Why wait until it’s difficult for kids to catch up? Educate makes MTSS make sense — beginning with Tier 1.

Explicitly teaching fluency is KEY! 🔑 Using poetry in 1st grade to teach elements of fluency and practice VCe words in context is so much fun! ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE

Thankful for the opportunity to speak at GFWC LEGACY North AL & provide information about the AL Literacy Act & literacy in Madison County. I was gifted with 30 classroom books to share with the teachers & students at Madison Cross Roads! Madison Cross Roads ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE MadCoSchools

1st and 2nd grade teachers at MadisonXRds participated in lesson studies this week! Teams set goals and dug deeper into a specific section of the curriculum to focus on explicit teaching to impact student learning! Heather Spradlin Madison Cross Roads ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE #explicitteaching

Happy Birthday, Short! 🥳 Kindergarteners at MadisonXRoads celebrated today! We especially loved that it is in English AND Spanish so our Spanish speaking families can read about Short together at home, too! Madison Cross Roads ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE Alabama State Department of Education

In the past decade, I’ve heard more promotion of productive struggle than explicit instruction—forgetting that struggle without a foundation leads to frustration, not learning. As Zach Groshell reminds us, cognitive overload happens when we withhold the explanations students need.

Our yard in New Market, AL after the straight line wind. Brad Travis James Spann

It was a wonderful week of learning at Summer Learning Camp across Madison County. Students were engaging in multisensory instruction, research projects, handwriting instruction, and given opportunities to engage in text. ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE

Shout out to MXR teacher, Mrs. Hereford for utilizing the explicit phonics planner to prep for small groups! She completed a coaching cycle in the spring with 100% proficiency! ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE Madison Cross Roads

Episode 33: Morphology and morphological awareness with Julie Wolter - SeeHearSpeak Podcast seehearspeakpodcast.com/36/post/2020/0…

Say. It. Louder. 👏 Let data become your flashlight, not your hammer. #multiplyexcellence

LRS & Teacher guide MXR 1st graders as they practice fluent oral reading skills with partners! We are working to increase accuracy, automaticity, & expression to comprehend! 📖 ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE Madison Cross Roads

3rd graders have been using “My Shadow” poem by Robert Lewis Stevenson paired with CKLA content to improve fluency with phrasing/repeated reading & comprehension skills! Today, students wrote their own stanza about their own shadow. Madison Cross Roads ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE

Do you love designing lessons that get students thinking, questioning, and creating? Apply now for the 2026 ALEX Resource Development Summit! 🗓 June 15–16, 2026 📍 Huntsville, AL 👩‍🏫 Alabama K–12 educators 🔗 Apply now and learn more! bit.ly/ALEXRDSummit26 #TeachWithALEX

Leading a PD SNIPPET on Comprehension & Explicit planning for Madison Cross Roads this afternoon! Teachers used the LETRS Comprehension planner and a CKLA text to plan for explicit instruction! ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE #LETRS #SOR

PD Snippets #3: The Literacy Cafe, MXR Reading Instructional Team leads 5 minute snippets with resources for foundational reading strategies to support teacher knowledge in SOR for K-3 teachers! #PA #syllabication #multisensory ARI / The Alabama Reading Initiative, ALSDE Madison Cross Roads