Insights for Literacy
bridging research and practice
Our comprehensive Research Clearinghouse is your trusted source for evidence-based insights on literacy education. Here, you’ll find clear summaries distilling hundreds of studies and findings, along with tools designed to bridge the gap between research and practice.
Evidence at Your Fingertips
Explore our clearinghouse of scientifically-based reading research, where evidence-based insights inform effective literacy practices for Kentucky educators, education and civic leaders, parents and caregivers, and educator preparation providers.
Foundational Literacy Resources
Adolescent Literacy Resources
Adult Literacy Resources
Content Coming Soon
Description of the types of content and/or known sub topics
Family Literacy Resources
Content Coming Soon
Description of the types of content and/or known sub topics
- Emergent
A systematic review of research related to literacy instruction for preschool-aged children.
- Adolescent
A systematic review of research on the effects of vocabulary instruction for adolescent readers.
- Foundational
Research on early literacy consistently shows that reading and writing reinforce one another.
- Foundational
Content-rich literacy instruction can meaningfully boost knowledge and vocabulary acquisition.
- Adolescent
A review of literature related to text-based discussion in adolescent reading instruction.
- Adolescent
A systematic review of instructional interventions that support motivation in grades 4-9.
- Foundational
A review of instructional interventions aimed improving foundational reading comprehension.
- Adolescent
A comprehensive review of intervention research focused on disciplinary literacy for adolescents.
- Foundational
A review to help children in K-3 develop foundational reading skills related to phonics.
Evidence Snapshots
Evidence Snapshots are summaries of the each Clearinghouse Resource tailored to each audience.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
The most effective instruction for preschoolers combines explicit teaching with guided play.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Effective preparation equips educators to intentionally blend instruction and application.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Strong systems support intentional, integrated literacy instruction for early learners.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Simple, everyday interactions (i.e., talking, reading, and playing) build strong literacy skills.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Prepare future teachers to intentionally build knowledge through literacy instruction.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Connecting literacy instruction to content helps students build stronger topic knowledge.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Content-rich literacy instruction is a low-cost, high-impact lever that builds students' knowledge.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Students build knowledge of the world through content-rich materials and teaching.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Children become stronger readers when they also write regularly—and vice versa.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
EPPs should treat reading and writing as interconnected domains in all literacy coursework.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Parents and caregivers can help students improve their reading fluency.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Candidates must enter classrooms ready to diagnose fluency needs and deliver targeted support.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Consistent reading. explicit instruction, and motivational components can improve students' fluency.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Strategic leadership can ensure every student builds the reading confidence needed for success.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Vocabulary helps students understand what they read, express themselves and succeed across subjects.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Effective vocabulary instruction blends direct teaching, interactive learning and consistent review.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
EPPs must align literacy and content-area courses to include evidence-based vocabulary instruction.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Embedding explicit, engaging vocabulary curricula helps all adolescents read critically.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Effective K-3 literacy instruction should explicitly link reading and writing skills.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Connecting reading and writing—rather than alternating between them—leads to better outcomes.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Equipping future teachers with tools to scaffold rich discussion supports successful outcomes.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Text-based discussion is a powerful way to help a student become a stronger thinker and reader.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Text-based instruction improves students' comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and content learning.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Students learn more when they collaborate to answer questions about texts.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
When students want to read, they read more—and when they read more, their skills grow.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
EPPs should treat motivation as a core element of adolescent literacy instruction—not an add-on.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Create classrooms where adolescents not only learn to read well—but want to read more.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Embedding motivation into instruction is essential to keeping adolescents engaged in learning.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Comprehension instruction is essential for building strong, confident readers and lifelong learners.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Reading comprehension means your child can understand, remember, and talk about what they read.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Delivering structured, strategic, and inclusive comprehension is essential for teacher education.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Investing in research-based comprehension instruction strengthens learning across all domains.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Ask questions, talk about ideas, and encourage regular reading to support a student's comprehension.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Teaching comprehension includes word recognition, background knowledge, and language understanding.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Preparing future teachers to embed comprehension strategies across content areas is essential.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Fluency is the bridge between sounding out words and full reading comprehension.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Fluent reading helps your child understand, enjoy, and succeed in school.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Fluency is a key to unlocking comprehension and long-term success.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Strong early reading instruction includes fluency, not just phonics and comprehension.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Building vocabulary gives children the language they need to think, learn, and succeed.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Explicit vocabulary instruction is one of the most effective tools for reading comprehension.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Prepare future teachers who can deliver integrated, research-aligned vocabulary instruction.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Improving academic vocabulary in the early grades can boost long-term reading outcomes.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Helping your student build reading, writing, and thinking skills will support their learning.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Disciplinary literacy helps students read, write, and think like experts in multiple content areas.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Preparing future teachers to embed literacy into their subject instruction is essential.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Integrating literacy into content instruction can close achievement gaps for adolescent readers.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Early investment in research-based reading practices yield strong results.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Strong phonics skills are the foundation for strong reading skills.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Explicit phonics instruction is essential for ensuring reading success for all students.
- Evidence Snapshot for Parents and Caregivers
Success with reading longer words takes time, practice, and support outside the classroom.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
Targeted instruction in multisyllabic word reading should be emphasized in teacher preparation.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Adolescent literacy instruction demands a district-supported approach to multisyllabic word reading.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
Decoding and understanding complex texts and multisyllabic words is critical for adolescent readers.
- Evidence Snapshot for Education and Civic Leaders
Strong PA skills are among the strongest predictors of future reading success.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educator Preparation Providers
EPPs should integrate PA instruction strategies into both general and special education coursework.
- Evidence Snapshot for Educators
