University of Kwazulu-Natal

Leading Education Organizations Launch Reading Universe Weta

Bonisiwe Shabane
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leading education organizations launch reading universe weta

WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book join forces to establish a free, innovative professional development platform that provides educators with evidence-based guidance and tools for how to teach reading and writing Arlington, VA - WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book have launched a prototype of Reading Universe, an online, step-by-step professional development pathway for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches to learn more about... Just in time to support educators’ preparations for the new school year, the site features an interactive taxonomy of reading skills, lesson plans, in-classroom videos, printable activities, and decodable texts – all for free. Reading Universe distills 50 years of education research in order to strengthen literacy skills across the country. The work of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) in Mississippi serves as its foundation. In January 2000, former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale invested $100 million in his home state to establish BRI with the singular goal of strengthening early literacy skills.

Setting the National Assessment of Education Progress for 4th grade reading as its metric, BRI used evidence-based reading instruction to anchor a literacy model that went to scale with the passage of the state’s... “It is enormously gratifying to know that the lessons we have learned from our success in Mississippi will be made available everywhere through Reading Universe — giving all children the opportunity to learn how... Barksdale. Now, BRI, WETA, and First Book are producing video-rich and interactive reading tools as a free, web-based service for all educators across the country. The launch of the new website through this national partnership signals an important commitment to providing support directly to classroom teachers to enable them to meet the needs of struggling readers, especially in low-income... Reading Universe is an innovative, digital platform that provides educators with evidence-based guidance and tools.

First Book, WETA/Reading Rockets, and the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) have launched Reading Universe — for teachers, paraprofessionals, and literacy coaches to learn more about evidence-based reading AND writing instruction, and then translate it... Informed by First Book Research & Insights through focus groups, educator surveys, usability testing, and in-depth interviews, Reading Universe has been designed with educators in mind, ensuring the platform’s quality and effectiveness meet their... Reading Universe’s innovative framework delivers on an age-old promise of quality education for all. Its comprehensive research-based approach is guided by the science of reading and embraces the belief that every student, regardless of background, is brimming with potential and the capacity to become a lifelong reader. WETA, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C., is home to ambitious national education websites ReadingRockets.org, ColorinColorado.org, LDOnLine.org, AdLit.org, StartWithABook.org and BrainLine.org. The Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) was founded by Jim Barksdale to advance literacy in his home state of Mississippi.

Thanks in part to BRI’s work bringing evidence-based approaches to reading instruction, Mississippi raised its fourth grade reading scores from last place to the national average. Reading Universe is produced by WETA, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C., and is a sister site to Reading Rockets, Colorín Colorado, LD OnLine, and other award-winning national education websites. WETA developed Reading Universe in partnership with the Barksdale Reading Institute, which over 20 years helped achieve significant and sustained improvements in students’ reading scores across the state of Mississippi. Since launching in 2023, Reading Universe has won two Telly Awards and a NETA Public Media Award. Reading Universe gives educators clear, practical guidance on how to teach reading and writing. We use the structured literacy approach and base our work on the field's latest research.

Working closely with researchers, reading coaches, and teachers, we offer classroom-proven teaching strategies, videos demonstrating best practices, and printable instructional materials. Our service is organized around the Reading Universe Taxonomy developed and refined by the Barksdale Reading Institute. The Taxonomy presents in a single graphic all the skills that students need to master to become proficient readers and writers. Reading Universe is an authoritative, engaging, media-rich service for professional learning — and it’s free for all users. If you teach children to read and write (or work with those who do), we are here for you! That includes teachers, reading coaches, paraprofessionals, education professors, professional development providers, administrators, tutors, and parents.

Our content is growing by the day and will eventually span pre-kindergarten through sixth grades, but for now we are primarily focused on grades K-3. Reading Universe is produced by three premier non-profit organizations: WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book. Reading Universe is a grant- and donor-funded service that provides research-based strategies and practical guidance to help educators and parents teach children to read and write. For now, our content spans kindergarten to third grade, but your donation will help us expand to cover pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Please give today! (opens in new window)

WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book join forces to establish a free, innovative professional development platform that provides educators with evidence-based guidance and tools for how to teach reading and writing WASHINGTON, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book have launched a prototype of Reading Universe, an online, step-by-step professional development pathway for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches to... Just in time to support educators' preparations for the new school year, the site features an interactive taxonomy of reading skills, lesson plans, in-classroom videos, printable activities, and decodable texts – all for free. Reading Universe distills 50 years of education research in order to strengthen literacy skills across the country. The work of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) in Mississippi serves as its foundation. In January 2000, former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale invested $100 million in his home state to establish BRI with the singular goal of strengthening early literacy skills.

Setting the National Assessment of Education Progress for 4th grade reading as its metric, BRI used evidence-based reading instruction to anchor a literacy model that went to scale with the passage of the state's... "It is enormously gratifying to know that the lessons we have learned from our success in Mississippi will be made available everywhere through Reading Universe — giving all children the opportunity to learn how... Barksdale. Now, BRI, WETA, and First Book are producing video-rich and interactive reading tools as a free, web-based service for all educators across the country. The launch of the new website through this national partnership signals an important commitment to providing support directly to classroom teachers to enable them to meet the needs of struggling readers, especially in low-income... Introducing our brand-new First Book!

To celebrate our more than 30 years of dedication to educational equity, we are launching a fresh look and updated messaging that represent our evolution as an organization and elevate our ongoing commitment to... First Book is building a world where every child has access to a quality education. At the heart of First Book is the more than 575,000 members of the First Book Network, the largest online community of educators and professionals dedicated to children in underserved communities across North America. Our Network is the key to creating systemic change. To support this Network, we’ve built three major programs at First Book. The First Book Marketplace, our eCommerce site that provides free and low-cost books and educational resources; First Book Research & Insights, which aggregates and elevates the voice of our community of educators to identify...

Our new tagline – Eliminating Barriers. Inspiring Young Minds. – captures our commitment, passion, energy, and unbridled enthusiasm to support educators and elevate learning opportunities for our nation’s underserved children from birth through age 18. You’ll see First Book’s new brand reflected on Firstbook.org, and the First Book Canada website, as well as on our social media platforms, and in all we do! DescriptionFirst Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides books and educational resources to schools. Use our advanced filter below to find what you need to support your students today!

We’ve got lesson plans, teaching strategies, videos, skill explainers, printables, and more — all for free. You can sort by topic, resource type, and areas of essential support — including working with students with learning disabilities, students who speak a dialect, and English language learners. Search through our glossary of key terms related to reading and writing instruction. From here you can also turn off and on the option to use our sitewide interactive glossary. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (opens in new window); the AFT (opens in new... WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book join forces to establish a free, innovative professional development platform that provides educators with evidence-based guidance and tools for how to teach reading and writing

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book have launched a prototype of Reading Universe, an online, step-by-step professional development pathway for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches to... Just in time to support educators' preparations for the new school year, the site features an interactive taxonomy of reading skills, lesson plans, in-classroom videos, printable activities, and decodable texts – all for free. Reading Universe distills 50 years of education research in order to strengthen literacy skills across the country. The work of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) in Mississippi serves as its foundation. In January 2000, former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale invested $100 million in his home state to establish BRI with the singular goal of strengthening early literacy skills. Setting the National Assessment of Education Progress for 4th grade reading as its metric, BRI used evidence-based reading instruction to anchor a literacy model that went to scale with the passage of the state's...

"It is enormously gratifying to know that the lessons we have learned from our success in Mississippi will be made available everywhere through Reading Universe — giving all children the opportunity to learn how... Barksdale. Now, BRI, WETA, and First Book are producing video-rich and interactive reading tools as a free, web-based service for all educators across the country. The launch of the new website through this national partnership signals an important commitment to providing support directly to classroom teachers to enable them to meet the needs of struggling readers, especially in low-income... WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book join forces to establish a free, innovative professional development platform that provides educators with evidence-based guidance and tools for how to teach reading and writing Washington, D.C.

(July 25, 2023) – WETA, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book have launched a prototype of Reading Universe, an online, step-by-step professional development pathway for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches to learn more... Just in time to support educators’ preparations for the new school year, the site features an interactive taxonomy of reading skills, lesson plans, in-classroom videos, printable activities, and decodable texts – all for free. Reading Universe distills 50 years of education research in order to strengthen literacy skills across the country. The work of the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) in Mississippi serves as its foundation. In January 2000, former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale invested $100 million in his home state to establish BRI with the singular goal of strengthening early literacy skills. Setting the National Assessment of Education Progress for 4th grade reading as its metric, BRI used evidence-based reading instruction to anchor a literacy model that went to scale with the passage of the state’s...

“It is enormously gratifying to know that the lessons we have learned from our success in Mississippi will be made available everywhere through Reading Universe — giving all children the opportunity to learn how... Barksdale. Now, BRI, WETA, and First Book are producing video-rich and interactive reading tools as a free, web-based service for all educators across the country. The launch of the new website through this national partnership signals an important commitment to providing support directly to classroom teachers to enable them to meet the needs of struggling readers, especially in low-income...

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Setting the National Assessment of Education Progress for 4th grade reading as its metric, BRI used evidence-based reading instruction to anchor a literacy model that went to scale with the passage of the state’s... “It is enormously gratifying to know that the lessons we have learned from our success in Mississippi will be made available everywhere through Reading Universe — giving all children t...

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Thanks in part to BRI’s work bringing evidence-based approaches to reading instruction, Mississippi raised its fourth grade reading scores from last place to the national average. Reading Universe is produced by WETA, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C., and is a sister site to Reading Rockets, Colorín Colorado, LD OnLine, and other award-winning national education websites. WETA develope...

Working Closely With Researchers, Reading Coaches, And Teachers, We Offer

Working closely with researchers, reading coaches, and teachers, we offer classroom-proven teaching strategies, videos demonstrating best practices, and printable instructional materials. Our service is organized around the Reading Universe Taxonomy developed and refined by the Barksdale Reading Institute. The Taxonomy presents in a single graphic all the skills that students need to master to bec...