Literacy ReclaimEd exists to help teachers build bridges between students’ home language and academic English, removing barriers to literacy learning.
By Allison Bucklew, Program Design Director
I’m going to talk about math for a minute. I know, I know – you’re here for literacy instruction. But trust me, this detour matters.
Remember being told to “just follow the steps” or “ours is not to reason why, just invert and multiply”? Most of us forgot those steps the minute we left the classroom, or worse, we could follow the procedure but had no idea what we were actually calculating or why it mattered. And don’t even get me started on how that translated to the dreaded word problem!
Now imagine that frustration, but with language. Over the past few years, as evidence-based approaches to reading instruction have been gaining traction across the U.S., we’ve also seen educators name the disconnect for some students. Many students are told that their way of speaking is “wrong” without understanding why or even knowing that language has different systems with different rules. Their language might be corrected without an explanation of what makes one pattern “academic” and another pattern “incorrect.” That’s the reality for many students in elementary classrooms today.
And just as in math, when we teach rules without an explicit connection to the logic behind them, students don’t truly learn. They feel, at best, confused and frustrated, and, in some cases, even inadequate. This is where research can change everything, and it’s exactly why Literacy ReclaimEd exists.
Challenges Addressed by Literacy ReclaimEd
Most professional learning for literacy instruction doesn’t teach educators that language varies systematically. The way students speak at home follows consistent, sophisticated grammatical rules that sometimes differ from those of academic English. Without this foundational understanding, teachers often interpret students’ home language patterns as errors to be corrected rather than strengths to build upon.
Students are frequently told to “use academic language” or “write more formally” without understanding why, when, or how. They’re corrected for using home language patterns without ever being taught that those patterns follow their own systematic rules (Terry & Scarborough, 2011). They’re asked to make language choices without being given the tools to understand what those choices mean or accomplish.
Without support to help teachers understand how to build on students’ linguistic assets, students may begin to see themselves as “bad at reading” or “not good writers.” They disengage from reading and writing. Some stop participating in class altogether. The message they internalize isn’t just about grammar; it’s about whether they belong in academic spaces at all.
Meanwhile, teachers feel frustrated too. They know their students are capable, but traditional instructional approaches aren’t working. They correct the same “errors” over and over, but students keep making them. Without understanding the linguistic systems at play, teachers lack the tools to help students make meaningful progress.
This is where research can transform practice.
Research Supporting Literacy ReclaimEd’s Approach
Decades of linguistic and literacy research tell us that all language varieties are systematic, rule-governed, and equally capable of expressing complex ideas. When students use patterns from their home language, they’re demonstrating linguistic competence, not confusion.
More importantly, research shows that when teachers explicitly build on students’ existing language patterns, students develop stronger literacy skills (Connor & Craig, 2006). They learn academic language more quickly and become more confident, engaged readers and writers. They see themselves as people who are good with language, can navigate multiple audiences and purposes skillfully, and learn to consume information critically.
But accessing this research-backed approach requires specific knowledge and concrete instructional strategies that most teachers simply haven’t been given access to – and that’s where we come in.
The Literacy ReclaimEd Approach
Literacy ReclaimEd fills this gap between academic research and classroom practice by providing teachers with both the linguistic foundation and the practical classroom tools they need.
Our training helps teachers recognize that students arrive as linguistic experts. A child who moves between home and school language is doing sophisticated cognitive work. They’re already demonstrating the kind of audience awareness and rhetorical flexibility we want all students to develop.
We ground this work in evidence-based literacy instruction, giving teachers concrete strategies to:
- Decode the systems behind different language varieties (not as right versus wrong, but as different tools for different jobs).
- Build on the grammatical knowledge students already possess.
- Make explicit connections between home language patterns and academic language structures.
- Teach students to navigate different language varieties strategically, helping them understand when and why to use different patterns for different contexts.
- Create classroom environments where all language varieties are valued.
- Provide rigorous instruction in academic language.
This is both/and work, not either/or. Students deserve to maintain their home language AND gain full access to academic language. Teachers need tools to honor linguistic variation AND provide excellent literacy instruction.
Our Vision for Literacy Instruction
When teachers have these tools, classrooms transform (Kirk & Gillon, 2009). Students who once shut down during reading and writing time start taking risks on the page. They see that adding academic language to their repertoire doesn’t mean abandoning who they are. Instead, they are invited to expand their power to communicate in different contexts.
Teachers gain clarity about what they’re actually teaching. Instead of correcting the same “errors” repeatedly with little success, they can explicitly teach the patterns of academic English and help students understand when and why different language choices matter.
Reading and writing become less about right versus wrong and more about strategic choices. Which language variety fits this audience? This purpose? This context? These are the questions skilled communicators ask, and these are the skills that serve students throughout their lives.
Empower Your Teachers and Students with Literacy ReclaimEd
If you’ve felt the frustration of seeing capable students struggle in literacy classrooms, Literacy ReclaimEd might be the missing piece. We are providing school-based and district cohort professional learning services to support elementary educators with virtual professional learning as well as onsite and virtual coaching.
The students in our classrooms deserve teachers who see their linguistic brilliance, who can build bridges between home and school language varieties, and who have the instructional tools to help them thrive as readers, writers, and communicators.
That’s why Literacy ReclaimEd exists. And that’s the work we’re inviting you to join.
Bring Literacy ReclaimEd to your district!
Connect to Learn MoreReferences
Connor, C. M., & Craig, H. K. (2006). African American preschoolers’ language, emergent literacy skills, and use of African American English: A complex relation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49(4), 771-792.
Kirk, C., & Gillon, G. T. (2009). Integrated morphological awareness intervention as a tool for improving literacy. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 40(3), 341-351.
Terry, N. P., & Scarborough, H. S. (2011). The phonological hypothesis as a valuable framework for studying the relation of dialect variation to early reading skills. In Explaining Individual Differences in Reading (pp. 97-117). Psychology Press.
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