Reading First

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) authorized Reading First, which emphasizes the importance of both improving student reading achievement and implementing programs and strategies scientifically proven to be effective. The goal of the program is to have every student reading at grade level or above by third grade.

Eligible school districts are identified by the state. Each funded district will receive a three year grant to support professional development, core and supplementary reading materials, assessment materials, and instruction aligned to scientific based reading research for K-3 classrooms.

Each school’s reading program must include the five essential components of reading instruction as reported in the National Reading Panel report in 2000. These include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. In addition, professional development will include ways to effectively screen, identify and overcome barriers facing K-3 students.

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For information on federal legislation for Reading First search:

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/readingfirst.html
http://www.readingfirstsupport.us

Central Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center:

http://www.texasreading.org/utcrla/pd/nrftac.asp

Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance:

http://www.fcrr.org

Western Regional Reading First Technical Center:

http://oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/

For information on Reading First in Illinois:

http://www.isbe.net/curriculum/reading/html/read_first.htm/

For information about effective reading instruction:

The National Reading Panel

http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/Publications/subgroups.htm

Partnership for Reading

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading