For me, my personal passion and purpose in life is exhibited in being a literacy coach. Our students and teachers around the world deserve an incredible literacy coach, and we need to teach the world to read. Let’s walk through how to become a literacy coach.

What Does a Literacy Coach Do?

It’s important to remember that in education, terms like reading specialist or literacy coach are often interchanged and the roles may overlap in schools and districts. However, while a reading specialist is often responsible for working directly with students, a literacy coach is responsible for working with teachers. Since we have a shortage of funding and people in public education, the literacy leader in a school often fills the responsibilities of both positions.

The primary roles of a literacy coach are usually centered around the culture of literacy in the school, the implementation of curriculum, data-driven instruction, and professional development. Literacy coaches are a link between teachers and administrators who often serve on leadership committees, child study meetings, and data or planning sessions. They lead professional development for teachers, attend conferences, and work to increase student literacy achievement across the school.

Their responsibilities range from leading weekly planning meetings with every grade level to hosting monthly book clubs for teachers. They implement the Family Literacy Month for their school and plan motivational literacy events for students throughout the school year. The oversee literacy diagnostics and assessments and analyze the student reading and writing data. The roles and responsibilities differ by school or district but at the end of the day, they are the same in that they revolve around creating classrooms to support literacy success.

Literacy Coach Requirements: Skills

The skills required for a literacy coach are similar to the requirements of an excellent teacher or principal. Patience, leadership skills, creativity, organization, and resourcefulness are essential to thrive in this role. Good time management skills, scheduling, data management and analysis are also important skills for a literacy coach to embody.

Strong communication skills and building solid relationships give literacy coaches the advantage they need to create positive change in a school community. Lastly, literacy coaches with adaptability, flexibility, and vision are able to make lasting impact in schools and districts in reading and writing instruction for readers of all ages.

Literacy Coach Requirements: Education

While there are elementary school literacy coaches around the country who never taught elementary school, I believe that the best literacy coaches are former classroom teachers with background experience and knowledge. These individuals have an undergraduate degree specific to education and teaching and chose a graduate school that is strong in literacy and reading education.

While most districts today require a literacy coach to have a master’s degree in literacy and reading, some schools will consider hiring someone with a reading specialist endorsement. At the district level, some literacy coaches go on to earn their administration degree or a doctoral degree in literacy and even teach future literacy coaches at the college or university level.

Why Should You Consider a Literacy Coach Position?

When teachers earn a master’s degree in education, they automatically receive a salary increase. A literacy coach position not only provides the salary increase and benefits of teaching but also the opportunity to advance in a specific niche in education and become a literacy expert. Career opportunities open for literacy coaches including a literacy coach in a public, charter, or independent school or at the district level. Literacy coaches can also be hired as adjunct professors or selected as presenters for educational conferences.

One of the most imperative reasons to become a literacy coach is the opportunity to shape literacy development for the students, families, and teachers in your school community. A literacy coach has the capacity to change the trajectory of a failing or challenging school into a successful one for generations to come. Giving our youngest students in kindergarten to third grade the gift of literacy is huge. It is a lifelong gift that opens doors and creates opportunities for students throughout their educational and career path.

How to Become a Literacy Coach? 

Teachers with tenure or teachers with a good number of years of experience (at least three years to five years, depending on your district) are candidates to become a literacy coach. If you are interested in literacy coach jobs, be sure to research the specific steps in your city or state. Some states require a teaching license and others require passing a standardized state test. It is essential to determine which college or university near you or online offers and provides the best reading or literacy coach program.

Once you are accepted and enrolled in the program, you are on your way to becoming a literacy coach. Today, school districts around the country have partnered with local colleges and universities to create cohorts for literacy coaches to fill these desired positions.

A cohort makes the process of transitioning into this role much easier for a teacher who is working full-time while pursuing this next step. Find out if your district has plans to organize a cohort and apply today. You, too, can start the process of becoming a literacy coach and help teach the future, our students, to read.

Interested in the path to becoming a literacy coach? Check out our available reading and literacy graduate programs and get started today!

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The pandemic reminded the world how invaluable teachers, and in-person instruction are in literacy, especially for early readers. When we recognize there are advantages to using technology in teaching reading and writing for students of all ages, we understand that technology has a very important role in literacy development.

How Technology Can Be Used to Support Literacy Development 

Books remain the most powerful tool in the teaching of reading. A big advantage of technology is the wealth of access to books and educational resources for students and teachers. Curated book lists for parents and teachers to support students’ age, reading development, and interests are one-way technology can support the developmental reading journey for every child and young reader.

Online Catalog of Books

An online catalog of books to purchase and a database of books to read online are excellent technological advancements that schools have taken advantage of for student reading time in the classroom. E-books have become a popular choice of reading in the classroom since online reading is essential in American society today. Screen reading is a different experience for students and needs to be modeled and implemented for our young readers, especially since assessments are now online for students.

Social Networks

One of the best ways that technology can be used to support literacy development is when it promotes collaboration among educators and students. When social media and social networks are used positively, teachers can instantly connect with colleagues around the world to suggest a new book to read or share an effective writing lesson. Podcasts and blogs are popular in the educational industry because they connect experts in literacy directly to their target audience, in this case, teachers and reading specialists.

Applications

Applications including Google Slides, Google Docs, and Google Classroom were created to encourage collaboration among teachers and depending on the grade level, for students too. Students can work with partners to develop projects, book reports, or write assignments on these apps. Platforms including Padlet or Flipgrid were developed with the idea for classroom collaboration at the forefront of their design.

The pandemic also recognized how platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams can be used as interactive communication tool. While the pandemic also showed us that more students thrive with in-person instruction rather than online instruction, the video platforms are still used today when schools are closed for any reason from snow to power outages or illnesses. Video can be powerful when it comes to linking teachers, mentors, and literacy coaches in large school districts for meetings or professional development.

The Bureau of Education and Research has been able to maintain their excellence in literacy professional development by adding online seminars as an option for schools and districts around the country. Providing interactive learning experiences like this for teachers to increase their own literacy development is essential for student success in reading. When teachers can create an interactive learning experience with quality technology tools to increase engagement in literacy, students achieve reading success.

The Benefits of Using Technology in Literacy Instruction

More Engaging and Motivating

Technology is not only a factor in supporting teachers and students in the teaching and learning process. There are some benefits of using technology in literacy instruction. Literacy stations and collaborative work settings based around the usage of e-books, online phonics games, and incentivized online experiences can make literacy more engaging and motivating for students. The trick is to implement these options intermittently or for a set amount of time each day ranging from fifteen to twenty minutes. When elementary school students are on their screens for hours a day, which is seen in some schools around the country, the excitement decreases, which also decreases the intended engagement.

Personalized Learning Experiences

When technology can be used to provide personalized learning experiences that support a child’s strengths and challenges in reading and writing, the benefits can be observed. When teachers and school leaders can see how the literacy skills gained on educational technology are transferred into reading and writing development in small groups and whole group instruction, then the benefits are also evident.

Developing 21st-Century Skills

Finally, technology can help students develop 21st-century skills in order be competent and confident in their future career and college success. Technology’s role in literacy development should be embraced with caution and diligence with the sole purpose of helping students and teachers achieve literacy success.

Educators never stop learning; check out our available graduate degree programs  to hone your skills and promote lifelong learning and academic excellence.

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Students in schools in the United States have been struggling in reading for a decade, but it is most evident post-pandemic. The deficits have been significantly highlighted through data and media. Sadly, children across the country continue to be passed on to the next grade level while reading below grade level. Research shows that children who are not reading on grade level by the end of third or fourth grade often struggle throughout their entire school career and often drop out of school. Supporting struggling readers as soon as they are identified is essential to ensure this does not continue.

Elementary school teachers must be equipped with the tools and techniques to use the research behind the science of reading to support all students, especially struggling readers. Teacher training, professional learning opportunities, and support for educators are essential in supporting all readers in every grade level. Every school should have a full-time reading specialist, interventionists, or reading tutors. It is qualified instructors, not programs, that truly help struggling readers thrive in literacy.

Reading Strategies for Struggling Readers

Motivation and engagement are essential factors in how to help struggling readers. Hooking a child to get a struggling reader excited about reading and matching them with the perfect book is just the first step. Direct instruction that includes the implementation of the five pillars of reading plus writing makes the most significant difference and greatest impact in supporting struggling readers.

The most common reason a child struggles in reading is because they have a lack of knowledge and understanding in either phonological awareness or the developmental phonics system. When teachers create literacy lessons emphasizing letter-sound relationships and phonemes in reading and writing, they are enabling struggling readers to become independent readers.

Early intervention is key. Data shows that children who struggle with phonological awareness in kindergarten and receive no intervention are usually still struggling in second and third grade. Fluency is also an essential strategy for supporting struggling readers. Rereading poems, decodable texts, and predictable texts effectively teaches this component. Even if a student is identified as a struggling reader, it is important to support their vocabulary development and comprehension of text by exploring their background knowledge and experiences as it relates to the texts.

Reading Strategies for Struggling Younger Students

It is important to note that reading is a developmental journey for each child, so the best and most effective reading strategies are not determined by the age of a student but by the reading competency level based on a variety of literacy assessments. For example, a middle school student who has just arrived in America or labeled as an English Language Learner would benefit from the same strategies often used for younger students.

For a five to seven-year-old child, however, who is on the designated correct developmental path of literacy instruction, the foundations of reading are critical for young readers. These are the basic language skills that focus on phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics.

It is important to provide students with direct instruction through both small group and whole group experiences on how oral language connects to the printed word and how reading correlates with writing. Using word sorts and analogy charts based on sounds, decodable texts, and Elkonin boxes daily will increase a young reader’s literacy success. Students should be able to identify the similarities and differences between words. They should be able to decode, encode, and talk about text. Once a child has the capability to decode and encode on their own, they will be successful in figuring out any multisyllabic word they encounter.

Reading Strategies for Struggling Older Students

We know that older students who are struggling in reading greatly benefit from the phonics work we emphasis with younger students. This gap in letter-sound relationships and encoding and decoding are often the main reasons they struggle. Older students should focus on putting together, taking apart, reading, and writing multisyllabic words. Another reason older students struggle is because of fluency, specifically in their number of words per minute. This is when reader’s theater, rereading of text, and timed reading helps increase fluency rates.

Lastly, comprehension is often the one pillar of reading that makes reading a struggle for older students. Using graphic organizers and visualization to understand text sections in fiction and nonfiction helps students to better comprehend. Research often links strong fluency to strong comprehension, but there are always exceptions when it comes to individual students reading behaviors. When we address both in tandem and separately according to the provided literacy data, we are providing the best reading instruction for older students.

When we implement effective reading strategies as soon as children enter school, we will help all children become successful rather than struggling readers across America.

Do you have a passion for reading and literacy instruction? Check out our reading and literacy graduate programs and advance your career today!

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Outsiders to the education profession need to be made aware that English teachers and reading teachers have the same job. Educators know the difference and understand the importance of both teaching positions in our schools. While English majors are often teaching literature and writing at the secondary level, teachers with a degree in reading or literacy are teaching children of all ages how to read. Unfortunately, due to the state of literacy in America for the past five to ten years, more students in secondary English classes are unable to read text on grade level.

Middle school and high school English teachers are seeking support in the teaching of reading and writing to their students. Earning a graduate degree to build upon current knowledge in teaching while increasing an understanding of current research and best practice is also beneficial for an English teacher today. A graduate program provides teachers with more resources, new books, and additional professional development opportunities to become an expert in your craft. This wealth of knowledge increases your credibility as an educator and can open more doors to higher level positions.

A higher salary range and access to a number of more opportunities in the field of education are both strong benefits for an English teacher to earn a graduate degree. In 2023, the salary of American public-school teachers is behind and often doesn’t keep up with the cost of living, inflation, or the salary of other industries. Teachers deserve to feel both valued and financially compensated in education, especially as they continue on their professional journey as life-long learners. When a school system offers financial support to take classes toward a graduate degree or offer a cohort for their teachers to receive a graduate degree at no cost to them, they are truly supporting continuing education.

Graduate Programs for English Teachers

Teachers can enroll in graduate programs to earn a master’s degree in reading and literacy to hone their research, writing, and text analysis and comprehension skills. Based on the current data in reading education, it would be very beneficial for English teachers to earn a master’s degree or doctoral degree in reading, language, linguistics, or literacy. Getting a reading endorsement or reading specialist degree is also a valuable option since we need so many qualified reading specialists in schools.

In fact, to feel the need, school districts are implementing cohorts with local colleges and universities for teachers to conveniently earn their master’s degree in literacy education to fill these vast openings. Through this opportunity, teachers can accelerate their own learning without having to pay a dime out of pocket themselves.

If a cohort is not an option today in your current school district, there are a number of online programs that offer master’s degrees and doctoral degrees in reading or literacy. Online programs are popular for educators since they are designed for teachers and offer courses during after school and evening hours. A large component of many of these online programs includes the opportunity to shadow and work with a reading specialist in the position for a certain number of hours similar to a partnership or internship. Plenty of colleges and universities around the country offer in-person and hybrid models to allow full-time English teachers to earn a graduate degree in the evening and on the weekend.

Each state has their own list of recommendations for the best programs to earn a master’s degree in literacy or reading education. While the research behind the science of reading is 40 years old, it is new to many elementary school classroom teachers around the country. Therefore, some programs in higher education highlighting how their graduate degrees in literacy focus on the science of reading.

Intelligent.com compared 267 education programs to determine which master’s in reading and literacy degree programs are the best in faculty, cohort, and by region. Since time management is a critical factor for educators to determine when they can balance a full-time job as an English teacher and pursuing a graduate degree, the website ranked an accelerated program as the best.

No matter where you are teaching English in the classroom today, a graduate program with a master’s degree in English, reading, or literacy awaits you and so does the opportunity to become a reading teacher or literacy specialist. And we need you.

Do you have a passion for reading and literacy instruction? Check out our reading and literacy graduate programs and advance your career today! 

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There is, in fact, a body of research that includes a vast compilation of evidence to support the science of reading. The science of reading has evolved; however, it remains that the science of reading focuses on how students learn to read, what skills are needed to read, and how these two elements can be delivered to students in a way that works together to create a fluent and successful reader.

What are the Foundational Components of Reading Instruction? 

Reading instruction can be broken down into several components. These include: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and phonological awareness. In order to provide students with quality reading instruction that addresses all of these components, educators need to understand them clearly. The following briefly describes each piece and how it works in the reading process.

Fluency

Fluency takes practice. The meaning of being a fluent reader is essentially the ability to read smoothly to read for learning without having to pause to sound out words or problem solve. To develop reading skills that are automatic and accurate, students must practice reading text on their level and also understand how to decode it properly. Additionally, to be fluent, students must be able to understand what they are reading.

Comprehension

To understand and comprehend text, students must have a strong understanding of how to decode text and fluently read the text. If students are reading a text that they are struggling through, they aren’t able to focus on the content of the text; instead, they are focused on working on reading the text.

As young children begin to read texts independently, comprehension is vital paired with phonics instruction and other foundational skills. Once fluency is mastered, comprehension will typically follow. There is, of course, the need for comprehension monitoring and modeling of reading for understanding that should accompany phonics instruction and fluency practice.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary words are those words that are important to understand to comprehend a text effectively. Understanding vocabulary is vital in both oral communication and written communication. Some children begin the student learning reading process with an extensive vocabulary, and others come to the reading process with a lack of exposure to a vast vocabulary. Having been exposed to more words means students have an advantage in comprehension.

A more extensive vocabulary can pay off as students work to process all the elements of reading. Vocabulary is key to understanding text. Readers cannot comprehend what they are reading without knowing word meanings; therefore, vocabulary instruction is a must for the science of reading.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness refers to a student’s understanding of letters, sounds, blending, segmenting, and manipulating these letters and sounds. As students progress from identifying letters and understanding sounds, they can begin to master more complex words that can be broken down and decoded. Phonics programs such as Fundations often help students master phonemic awareness.

How Do We Currently Teach Reading? 

The science of teaching reading includes many essential parts! Teachers must begin in the lower grades with instruction in the above-mentioned areas: phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. This must systematically continue throughout the structured literacy of a child’s educational journey. The knowledge and strategies needed to guide students through this process can be gained in a master’s in reading program.

For example, educators in a reading master’s program will be exposed to the science of reading and gain strategies for teaching students how to decode text, understand text, and read more fluently. Educators who participate in such programs learn enhanced reading skills that allow them to work with groups of students or one-on-one with students experiencing difficulties. Courses offered help teachers increase their understanding of the reading process and increase their capacity to help students learn to read.

Courses offered in reading master’s programs are meant to strengthen reading instruction and often include:

• Reading Foundations
• Reading and Writing Content
• Literacy Assessment
• Children’s Literature
• Content Area Instruction
• Research Methodology
• Intervention Strategies

These courses help teachers become experts in reading instruction and allow teachers to guide students through the reading process seamlessly by learning science of reading strategies.

How Did COVID Impact Reading for Students? Were Some Students Impacted More?

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted students in all content areas. As we know, reading is vital in all content areas. To learn math, science, and social studies curriculum, students must be able to read and comprehend. Unfortunately, during the pandemic, many students missed reading instruction and did not respond well to virtual instruction.

This left gaps in students’ understanding of reading elements and meant that many students missed out on strong phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction. These gaps will need to be identified by teachers, and students will need to be met where they are in terms of the reading process.

What Needs to Change About Current Reading Instruction?

Often, there are shifts in how instruction is delivered in education. These shifts are often a result of research that shows the need for change. These changes are meant to help students in the learning process and better inform educators about how they can best provide instruction to students. Due to the pandemic, there are changes that have been made and should be made to instructional strategies for reading.

Throughout the years, teachers have been instructed to use whole language instruction, teach students strategies for identifying unknown words (such as using the picture or making a smart prediction), and to use one level of text (such as a basal reader) to teach whole group reading to students. As we now know, students need to be met where they are, and learning to read is a process that can be broken down for students.

Evidence shows that good readers are able to sound out words that can be decoded and, essentially, crack the code of reading and writing. Reading is a science, and students work through the process of learning letters and sounds, sounding out words, then putting those words together to form sentences, and so on.

Considering that learning to read is a process, educators need to be well-versed in this process to serve as a guide to students on their reading journey. Many districts provide educators with professional development to help them become experts on how students learn to read.

This professional development is focused on:

• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

Once teachers have this knowledge, they can begin to change how they instruct their students. Teachers can begin to implement proper guided reading lessons to allow students to navigate the reading process.

Ultimately, understanding how students learn to read is key to planning and delivering reading instruction through science of reading strategies. A shift in thinking and teaching will need to take place to increase reading achievement throughout education.

Do you have a passion for reading and literacy instruction? Check out our reading and literacy graduate programs and advance your career today!

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