Index of University Press Releases

Aug. 25, 2008

Pruitt named to South Dakota Reading Advisory Council

Rene’ M. Pruitt

MITCHELL — Rene’ M. Pruitt, assistant professor of education at Dakota Wesleyan University, was recently invited to join the South Dakota Reading Advisory Council.

In connection with the council and the state’s Reading First support team, Pruitt attended the Reading First Conference in Nashville this summer along with more than 6,000 educators from across the nation. Among the special guests was former first lady Barbara Bush.

Pruitt attended the two-day strand of vocabulary instruction and a day devoted to comprehension.

“Teaching reading scientifically involves five essential elements: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension,” said Pruitt. “Research shows that currently, the two areas needing most professional development support are vocabulary and comprehension.”

Pruitt teaches “Evidence Based Reading Instruction” to elementary education majors and “Reading and Writing in the Content Area” to secondary education majors. Each course addresses teaching vocabulary and comprehension.