Effective early reading instruction: a guide for teachers

This guide is intended to support teachers’ ongoing efforts to build students’ reading skills. It provides teachers with information on foundational early reading skills, an understanding of how these skills develop in young children, and examples of evidence-based systematic and explicit instructional strategies to support students to become proficient and fluent readers.

Further Reading and References
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Educator knowledge of foundational early reading skills and how children develop early reading

American Federation of Teachers and Moats, L. (2020). Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science, 2020: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do.
Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2003). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. Kindergarten through grade 3. (2nd ed.). Jessup, MD: ED Pubs.
Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading 18(1), 5-21.
Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
National Reading Panel (US). (2000). Teaching Children To Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. United States: Public Health Service, & United States Department of Health, National Institute of Child Health, Human Development (US), National Reading Excellence Initiative, National Institute for Literacy (US).
Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2022). Right to Read: Public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities. Toronto: Author.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2003). Early Reading Strategy: The Report of the Expert Panel on Early Reading in Ontario. Toronto: Author.
O’Sullivan, J., Canning, P., Siegel, L., & Olivieri, M. E. (2009). Key factors to support literacy success in school-aged populations: A literature review. Report prepared for the Council of Ministers of Education. Statistics Canada.
Rose, J. (2006). “Independent review of the teaching of early reading.” United Kingdom: the Department for Education and Skills.

Instructional strategies for teaching foundational early reading skills

Brady, S. (2020). A 2020 Perspective on Research Findings on Alphabetics (Phoneme Awareness and Phonics): Implications for Instruction (Expanded Version).
Florida Center for Reading Research. (n.d.). FCRR Student Center Activities.
Hawken, J. (2008). Foundations for literacy: An evidence based toolkit for the effective reading and writing teacher. Canadian Language & Literacy Research Network.
Savage, R., Georgiou, G., Parrila, R., & Maiorino, K. (2018). Preventative reading interventions teaching direct mapping of graphemes in texts and set-for-variability aid at-risk learners. Scientific Studies of Reading, 22(3), 225-247.
Schuele, M. & Boudreau, D. (2008). Phonological Awareness Intervention: Beyond the Basics. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools. 39. 3-20. 10.1044/0161-1461(2008/002).

Planning systematic and explicit instruction

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2013). Learning for All, A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12. Toronto: Author.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2016). The Kindergarten Program. Toronto: Author.

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