Delivering an individualized reading program
The school experience for K-3 students establishes a pattern for students. Our single focus was to provide an effective strategy in building a foundation for developing independent readers, going from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn.
We incorporated 12 years of tutoring experience in teaching reading to create and record a series of classroom-tested reading lessons. The lessons are organized to build a foundation in letter names and letter sounds, vowel sounds, and then merge those two skills together to apply a phonics strategy to reading words.
The deployment, delivered an individualized reading plan specific to address each student’s needs.
Once a student is placed at the appropriate starting point, a student can engage in the online lesson in-class or remotely, at home.
The student follows the teacher’s directions by making notations in their workbook.
Individual lessons are grouped by reading skill category and are part of a Learning Management System curriculum for grades K-3.
During our research and testing with students, there was a clear preference for the “one to one” tutoring format verses a group presentation. Each page in the student workbook is taught via a recorded tutoring session.
Deciding where my child should start?
The first step is to determine the level of current reading skills for the individual student through an assessment. This procedure is often done via an online meeting with a supervising teacher who will review a series of reading skills until they find the area when the student is challenged.
How do the “one to one” lesson plans work?
The supervising teacher assigns a series of lessons, generally 3-5 lesson per week averaging 20-25 minutes per lesson similar to one to one tutoring. A Reading Pal will join the student and participate in the lesson.
Engaging with a Reading Pal:
The Reading Pal interacts with the student during the recorded lesson pausing the lesson periodically to confirm engagement and asking the student to respond to the teacher’s prompts.
Support from the Reading Coach
A Reading Coach checks the student’s work on the lessons completed since the last coaching session.
The purpose of the coaching session is:
- resolve any misunderstandings in the lessons
- review the students understanding of the reading strategies
- validate the student’s efforts
- reinforce the student’s confidence in becoming a super reader.
Family Engagement and Support
Parents and extended family are welcome to sit in on the Reading Pal and Reading Coach sessions. Family dynamics are different, some parents can be the Reading Pal while in other families, a trained Reading Pal is more effective. Parents are encouraged to support their child’s practice of the reading strategies to read words, phrases and sentences. Grandparents are often the ideal Reading Pal.
An assessment is conducted during an online meeting, such as Zoom or Google Meet. A parent or adult family member will establish the meeting connection and will remain in the room during the meeting. Please make provide a table and chair for your child in front of the computer screen and camera. The supervising teacher will meet with you first to review the steps and then will ask that your child sits in front of the computer screen in order for the supervising teacher and the student to see each other.
Please have several sheets of blank or notebook paper and a pencil available for your child to use during the meeting.
We usually spend a few minutes with the parents or guardian and then 15 to 20 minutes in the assessment with the student.
We will provide information on the fit and recommended starting point after the the assessment is completed.
