Module+3

1. What does research say about the topic?

JM: Research show that early intervention of at risk readers is crucial. A pattern of school failure starts early and persists throughout a child's school career. Prevention and intervention programs must focus on timing, time, materials, instruction, monitoring, professional development, and home-school connections.​ LJ: I feel that the RtI model is a response to this because it focuses on frequent monitoring of progress and providing appropriate interventions. ML: Like Jenny and Lynn said, early intervention is critical for preventing reading difficulties. RTI is a prevention model, and when implemented correctly, it is very beneficial. LH: OK!!!! Once again this is the second time I am answering the questions. I used the backspace button to fix a spelling and it deleted everything! Here goes again. . . this is frustrating! I did my capstone on early intervention and these are the main points I found: RV: I also worked with this some in my capstone. I was researching retention in early childhood and it was found that students who have effective early interventions were not retained even though they had all the characterisitcs of a child who would most likely be retained. I also agree that the RtI model is ver beneficial when implemented correctly.
 * Early literacy skills are predictive of later reading abilities
 * It is essential to begin early, sometimes as early as Pre-K, always by Kdg, and should not begin after 2nd grade
 * intervention must be explicit and code-based, and students should spend the bulk of the instructional time READING!
 * what is learned in the intervention class and the homeroom must 'sync'
 * students need to attend at least 30 minutes per session
 * students should be grouped according to skill deficits

MS; THANKS, LISA, FOR SHARING THIS INFORMATION WITH THE GROUP. I AGREE WITH THE MAJORITY OF YOUR RESEARCHERS EARLY INTERVENTION IS CRITICAL. I AM DISTRESS WITH THE INFORMATION OF IF THE STUDENT IS A STRUGGLING READER AT GRADE 3, THE PROBABILITY OF THE STRUGGLING READER WILL BE GREAT THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEARS. THUS, TEACHERS HAVE TO START EARLY AND GIVE EVERYTHING BEFORE THE STUDENTS MAINTAINS THE STRUGGLING READER SYNDROME.

2. How has reading's shift from remedition to prevention and intervetion affected your programs?

JM: RtI is common in our classrooms now. We are no longer waiting until we see a big problem, we are starting early to detect students who could be at risk. We are working with different reading stategies and with small group instruction to identify what works well for these students and what doesn't. LJ: I agree, Jenny. It is interesting to see the range of skill level of the professional in our district. Some people can pin-point the problem, but they are unable to come up with strategies. Others pin-point the problem and can intervene almost without even thinking about it. But EVERYONE is moving forward, and that is exciting! ML: Our school is a pilot school for the Response to Intervention program. Over the past three years, our school has changed dramatically. "Intervention" is the buzz word. Teachers have restructured their classrooms to include whole group, small group, and one-on-one instruction. Assessments are being utilized frequently to inform instruction. Teachers are incorportating evidence-based practices in their classrooms. Our kids are responding. It is working! LH: Our school is still working on developing our RTI program. We don't have a specific system yet or any specific "paperwork" that we must use. Each grade level had kind of developed it's own way of doing things and it is a mess. Right now we are confused about the process of RTI, but I know once we get things lined out it will be a great asset for our students. So I would say the shift to intervention has confused us for the moment. I feel that when RTI is implemented it will ensure accountability of the classroom teacher and will also keep some kids from "falling through the cracks", the ones who seem to get passed from grade to grade without any help. RV: I also teach with Marlo and work with the RtI model in our school. It has overhauled the way we teach reading and the way we look at struggling readers. It has allowed the teachers to put a lot of work into our students before they get too far behind to insure that they dont get left behind. 3. Discuss the concept that everyone is responsible for struggling readers and how does that effect you?

JM: Everyone must be willing to take an active role in helping struggling readers. I teach 5th grade and my hope is that students come to me with strong reading skills. If not, I know I have an up hill challenge to face. Teachers must be willing to collorborate and work together to find stratgies and skills that will help as risk readers. In the end, everyone will benefit. ML: I think this means that no one person is responsible for teaching a student to read. The administration is responsible for providing materials and staff development opportunities. The classroom teacher The Title 1 teacher, Special Education teacher, speech pathologists, and counselors all play a role in making sure a child can read through collaboration, assessment, and documentation. LH: I feel strongly that responsibilty begins with parents. Schools should be making an effort to educate parents on the importance of early literacy/language experiences and also giving help to those parents that need it. After that, classroom teachers are responsible for identifying students who are struggling, and providing quality instruction and intervention. The reading specialist is responsible to help the classroom teachers and also to provide more intensive instruction to those students who need it. The administration is responsible for ensuring the literacy program is workable and effective and also for adequately training each teacher. I feel that just becuase many school have a reading interventionsist that doesn't mean the teachers can slack on their reading instruction. EVERY teacher must work diligently and use best-practices to help every child, struggling or not. MS: THE HOME MUST START AND HELP WITH THE MAINTENANCE OF THE LITERACY FOCUS. OF COURSE, EVERY ADULT IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT DEMONSTRATES THE LOVE THE LITERACY, THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING, AND THE ROLE OF LIFE-LONG LEARNING LITERACY SKILLS. RV: I think about the statement "It takes a village to raise a child" all the time. This applies not only to the home life but also to the school as well. We have title-I teachers and aides that assist us with our stuggling readers as well as working with a team to make decisions for them based on their assessment data. This ensures that several people are thinking about what is best for the child at all times. 4. Your questions from your group.

LJ: Do we do as good of a job monitoring learning in the upper elementary as we do in the lower elementary? ML: I think I am moving from 3rd grade to teaching Language Arts in 4th & 5th grade this year. I know for me, I will moitor their learning just as much as I would in 3rd grade. Since we are an RTI pilot school, monitoring is inevitable. RV: I know that in the past most school use DIBELS and Literacy first in lower elementary and havent monitored the upper elementary at all. I think this will change in time as RtI gets more ingrained in what we do as teachers.

JM: What are some effective intervtions for older students who were not identified in grades 1-3? LJ: I would imagine that if a student was not identified as struggling in grades 1-3, it was because word recognition was not an issue. Reading comprehension definitely becomes more of an issue in the upper elementary grades, therefore, comprehension strategies such as graphic organizers may be effective. ML: The Florida Center for Reading Research has some wonderful interventions that can be printed and used. You really need to know what specific skills the student is struggling with in order to prescribe a particular intervention. For instance, If it is fluency, I would use a variety of repeated reading methods. RV: I agree with Marlo. The fcrr (fcrr.org) has thousand of interventions laid out based on grade level and need. Some of the best ones I have reviewed on there for older children deal with comprehension, fluency, & vocabulary.

ML: 1. How does your school provide interventions? 2. What assessment tools do you use? 3. How do upper grade classes that switch classes 4 or more times a day schedule intervention time? RV: My school uses our title-I aides and classroom teachers to provide interventions. We use DIBELS and literacy first phonics assessment to provide information about our struggling students. LH: Questions
 * What are some specific ways the reading specialist can ensure the strategies/skills learned during intervention can be used and applied in the regular classroom?
 * If you are unable to serve all students (budget/staffing cuts), who do you think should have access to reading intervention, the kids who are 'red' on DIBELS (those at the very lowest abiity) or kids who are 'yellow' (those in the middle, almost at grade level) ?
 * * Are there any particular teaching styles/strategies that have been shown to provide long-term benefits to struggling readers? Some research shows students return to their previous literacy level after they stop attending intervention. What can classroom teachers and reading specialist do to ensure the maintain their reading gains?*
 * MS: I FEEL THE TEACHER MUST BE ACTIVE IN KEEPING THE STUDENT INTERESTED IN READING AND LEARNING. TOO OFTEN, THE TEACHER DOESN'T IMPLEMENT STUDENT CENTERED GOALS AND ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM. TOO OFTEN, THE TEACHER ALLOWS ALITERACY, UNDERACHIEVEMENT, AND BOREDOM. EACH AND EVERY TEACHER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AUTHENTIC READING AND WRITING WHICH SHOWS VALUE OF LITERACY.

RV Questions: 1. What strategies are effective (besides repeated readings) for second/third grade readers who are accurate but not reaching thier fluency rate goals? 2. How can teacher be motivated to take on the extra work of running interventions in the classroom? 3. What age groups would benefit from RtI? Would this be an effective model in JH and HS?