LETRS: Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling:

by Louisa Cook Moats, Carol A. Tolman

LETRS is a professional development course that empowers teachers to understand the what, why and how of literacy instruction, based on the most current scientific research. LETRS provides deeper knowledge of reading instruction as well as how to assess and address student needs based on age, grade, and ability levels.

This manual is accompanied by state-of-the-art, interactive technology to support a blended learning model. The online instruction aligns to the units in this manual and shows how to directly apply LETRS principles and practices to the classroom.

Volume 1
Unit 1 The Challeng of Learning to Read
Unit 2 The Speech Sounds of English
Unit 3 Teaching Beginning Phonics, Word Recognition and Spelling
Unit 4 Advanced Decoding, Spelling, and Word Recognition

Learning to be a skilled instructor, whether in a regular class or an intervention setting, can take a long time, a lot of practice, and a lot of study. This LETRS course translates current findings from reading science into practical guidance that empowers all teachers to instruct with genuine confidence.

Genres: Education, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Teaching

329 pages, Spiral-bound

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Tia]

I spent so much time reading this as professional development this school year that it must be counted in my “read” books for the year.

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello, Teachers! The content of this LETRS training is fabulous! The tests and quizzes...not so much (some tricky wording on some of those questions). The implementation of all of these researched-based best practices? A little daunting in a fifth grade classroom. I really wish the videos would portray a true classroom with 30-35 students, most of whom are on automatic pilot (independent practice) while the teacher pulls 4 kids to the back table to promote morphology. The book is great, an excellent resource with lovely suggestions for phonological awareness activities!

[Jessica]

LETRS is a comprehensive program for the science of reading and I found it useful for college credit and helping my ELL students learn to read in English (especially newcomers) . This text is very dense but comprehensible.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two years later, finally finished the first four units of my district's PD program! This has seriously revolutionized how I teach and actually was part of inspiring me to want to be a classroom teacher. What they say about it giving confidence is very true.

[Alli Endle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spent so much of my life reading this book for professional development, it must be counted towards my “read” books 😅

[Katie Mohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took this class last year and learned SO MUCH. Should be required for alllllllll education majors.

[Daniel De Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for professional development along with the trainings. It has to be counted as a book I've read this year!
Good resource for solid reading instruction based on the science of reading.
Time consuming to get through, but solid.

[Mary Packard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly cannot wait to apply everything I’ve learned from this book to my classroom! I’ve never taken so many notes in my life, and have never felt so lit up for teaching literacy.

📚📝🪄❓🎓

[Ann Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that every teacher in our district will now be required to do this training. It’s what we all should have learned in college. Based on actual research from a number of fields. A convergence of evidence. I have a couple of question marks about Kilpatrick/PAST - but I’m hopeful science will continue to study the role of advanced PA in proficient reading.

[AmberlyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and helpful.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this training for all teachers. I learned so much and was able to take things I learned and immediately implement them in my classroom. I’m so excited to start Volume 2!

[Kimberly Beall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very best PD course! I learned so much from this training.

[Sara Glotzbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 1 is done!

[Leslie Boren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much about how kids learn to read, and how to help struggling readers. This course has changed the way I approach reading instruction and intervention.

[Beth Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stuff teachers SHOULD have learned in college!!!
This information will change the trajectories of our students' lives. Can't wait to dig into Volume 2!!!

[Syrena1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This book has totally transformed how
I teach reading! I highly recommend!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has A LOT of information in it. I wish it included more activity ideas. Great to use for learning about the Science of Reading.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the intended audience for this text is early childhood and elementary teachers, it should be required reading for middle and high school teachers too.

Each year, I have one or two students who graduate high school without functional reading skills. For these students, life is much, much harder. We live in a society that privileges literacy. The fact that we have high school students who are preliterate and with no discernable cognitive disability is criminal.

This text breaks down the processors involved in early and foundational literacy. It provides insight into what it looks like when an early reader has engaged these various processors, and it reveals what it looks like when there is a gap.

While I value the information shared in this text, I have met a few opponents to the use of the "science of reading" in teaching literacy. They say it's too reductionistic. That when we focus on phonemic awareness and decoding, we kill a young person's desire to read. The richness and beauty of a story becomes sanitized and disjointed when we approach literacy instruction as parts to be chunked out and approached separately.

I wonder at this criticism. No where in this text, nor in any of the other texts I have read on the science of reading, do I see researchers calling for teachers to stop reading stories to children or talking about stories as complete narratives.

My take away from this text is that reading teachers need tools to support their struggling readers. Without those tools, these students will continue to struggle. By the time students get to high school, it's important to understand where their reading skills break down, so that intense focus can be placed where it's needed.

If I had one complaint, I feel like I need more. I teach primarily new English speakers. There is little information on how to approach foundational reading instruction for newcomer high school students. What we lack most is time. How do we leverage the limited time we are given to teach our MLL high school students how to read?

[Hannah Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to do LETRS training for my teaching job, and this book has a lot of interesting and helpful information. My only problem is that I am expected to do this during my planning period and free time; we are given no time for LETRS training at my school, so I am doing this all on my own time. If this weren't required, I probably would not do it because of the amount of time that goes into LETRS training, despite the information being excellent and the book itself being an excellent resource. This is multiple parts, so not only did I read the book, but I did the online course, and the in-person lectures as well. In total, it is helpful, but I am a little salty at having to do this all during my own personal time when it is a required training, and we were told we would get time, but that is just a common part of teaching when it comes to personal development at this point. No one has enough time, money, and/or resources for the profession and the people in it. Overall, a good book with good information, but a definite time taker if you are doing the full course that includes reading the book, online sessions, and in-person lectures.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educators, this is a powerful curriculum built to teach the well researched and well evidenced approach to learning how we read. The book and accompanying online course is a year-long study. One learns the phonological, graphological and morphological processes of reading in the reading brain. The course is a four part, 16 chapter book and online lessons that are well done (although some of the assessments are a bit confusing). The educator receives a certificate if s/he/they pass the final assessment of 45 questions with 80%. I am so thankful to have this knowledge. I am anxious for the second course which focuses on comprehension. I like to tell educators that this is the “why” and UFLI (free and online resource) is the “how” and “when” to teaching beginning or remedial readers. Students soar. LETRS is a prescriptive and diagnostic approach to teaching reading, spelling and phonics.

[EBT]

Honestly, I loved this. My favorite parts were the historical knowledge I learned about how English works. When so many say that English is the toughest language to learn, with no rules, that's not true. I enjoyed learning about the different languages that came together to make English and the rules that seem like they don't exist (e.g., when to double an ending consonant when adding a vowel suffix).

While all that was interesting, I feel I am more able to support new readers and teachers teaching K-3 kids how to read. It's powerful. The importance of learning these foundational skills is too much to say--we have to get this right, by third grade, at the latest, or readers will likely struggle with reading, to varying degrees, for the rest of their lives.

It definitely sparked my interest--do I want to go back to learn more? Hmmm...

[Caitlyn Koefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a teacher of reading at the elementary level you need this book! There are so many insights into how to best teach students to read and spell using the code system that the human brain needs because our brains are not wired to read. Our job as teachers is to create those wires within our students brains! This book will open your eyes to things you never would have know about teaching reading!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been teaching for about 25 years and this hands down is the BEST and most impactful training in which I have ever participated. If you have the opportunity to take the course, DO IT! I can’t wait for Volume 2.

[Audrey Nester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great class/resource for learning how to implement instruction on phonemic awareness in the classroom. This taught me a lot about why words are spelled/pronounced the way they are and how to decode words when reading.

[Sewveryblessed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes I actually read this giant textbook haha. It was part of the professional development program for my district. I learned so much about how brains and words are connected and how students connect their learning in different contexts.

[Bobbi K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required in all teacher prep programs, hands down.

[Katie Ludes · Rating 5 out of 5]

So amazing

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for educators.

[Chase Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

👎🏼

[Pam Asbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great course for teachers. I learned so much about reading, spelling and how the brain works.