Introduction to Reading First

8/2/2019 Introduction to Reading First

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Martin KozloffDavid GillDecember, 2004


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This module describes the main features ofReading First.

Five major reading skills, or Big Ideas. Three kinds of curricula.

Four kinds of assessments.

Systematic and explicit instruction. Scientific validation of all aspects of

instruction (the first four items in this

list). Reading as a school-wide endeavor.


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Five Major Reading Skills, or Big Ideas

Reading First gives educators a clear picture of reading.

Proficient reading consists of five major skills, or big ideas.

When these five skills are taught in a logically progressivesequence, early skills help students to learn and use the

later-taught skills.

This leads to accurate, rapid reading with comprehension andenjoyment.

More information is on the IDEA website, athttp://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/trial_bi_index.phpNow lets look at the five main reading skills, or big ideas.


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Five Major Reading Skills, or Big Ideas

The five major reading skills are:

1. Phonemic awareness2. The Alphabetic principle

Letter-sound correspondence

r says rrr

Sounding out, or decoding, words

rim -> rrriiiimmm -> rim

3. Fluency

4. Vocabulary

5. Comprehension


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Big Idea 1. Phonemic Awareness:

Phonemic Awareness IsThe Ability to Hear and to Manipulate Sounds in Words.There are a dozen ways to hear and manipulate sounds in words.

These ways are best taught from easier to harder. For example,

1. Identify words that sound the same and different.

run fun sit mouse hat house

2. Rhyme. can, man, fan, rrr__

3. Count the number of words in a sentence.

The dog sat by the cat = 6 words


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Big Idea 1. Phonemic Awareness: Continued

4. Count the number of sounds (phonemes) in a word.

sat = /s/a/t/ = 3 sounds

5. Blend (make) words from separate syllables andsounds.

Listen. ice..cream. What word? icecream

Listen. mmmaaannn. What word? man

6. Segmentwords by identifying the first, last, andmiddle (medial) sounds.

Whats the firstsound in rrrruuuunnn?


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7. Say what a word would be if one sound were

removed (phoneme deletion).

Listen sssaaaat. Take out ssss. Whatword now?... at

8. Say what a word would be if a sound werereplaced with another sound.

Listen. ssssiiiit. Take out ssss and put infff. What word now?... fit


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Caution!

1. Its best to work on only three or sokinds of phonemic awarenessnot all ofthem.

2. The best choices are rhyming,segmenting, and blending.


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3. Connect skill at phonemic awareness withinstruction on the alphabetic principle

a. letter-sound correspondence

m says mmmb. sounding out words

raaannn -> ran

Specifically


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Dont work on phonemic awareness by itself

for weeks and then work on letter-soundcorrespondence and sounding out.

Instead, in close succession, when you teachstudents to hear and manipulate sounds inwords, teach them the letters that go withthose sounds and then to sound out words

made of those letters.


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Phonemic awareness helps students to read and to doother literacy skills.

How?

Students who hear and manipulate sounds (phonemes)

and syllables in words, and words in sentences, can moreeasily do the following:

1. Remember which sound goes with which letter.

2. Sound out words. cat k/aaaa/t

3. Say andread sentences smoothly.


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4. Spell.

How do you spell cat?

kaaaat. /k/ is c. /a/ is a. /t/ is t.c a tcat.

5. Detect and correct errors in reading andspelling.

The houno hhoorrrhorse ran fast.


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Seehttp://reading.uoregon.edu/pa/index.phpfor more information on phonemic

awareness.


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Big Idea 2. Alphabetic PrincipleThe Alphabetic Principle isThe Ability to Associate Sounds With Letters and to Use

This Knowledge to Read Words.

The alphabetic principle (sometimes called phonics) has twoskill-parts.

1. The student knows letter-sound (sound-symbol)relationships:

m says /mmm/, i says /iii/, and r says /rrr/.

2. The student uses letter-sound knowledge to sound out or

decode wordsperhaps letter by letter at first and thenquickly.

The bike has a bent rrrriiiimmm.rim.


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Big Idea 2. The Alphabetic Principle: Continued

When students use letter-sound knowledge tosound out words (the alphabetic principle, orphonics), they know exactly what the writtenword says.

However,

Many students are not taught to use phonicsknowledge as the first and most reliablestrategy for identifying words.

Many students are not taught phonics in asystematic way.


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Many students are (wrongly!) taught to guess

using context cues. What word fits there?

So, instead of reading words as written(Thebike has a bent rim) these mistaught

students guess

The bike has abebe..bellbelt.riririp. The bike has a

belt rip.


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When students cant read words as written(cant readthe letters), they try to guess or predict what a word

is, using

Pictureson the page. A cat picture. Billy put on hiscat. [The word is hat.]

The shapeof a word. That word looks like it saysbaby. [The word is maybe.]

A few lettersin the word. The child says kite insteadof kit.

What seems to fit the meaningof a sentence. Thelamp felldown. [The word is over.]


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Using these context cues is NOTreadingany more than guessinganswers to math problems is the same as

solving problems.

Show your work.

I cant.Why not?

I guessed.


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Students who guess what words say (becausethey were taught to do this, or because theywere not taught phonics systematically, andtherefore have to guess), may neverbecomeskillful readers.

Thats why Reading First stresses thorough,systematic, and explicit instruction in thealphabetic principle.

Read more at

http://reading.uoregon.edu/au/index.php

Big Idea 3 Fluency With Text


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Big Idea 3. Fluency With TextFluency isThe Effortless, Automatic Ability to Read Words in ConnectedText.

Fluency means reading with accuracy, speed, and prosody (pitch,emphasis).

Fluency is important for enjoyment and comprehension.

If a person struggles with words such as guilty(guquguilquil), the person will also struggle to figureout the meaning of sentences.

In fact, dysfluent readers spend so much time and efforttrying to figure out what the separate words say, they can

barely pay attention to the meaning of the sentence.

The ju..jur.jury found her gu..quguilquil) In other words,they learn very little (e.g., vocabulary, ideas) from reading.


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Big Idea 3. Fluency With Text: Continued

To help students read connected text (e.g.,story passages) accurately, quickly, and

with prosody, it is important to:

1. Teach students to decode separate words(regular and irregular) accurately and

quicklywhich means (1) using knowledgeof letter-sound correspondence (notguessing); and (2) blending the sounds intowords.

2. Teach students to self-correct.ssiiib No sssiiipsip.


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3. Provide practice reading words enough

times that its almost automatic; that is,the words become sight words.

4. Provide practice reading text with which

students are already accurate.

5. Encourage students (and model how) toread faster and faster without making errors

(i.e., more words correct per minute, orwcpm).


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Note!

Sight words are not words a studentmemorizes. The student still knows howto decode words letter by letter.

The student has simply read the words sooften that decoding takes only an instant.

Learn more about fluency here.

http://reading.uoregon.edu/flu/


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Big Idea 4. VocabularyVocabulary is

Understanding (receptive) and Using (expressive)

Words to Gain and Express Meaning.

The first three reading skills

1. Phonemic awareness

2. Thealphabetic principle--letter-sound correspondenceand the strategy for sounding out or decoding words

3. Fluency

have to do with the mechanics of reading.

The last two skillsvocabulary and comprehensionhave to do with making sense of the written word.

Bi Id 4 V b l C ti d


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Big Idea 4. Vocabulary: Continued

Vocabulary and comprehension cant be taken for granted.

Many students wont pick upthese skills.

Students should betaughtsystematically and explicitly how to

get and express the meaning of words and passages.

This is especially important for students from low

socioeconomic backgrounds. These students

Are read to less often.

Hear fewer vocabulary words, and therefore

Understand and use far fewer words than children born toworking class or professional class families.

Bi Id 4 V b l C i d


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Here are important methods of

vocabulary instruction.1. Read storybooks to children.

2. Provide direct instruction of newvocabulary words by:

Selecting important words in a story.

Explaining or defining the words.

Giving students many chances to

discuss and use the new words.

Bi Id 4 V b l C i d


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3. Teach older students morphemic analysis (analysisof word parts) to determine meaning. Forexample,

Bisect. Bi means two. Sect means part.So, bisect means divide into two parts.

4. Teach contextual analysis--inferring the meaninga word from the context in which it occurs.

The fans oscillations cooled everyone in theroomSometimes fans move back and forth. If

everyone was cooled, it probably means the fanblew on everyone. So, oscillate probably meansto move back and forth.

Find more on vocabulary here.

http://reading.uoregon.edu/voc/


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Big Idea 5. ComprehensionComprehension isReading and Reflecting on a Text to Gain MeaningSentences dont tell you what they mean.Students must interact with the textfor example,

1. Ask questions. When did Huck see that Jim was morethan a slave?

2. Check to see if the text gives answers.

3. Reread, and modify interpretations.

4. Connect one sentence with later sentences to get theflow of the argument or the flow of events in time.


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Big Idea 5 Comprehension: Continued


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Big Idea 5. Comprehension: Continued

3.Preteaching vocabulary words important for

comprehending the material.

4. Reading (with students) the material inmanageable chunks, and asking literal,inferential, and evaluative questions on eachchunk.

5.Using a KWL strategy: students think about anddiscuss what I know; what I want to know; and

what I learned.

Learn more about comprehension here.http://reading.uoregon.edu/comp

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A Comprehensive Set of CurriculumMaterials

No set of curriculum materials (program) is

adequate for teaching all five main reading

skills to all beginning readers.

Materials may have the following weaknesses.

Weaknesses in Curriculum Materials


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Weaknesses in Curriculum Materials

There are two main weaknesses in curriculum

materials.

1. The scope and sequence (what is taught and

in what order) may not adequately cover allfive skills.

For example, there is too little instruction on

phonemic awareness; some skills are taughtin the wrong order; there is too little reviewand practice.

W k i C i l


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Weaknesses in Curricula

2. Materials are designed for the average student, and maynot provide the sort of instruction needed by:

Students with little background knowledge; forexample,

small vocabulary

little phonemic awareness

little knowledge of letter-sound correspondence

Students with specific difficulties learning to read.

For example, some students know how to sound out

words, but they take too long to do it. As a result,they cant keep pace as the teacher points to wordson the board and asks the class to read each wordquickly.

W k i C i l


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Weaknesses in Curricula

Therefore, a comprehensive reading curriculumwill have three sets of materials.

Reading First recommends three kinds ofcurriculum materials, or what is sometimescalled the three-tier model--which you can

read about at the following websites. http://www.utsystem.edu/EveryChild/Presentations

/SVaughnPDF9-9-02.pdf

http://www.texasreading.org/3tier/materials.asp

http://texasreading.tea.state.tx.us/readingfirst/3tiemodreainsint.pdf

http://www.fcrr.org/science/pptpresentations.htm

http://www.fcrr.org/science/publications.htm


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Three-Tiered Model

The three sets of materials are

Core. For almost all students.

Supplemental. To fill gaps in corematerials or to provide additionalinstruction to certain students.

Intervention. Highly focused, intensive

instruction for certain students.

C M t i l i th Th Ti d M d l


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Core Materials in the Three-Tiered Model

A core reading program should:

1. Cover all five main reading skills, or bigideas.

2. Be designed to be useful for almost allbeginning readers.

3. Be well-designed, in terms of sequencingof skills, practice, and building simplerskills into more complex wholes, to name

a few features.


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Core Materials: Continued

The University of Oregons website states:

A core reading program is the primaryinstructional tool that teachers use to teachchildren to learn to read and ensure theyreach reading levels that meet or exceed

grade-level standards. A core program shouldaddress the instructional needs of the majorityof students in a respective school ordistrictAdoption of a core does not imply

that other materials and strategies are notused to provide a rich, comprehensiveprogram of instruction.



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The core program, however, should serve as theprimary reading program for the school and the

expectation is that all teachers within and betweenthe primary grades will use the core program as thebase of reading instruction. Such programs may ormay not be commercial textbook series Teaching

reading is far more complex than mostprofessionals and laypersons realize. The demandsof the phonologic, alphabetic, semantic, andsyntactic systems of written language require acareful schedule and sequence of prioritizedobjectives, explicit strategies, and scaffolds thatsupport students' initial learning and transfer ofknowledge and skills to other contexts.


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The requirements of curriculum

construction and instructional design thateffectively move children through thelearning to read stage to the reading tolearn stage are simply too important to

leave to the judgment of individuals. Thebetter the core addresses instructionalpriorities, the less teachers will need tosupplement and modify instruction for the

majority of learners.[http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/core

_program.php]


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Criteria for evaluating core reading programs,

and reviews of many core programs, can befound here.

http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/index.php

http://reading.uoregon.edu/appendices/con_guide.php

http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/or_rfc_review_2.php
http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/or_rfc_review_2.phphttp://reading.uoregon.edu/appendices/con_guide.php


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Supplemental Materials in the Three-Tiered Model

Supplementary curricula or programs are used

in two ways.

1. They fill gaps in a core reading program.

For example, a core program may have toolittle instruction on rhyming (one aspect ofphonemic awareness), or it may have too few

storybooks connected to its instruction ondecoding and vocabulary. Therefore, a schoolor district would purchase or create materialsto give the additional instruction.

S l t l M t i l i th Th Ti d M d l


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2. A core program may not provide the

amount of highly focused instruction somestudents need on certain skills.

For example, some students enter schoolwith a vocabulary so small that they dontknow what the stories are about.Therefore, a school or district might use a

supplementary program for acceleratingthese students vocabulary development.

Supplemental Materials in the Three Tiered Model


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Caution. Its important to select core andsupplementary materials that are compatible,

or at least to train teachers to make themcompatible. For example, a core programmight tell teachers exactly how to correcterrors when students misread words. Forexample, the word is made but a student

reads mad. He m.mmmmad the....Teacher. That word is made. What word?Student. made.Teacher. Spell made.

Student. m a d eTeacher. What word?Student. made.Teacher. Yes, made. Please start the

sentence again, Joey.

Supplemental Materials in the Three Tiered Model


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However, supplementary materials might

not tell teachers how to correct readingerrors, or they may suggest a differentmethod (format). This will confusestudents. So, the school either has to use

core and supplemental materials thatcorrect errors the same way, or the schoolhas to decide that teachers will apply to all

supplementary materials the errorcorrection format used in the core program.

Intervention Materials in the Three-Tiered Model


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Intervention Materials in the Three Tiered Model

Intervention programs are designed to meet the needsof students with so little background knowledge or somuch difficulty learning to read that they need

specially designed instruction and special, additionaltime for instruction.

For example, diagnostic assessment may show thatsome kindergartners are falling behind, perhaps

because their phonemic awareness skills are still soweak. Or, some third graders struggle to comprehendtext because they are still weak on basiccomprehension skills.

In both cases, students would get extra time forinterventions, using materials that focus on their skillweaknesses.

I t ti M t i l i th Th Ti d M d l


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Caution. Again, core and interventionmaterials should be compatible; e.g., both

teach the same word identification andcomprehension strategies.

In addition, teachers must ensure that whatstudents learn during intervention instructionis transferred to general (core) readinginstruction. For example, teachers ensure thatstudents are taught to use their new phonemic

awareness and comprehension skills when theyare with the rest of the class readingstorybooks in the core materials. Otherwise,intervention instruction will be of little

benefit.



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Intervention Materials in the Three Tiered Model

You can read more about supplementary andintervention programs at the following

websites. http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/or_rfc_r

eview_si.php

http://readingserver.edb.utexas.edu/downloads/primary/booklets/Essential_Strategies.pdf

http://oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/downloads/S-I_Review_Full_06-23-04.pdf

http://readingserver.edb.utexas.edu/downloads/primary/booklets/supplementTutoringGr3-5.pdf

Four Kinds of Assessments


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Four Kinds of Assessments

A rulein Reading First is that instruction should berational and accountable. Teachers need solid

information on skills students bring and do not bring toreading instruction, on progress they are making duringinstruction, and how much progress they made duringthe year. Without this information, teachers cantsuccessfully:

Assign students to proper reading groups and toproperly trained teachers.

Decide if the core program is adequate or if studentsneed supplemental or intervention instruction (and onexactly which skills).

Decide at the end of the year if students are ready tomove to the next year/level of a core program.

Therefore, Reading First advocates four kinds ofassessments. Each has a different function.


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Four Kinds of Assessments: Screening

Screening assessment is used when studentsenter a beginning reading program or at thestart of the year.

The function is to determine whether astudent has the entry skills (e.g., knowledge

of the alphabet, phonemic awareness, andvocabulary) that are likely to makeinstruction in the core program aloneadequate, or whether the student hasspecific skill deficits and learning difficultiesthat require supplemental and/orintervention instruction.

Progress Monitoring: Continued


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Progress is monitored on skills worked

on. These assessments might be donebi-weekly (or more often) to see howmuch students skill at decoding(sounding out) words is improving, orhow much fluency (measured as wordscorrect per minute, wcpm) isincreasing. This information is used to

make decisions.



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Decisions based on progress monitoring:

1. A student should be moved to a reading group that isprogressing more quickly (or more slowly).

2. A student might get extra practice at decoding sothe student reads connected text more accurately

and quickly.

3. A students progress is so slow that interventioninstruction is called for. However, before that isdone, more information is neededsupplied bydiagnostic assessment, discussed later.



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Progress monitoring also says something aboutthe quality of a curriculum and/or the qualityof instruction delivered by teachers. Forexample,

1. If teachers use the core program exactly asinstructed but many students make littleprogress, this suggests weaknesses in the coreprogram. The core then might be reevaluatedwith the following documents.

http://reading.uoregon.edu/curricula/con_guide.php

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/Evaluating%20a%20Core%20Reading%20Program.pdf

P M it i C ti d


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2.Students in Ms. Blacks class make excellentprogress in the core program, but students inMs. Winters class do not. This suggests thatMs. Winter is not using the core properly. Forexample, Ms. Winter may not correct errors, orshe may go to the next lesson before students

master skills in the present one. In this case,Ms. Winters teaching must be assessed. Theinventory, here, shows how to assess teachersreading instruction.

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/inventory.doc

Diagnostic Assessment


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Screening assessment may show, for example,that a student has little knowledge of

phonemic awareness.

But what does this mean?

Does this mean the student is not read to andtalked with enough at home?

Does it mean the student cant easily hear the

differences between one word and another?

Does it mean the student simply has troubleproducing the sounds?

Diagnostic Assessment: Continued


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Diagnostic Assessment: Continued

Likewise, progress monitoring may show that a studentis not picking up skill at sounding out words.

Does this mean the students knowledge of letter-soundrelationships (s says /s/) is weak, and therefore thestudent cant say and blend the separate sounds inmany words?

Or could it be that the student knows letter-soundrelationships but has a hard time retrieving and thenusing this knowledge quickly enough to keep up withthe pace of instruction?

Clearly, making the right instructional decision requiresanswers to these questions, which are supplied bydiagnostic assessment.

Outcome Assessment


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Outcome Assessment

Outcome assessment determines how much studentshave learned at the end of a semester or year. Thisinformation is used to evaluate:

The quality of the core, supplemental, and interventionmaterials.

The quality of instruction.

Student motivation, attention, and participation.

Students specific reading skills and difficultiesleadingto decisions about curricula (keep, change, modify),instruction (ways to improve and how to assistteachers), and classroom management.

Features of Good Assessments


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Assessment instruments should:

1. Provide valid information (information on the skills that need tobe measured).

2. Be appropriatefor students age and grade level.

3. Be reliable (different users would get about the same data with

the same students).

4. Be relatively easy to use.

5. Provide objective information (e.g., 100 correct words perminute) rather than impressions (Sally reads pretty accurately

and quickly).

Therefore, its wise to select instruments with a solid trackrecord.



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Here are sources that describe and evaluate many

assessment instruments. http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/rfassessmentins

truments.pdf

http://idea.uoregon.edu/assessment/analysis_results/assess_results_by_test.html

http://www.fcrr.org/assessment/

http://idea.uoregon.edu:16080/assessment/

Systematic and Explicit Instruction


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The most respected scientific research in educationand psychology shows clearly that instruction yields

higher and faster achievement in more students(with and without learning difficulties) wheninstruction is systematic and explicit.

Here are some resources you might examine.

http://epaa.asu.edu/barak/barak.html

http://epaa.asu.edu/barak/barak1.html

http://idea.uoregon.edu/~ncite/documents/techrep/tech05.pdf

http://idea.uoregon.edu/~ncite/documents/techrep/tech06.html

But what does systematic and explicit mean?

Systematic Instruction: Continued
http://epaa.asu.edu/barak/barak.htmlhttp://epaa.asu.edu/barak/barak.html


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Systematic means that:1. Instruction is given in a planned, logically progressive

sequence of things to be taught. For example, certainletter-sounds (a, s, i, m, r) are taught before otherletter-sounds (b, n, y, sh) because they are easier tolearn and are used more often.

2. Instruction is guided and assessed with clearly definedobjectives for everything taught. Objectives are statedin terms of what students will do.

Poor objective. Students read story books quicklyand get most words right.

Good objective. Students are given two minutes toread the assigned passage from The bear and thehare. They read the passage at a rate of at least100 words correct per minute.



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3. Instruction is focused precisely on the thing(knowledge unit) to be learned, as specified by the

objective.

For example, if students are to read a passage at 100wcpm, then that is exactly what the teacher focuses

on during the ten minute fluency exercise duringlessons. She does not work on fluency, newvocabulary, and comprehension at the same time.

4. Instruction provides planned practice to strengthen allof the skills worked on.



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5. Instruction provides planned work on newexamples (e.g., words, text) to foster

application or generalization of previouslytaught knowledge.

6. Instruction includes assessments designedand used in a timely fashion to monitor thedifferent phases of instruction, or mastery:acquisition, fluency, generalization,retention, and independence.

Systematic and Explicit Instruction: Continued


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Explicit means that:

1. The teacher reveals in an obvious and clear way tostudents the knowledge she is trying to communicate.She does this through demonstrations (modeling) andrunning commentary to students. For example,

Ill show you how to sound out this word. [man iswritten on the board.] Listen. I do NOT stop betweenthe sounds. [Teacher touches under each letter asshe says the sound.] mmmmaaaannn. Now, Ill say it

fast. [Teacher slides her finger under the word.]man.

Explicit Instruction: Continued


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p

2. The teacher ensures student attention toimportant features of an example or

demonstration.

Look. [points to the word ate] Here is a

vowel, then a consonant, and then an e atthe end [name]. So, we do NOT say the e atthe end.

Explicit Instruction: Continued


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Heres an example of instruction that is notexplicit. It is implicitor buried in the

teachers talk.The teacher holds up a big book thathas a paragraph from a story. Shereads the words slowly. Occasionallyshe points to the letter r in differentwords and says rrr. She expects thatthis will be enough for students to getthe connection between the letter and

the sound. Of course, many studentsdo not get it.



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In contrast, using explicit instruction theteacher would hold up the big book and say,

New sound. This sound (points to theletter r in ran) is rrr. Say it with me Andthis sound (points to r in car) is rrr. Say itwith me And this sound (points to r in

barn) is rrr. Lets see if you remember ournew sound. What sound is this? (points tor in ran) What sound is this? (points to rin barn) What sound is this? (points to r

in car). Now Ill read the story.(Teacher points to each r as she reads andhas students say rrr and then read thewhole word.)



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Explicit instruction of letter-sound

correspondence, in which The teacher focuses on sounds in isolation to

aid attention.

Points to the letter and says the sound (model).

Has students say the sound with her and thenby themselves.

Practices this many times over the next few

daysis more likely to teach most students quickly.

Scientific Validation


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This is one of the most important contributions of

Reading First. Every curriculum or program, every

teaching method (e.g., how to correct errors), andevery assessment instrument must be:

1. Valid (does what it is supposed to do) and reliable(works the same way in the hands of different people).

2. Based on scientific research. For example, thesequence for introducing new letters-sounds in a coreprogram must be based on solid scientific research that

says this is an effective sequence.

3. Field tested to ensure that it is valid and reliable andeffective before it is used.


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Reading is a school-wide Endeavor


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If teachers in different grade levels and

classes use different curricula, differentassessments, different teaching methods,and different rules for interpretingassessment data and for makinginstructional decisions, students are notlikely to benefit as much from readinginstruction as they would if reading were a

coordinated school-wide activity.

Reading is a School-wide Endeavor


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Therefore, schools need to:

1. Develop a school mission stressing the importance

of reading, setting high but realistic achievementgoals for each year, and assuming primaryresponsibility for students achievement.

2. Examine different curricula and assessmentinstruments (using materials at the websites listedearlier), and select the ones shown to be mosteffective.

3. Select the right teachers for the right jobs. Itsessential that the best teachers teach students inthe early stages of reading and teach students whoare behind or who need interventions.



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4. Select specialists to coordinate testing, collectassessment information, order curricula, obtain outside

consultation and training, and provide technicalassistance to teachers.

5. Ensure principals and other administrators know: thefive reading skills; what explicit and systematicinstruction looks like; what effective reading instructionlooks like; what to ask job applicants to ensure that theyget skilled teachers; know the criteria that defineadequate curricula; and have the strength to require

teachers to use curricula faithfully and to improve theirteaching as needed.

6. Provide professional development on all aspects ofReading First, as well as timely ongoing assistance.



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Here is the website for an instrument that lays out theskills teachers need. It can also be used to guide

assessment, professional development, and ongoingassistance.

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/inventory.doc

Additional materials on school-wide implementationinclude the following.

http://oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/downloads/Program_Fidelity_Checklist.doc

http://www.texasreading.org/utcrla/

http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/al_jan_02.pdf

http://readingserver.edb.utexas.edu/downloads/primary/guides/2000_word_analysis_SE.PDF

http://reading.uoregon.edu/logistics/trial_log_index.ph

p

Lets summarize
http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/inventory.dochttp://oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/downloads/Program_Fidelity_Checklist.dochttp://oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/downloads/Program_Fidelity_Checklist.dochttp://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/inventory.doc


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The six features of Reading First discussedabove amount to an integrated approach toreading.

There are five main reading skills: phonemicawareness, the alphabetic principle (letter-sound correspondence and using thisknowledge to decode words), fluency(accuracy and speed), vocabulary, andcomprehension.

Three kinds of curricula ensure that virtuallyall children learn to read: core programs,supplementary programs, and interventionprogramswith placement determined byassessment information.

Lets Summarize


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There are four kinds of assessments: screening,diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome.

These provide information used to make decisionsabout students curriculum and instructional needs,the quality of curricula used, and the quality ofinstruction.

The wisest course is to teach all skills systematically(in a planned, logical sequence) and explicitly (theteacher clearly demonstrates knowledge).

All of the above are based on the rules andprocedures of scientific research to ensure validity,

reliability, and effectiveness. All of the above are part of a coordinated, school-

wide effort that includes clear mission, strongleadership, assignments based on expertise, and

Documents

Introduction to Reading First