Literacy Instruction Resource Compendium

Five Components of Literacy Instruction

A curated collection of peer-reviewed research, reputable educational websites, instructional videos, and practical classroom resources for five foundational components of literacy instruction.

About this compendium

This compendium is organized around five foundational components of literacy instruction: phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Each section includes a peer-reviewed article, a reputable educational website, an instructional video, and a practical classroom resource. I plan to use the collection when planning lessons, reviewing evidence-based practices, and finding materials for whole-class instruction, small groups, or intervention.

01

Phonological Awareness

Hearing, identifying, and manipulating sounds in spoken language

Instructional graphic showing hearing, segmenting, and connecting phonemes.

Scholarly Article

Does Phoneme Awareness Training in Kindergarten Make a Difference in Early Word Recognition and Developmental Spelling?

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The article gives a clear research base for teaching phonemic awareness directly instead of assuming children will automatically pick it up. Ball and Blachman compared kindergarten students who received structured phoneme-awareness instruction with students who received letter-name and letter-sound instruction or no added intervention. The phoneme-awareness group practiced hearing common sounds across words, segmenting spoken words, and connecting those sounds to letters. The students who received this combined instruction made stronger gains in early word recognition and developmental spelling. What stood out to me is that the instruction did not remain disconnected from reading. Students were taught to notice and manipulate sounds, but they were also helped to connect those sounds to the alphabetic system. In the classroom, this supports using short, explicit activities with counters, sound boxes, blending, and segmentation before asking students to read or spell words. Although the study is older, its findings are still relevant because they explain why early sound instruction is an important foundation for later decoding and spelling.

Ball, E. W., & Blachman, B. A. (1991). Does phoneme awareness training in kindergarten make a difference in early word recognition and developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 26(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.26.1.3

Reading Rockets page explaining phonological and phonemic awareness.

Reference Website

Reading Rockets: Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

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Reading Rockets is a useful reference website because it explains phonological and phonemic awareness in language that is understandable without oversimplifying the topic. The site clearly separates awareness of spoken sounds from phonics, which involves connecting sounds to print. This distinction is important because the two terms are often used as if they mean the same thing. The page includes background articles, teaching explanations, videos, classroom strategies, and activities involving rhyme, syllables, onset-rime, blending, segmentation, and individual phonemes. Because the site covers so much, I could return to it when planning a whole-class mini-lesson, looking for an intervention activity, or reviewing the developmental sequence of sound skills before deciding where a student needs support. It is also helpful that the information is free and does not require a school subscription. One limitation is that the website contains a large amount of information, so a teacher may need to narrow the search to the exact skill being taught. Overall, I think it is a strong professional reference because it connects research to practical classroom instruction and gives teachers more than a list of disconnected activities.

Reading Rockets. (n.d.). Phonological and phonemic awareness. WETA Public Television.

Video thumbnail showing Anna DiGilio presenting phonological awareness skills.

Instructional Video

How to Teach Phonological Awareness - Part 1

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Anna DiGilio’s video is a practical introduction to teaching phonological awareness because it focuses on what the instruction can actually look and sound like. Rather than only defining the term, the video shows how a teacher can guide children through oral sound activities. The key takeaway is that phonological-awareness practice should initially depend on listening and speaking rather than on looking at printed words. This helps keep the skill separate from phonics and allows students to focus fully on the sound structure of language. The video also fits the idea that instruction should move from larger and more noticeable units of sound toward smaller ones. A teacher might begin with words, rhyme, or syllables before expecting students to isolate and manipulate individual phonemes. I could use the demonstrations to plan short warm-ups, small-group intervention, or quick checks for understanding. I would not use the video as the only source for a full scope and sequence, since it is one part of a series, but it is a helpful model for teachers who understand the definition and still need to see how to present the activities clearly.

DiGilio, A. (n.d.). How to teach phonological awareness - Part 1 [Video]. YouTube.

Heggerty phonemic awareness program page with curriculum resources.

Practical Classroom Resource

Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum

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Heggerty is a structured classroom resource that provides short, explicit phonemic-awareness lessons for students from Early Pre-K through Grade 5. What I like about Heggerty is that it turns a skill that can feel abstract into a predictable daily routine. Depending on the grade and program, lessons include activities such as rhyme, blending, segmenting, isolating, adding, deleting, and substituting sounds. The teacher leads the routine orally and students respond together, often using hand motions to make the sound changes easier to follow. This could be useful as a whole-class warm-up, but it could also be used in a smaller intervention group when students need more practice with a specific phonemic skill. The consistency would likely help students who need repeated directions or who become overwhelmed when the format changes constantly. At the same time, I would not assume that following a script replaces listening to student responses and adjusting instruction. The complete curriculum is a purchased resource, although the website offers sample lessons and some assessment materials. Overall, it is practical because it gives teachers an organized routine while still allowing them to slow down, repeat, or provide more support when students need it.

Heggerty. (n.d.). The Heggerty phonemic awareness curriculum.

02

Phonics

Connecting letters and spelling patterns to the sounds of language

Instructional graphic showing explicit systematic phonics and word building.

Scholarly Article

Systematic Phonics Instruction Helps Children Learn to Read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s Meta-Analysis

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This peer-reviewed meta-analysis gives a strong research foundation for systematic phonics instruction. Ehri and her colleagues analyzed 66 treatment-control comparisons from 38 experiments that examined systematic phonics instruction. Across the studies, systematic instruction was more effective than unsystematic phonics or instruction that did not include phonics. The benefits appeared in students’ ability to read words, decode unfamiliar words, and spell, and the instruction supported beginning readers as well as students who were already experiencing difficulty. The article makes an important distinction between teaching phonics through a planned sequence and mentioning letter-sound relationships only when they happen to appear in a text. For classroom use, this supports selecting a logical scope and sequence, explicitly modeling each pattern, giving students guided blending and word-building practice, and then using connected text that contains the patterns already taught. It also reminds me that phonics is one part of literacy instruction rather than the entire reading program. Students still need oral language, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension instruction while they are learning how the alphabetic system works.

Ehri, L. C., Nunes, S. R., Stahl, S. A., & Willows, D. M. (2001). Systematic phonics instruction helps children learn to read: Evidence from the National Reading Panel’s meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 71(3), 393-447. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071003393

Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities page.

Reference Website

Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities

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The Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities page is a strong phonics reference because it provides free, ready-to-use activities created for Pre-K through Grade 5 classrooms. The activities are organized by literacy component and grade band, which makes it easier to locate practice for a specific phonics skill instead of searching through an entire website. Students can complete the activities with a partner, in a small group, or independently after the skill has already been taught. That last point matters because the activities are designed to practice, demonstrate, and extend learning; they are not meant to replace explicit teacher instruction. These materials would work well during literacy centers, intervention groups, or as additional practice for students who need more repetitions with a pattern. The teacher guides and recording sheets also make the activities easier to prepare and monitor. A limitation is that the collection is large, so the teacher still needs to match the activity to the class scope and sequence and check that students are not practicing a pattern they have not learned.

Florida Center for Reading Research. (n.d.). FCRR student center activities. Florida State University.

National Center on Improving Literacy video thumbnail for systematic phonics instruction.

Instructional Video

How to Use Systematic Phonics Instruction in Your Classroom

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This video from the National Center on Improving Literacy gives teachers a clear overview of how systematic phonics instruction can be used in an actual classroom. It explains that phonics teaches the relationship between graphemes and the sounds they represent and that these relationships should be introduced through a planned progression. The resource begins with letter-sound correspondence and moves toward reading regular and irregular words, which helps show why phonics instruction needs to be cumulative. I found the classroom focus useful because it does not stop at saying that systematic phonics is supported by research. It connects the research to teacher actions, including teaching a small number of correspondences at a time, modeling how to blend sounds, providing guided practice, and checking whether students can apply the pattern independently. I could use the video as a professional-learning resource before planning a phonics block or as part of a team discussion about whether lessons are truly explicit and sequenced. The classroom examples make the resource especially useful for connecting research-based principles to daily instruction.

National Center on Improving Literacy. (2023). How to use systematic phonics instruction in your classroom [Video]. YouTube.

Starfall Learn to Read screen showing phonics activities and decodable books.

Practical Classroom Resource

Starfall: Learn to Read with Phonics

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Starfall’s Learn to Read section is a useful digital practice resource for beginning readers because it presents phonics patterns through short books, games, songs, and audio-supported activities. The sequence begins with simple consonant-vowel-consonant words and continues into long vowels, digraphs, and other common letter-sound relationships. Students can hear sounds and words, respond to prompts, and reread decodable stories connected to the pattern they are practicing. Starfall would work best as an independent literacy station after I had already taught the target skill directly. It could also provide additional practice at home or allow a student to repeat an activity without feeling singled out. The untimed format and positive feedback may be especially supportive for students who need more time to process a word. However, I would not use it as a substitute for teacher-led phonics instruction or assume that a student is mastering a skill simply because the activity was completed. Teachers also need to know that Starfall offers free materials, but membership unlocks a much larger collection. Its combination of free materials and optional membership content gives teachers several ways to use the resource.

Starfall Education Foundation. (n.d.). Learn to read with phonics.

03

Vocabulary

Building the word knowledge students need to understand and communicate

Instructional graphic showing defining, connecting, and applying academic vocabulary.

Scholarly Article

Effective Academic Vocabulary Instruction in the Urban Middle School

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Kelley and her colleagues describe the development and evaluation of an academic vocabulary curriculum used in 21 sixth-grade classrooms serving many language-minority students and students who struggled with comprehension. The study makes it clear that vocabulary instruction needs to involve more than copying definitions or seeing a word one time. The curriculum selected useful academic words and taught them through meaningful explanations, discussion, repeated encounters, and opportunities to use the words in different contexts. Students who received the instruction improved in vocabulary and reading comprehension, while teachers also developed a stronger understanding of how to teach academic language. Although the study took place in middle school, the central ideas could be adapted for elementary grades. I could select a small number of high-utility words from a read-aloud or content unit, provide student-friendly meanings, connect the words to examples and nonexamples, and revisit them across speaking, reading, and writing. The article also supports making vocabulary part of the lesson rather than adding a list at the end. Its focus on linguistically diverse classrooms is valuable because it shows that explicit word instruction can provide access to complex content without lowering the level of thinking expected from students.

Kelley, J. G., Lesaux, N. K., Kieffer, M. J., & Faller, S. E. (2010). Effective academic vocabulary instruction in the urban middle school. The Reading Teacher, 64(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.64.1.1

Vocabulary.com educator page showing contextual vocabulary learning features.

Reference Website

Vocabulary.com

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Vocabulary.com is a useful website for building word knowledge because it combines a detailed dictionary with adaptive practice and teacher-created or ready-made word lists. Its word entries include student-friendly explanations, example sentences, pronunciation, and information that helps students understand how a word is actually used. The educator section includes thousands of curriculum-aligned lists, and teachers can create lists connected to a novel, science unit, social studies topic, or group of academic words. The adaptive questions present words in more than one context, which is more valuable than asking students to memorize a definition for a Friday quiz. I see this working best as follow-up practice after words have already been introduced through discussion and reading, or as a Vocabulary Jam for review. The progress information can also help identify words or concepts that need to be retaught. Many of the stronger assignment, reporting, quiz, and classroom-management features require a paid subscription. I would also avoid making it the only form of vocabulary instruction because students still need rich conversation and opportunities to use words in authentic speaking and writing.

Vocabulary.com. (n.d.). For educators.

Classroom still from the Tier Two Vocabulary Instruction video.

Instructional Video

Tier Two Vocabulary Instruction

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This classroom video shows teacher Neil Hicken using Marzano’s six-step process to teach Tier Two vocabulary to middle school students. Seeing the routine in an actual classroom makes the process easier to understand than simply reading a list of strategies. Students are introduced to a word through an explanation and then take an active role by restating the meaning, representing the word, discussing it, and using it through continued practice. The sequence helps students build a fuller concept of the word rather than copying one definition and forgetting it. The focus on Tier Two words is also useful because these words appear across texts and subjects but may not be used often in everyday conversation. In an elementary classroom, I could shorten the routine and use drawings, partner talk, examples, nonexamples, gestures, or a quick game to revisit a word over several days. The video is especially useful for showing that vocabulary instruction should involve student thinking and language, not only teacher explanation. The classroom demonstration provides a concrete model teachers can adapt when planning repeated, active practice with high-utility words.

San Bernardino City Unified School District. (n.d.). Tier two vocabulary instruction [Video]. YouTube.

Flocabulary lesson page featuring educational hip-hop resources.

Practical Classroom Resource

Flocabulary

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Flocabulary is a K-12 digital platform that introduces academic and content-area vocabulary through hip-hop videos, lyrics, and connected learning activities. The combination of music, visuals, repetition, and word use may help students remember vocabulary that would otherwise feel disconnected from the lesson. A typical lesson can include the video, vocabulary cards, practice questions, reading and responding, a quiz, and opportunities for students to write with the new words. I could use the video to launch a topic, pause to discuss important words, and then have students apply selected vocabulary in a short response or their own lyric. The platform could be especially engaging for students who respond well to rhythm, audio, and visual supports, although it should not be described as automatically effective for every learner. Teachers still need to stop the video, check meaning, and connect the words to the texts and concepts students are studying. Full classroom access and many assignment features require a subscription, so that limitation needs to be stated clearly. Flocabulary is strongest as one part of repeated, meaningful vocabulary instruction rather than as entertainment shown once and then forgotten.

Flocabulary. (n.d.). Educational hip-hop.

04

Fluency

Reading accurately, automatically, and with meaningful expression

Instructional graphic showing accuracy, automaticity, and expression in fluency practice.

Scholarly Article

Whole Class or Small Group Fluency Instruction: A Tutorial of Four Effective Approaches

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Kuhn reviews four research-supported approaches to fluency instruction: Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction, Wide Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction, Fluency-Oriented Oral Reading, and Wide Fluency-Oriented Oral Reading. Two approaches are designed mainly for whole-class use and two are intended for smaller groups. The models differ in how much they rely on repeated reading or wider reading, but they share several important features, including teacher modeling, substantial reading practice, scaffolding, and attention to prosody. One thing I appreciated is that the article treats fluency as more than speed. Accurate and automatic word reading frees students to focus on meaning, while appropriate phrasing and expression show that the reader is attending to the structure and meaning of the text. The article would help a teacher decide whether a class needs a repeated-reading routine, broader supported reading, or more targeted small-group practice. In my classroom, I could model a passage, guide students through echo or partner reading, and gradually remove support as their reading becomes more accurate and expressive. I would also use comprehension questions so that students do not begin to view reading quickly as the goal. This is a strong article because it connects research to specific instructional formats.

Kuhn, M. R. (2020). Whole class or small group fluency instruction: A tutorial of four effective approaches. Education Sciences, 10(5), 145. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10050145

Reading Universe fluency page explaining accuracy, automaticity, and expression.

Reference Website

Reading Universe: Fluency

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Reading Universe is a useful fluency resource because the section is specifically organized around how fluency develops and how it should be taught. The site defines fluency through accuracy, automaticity, and appropriate expression, while emphasizing that accuracy must come first. It includes teacher-facing explanations, videos, skill demonstrations, assessments, printable resources, and links to decodable or practice texts. The fluency section is divided into topics such as accuracy and automaticity and expressive text reading, which makes it easier to find information for a particular student need. I would return to the website when reviewing a concept before planning instruction, locating a model routine, or finding a resource for guided oral reading. It is also useful for professional learning because it connects fluency to underlying decoding skills and comprehension instead of presenting words-correct-per-minute as the complete goal. The resources are free, although the amount of information may require teachers to choose carefully rather than opening several activities at once. Overall, this site aligns directly with the pillar and provides both background knowledge and practical materials for evidence-based fluency instruction.

Reading Universe. (n.d.). Fluency. WETA.

McGraw Hill video still showing a teacher supporting a student during oral reading.

Instructional Video

Demonstrating Reading Fluency Strategies

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This McGraw Hill PreK-12 video provides a short classroom demonstration of strategies that support fluent oral reading. Hearing the routine modeled makes the difference between word-by-word reading and reading with appropriate phrasing and expression much clearer. The video shows the importance of providing a fluent model and then giving students supported opportunities to read aloud rather than simply telling them to read faster. The central classroom application is to select a manageable passage, model how the text should sound, guide students as they practice, and provide feedback on accuracy, phrasing, and expression. A teacher could use the same general structure for echo reading, choral reading, paired reading, or repeated reading, depending on the needs of the students. I would also follow the oral practice with a brief question about meaning so that fluency remains connected to comprehension. The focused classroom demonstration provides a clear model for supported oral-reading practice and specific teacher feedback.

McGraw Hill PreK-12. (n.d.). Demonstrating reading fluency strategies [Video]. YouTube.

Instructional graphic showing the script, rehearsal, and performance stages of Reader’s Theater.

Practical Classroom Resource

Aaron Shepard’s Reader’s Theater Page

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Aaron Shepard’s Reader’s Theater page offers free scripts and guidance for using dramatic reading in the classroom. Reader’s Theater is valuable for fluency because it gives students a reason to reread a text. Instead of repeating a passage only to improve a score, students rehearse because they are preparing to perform the script for an audience. During that process, they practice accurate word reading, phrasing, pacing, expression, and attention to punctuation. I could place students in small groups, assign roles that are appropriate for their current reading ability, and provide several rehearsal periods before the performance. Students who are hesitant readers may benefit from practicing the same lines and sharing responsibility with a group. The scripts can also lead to comprehension work because students need to understand the character, mood, and meaning in order to read the lines effectively. A limitation is that the teacher must preview each script for length, vocabulary, content, and role balance rather than assuming every selection fits every class. The site is visually dated, but the free materials are still useful. This resource is strongest when the teacher models fluent reading and gives specific feedback during rehearsal rather than focusing only on the final performance.

Shepard, A. (n.d.). Scripts and tips for reader’s theater.

05

Comprehension

Constructing meaning through knowledge, strategy, and active thinking

Instructional graphic showing story mapping, inference, and text evidence strategies.

Scholarly Article

Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies to Students with Learning Disabilities: A Review of Research

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Gersten and his colleagues reviewed research on comprehension instruction for students with learning disabilities and students considered at risk. The article examines narrative and expository instruction and discusses approaches such as self-questioning, story grammar, text structure, graphic organizers, peer-mediated learning, and vocabulary support. The review makes it clear that comprehension instruction involves much more than giving students a passage and checking their answers afterward. Students who struggle often need the thinking process modeled, practiced with support, and gradually transferred to independent reading. The review also suggests that instruction combining strategies can be more useful than teaching isolated tricks with no connection to a larger understanding of the text. In the classroom, I could model a think-aloud, use a story map or text-structure organizer, and ask students to explain how the strategy helped them understand a specific section. Partner discussion could provide another layer of support, but students would still need direct teacher guidance and feedback. Although the article was published in 2001, the emphasis on explicit instruction, social interaction, and connected strategies remains relevant. It is especially useful for planning instruction that gives students access to complex thinking without assuming they will independently discover how strong readers make meaning.

Gersten, R., Fuchs, L. S., Williams, J. P., & Baker, S. K. (2001). Teaching reading comprehension strategies to students with learning disabilities: A review of research. Review of Educational Research, 71(2), 279-320. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543071002279

Newsela ELA page showing literacy instruction features.

Reference Website

Newsela ELA

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Newsela is a strong comprehension website because it provides authentic fiction, nonfiction, and current-topic texts that can be accessed at five reading levels. This allows students to read about the same content while receiving different levels of text support. The platform also includes tools such as annotations, audio, vocabulary support, checks for understanding, and writing or discussion activities, although the exact features available depend on the school’s plan. I see Newsela as a way to build background knowledge before a science or social studies unit, create a text set around one topic, or give students a common article for evidence-based discussion. The varied levels could support access, but I would use them carefully because students still need opportunities to work with grade-level language and teacher scaffolding. The website has the greatest instructional value when an article is incorporated into an intentional lesson involving questioning, summarizing, inference, or comparison across texts. It should not become a routine in which students silently read an article and complete a quiz every time. Another limitation is that many advanced instructional and reporting tools are included in paid Newsela products. These access limitations are important to consider when deciding how the resource fits a school’s instructional plan.

Newsela. (n.d.). Newsela ELA.

Video thumbnail for Reading Comprehension: Teaching Strategies.

Instructional Video

Reading Comprehension: Teaching Strategies

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This video from Teachings in Education gives an overview of several strategies teachers can use to make comprehension instruction more explicit. The video discusses approaches such as reciprocal teaching, questioning, summarizing, and identifying or highlighting important information. These strategies help students pause and actively process a text instead of reaching the end without understanding what they read. I found the video useful as a quick professional review because it gives teachers language for modeling the strategies. In an elementary classroom, I could demonstrate one strategy through a think-aloud, practice it with the class, and then allow students to use it with a partner before expecting independent application. Reciprocal teaching could be simplified through roles such as predictor, questioner, clarifier, and summarizer. I would avoid teaching all of the strategies at the same time because students need to understand when and why a particular strategy is useful. The video works well as a focused introduction to comprehension strategies that teachers can model, practice, and revisit with students.

Teachings in Education. (n.d.). Reading comprehension: Teaching strategies [Video]. YouTube.

Book Creator teacher page showing digital book creation tools.

Practical Classroom Resource

Book Creator

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Book Creator is a digital tool that allows students to demonstrate comprehension by combining typed text, drawings, photographs, audio, and video in one book. What I like about Book Creator is that students can show what they understood in more than one way instead of always completing the same written worksheet. After reading, students could create a story retelling, character diary, sequence of events, nonfiction summary, text-evidence page, or comparison of two sources. The audio feature could support students who can explain their thinking more fully than they can currently write, while still allowing the teacher to assess whether the response is grounded in the text. I would provide a clear rubric and require specific evidence so that the activity remains a comprehension task rather than becoming mostly about decorations and technology. The free teacher plan includes one shared library with up to 40 books and unlimited students, while additional libraries and features require a subscription. Book Creator can support differentiation and student choice, but students may need direct instruction in the platform before using it independently. It is most effective when the digital format helps students organize and communicate meaning, not when it adds unnecessary steps to a simple response.

Book Creator. (n.d.). Book Creator for teachers.