pencil.
Four Years After Covid, Many Students Still Losing Ground
Washington Post | July 23, 2024
New test scores show the worst may not be over, with chronic absence a major barrier to academic progress.
LITERACY INSTRUCTION
6 Schoolwide Strategies to Improve Reading Skills
Edutopia | July 22, 2024
Helping students build their identities as readers and explicitly teaching the mechanics of reading can yield big gains across grade levels.
Using Writing in the (Reading) Classroom: The Amazing Success of First Year Teacher Emily Fleming
Teach Like a Champion | July 23, 2024
Writing plays a critical role in reading comprehension. Watch a video to see how first year teacher in England, in a school with a percentage of economically-disadvantaged students, uses writing in a dynamic and effective ways.
SCIENCE OF READING
Unpacking the Science of Reading with Dr. Tim Shanahan
IES/REL | May 13, 2024
The science of reading is all over the news, but some educators are still unclear about what to do in their classrooms. Literacy expert Dr. Timothy Shanahan answers questions about evidence-based literacy instruction based in the growing body of research on "how we read and learn to read."
Where Does the Science of Reading Go From Here?
Mark Seidenberg | June 24, 2024
Read an updated perspective on the science of reading approach to instruction from someone who helped get the movement off the ground. The good news is that there are clear paths to classroom practices that are likely to be more efficient and more effective for more children from more kinds of backgrounds.
New Initiative Is Creating Evidence-Based Guidelines for Educators
The74 | June 4, 2024
The Evidence Advocacy Center is creating an online listing for education decision makers of vetted, evidence-based resources to guide licensure, educator preparation, and continuing education.
CHRONIC ABSENCE
Getting Back to Class: How States Are Addressing Chronic Absenteeism
National Conference of State Legislatures | July 3, 2024
State legislatures are approaching chronic absence in many different ways, including addressing the underlying issues, establishing outreach services, enhancing data collection, and rewriting attendance policies.
A Unified Call to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism
The Education Trust | July 24, 2024
A recent event announced a new partnership between two frequently opposed advocacy groups for a new campaign to reduce chronic absenteeism "to get really clear that we can do something about it."
ARIZONA COMMUNITIES
Reading Seed Is Facing a Shortage of Volunteers for Their Program That Benefits Children
KVOA/News 4 Tucson | June 19, 2024
Reading Seed, a program of Tucson-based Literacy Connects, supports young students in 22 Title I schools across Pima County. Volunteers work with three students for 30 minutes each once a week.
