Our school is in what may be a good situation: we have 2 new administrators (superintendent and principal), and our newly released standardized test scores are dismal. There is a chance that the new administrators may be open to new reading programs. What would everyone recommend? I envision that this would not be for the whole school; only for the bottom 1/3 - 1/4 of the kids, those who struggle with reading. I already have the following on my list:
Project Read/Language Circle
SRA Corrective Reading
Read Naturally
Phonographix
Great Leaps
What else? We already use Wilson
Thanks!
Jenn
Re: Reading Progam Suggestions???
waht grades?
And… both admins *and* the teachers have to be open and part of the process. You want their input on what kinds of programs will work for them and their students.
I’ve found that almost all teachers of older studnets sincerely (sometimes passionately) believe that well, accuracy isn’t that big a deal. I don’t think telling them that it is and saying “and use this program to remediate it” works in many cases because then they go at it sincerely believing they’re being forced to do something that their kids don’t need. It helps to discover with them whether they’re right or not (so far, both times I’ve done it… accuracy has been below comprehension; it’s *still* hard to sell the idea that unless you know what the words are, you aren’t going to be able to tell what the passage means :-( — I am *still* waiting to meet these legions of students that teachers swear are out there decoding fluently who don’t understand anything).
Reading
While it is NOT a “curriculum,” Deal A Word is an excellent tool to use with all grade and ability levels (ESL, SpEd, Activity Centers, etc.). We are currently using it in K-5. The kids really have taken to it because, to them, it is just a “game!” If you would like to check it out you can go to their website that was listed in the rules at www.dealaword.com.
Jenn,
Just remember the programs you have listed cover different skills. Those 25% lowest kids need to be tested to see where their weaknesses lie. For many, it will be decoding, and a program like Phono-Graphix would work well. But after a child learns to decode, he’ll need a lot of fluency practice with a program like Read Naturally, Great Leaps, or Quick Reads. Few programs teach all the necessary areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
I suppose that if your school is already using Wilson to remediate the older kids, they might want to consider Wilson Fundations for K-2 as an intervention program.
Janis