Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 505 - PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION › Chapter 505-3 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION RULES › Rule 505-3-.03 - Foundations of Reading, Literacy, and Language

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through
			 June 27, 2024
(1)
Purpose
. This rule states reading, literacy, and language content
			 standards for approving programs that prepare individuals to teach children
			 aged birth through kindergarten and children in any subject in grades P-12, and
			 it supplements requirements in GaPSC Rule
			 505-3-.01, REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS
			 FOR APPROVING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND EDUCATOR PREPARATION
			 PROGRAMS.
(2)
Definitions
.
(a)
Alphabetic Principle
: The idea that letters and letter
			 patterns represent the sounds of spoken language.
(b)
Comprehension
:
			 Comprehension is the cognitive process of understanding and interpreting
			 information, usually in the context of language, both spoken and written. It
			 involves the ability to extract meaning from words, sentences, and larger units
			 of text or speech, as well as making connections between ideas, drawing
			 inferences, and synthesizing information.
(c)
Explicit
			 Instruction
: Instruction that is taught directly and clearly,
			 leaving little to chance. Teachers begin by modeling the objective, ensuring
			 that students know what is expected. Students then practice along with the
			 teacher, and finally, they complete the task individually (e.g., I do, we do,
			 you do). Explicit instruction includes practice with immediate corrective
			 feedback.
(d)
Fluency
: The ability to act (speak, read, write) with
			 ease, accuracy, automaticity/appropriate rate, and prosody. It is an essential
			 component of reading because it permits the reader to focus on constructing
			 meaning from the text rather than on decoding words.
(e)
Grapheme
: A
			 letter or letter combination that spells a phoneme; it can be one, two, three,
			 or four letters in English (e.g., i, ou, igh, ough).
(f)
Language (expressive,
			 receptive, and pragmatic language)
: (1) Expressive Language:
			 Sharing thoughts and feelings through body language, gestures, facial
			 expressions, vocalizations, or words. (2) Receptive Language: Understanding
			 what others are communicating; understanding the intents of others. (3)
			 Pragmatic Language: The social use of verbal and nonverbal
			 communication.
(g)
Literacy
: The capacity to engage with and skillfully
			 utilize various forms of communication, including reading, writing, speaking,
			 listening, and digital media, to effectively express, interpret, and interact
			 with a variety of ideas and perspectives.
(h)
Morpheme
: The
			 smallest meaningful unit of a language that cannot be further divided. A
			 "base," or "root" is a morpheme in a word that gives the word its principle
			 meaning.
(i)
Phoneme
: The smallest unit of sound in a spoken word;
			 an individual speech sound.
(j)
Phonemic Awareness:
The ability to detect and
			 manipulate the smallest units (i.e., phonemes) of spoken language. For example,
			 recognition that the word cat includes three distinct sounds or phonemes
			 represents phonemic awareness. Individuals with phonemic awareness can blend
			 phonemes to form spoken words, segment spoken words into their constituent
			 phonemes, delete phonemes from spoken words, add phonemes, and substitute
			 phonemes.
(k)
Phonics
: An approach to teaching reading that
			 emphasizes the systematic relationship between the sounds of language and the
			 graphemes (i.e., letters or letter combinations) that represent those sounds.
			 Learners apply this knowledge to decode printed words.
(l)
Phonological
			 Awareness
: Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and
			 manipulate the sound structures within spoken language. This skill encompasses
			 the identification and manipulation of various linguistic components, including
			 (1) syllables, such as /book/, (2) onsets and rimes, such as /b/ and /ook/, and
			 (3) individual phonemes, such as /b/, /oo/, and /k/.
(m)
Science of Reading/Scientific
			 Reading Instruction
: An evidence-based approach to teaching
			 reading and writing that is rooted in the understanding of cognitive science
			 and its connection to educational outcomes. This method trains educators to
			 teach reading by addressing syllables, morphology, sound-symbol correspondence,
			 semantics, and syntax in a clear, systematic, and diagnostic manner. The
			 approach holistically integrates speaking, listening, reading, and writing by
			 offering explicit, systematic, and tailored instruction in areas such as
			 phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, syllable patterns, morphology,
			 semantics, and syntax, ensuring a comprehensive and inclusive literacy
			 development experience.
(n)
Spelling
: The process of representing a language by
			 means of a writing system.
(o)
Systematic Instruction
: The use of a planned, logical
			 sequence to introduce elements taught, building from the simplest to those that
			 are more complex.
(p)
Vocabulary
: The collection of words that an individual
			 knows, understands, and actively employs in both written and oral
			 communication. This personalized set of words is dynamic and evolves through
			 exposure to diverse sources and experiences. This definition differs from
			 lexicon, which encompasses the entire set of words within a language.
(q)
Written
			 Expression
: A complex process of using various cognitive
			 operations to translate ideas and thoughts into a written language.