Abstract
ABSTRACT Purpose We examine the content, context, and management of literacy learning opportunities in a large, diverse sample in the US and whether these opportunities were differentiated by children’s oral language and decoding skill levels. Method A total of 1,404 children in 153 preschool-through-third-grade classrooms were observed for several multi-hour observations of their literacy time. Children were administered assessments of code-focused and meaning-focused skills before each observation. Results Code-focused instruction was most common in kindergarten and was appropriately differentiated only in this grade. Significantly more meaning-focused instruction was observed in 1st–3rd grades than in earlier grades and there was limited evidence of differentiation of this type of instruction. Conclusion Kindergarten is a focus year for learning to read and children who do not make sufficient progress may face challenges due to limited, undifferentiated learning opportunities in subsequent grades. Meaning-focused instruction time is emphasized in later grades, which is a missed opportunity for younger learners.
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