Literacy Instruction

Literacy instruction at District 90 begins in preschool and continues through the elementary years, with a focus on the early elementary years and evolving into overall English and language arts instruction in the upper elementary and middle school years.   District 90 educators use a multifaceted approach to teaching reading instruction, leveraging multiple strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners, targeting phonemic awareness, phonics, word study/vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills.   

In the early years, teachers place a strong emphasis on phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words, and phonics, which is understanding how spoken sounds can be represented by written letters.  Both are the basis for the ability to decode, or “sound out,” words.   In Kindergarten and first grade, students receive explicit daily phonemic awareness instruction, which continues on the majority of days through second grade.  Starting in Kindergarten, students receive 20-30 minutes per day of phonics instruction, which includes spelling and word study in the later grades.  As students progress, more focus is placed on fluency, the ability to read accurately and quickly, and comprehension, the ability to understand the meaning of the words read.

Current Curricular Resources

Instructors use a portfolio of curricular resources to support classroom instruction, each selected for a specific purpose. The curricular resources are coordinated and integrated across and between grade levels, so that students are continually building upon learning in the prior years.  Heggerty: The Skills They Need to Help Them Succeed!  is used for phonemic awareness instruction in grades Kindergarten through second grade.  Fundations, by Wilson Language Training,  is used  to teach phonics in Kindergarten.  Fountas and Pinnell Phonics, Word Study, and Spelling System  is used for phonics, spelling, and word study for first grade through fifth. Grammar and word study continues through middle school, with Grammar Keepers used in grades five and six, and Patterns of Power used in grades five through eight.  Units of Study is used for reading comprehension from Kindergarten to 8th grade. 

In September 2023, District 90 initiated a comprehensive review of our literacy curriculum, with the goal of identifying and implementing improved resources for reading instruction. The review is led by The District 90 Literacy Curriculum Review Committee, which is composed of teachers, instructional specialists, and administrators from across the school district.  Involving teachers and instructional specialists in the review process is critical to ensuring that the resulting curriculum choice is an excellent fit for our students across grade levels and will be implemented with fidelity. 

Successful implementation of a new curriculum is a multi-step process, including review of recent research, evaluating possible curricula, piloting preferred alternatives, reviewing results, selecting the strongest program(s), and providing development for teachers in how to deploy the new materials.   While selection and implementation of a new curriculum can typically require up to two years, the Committee has accelerated their process to enable piloting the new curriculum in September 2024, approval of the new curriculum in December 2024, and implementation across all schools in January 2025.

Literacy Curriculum Review Committee Progress 

On December 5, 2023, the Board of Education held a Literacy Instruction Forum to enable learning and discussion on the topic among parents and community members.  After a presentation on the current and future literacy instruction in D90, community participants engaged in small group discussion at tables with a D90 Administrator and Board Member.  Review the presentation.  

On January 9, 2024, the Literacy Curriculum Review Committee gave an update at the Board of Education Committe of the Whole Meeting on their work reviewing potential new curricular resources.  Review the presentation and vetting rubrics by grade level group.  

On March 5, 2024, the Literacy Review Committee gave an update on progress at the Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting.  Since January, the Literacy Committee completed a paper review of possible curricular resources across all elementary and middle school grades,  reviewed the final version of the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan released by the Illinois State Board of Education in January, and identified a short list of materials in consideration for the fall pilots.  The group determined that there are very few comprehensive programs meeting criteria for pilots in all areas including phonics and phonemic awareness at this time.  The committee continues to explore a portfolio of materials which can be used to accomplish the District’s goals, including updated materials from Heggerty and Fundations.  The Committee also began to outline plans for more closely integrating reading and writing instruction in middle school.  Review the presentation shared with the Board here.

On April 15, 2024, The Literacy Review Committee gave an update on progress at the Board of Education meeting, using these slides.  The group of 33 District 90 educators representing each grade level completed their evaluation of the possible curricular resources working in grade-level bands, using rubrics and a scoring scale.  Prior to the review, the group conducted a comprehensive review of the latest research on how kids learn to read and write, compiled in this spreadsheet.  Because the group determined this winter that none of the comprehensive programs adequately address foundational skills for the lower grades (such as phonics and phonemic awareness), a pilot is already underway this spring with two resources, “Fundations Foundational Skills”, published by Wilson Language Training Corporation and “Bridge to Reading Foundational Skills,” published by Heggerty.  

For the fall 2024 pilots across all grade levels, the group identified two resources for grades K-5, “Into Reading,” published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and “Being a Reader” and “Being a Writer,” published by Collaborative Classroom.  The group identified two resources for grades 6-8, “Wit and Wisdom,” published by Great Minds and “EL Education,” published by Imagine Learning.  Estimated materials and training costs for the pilot are $36,821. 

During the Jun 4, 2024 Committee of the Whole Meeting, the Literacy Review Committee gave an update on the anticipated costs of adoption of each of the curricular materials that the District is considering.  As instructional materials now incorporate more comprehensive assessment, enhanced progress monitoring, and expanded professional learning support, prices have increased substantially since the last English language arts materials adoption in 2018.  Review the overview, or acces all the board meeting materials housed in Boardbook. 

During the fall of 2024, District 90 Schools piloted new English Language Arts (ELA) curricular resource options in grades K-8.  The purpose of the pilots was to guide the District’s decision about the adoption of new ELA resources for classroom use in the spring semester.  Learn more by reading the email sent to all families by Dr. Christine Trendel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for D90.

During the Oct 1, 2024 Board Meeting, Dr. Christine Trendel and Instructional Specialists from all schools provided an overview of the daily phonics instruction occurring in grades K-3 using the Fundations curricula, and shared an update on the progress of the language comprehension curricular resource pilots underway in grades K-8.  Access the literacy presentation and the recording here.

On Nov 1, 2024 the Literacy Curriculum Pilots conducted during September and October across all D90 grade levels concluded. In the coming weeks, the Literacy Committee will review all teacher and student feedback, identify implementation costs, and plan for professional learning for all teachers.  A recommendation for curriculum adoption that best serves our students will be brought to the Board of Education in December, with classroom implementation to begin in February. 

New Curricular Resources - Starting Jan 2025

During the Nov 19, 2024 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Christine Trendel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Instructional Coaches from all schools presented the results of the pilots which ran across 20 classrooms and a recommendation for the adoption of new curricular resources for grades K - 8.   Costs for the new resources were reviewed, which were lower than anticipated in the long range financial projections previously reviewed by the Board.  The Board of Education approved the recommendation.  View the presentation slides.

The literacy work has been rooted in the Illinois Learning Standards, IL comprehensive literacy plan, and Scarborough’s reading rope, which includes two strands of literacy that create skilled readers.  For the lower strand of word recognition, Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classes all use Fundations, a structured literacy resource for teaching early learners foundational literacy skills in phonics, decoding, handwriting, and spelling.  

The pilots focused on resources that would meet the needs of students in the upper strand of language comprehension. Each resource included instruction for grades K-8 to build background knowledge, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking skills.  Implementation is scheduled for late January or early February 2025 in classrooms.  Teachers will prepare during the Jan 6, 2025 institute day, and use an hour during scheduled planning time during January, Feb, and March.  

Learn more about the curricular resources below. 

Being a Reader and  Being a Writer
Grades Kindergarten through fourth grade will use “Being a Reader” and “Being a Writer,” published by Collaborative Classroom.  These resources provide a gradual release model for instruction including whole class, small group, partner, and independent work structures throughout each lesson.  The texts and topics are highly engaging for students. In addition to small group instruction at every level, Book Clubs are available for grades 3 and 4.  In addition, teachers will continue to use Wilson’s Fundations as our core resource for teaching foundational literacy skills in concert with Being a Reader/Writer.

Arts and Letters
Grade five will use “Arts and Letters,” published by Great Minds.  Arts and Letters is an evolution of Wit and Wisdom that was created based on teacher feedback of Wit and Wisdom.  The lessons are 60 minutes in length, allowing our 5th grade teachers additional time for small groups and independent reading.  Arts and Letters is an inquiry and knowledge based curriculum with an integrated approach to reading and writing.  The unit topics, texts, and discussions, are highly engaging for students.  Lessons include whole class instruction, partner and small group collaboration, and independent application of skills.   

Wit and Wisdom
Grades six through eight will use “Wit and Wisdom,” published by Great Minds.  This resource is very similar to Arts and Letters in that it is an inquiry and knowledge based curriculum with an integrated approach to reading and writing.  The unit topics, texts, and discussions, are highly engaging for students.  Lessons are 80 minutes in length and include whole class instruction, partner and small group collaboration, and independent application of skills.  

During the spring of 2025, paper examples of some of the curricular resources will be on display in the District Office, and literacy nights will be organized by the District to enable families learn about the curricula and how to best support their children.