Summer Reset Series: What Is Tier 1 Instruction in the Upper Elementary Literacy Classroom?
Summer Reset Series: What Is Tier 1 Instruction in the Upper Elementary Literacy Classroom?
In this Summer Reset episode, we are revisiting one of the foundational pieces of strong literacy instruction: Tier 1 instruction.
After talking about time sucks and instructional clarity in the last episode, this conversation brings us back to a key question:
What are students getting access to during core instruction every day?
Tier 1 instruction matters because it is the instruction every student is entitled to receive. Before we add more interventions, small groups, resources, or supports, we need to strengthen the instruction most students receive first.
What high-quality Tier 1 instruction is
Why Tier 1 instruction matters for every student
How Tier 1 gives students access to grade-level standards
Why strong core instruction supports intervention and differentiation
How intentional mini lessons can help deliver focused literacy instruction
Tier 1 instruction is not extra. It is the foundation of the literacy block.
Strong Tier 1 instruction gives students access to the knowledge, skills, language, and thinking required by grade-level standards.
When Tier 1 instruction is unclear, planning, intervention, differentiation, and teacher decision-making all get heavier.
An intentional mini lesson can be one of the best vehicles for delivering clear, focused, high-quality literacy instruction.
If every student in your classroom could only get one thing from your literacy block this year, what would you want it to be?
For coaches and leaders:
How can we help teachers strengthen core instruction before asking them to carry more interventions, programs, or disconnected supports?
“Tier 1 instruction is what every single student in your classroom is entitled to.”
“Tier 1 instruction gives students access to grade-level standards and provides the foundation they need for new learning.”
“Before we add more interventions, we need to strengthen the instruction most students receive every day.”
“When Tier 1 instruction is unclear, everything else gets heavier.”
Conferring Basics: Use Data to Determine Types of Small Group Instruction
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In This Episode We DiscussKey IdeasSummer Reset Reflection QuestionLeadership LensQuotablesResources MentionedNext Steps
