Reading Instruction as part of an IEP

Number one, what is the content of the “regular ed” reading instruction they provide? It would be essential to know if this instruction was appropriate before making a decision like that.

Janis

I beleive you have a very strong case for simply insisting that they explain how is individual instructional needs are met by the program, for future reference.
Explain that while the “regular ed” kids are of course benefiting from this fine instruction, your child’s special needs need to be clearly explained so that you can tell not only *that* the goals and objectives are being met, but how they are being met, since if this is working, you certainly want it documented that this is exactly the kind of instruction that works, and why; and if it *does not* work, you need to be able to figuer out what changes would need to be made. (It’s probably easier to do that “explaining” in a written letter, and that would be more effective anyway, especially if it’s fired up the chain of command as an expression of appreciation that they have this reading instruction, but concern that it be properly documented and yhour child’s progress be properly monitored. Just because he is able to benefit from something in the regular ed program does not mean that he is no longer a child with special needs.)

Thanks for your responses.
They offered him the Wilson reading program in elementary school which he did make progress with but found “boring” and he honestly doesn’t want to consider it in middle school.
The reading teacher explained that she uses an “eclectic approach.” She feels that the Wilson doesn’t help kids because they end up not liking to read. Is there a “better” middle school approach that is not tedious? Meanwhile she gave him an Informal Reading Inventory as his Reading test for his 3year re-eval which doesn’t give me any standardized test results that I feel can help me show objective improvement. My feeling is if you don’t look for it (and use the right evaluation tools), you won’t “find” it!

Additional info to above post:
I was talking with my son tonight about his reading instruction as we were reading his book Great Expectations together. I asked him what his reading teacher has taught him this year. He said not much but he did say that she said when he comes to a word he doesn’t know, to guess!!!!! I said what did your reading teacher in elementary school help you to do, what strategy helped you when you used the Wilson? He said, “Tapping out the word.” Well, THAT’s what he should do. I couldn’t believe the other teacher teaches her middle school students to GUESS!!!! So, I guess that means I need to put explicit reading instruction back into his IEP. He said maybe he needs the Wilson again after all.

Please realize that putting it in the IEP does not mean that he’ll get it. If the teacher doesn’t know any better than guessing, writing the goal in the IEP will not teach her.

If he’s reading on a 4th grade level or better, consider using “Rewards” from Sopris West at home. It is entirely scripted, so would be easy for you to do. “Rewards” is a great program for middle schoolers, and does a very good job of teaching multi-syllable word attack skills (not guessing!). Website is http://www.sopriswest.com/rewards/

Sometimes direct remediation is more helpful than trying to get the school to provide appropriate instruction.

Nancy

Nancy,
I checked out the website - looks good! Is this one of the programs that is mentioned in Shaywitz’ book by any chance?

Why give up on Wilson? It is effective and face it, reading instruction at this age is not fun(what level is your son reading at?) and requires work. If the school is already trained in Wilson and uses it, I’d go with it.

I don’t know if Rewards is mentioned in Shaywitz’ book or not. Rewards is pretty new — came out in 2000, I think.

The reason I would use Rewards rather than Wilson is because Rewards is *much* more efficient at improving reading level. Teachers who have used it consistently report gains similar to those illustrated in the research study at the website. Because Rewards is entirely scripted, a parent does not need any training to do it one-on-one at home with a child. It is a really good program for those reading on a beginning 4th grade level or better, and is especially suitable for middle school and high school students (lots of advanced vocabulary in it).

Nancy

Nancy,
I will order it for home use. It looks appropriate as he does read at about a fifth to sixth grade level (8th grade student). Can I just get away with using the student book with him or do you suggest the teacher manual also? I will only use it with my son.

You HAVE to get both the teacher’s manual and the student workbook. All of the scripting is in the teacher’s manual!!!

The video demonstrates the scripted techniques in a classroom setting. This can be helpful in getting a good idea of how the program works and giving you some confidence about beginning. However, you can do without it. Read the preparatory chapters but don’t let them hinder you from getting started. Basically what you do is sit down with the child, read the instructions for the first exercise, and start. There are several different exercises in each lesson, and every exercise starts with an explanation of what to do. Because you are working one-on-one, all you have to do is ask a question and then wait for an answer from your son. (Ignore all the instructions about hand signals. Those are for classroom use, so all students will answer at the same time, giving slower students a chance to come up with the answer. You don’t need hand signals working one-on-one.)

It’s a good idea to get a clear plastic page-protector, cut off the lefthand side (the 3-ring hole side), and use that for the pages meant for an overhead projector. You can write directly on the plastic, wipe it off when the lesson is done, and re-use the plastic for the next lesson’s overhead projector page. That way the TM is clean for resale. I like the Easy-Load page protectors. Be sure to get the clear kind for this task, not the translucent.

The first 12 lessons or so usually take only 45 minutes each when working one-on-one. Lessons 13 to 20 take a little more time because of the repeated readings for fluency work, perhaps up to an hour 15 minutes. However, it would be easy to break these lessons into two sessions to make the sessions shorter.

If you can fit in two lessons per week, that is probably ideal. However, classroom teachers who have had time only for one lesson a week still report significant gains from the program. A reasonable expectation is a two-year gain in decoding and fluency after all 20 lessons are completed.

One thing I add to the program is verbal definitions of any words the student does not understand. Sometimes the student will ask what a word means. Usually I pick out words I think may be not understood and ask for a verbal definition. If the student doesn’t get it right, I supply a verbal definition and we use it in a few oral sentences. This adds 5 or 10 minutes at most to a lesson.

This program sounds ideal for your son’s reading level and grade level. Good luck!

Nancy

In case I wasn’t clear, both the teacher’s manual and a student workbook are necessary in order to use Rewards. All of the instructions for the exercises are in the TM, as well as all of the questions (and their answers).

Nancy

Also should mention that you could do a lesson per day, if you have the time and energy for it.

Nancy