Program Being Evaluated. The Program Being Evaluated In

My early reading experiences reflect the history that Vogt and Shearer (2011) describe in the first chapter of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World. The basal reading programs of the 1970s and 1980s included “leveled readers, phonics activities, and a great deal of comprehension skill practice, usually found on the pages of the accompanying workbooks. The programs also included highly structured, detailed teacher’s guides, with different lesson plans for each of the three instructional groups” (Vogt & Shearer, 2011, p.13).

The 2001 Summer Reading Program sought to meet the following goals: (1) provide children in grades pre-K–3 with the opportunity to improve and retain reading skills in order to achieve greater success in school; and (2) encourage parents to participate and play an active role in reading with their children. The data from all stakeholders in the program - libraries, students, parents, and teachers - demonstrate that the Program made great strides towards meeting its

Many students were reading below grade level, and Tyner needed an intensive reading model that could fill in the gaps of each student’s literacy. She began using a basal reading program called Early Steps (Morris, Tyner, & Perney, 2000). Tyner decided to use some of the components of Early Steps to develop her own reading model that would focus on the needs of beginning and struggling readers. The Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model consists of a framework specifically designed for beginning and struggling readers so that they may progress through the appropriate developmental stages and become proficient

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

These DIBELS screening assessments were developed to help educators identify struggling, at-risk readers, so that appropriate types and levels of support can be implemented within the school system. They were designed to support efforts at the primary grade levels (K-6th) to prevent reading struggles as the learn progress through the school system. Furthermore, this test was to aid in the elimination in remediation lessons inside of the classroom.

Phonemic awareness is a vital role in literacy instruction. Many schools and districts adopt a commercially published basal reading program and it becomes the cornerstone of their instruction ( (David Chard, n.d.). We also know that through investigation and research it has shown us that word-recognition instruction and instruction in oral language skills related to word recognition were inadequately represented. (David Chard, n.d.) The same researchers have found that the reading passages that students are reading didn’t relate to the words they were learning. In order for students to read at grade level or above a supplemental program should be implemented. I have found that at my school we are lacking a phonics program that will reach different students abilities and make them successful in reading. My goal for this paper is to show my district that using a supplemental phonics program aside from our basal phonics program will prove beneficial to strategic readers who fall below grade level.

Wilson, Faggella-Luby, & Wei (2013) present a cogent plan for Tier 3 Response to Intervention (RTI) for secondary students with reading disabilities, content, and pedagogy planning tools, content instruction, and instructional method implementation. Both research application lacks concerning Tier 3 RTI in high schools (Wilson et. al). RTI is curriculum that addresses the learning needs of all students that also includes screening and monitoring progress. Continuing, Wilson et. al define Tier 1 RTI, core curriculum for all students serving the needs of 80% of students, Tier 2 RTI, small group instructional intervention, serving the needs of 15% of students, and Tier 3 RTI, an intense one to one intervention for students who continue to struggle beyond Tiers 1 and 2, serving 5% of students. Wilson et al. provides information the reader needs to understand in the article without clutter, expressing their writing with economy (Zinsser, 2013). The article is unified in theme, gives enough information without giving too much, and follows a clear progression (Zinsser). “More simple, than complex” (Henson, 1999, p. 58), Wilson et. al’s article is an example of good writing.

The study that I reviewed for the fluency evidence based practice was conducted in an alternative high school in the Southeast. The students that were involved in the study attended sessions that were mediated by their peers three times a week for 45 minutes. The sessions were held in a study hall type classroom that was structured in that the environment was conducive to helping increase the fluency skills of these struggling readers. This was a focus class that had certain guidelines for being a part of. The students were enrolled in this class if they received a grade level of six or below on the Test of Adult Basic Education assessment. The other requirements for this class were as follows: current reading scores between levels 4.0 to 7.0 as determined by the TOWRE (Test of Word Reading

Grade 5 students within a local, public elementary school scored in the lowest 25 percentile in reading on the legislatively mandated annual criterion-referenced tests. The data from 2016 state assessment indicates 15% of the students scored 2.0 or lower on a 5.0 rubric. An Intensive Intervention Instruction (iii) and Response to Intervention (RTI) plan has been developed to target and address intervention strategies supporting struggling students. The iii Intensive Intervention Instruction (Tier 3 Supports) is needed when data indicate that student progress is inadequate. (2014) Through the Collaborative Problem Solving Process (CPSP), the school-based Literacy Leadership Team members are responsible for supporting

Standard three mentions that educational leaders should promote equity among all students regardless of race, ability, socioeconomic status. Per the school improvement plan (SIP), the D accountability rating, and the STAR Reading results, I collaborated with colleagues, including the administrator, all reading teachers, and the interventionist to determine school-wide weaknesses and strengths. There had not been in depth data released for schools to analyze and identify the deficit areas at this point. However, the strengths and weaknesses were provided through another set of data called STAR Reading. STAR Reading is used as the baseline and universal screener for the district and the school to determine where students’ instructional levels are with each component of reading. It gives suggested starting points for teachers to utilize to develop activities and supports to increase student achievement

As a future reading specialist/literacy coach, I believe it is my job to implement intervention that will meet the needs of the students and teachers. If a teacher disagrees with my intervention method, I am open to their opinion about what they think will work best for their student. I must respect and understand that a teacher knows their student more than anyone. They spend the most amount of time with their student and comprehend the student’s strength and weakness better than I can. In order to successful identify an intervention plan that will work for a student, one must be open to alterations in the plan. Although the reading specialist/literacy coach is the school reading support system, teamwork is what builds a strong school foundation.

In Skyline Elementary School, there are many individuals that are involved in implementing the reading program. Core instruction begins within the students’ classroom. Throughout the year, the principal observes the teacher’s techniques and style when implementing the school literacy program. Within the classroom, the teacher uses Basal reading programs. Basal is grade leveled textbooks that has an emphasis on phonemic awareness, decoding, and reading for understanding (comprehension). When intervention is needed, tier 2 is implemented. Together as a team, the classroom teacher, title teachers, principal, and literacy coach create a plan. The literacy coach meets with grade level teachers once a week and plan with teachers to help improve

Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.

The researchers’ in this study conclude that ELL students participating in secondary-tier interventions using curricula with a direct instruction approach and delivered in small groups presented greater outcomes in student progress on DIBELS assessments and for the Woodcock Reading Mastery test. The researchers cite other reading studies that have used these same assessment methods as giving validity to their use. Their study outcomes further suggest that direct instruction using evidence-based reading practice in small groups of 3-5 students is a teaching method that should be employed by teachers of ELL students in order to increase

Learning to read is one of the most foundational skills needed for educational success. As children learn to read they develop the ability to decode, interpret, and store information from what they are reading. Reading comprehension allows a child to gain meaning from text and decoding allows a child to process sounds into words. Reading is vital to educational success because it allows a student to learn new information and build upon their prior knowledge. Students who attain reading skills are more likely to achieve academic success while students who have reading difficulties are likely to struggle academically and fall behind their peers. Reading difficulties have been prominent within the US for years. For example, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress statistics shows that only about 33% of fourth graders are at or above proficient at reading (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). Studies show that the cause of reading difficulties is based primarily on genes, environment, and instructional experience (Vellutino, Fletcher, Snowling, Scanlon, 2004). Students with a language learning disorder have difficulty comprehending spoken and written language thus making it difficult to learn new information. Children with reading disabilities are more likely to struggle during elementary school years as students are asked to think about what they read more critically. Speech language pathologists and teachers can help