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Understanding the early literacy abilities of children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is essential for designing and testing methods of reading intervention focused on printed orthography. School-based professionals need assessments that measure word reading skills of students with heterogenous speech and physical abilities. This scoping review describes the assessment and administration procedures in research studies that have been used to measure the print knowledge of students who use aided AAC. This review included 27 studies that described print knowledge assessments targeting awareness of print concepts, letter identification, letter-sound correspondence, print-based phonological awareness, decoding, or sight word recognition that was administered to at least one student who uses aided AAC. Participant characteristics, measures of print knowledge, as well as contexts and features of assessment format and administration were coded. Our review identified 27 studies in which 155 students who used aided AAC participated in assessments of print knowledge. Most assessments measured students' decoding and sight word recognition skills with little attention toward awareness of print concepts and print-based phonological awareness. A range of procedures were identified across studies. More than 40% of assessments included a format or response method to participate that was not comparable to participants' typical communication method. Research should continue to develop and test assessments that are accessible for students with physical and communication support needs that require AAC. In doing so, these tools may be used with all students, regardless of speech ability, to understand early literacy skills that inform individualized reading instruction.

This article presents the outcomes of a study conducted in Victoria, Australia, that recognised teachers' knowledge and understanding of phonics teaching, and early literacy acquisition processes more generally. In total, 45 teachers and 220 students from the 18 focus schools who engaged in the reform initiative agreed to participate in this study. The questions posed considered understandings associated with the professional learning programme and processes that support the implementation of the phonics teaching and the impact this had on students' literacy learning. We share the data used to map teachers' stories of change and practice and some of the key factors, including structures, practices and attitudes, that influenced the implementation. The impact on students' reading and writing outcomes throughout the reform process are also reported. Combined, the findings indicate that the teaching of phonic knowledge, integrated into rich contexts for learning, contributed to improvements in teaching and students' early literacy skills. Furthermore, this study fills an important and common missing gap in professional learning as it explores implementation processes and practice in the classroom. The results inform continuing reform efforts and targeted research necessary to refine phonics teaching practice and further advance students' literacy outcomes.

This study extends the research on the preschool "home literacy environment" (HLE) in the context of the family risk (FR) of reading disability (RD) by examining a multiple-deficit model of RD. A total of 1,171 six-year-old Norwegian children were assessed at school entry, the onset of formal reading instruction in Norway. Their parents completed a questionnaire regarding their own RD, education, and the HLE. The final sample after applying the inclusion criteria was 794 children and their parents. The findings suggest, first, that two HLE factors (access to print and reading-related activities) should be distinguished rather than treated as a single factor ("exposure to print") as the majority of previous studies have done. This finding suggests a three-factor HLE model that includes "parents' reading interests and habits, reading-related activities," and "access to print." Second, family risk of RD is related to some extent to the HLE, even after controlling for parents' education. Third, children's experiences in their home environments and their emergent literacy may not be independent of their family risk of RD. More importantly, this study highlights the potential protective role of the HLE, especially when there is a history of RD within the family. The reason is that the positive association between the HLE and children's code-related emergent literacy remains significant when controlling for family risk of RD (access to print [right arrow] emergent literacy: 0.39 [0.01, 0.68], p < 0.01; reading-related activities [right arrow] emergent literacy: 0.37 [0.02, 0.35], p < 0.01; parents' reading interests and habits [right arrow] emergent literacy: 0.26 [0.001, 0.15], p < 0.01). This finding supports that children's emergent literacy can be improved via a modifiable, dynamic factor such as the HLE.

While mobile devices are becoming increasingly ubiquitous (even in low-income families in the United States) and are being used for educational purposes, it is unclear how these technological tools may benefit letter learning (a foundational precursor to early literacy achievement) in preschool children. To contribute clarity, this study tested the efficacy of an app intervention on letter learning. Participants consisted of 16 children (13 Hispanics and three African Americans) from two classrooms in a U.S. preschool serving children from low-income backgrounds. Using an experimental research design, the research team randomly assigned children to either the intervention condition (involving the use of an uppercase letter-matching game app on an iPad for 10 minutes daily in the classroom for five weeks) or the control condition. It was revealed that only a few children in either condition knew 10 or more uppercase letters on the pretest but most did meet this 10-letter benchmark and some even achieved or continued to achieve the 18-letter benchmark on the posttest, demonstrating varied growth in letter-name knowledge (LNK). Accordingly, the children's LNK evidenced the three profiles: (1) the "High Initial," (2) the "High Growth," and (3) the "Low Growth." Importantly, the paired sample t-test showed that the mean differences in gain of uppercase letters between the pretest and the posttest among children within the intervention condition was statistically significant, suggesting that the letter-learning app seemed effective for learning more uppercase letters. However, the two-sample t-test did not show significant mean differences in gain of uppercase letters between children in the two conditions.

Emergent literacy is the term used to describe the reading and writing experiences of young children before they learn to write and read conventionally, and it is important for the construction of children's early reading skills and the enhancement of their later reading performance. The systematic review was conducted to examine the effectiveness of children's interactive reading apps in promoting emergent literacy for children between the ages of three and eight over the last decade (2013-2022). A total of 50 studies were included in this review, and it can be concluded that multimedia features (e.g., a dictionary, background music, and animated pictures) in children's interactive reading apps are effective for enhancing emergent literacy. Conversely, interactive functions (such as games and hotspots) may distract children's attention, leading to poor reading performances. This review also demonstrated the positive effects of children's interactive reading apps on improving their learning outcomes and behavior. In addition, the results indicated that well-designed apps could promote children's emerging literacy skills. However, more in-depth studies will be required in the future to provide designers with a well-defined guideline for designing reading apps for children.

To cultivate the acceptance of the co-teaching model among preservice teachers, two of the education faculty at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, have incorporated co-teaching in several field-based literacy courses. Alongside experiencing co-teaching from their professors, preservice teachers are also provided with the opportunity to practice co-teaching through a partnership with a local early childhood campus in an Emergent Literacy course. This approach promotes student proficiency in an inclusive early childhood setting and provides a model for preservice teachers to implement when they later encounter opportunities for co-teaching in an inclusive classroom environment. By learning the skills to engage in co-teaching through various field-based literacy courses, preservice teachers are equipped to enter their future classrooms as collaborative professionals capable of delivering high-quality education to both general education and special education students.

This article describes how teaching deaf students to read has been challenging and contentious, yet, one crucial attribute to developing reading skills is early exposure to American Sign Language (ASL). ASL seemed to serve as a bridge to achieving English literacy and academic success partly because early use of ASL enables deaf students to activate a variety of strategies to successfully develop reading skills. These include: (1) Sign language phonology; (2) Skill of eye gaze; and (3) Fingerspelling. The article describes how teachers can use these pre-literacy reading skills. As young deaf children embark on their literacy journey in the classroom, these pre-literacy skills enable them to more easily succeed in learning how to read and write.

English language learners (ELLs) need to build competency with the English language quickly, in order to benefit from classroom instruction. Reading Recovery offers theoretical underpinnings which support accelerated language acquisition with valuable applications in a classroom setting. Teachers need to develop language as a meaningful whole, making connections between speaking, reading, and writing. By carefully observing a child's use of language, teachers can design instruction to build on the child's current language strengths. Learning a new language is complex and teachers must support ELLs by providing explicit teaching and massive opportunities to practise speaking, reading, and writing.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were: (a) to compare speech-language therapists' (SLTs') and general education teachers' perceived skill for providing early reading and writing instruction and (b) to compare SLTs' and teachers' knowledge of early reading and writing skills. Method: SLTs (n = 28) and general education teachers (n = 25) participated in this study. Participants completed a self-assessment of their own skill level for providing early reading and writing instruction and an objective measure of their knowledge of early reading and writing skills. Results: There was a significant difference between groups in self-assessment of current skill for delivering early reading and writing instruction; SLTs rated their own current skill as lower than teachers rated their own current skill. There was not a significant difference in knowledge of early reading and writing skills between SLTs and teachers. Conclusions: SLTs and teachers can benefit from continued professional development related to providing evidence-based reading and writing instruction. Because of their different perceptions of their own skills, professional development may need to be approached differently for SLTs and teachers. Future research will examine specific areas of knowledge strength and weakness for SLTs and teachers.

The contribution of linguistic skills to reading has been reported in different languages; however, this contribution varies according to the specific features of each language. Arabic is characterized by diglossia, i.e. the existence of two distinct varieties: Spoken Arabic (SpA) and Standard Arabic (StA). This study examined the extent to which linguistic components (phonemic awareness, vocabulary, morphological and syntactic knowledge) and orthographic knowledge of kindergartners (N = 261) predict future reading skills, i.e. word reading accuracy, fluency, and reading comprehension in the first year of elementary school (first grade). In addition, the relevant contributions of SpA and StA to reading skills were tested. The results revealed that while phonemic awareness, syntactic and orthographic knowledge significantly predicted almost all reading skills, morphological knowledge and vocabulary predicted only reading comprehension. In addition, hierarchical regression showed that the general index of StA linguistic measures predicted all reading measures, after controlling for orthographic knowledge and SpA linguistic measures. The results are discussed in relation to the critical role of StA in reading acquisition despite the difficulties of Arabic-speaking kindergartners in processing language in StA compared to SpA. The study emphasizes the influence of oral and written linguistic skills on reading acquisition in Arabic.

Literacy instruction has an important role in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) because spelling and writing support precise communication. Unfortunately, few students with extensive support needs and complex communication needs (ESN/CCN) develop literacy skills at or above the first grade reading-level. Given that learning to read and write begins with extensive emergent literacy learning opportunities, limited skills may result from insufficient opportunity to learn (OTL) emergent literacy skills. This study examined the instruction provided in early U.S. childhood classrooms to students with ESN/CCN to understand OTL during this critical period. This study used a concurrent embedded mixed methods design integrating a survey of teachers of students with ESN/CCN (n = 26) with a qualitative multiple case study (n = 2). Results suggest the time teachers are devoting to instruction is not translating into increased OTL for individual students. Solutions that may increase learning opportunities and implications for future research are discussed.

This study described the growth trajectories of 105 children (n = 55 boys) who had just started primary school in New Zealand (NZ). Children were assessed every fourth school week around 1.5 months after starting school, for five sessions on Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills first sound fluency (FSF), AIMSweb letter sound fluency (LSF), and a newly created NZ word identification fluency (NZWIF-Y1), designed for alignment with beginning reading instruction in NZ. In addition to progress monitoring tasks, children were assessed at school entry and after progress monitoring on literacy-related criterion measures. All three progress monitoring measures were sensitive to growth over the children's first 6 months of school. Cross-sectional time-series analyses indicated that within-child increases in FSF and LSF were associated with increases in NZWIF-Y1, although FSF did not add unique variance when both FSF and LSF were entered as predictors. Furthermore, growth mixture modeling indicated three latent growth trajectories for each indicator (FSF, LSF, NZWIF-Y1, respectively): Class 1 - high initial scores and strong growth over time (72.09%, 55.87%, 22.81%); Class 2 - lower initial scores and moderate growth over time (19.18%, 29.12%, 54.30%); and Class 3 - low initial scores and limited progress over time (8.73%, 15.00%, 22.89%). Criterion measures assessed prior and after progress monitoring were typically associated with latent class membership. Results suggest relative growth in performance on repeated assessment of early literacy and word reading skills in beginning reading instruction distinguishes groups of students with differential skill acquisition.

Most private schools in India follow the Alphabet-Spelling method to teach reading in English. This approach bypasses letter-sound correspondences and focuses on rote memorization and sight-word recognition. In an effort to provide students with more recent evidence-based practices in reading instruction, this study examined how phonics-based instruction related with early English literacy outcomes for students in kindergarten. Our sample consisted of 627 students attending a private middle-cost school in Mumbai, India where the language of instruction was English. Students were tested for early literacy skills in kindergarten using the DIBELSNext benchmarking measures. We compared groups of students who received no phonics (n = 165) to students who received one year of phonics (n = 234) and students who received two years of phonics (n = 228) respectively. Our results suggested that students who received both one and two years of phonics instruction in preschool significantly outperformed those who did not receive any phonics instruction on all the literacy skills assessed. Moreover, the incidence of students being at-risk for reading difficulties reduced significantly with an increase in years of phonics instruction. Implications for reading research, practice, and policy in the Indian context are discussed.

The decades-long and contentious debate over how students are taught to read centers around the role that phonics and alphabetic code-related skills have in reading instruction. Some claim that these skills are not prioritized in most elementary classrooms because teacher education programs do not adequately prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach children how to read. Although scholars do not yet agree on the knowledge and skills needed to effectively teach children to read, the current body of research around teacher education of phonics instruction is minimal and overrepresents PSTs' acquisition of technical knowledge. As such, in this study we drew on theories of practice-based teaching practices to employ a series of three instructor-created assessments to better understand the connection between the technical and pedagogical knowledge required to teach phonics and code-related skills. Findings indicate that assessments of technical knowledge alone did not accurately illuminate PSTs' misunderstandings. Further, results show that PSTs who were successful on technical measurements of phonics instruction were not always successful on the pedagogical assessments.

Theory of Mind (ToM) is a skill of social cognition recently of interest to literacy researchers. This article presents initial findings from a pilot study investigating the use of ToM to teach theme identification and theme statement formation to beginning readers who are less-skilled in comprehension. The authors designed a brief, 1:1 listening comprehension intervention using a ToM focused inference making questioning structure to conduct a dialogic read aloud. Using a multi-probe single-case research design, the authors engaged three less-skilled comprehenders in Grades 2 and 3 in the intervention virtually using online texts of authentic children's literature. The findings from the pilot study indicate that situating ToM as a skill of social inference making during dialogic reading activities, combined with explicit instruction on theme identification, is an effective method by which to increase the listening comprehension of less-skilled comprehenders. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

To estimate the long-term effects of the Reading Recovery® intervention, a regression discontinuity design (RD) was implemented in a randomly selected sample of Reading Recovery schools during each year of the federally-funded i3 Scale-Up external evaluation (2011-2015) and also in one additional cohort during the 2016-2017 school year. Long-term outcomes were measured by collecting scale scores on state achievement tests in reading or English language arts (ELA) that were administered to students during 3rd and 4th grades (2013-2019). We were able to record and link 3rd grade state test score data in reading/ELA for 9,879 students, and 4th grade state test data for 6,345 students. Results suggest that the long-term impact of Reading Recovery on students' reading/ELA test scores in 3rd and 4th grades is statistically significant and substantially negative; students who participated in Reading Recovery in first grade had 3rd and 4th grade state test scores in reading/ELA that were, on average, 0.19 to 0.43 standard deviations (about one-half to one full grade level) below the state test scores of similar students who did not participate in Reading Recovery.

It has been more than 50 years since Clay (1966) first introduced the concepts about print (CAP). Emergent readers, aged 4-5, must acquire an understanding of basic and hierarchical concepts of letters, words, and sentences; they must also learn basic knowledge about texts and books; they must develop an awareness of book orientation, directionality, and positions. CAP examines emergent readers' ability to recognize and understand the ways in which written language functions for the purpose of reading. However, we lovingly critique the elements of CAP (e.g., book orientation, directionality and print conventions) from the perspective of culturally sustaining pedagogies. Clay (1989) posited that "CAP as a test may be culturally inappropriate" (p. 71). We further argue that using this element marginalizes early young children of color who are learning ways of literacy practices that do not mirror the white monolingual middle-class approach to learning foundational reading. In some cultures, readers turn pages left to right, read pages right to left, and decode logographic words. Does it matter if young children do not fully understand directionality and orientation at that age? What we think matters in the practice of CAP is the sense-making process. Using social justice-oriented texts, we offer a pedagogical framework that centers on the "concepts of text and book." Using literature that features characters of color in non-stereotype roles, we describe four principles for teaching CAP that advance social justice literacy: Relationship between written and oral language, print or pictures carry meaning, book orientation and directionality and conventions of print.

Reading in English is an essential skill that emergent bilingual students in the United States (U.S.) must master to be successful in school and to fully take advantage of the affordances reading in English offers. The current meta-analysis examined the extent to which reading instruction improved English reading outcomes for preschool to grade 12 emergent bilingual students in the U.S. Across 38 experimental and quasi-experimental treatment-control group comparisons, teaching reading to these students had a positive impact on multiple aspects of their reading. When standardized and unstandardized reading assessments were aggregated, reading instruction produced small but statistically significant positive average weighted effects across all grades (0.17), for grades 4 to 8 (0.25) and for reading comprehension (0.20). Statistically significant outcomes were also obtained for standardized reading tests across all grades (0.24), preschool to grade 3 (0.17), grades 4 to 8 (0.30), grades 9 to 12 (0.26), word reading measures (0.22), vocabulary (0.17), and reading comprehension (0.21). Variability in effects were associated with type of reading treatments, duration of treatments, and student identified challenges with reading as well as study quality indicators. Recommendations for research and implications for practice are provided.

Background: Learning which letters correspond to which speech sounds is fundamental for learning to read. Based on previous experimental studies, we developed a serious game aiming to boost letter-speech sound (L-SS) correspondences in a motivational game environment. Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of this game in training L-SS correspondences in pre-readers. Additionally, an extended version of the game was developed given the importance of handwriting in audio-visual integration. We established whether including a motoric component in the game boosted the letter-speech sound training on top of the effect of the game without the motoric component. Methods: One-hundred forty-five kindergartners were randomly allocated to play either the standard audio-visual version of the game, the motoric version or a control math game. All children were pre- and post-tested on L-SS knowledge and reading accuracy. Results and conclusions: We found that playing the game enhanced pre-readers' L-SS knowledge, but not reading accuracy, after a short, intensive intervention period of 3 weeks. However, children who played the motoric version of the game did not differ significantly from either the standard or the control condition. Implications: This game was efficient in training L-SS correspondences in pre-readers. These results suggest that this game might be useful as a preventive evidence-based intervention for at-risk children in kindergarten who might benefit from a head start before learning how to read. Future studies are needed to examine whether a longer intervention period results in L-SS knowledge being translated into reading skills.

A growing, research-based consensus supports addressing our nation's literacy crisis through instruction aligned with the Science of Reading (SoR). We recognize, however, that the complexity of SoR content, alongside the multiplicity of instructional decisions and practices, and the unique features of each classroom and school, make simple implementation designs unlikely to achieve desired results. To guide schools in developing higher levels of SoR-aligned early literacy instruction, we developed the Dynamic Early Literacy Framework (DELF). The DELF primarily serves as a framework to guide inquiry and innovation of SoR-aligned early literacy drivers, while documenting progress as well as identifying change priorities. The framework addresses growth across four defined stages for each of the seven drivers: School Leadership & Culture; Comprehensive Early Literacy Assessment System; Evidenced-Based Core and Intervention Curriculum; Evidenced-Based Instructional Practices; Supervision & Evaluation; Coaching and Professional Development; and Family and Community Engagement. This article reports findings from a one year qualitative pilot investigation of the DELF in three school sites and the K-2 central instructional support team in kindergarten through second grades. Findings suggest the use of the tool had a positive impact in framing inquiry of the current literacy model and development of action plans across various stakeholders. Discussion includes lessons learned and implications for future research.

This study examines differences in English language comprehension, reading fluency, and executive functions among Spanish-English bilinguals with reading difficulties. Reading difficulties examined included general reading difficulties, defined by low word reading and reading comprehension, and specific-reading comprehension difficulties, defined by low reading comprehension yet adequate word reading. Participants (N = 86) were categorized using multiple measures of reading comprehension and word reading in each of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Participants were also categorized based on persistent difficulties (i.e. remaining in the same group across multiple grades). On two measures of language comprehension, readers with either difficulty tended to demonstrate significant weaknesses relative to average readers. On passage reading fluency, readers with specific-reading comprehension difficulties performed worse than average readers but better than readers with general reading difficulties. On executive functions, readers with general reading difficulties demonstrated weaknesses relative to average readers, but there was little evidence that readers with specific-reading comprehension difficulties showed these weaknesses. These findings typically held when looking at readers with persistently defined difficulties. Longitudinal analyses indicated that 47% of students with S-RCD and 56% of students with GRD remained in their group across the three years, consistent with prior research. Findings highlight potential weaknesses in executive functions for children with general reading difficulties that should be considered when designing instruction for these students. These findings also support prior research on the importance of developing English language and reading fluency for Spanish-English bilingual children with reading difficulties. [This article was published in "Reading & Writing Quarterly" (EJ1344195).]

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supplemental word recognition strategies on students receiving intensive (Tier III) remedial reading instruction. Two-hundred and thirteen middle school students with reading difficulties received an intensive reading intervention (i.e., Corrective Reading Decoding strand) delivered by trained school staff (n = 21) at three middle schools. The 213 fifth through eighth grade students (121 males, 92 females) enrolled in three northwestern school districts (two rural and one urban). Of the 213 students, one-hundred and seven also received supplemental word recognition instruction using Reading Excellence: Word Attack and Rate Development Strategies (REWARDS). Using a pre-post quasi-experimental design, the effects of the Corrective Reading Decoding (CRD) program was compared to CRD combined with the REWARDS program. The REWARDS program produced statistically and educationally significant changes in the basic reading skills of students over and above Corrective Reading Decoding alone. Students in the REWARDS condition demonstrated statistically significant mean changes on the WJ-III Basic Reading Skills cluster and associated subtests and the DIBELS ORF probe compared to those in the comparison condition. Results, implications, and limitations are discussed.

This research aims to developing the educational game tool (word tree) to improve reading ability of early childhood. This is research used Borg & Gall model and has been modified with six steps, they are potential and problem, data collection, product design, design validation, resign revision, and usage trial. The subject is 5-6 years old children in RA Babul Ilmi Rantauparapat. The instrument used is validation questionnaire sheet. Data analysis technique is formulation of mean score percentage and gain score. The research result showed that: (1) the development of educational game too (word tree) is very worthy to be used to improve reading children of 5-6 years old children; and (2) educational game tool (word tree) developed has high level of effectiveness in improving reading ability of 5-6 years old children. This research suggest to the readers, teachers and other researchers to be creative and innovative in designing learning activity, which one of them is developing the product giving real contribution for their students' ability. This research developed educational game tool in form of word tree that did not only improve children's reading ability but also create happiness to learn.

Students displaying reading difficulties/disabilities at the end of third grade are unlikely to succeed in content areas and graduate from high school. One alternative to meeting the learning needs of students is to provide explicit instructional support in basic literacy skills through computer-based reading programs via after-school programs. This study examined the effects of two computer-based reading programs on the reading skills of 71 randomly assigned at-risk students using a pre-post-test design. Furthermore, tutor and students' perceptions regarding the effectiveness and desirability of the programs were examined. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the programs on the Word Use Fluency measure and both computer-based programs were effective in facilitating the growth of basic early literacy skills of students at-risk for reading failure. A description of the computer programs, results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed.

Project START (Students and Teachers Actively Reading Together) is an adaptive shared reading intervention designed to address the varied learning needs of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This report summarizes procedures and results of the developmental year of the project, which focused primarily on evaluating implementation fidelity and social validity of the intervention. The final sample consisted of four classrooms with 10 students with ASD (M[subscript age]= 4.32 years) and their teachers (N = 4). Classrooms were randomized to either a 4- or an 8-week first-stage small-group dialogic reading condition. Children who were early responders continued with the initial intervention; those who were slower to respond were randomized to one of two intensified reading conditions. Results indicate that teachers perceived the intervention as feasible and child outcomes as acceptable. Implementation fidelity was low during initial weeks (33%-50%), improving to 67% to 83% by the last weeks of the study. Neither children's engagement nor vocabulary growth differed between treatment levels or conditions. We discuss lessons learned from the study's developmental year and changes that will be made in subsequent years to improve implementation and feasibility.

Using data from a 2-year empirical project in an urban school within the United States, this article describes how educators of preschool, transitional-kindergarten and kindergarten (PreK-TK-K) altered perceptions and practices as a result of participating in a purposefully crafted professional learning community using collaborative enquiry. Emergent thematic findings highlight shifts in educator understanding and application of interactive reading practice and alignment across classrooms of young learners. This vertical professional learning community provided space and time where educators constructed meaning through collaborative enquiry, video observations and reflection, which informed educator thinking and enriched student interaction for literacy learning.

In many U.S. states, legislation seeks to define effective instruction for beginning readers, creating an urgent need to turn to scholars who are knowledgeable about ongoing reading research. This mixed-methods study considers the extent to which recognized literacy experts agreed with recommendations about instruction that were included on a state's reading initiative website. Our purpose was to guide implementation and inform policy-makers. In alignment with the initiative, experts agreed reading aloud, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonological awareness, and phonics all deserve a place in early literacy instruction. Additionally, they agreed some components not included on the website warranted attention, such as motivation, oral language, reading volume, writing, and needs-based instruction. Further, experts cautioned against extremes in describing aspects of early reading instruction. Findings suggest that experts' knowledge of the vast body of ongoing research about reading can be a helpful guide to policy formation and implementation.