Nevada Reading First is helping to improve instruction and raise student achievement in six school districts throughout Nevada.  Local Education Agencies (LEAs) use sub grant funds to help specific schools improve reading achievement by establishing four major components:

Comprehensive Reading Programs ­ Each school establishes an uninterrupted 90-minute reading block in all K-3 classrooms to fully implement comprehensive core and supplemental reading programs, focusing on proven methods to systematically and explicitly teach phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Comprehensive Assessment System ­ Each LEA establishes a comprehensive assessment system that includes screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome assessments.

Interventions for Struggling Readers ­ When students do not make adequate progress learning to read, data-driven intervention plans must be in place in order to accelerate student learning and eliminate reading deficiencies in students.

Professional Development ­ Each school has at least one full-time reading coach who provides job-embedded professional development (help teachers understand and use scientifically-based reading research, implement the core reading program, interpret and use assessment data) and assist teachers in providing interventions for struggling readers.

Vocabulary ­ Reading to children provides many opportunities to build comprehension through concept development and building understanding of word meanings. Beginning readers use their oral vocabulary to make sense of the words they see in print. While some comprehension of passages is possible, even when a few of the words are unknown to the reader (National Research Council, 1998), readers must know what most of the words mean before they can understand what they are reading (CIERA, 2001).

Comprehension ­ As the purpose for reading, text comprehension is an active process that requires an intentional and thoughtful interaction between the reader and the text (CIERA, 2001; NRP, 2000). Instruction in reading comprehension strategies is essential in ensuring the transition from beginning to skillful reading proficiency (Snow, Burns & Griffin, 2001). When used appropriately, comprehension techniques improve recall, question answering and formation, and summarization.

Writing ­ In order for children to be truly literate, they must be fluent readers and writers. Students, whether emergent/early or transitional/fluent, must be engaged in the writing process daily. The teacher must directly teach the writing process, which includes: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The research of Donald Graves and Lucy Calkins demonstrates how even our youngest writers work through a process that corresponds to the cycle of craft professionals follow. The writing process and analytic writing traits are best taught using a combination, based on the level of writers in the classroom, of the following four instructional approaches: modeled, shared/interactive, guided, and independent writing. Constructive, helpful suggestions regarding student writing from the teacher and peers must be provided whether in individual conferences, small groups and/or in the whole group.