Annotated Bibliography
District Resources
Core Classroom Instruction:
Texas Treasures(English) Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, Core Program (K-6): Treasures is a research based,
comprehensive Reading Language Arts program for grades K-6 that has been adopted for AISD. It gives educators
the resources they need to help all students succeed. High quality literature coupled with explicit instruction and
ample practice.
Mcmillan/McGraw-Hill, Core Program Tesoros de lectura: (K-6) Tesoros is a research based, comprehensive
Reading Language Arts program for grades K-6 that has been adopted for AISD. It gives educators the resources
they need to help all students succeed. High quality literature coupled with explicit instruction and ample
practice.
Leveled Readers (Eng/Sp) (C,V,P): A leveled book collection is a large set of books organized in levels of difficulty
from the easy books that an emergent reader might begin reading to the longer, complex books.. In some
schools, the collection is housed in a literacy library. There are multiple copies of many books that can be used in
small group instruction, during literacy circles, or for independent reading.
Literacy library and classroom libraries (Eng/Sp): A classroom/literacy library is a collection of books organized by
either genre, reading level, interest level for instructional purposes.
Text-Talk (V,C): Robust Vocabulary Instruction (gr. K-3) by Dr. Isabel Beck and Dr. Margaret Mc Keown: This
program engages teachers and students in robust vocabulary instruction tied closely to comprehension. This early
reading program was developed by leading vocabulary researchers and has been proven effective in scientific
research
Austin Independent School District - Bureau of Curriculum
LANGUAGE ARTS
Elementary
Kindergarten
AISD Curriculum Roadmaps and Street Views: provides a planning guide for teachers by grade level.
Decodable Readers are made up of controlled text. Providing text that increases in difficulty, reviewing
sound-spelling and grammar elements and incorporating newly acquired skills.
Tier II Interventions:
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Tier II interventions (K-5) (PA,P,V,C, F) English and Spanish: Purpose and Use
provides a set of strategic intervention materials, one set for each of
the key technical skill domains of beginning reading (phonics and decoding, oral
reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills) plus writing and
grammar. Each set of materials contains more than ninety 15-minute lessons.
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, Tesoros de lectura (Sp)
Project Read (gr. 1-5) This is a program that builds alphabetic principle, comprehension and written expression
skills.
Intermediate REWARDS
Rewards Intermediate is for students in grades 4-6 and consists of 25 lessons, while Rewards Secondary is for
students in grades 6-12 and consists of 20 lessons. Lessons from both programs are approximately 50 minutes in
length and may be taught by teachers or paraprofessionals in small group, whole group, or one-on-one as part of
general education classes, remedial reading classes, or intensive summer school or after school classes. REWARDS
Intermediate differs from the original REWARDS in the following ways: (a) the number of lessons was increased;
th
th
(b) words, sentences, and passages are written at grade appropriate reading levels for students in 4 -6 grade; (c)
explicit instruction in vocabulary was added to all lessons; (d) vowels and affixes are introduced at a slower rate;
(e) sentence reading is introduced before passage reading.
CompassLearning Odyssey® delivers standards aligned PreK-12 curricula that provide interactive, self-paced,
challenging, engaging activities. Activities promote exploration, individual and cooperative learning, problem
solving, reflection, and real-world connections. Odyssey applies current and confirmed research about how
student think and learn. This program is currently available only for students in special education.
Tier III
Ticket to Read web-based , Voyager Learning (for students in special education) Ticket to Read, a fun and
motivating online reading program, helps students become active readers. The program is designed for grades K–
6, and students work independently on leveled fluency and reading skills. How does Ticket to Read work?
Ticket to Read facilitates independent practice from school, home, or any computer that has an internet
connection.
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Triumphs is a Comprehensive K-6 Intervention Program
This intervention program provides appropriate reading materials along with explicit instruction and additional
practice. Included in the package are validated diagnostic and prescriptive tools to determine needs and put
students back on track.
Passport/Pasaporte: (K-6 students in special education): This is a comprehensive reading program that addresses
the needs of students that are two to three grade levels below their enrolled gr. Lv.
Intermediate REWARDS
Rewards Intermediate is for students in grades 4-6 and consists of 25 lessons, while Rewards Secondary is for
students in grades 6-12 and consists of 20 lessons. Lessons from both programs are approximately 50 minutes in
length and may be taught by teachers or paraprofessionals in small group, whole group, or one-on-one as part of
general education classes, remedial reading classes, or intensive summer school or after school classes. REWARDS
Intermediate differs from the original REWARDS in the following ways: (a) the number of lessons was increased;
th
th
(b) words, sentences, and passages are written at grade appropriate reading levels for students in 4 -6 grade; (c)
explicit instruction in vocabulary was added to all lessons; (d) vowels and affixes are introduced at a slower rate;
(e) sentence reading is introduced before passage reading.
CompassLearning Odyssey® delivers standards aligned PreK-12 curricula that provide interactive, self-paced,
challenging, engaging activities. Activities promote exploration, individual and cooperative learning, problem
solving, reflection, and real-world connections. Odyssey applies current and confirmed research about how
student think and learn. This program is currently available only for students in special education.
Instructional Resources that can be used across all three Tiers to support
student success:
ConnectED On-Line Resources (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill resources) (Eng/Sp)
English Username: txreading password: tx2011
Spanish Username: txtesoros password: tx2011
This website provides teachers an electronic version of all McGraw-Hill materials that AISD has purchased as part
of the core adoption series for grades K-5.
Reading Readiness (K-1) Reading Readiness provides teachers with explicit systematic lessons in the areas of letter
identification, phonological awareness, vocabulary and sound symbol association.
TPRI/Tejas LEE Intervention Guide The intervention guide is aligned to the assessment which and provides teachers
with targeted instruction so that students improve as readers.
Six Minute Solution: (K-9th gr.) A Reading Fluency Program is a fast, fun, research-based way to increase fluency.
In same-level pairs, students do repeated readings of one-minute nonfiction passages as their partners note the
number of words read correctly—an effective peer-monitoring and feedback system that keeps students
motivated and on task. The Six-Minute Solution builds students' reading fluency—essential for text
comprehension—and is a valuable complement to any reading curriculum or as an intervention program.
Great Leaps (K-12) Great Leaps Reading is a research-based program which enables students of all ages to make
significant strides in reading fluency and automaticity at the word, phrase, sentence and reading within connected
text.
Read Naturally (2-6th grade students) This is a program designed to improve reading fluency within connected text.
Phonemic Awareness in Young Children by Marylin Jager Adams: (K-2nd gr) Specifically targets phonemic
awareness, this program helps young children learn to distinguish the individual sounds that make up words and
affect their meanings. Teachers can choose from a range of activities to use with the whole class-from simple
listening games to more advanced sound manipulation exercises such as rhyming, alliteration, and segmentation.
Instructional Resources: The following are highly effective instructional
strategies/techniques that can be used to improve instruction across all three
Tiers and support academic success:
Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (all teachers who teach reading): LETRS® (Language
Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is a professional development program that responds to the need
for high-quality literacy educators at all levels. Developed by Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D., LETRS provides the deep
foundational knowledge necessary to understand how students learn to read, write, and spell—and why some of
them struggle. LETRS provides educators with a core understanding of language structure and helps them gain indepth instructional information to complement their teaching practices. Rather than replacing the core basal
reading program, LETRS brings deeper knowledge of reading instruction by addressing each component– phoneme
awareness; phonics, decoding, spelling, and word study; oral language development; vocabulary; reading fluency;
comprehension; and writing–as well as the foundational concepts that link them.
Building Background Knowledge forAcademic Achievement (ASCD, 2004). In the manual, teachers will find the
following tools:
 a method to determine the most relevant academic vocabulary terms for their students
 the authors’ six-step process for direct instruction in content-area vocabulary
 directions for the use of student notebooks as an aid to vocabulary instruction
 The authors’ approach to vocabulary instruction emphasizes repeated encounters
with new terms, including the use of games and activities, to build and maintain the
content-area vocabulary knowledge that boosts academic success.
Navigating the ELPS in the English Language Arts and Reading Classroom by John Seidlitz
This user friendly manual incorporates the new English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) with ELA to improve
instruction for English Language Learners. It provides a unique approach to language acquisition using sentencestems and activities aligned to student expectations, focusing on a language-rich interactive classroom. Navigating
the ELPS in ELA offers lesson plans with hands-on activities designed to enrich the English Language Learners’
Science skills through developing vocabulary and comprehension.
Kagan Cooperative Learning (Kagan, 2009)
Teach Like a Champion (Lemov, 2010) Education guru Doug Lemov compiles their best practices for engaging,
inspiring, disciplining, and communicating with students grades K through 12. Lemov groups his 49 proven
techniques into chapters on topics such as setting high standards, structuring and delivering lessons, creating a
strong classroom culture, and behavioral expectations, and he includes examples, illustrations, and activities for
each practice. Best of all, every one of the ideas outlined by Lemov meets his stringent "Monday Test," which
means that it must be simple and effective enough to put into practice the next Monday morning.
Elements of Understanding: Cognitive Strategy Instruction, Making Inferences and Predictions and Creating Mental
Images (Children’s Learning Institute, 2008)(V,C gr. K-3): These strategies provide explicit instructional routines for
teaching the above listed skills.