Jim Wright: The Teacher as Literacy First Responder: Practical Differentiation & Intervention Tools

On F 11 October 2019, Jim Wright presented the workshop The Teacher as Literacy First Responder: Grades K-5. Sponsored by the New York City Department of Education/Division of Teaching and Learning, the training was attended by teachers, administrators, and support staff.

Here are resources shared at the training:

What Works Clearinghouse Teacher Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade [3]

Accommodations Finder [4]. Use this free online app to create 'accommodation' plans for individual students or an entire class.

Here are tools for determining/adjusting level of text difficulty:

Lexile Analyzer. [7] This free site allows teachers to calculate Lexile (readability) levels for text samples of up to 1000 words.
Newsela. [8]This free site contains current news stories. Each story is written to match multiple Lexile levels.
Smithsonian Tween Tribune. [9]Articles from this site are written at 4 Lexile levels. https://www.tweentribune.com/ [9]

Data Collection Resources

Webpage: Data Collection Methods [10]

Handout: How to Track Classroom Reading Interventions [11]

Acquisition: Measure Mastery

Cumulative Mastery Record Form (Interactive) [12]

Fluency: Measuring proficiency

DIBELS NEXT Formative Literacy Assessments: K-6 [13]

Comprehension: Measuring retention of assigned readings

Oral Retell with Rubric: Here are sample rubrics: Teachers College [14]; Reading A-Z [15]

Generalization: Measuring applied use of literacy skills

Think-aloud Checklists. A free web app, Self-Check Behavior Checklist Maker [16], allows teachers to customize a checklist of any kind (including a think-aloud checklist. Check out the manual [17]for the app.

Assessment Resources

Curriculum-Based Measurement:

Writing Assessment: Writing Probe Generator [18]; Writing Directions & Norms [19]
Reading Comprehension (MAZE) Assessment: MAZE Passage Generator [20];MAZE Directions & Norms [21]
**Updated Oral Reading FLuency Norms: Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2017*** [22]

Grades: Readiness Assessment Test. [23]This brief teacher-made test assesses students' knowledge of key information from assigned informational passages.

ACADEMIC INTERVENTION IDEAS

General Academic Skills

Acquisition of Academic Item-Set

Flash Cards with Constant Time Delay. [24] This high-success flashcard intervention can be used to teach letter and number names, sight words, spelling words, and vocabulary definitions

Reading: Phonics/Alphabetics

Word Boxes/Word Sort [25]
Incremental Rehearsal: Letter Identification [26]
Letter Cube Blending [27]

Reading: Sight-Word Vocabulary

Sight-Word Vocabulary. The student has rapid recognition of sight-words.

Reading Racetracks. [28]The student engages in repeated reading of a wordlist packaged in a 'racetrack' format. Reading Racetrack Interactive Form [29]
Vocabulary: Classwide Tutoring. [30] Students are paired off to tutor each other in sight-word vocabulary.

Reading Fluency

Fluency. The student reads with adequate fluency to comprehend the text.

Assisted Cloze. [31] The tutor reads aloud while the student follows along silently in the practice passage. Then the student reads aloud.
Choral Reading. [32]The tutor (lead reader) reads aloud while the reading group or class all read aloud as well.
Duet Reading. [33]The tutor and student alternate in reading aloud, with the tutor deciding how much text the student reads during their turn.
Echo Reading. [34]Student and tutor alternate in reading short sections of the practice passage.
Listening Passage Preview. [35]The student listens to the passage read aloud, then reads the passage aloud with tutor feedback.
Paired Reading. [36] The tutor and student read aloud together from a passage, until the student isgnals that they would like to read alone.
Repeated Reading. [37]The student reads a passage several times in succession with tutor feedback about accuracy and fluency.
Repeated Reading: Group. [38]This version of repeated reading is delivered to a group of 3 students.

HELPS Program. [39]This free program provides 15-minute 1:1 tutoring sessions to work on reading fluency. NOTE: Teachers create a free account on the HELPS site and then can access the free materials.

Reading Comprehension

Self-Monitoring:The student monitors understanding of the text while reading.

Click or Clunk. [40]The student uses self-signals to monitor understanding at the sentence, paragraph, and page level--and applies 'fix-up' skills.
Reading Reflection Pauses [41]. The student monitors understanding periodically and applies fix-up skills.

Main Idea:The student locates the main idea of a paragraph or passage in informational text.

Main Idea Maps. [42]The student uses a graphic organizer to record main idea and supporting details of a passage.
Question Generation. [43]The student locates or creates main-idea sentences for all paragraphis in a passage and uses them to create study cards.
Read-Ask-Paraphrase. [44] The student locates main idea and supporting details for each paragraph and summarizes them on a graphic organizer. RAP Interactive Form [45]
Partner Retell. [46]The student reads a passage, then pairs with another student to engage in a tutoring exchange to identify main idea.
Repeated Reading With Oral/Written Retell. [47] The student reads a passage several times and is asked to write or recite the key information from the passage.

Linking Ideas:The student makes connections between ideas in the text.

Linking Pronouns to Referents. [48]When reading advanced texts, the student circles pronouns, writes their referents above them, and then rereads the text, inserting the referent for each pronoun.
Ask-Read-Tell. [49]The student creates a reading plan and sets reading goals, monitors understanding while reading, and reflects on the reading once finished. ART Interactive Form. [50]
Phrase-Cued Text Lessons. [51]The student reads aloud from annotated text and is coached to observe all pauses/phrase breaks, which correspond to groupings of ideas within the text. ONLINE APP: Phrase-Cued Text Generator [52]

Spelling

Spelling Acquisition. The student is able to spell a grade-appropriate range of words correctly.

Cover-Copy-Compare. [53]The student studies spelling-word (or sight-word) models, covers them, copies them from memory, and compares copied words to the originals. CCC Interactive Form [54]
Self-Correction with Verbal Cues. [55] The student takes a brief spelling pre-test, follows a self-guided process to check and correct spelling errors using verbal cues, and then takes a spelling post-test

Writing

Sentence Complexity. The student writes sentences of appropriate variety and complexity for the subject and/or grade level.

Elements of Effective Writing Instruction. [56] The student receives writing instruction that contains some or all of these 9 'best writing practices'.
Sentence Combining. [57] The student is given examples of 2 clauses to be combined into a single sentence.

What Works Clearinghose 'Practice Guides'. The What Works Clearinghouse [58] is sponsored by the US Department of Education. One of the free resources that the site offers are 'practice guides': summaries of research into effective instruction that any teacher can read and apply to the classroom. Here are a range of practice guides to address reading, writing, and mathematics:

Reading/Writing

Mathematics

Encouraging Girls in Math and Science [71]

Florida Center for Reading Research. This website is a product of a research center at Florida State University.The site includes free lesson plans for reading across grades K-5. (Many of the grade 4-5 resources are appropriate for secondary students with reading delays.)

Evidence-Based Intervention Network. This site is co-sponsored by school psychology programs at East Carolina University and University of Missouri.It contains research-based ideas for reading, math, and behavior interventions.

Reading interventions [75]
Math interventions [76]

On W 1 Nov 2017, Jim Wright presented the workshop The Teacher as Literacy First Responder: Practical Differentiation & Intervention Tools for the K-5 Classroom. Sponsored by the New York City Department of Education/Division of Teaching and Learning, the training was attended by teachers, administrators, and support staff.

Here are resources shared at the training:

PowerPoint: The Teacher as Literacy First Responder: Practical Differentiation & Intervention Tools for the K-5 Classroom [77]

Instruction and the at-risk learner: What works? What are the elements of ‘strong, direct instruction’ that most benefit struggling students?

How to Implement Strong Core Instruction: Direct Instruction Checklist (Interactive Form) [82]

What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to SupportReading for Understanding inKindergarten Through 3rd Grade [83]

Numbered Heads Together [84]: Cooperative Learning Activity

How to individualize instruction. What are ideas to differentiate/scaffold instruction for academic success?

Here are tools for determining/adjusting level of text difficulty:

Lexile Analyzer. [85]This free site allows teachers to calculate Lexile (readability) levels for text samples of up to 1000 words.
Newsela. [8]This free site contains current news stories. Each story is written to match multiple Lexile levels.
Smithsonian Tween Tribune. [9]Articles from this site are written at 4 Lexile levels. https://www.tweentribune.com/ [9]

How to document Tier 1/classroom interventions. When should a teacher choose to write down intervention plans—and what should be recorded?

How To: Create a Written Record of Classroom Interventions [5]

Classroom Intervention Planning Sheet: Individual Student (Google Docs) [86]

Classroom Intervention Planning Sheet: Group (Interactive). [87]This PDF document allows the user to enter a multi-week intervention plan for a small group of up to 7 students. Check out this example of the form filled out [88]for a group based repeated-reading intervention [89].

Reviewing interventions. What are examples of classroom literacy interventions?

Check out these websites with classroom instruction & intervention resources:

Evidence-Based Intervention Network. [90]Sponsored by the School Psychology program at the University of Missouri, this site has academic and behavior intervention ideas.
Florida Center for Reading Research. [91]This website, sponsored by the University of South Florida, contains free printable lesson plans that teachers can use for students in the primary and intermediate grades.
Intervention Central. J [92]im Wright's website has free, research-based ideas for academic and behavioral interventions, as well as progress-monitoring tools.
What Works Clearinghouse. [93]This federally sponsored website contains a series of 'practice guides': teacher-friendly publications that summarize current best practices in classroom instruction in reading, mathematics, and other areas.

ACADEMIC INTERVENTION IDEAS

General Academic Skills

Acquisition of Academic Item-Set

Flash Cards with Constant Time Delay. [24] This high-success flashcard intervention can be used to teach letter and number names, sight words, spelling words, and vocabulary definitions

Reading: Phonics/Alphabetics

Word Boxes/Word Sort [25]
Incremental Rehearsal: Letter Identification [26]
Letter Cube Blending [27]

Reading: Sight-Word Vocabulary

Sight-Word Vocabulary. The student has rapid recognition of sight-words.

Reading Racetracks. [28]The student engages in repeated reading of a wordlist packaged in a 'racetrack' format. Reading Racetrack Interactive Form [29]
Vocabulary: Classwide Tutoring. [30] Students are paired off to tutor each other in sight-word vocabulary.

Reading Fluency

Fluency. The student reads with adequate fluency to comprehend the text.

Assisted Cloze. [31] The tutor reads aloud while the student follows along silently in the practice passage. Then the student reads aloud.
Choral Reading. [32]The tutor (lead reader) reads aloud while the reading group or class all read aloud as well.
Duet Reading. [33]The tutor and student alternate in reading aloud, with the tutor deciding how much text the student reads during their turn.
Echo Reading. [34]Student and tutor alternate in reading short sections of the practice passage.
Listening Passage Preview. [35]The student listens to the passage read aloud, then reads the passage aloud with tutor feedback.
Paired Reading. [36] The tutor and student read aloud together from a passage, until the student isgnals that they would like to read alone.
Repeated Reading. [37]The student reads a passage several times in succession with tutor feedback about accuracy and fluency.
Repeated Reading: Group. [38]This version of repeated reading is delivered to a group of 3 students.

HELPS Program. [39]This free program provides 15-minute 1:1 tutoring sessions to work on reading fluency. NOTE: Teachers create a free account on the HELPS site and then can access the free materials.

Reading Comprehension

Self-Monitoring:The student monitors understanding of the text while reading.

Click or Clunk. [40]The student uses self-signals to monitor understanding at the sentence, paragraph, and page level--and applies 'fix-up' skills.
Reading Reflection Pauses [41]. The student monitors understanding periodically and applies fix-up skills.

Main Idea:The student locates the main idea of a paragraph or passage in informational text.

Main Idea Maps. [42]The student uses a graphic organizer to record main idea and supporting details of a passage.
Question Generation. [43]The student locates or creates main-idea sentences for all paragraphis in a passage and uses them to create study cards.
Read-Ask-Paraphrase. [44] The student locates main idea and supporting details for each paragraph and summarizes them on a graphic organizer. RAP Interactive Form [45]
Partner Retell. [46]The student reads a passage, then pairs with another student to engage in a tutoring exchange to identify main idea.
Repeated Reading With Oral/Written Retell. [47] The student reads a passage several times and is asked to write or recite the key information from the passage.

Linking Ideas:The student makes connections between ideas in the text.

Linking Pronouns to Referents. [48]When reading advanced texts, the student circles pronouns, writes their referents above them, and then rereads the text, inserting the referent for each pronoun.
Ask-Read-Tell. [49]The student creates a reading plan and sets reading goals, monitors understanding while reading, and reflects on the reading once finished. ART Interactive Form. [50]
Phrase-Cued Text Lessons. [51]The student reads aloud from annotated text and is coached to observe all pauses/phrase breaks, which correspond to groupings of ideas within the text. ONLINE APP: Phrase-Cued Text Generator [52]

Spelling

Spelling Acquisition. The student is able to spell a grade-appropriate range of words correctly.

Cover-Copy-Compare. [53]The student studies spelling-word (or sight-word) models, covers them, copies them from memory, and compares copied words to the originals. CCC Interactive Form [54]
Self-Correction with Verbal Cues. [55] The student takes a brief spelling pre-test, follows a self-guided process to check and correct spelling errors using verbal cues, and then takes a spelling post-test

Writing

Sentence Complexity. The student writes sentences of appropriate variety and complexity for the subject and/or grade level.

Elements of Effective Writing Instruction. [56] The student receives writing instruction that contains some or all of these 9 'best writing practices'.
Sentence Combining. [57] The student is given examples of 2 clauses to be combined into a single sentence.

Ideas for monitoring progress on interventions. What are ways for teachers to collect data on classroom literacy interventions?

Handout: How to Track Classroom Reading Interventions [11]

Acquisition: Measure Mastery

Cumulative Mastery Record Form (Interactive) [12]

Fluency: Measuring proficiency

DIBELS NEXT Formative Literacy Assessments: K-6 [13]

Comprehension: Measuring retention of assigned readings

Oral Retell with Rubric: Here are sample rubrics: Teachers College [94]; Reading A-Z [95]

Generalization: Measuring applied use of literacy skills

Think-aloud Checklists. A free web app, Self-Check Behavior Checklist Maker [16], allows teachers to customize a checklist of any kind (including a think-aloud checklist. Check out the manual [17]for the app.

https://hub.lexile.com/analyzer