Research tells us that 20 percent of all children will struggle with learning to read — regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, parent’s level of education, or other influencing factors (Shaywitz, 2003). At Presbyterian School, a pre-school through eighth grade institution located in Houston’s museum district and serving some of the highest achieving zip codes in the nation’s fourth largest city, we have seen this statistic play itself out every day. The picture of reading at our earliest developmental levels supports this fact: Each year among our 40 kindergarten students, for example, a solid group of at least eight youngsters emerges requiring extra support to keep pace not only with our institutional expectations but also with their peers.
As a relatively young school (we turn 20 years old in 2010) still trying to carve out a niche in a competitive and more established educational market, we had to make some critical decisions about how to serve students who present with unique learning profiles. A program was designed and called the Academic Enrichment Center (AEC) that focused on targeted and specific interventions that would promote early literacy. Similar to the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, the AEC has implemented a multi-tiered support system for students in Kindergarten through second grade (see Otaiba et al, 2009). This multi-tiered approach provides the most significant (Tier Three) support for the 20 percent of our students who have demonstrated language deficits. Tier Two instruction provides additional support for the 5 - 10 percent of our students who experience periodic bumps in terms of maintaining grade level expectations. Finally Tier One instruction enhances the learning of the more than 50 percent of our students who consistently demonstrate on-grade-level skills and strategies. In addition, enrichment and extensions are provided for the 20 percent of students who perform beyond grade level.
The Kindergarten Year
Rooted in the belief that all kindergartners are still learning to read, regardless of their demonstrations of individual fluency, our three reading specialists and a Neuhaus trained dyslexia specialist have designed a program with a core rooted in small group instruction for all kindergartners, tailoring pedagogy to their individual skill levels. At the beginning of the Kindergarten year, each student is assessed in phonological awareness, core phonics, reading, encoding, and handwriting. The results of the assessment are used as a tool to form homogeneous groups and in determining specific, directed instruction strategies for these groups. The assessment tool was created by the AEC staff and is based on several published assessments as well as unique elements developed by the specialists themselves.
Each lesson in kindergarten includes several components: phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondence, word building, word reading, text reading, comprehension, encoding, listening comprehension, and expressive language. As students’ skills develop, lessons appropriately shift to provide practice for the most relevant skills needed in students’ acquisition of literacy. For example, in the beginning of the school year there is greater emphasis on phonemic awareness and sound symbol correspondence, laying a firm foundation for decoding and encoding, which become more central as the year progresses. By the middle of the school year, lessons become heavier in reading text and building knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension through the texts students are reading. Lesson plans are developed with the knowledge of the scope and sequence of the core language arts curriculum so that they provide both support and/or extension to classroom instruction. Students who present weaknesses in phonemic awareness and core phonics skills are provided two to three times more direct Tier Two instruction and their lessons are modified to provide more practice of essential skills and scaffolding to support core curriculum.
First Grade
Beginning in first frade, tiered instruction becomes increasingly more differentiated in order to address the wider spectrum of literacy skills present in students. Tier One instruction provided by AEC specialists is an extension of the classroom, providing evidence-based guided reading strategies one day a week while also monitoring and tracking students for possible reading deficits. Tier Two addresses those first graders who require more targeted intervention due to inadequate progress in the classroom based on institutional expectations. These students meet with a specialist two to three times a week to receive “re-teaching” of classroom activities with added emphasis: deeper and more individualized support with the weekly spelling lessons; specific addressing of inadequate decoding strategies; and concrete comprehension strategies using decodable and leveled texts. Tier Three assists those first graders whose learning profile demonstrates a need for even greater support. These students receive Basic Language Skills support from a specialist four times a week. (See below for a more detailed description of Tier Three interventions.) Finally and in addition to the multi-tier approach, first graders who demonstrate reading abilities above grade level receive enrichment opportunities called “book clubs,” which are once-a-week enrichment classes designed to stretch and enhance students’ comprehension and higher order thinking skills.
Second Grade
While the tiered approach still characterizes literacy instruction in the second grade, the level of services shifts due in part to the extensive early intervention and prevention services provided consistently since Kindergarten. By second grade, the large majority of students has broken the code and is reading above national, suburban, and in most cases independent norms. Therefore, first tier instruction for second grade focuses more on students’ written expression. Second graders meet with the specialist to learn techniques for the improvement of their written expression skills. Capitalizing on students’ secure reading and comprehension skills, the specialists are able to enhance writing abilities in targeted and specific ways. Second tier instruction focuses on an ever-shrinking but still present group of students whose reading and comprehension skills still require intervention. Second tier instruction in second grade has students meeting with a specialist two times each week performing the same support of in-class activities as in first grade. Third tier instruction in second grade is an option for students who present a need; however, the experience at our school has demonstrated that due to the intervention services offered since Kindergarten, many of the reading and learning gaps in the general student population have been effectively closed. Most children in our second grade classes are demonstrating a readiness to shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Finally, second graders significantly above grade level expectations also participate in book clubs similar to those offered in first grade.
Third Tier Intervention
For those students (beginning in Kindergarten) who are identified through assessment as needing third tier support, our specialist provides Neuhaus Basic Language Skills Curricula. This research-based, systematic, and sequential program uses a multisensory approach to language arts instruction employing Orton-Gillingham and Neuhaus strategies. All Neuhaus curricula are endorsed by IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council) and the Academic Language Therapy Association endorses all Neuhaus curricula as well. (It should be noted that Houston is “home” to the Neuhaus Education Center and it is well known among the parents and teachers in our own school community.) Basic Language Skills interventions are recommended for students with demonstrated language weaknesses and are taught in small-group sessions that meet four times a week along the following continua:
- Foundations for Language: (Kindergarten) Special emphasis is placed on phonological awareness, letter recognition, oral language, listening, establishing the alphabetic principle, and instant word recognition (Neuhaus, 1999).
- Book One: (first or second grade) Follows a set scope and sequence and uses a daily lesson plan that employs IRD (Initial Reading Deck) introduction and review, spelling deck introduction and review, and multisensory introduction and practice in reading concepts. (Neuhaus, 2003) Scientific Spelling is taught in conjunction with each concept. Word and sentence dictation are part of weekly spelling practices. (Carreker, 2002) Colors and Shapes are taught in the early concepts of Book One as part of oral language and background knowledge development. (Neuhaus 2003) Developing Metacognitive Skills is introduced by the end of Book One. (Carreker, 2005) Multisensory Grammar and Written Composition is also introduced by the end of Book One. (Carreker, 2002) Mastery Checks are given periodically in Books One, Two, and Three to assess progress and determine areas that need review.
- Books Two and Three: These two books are a continuation of Book One with the addition of Word Detective (History of the English Language). (Neuhaus, 2004)
Higher Order Thinking Skills and Evaluation
Higher order thinking skills are also a part of lesson design and pedagogy from the outset of our AEC early literacy program. The phonics approach is analytical and systematic, aiming to teach students in a way that follows a thought process rather than just memorization. In addition, as students begin reading texts, comprehension discussions become a part of the AEC lessons. It is important to gauge students’ comprehension by means of factual comprehension questions and then move on to questions that lead students to infer, make predictions, make connections, take perspective, and evaluate.
As mentioned above, book clubs exist to provide high achieving students opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and engage in meaningful literary discussions. These higher achieving students learn to analyze literature and are exposed to an array of perspectives through a variety of texts (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays). Additionally, book clubs foster a love of reading and encourage students to read beyond the facts and between the lines. Book clubs help to create life-long readers and allow students to share their opinions, ideas, and creativity in a small group setting.
Assessment and Beyond
Throughout the elementary grades, the AEC staff organizes and delivers assessment, coordination, remediation, support, extension, resources, and referrals for our earliest readers, their teachers, and their parents.
Assessment: Beginning in the spring, AEC specialists facilitate assessments for all students (K-4) in reading and spelling as well as assessments of phonemic awareness and phonological processing for Pre-K students moving into Kindergarten. In addition (and when necessary for additional screening over the course of the academic year), the AEC staff will also administer and interpret: Basic Language Skills Mastery Checks, C-TOPP, Woodcock-Johnson, WPPSI, WISC, Connors, and custom developed skills assessments — all at no additional cost to parents whose students demonstrate a need.
Coordination: Depending upon identified need, AEC specialists also coordinate with professionals offering academic therapy as well as with psychologists and speech language specialists who have conducted comprehensive evaluations of students. Additionally, AEC specialists summarize professional recommendations in action plans for classroom teachers and conduct meetings with teachers, parents, and outside professionals to coordinate services and describe student progress. Lastly, AEC specialists coordinate with classroom teachers to adjust the daily schedule so that more frequent service can be offered to struggling students while maintaining that every student, regardless of reading performance, receives instruction at least once in a seven-day cycle.
Resources and Referrals: Finally, the AEC specialists provide help and resources for parents and teachers. They are also the first contact for parents who need referrals to outside professionals for further assessment and/or academic therapy. The names of at least three professionals are offered for each referral, allowing parents to make the final determination regarding outside support and services.
Looking Ahead and Conclusions
As we look ahead to an exciting future for this program, we will begin providing services to Pre-Kindergarten students at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year in an effort to expand our early intervention and support strategies. AEC specialists will begin the year by helping PK classroom teachers with small group literacy instruction during center time in an effort to establish rapport with the students and become familiar with the culture of the classroom. After Christmas, an assessment akin to those employed in Kindergarten will be used to evaluate the students’ pre-reading skills. From that initial data, homogenous early literacy groups can be formed. At this point, the AEC specialist will plan lessons for use during students’ center time that can be delivered with a rotating group of students fostering more targeted and focused instruction based on the groups’ particular skill levels. By the end of the year, it is our hope that the AEC staff along with the classroom teachers will be actively collaborating on suggestions and recommendations for individual student reinforcement exercises to take place during the summer prior to the Kindergarten year.
Focusing on early and active literacy interventions for all children, beginning in Kindergarten, has, on one level, increased excitement about reading among our students and, on another level, developed a deeper appreciation of our mission of support and education of each child among teachers and faculty. By providing targeted support for each student from Kindergarten to second grade (and expanding that support to include Pre-Kindergarten students in 2010-11), we believe that gaps in emerging literacy skills will shrink by means of dynamic and unique partnerships created on campus among reading specialists, classroom teachers, students, and parents. With four years of data under our belts at the conclusion of the 2009-10 school year, we need to engage in a systematic and objective approach to tracking our students’ progress as a way of informing future modifications and/or expansions of our pedagogy.
We look forward to reporting that information in a future article.
Works Cited or Consulted
Shaywitz, S. (2003) Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Programs for Reading Problems at Any Level. New York: Random House.
National Research Council. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Published Assessments Used
Consortium On Reading Excellence, Inc. (1999). Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures for Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. Navato, CA: Arena Press.
California Reading Professional Development Institute. (1999) California Reading and Literature Project: Focusing on Results, PreK-3. CA: California Reading & Literature Project.
Otaiba, S. et al (2009). Identifying and Intervening with Beginning Readers Who Are At-Risk for Dyslexia. Baltimore, MD: Perspectives on Language and Literacy
Alison Edwards is in her 11th year in education. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M in College Station, TX and a Masters of Science in Reading Education from Loyola University in New Orleans, LA. She is working currently as the director of the Academic Enrichment Center for Presbyterian School in Houston, Texas.
Elizabeth Dudley holds a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and Special Education from Vanderbilt University. She has seven years of teaching experience and has been teaching in the Academic Enrichment Center since its inception.
Holly Crantz provides small group reading instruction to kindergarten students at the Presbyterian School. She holds an M.A. from California State University Fresno in Special Education.
Pinet Braun McBride is a 1975 graduate of Newcomb College of Tulane University, where she earned a B.A. in English with a minor in Education. She has taught both preschool and elementary school. She is a graduate of the Dyslexia Specialist Program at Houston's Neuhaus Education Center. McBride is an Academic Enrichment Center teacher at Houston's Presbyterian School.
Mark Carleton is in his first year as the headmaster at Presbyterian School in Houston, where older two-year-olds through eighth graders build confidence in a nurturing environment that encourages risk-taking and critical thinking. The teaching team at Presbyterian takes very seriously the school's counter-cultural mission of "Uniting family, school, and church in the support and education of each child."