Tier+3+Readers

Response to Intervention is a research based process that focuses educational resources on delivery and evaluation and away from teacher centered instruction (Dickman, 2006). A unique feature of this program is the principle that intervention is most effective if it happens during the K-3 years. The program design has been proven to have a track record of success. It is based on converging research from many hours of field tested evidence which points to the conceptual basis of the process. Students need to be screened in the early grades to determine if they are “at risk” of failing the state’s end of year exam. If students are assessed as being “at risk”, then they will also experience difficulty responding to instruction in a general education classroom.

Instruction in the general education classroom should be delivered by “highly qualified” teachers who are trained to deliver the core curriculum based on the principles of the program. For students to become lifelong readers, they have to be taught by the bottom up method which includes the essential five - Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Text Comprehension. These are very complex processes and so the program provides “at risk” students enhanced opportunities to learn the core curriculum. One of these opportunities in the general classroom takes the form of small group instruction (3-6 students). The effectiveness of these methods is frequently monitored. Charts record the rate of gain in a specific reading skill. Adjustments have to be made depending on whether the student is responding as desired. If not, the student has to be moved up the tiered structure of the program. The change is from small group instruction in the general classroom (Tier 2) to intensive intervention (Tier 3). Instruction in a Tier 3 setting includes: a) Small, homogeneous groups (3 students) b) Enhanced opportunities – decreased student to teacher ratio; additional time learning specific reading skills; accommodations and modifications which may include special education. RTI and special education are independent but both work to improve the learning outcome for students c) Progress monitoring – the specific reading skill is monitored once every two weeks to see if student is responding to intervention (RTI).

Activities in a Tier 3 reading workshop include read alouds, grand conversations, guided readings, many opportunities to relate content to text so it is a print rich environment with lots of books.

Ref: Dickman, G.E. (2006). RTI and Reading: Response to Intervention in a Nutshell. Perspective on Language and Literacy, Special Conference Edition. International Dyslexia Association:Baltimore,MD.