Foundations of Reading Study Guide: What to Study and How
What to Study
The FORT covers 11 objectives across 4 subareas. Your study plan should cover all of them, but prioritize by exam weight: Subarea I (35%), Subarea II (27%), Subarea IV (20%), and Subarea III (18%). Within each subarea, focus on understanding the key concepts, knowing the professional terminology, and being able to apply evidence-based instructional strategies to classroom scenarios.
Subarea I: Foundations of Reading Development (35%)
This is the largest subarea. Study phonological and phonemic awareness (the developmental progression, key tasks like blending and segmentation), phonics (systematic and explicit instruction, CVC patterns, digraphs, blends), word analysis (syllable types, morphemic analysis, prefixes and suffixes), and fluency (the three components, repeated reading, prosody). Know the difference between phonological awareness (broad) and phonemic awareness (narrow).
Subarea II: Development of Reading Comprehension (27%)
Study vocabulary development (the three tiers, word-learning strategies, academic language), literary text comprehension (narrative elements, literary devices, inferencing), and informational text comprehension (text structures, text features, summarization). Beck's Three Tiers of Vocabulary is one of the most frequently tested frameworks.
Subarea III: Reading Assessment and Instruction (18%)
Study assessment types (screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, formative, summative), running records and miscue analysis, the three cueing systems (meaning, structure, visual), and the MTSS/RTI framework. Also study instructional approaches: gradual release, differentiated instruction, guided reading, and structured literacy.
Subarea IV: Constructed Response (20%)
Practice writing responses using the four-part structure: identify a strength, identify a need, recommend a strategy, explain the rationale. Write at least 4-6 practice responses under timed conditions. Focus on citing specific evidence and using professional terminology.