The Experts Say ...

Intervention Season After their Middle-of-Year (MOY) assessments have been administered and

their data has been analyzed, we often find that this is the time of year when

teachers feel a particular sense of urgency. Teachers want all students to be

successful and meet end of year goals. However, even by providing strong

tier 1 instruction that includes targeted small group instruction, you likely are

finding that some students still struggle and are not progressing as quickly as

necessary. This isn’t a surprise. A typical classroom serves students with a

very wide range of instructional levels. As a result, some students will require

additional, intensive instruction. Intervention is a way to accelerate the pace

of instruction to help close gaps so students will end the year closer to

End-of-Year (EOY) goals.

Your MOY data can be used to help

identify students who may be in

need of intervention. If at MOY you

find it challenging to identify

students for intervention since

there is no screening, you may refer

to our Expanded Sample TPRI

Criteria. This tool will also help you

to know what students should be

able to do at each time point for

each grade level. For more

information, click here to view the Expanded Sample TPRI Criteria.

When providing intervention, instruction should

be matched to the needs of students. The TPRI

Intervention Activities Guide (IAG) is designed

to support targeted instruction. Turn to the

next page to learn more about the TPRI IAG.

Remember, there are approximately 12 weeks

left before the end of the school year. Now

especially, it’s important to maximize your

instruction with all students, but particularly

those who struggle most.

713-500-8253 | tpri@uth.tmc.edu | www.tpri.org

Volume 4, No. 4 February/March 2015

©2015 The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston & Texas Education Agency

TPRI Training

The TPRI team is pleased to announce summer TPRI training opportunities.

June 15-16, 2015—Training-of-Trainers (TOT): K-3 Administration & Instructional Modules

June 17, 2015—TPRI Pro!: Putting the Pieces Together: TPRI, RTI and More

Visit the link below to learn more.

The Tejas LEE team is offering training the same week and at the same location as TPRI. Click here for more information.

Regie Routman says, “We need to teach with a sense of urgency.”

“When I suggest that we need to ‘teach with a sense of urgency’ I’m not talking about teaching prompted by anxiety but rather about making every moment in the classroom count, about ensuring that our instruction engages students and moves them ahead, about using daily evaluation and reflection to make wise teaching decisions.”

Routman, R. (2003). Reading Essentials. (p. 41). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

713-500-8253 | tpri@uth.tmc.edu | www.tpri.org

Are you thinking about staff development for the summer and fall? CLI Master Trainers are available to come to your school or district.

Now is the time many schools begin planning professional development for next school year. The literacy experts on the TPRI team and at the Children’s Learning Institute provide professional development to schools and districts on a wide range of topics related to K-12 reading. Training is available for providing effective instruction in the areas of phonological awareness, phonics/GK, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, small group instruction and much more. As you consider your training needs for next year’s staff development, you may wish to reach out to the TPRI team to contract for custom tailored teacher training. For content and cost information, please contact:

Holly Rocha at 713-500-8253; or Darcy Dycha at 713-500-8248

Unwrapping the Intervention Activities Guide (IAG)

Giving the TPRI helps you know what instructional support students need. The IAG is a teacher-friendly resource that includes hundreds of activities designed to help teachers target the needs of students. The following areas are addressed in the IAG:

Book and Print Awareness

Phonemic Awareness (PA)

Graphophonemic Knowledge (GK)

Comprehension

Fluency

Vocabulary

Writing

Most activities require little preparation and are arranged in an easy step-by-step format. In fact, to support busy teachers, many of the activities have been made available in the form of Blackline Masters which can be downloaded from the TPRI website. There are more than one hundred Blackline Masters available. Click here to access these resources.

To further support teachers, activities have been arranged from less to more difficult when possible. Many activities can be easily adapted to make them more or less challenging, for use during whole-class instruction, or for independent student workstations or centers. IAG activities link directly to the reading concepts and skills assessed on TPRI in three ways: they are similar to tasks on the TPRI, they address a prerequisite skill or concept for a TPRI task, or they address a skill or concept beyond those assessed on the TPRI. Finally, the IAG also provides teachers with information to help strengthen their skills as reading teachers.

Testing Windows

News & Updates

Recommended testing windows for each administration period are provided by TPRI, however, schools and districts set the actual dates they assess. A school or district may choose to adjust the testing window a bit earlier or later based on their particular needs and schedules. TPRI administration should be completed within a two week window with all students in the classroom. Recommendations for when to begin administration are as follows:

BOY: Kindergarten at six weeks from the start of the school year. Grades 1-3 two weeks from the start of the school year.

MOY: All grades mid-January.

EOY: All grades mid-April.

Bringing Professional Development To You!

The 2010-2014 TPRI and Tejas LEE kits have

been extended. There have been no

changes or revisions to the 2010-2014 kit

and the current kit will remain valid until a

revised version is released. Districts/schools

do not need to place orders for kits unless

additional classrooms have been added or kits have been damaged or lost.

Click here for more information.

©2015 The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston & Texas Education Agency