Education Questions and Answers
A question for elementary school principals or teachers about your school's literacy program?
Question:Hello, I am taking a grad class concerning reading strategies for exceptional children. I need to interview a principal(or teacher) about their literacy program. I teach on the high school level and to be honest we don't teach reading. Students should be reading by the time they reach us and those who don't are usually in special education. So I wanted to get the view point from an elementary school perspective. If you could answer the following questions I would be much indebted to you.
1. How does your literacy program meet the needs of all students?
2. What components are in place for preventing reading and writing difficulty?
3. What support is there for intervening and accelerating the progress of students who struggle with reading and writing?
If you could give me you last name(I will use Mr/Ms "last name")and the school and state or city where you locate it would be great.
Answers:
you can call me Mrs. King from Little Rock, Arkansas.
I have recently completed my Master's Degree in Reading education from the University of Arkansas @ Little Rock. I have been teaching 1st grade for 11 years.
1. How does your literacy program meet the needs of all students?
I used the Balanced Literacy approach to reading instruction. It meets the needs of all my students by teaching to their instructional level. Running records allow me to make weekly assessments on their word knowledge as well as comprehension and fluency. I have had students in my class this past year span from below grade level to 2 grade levels above average. (Ending DRA levels 6 through 28). Balanced Literacy also allows students to work independently as well as in small groups. There is much individuality in this approach.
2. What components are in place for preventing reading and writing difficulty?
At our school, we have Reading Recovery, which is an intensive reading and writing program that is funded by Title I funds. We currently have only one teacher but will get an additional one next year. We also have a literacy coach, that works with a small group twice a week, mostly on writing, per my request. Our district has provided after school tutoring as outlined in the NCLB act, and I have also worked in the past with buddy teachers, in re-grouping for literacy instruction.
3. What support is there for intervening and accelerating the progress of students who struggle with reading and writing?
Currently, we have the support of our Literacy Coach and Title I teacher, and I have attended both professional development in reading and in best practices for literacy. With the NCLB act, those at most risk are assessed 2X a week with DIBELS, which is then reported to the state department.
If you have more questions, or if you'd like me to clarify anything, please email me.
I'm not going to give you my name but I will give you some information:
There are many elementary literacy programs out there.
Balanced Literacy: This allows for differentiated work based on reading levels of each student. Literacy time is divided into four sessions: Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Independent Reading and Read-Alouds.
Success for All (SFA): This program is very scripted and is based on repetitive repeats back and modeled reading, speaking and team work for literacy.
good luck!
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