Nicole Lalonde's Professional Portfolio
- Reading Intervention
Struggling Readers Intervention
The kinds of programming used to intervene with struggling readers at the school level.
~Programs such as Making Words can be used for this.
~Reading Recovery (these teachers are trained specially for this)
~Students have also been referred to what we used to call ELRTs for individualized or small group instruction.
~Programs such as Making Words can be used for this.
~Reading Recovery (these teachers are trained specially for this)
~Students have also been referred to what we used to call ELRTs for individualized or small group instruction.
Over the last year and a half, the school board that I work for has changed the way that intervention is provided to students. In the old ELRT model, children who had received a D or R in reading were provided with withdrawal support for up to three times a week, usually for 20-30 minute sessions. While this model proved to be effective for many students, the thinking was that it fragmented their literacy instruction, providing little carry over to their classroom program. As well, many schools only had ELRT support for one or two half days a week, which really did very little to improve student achievement.
Many boards have Reading Recovery in addition to literacy coaching. This provides one on one intensive support to grade one students. It is very effective, but also very costly as each teacher is only able to work with a total of 4-5 students for 16 week periods.
The programming that is used to support students at the school level is very effective, once help is available to the struggling student. Help is readily available to primary students that are deemed to be at risk, however, if a student makes it into the junior or intermediate grades and is struggling with reading, it is much more difficult to get assistance outside the classroom.
The criteria or screening factors used to select students for special programming at the school level.
~Student is reading well below grade level (i.e. two grade levels below)
~Profile checklist to examine difficulty the student has with decoding, comprehension, expressive/receptive language etc.
The screening factor of a student being two grade levels below grade level for special programming (identification) does not sit well with me. Two full years behind curriculum expectation is almost an insurmountable amount of learning to catch up on, especially for a student that is experiencing difficulties.
Programs available beyond the school level that support struggling readers.
~We now have a tutoring program after school which is available for those who are struggling with language/math
~Tutoring that you pay for example Sylvan/Oxford
~Tutoring that you pay for example Sylvan/Oxford
Many of the families at our school cannot afford after school tutoring such as Sylvan or Oxford. This is the first year that struggling readers have had access to free tutoring programs after school. Funding has been made available to schools to provide after school support in literacy instruction through a tutoring initiative established by the board. Classroom teachers are paid to tutor small groups of students after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This helps to provide the "second Tier" of intervention to struggling readers. For many of our junior and intermediate students it is very late in their education to be receiving help now.
The research base that supports the use of the interventions discussed.
~This you will find in professional reading such as Marie Clay, Tony Stead and Debbie Miller. Last week in the STAR they talked about Marie Clay's reading program and they listed the stats for that and how well it works.
The research base that supports the use of the interventions discussed.
~This you will find in professional reading such as Marie Clay, Tony Stead and Debbie Miller. Last week in the STAR they talked about Marie Clay's reading program and they listed the stats for that and how well it works.
Our new Literacy Coach model is based on much of the research around embedded PD and capacity Building (see Joyce and Showers, Richard Allington). Now, rather than pulling students out of their classroom program, the literacy coach provides support to classroom teachers and their students by working with them in their classrooms. Intervention strategies are introduced to teachers through modeling and during planning periods. This relates to the first tier of intervention that is referred to in the Education for All document from the Ministry of Education.
The relationship of formal identification as an exceptional student to inclusion in special programming.
~From formal assessment you can pinpoint a student's difficulties in certain areas of language. You can obtain percentiles, standard scores and age equivalencies. This is used in a Team meeting to decide if a student is to be identified and whether the identification should be something like Communication Learning Disabled, or Communication Language Impairment.
There are so many students below grade level students at my school that I will receive grade 4 students into my classroom that have been on the list for identification since grade 2, and have still not been identified due to time and resource constraints. Some of these students are in dyer need for access to extra resources for reading support, however, the support is not offered until the student has been identified. This has a direct relationship with the funding that is allotted to students with an identification.
The use of R as an achievement level on the Ontario Report Card.
~ The use of an R is to show that the student is working below/well below grade level.
The use of R as an achievement level on the Ontario Report Card.
~ The use of an R is to show that the student is working below/well below grade level.
It is unfortunate that using an R on the student report card plays such a major role in the identification process. Although it does make sense, and should be documented that a student is working below/well below grade level, seeing a report card littered with Rs can be very discouraging (especially to older students that can understand the significance of the letter grade).
The process used to insure that legal responsibilities are fulfilled in the programming for struggling readers.
~ The IEP is a legally binding document. Identification and Placement Review Committee and Annual Reviews also ensure that programming is being fulfilled.
The I.E.P. plays a significant role in insuring that legal responsibilities are fulfilled by the teacher, the school and the school board. However, I always stress to parents that the I.E.P. is a working document and that things can be changed or added as necessary, and that their input is greatly valued. Too often parents do not see how they can contribute to or influence their childs education, and do not participate in creating their childs I.E.P.
Helping struggling readers more effectively.
In my opinion, struggling readers could be helped more effectively if they received help sooner. Although I understand the logistical reasons behind having a student identified prior to commencing outside help in the reading process, this approach seems to leave the students at an even greater disadvantage. In a perfect world, money would not be an issue, and any student that is experiencing difficulties would receive all the extra support that they need.
My efforts in the classroom to ensure that students receive help include maximizing reading time (for all students), positive reinforcement, encouragement, and a lot of advocating for the struggling students to Special Education Resource Teachers and administrators.
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