The CSAS Blog
Written by educators. For educators.
Science of reading, MTSS, leadership, and special education insights from Dr. Chandra Williams and the CSAS team: the same thinking our partner schools get, published for everyone. Learn, grow, and take your system to the next level.
Dyslexia Is Not Rare. Your System Is Just Failing to See It.
About 1 in 5 of your students. Almost none of them identified. Now what? Walk into any school district in America and ask how many students have dyslexia. You'll likely get a number under 5%. But the research is unambiguous: somewhere between 15 and 20% of the...
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Rethinking Small Groups in Grades 3–5: A Science of Reading Approach
If your small group time feels scattered or ineffective, it’s time to align it with the Science of Reading. In grades 3–5, small groups should be data-driven, skill-specific, and...
The Role of Morphology in Building Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension
One of the most overlooked strategies for building comprehension in grades 3–5? Morphology. Understanding how words are built gives students access to thousands of new words—and...
Structured Literacy in Grades 3–5: What It Looks Like and Why It Works
Structured literacy isn’t just for early readers, it’s for every student who hasn’t yet mastered the code. And in grades 3–5, it’s critical to help students catch up before they fall...
Phonics Isn’t Just for Primary Grades: Why Older Readers Still Need Explicit Phonics Instruction
It’s a myth that phonics is only for K–2. Struggling readers in grades 3–5 often lack decoding skills because they were never explicitly taught. That’s where structured phonics...
Closing the Gap: How to Accelerate Reading Growth in Grades 3–5
By grades 3–5, the stakes are high. Students who are not yet fluent readers are at risk for long-term academic challenges. But it’s not too late. With targeted support and structured...
How to Scaffold Instruction for K–2 English Learners Without Lowering the Bar
English learners in grades K–2 don’t need simpler work, they need scaffolded support to access the same rigorous instruction as their peers. The key? Aligning instruction to...
Setting Up a Structured Literacy Block in Kindergarten Through 2nd Grade
What makes a literacy block “structured”? It's not about rigid scripts, it’s about delivering systematic, explicit, and intentional instruction based on how children actually learn to...
Using Sound Walls to Build Phoneme-Grapheme Connections in K–2
Still using word walls with random sight words? It’s time to upgrade to a Sound Wall a Science of Reading-aligned tool that helps K–2 students connect speech to print. What Is a Sound...
Decodable Texts in K–2: The Bridge from Phonics to Reading Independence
Are your students guessing at words or truly decoding them? The answer lies in your use of decodable texts a must-have tool for beginning readers. What Are Decodable Texts? Decodable...
Why Kindergarten Isn’t Too Early for Phonemic Awareness Instruction
In Kindergarten, we’re not just teaching the alphabet—we're wiring the brain for reading. That’s why phonemic awareness instruction is essential, even in the first weeks of school....
What’s Your Literacy Block Missing? A Teacher’s Checklist for Effective Instruction
The strongest classrooms aren’t crammed with flashy materials, they’re grounded in structured routines that prioritize skills aligned to how the brain learns to read. The Must-Have...
Tier 2 Doesn’t Mean Tier 1 Is Over: How to Integrate Intervention into the Literacy Block
Too often, teachers see Tier 2 as something that happens outside the classroom—by someone else. But powerful intervention can (and should) happen within your literacy block, alongside...
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