The Rhode Island Right to Read Act was passed in July of 2019.  The law requires educators to exhibit either proficiency in or awareness of the knowledge and practices of the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.

Middletown has  provided extensive professional learning for educators to support these requirements. All MPS educators have earned either proficiency or awareness in the practice of the Science or Reading and Structured Literacy.

The Science of Reading, or scientific reading instruction, is defined as empirically-based instruction that is grounded in the study of the relationship between cognitive science and educational outcomes.

Structured Literacy instruction is explicit, systematic, diagnostic, cumulative instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, syllable types, morphology, semantics, and syntax. Providing a strong foundation in each of these skills develops the neural routes necessary to become a proficient reader. In early grades, an emphasis should be placed on phonological awareness, phonics, encoding and practice in decodable texts until students are able to read real and nonsense words of all syllable types. As students progress beyond these skills, the emphasis should shift to developing vocabulary, morpheme awareness, and syntax instruction.

Middletown has ensured our High-Quality Curriculum includes explicit instruction in all components of Structured Literacy.

Our classrooms utilize the following high quality curriculum programs and materials for ELA instruction.

K-5 Into Reading
Grades 6-12  StudySync