RTI Institute: Reading Module for Elementary Schools Carroll County Schools

1. RTI Institute: Reading Module for Elementary Schools Carroll County Schools Sharon Rinks, Psy.D. Lisa Sirian, Ph.D. Michelle Avila Bolling, Ed.S., NCSP Carroll County Schools

2. Team Contact Person Please make sure we get the email address of a contact person for each team. Write it on an index card and turn it in to a facilitator. ALSO, write down the number of team members that require a substitute.

3. Agenda • Process the Application Activity • Process SARTII if info is available • Evidence-based RTI practices in reading • BREAK (10 min) • Practice progress monitoring administration • Oral Reading Fluency • Maze • Progress monitoring & data entry • Practice data entry • Review decision making for each case • Case Studies • Discuss Application Activity

4. Processing the Application Activity • How comfortable/confident do you feel about the level of consensus in your school? • What kinds of things did your group find out when you talked about core curriculum issues? • Does anyone feel really good about how their school assesses fidelity of the core curriculum? • What kinds of changes did completing this activity spur you to make at your school?

5. Exploring Evidence-Based Interventions for Reading

6. Research in Reading • 5% of children learn to read effortlessly • 20-30% learn relatively easily once exposed to reading instruction • For 60% of children learning to read is a much more formidable task • For at least 20-30% of children, reading is one of the most difficult tasks that they will have to master. • For 5% of students even with explicit and systematic instruction, reading will continue to be a challenge. MacKenzie (2000), citing statistics from Lyon, Kamme’enui, Simmons, et al.

7. Research in Reading • Literacy levels are not declining– demands are simply getting higher (Torgesen, 2001) • Standards are higher in school • Literacy requirements are higher in employment settings • 38% of 4th graders and 29% of 8th graders cannot read well enough to effectively accomplish grade-level work (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005) • These numbers are even higher for states with larger populations of low income students.

8. Research in Reading • Poor readers at the end of first grade almost never catch up by the end of Elementary School (Francis, Shaywitz, Stuebing, Shaywitz, & Fletcher; Juel, 1988, Torgesen and Burgess, 1998) • Verbal ability in children can be dramatically increased by effective reading instruction (Torgesen, Alexander, et.al., 2001)

9. Prerequisite Beliefs Regarding Reading Instruction • The goal of reading instruction is for the child to acquire skills necessary to understand and learn from the written text. • There are two general skills necessary to be a good reader • Language comprehension • Accurate and fluent identification of words

10. The National Reading Panel • Issued a report in 2000 • Responded to a mandate from Congress about concern over literacy skills in American schools • Reviewed over 100,000 research studies on reading • Inspired an evidence-based approach to reading instruction • Summarized the following “BIG FIVE” critical skills for reading

11. Big Five #1: Phonemic Awareness • The ability to notice, think about and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. • Phonemic awareness is not phonics • Phonemic awareness is auditory and does not involve words in print • Phonemic awareness can be taught. • Training in phonemic awareness improves reading and spelling (NRP, 2000) • Approximately 20 hours of phonemic awareness instruction is sufficient for most early readers. (NRP, 2000)

12. Big Five #1: Phonemic Awareness • Phonemic Awareness is a subset of Phonological Awareness focusing on individual sounds • It is the highest level of Phonological Awareness • Essential to later recognition and comprehension of printed text (Torgesen & Mathes, 2000) • Phonemic Awareness helps children learn to spell (NRP, 2000) • Phonological Awareness predicts reading skill better than IQ (Vellutino, Scanlon & Lyon, 2000) Phonemic Awareness Phonological Awareness

13. Big Five #1: Phonemic Awareness • Examples of phoneme manipulation activities • Alliteration • Isolation • Identification • Categorizing • Blending [/b/ /a/ /t/… what word is that?] • Segmenting [what sounds are in the word bat?… /b/ /a/ /t/] • Adding, deleting, and substituting • Instruction that focuses on one or two phoneme manipulation activities (specifically blending and segmenting) rather than more, results in greater gains in reading and spelling.

14. Big Five #2: Phonics • The relationship between the letters (graphemes) and the sounds (phonemes) in order to read and write words. • Differs from phonemic awareness • Phonemic awareness focuses on the speech sounds in words • Phonics focuses on the letters and letter patterns used to represent those speech sounds

15. Big Five #2: Phonics • The alphabetic principle • Denotes the systematic and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds • Helps with word recognition and decoding • Phonics Instruction is most effective when it is: • Systematic- carefully selected set of letter-sounds relationships organized in a logical sequence • Explicit- precise directions for the teaching of these relationships

16. Big Five #2: Phonics • Children who are delayed in phonemic awareness do not benefit as much from phonics instruction. • Phonemic awareness establishes the context and structure for phonics. • Phonics skills significantly contribute to reading comprehension. • Phonics instruction is beneficial regardless of SES and most effective when introduced early. (NRP, 2000) • Approximately 2 years of phonics instruction is sufficient for most readers. (NRP, 2000)

17. Big Five #3: Fluency • The ability to read a text accurately and quickly • To read expressively involves dividing the text into meaningful chunks. • Provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension • Often been neglected • Fluent readers recognize words ad comprehend at the same time • Develops gradually over time and with practice

18. Big Five #3: Fluency • What causes dysfluent reading? • Low sight word vocabulary • Slow processing speed of known words • Low speed when decoding unfamiliar words • Using context to read words • Slow processing of word meanings (Moats, 2002)

19. Big Five #3: Fluency • One of the strongest findings in reading research is the positive relationship between fluency and comprehension. • Fluent reading frees up cognitive resources to dedicate to making sense of what you’ve read. • Measuring oral reading fluency can serve as a substitute for measuring overall reading proficiency. • One minute reading fluency probes are considered the best measures of overall reading ability. (Hall, 2006)

20. Big Five #4: Vocabulary • Knowledge of words we need to communicate effectively • Oral vocabulary- words we use, recognize and understand in speaking and listening • Reading vocabulary- words we use, recognize and understand in print • Most vocabulary is learned indirectly • Some MUST be taught directly

21. Big Five #4: Vocabulary • Language has been found to be a function of SES • Lower SES students hear approximately 32 million fewer words by K than children of higher SES (professional) families. • There is a difference of 1500 fewer words/hour spoken in lower SES than professional families. • In lower SES families words are used for direction and punishment rather than discussion and sharing. (Hart & Risley, 1995)

22. Big Five #4: Vocabulary • Lack of language is a difficult hurdle to overcome. • Children with low levels of language need to be in language enriched classes early on. • Vocabulary instruction should: • Teach specific words • Teach students to learn words independently • Foster an appreciation and enjoyment of words

23. Big Five #5: Comprehension • The reason for reading • The ultimate goal of reading instruction • Purposeful and active reading that occurs during passages rather than at the end • Instruction in comprehension strategies CAN improve reading comprehension • Involves making connections between prior knowledge and the current text

24. Big Five #5: Comprehension • Instruction should: • Be explicit & direct (Armbruster, et al, 2001) • Direct explanation • Modeling • Guided practice • Application • Tell students: • When and why to use strategies • What strategies to use • How to apply them • Use strategies flexibly and in combination

25. Big Five #5: Comprehension • Focus should be placed on comprehension right from the start, rather than waiting until the basics have been mastered • Four things influence comprehension • Reader • Task • Text • Context (RAND Reading Study Group, 2002)

26. Task Analysis

27. Universal Screening in Reading • Tier 1 – all students screened for reading progress • Conducted 3 times per year • Early fall, midwinter & spring • Provides mechanism for identifying students at-risk for failure • Slightly over-identifies (false positives) • Allows schools to intervene early, before intensive intervention is necessary

28. Characteristics of Quality Screening Instruments • Brief and easily administered • Research-based • Highly correlated to reading • Predictive of future performance • High reliability and validity • Sensitive to small increments of change • Alternate forms available • Data analysis and reporting available

29. Case Study- Tier 1 In your teams, look at the school-level data for reading. What steps will your DAT take?

30. School-Level Data Analysis

31. Research on Universal Screening • Use of multiple measures in a screening battery approach minimizes false positives (Jenkins & O’Connor, 2002) • At-risk and typically developing kindergarteners were differentiated better by using a screening battery approach (Letter Name Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation, and Syllable Elision) than by using any single universal screening measure (O’Connor & Jenkins,1999)

32. Universal Screening in Reading • Not expected to assess ALL of the BIG Five. • Reading comprehension is a mixture of complex abilities; however, research helps provide us a direction for universal screening. • Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) • Assesses a child's skill in reading connected text of grade-level material using one-minute fluency probes • The most researched, efficient and standardized measure of reading proficiency • Measuring oral reading fluency can serve as a substitute for measuring overall reading proficiency, especiallyin the lower grades.

33. Universal Screening in Middle Grades • At the middle grades: • ORF typically plateaus around 150 words correct per minute(Torgesen et al., 2007) • Predictive value declines • Utility for progress monitoring diminishes (Yovanoff, Duesbery, Alonzo, and Tindal, 2005) • It is important to identify which students have not reached the plateau; in this case, ORF is still an appropriate measure to use. • Benchmark assessments may be used to identify the lowest performing 20%

34. Available Universal Screeners • DIBELS • Free to download at www.dibels.uoregon.edu • For grades K-6 • Has a Spanish version (IDEL) • Measures • ISF: Initial Sounds Fluency • LNF: Letter Naming Fluency • PSF: Phoneme Segmentation Fluency • NWF: Nonsense Word Fluency • ORF: Oral Reading Fluency • RTF: Retell Fluency • WUF: Word Use Fluency • May over identify false positives • District data analysis indicates that it is strongly predictive of performance on the CRCT.

35. Available Universal Screeners • Curriculum Based Measurement - Free • Letter-Name Fluency • Letter-Sound Fluency • Initial-Sound Fluency • Phoneme Segmentation Fluency • Nonword Reading Fluency • Oral Reading Fluency • Oral Retell Fluency • Maze Fluency • Vocabulary Probes • Some CBM probe generators are available at http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/cbmwarehouse.php

36. Available Universal Screeners • Scholastic Reading Inventory • Grades 1-12 (should be used only if students are already reading) • Cost- $2950/200 students + $299/additional 50 • Get a 50% discount if you switch from STAR reading • May be beneficial especially for older grades (7-12) • http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/sri/ • 4Sight- Reading / Success for All • Grades 3-11 • http://successforall.com/elementary/4sight.htm • Aimsweb • Uses CBM in: ORF, Maze, Early Literacy, Spelling, Early Numeracy, Written Expression, and Math • www.aimsweb.com • Grades K-8 for universal screening • $3/student for just reading • $5/student complete (reading, language arts and math computation)

37. Available Universal Screeners • GKAP/GKIDS • For Kindergarten • GRADE- Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation • Ages 4-25 • Cost- $210-$329/ set depending on grade level • Complete pricing information http://www.sedl.org/cgi-bin/mysql/rad.cgi?searchid=217 • STEEP- System to Enhance Educational Performance • K-12 Materials for purchase • http://www.isteep.com/index.html

38. Considerations in Selection • What goals do you have for universal screening for next year? Three years from now? • What type of information do you hope to collect about student progress in reading? • What approach will you use? • What resources are available? • Time • Money • Personnel • Technology • How will teachers be trained and provided with ongoing support?

39. Team Activity Discuss your current procedures for universal screening in reading. What changes do you need to make? What are your first steps?

40. Interventions • Five areas • Phonemic Awareness • Phonics • Vocabulary • Fluency • Comprehension

41. Interactive Table of Contents

42. Phonemic Awareness Interventions

43. Phonemic Awareness Interventions • Sound Boxes • Sound Sorts • Kinesthetic Activities • All Aboard! • Blending Sounds Activities • Segmenting Sounds Activities • Oops Wrong Rhyme • Phonemic Activities for Reading Readiness • Phoneme Identification with the ABC Chart • Rhyming Picture Sort

44. Oops! Wrong Rhyme(Hall, 2006) • Example: • Teacher points to a hat and says, “This is a cat.” • Students and teacher together say, “Oops! Wrong rhyme!” • Students say the correct word, “hat” • Teacher affirms rhyme • May be implemented individually or in small groups • Can use different themes, like objects in the room or body parts (e.g., hand/sand, chin/pin, eye/pie) • Conduct for brief periods (approx. 10-15 minutes) daily • Progress monitoring should focus on phonological awareness

45. Kinesthetic Activities to Increase Phonological Awareness Sound Detectives - Can be done at the word, syllable or phoneme level - Students are given a word, specific syllable (e.g., prefix or suffix), or sound to listen for - Teacher reads a sentence and the students count the number of times they heard the target sound/word - Any manipulative may be used for them to keep track or they can use the Sound Detectives work sheet - On this sheet the children use a pencil to connect the dots each time they hear the target

46. Sound Boxes Example: • Teacher places a picture of a cat above a picture of three connected squares (or boxes) – the number of sounds heard in a word indicates the number of connected boxes and tokens given • Teacher models for the student by slowly articulating the word and placing a token on each box as each sound of the word is pronounced • Then, student articulates the word while teacher places the tokens on the connected boxes • Finally, student articulates the word while placing the tokens on the connected boxes • Teacher gives feedback, correcting mistakes or modeling the task again Teaches students to: • Identify sequential phoneme segments within a word Realize discrete sounds within a word

47. Sound Boxes – A Variation • In the Positional Analysis phase, teacher places tokens to the side of the connected boxes • Teacher says a word and has the student identify a certain segment of that word, indicating understanding by placing a token on the corresponding box • For example, the teacher asks the student to identify the /c/ sound in the word cat and the student places a token on the first box

48. All Aboard! • Provide each participant with a blank train and 5 to 10 picture cards which will be used for sorting. • Lay out the picture cards and name each one. Students should repeat each word when you point to the picture. • Since sorting by initial sound will be the first task, students should isolate some beginning sounds. For example, “Everyone say snake. (the children say snake) Now lets say snake really slowly…. /Sssssssss/nnnnnn/aaaaaaaa/k/ (hold all sounds that can be held for a few seconds- in this case /k/ is the only sound that cannot be drawn out). What sound does snake start with? /sssssss/. Good! Let’s try another one.” • Once the children are able to isolate some beginning sounds, they progress to the sorting activity. For example, “Let’s find all the pictures with the /f/ sound… Ready... okay, all aboard!” The children look for pictures that begin with /f/ sound and place them on the train. • Repeat with other sounds. Rename the pictures for the children and help as necessary. Introduce and practice sounds in a systematic and direct way.

49. Phonics Interventions

50. Phonics Interventions • Fill in the Sound • Beginning Sounds Beach Ball • Practicing Word Families • Letter-Sound Association Cards • Making Words • Touch and Say • Syllable Puzzles • Word Chains • Flexing Syllables for Multisyllabic Words