Research Foundation

Research Behind the Ellerton Literacy Series

Ellerton is grounded in established research on early literacy development, including the Science of Reading and structured literacy instruction.

Literacy Research

Foundations of Early Reading Development

The Ellerton Literacy Series is grounded in the Science of Reading and reflects established models of early literacy development, including Scarborough's Reading Rope. Decades of research in reading science demonstrate that successful early reading development depends on the systematic development of foundational skills including phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Effective early literacy instruction emphasizes explicit skill development, cumulative progression, and repeated opportunities for practice across foundational domains.

The Ellerton Literacy Series provides structured practice across these domains through consistent activity formats and intentional skill sequencing that reinforce previously introduced concepts during the early stages of literacy development.

Research Domains

Key Research Domains

The Ellerton program addresses six foundational domains supported by reading research and early literacy development frameworks, reflecting widely recognized components of effective early reading instruction.

These domains are explicitly addressed across the Ellerton Literacy Series through structured, developmentally sequenced practice.

Phonological Awareness

Awareness of sound structures in spoken language, including rhyme, syllables, and onset–rime patterns that support the development of phonological processing skills.

Phonemic Awareness

Recognition and manipulation of individual phonemes within spoken words, supporting the development of decoding and word recognition skills.

Phonics

Understanding the relationships between letters and sounds that support decoding and early word recognition.

Fluency

Developing automatic word recognition and reading accuracy through repeated exposure to words and simple sentence structures.

Vocabulary

Exposure to spoken and written language that supports word knowledge and meaning development.

Writing Development

Early writing experiences that reinforce phonics knowledge, encoding skills, and sentence construction.

Program Design

Research-Informed Program Design

The Ellerton Literacy Series supports early literacy development through a clear instructional progression, structured practice routines, and repeated opportunities to reinforce foundational skills.

Ellerton is structured around established principles of effective literacy instruction, including explicit skill progression, cumulative review, and repeated practice.

Design principles

  • Systematic progression of foundational literacy skills
  • Structured opportunities for repeated practice
  • Cumulative development across connected skill domains
  • Clear instructional sequencing across the series

Program features

  • Explicit practice within targeted literacy domains
  • Short, focused activities that support daily instruction
  • Predictable formats that support classroom routines
  • Used across whole-group, small-group, and literacy center instruction
Research References

Selected Research References

The following references represent foundational research in reading science and early literacy development that informed the design and instructional structure of the Ellerton Literacy Series.

These works directly inform the instructional design of the Ellerton Literacy Series.

  • National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
  • Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for Research in Early Literacy. Guilford Press.
  • Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5–51.
  • Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. Wiley.
  • Ehri, L. C. (2014). Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 5–21.
District Pilot

Request a Pilot with Ellerton

Schools and districts interested in evaluating Ellerton may request pilot materials, program documentation, and support to plan and implement a structured classroom pilot with clarity and consistency.

After submitting a request, Ellerton will coordinate with your team to deliver materials, confirm participating classrooms, and support pilot setup.