MONTANA STATE LITERACY ASSOCIATION

Letter From the Editor
October 2026

Dear Literacy Voices Readers,
I’m very excited and honored to share the next edition of Literacy Voices with you. There have been many changes and challenges in education and particularly in the field of literacy. Dr. David P. Pearson’s passing this fall was an incredible loss and he will forever be remembered for his contributions to the research on reading. His lifelong dedication to education and reading provides us with a beacon of hope that can also be found in the contributions to Literacy Voices.
In this edition, you’ll find information about dyslexia and adolescent learners, particularly, how motivation can be impacted. Relatedly, fostering resilience in students is an important consideration and for many Indigenous students, culture and culturally responsive pedagogical practices can be an important tool for fostering resilience. This concept in explored in our second article, “Fostering long-erm resilience: Neurological framework for culturally sustaining Literacy in Indigenous youth”.

In order to foster resilience in students though, we need them to come to school. “When students miss school: The impact on early literacy” examines the consequences of student attendance and how absenteeism can have a compounding effect on early literacy skills. Early literacy skills are addressed in multilingual students in “Building strong literacy foundations: Phonological awareness and phonics instruction in a multilingual kindergarten classroom”. As important as early academic skills, “The value of preschool play in literacy development” explores how play also contributes to the development of the child and their literacy skills. Lastly, we share a teaching tip inspired by a book about a female trailblazer, Nichelle Nichols. “Recognizing and celebrating the life and times of Nichelle Nichols: A teaching tip” provides some practical considerations for classroom teachers, librarians, and other school professionals working in literacy.
A great deal of gratitude goes to all of the authors and reviewers that contributed to this edition of Literacy Voices. And thank you to the readers!

Sincerely,
Dr. Kari Dahle-Huff
Literacy Voices Editor

• Beyond Decoding
• Fostering Long-Term Resilience
• When Students Miss School
• Building Strong Literacy Foundations
• The Value of Preschool Play in Literacy Development
• Recognizing and Celebrating the Life and Times of Nichelle Nichols

• Montana's Early Childhood Education
• Learning to Read
• A Case for Spelling

• Never Too Late: Aesop’s Tales as an Antidote to Apathy
• First Scrabble, Now Wordle: Something for Everyone

• To Kill a Mocking…Book?
• In Conversation: A Love Letter to a Banned Teacher Resource Text
• Courage: In Books and Classroom Teachers

• Post-Pandemic Realities: Examining Teacher Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge

• Teacher Journey Through Pandemic

• Effect of Time Spent Independently Reading on Reading Proficiency
• Reflections and Possibilities: The One-and-Done Senior Paper
• The Challenges of Teacher Qualification Policies
• The Long and Winding Road: Supporting Student Creativity in Poetry Writing
• Effectiveness of SSR in the Classroom

• Classroom Teacher Grant

• From Talk to Text 
• Using Informational Texts

• Titles to Treasure for 2015
• Teachers Who Have The Write Stuff 

• Teachers as Readers 
• A Second Chance at Learning
• Wanted: Student Writers
• Figuring Out “Big” Words
• Being an Uncommon Teacher

• 2012 Summer E-Journal