General Information

It is important to realize reading involves much more than the ability to “sound out” or “decode” unfamiliar words. To successfully “read” a book, article, manual, letter, recipe, or any kind of text, the reader must get meaning from or "comprehend” what they are reading.

All students must be provided the best possible, most effective reading instruction. Congress recognized this need and charged The National Reading Panel (NRP) to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read. The panel reviewed the research and held open meetings across the United States before concluding their work. In 2000 the NRP issued a report that identified teaching methods that related to reading success, “The Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read”.

The panel identified five critical areas of reading instruction:

To be successful readers, students must have skills in each of these areas. These critical areas have been incorporated into the Illinois State Learning Standards for Language Arts. The standards were developed by educators from all levels of instruction, under the direction of the Illinois State Board of Education. State goals and standards provide specific information about what students should know and be able to do at various stages in their education.  These standards are increasingly important in helping our schools gauge the success of students in reaching the expectations of No Child Left Behind.

Using the Illinois Standards, District U-46 and the Stupski Foundation have developed a Curriculum Roadmap as part of the District Improvement Plan.  The Roadmap provides consistency regarding instructional priorities in reading instruction across grade levels and schools. Because reading and writing are reciprocal and interconnected components of a sound reading program, the Roadmap addresses both areas. As students learn skills in one area, skills in the other are reinforced. As they read, students are learning about concepts such as: organizing ideas, using details, creating characters, and using language. These same skills are reflected and applied in their writing.

Assessing how well students are learning is an ongoing task for teachers. Both informal and formal assessment takes place in every classroom. Informal assessment can take the form of the teacher using classroom observations, review of student work, and teacher-created tests to determine a student's grasp of concepts and mastery of skills being taught. Formal assessment provides a gauge of where the student is when compared with peers nationwide. Both have their place as tools teachers can use to help students meet learning goals and become strong, independent readers.

Please click to learn more about the District Improvement Plan