Here are some of my favorite photos from Reading Essentials Class 2013. This is a reading intervention for middle school students. These students are reading or conferencing about their reading.
The students have favorite spots. A couple of them always pick the area under the computer teacher table.
The above photo shows a student conferencing. The key to Reading Essentials Class is found in these pictures. Read, read, read, and then talk about what you are reading with an adult. The students read out loud for the adult. Then together they pick a goal off the CAFE menu to work on until they conference again. Each conference always begins with assessing how much progress they have made to their goal.
I am currently reviewing the data from the students served this year. This week of May is when all students are given a test of fluency and comprehension. This is our universal screener. I also use it to identify students in need of interventions and then to track their progress. I'll post next week on this year's results.
I use the data to identify students , and I also use teacher recommendations and parent requests. No data seems perfect for identifying reading difficulties. It always has to be used with person-to-person observations. Classroom teachers are so important to my program because they almost always have such a good idea as to why a student is struggling.
