The following article was written by Dr. Moats for the American Federation of Teachers. Dr. Moats has described schools as, "The most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read." Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science (Moats 2004)
Here are some resources from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance; What Works Clearinghouse to help guide conversations.
This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Keep in mind, Reading Foundational Standards found in Ohio's Learning Standards encompass grades K-5. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills, and is a companion to the practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade.
The next resource is the Ohio's Learning Standards for Early Childhood and Elementary grades K-5. Educators are charged with teaching children, all children, many things, but especially learning how to be life-long readers.
Pre-K Early Learning Standards found here.
K-5 Reading Foundational Standards found here.
Since learning to read is not a natural process in comparison to the length of time we have been communicating via oral language, our brains have NOT had a long time to become hard wired for reading! We learn to talk before we ever become readers. As a Reading Scientist, Dr. Moats, spent decades studying the brain and how best to unlock the code of reading even for our most struggling readers. Moats contends that "Children learn from Speech to Print" and need extensive and Explicit Instruction (A. Archer) in learning how become fully literate.
For more details on this project please go to the reports found below.
- Phase I of the plan can be found here.
- Phase II report can be found here.
- Phase III report can be found here.
As Ohio moves forward with this critical work, we will continue to support our districts in gaining a deeper understanding of the reading brain. Please contact our Regional Early Literacy Specialist, Nancy Osko for more information at
[email protected] or call 440-324-3173 ext. 1118.