Louisa C. Moats, EdD

Grades K–12

LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) is a professional development program that responds to the need for high-quality literacy educators at all levels. Developed by Louisa C. Moats, EdD, LETRS provides the deep foundational knowledge necessary to understand how students learn to read, write, and spell—and why some of them struggle.

The program's underlying principles are the groundwork in many scientific research reports, including “Blueprint for Professional Development,” Reading First Leadership Academy, U.S. Department of Education (Moats, 2002); “The Missing Foundation in Teacher Education,” American Educator (Moats, 1995); and “Measuring Teachers' Content Knowledge of Language and Reading,” Annals of Dyslexia (Moats and Foorman, 2003).

LETRS provides educators with a core understanding of language structure and helps them gain in-depth instructional information to complement their teaching practices. Rather than replacing the core basal reading program, LETRS brings deeper knowledge of reading instruction by addressing each component—phoneme awareness; phonics, decoding, spelling, and word study; oral language development; vocabulary; reading fluency; comprehension; and writing—as well as the foundational concepts that link them.

LETRS is delivered through a combination of print materials (Modules), technology (Interactive CD-ROMs), and professional development (Institutes).