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Newsletter
Archive |
October 2007
Newsletter |
Response to Intervention
Dear Educator,
Fall is here, and so are our best Sidewalk Sale bargains as we prepare to bring in our new 2008 products. Check out our $10 Mixed Readers Set and $25 Geoblocks Set. We've also planned an ambitious conference schedule for 2007-2008. I hope we can meet some of you personally this year to show you our products and hear what you need in your classroom.
Over the past few months, we've been hearing a lot about Response to Intervention. As we've gathered information about this approach, we've found some interesting resources to share with you. We've also developed an RtI Correlation Chart to help you find appropriate products for students who need help with specific areas at Tiers II and III. I hope you find these resources helpful in your efforts to provide all your students with the instruction they need.
Best wishes,
Rosalind Iiams, Editor
editor@primaryconcepts.com
What Is RtI? Response to Intervention is a three-tier model of reading instruction. RtI is a way to ensure that children are not incorrectly identified as Learning Disabled and referred to special education services, if remedial instruction can address their reading difficulties and keep them in the mainstream classroom. Historically, many children have been placed in special education due to reading problems that could have been overcome by intensive intervention in the early years. Rather than setting children up to succeed, many educators feel that the traditional model waited for children to fail, then referred them to special education. With RtI, children who are not responding adequately to the reading program in the general classroom are given increasing levels of intensive reading instruction. Only students who do not respond to this program are evaluated for special education services.
The Three Tiers. Tier I involves all children: research-based, high-quality instruction is provided to all students in the general classroom. Tier II is for children who are struggling with reading in the general classroom. These students receive additional reading instruction each day in small group settings, normally within the regular classroom. Instruction focuses on the five essential reading components: phonemic awareness, vocabulary, phonics, comprehension, and fluency. Tier III addresses those children who continue to have reading problems after Tier II intervention. Instruction may take place in special education settings, either full or part-time, in small group settings or one-on-one. Tasks are broken down into smaller steps, and children get lots of examples and practice, with scaffolded instruction to help them progress.
A Team Approach. One sometimes controversial element of RtI is its team approach, which breaks down traditional distinctions between classroom teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, etc. At all levels, teachers work in collaboration with specialists from within and outside the school, together with school administrators, to develop a plan to meet all students' needs. RtI also demands investment in professional development, so teachers and other professionals can learn to take on new roles and teaching techniques.
Funding and What's Next. None of this can be done without cost. As Senator Edward Kennedy told the National School Boards Association in early 2007, real school reform can't happen on a "tin-cup budget." The Individuals with Disabilities Act reauthorized in 2004 (IDEA 04) provides funds for RtI. IDEA 04 allows districts to allocate 15% of their IDEA Part B funds for RtI in general education classrooms. Currently, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE) and the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) are working on a series of "Blueprints" to help guide state, district, and school implementation of RtI. These blueprints are seen as guidelines rather than mandates. Virtually all states are working at some level on RtI intiatives. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education is providing $21.1 million in grant money to "support research that contributes to the improvement of instruction for students with disabilities and to the prevention of inappropriate identification of specific learning disabilities." With funding available and growing, and states and districts getting on the RtI bandwagon, Response to Intervention looks like it could produce real change in the classroom.
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Response to Intervention Activity |
We've developed a new Response to Intervention Correlation Chart to help you choose appropriate materials for students needing extra help in specific skills at Tiers II and III. Our Tales and Tiles Phonics Readers are appropriate for Tier II or Tier III tutoring in phonics and vocabulary. Download a sample reader here.
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Useful Response to Intervention Links |
• Research and the Three-Tier Model (International Reading Association President's Message)
• Response to Intervention: A Primer (National Center for Learning Disabilities)
• The Three-Tier Model for Identifying Learning Disabilities (National Research Center on Learning Disabilities Symposium)
• Teaching Children to Read: Report of the National Reading Panel (download free copy)
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Product Spotlight: First Phonics Studio |
 Work on skills in phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, phonics, and vocabulary with these hands-on sorting and word building activities. Especially suited to small-group and one-on-one instruction at Tiers II and III. Systematic sequence of activities helps you assess progress and scaffold learning.
Children build basic phonics skills as they work through a systematic sequence of activities laid out in the First Phonics Studio teaching manual, using our colorful magnetic tiles and specially designed two-sided First Phonics Folder. Each picture tile has the corresponding word printed on the back, allowing for both picture sorting and word sorting. Level I activities focus on beginning consonants, final consonants, and short vowel sounds. Level II moves on to consonant digraphs, vowel pairs, silent e patterns, and more.
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Share Your Favorite Activities |
How is your school or district responding to RtI? Let us know, and we'll share with our readers.
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Next Month's Topic: Listen to Learn |
What are the benefits of using audiobooks in your classroom? We'll explore that topic in our November newsletter.
A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.
—Eric Sloane
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