Reading Science Informs Our Approach

Skills in the Service of Reading for Understanding

“Think about what beginning readers are mainly working on: cracking the code. Making meaning with texts is always the focus, but young children especially need to develop the ability to hear sounds in words, develop sight words, and acquire word recognition strategies” (Fitzgerald et al., 2016).

Our instructional design is built on the premise that children learn best when skills are set in context of the “why.” The four recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade guide (Foorman et al., 2016) drive the instruction and practice in A–Z for Mat Man® and Me: (1) Teach academic language skills; (2) Develop awareness of sounds and links to letters; (3) Teach students to decode and recognize words; (4) Ensure that students read connected text every day.

Alphabet Knowledge: A Vital Step in Learning to Read

Oral Langua g eW or d Recognition ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE

Phonological Awareness

Connected Text

Systematic, Explicit Instruction

“Teaching phonics and phonological awareness explicitly, systematically, and sequentially, with phonemegrapheme correspondence as the core focus of instruction, is essential if the goal is preventing reading failure and enabling most students to read” (Moats, 2019).

Children develop into proficient readers when they receive systematic and explicit instruction. A–Z for Mat Man® and Me offers both. • Systematic: We recommend teaching letters sequentially. The Letter Learning lessons for each book are highly structured to teach each letter of the alphabet. The Meaning Making lessons reinforce the use of the letters in words and stories. • Explicit: Each letter’s name, sound, and form is explicitly taught, practiced, and applied.

Alphabet Knowledge

“When children recognize letters as units of independent importance and associate these graphic symbols with a letter name and sound, they make an important step forward in early reading acquisition” (Jones & Reutzel, 2012).

In A–Z for Mat Man® and Me, children learn and cement skills about letters. They apply this learning as they read the Student Letter Books along with you. As their letter knowledge becomes automatic, children will become more actively engaged in discussing the letter sounds in the books.

Fitzgerald, J., Elmore, J., Hiebert, E. H., Koons, H. H., Bowen, K., Sanford-Moore, E. E., & Stenner, A. J. (2016). Examining text complexity in the early grades. Phi Delta Kappan, 97(8), 60–65; Foorman, B., Beyler, N., Borradaile, K., Coyne, M., Denton, C. A., Dimino, J., ... & Wissel, S. (2016). Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. Educator’s Practice Guide. NCEE 2016–4008. What Works Clearinghouse; Jones, C. D., & Reutzel, D. R. (2012). Enhanced alphabet knowledge instruction: Exploring a change of frequency, focus, and distributed cycles of review. Reading Psychology, 33(5), 448–464; Moats, L. (2019). Phonics and spelling: Learning the structure of language at the word level. Reading Development and Difficulties (pp. 39–62). Springer, Cham.