CHICAGO, Nov. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ThinkCERCA, a recognized industry leader in student reading and writing growth, recently launched their new Foundational Reading and Linguistics Course for students in grades 6-12.

Designed to provide adolescent students with instruction related to phonetic concepts and decoding, the program follows a science of reading approach in providing systematic and explicit instruction to fill in foundational gaps that secondary struggling readers will not close on their own or in a Language Arts classroom.

Written and developed by classroom teachers, literacy coaches, and reading experts, the course is currently under review by three university programs that received the highest rating on the National Council of Teacher Quality (NCTQ) for teacher preparation in the science of reading.

"70% of 8th graders in the U.S. are not reading on grade level and secondary teachers and administrators are desperate for resources. Foundational Reading & Linguistics meets the needs of adolescent struggling readers by providing explicit phonics instruction at their developmental level," said Jenny French, Director of Foundational Literacy at ThinkCERCA.

The key to ThinkCERCA's approach is the incorporation of linguistic principles. The program benefits all students, from SAT test-takers to those learning to decode. Starting with a baseline benchmark, students progress from micro-level phonetic concepts to understanding how dialects can impact the reading experience.

Key features include:

• Benchmark Growth- Regular progress monitoring through practice and quizzes followed by a post-test.
• Comprehensive Instruction- Approximately 100 days of instruction, brief knowledge-building passages accompany skill lessons with a micro-to-macro scope & sequence.
• Accessibility and Support- All lessons include audio support. ThinkCERCA provides training, including Professional Development and badging in the Science of Reading for Adolescents.
• Student-Centered and Self-Paced- Self-paced for the student and independent of teacher skill allowing for a variety of implementation models.

About ThinkCERCA

ThinkCERCA's personalized literacy platform helps educators teach critical thinking skills through close reading and academic writing across subjects. With a research-based framework that teaches students how to construct a cohesive argument, studies show they can achieve an average of two years of reading growth annually.

SOURCE ThinkCERCA