Literacy is…
Literacy is a complex relationship of sounds and symbols used to communicate meaning. It includes reading, writing, speaking, listening and analytical thinking. Literacy development begins at birth and continues throughout life. Ensuring that all learners have equitable access to literacy attainment is a collective community responsibility (ND Department of Public Instruction Literacy Plan Definition).
Literacy gives a person the ability to navigate the world with dignity. The ability to read, write, and comprehend is critical to taking control of our own lives and advocating for ourselves, for our families, and for our communities. When people aren’t equipped with those skills, they’re left with limited options in life.
New technologies, such as fMRI brain scans, help us understand the science of how the brain learns to read and the instructional practices to support that learning. This emerging research is referred to as “the science of reading” (SoR). SoR offers educators, students, and families in North Dakota hope that 95% of students can read proficiently by the end of the decade.
Professional Learning Opportunities
North Dakota Science of Reading Literacy Summit
The 2025 ND Literacy Summit marks the next chapter in advancing literacy instruction across North Dakota. This transformative event is designed to encourage educators by fostering a shared commitment to evidence-based reading practices, equip them with the latest research and practical strategies, and empower them to implement meaningful change in their classrooms.
Aspire: Literacy for Older Students
This series for educators working with students in 4th grade & up focuses on bolstering educators’ knowledge & skills regarding pillars of reading comprehension: word recognition, language comprehension, reading comprehension. Registration Closed.
CoachELA
Literacy teams will learn how to untangle their K-3 literacy data and execute more data informed decisions at all levels of their system covering topics like aligning content, fidelity, and data sorting tools. Registration Closed.
Evaluating Curricular Resources for ELA Adoption
This event, formerly known as the ELA Curriculum Fair, introduces participants to characteristics of effective ELA resources and provides opportunity for exploration of multiple curriculum options. Registration Closed.
High Leverage Literacy Strategies For All
This two-part learning series is designed to provide secondary educators with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to respond to student reading needs by matching to appropriate instructional strategies at the secondary level. This series focuses on what we teach (curriculum), how we teach (instruction), and data needed to guide the process (assessment). Registration Closed.
Improving Academic Literacy
This 3 semester learning series covers three components: student engagement, academic vocabulary, and critical thinking/comprehension. The project's goals are to familiarize with and implement research-based literacy strategies that will increase student achievement for ALL learners.
Improving Reading for Older Students
Participants in this course will have the opportunity to learn the research behind literacy accelerators that can propel reading progress, consider how to support students in rebuilding their academic confidence, and gain practical skills for how to implement these ideas to support students in regular classroom settings. Registration Closed.
LETRS: Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling
LETRS® provides educators with an in-depth understanding of the science behind teaching literacy and gives them the background and depth of knowledge to teach language and literacy skills to every student. Designed to be the cornerstone of a multiyear, systemic literacy improvement initiative, LETRS® is the most respected comprehensive professional development course for instructors of reading, spelling, and related language skills.
NDSOR: A Shared Responsibility
Featuring footage from ND classrooms highlighting implementation exemplars and includes the following content: Introduction to SOR, Systematic, Explicit Instruction, the 5 Big Ideas of Reading, and Data-Informed Decisions (MTSS). Intermittent checks for understanding support participants in knowledge acquisition.
NDSoR Hotline
The ND SoR Hotline will be a reoccurring virtual public forum of 90 minutes that has the following format: Updates on ND SoR opportunities and news, new learning opportunities, and Q&A time from the field.
NDSOR: Leading for Literacy Impact
District and school-level instructional leaders will be provided with the scientifically based knowledge and tools needed to close the research-to-practice gap. The course will consist of 3 sessions including ideas & materials for leading future PLC’s, classroom observation and feedback tools, and a template for school-wide implementation and de-implementation. Registration Closed.
NDSOR: Reaching All Learners
In-depth professional development offering available through a Learning Management System. The course will consist of several modules plus additional implementation supports including a community of practice (CoP), fidelity tools, and a coaching protocol available to schools. Registration Closed.
North Dakota Reading Corps
North Dakota Reading Corps, a strategic initiative of South East Education Cooperative, demonstrates how national service and literacy science can accelerate improvement in both students and systems. By mobilizing the people power of AmeriCorps, Reading Corps provides evidence-based literacy interventions and data-based assessments to children from age three to grade three. Our goal is to help every child become a successful reader by the end of 3rd grade.
thinkSRSD Writing Instruction for 3rd-5th Grade
Participants will learn how to use Self-Regulated Strategy Development in writing instruction. They will also use the thinkSRSD framework to teach writing to their students for ~2 weeks over the course of the semester. Registration Closed.
Extra Resources
The West Virginia Phonics folder has been created to house the phonics lessons which were previously available for download on the West Virginia Department of Education Reading First webpage (http://wvde.state.wv.us/).
All rights and credit for these lessons belong to the West Virginia Department of Education. We thank them for publicly sharing these valuable resource materials.
The link to these lessons is no longer available or maintained on the West Virginia Department of Education website. For that reason, we are making these lessons available to our teachers via this site.
To locate lessons for skills, please click the button above. If you wish to use these lessons now or in the future, you may want to consider downloading and saving these files to your own desktop or external storage device.