I am posting here and teaching reading. My child is in 5th grade and is using Harcourt Bright Surprises reading program grade 3. An educational assistant is teaching the series. I suspect this assistant has not been trained in teaching reading. I have viewed that the program is not being followed, as the fluency part is not being used as a fluency piece. I was told they will be using another fluency program but have not seen that happen yet. I talked to the psychologist who recommended I write down what I want. So, I want to make a list of techniques and guidelines that will make their reading program effective. Anything you can add would be appreciated.
Reading instructor: should know the different sounds for letters and letter combinations, such as “ea” has 3 different sounds long e, short e, and long a. Instructor should know the rules such as c followed by i,.e,or y makes a soft sound s. Instructor should know how to help child break words into phonems or syllables when stuck on a word.
Guided reading: use paper,finger or pen to track,when error is made have child self correct helping only by reminding child of rules,or other sounds the letters make, reminding them to chunk the word into syllables,or having child track the word if not sequencing right.
I’m so new here and don’t feel like a know enough to really give advice yet. My dd is at a private LD school and in the 1st grade. They teach in word families (like a more advanced BOB book—her first book was called “I Can”) It has made an incredible difference in reading and in her confidence level (now she thinks she can read anything!) Also, part of their reading program does include old fashioned memorization of sight words (those that cannot be sounded out). I’d definitely fit those into a reading program as well. Good luck!!
Suzi