To ensure that all children become competent readers, Reading First requires school reading programs to adopt the five essential components of reading instruction as outlined by the scientifically based research summarized in the National Reading Panel Report (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). These five components are effectively taught through a program of systematic and explicit instruction:

• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

The following are resources to learn more about Reading First:

The U.S. Department of Education

http://www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/index.html

Analysis of Reading Assessment Instruments for K–3

http://idea.uoregon.edu/assessment/index.html

Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals

www.nsdc.org/library/leaders/sparksbook.cfm

Implementing Reading First with English Language Learners

www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/directions/15.pdf

Instructional Leadership for Reading First Principles: Steering Schools to Reading Success

www.ncrel.org/rf/leadership

Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Improving School Quality Through Principal Professional Development

www.nsdc.org/library/leaders/leader_report.cfm

Literacy Project at SERVE

www.serve.org/litproject

National Institute for Literacy

www.nifl.gov

National Reading Panel—Frequently Asked Questions

www.nationalreadingpanel.org/faq/faq.htm

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children

www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc

Assistance for Teachers and Principals: A Description of Professional Development Within the Reading First Initiative

www.ncrel.org/rf/pd

Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read

www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1.html

Reading First, A Closer Look at the Five Essential Components of Effective Reading Instruction: A Review of Scientifically Based Reading Research for Teachers

http://www.ncrel.org/rf/components.pdf

Reading First Resource List

http://www.ncrel.org/rf/resourc.htm

Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension

www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1465

What Does Scientifically Based Reading Research Mean to Teachers and Principals?

www.ncrel.org/rf/sbrr

Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do

www.aft.org/pubs-reports/downloads/teachers/rocketsci.pdf

What Works Clearinghouse

www.w-w-c.org

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