Elementary

In elementary school, students are explicitly taught how to read up to the third grade. In most cases, reading instruction stops after the third grade as content becomes the focus of the curriculum. And although there are a number of good reasons why this shift happens, we must realize that gaps in our students' abilities to read start here. As texts become more sophisticated and reading assignments more challenging, students need the reading support they once received. The "learning to read" strategies utilized in first and second grades do not adequately support the reading demands that third and fourth graders experience. After the third grade, students are expected to read independently and do something with what they have read. Students, therefore, lack the academic skills necessary to perform well in rigorous learning environments. As a response to this need, LiteracyTA's live trainings will equip elementary teachers with the reading comprehension strategies and basic writing skills our young students need to advance successfully into secondary education.