Response to Intervention is designed as an early student intercession to prevent long-term academic failure. In order to be constructive, instruction and interventions must be matched to meet students' needs.
RTI is generally depicted as a three-tiered model. Each tier provides increasingly individualized instruction, continuous monitoring of progress to calculate gains, and criteria for changing interventions. In general, the tiers include:
Tier 1 – High-quality instruction and behavioral supports provided in general education classrooms.
Tier 2 – Small group instruction – intensive, specialized interventions provided with consistency by highly trained teachers.
Tier 3 – More individualized intervention and/or referral for special education.
This post will focus on students classified as Tier II - those who did not respond to Tier 1 instruction and will need to receive more focused researched-based instruction in small groups.
Since students at this level are considered at-risk, they will require intensive, systematic instruction on up to three foundational reading skills. To achieve this objective, it is recommended that these groups meet three to five times a week, for 20 to 40 minutes.
The over-reaching goal of reading instruction in Tier II is for the students to be able to understand and apply the following reading skills:
- Letter name identification and sounds
- Proficiency with basic phonics skills
- Reading fluency (high frequency words)
Helping students reach these goals sounds good on paper. However, reading specialists need an effective reading program that can play a major role in each of the three RTI tiers. Using the right online reading system can reinforce and strengthen students' skills since students in Tiers II and III will receive the same method and use the same materials as students receiving universal instruction.
Does your reading program offer:
A fully narrated lessons so that students can work independently?
Concepts that are presented in a multisensory way?
A system that allows students to learn at their own pace and practice the skills as much as is necessary?
Or assessments and mastery interim tests to ensure that students learn and retain the skills that are being taught?
Having the proper online reading system is the difference between the continuous status quo or 2-3 grade levels of reading improvement in only months.
The school year is nearly over. How will you help your students graduate from Tier II and improve their reading?