Foundational literacy instruction is essential to ensure all students become successful readers and writers. The Foundational Literacy Instructional Routines document is a resource developed to provide Nebraska educators with consistent, systematic and explicit routines to enhance the delivery of evidence-based instructional practices and comprehension strategies for use across all tiers of instruction.
Effective June 2025, the FLIR guide has been updated to provide essential instructional considerations for supporting multilingual learners in developing their literacy skills. Revisions include adding current links to the English Language Proficiency Standards, a crosswalk that aligns these standards with existing English Language Arts content standards, and clear explanations of the rationale and instructional implications for supporting multilingual learners’ growth in foundational literacy and language comprehension.
Who is the resource for?
This resource supports all teachers in enhancing instructional routines within their content areas. Though it was initially created for elementary ELA teachers, this document offers valuable guidance for any educator working with students who struggle with reading can learn from this document.
Who created this resource?
The Foundational Literacy Instructional Routines document updates were created by the Nebraska Department of Education’s Multilingual Learner/Science of Reading Task Force, a partnership between NDE, NeMTSS, ESUs and educators throughout Nebraska.
Team members:
- Dawn Ferreyra – Title III Consortium Director, ESU 3
- Theresa Ritta-Olsen – Title III Consortium Director, ESU 10
- Mark Brady – Title III Consortium Director, ESU 7
- Olivia Alberts – Reading Specialist, NDE
- Becky Michaels – ELA Specialist, NDE
- Amanda Levos – EL Director, Grand Island Public Schools
- Heidi Farmer-NeMTSS Regional Lead
- Sarah Essay-Teaching and Learning Coordinator, ESU 10
- Bre Wilton – Social Studies Specialist, NDE
- Jaimie Cogua – Coordinator for English Learner, Dual Language, Refugee and Migrant Education, Omaha Public Schools
- Julie Otero – Title III and ELPA21, NDE
- Anne Hubbell – Title III and EL Specialist, NDE
- Mary Jo McElhose – NeMTSS System Consultant
- Libby Banderas – Instructional Coach, Lexington Public Schools
- Annette Fitzgerald – Curriculum Coordinator, Lexington Public Schools
Why it matters
Successful literacy instruction is sustained through the use of instructional routines. This enhanced resource can serve as a guide for districts, schools and individual teachers to systematically implement instructional routines that will benefit all students.
“Students who fail to decode with automaticity will fail to read with fluency, and students who fail to read with fluency will fail to comprehend the rich complex text needed to succeed in college, work and life.”
Excerpt from “Why a Structured Phonics Program is Effective” (Liben, 2017)
Next steps
In addition to the PDF resource linked above, the Nebraska MTSS team, in partnership with NDE, previously recorded a webinar series to guide and support instructional routines for teaching foundational literacy in the classroom. The series, Foundational Literacy Instructional Routines, directly aligns with the NeMTSS Framework and consists of two parts:
Part 1: Word Recognition
Part 2: Language Comprehension
In the two-part webinar, NeMTSS and NDE team members share information on important instructional strategies and routines for teaching foundational literacy, along with research-backed information about the brain and how it learns to read. The videos are divided into shorter, 10- and 20-minute segments (also referred to as “chapters”). Educators may watch the full video or skip to the most relevant segments for their needs.
Questions?
For more information, please contact the presenters:
- Olivia Alberts – olivia.alberts@nebraska.gov
- Heidi Farmer – heidi.farmer@esu6.org
- Mary Jo McElhose – mjmcelhose@gmail.com
