The Role Of The Reading Specialist

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

Early reading success is the foundation of a student’s knowledge and self-esteem. The foundation also provides future opportunities for growth. Students must learn to read proficiently so that they are able to learn more in future grades, post-secondary schools, and the workforce. Beverly Tyner’s Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers states “In the United States, which offers few career opportunities for the illiterate, teaching children to read proficiently is the most important single task in education.” (Tyner, 2009). Beverly Tyner created the Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model which incorporates research-based strategies for teaching beginning reading skills and skills

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:

In the primary grades, children should have a well-designed phonics program that promotes knowledge of letters, sounds, words, and phonological units (Dorn, Soffos. 2001. P. 21). The literacy coach should help the classroom teachers prepare for their literacy lessons by providing literary resources needed, modeling to show how certain components of the literacy block should look and making sure the teacher understands how to teach the skills they are working on at the time. For example, if a teacher is unsure how to effectively teach reading groups to beginner kindergarten readers, the literacy coach can model how to do so, provide the teacher with additional help and support, and even let the teacher observe other teachers teach. The literacy coach should also make sure the teachers have everything they need to assess students and that the teachers understand the importance of the assessments and how to get information from them to lead new

In every school across America, effective practices of reading instruction are being discussed. Calkins (2012) suggests that over 85% of students being tested on grade level literacy standards are non-proficient. Research suggests that students, who are unable to read proficiently by third grade, are not predicted to ever learn to read or have successful lives when they reach adulthood (Martinez, 2008). For these reasons, it is important that districts implement literacy models and instructional reforms that have been well researched and shown to be successful. The instructional reform method of Balanced Literacy is being used throughout the country to meet the challenging standards of the Common Core. Teachers will need

This is a very important component in education to be aware of and when you are a teacher. I interviewed a first-grade teacher at my local elementary school to gain more information about the processes that our local schools go through for professional training, interventions, and in the classroom to ensure that students are developing their abilities in reading. My main focus was on what our school’s process was, how support is given, professional training offered, and what more is needed to be done to increase success for students.

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

A literacy specialist role has a leadership component that requires expertise knowledge in the areas of assessment and research data. Through this knowledge and understanding, they can help students, teachers, and schools set literacy goals and actually accomplish them. Research states, “Schools that have literacy coaches or a literacy specialist, who is involved in setting literacy goals and accomplishments, promote teacher and student literacy improvements and achievements (Journal of Language and Literacy Education, Volume 3,

The study was conducted for four years and consisted of about one hundred students per grade level, as well as twenty teachers from both general and special education. All three tiers of intervention were used throughout this study. Tier 1 was used mainly for professional development for teachers of reading in order to prepare them to properly monitor and administer the interventions to their students. There were multiple sessions throughout the year so the teachers could implement their knowledge from professional development to improve their reading instruction. Tier 2 consisted of small group intervention with two to three students that met three times per week for about 10-15 minutes. The students selected for Tier 2 intervention represented the lower third of each kindergarten class. The main focus of Tier 2 was alphabet letters and sounds, one-syllable spoken words, and selecting letters to represent sounds in shortened words. First graders that received Tier 2 intervention met for 20-25 minutes three times per week and consisted of small groups. This was an addition to their classroom reading instructional time. Tier 2 for first graders focused on more intense things than in kindergarten, such as decoding words with taught letter

Literacy at the elementary level then becomes critical to all students in achieving academic success and reaching their goals. If literacy levels are not enhanced during the childhood years, it could possibly lead to problems later in adolescence and adult life. According to a research study conducted in 2009 on reading management programs, the study found that less attention was being made on reading programs (Hansen, Collins, & Warschauer, 2009). The purpose of this research study proposal is to demonstrate how a new and updated reading program can help enhance elementary students in their reading comprehension skills in order to achieve academic success into the next grade level by improving their cognitive abilities. The goal of the study is to test the efficiency of the current reading curriculum in elementary schools and compare them with a new reading curriculum by the use of two classrooms that will contain an experimental group and controlled group by randomly selecting elementary students at the 4th grade

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be

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.

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

After the survey was over, Lucy was walked back to the class where she laid down and began to read a book right away.