With the first three Second Edition Modules and four new Supplemental Modules coming out in 2008, as well as the annual Summit in January, now is a great time to discover—or rediscover—LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling).

In 2002, Sopris West published the First Edition of this groundbreaking "gold standard" reading professional development program by literacy expert Louisa C. Moats. Since then, Moats and the team of national LETRS trainers have worked to keep in step with the latest literacy and reading research to meet the evolving needs of educators. The result is the first three Modules of LETRS Second Edition, featuring updated, expanded exercises, methods, and activities.

LETRS Foundations is a new program that prepares teachers and administrators for the 12 LETRS Modules, introducing them to the concepts and practices supported by reading science.

"LETRS Foundations begins to build a common language and understanding," explains LETRS Program Coordinator Toni Backstrom. "It helps to link the components of good instruction together so that we can then break them apart and go more in-depth in the subsequent LETRS Modules."

Other supplemental LETRS programs coming out in 2008 are LETRS for ELL Educators, Early Childhood LETRS, and 50 Nifty Activities for 5 Components and 3 Tiers of Reading Instruction. Some of these programs' authors—including Moats, María Elena Argüelles, Judith Dodson, Deborah Glaser, and Lucy Hart Paulson—will be presenting on relevant topics at the annual LETRS Summit, taking place January 8–10, 2008, at the Magnolia Hotel in Dallas, Texas. This is an advanced workshop for educators, coaches, and administrators familiar with LETRS. Two and a half days of sessions and networking begin with an extended opening session by Moats.

Other presenters include renowned reading education expert Malt Joshi, national LETRS trainers, and Sopris West authors Joanne Allain, Ray Beck, Mary Dahlgren, Susan Ebbers, Linda Farrell, Susan Hall, Nancy Hennessy, Judith Hochman, Ron Nelson, Joan Sedita, Pat Sekel, and Carol Tolman.

The deadline for regular registration is December 7, 2007. Registrations received after this date will be accepted as space allows, so don't delay! Click here for more details and a Registration Form.

For more information on the complete LETRS professional development program, visit www.sopriswest.com/letrs.

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When Lucy Hart Paulson first started working as a speech-language pathologist, a high percentage of the prekindergarten children she worked with would be referred to special education in second grade because they were struggling with reading.

"There was this burning question for me," says Paulson, who faced this challenge despite her success with making children's speech more intelligible. "What could I have done with those kids when they were little to help build that phonological system so the way they learned to say the speech sounds would provide a stronger foundation when they started learning how to read?"

Paulson delved into answering this question, earning her doctorate in education and focusing her research on phonological awareness skills and how they develop.

"It's a big word [phonological awareness], and there's a lot of confusion as to what it is," she says. "Reading programs have shifted and changed so they are now incorporating stronger phonics and acknowledging that phonemic awareness is an element that needs to be taught."

Paulson's involvement as a speech-language pathologist with a Head Start preschool special education program inspired her to write her first early childhood book, Good Talking Words. While the program includes a literacy component, it focuses on social communication skills.

"You can't ignore social communication skills," she explains. "If you only focus on literacy, you will have a classroom of unmanageable children because kids have to know what the expected behaviors are before they're going to be ready and able to learn."

Paulson expanded her early childhood literacy instruction with her next program, Building Early Literacy and Language Skills (BELLS). The preK–K program provides background on language acquisition and includes more than 70 developmentally appropriate activities for using that foundational knowledge to help children develop preliteracy skills. Some of these activities are featured in Paulson's latest program, a LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Supplemental Module coauthored by Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D. Early Childhood LETRS expands the K–12 LETRS professional development program to prekindergarten.

"It was such an honor to be asked by Louisa to write Early Childhood LETRS," Paulson says. "The LETRS information is exactly what teachers need to know, and this early childhood module will extend the professional development to teachers who work with our youngest children. If a child enters kindergarten with no concept of letters or phonemic awareness, you can't start right in with the curriculum."

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"I'm finally using a research-based program that is helping my students develop self-confidence as well as learn reading and writing. I'm a veteran teacher of 27 years; this program has rejuvenated me."

Joan Stafford of the Highlands Academy of Arts and Design in California e-mailed us to share creative ideas for implementing LANGUAGE! and motivating students.

"When I give the TOSWRF (Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency) to my students as a group and the time is up, my paraprofessional and I go around the room and mark the last word with a highlighter. This way, we can tell where the student stopped after the timed test and whether he/she went back later to finish the test.

"I also give the DRP® (Degrees of Reading Power) to my SDC (special day class) students over the course of several days to ensure that they do read the materials and don't just bubble in answers.

"The pacing is grueling for my SDC students. What I do is teach the page or concept we are on, giving them 1–2–3 answers, then challenge them with a five-minute finish time. The classes that I use this method with progress through the course work quickly, and it is fun for them."

For more information on LANGUAGE!, click here.

It's testimonials like these that inspire us all! Please share your success stories, comments, or ideas with the Connections community by e-mailing us at
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Changing Performance: National Title I Conference
January 31–February 3, 2008
Nashville, Tennessee

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) 40th Annual Convention
February 6–9, 2008
New Orleans, Louisiana

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) 63rd Annual Conference and Exhibit Show
March 15–17, 2008
New Orleans, Louisiana

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Annual Convention and Exposition
April 2–5, 2008
Boston, Massachusetts

National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) 40th Annual Conference
April 7–9, 2008
Salt Lake City, Utah

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Annual Meeting and Exposition
April 9–12, 2008
Salt Lake City, Utah

National Head Start Association (NHSA) 35th Annual Conference
April 20–24, 2008
Nashville, Tennessee