Philadelphia, November 16, 2016 – Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) has launched LEARN (Literacy Education and Resource Network), a new web platform providing the education community with a comprehensive and expanding resource to read, watch, and discuss the best practices in balanced literacy instruction.
CLI’s LEARN focuses on the core instructional practices validated through the i3 (investing in Innovation) grant, and identified by the National Reading Panel. Topics include Intentional Read Aloud, Guided Reading, Message Time Plus™, Reading Workshop, Writing Workshop, Independent Work Time, Classroom Culture & Environment, and Literacy Coaching.
Each of the content areas offers users in-depth explanations, guidance, and practical classroom tips to improve their literacy instruction. The site provides complete video demonstrations of lessons and best practices, “We captured lessons in real classrooms, with real students, using relevant literacy objectives to illustrate the practices a teacher may have just read about. Over time we will create additional videos to add clarity to these instructional practices,” said Caryn Henning, CLI’s Director of Content Development and Program Design. LEARN also offers the education community downloadable tools, like lesson plans, checklists, planning templates, and guides. These tools will help teachers implement the practices we have provided professional development on for the past twenty-five years.
“There is a wealth of content out there in regards to teaching children to read. What we’ve done is curated, and selected the best-of-the-best in research-based literacy practices and put it all in one place. We have done this work with a focus on how adults learn providing opportunities to read, see, and talk about each practice. Through video we demonstrate these practices and we offer users the ability to ask questions on every page in the comments area. While we plan on participating in the site’s discussion areas, our intention is to build a community that helps one another, and ultimately adds to the content we’re providing,” said CLI’s Chief Academic Officer, Frank Grossman.
CLI’s LEARN platform provides teachers, coaches, and administrators with access to and use of codified content, implementation knowledge, and the support needed to implement effective literacy practices. LEARN will immediately benefit the more than 400 educators annually participating in CLI’s i3 Scale-up Project, but is also free and open to the public.
“It is of critical importance that CLI share the expert knowledge we’ve gained thanks to the federal i3 (Investing in Innovation) grant. It is our mission to ensure that all children can read on grade level by third grade and we expect that LEARN will help us meet this goal in both the communities we serve, and across the nation. This is a free tool for everyone.” said Children’s Literacy Initiative’s CEO, Joel Zarrow.
About Children’s Literacy Initiative
Established in 1988, Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that is focused on improving literacy instruction in public, charter and parochial schools to ensure that students can read by third grade. CLI’s program provides personalized coaching for teachers and principals, research-based literacy training, and the books and materials classrooms need so that students can become powerful readers, writers and thinkers. During the 2015-2016 school year, CLI served nearly 2,000 educators in 257 schools to benefit the reading achievement of over 41,000 pre-k to 3rd grade students. For more information, visit www.cli.org.
