Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

Building Capacity Through Education

Free Publications

Reading Literacy

Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series
Little Books: Exploring Comprehension through Retelling: A Teacher's Story
This booklet, part of the Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series, shares a teacher's experiences creating opportunities that enhance comprehension through narrative retelling.
Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series
Little Books: Letter Knowledge: A Teacher's Story
This booklet, part of the Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series, shares a teacher's experiences in creating a rich learning environment that enhances letter learning for young students.
Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series
Little Books: Little Honu's Journey - Insert
This illustrated children's book accompanies Exploring Comprehension through Retelling: A Teacher's Story, part of the Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series. It describes a baby turtle's adventures on his journey to the ocean.
Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series
Little Books: Print Literacy: A Teacher's Story
This booklet, part of the Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series, shares a teacher's experiences learning how to create a rich learning environment that enhances literacy for young students.
Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series
Little Books: Word Identification: A Teacher's Story
This booklet, part of the Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series, shares a teacher's experiences creating a rich learning environment that enhances accurate and automatic word identification for young students.
REL Pacific: English Language Proficiency Assessment in the Pacific Region
Using various approaches to identify English language learners, several Pacific region jurisdictions are developing English language proficiency standards and assessments aligned with those standards. Others are working on content standards, including language arts, and have expressed interest in developing English language proficiency standards but lack formal assessment mechanisms.
Assessing Reading Fluency
This booklet is intended to assist practitioners in monitoring students' fluency development. Assessments are discussed in terms of three components of fluency: Accuracy - accurate decoding of words in text; Automaticity - decoding words with minimal use of attentional resources; and Prosody - appropriate use of phrasing and expression to convey meaning. Sample assessments are included.
REL Pacific: English Language Proficiency Assessment in the Pacific Region
Using various approaches to identify English language learners, several Pacific region jurisdictions are developing English language proficiency standards and assessments aligned with those standards. Others are working on content standards, including language arts, and have expressed interest in developing English language proficiency standards but lack formal assessment mechanisms.
By Word of Mouth: A Storytelling Guide for the Classroom
This selection of classroom resources is useful for teachers seeking to develop literacy skills in elementary school students through storytelling. Information and classroom activities from three unique perspectives on speech and performance are included.
Focus on Comprehension, A
Research Based Practices in Early Reading Series
A Focus on Comprehension is the third booklet in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). The purpose of this booklet is to examine what research tells us about factors that affect reading comprehension and about what instruction must contain and what it must do to help students better comprehend the content they read.
Focus on Fluency (2003)
Research Based Practices in Early Reading Series
Intended for practitioners, A Focus on Fluency is the first booklet in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory at PREL. The 31-page report summarizes research on fluency and fluency instruction and describes strategies for fluency instruction. It also explains various ways of conducting repeated oral reading, the use of independent silent reading, an integrated fluency instruction approach, the role of texts, and fluency assessment.
Focus on Professional Development, A
Research Based Practices in Early Reading Series
A Focus on Professional Development is the fourth in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading Series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). Because reading proficiency is fundamental to student achievement across all subjects and grades, the preparation of the teachers and administrators who are responsible for providing early reading instruction is of special importance. This booklet examines what research tells us about professional development and about the role that effective professional development plays in improving both teacher performance and student achievement.
Focus on Vocabulary, A
Research Based Practices in Early Reading Series
This second booklet in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading Series explores vocabulary development as a component of reading comprehension. The text examines research results on students' vocabulary acquisition and instruction that helps them develop the kind of vocabulary knowledge that will contribute to their reading success. The document is available online only and can be accessed in HTML or color PDF. Users are asked to complete a survey to access the online document.
Language Cards
Each of these 10 cards represents the language native to a Pacific entity in PREL's service region. Useful greetings are provided with English translations and phonetic pronunciations. The printed cards feature colorful artwork by children and are packaged in sets of 10, one card for each language.
Language
Language Use at Home and School
Language Use at Home and School: A Synthesis of Research for Pacific Educators
Indigenous languages are spoken at home in American-affiliated Pacific Island communities, yet instruction at school is carried out in English. Are home and school languages compatible, and if not, how can they become compatible so children can learn? This paper discusses the complex issue of language compatibility in the Pacific.
Lost in Translation: From English to Pacific Languages in Early Reading Assessment
(Research Brief)
Are the skills and knowledge to be learned by early readers of English the same as those to be learned by early readers of the vernacular (L1)? Bringing together language and literacy in English and the L1 is difficult. Much can be “lost in translation.” We explore issues that surface when using English early reading assessments as the frame for developing L1 assessments.
Middle Grades: Putting All Students on Track for College
The focus of this briefing paper is to help middle grades educators close the opportunity gap for underserved students. The author provides reasons these grades are so critical to postsecondary preparation, background, examples, and recommendations for building school capacity to increase student performance for college access.
Reading Instruction for Older Struggling Readers
As students progress through the grade levels, the demands of academically rigorous subject matter combined with greater dependence on informational text make it imperative for students to attain age-appropriate reading skills. Yet increasingly, numerous less proficient readers are found in grades four through eight. Although most have a command of social English, many students experience difficulties in reading and writing academic English. This briefing paper discusses possible reasons for the high number of older struggling readers, what teachers can do, and the importance of matching instruction to meet children's needs.
Evaluation of the Outcomes and Impact of the Pacific CHILD Professional Development Model
(Research Report)
The Pacific Communities with High-performance in Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) Professional Development Model research project was initiated in response to an overwhelming need in PREL's Pacific service region for improvement of teachers' knowledge and instructional practices in early reading. This report examines the question of the quality of the professional development provided through Pacific CHILD, how quality of this model program was measured, and the findings on the quality of professional development.
Language of Instruction: Choices and Consequences
As English becomes the language of wider communication in the Pacific region, changes in culture and language-use are increasingly apparent and of concern to Pacific educators and community members. This briefing paper focuses on the choices of instructional language in Pacific classrooms, as mandated by national or state policies, and discusses consequences of such choices on students' achievement and career preparation.
The Language Question in Pacific Education: The Case of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(Research Brief)
This paper examines complex issues surrounding language-in-education policy in Micronesia. It analyzes the difficult questions that arise as a result of the interplay between local traditions and globalizing economic and political forces.