English Sandbox

Our Approach to Literacy

Introduction to Our Literacy Plan

"Literacy not only involves competency in reading and writing but goes beyond this to include the critical and effective use of these in peoples' lives, and the use of language (oral and written) for all purposes." — LDCNL International Literacy Council

Literacy is a key component of success. A strong foundation in literacy puts students on a path to success in academics and beyond. RCPS is committed to providing that strong foundation to every student we have the privilege to teach.

Roanoke County Public Schools' Literacy Plan is designed to meet the diverse learning needs of all students. We take a developmentally appropriate approach based on the most current research and best practices, including the Science of Reading. The plan includes the elements necessary to provide the best possible learning outcomes for students in kindergarten through grade twelve.

To provide the best possible experience for all students, RCPS draws on research-based best practices from leading experts in literacy, special education, education, neurology, and psychology — and our expert teachers make these practices their own in every classroom.

Students in Roanoke County experience a system-wide literacy focus that ensures consistency across our twenty-seven schools. This focus begins with the foundational skills necessary for emerging readers (phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle) and carries students through decoding and language comprehension, enabling critical thinking in the advanced stages of literacy. This plan is designed to meet the needs of all students, from struggling readers to those well ahead of their age and grade level.

The plan is a living document that continues to evolve as the needs of our students change and as research informs our direction. What began in 2008 has grown, through the work of our literacy committee, to include grades K through 8, supported by ongoing professional development for staff.

The RCPS Literacy Plan employs both whole-group and small-group reading instruction with a wide variety of strategies and scheduling options, allowing differentiation to meet the needs of specific students. We use a tiered intervention process with multiple measures to calibrate student needs, alongside many enrichment opportunities.

What Is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading is a comprehensive body of research — decades of scientific knowledge spanning many languages and disciplines including literacy, education, special education, psychology, and neurology. This research helps us understand how the brain learns to read, and lets us identify and implement evidence-based best practices in literacy instruction.

In 2000, the National Reading Panel defined five pillars of reading instruction.

These pillars come together through what's known as the Simple View of Reading — a research-validated formula showing that reading comprehension is the product of two components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Understanding this formula helps educators assess reading weaknesses and provide appropriate instruction.

Scarborough's Reading Rope

Dr. Hollis Scarborough created the Reading Rope in the 1990s as a visual for parents and educators to see how learning to read happens. The image shows how two strands intertwine to help students become successful readers: word recognition and language comprehension. As Dr. Scarborough describes it, these strands get tighter as reading becomes more skilled — but if a strand frays, it can hinder reading development and weaken the entire rope.

Curriculum & Instruction

Curriculum Mapping

Teachers in Roanoke County provide differentiated instruction on Virginia's English Standards of Learning. Curriculum mapping breaks these standards down over the course of a year to help teachers pace instruction and ensure every standard is taught. Each grade-level literacy teacher receives a week-by-week guide covering word analysis, skills and strategies for fiction and non-fiction texts, writing and research, and oral language — along with instructional ideas, suggested materials, and questioning stems.

Literacy standards in Virginia build in complexity from grade to grade, with students revisiting foundational skills each year at increasing difficulty. Our curriculum maps mirror that progression, opening the year with familiar, previously mastered skills and building from there. Teachers can adjust pacing based on student need, and review time is built in for instructional flexibility.

These curriculum maps are living documents that continue to evolve as the needs of our teachers and students change, and as research and data inform our practice.

Instructional Focus

Literacy development is a continuum, and students vary widely as they grow in reading proficiency. Instruction shifts over time from phonological awareness and fluency toward vocabulary and comprehension — driven by data, not simply by age or grade level. Some students in higher grades need the focus of earlier readers, and some students in lower grades are ready for a later-stage focus; assessment data drives these decisions for every student.

For early-emergent and emergent readers, the focus is phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle. For beginning readers, the focus shifts to phonemic awareness, decoding, and automatic word recognition. Transitional learners continue building fluency while receiving strong instruction in vocabulary and comprehension. By the intermediate and advanced stages, focus has shifted fully to vocabulary and comprehension.

Suggested Literacy Block Schedules by Grade

Select a grade level below to view its suggested skill areas, time allotments, and aligned SOL standards.

Glossary of Literacy Terms

Terms used throughout our literacy plan and instructional materials, defined for families and staff.

Advanced

Readers who have mastered previous skills and are ready for literary analysis and complex word analysis, typically in grades 6–12. Focus: vocabulary and comprehension.

Alphabetic Principle

The idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language.

Auditory Drill

When the teacher says a sound and the student produces its letter or letter pattern, often through multisensory techniques such as a sand tray or shaving cream.

Background Knowledge

The knowledge a student brings to a text.

Beginning

Readers who have progressed past the emergent stage and are ready to read more complex texts, working on short vowel sounds, blends, and digraphs. Focus: phonics.

Decoding

The ability to apply letter-sound knowledge and relationships to read written words.

Decodable Text

Carefully sequenced text aligned to the letter-sound knowledge and phonics skills already taught.

Pre-Emergent

Readers just starting to learn the alphabet and letter names; they are not yet able to read and need to build pre-reading skills. Focus: phonological awareness and recognition.

RTI (Response to Intervention)

A Virginia statewide initiative that clearly articulates levels of intervention for students struggling in any area of instruction.

Rubric

A scoring tool used to assess student learning against a set of criteria and standards tied directly to stated objectives.

Science of Reading

A comprehensive body of research spanning decades and many languages, drawing on literacy, education, special education, psychology, neurology, and related disciplines.

Sight Words

Words known instantly by sight because they are orthographically mapped to the brain — not because they were memorized as a visual unit.

SOL (Standards of Learning)

Virginia's guiding educational standards, ensuring students statewide are taught the same concepts and skills at the same degree of difficulty in each grade level. Students in grade three and above are tested on mastery of these skills.

RI (Reading Inventory)

A Scholastic product used to screen students and determine individual reading level, reported by Lexile. Computer-administered and scored, typically given whole-class in 25–35 minutes.

TOPA (Test of Phonological Awareness)

An assessment of a student's phonological awareness skills in the primary grades.

Transitional

Readers who have moved past the beginning stage and continue to grow, ready for more in-depth reading instruction.

Verbal Reasoning / Inference

Understanding when and how words are being used figuratively (metaphor, analogy, idiom, and other figurative language) versus literally.

Vocabulary

Knowledge of words, including their structure, use, meanings, and links to other words.

Visual Drill

When a teacher shows a student a letter or letter pattern and the student immediately produces the sound it makes.

Whole Group

Reading instruction meant to introduce and model concepts for all students at once — used for teaching, modeling, and practicing comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, and writing, which then carry into small-group instruction as needed.

Word Recognition

The act of seeing a word and recognizing its pronunciation immediately and without conscious effort.

Our Literacy Team

Reading Specialists by School

Please verify the spelling of "Dora Booan" (Herman L. Horn) — the source listing read "Door Booan," which appears to be a typo.

Resources & Downloads

• RCPS Division Literacy Plan (PDF) (opens in new window)
• VDOE 2024 English Standards of Learning (opens in new window)
• Expanded K–12 Summer Reading Program