-
In 1907, Maria Montessori opened the first Montessori school in Rome. She believed that creating a productive environment which allowed children to develop their literacy skills without realizing they were doing so was key to a student’s literacy development. She encouraged children to be exposed to spoken words used in everyday life and recognized the role adults play in children’s vocabulary and grammatically correct use of language. -
Jean Piaget created the Cognitive Developmental Theory.
Piaget created four stages of cognitive development which highlight children's age range and their abilities. These four stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. From the age two to seven years, children are in the preoperational stage. According to Piaget, children in this stage should begin to use phrases and words to communicate their desires. -
Chall described six stages of development in her book Stages of Reading Development. The first stage is titled Stage 0: Pre-reading and it consists of children between the age of six months to six years old. In this stage, children are able to name the letters of the alphabet, write their name, and utilize books, pencils, and paper. They are encouraged to use a combination of two to three words in social contexts and interact with books using rhymes, alliteration, and repetitive phrases. -
Stage 5: Critical Literacy in Work and Society
In the final stage, students read for professional and personal purposes. Reading and writing is strategic, purposeful, specialized, and anchored. Students read to synthesize information and create new knowledge. In professional and specialized settings, students synthesize information from a variety of sources to create conclusions, navigate numerous perspectives, and shape their audiences views. -
One key part of this law requires teachers to reassess their instruction and curriculum to ensure they are helping each individual student progress as a proficient reader.
Another important idea is that each student should receive effective, targeted, comprehension support from their teacher. Additionally, each student and their guardian must be continuously informed of their student’s reading proficiency ability, progress, and needs. -
This act focuses on improving literacy outcomes for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The VLA requires the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to suggest literacy programs including supplemental, core, and intervention materials. The purpose of this is to give students the opportunity to receive evidence-based literacy instructions that are supported by science-based reading research to improve literacy outcomes.
-
