Reading Intervention For Elementary Students

Reading Intervention For Elementary Students

Hey friends. Most of you know that I've taught in a variety of states due to my husband's military service. There is several benefits (and drawbacks as well) to this set up. The biggest advantage to moving every few years is seeing how each and every district runs their reading intervention programs. While in Virginia, I really feel like that's where my teaching was fine tuned. At this school,  we had a school wide reading intervention program. In this program, we sent out students who were high achieving for enrichment activities. We split the struggling students into groups of three. The best part of this system was that every staff member on campus was utilized during this time. Scheduling an intervention block is an essential component to a successful elementary school. This is how you can reach your lowest quartile of students the most effectively. A school wide intervention system may not be in reach for you at this time, so I'm going to share some suggestions to make your intervention system work for you.

Scheduling Your Intervention Block

One way to think of your reading intervention time is an extra instructional block in the skill students are the weakest in. I really make an effort from day one to schedule my intervention block in so that time is always used for something. I try to make sure that my intervention block is always scheduled at a separate time than reading or math. This is done on purpose. Intervention shouldn't just be and extension of your reading lesson where you keep the lower group "longer". I really try to make sure it's a complete different set up than our guided reading or guided math groups.

Student Grouping 

Student grouping is essential to a successful intervention block. I strive to make sure I have no more than three students in an intervention group. Here's why: This is an intensive instructional strategy to ensure that each student really receives the attention they need. I know this is a very difficult task with having 23 other students that need your attention. I try to think about it this way, if I don't help the most struggling students, who will? They came to me as struggling students  and unless I do something drastic, they will remain struggling students. This is the attitude we need to have in regards to students who receive intensive intervention. Some ideas to help is to ask if your office clerk or school nurse could come in your classroom for 25 minutes a day. They maybe able to work with a medium/low group while you work with the lowest group.  Here's the thing, I know it's awkward to ask other people for help. I get it. Everyone has a job and a purpose on that campus. At the end of the day, though, it is the job of the school community to ensure that EVERY child is successful. Maybe the nurse can only come down two days a week, TAKE IT. Give them the materials to use and make it easy for them. Make sure to make a huge deal out of how much help it is. I've asked and been told no. But more times than I've been told NO, I've been told YES. 

What are the other students doing during intervention?

This is not an easy question to answer. Let me tell you why. It depends on your students. If you are a third or fourth grade teacher with a well behaved group of students, I encourage you to think about doing a book study. Something the students can read and answer questions on their own and is a separate book than their guided reading set. If you have a group of rowdy first graders, than you might need to consider allowing them this opportunity for seat work. I'm not a fan of  a designated "seat work time", however, one year, I had a group that could not handle another center rotation or any cooperative learning more than during guided reading. With this group, I created folders for the students to complete at their own pace. I collected them weekly and checked for completion (unless major errors where obvious). My saving grace for this was The Moffatt Girls! This product SAVED me.  I've also used these literacy center mats for my students who are not in my intervention group. 

What about Math Intervention?

Math intervention is also a very important part of your classroom. If you only have one block of time for "intervention", I encourage you to rotate between math and reading. You could also glance at your data and see how many students truly need math intervention. If you only have one or two students, maybe you could convince someone to help you during guided math. 

How do I know a student needs further testing?

This is a question I get asked on my Facebook page often.  Here's my recommendation: whenever you begin an intensive intervention process, you should go ahead and document what you are doing. This way, if the student continues to not make progress with intensive intervention in place, you may need to look into the testing process. However, you will have weeks and weeks of documented intervention data to show that you've made every attempt to help the student.  Documentation does not have to be difficult. I struggled for many years with how to document my reading intervention program and then I created progress monitoring components to help me stay on track with the documentation process.

Understanding Response to Intervention: A Guide for Teachers and Parents

As a classroom teacher who has moved all over the country, understanding how each district does RTI can be difficult.However, with a strong understanding of the purpose of Response to Intervention and the goal, Response to Intervention does not have to be difficult.  RTI is a process that helps identify students who are experiencing difficulty in the classroom.

                                  Understanding the Levels of Interventions

Response to Intervention or RTI has three levels.  I have always been told to look at it like it was a pyramid.   The framework for RTI is detailed for each tier, but how you instruct at those levels vary from district to district. I believe that regardless of what "tier" students are on, students need the opportunity to have an intervention time to work out problems. 

Picture from: St. Croix Center for RTI

Tier One Instruction in the RTI Framework

Tier one instruction is the level that all students receive. At this level, teachers should provide high quality instruction and assessment. Teachers are able to screen students to determine their deficiencies.  Assessment is key, because it gives the teachers information. This is the level that nearly 80% of students fall in for instruction and intervention. One common misconception that children should not receive intervention in tier 1 instruction. RTI does not say that, and their is no research to support that. I base my intervention groups off of classroom needs and what my data shows. If your district uses a computer based assessment, that's great for a starting point. Often times, we can provide intervention and fill the gaps, students will demonstrate success and no longer need intervention services.

Tier Two Instruction in the RTI Framework

Students who are not progressing in Tier 1, should be moved to Tier 2 with adequate time given. Each district has a different requirement, but if you ask me, I believe it should be at least 6 weeks. This is where we look at more targeted instruction. Often times, computer based assessments can be skewed, so I like to give my own assessment to be sure it matches up.  In tier two, we are focused on specific skills. We should have less students in Tier 2 than Tier 1. It's generally no more than 15% of your students. It's important to think about group size for Tier 2. A lot of times, we will just keep our lowest group and say that we are providing Tier 2 instruction. However, if the instruction is not targeted and purposeful, that is not the case. Questions I like to ask myself "Does each student struggle with the skill I am teaching?" or "Can I prove that through my data collection?". 

If  I have a students who failed a rhyming assessment, for example, then I would re-teach rhyming for one or two weeks, then test again. I would keep that cycle up until the student passes that specific skill. The key with RTI is documentation.  Below is an example of how I keep up with my data for RTI. I needed something that had the skill listed several times  to show the students progress or lack of progress after quality instruction has taken place.

Tier Three Intervention in the RTI Framework

Once a student has advanced to Tier 3, they should be receiving individualized instruction. The group consists of one on one instruction and is happening daily. If the student is still not making progress at this level, further evaluation might be needed. Questions that I ask myself when providing Tier 3 Instruction (And parents should ask their child's teacher):

-Is this instruction individualized for each specific student?

- Am I consistently providing instruction on their needs?

-Do I have the documentation to prove that?

-Have I  presented the skill in a variety of ways to give the students ample opportunity to learn?

That last question is where I sometimes have to make SURE I can answer. Sometimes, we can present the material over and over again with students who just don't get it. Reflection is a HUGE part of instruction, so I will reflect to make sure I am truly presenting it in another way. Sometimes, I'll ask a colleague to come in and try to present the same skill.  I find so many ideas for just watching all of the awesome educators I get to work with. 

Side bar--- One of the biggest downsides of this process that I've noticed, is once a student is moved out of Tier 3, tested and found eligible for services, the one on one instruction stops from the general education teacher. If you are a parent, advocate for that to continue. If you are a teacher, remember the student maybe receiving services, however, they still likely will benefit from one on one instruction. I know this can be challenging, trust me, I've been there. That's really not related, but it's just something important to me. I've seen it happen to my own child and students in nearly every district I've been in.

Back to Tier 3--Once a student gets to Tier 3, a parent can request an evaluation at this point. It is important to know and understand that not all students in Tier 3 are special education students. Students can struggle without having a disability, but that is why we have to continue to work on providing targeted instruction. If targeted and intensive instruction is being provided ( and documented), parents and teachers should be able to see some growth. Parents, don't be afraid to ask about the specific interventions taking place with the teacher. Sometimes, districts will offer tutoring services and intervention with a volunteer. This does NOT take the place of tier 3 intervention that should be conducted by the classroom teacher. In other words, if the teacher isn't pulling the student one on one, I would question the validity of that tier 3 data. As a parent, I would not accept a computer based program as tier 3 intervention. 

Collecting Data for RTI

The process of RTI can be difficult. Without proper documentation to show that you have moved students between each tier,  you are unable to move forward with the evaluation process. While each state and district have their own specific paperwork, the skills that you teach have to be documented. I created a system so that I could adequately test my students through the LITERACY FRAMEWORK. I didn't mean to  shout, wait, YES I DID!  We have to assess the literacy framework to find the students true deficiencies.