SRA vs Wilson - 9th grader

Is he doing the Wilson at school or at home? And how long has it taken him to get to level 5? WHat are his probelms with reading - is he a guesser who needs to slow down and sound stuff out, or does he labor through it?

With that big gap, it sounds like he has significant LD-type issues - this is a case where I’d really want to see the kiddo in action to see whether the structure of the SRA is going to be enough to address his needs. The SRA can be stronger in the repetition-to-fluency aspect, unless a kid’s processing issues prevent him from benefiting from it ‘cause it’s not getting through. Wilson is stronger in the multisensory department and with breaking things down and explaining things.

Direct instruction is Direct —there isn’t much independent stuff involved in it. There’s a placement test. I *have* successfully managed two groups at once in the same class, though.

The two systems are fairly different but fortunately the placement test should plop him in the right place for SRA. The big question is which program’s suited to him.

I have not used Wilson although I observed it in a school where it was being used successfully with elementary students. SRA I have used for four years and it has its pros and cons just like any other method. The decoding program works on word attack skills, fluency, and comprehension using a teacher directed script. Word attack and initial passage reading is done whole group. Then students are asked to work with a partner and reread the passage to increase speed. The last part is done indepedently. Students complete a workbook page that reinforces the new phonics and tests their comprehension. Each lesson builds on the preceeding one to provide for practice of previously taught skills. With your child comprehending at 12th grade, I imagine the passages would not be very interesting and the repetition of the program would not be extremely motivating to a ninth grader. Rather than the scripted decoding program I would recommend the SRA Reading Kit. The student is matched to his level and can choose from about 15 two page short stories in each level. After reading the story the student answers a few comprehension questions and 33 vocabulary skill questions. The language section is so beneficial because it works on a wide variety of word attack skills which is what you child is lacking. The stories are narrative and expository covering a wide array of topics.
I was curious if your child’s teacher ever uses trade books for instruction? There are excellent books available for teens that are high interest and low readability. Depending on the book company that your child’s school orders from, they should have catalogs with a listing of all the titles, levels, and cost. Don’t be afraid to ask for the resources.

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What are the chances of doing both? The two systems are not interchangeable, but both are high quality programs. If he still requires help with blending sounds and syllables together, and has not reached automaticy, I would stick with Wilson. He may still need the multisensory approach. Even though SRA Corrective Reading: Decoding Strategies is a decoding program, it still uses a whole word approach, and it moves very quickly. Also, SRA Corrective Reading will not help with spelling.

If Wilson is no longer an option, I have another suggestion: He could do the SRA Corrective Reading with SEEING STARS, a Lindamood-Bell program as a multisensory support program. These two programs would be more compatible, since LMB teaches the vowels (short, long, silent e and vowel teams all at once, which Wilson does not do. This is something you can do at home if the Special Ed. teacher cannot do it. The manual is very easy to follow. It is an excellent program as well.

Marilyn

Joni,
I’ve taught using the SRA method for 4 years. I’ve taught 9-17 year old students with L.D. I’ve found that if the reading problem is primarily decoding then SRA is the fastest and most effecient way to improve reading I’ve found that students who had been exposed to wilson or linda mood bell progress the fastest with SRA. SRA has a way of making the decoding process understandable to the kiddos. Although the stories may not as entertaining as stories in other programs. I really feel that if a child is high school age then the reading problem MUST be addressed. Suppemental reading materials can be added. I would be careful, however to make sure that the school is not lumping all the LD students together.This approach will not work if there is more than a 1.5 or 2 year range of reading skill in the same group. I would also make sure that the teacher is trained in the direct instruction method and has bought into the program. This method is not an easy way to teach. Last year I was teaching 6 SRA classes and i was wiped out ever single day. Also, many students really don’t enjoy the program at first. You may have to provide incentives to keep him going. Frequently my students either LOVE the program the first day becouse they actually learned somthing or it takes a few weeks for them to buy into it. I’ve collected test scores or the last few years and what I’ve found is that I typically have a 1.5 -2.0 gain in achievement test scores the first half of the school year. Then students really become motivated by the program because of their improvement. I’m currently working privately with some high school students now and they are quite concerned that next year their sp.ed teachers may not be trained in the approach. One student I worked with for about a year and a half. After the first book of the decoding seris he had improved 3 years in reading skills, from 2 grade to 5. After the 2nd book he improved to 7 th grade reading. We are currently into the 3rd book now. He just found out that he passed 3 of 5 graduation exams and he credits the SRA program with his success. Good luck and I hope this information helps you Pam