October 8, 2003

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

Subject: FourthGradeTeacherReadingAcademy Contents

The Teacher Reading Academies were funded as part of the Texas Reading Initiative, which began in 1996 and continues today. The purpose of the Texas Reading Initiative is to increase the effectiveness of reading instruction in Texas schools.

The Fourth Grade Teacher Reading Academies (4TRA) continue to support the Texas Reading Initiative by offering valuable research-based instructional methods while focusing on issues important to Texas teachers, such as implementation of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The purpose of the FourthGradeTeacherReadingAcademy is to enhance current knowledge of instructional practices that promote reading success for all students, share research-proven strategies to increase reading achievement and help provide differentiated instruction that targets the individual needs of a wide range of learners.

This year we are providing you with a CD-ROM containing a print-ready electronic version of the 4TRA. The 4TRA includes information such as journal articles or photographs that have copyrights. For materials with copyrights, publishers gave permission to reprint only 28,000 copies of their materials, or one per Texas fourth grade teacher in Texas public and charter schools. This permission is for one printing only, to be completed during the 2003-2004 school year. Therefore, you are permitted to print one copy of 4TRA materials for each fourth grade teacher that is currently assigned to students in your district or charter school.

Education Service Centers wishing to reprint the 4TRA for LEAs must coordinate with the LEAs in their region to assure that only one copy per fourth grade teacher is printed and disseminated.

The FourthGradeTeacherReadingAcademy materials you have received contain:

  • 3 CD-ROMs
  • One “Print Files” CD-ROM. This CD-ROM contains:
  • Adobe PDF files for printing the black and white pages of both presenter guides and participant guides,
  • Adobe PDF files of presentation slides (made available should your school or district choose to print them as color transparencies rather than using the Presentation CD-ROMs),
  • the TEA “Red Book” (aka “Rainbow”) series, and this letter.
  • Two “Presentations and Video” CD-ROMs(Parts 1 and 2).
  • Offered as an alternative to using color transparencies and the VHS tape, these CD-ROMs contain electronic presentations of academy content, with embedded QuickTime™video files.
  • One VHS tape with 22 video segments that introduce, review, and support academy content
  • 18 books that support academy content either as reference materials or as documents that participants actively use during academy activities (see the Materials List on the “Print Files” CD for a complete list of materials by academy section)
  • Books not included in print or electronic formats that will be needed to conduct the academy are:
  • Reading Strategies for Advanced Primary Grade Readers, available through the Texas Education Agency, Division of Curriculum. Please call (512) 463-9581 for more information.
  • Supplemental Instruction for Struggling Readers Grades 3-5: A Guide for Tutors, available for download at

Sincerely,

Susan Barnes

Associate Commissioner for Standards and Programs