Pacing and Decision-Making in Literacy Instruction

Every day, educators make important decisions about what to include in their literacy instruction, how to pace it effectively and which factors inform next steps in teaching and learning.

Data to inform decisions is derived from common early literacy assessments designed for different purposes such as universal screening tests, diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring tools and interim or summative assessments.

It’s important for educators to establish conditions for success, creating a classroom environment in which students develop the literacy skills needed to ground their ongoing literacy learning.

Learn about Pacing and Decision-Making

Conditions of Success

Intentional pacing and decision-making create conditions for successful literacy learning in classroom and school environments where all students can reach their potential as readers and writers.

By combining pacing and decision-making with high-quality core curriculum, teachers can ensure all students have access to grade-level learning opportunities as well as time to build knowledge and develop skills.

Key Components

Literacy skills are the keystone of learning across the core content areas in K-12 Oregon schools. Beginning the literacy journey with a strong start sets students up for future success. The four sections from the Early Literacy Framework that contribute to successful early literacy are:

Oral language
Foundational skills
Reading comprehension, which includes vocabulary and background knowledge
Writing

These components are interconnected, continually reinforcing and advancing one another. Together, they provide an important pathway for successful content area learning and self-expression.

To learn more about effective instructional strategies in these areas, check out the following learning pathways.

Oral Language

Foundational Skills

Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Background Knowledge

Writing

Effective Pacing

Research has not yet come to consensus about how much instruction students need in these various areas to advance their literacy skills. Different students may also need adjustments made to the intensity or duration of the instruction they receive, requiring teachers to differentiate their teaching and learning approach.

To manage this, researchers and education practitioners have shared their collective expertise on the topic. The following is a suggestion for how much time to spend on each of these baseline elements in the daily literacy block, though teachers should consider the unique needs of their own students within their local contexts.

30 minutes of whole-group explicit instruction for each of the following topics

Word work

Reading comprehension

Fluency

Writing

60 minutes for small-group differentiated literacy instruction

To learn more, watch the Pacing and Decision Making in Early Literacy Instruction Webinar.

Decision-Making

Educators need meaningful assessment data to respond to learners’ strengths and needs as readers and writers, whether teachers are planning instruction for individuals, small groups or the whole class.

Teachers can use the formative assessment process to gather nuanced, time-sensitive information during learning. Through this formative assessment process, teachers gain the information they need to set ambitious learning goals and support students in monitoring their own learning.

Check out the Assessment learning pathway for additional information and resources.

To learn more, watch the Pacing and Decision-Making in Early Literacy Instruction webinar.