Know-Its: The Link To Reading

The last article gave the overall function of the Three-Tier Model. Now we will go into more detail about each tier. Tier 1 is where many reading problems can be prevented. After all, your goal is to have every student functioning in Tier 1. How can you do this?

By differentiating your instruction to meet students’ needs. This means working with children in small groups or even individually, depending on what the skill is. For example, how do you know which high frequency words each child needs to learn if you don’t have a system for checking and reviewing the words? (See Miss Diane’s article on High Frequency Words).

Using flexible grouping is a great way to meet children’s needs. Group children who need similar skills and target that skill until children learn it. Then regroup students to meet other skills. Even if you have some students who need many skills, they don’t feel like they are in the "low group" if you keep changing the groups. Sometimes putting children that can model the skill to other children will help the struggling reader. Changing the groups on a regular basis is key.

The assessment given to all students in the classroom is called the universal screening instrument. States generally have approved assessments that are required to give. These tests give teachers data on which initial instruction is based. For younger children, assessments that are given individually are much more reliable than a written test or computer-given test. Struggling readers tend to push buttons or color in the bubbles of the test without reading the questions. The teacher gains valuable information about the child by listening to the responses personally. It also helps the student to feel like the teacher cares for them individually.

After identifying which students fall below the benchmarks of the screening assessment, teachers can begin giving extra reinforcement. Remember, the goal is to keep students in Tier 1! For example, if you know that a student needs help with blending phonemes, start modeling the skill in the flex groups. Give that student extra turns to respond if he needs it.

Students who fall below the benchmarks are placed on progress monitoring while they continue to work in Tier 1. Progress monitoring is simply testing children on a frequent basis to see if they are improving. Testing every one or two weeks is essential so instruction can be adjusted. It is important to document the progress. (See reproducible progress monitoring forms: page 1 is generic and pages 2-6 are for each DIBELS subtest.)

The type of assessment used for progress monitoring depends if it is designed for frequent administrating. For example, the DIBELS Assessment can be given multiple times without interfering with the reliability. Another source is Curriculum-Based Measurements (recommended by researchers Lynn S. Fuchs and Douglas Fuchs). A good website for these free assessments is http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/cbmwarehouse.php

By monitoring the students and using the weekly data to drive your instruction, you are well on your way to prevent reading problems from developing. Just jump in and do it!