Literacy + Reading Matters

The reading network in the brain doesn’t naturally exist, it must be built. The early years are a critical time in language and literacy development. EVERY child deserves to read by third grade.

Kids Thrive with The Big Five

The Five Components of Early Literacy and Reading

01.
Phonemic Awareness

The knowledge that words are made up of sounds and identify the sounds. Play word games, rhymes, alphabet games, tongue twisters to help children identify sounds in words and match sounds to letters.

02.
Phonics

The relationship between sounds and printed letters. Help children match sounds to letters or letter groups. Break words apart and down into sounds.

03.
Fluency

The ability to read accurately and quickly. The reader focuses on the meaning of the story or book. This takes a lot of practice during the elementary school years.

04.
Vocabulary

Help children learn new words. Talking, listening, reading, singing and taking turns with conversation builds vocabulary.

05.
Comprehension

This happens when a child reads fluently and understands that words become ideas. Parents, teachers and families can help children by asking questions about characters and the story as you read together. This is a skill that develops over time.

Every Child Deserves to Read

Virginia is behind Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee when it comes to helping all children read by third grade. These states have taken a back-to-the-basics approach grounded in science and they have results to show for it. Virginia is now one of them.

30+ states have passed laws on literacy instruction requiring that K-3 focus on the science of reading and improving third grade reading outcomes. Our state is the first to require schools to support struggling readers through 8th grade. 15+ states have retention laws.

In 2022, the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) was passed with strong bipartisan support in the legislature. During the 2023 Special Session, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation and provided funding to extend the VLA through the eighth grade. Governor Youngkin signed the bill and it is funded for kindergarten through eighth grade. The VLA is one of the most comprehensive policies in the nation.

The VLA ensures teachers are using evidence-based curricula, trains teachers on how to help children become strong readers based upon the science of reading, develops reading plans for students who are struggling, monitors progress, provides reading specialist, deploys literacy coaches and equips families with resources. This is good policy, and now we must ensure strong implementation for every student. The law goes into effect and implementation begins in 2024-2025.

Virginia must build, implement and invest in the VLA year after year, as other states have done. This investment will help more children read by third grade, support struggling readers, equip teachers with the knowledge and tools to teach, provide coaches to support classroom instruction and give families strategies to use at home. Other states have only seen impact when the investment is long term.

Want to learn more? Visit https://literacy.virginia.edu

The VLA will make sure that

  • Every student in K-8 receives literacy instruction grounded in science.
  • Every teacher has access to an evidence-based reading curriculum and receives training that is science based.
  • Every school will have a data-driven literacy plan to support teachers, provide intervention for struggling readers and professional development for coaches, teachers, reading specialist and principals.
  • Every parent will have online resources.

This is good policy for children, teachers, schools and families. Now, we must move policy into effective practices in the classroom.

Students doing fun activities with their teacher.