Connecticut State Department of Education

Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

Access to Grade Level Texts and Content

Access to grade-level text aligned to the Connecticut Core Standards is crucial for ensuring that all students, regardless of background or ability, are given equitable opportunities to succeed. The Common Core State Standards provide the foundation to place complex, grade-level text at the center of instruction. Shanahan et al. (2010) found that access to complex text exposes readers to academic vocabulary and builds their background knowledge about the world, enhancing their comprehension. If students do not have access to complex text, they will not have the chance to catch up to peers because they will lack knowledge and skills (Shanahan, 2019). Instruction should focus on text meaning through reading, analyzing, discussing, and writing about text, as opposed to teaching an isolated skill applied to the text.

Access to grade-level text and content also supports accelerated learning and prepares students for life beyond school. Instruction that includes rigorous, grade-level materials builds students’ knowledge, vocabulary, and skills needed to tackle complex texts across disciplines. These texts provide the appropriate complexity and content necessary to build knowledge, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills that match the expectations of their grade. Additionally, consistent exposure to rigorous texts supports instructional coherence and helps close achievement gaps by holding high expectations for all learners. It also exposes readers to variations in language that are much different from their own (Fisher & Frey, 2014). Without exposure to complex texts, students can feel isolated from their peers and have lower self-esteem (Shanahan, 2019).

To meet students’ varied learning needs, educators often differentiate high-quality instructional materials to provide multiple entry points for their students while maintaining the use of complex text and targeting small-group support and explicit instruction. Different entry points into a lesson or task can include offering students multiple texts to choose from; offering some students a word bank or scaffolds like guiding questions to support their comprehension; or using video clips to initially build background about concepts or events. This helps to bridge skill gaps and ensure all students can confidently interact with grade-level content.

References

  • Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Understanding and Teaching Complex Texts. Childhood Education, 90(4), 306–313. doi:10.1080/00094056.2014.937290
  • Shanahan, T. (2019). Why children should be taught to read with more challenging texts. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 17–19, 22–23.
  • Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide (NCEE 2010-4038). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov