Mary McDowell Center for Learning

Reading

Curriculum | Language Arts | Math | Science | Social Studies | Speech & Language | Enrichment

The reading program at the Mary McDowell Center for Learning is designed to meet the diverse literacy needs of our students. Our goals for the reading program include, but are not limited to, helping students develop affinity toward reading and providing them with the support and instruction they need to become independent readers. Furthermore, we hope that as students gain independence with reading they will actively engage in making meaning of text by employing problem-solving strategies to compensate for their disabilities.

Students receive regular instruction in small, structured groups formed after careful assessment of their strengths and weaknesses in both decoding and comprehension. Methods, materials, and assessment vary according to the needs of the children in each reading group. Key components of our reading curriculum are listed below. Included are the various programs, approaches, and techniques utilized, a list of decoding and comprehension skills and strategies addressed in reading groups, materials commonly used during reading group time, and finally, techniques and tools for assessment.

Programs and Approaches

• Orton Gillingham, a sequential, structured, multi-sensory approach to teaching reading, integrates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities to teach specific written language skills. Specific systems include Preventing Academic Failure (PAF) and Alphabetic Phonics.
• Balanced literacy approach includes decoding and comprehension skills and strategies taught through literature and trade books.

Techniques
Listed below is a sample of some of the many techniques used during reading group and throughout the school day. These techniques may occur in some or all of the classrooms and may vary according to the developmental levels, strengths, and needs of the students in the reading group or class.

• Shared Reading
• Guided Reading
• Cloze Exercises
• Debates
• Independent-, Partner- and Whole-group Reading
• Listening, Speaking, Writing, Drawing, or Illustrating
• Radio Reading
• Phonics Instruction
• Storytelling
• Oral and Silent Reading
• Peer Teaching
• Multi-sensory Experiences
• Instruction on Integrating Cueing Systems (semantics, syntax, graphophonics)
• Extension Activities (plays, cooking, puppet shows, and bookmaking)

Skills and Strategies
Specific skills and strategies for decoding and comprehension are taught and reinforced according to the developmental level and needs of each student.

Decoding

• Rhyming
• Knowledge of ABC's
• Sound/Symbol Correspondence
• Blends
• Use of Visual and Picture Cues
• Integration of Prior Knowledge
• Use of Semantics/Context
• Use of syntax/Grammar
• Structural Analysis
• Teaching of Root Words
• Teaching Prefixes and Suffixes
• Looking for Words within Words
• Multi-syllabic Strategies and Skills
• Understanding Punctuation (including white space, periods, question marks, quotation marks, and exclamation marks)
• Fluency
• Self-monitoring Strategies (including re-reading and self-questioning)

Comprehension

• Recalling Details
• Sequencing
• Fact/Opinion
• Cause/Effect
• Inferences
• Main Idea
• Retelling/Summarizing
• Predicting Outcome
• Character Analysis (including traits, evidence of traits and behavior)
• Plot Structure
• Conflict/Resolution
• Drawing Conclusions
• Following Directions
• Comparison/Contrast
• Visualizing
• Previewing a Book or Chapter
• Self-monitoring Strategies (including think aloud, questioning and author style)
• Reading for Information
• Reading with Expression

Materials
A range of materials is used to teach and reinforce decoding and comprehension skills and strategies. Materials are selected based on student needs and interests.

• Literature including fables, fantasy, folk tales, historical fiction, tall tales, myths, mysteries, poetry, science fiction, short stories, non-fiction texts (biography, auto-biography, science, social sciences, history)
• Read-aloud books. Examples of read-aloud books include: Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Out of the Dust, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Phantom Tollbooth, Abuela, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Yolanda's Genius, Tar Beach, Peter's Chair, Year of the Bear and Jackie Robinson
• Poetry Anthologies
• Big Books
• Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Books on Tape
• Multi-sensory Materials
• Videos
• Technology
• Games
• Reading Response Journals
• Graphic Organizers (including webs, Venn diagrams and KWL)
• Workbooks (including Explode the Code, EPS and Merrill Series, SRA)
• Teacher-made Worksheets (including multiple choice, short answer, matching, sequencing, t/f, and essay)

Assessment
Formal and informal assessment is used to monitor students' progress and inform teaching. Following are some examples of how assessment occurs:

• Quizzes, Tests
• Pre-tests, Post-tests
• Observations
• Discussion
• Questioning
• Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI)
• Orton Gillingham Placement Tests
• Running Records and Miscue Analysis
• Portfolios
• Self-Reflection