Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS)

About LETRS

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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.

The program's underlying principles are the groundwork in many scientific research reports, including “Blueprint for Professional Development,” Reading First Leadership Academy, U.S. Department of Education (Moats, 2002); “The Missing Foundation in Teacher Education,” American Educator (Moats, 1995); and “Measuring Teachers' Content Knowledge of Language and Reading,” Annals of Dyslexia (Moats and Foorman, 2003).

LETRS provides educators with a core understanding of language structure and helps them gain in-depth 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.

LETRS Core Modules

Grades K–12
Twelve core print modules are at the center of the LETRS program. Each of the individual LETRS modules covers a key ingredient of effective reading instruction. As a whole, the print modules are designed to serve as a complete professional development course for reading teachers and coaches at all grade levels. LETRS modules provide the foundational knowledge requirements that reading teachers and coaches at all grade levels can use to be more effective.

LETRS module content is delivered best in special LETRS Institutes by certified LETRS trainers, but the print modules are also available separately so that educators can choose instructional topics to study on their own. When used in their sequential order, LETRS modules are a valuable reference resource that educators will reach for time and time again.

LETRS modules use easy-to-understand language. Essential teaching concepts are underscored with engaging questions, problems, and tasks that emphasize the concept’s real-life application. Videos and other support resources are recommended, and educators can check their knowledge of LETRS content with the self-tests that bookend every LETRS module.

Modules 1, 2, 3:

Module 1 - The Challenge of Learning to Read
Module 1 explores the reasons why many students have reading difficulties and explains how children learn to read. Case studies illustrate the progression of reading development; the influences of biological, genetic, cognitive, environmental, and instructional factors in learning to read; and the components of effective reading instruction. A “four-part processing system” model is explored in detail. Foundational Information For all grade levels!

Module 2 - The Speech Sounds of English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Phoneme Awareness
Module 2 introduces phonemes (speech sounds) and discusses the importance of phonological awareness in reading and spelling instruction. Module 2 also discusses the features of consonants and vowels and covers some of the problems that children who speak other languages or dialects may have when learning English. For grades K-3 and all professionals involved with older readers having reading difficulties.

Module 3 - Spellography for Teachers: How English Spelling Works
Module 3 explores the structure and history of English spelling from several angles: phoneme-grapheme correspondences, letter patterns within words, syllables, meaningful word parts (morphemes), and historical layers in the orthography. The module addresses differences between syllables and morphemes, between “irregular” and “high-frequency” words, and among six syllable types. After learning this content, teachers can approach phonics, spelling, and word study with confidence. For grades K-3.

Modules 4, 5, 6:

Module 4 - The Mighty Word: Building Vocabulary and Oral Language
Module 4 addresses varied approaches to instruction, including indirect (contextual) and direct methodologies, and stressing techniques for fostering word use, knowledge of word relationships, and awareness of word structure and its connection to meaning. Participants apply what they have learned about vocabulary instruction to several examples of narrative and expository text. For all grades.

Module 5 - Getting Up to Speed: Developing Fluency
Module 5 reviews the rationale for a fluency component in lesson design. Participants learn and practice techniques for speed drills, repeated reading, simultaneous and alternate oral reading, calculating reading fluency, and charting the results of exercises. For all grades.

Module 6 - Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text Comprehension
Module 6 addresses the research base for teaching comprehension, the reasons why children have difficulty with comprehension, and approaches for teaching comprehension at the phrase, sentence, paragraph, and passage levels. Questioning techniques and strategies that are useful before, during and after reading are reviewed. Exercises include text analysis for planning instruction. For all grades.

Modules 7, 8, 9:

Module 7 - Teaching Phonics, Word Study, and the Alphabetic Principle
Module 7 will emphasize the sequence and substance of concept development in codebased instruction is emphasized, including the importance of applying learned skills to reading and writing. Answers to common questions are provided, including “How Much Phonics?”, “Who Needs Phonics?”, “What Kind of Phonics?”, and “Why Phonics?”. For grades K-3.

Module 8 - Assessment for Prevention and Early Intervention
In Module 8, screening and progress monitoring assessments are distinguished from diagnostic and outcome assessment. The rationale for early screening with fluency-based measures is reviewed. DIBELS® is used as the example of a valid, reliable, efficient approach to early screening. A developmental spelling inventory is taught. Exercises include review of classroom reports and individual case studies in light of children's instructional needs and the “three-tier” concept of intervention. For grades K-3.

Module 9 - Teaching Beginning Spelling and Writing
Module 9 addresses writing instruction for children in grades K-2 who need to be taught the component skills that underlie composition. Drawing on recent research at the University of Washington that explicates the cognitive and linguistic components of composition skill, a framework for analyzing writing samples is applied to several examples of students at different levels of achievement. Instruction that builds automaticity in critical components while teaching children the stages of the writing process is explained and modeled. For grades K - 2.

Modules 10, 11, 12:

Module 10 - Reading Big Words: Syllabication and Advanced Decoding
Module 10 addresses the instructional needs of students in grades 3 and up who are inaccurate and/or slow in reading and spelling multisyllabic words. Beginning with phonemegrapheme mapping, the module goes on to address systematic teaching of syllabication, syllable spelling types, and ending rules. Morphology - including inflections, Anglo Saxon compounds, Latin and Greek roots and affixes, and derivational word learning processes - is addressed in some depth. An Advanced Decoding Survey is included with this module along with lists of instructional resources and programs. For grades 3 and up.

Module 11 - Writing: A Road to Reading Comprehension
Module 11 is designed for all classroom and content area teachers, presents a few major strategies that help students process and remember the main ideas in written text. Additionally, it reviews the many causes of reading comprehension difficulties and addresses the research consensus on teaching reading comprehension. Text structure and its relation to comprehension are explored, and participants learn to implement the Key Three Routine, to include construction of topic organizers, note-taking, and summarizing. A list of effective curriculum materials for teaching older students to read and write is included in the Module. For grades 4 and up.

Module 12 - Using Assessment to Guide Instruction
Module 12 is an advanced module for intermediate and middle school educators to help them identify and pinpoint the instructional needs of all struggling readers. The module describes efficient, reliable, and research-based assessment strategies that enable a school staff to focus on the effectiveness of instruction. Participants review a strategic plan for screening students and learn how to assemble a group of suitable assessments for individual and classroom use. Diagnostic tests that measure decoding and word analysis, spelling, written composition, reading fluency, and comprehension are demonstrated and rehearsed. Case studies allow participants to discuss and analyze assessment results and their implications. For grades 4 and up.

Module Presenters

Carol Tolman, Ed.D.
Modules 1-3 and 7-9 Presented By Carol Tolman, Ed.D. Involved from its inception with LETRS , Dr. Tolman is a LETRS National Trainer and co-author of LETRS Module 1 with Dr. Louisa Moats. Carol’s many publications include the complete series of twelve Presenter’s Kits for each LETRS Module. She is also the author of Working Smarter, Not Harder: What teachers of reading need to know, which can be found within the International Dyslexia Association Perspectives publication. As a special educator with over 25 years of public school experience, Carol spent 12 of those years designing and implementing an innovative, exemplary program for academically challenged high school students. With experiences in elementary, middle, high school, and the juvenile justice system, her credentials include a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education, a Master's Degree in curriculum and instruction, and a Doctorate in educational psychology, with a concentration in reading.

Joan Sedita, M.Ed.
Modules 4-6 and 10-12 Presented By Joan Sedita, M.Ed. Joan Sedita is the founding partner of Keys to Literacy. She is an experienced educator, nationally recognized speaker and teacher trainer. She has worked for over 30 years in the literacy education field, and has presented to thousands of teachers and realted professionals at schools, colleges, clinics, and professional conferences. Joan specializes in developing curriculum, teaching materials, and professional development programs that address grade 4 through 12 literacy. She received her Masters in Reading Education from Harvard University, and her B.A. from Boston College. Joan worked at the Landmark School in Massachusetts as a teacher, diagnostician, supervisor of tutorials, and high school principal. She was also the founder and director of the Landmark College Preparation Program and director of the Landmark Outreach Teacher Training Program. She is currently a national LETRS trainer. Joan has authored the “Landmark Study Skills Guide,” “Study Skills: A Teaching Guide,” “Active Learning and Study Strategies Using Kurzweil 3000,” and “Writing: the Road to Reading Comprehension Strategies”, Module 11 of the LETRS reading training series. She is also the author of the Keys to Literacy professional development books, including “The Key Three Routine: Comprehension Strategies”, “The Key Vocabulary Routine”, “Keys to Literacy: School Wide Literacy Planning”, and “The Key Three Notebook Routine”.