Assistance Team TrainingAssistance Team TrainingReading and WritingReading and Writing

Assistance Team TrainingAssistance Team TrainingReading and WritingReading and Writing

Iredell-Statesville Schools 2010-2011Iredell-Statesville Schools 2010-2011

August 18, 2010August 18, 2010

Karen Gurganus, Holly Honeycutt, Mandy McCoy

School Psychologists

Test Your Knowledge

• Core Instructional Strategy – strategies you use for the entire class

• Remediation – re-teaching of same content area using existing or different core instructional strategies

• Intervention – research/evidence-based instruction

National Reading Panel’s (NRP) Five Big Ideas in

Reading• Each idea is essential but not sufficient alone

to achieve reading mastery

1. Phonemic awareness2. Alphabetic principle3. Fluency4. Vocabulary5. Comprehension

(Barbara Bole Williams, PhD, Rowan University)

Reading Research• We know that:

– Phonological awareness and letter identification skills are the best predictors of a child’s success in learning to read (Adams, 1990)

– Phonological awareness needs to be taught (Lunberg, Frost & Peterson, 1988)

– Children who receive explicit instruction in phonological awareness become better readers (Wagner et al., 1997)

– A small percentage of students do not appear to benefit from quality whole-class instruction in phonological awareness (Toregsen, 1998)

(Barbara Bole Williams, PhD, Rowan University)

Why is early intervention important in literacy?

• “70% of 8th graders & 65% of 12th graders do not read at grade level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card. This translates into approximately 6 million struggling readers in grades 7 – 12.”

• “Nationally, 25% of all adults are functionally illiterate.”

(Adapted from presentation by Dr. Gary Alderman, Winthrop University, 2010)

Why is early intervention important in literacy?

What we know about the older struggling reader:• Poor phonological processing (ability to hear sounds of oral

language), word recognition/accuracy, fluency, vocab, & comprehension seem to be at the core of many older struggling readers.

• To complicate matters the older reader has not practiced reading and avoids reading b/c it’s so slow and frustrating for them. Therein lies the problem with teaching older readers:

• They can’t read b/c they don’t like to,• They have little reading experience,• Because they have read so little, they are not familiar with

the vocabulary, sentence structure, text organization, and concept of academic book language .

• And over time their comprehension skills decline, which affects their spelling and writing

Why is early intervention important in literacy?

2 Subgroups of older readers: (Must TARGET the area of concern)• Group 1= those who have few or none of the basic big ideas in

reading. Still need PA and/or decoding skills if lacking; but need to teach in developmentally appropriate ways. (e.g., phoneme deletion, morphemic structure, chunking @ syllable level).

** Research is showing the benefits of teaching reading and writing together rather than separately. Have students write everything they read! Pair reading and writing interventions.

• Group 2 = have some or a lot of the earlier basics but obtained them so late or obtained them in less than stellar ways and they still struggle with fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Why is early intervention important in writing?

• What we know:

– 70% of students in grades 4-12 are low-achieving (Persky et al., 2003).

– Nearly 1/3rd of high school graduates are not ready for college level English Composition courses (ACT, 2005)

– 72% of 4th grade students, 69% of 8th grade students, and 77% of 12th grade students, did not meet NAEP writing proficiency goals (Persky, Daane, and Jin, 2003)

– Current approach to writing instruction is often called process writing – emphasizes the process; such as planning, translating ideas, reviewing, etc…However explicit instruction in handwriting, keyboarding, spelling, and composing is more effective than just engaging in or practicing those processes.

(Excerpts from NASP: Helping Children at Home and School (2004) and Graham, S. & Perin D. (2007) Writing Next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools)

Presentation Objectives

• Identifying a Specific Academic or Behavioral Area of Concern

• Determining Current Level of Functioning in Area of Concern

• Determining What Data Will be Used to Supply Baseline and Measure Progress

• Identifying Progress Monitoring Options• Identifying Intervention Options • Documenting Results of Interventions• Summary of Intervention Outcomes and Team Decision

1st A-Team Meeting• Target the Area of Concern • Determine Current Level of Functioning in Area of

Concern• Determine Data that will be need to supply Baseline

and measure Progress• Determine appropriate research-based interventions for

each area of concern for the 1st cycle of intervention(s)• Record 1st intervention - under the “Intervention Cycle

1” on page 1 of A Team form• Team signs - under “Initial Assistance Team Meeting

and Development of Cycle 1 Interventions”• Record Date of Next Meeting - Review Progress on page

3 of A-Team form. Must be minimum of 3 weeks that intervention is implemented before 2nd mtg.

Targeting the Area of Concern

• Why is this so important?

• What specific reading and/or writing skill are you trying to improve?

• Tools for helping you identify a specific area could be:– Reading Rockets – ( use “Helping Struggling Readers” –

“target the problem” helps teachers to target the specific problem the student is having with reading)

– Writing & Spelling classroom assessments; curriculum-based assessments

Identifying a Specific Academic or Behavioral Area

of Concern

Current Level of Functioning

• What is the data that brought the student to A-team?

• Information for the Current Level of Functioning can be obtained from any of the following:SSP – Student data (i.e., DRA Levels, Grade

level, Percent of Mastery, etc…)SSP – Core instruction and RemediationCurriculum Based Assessments

Current Level of Functioning

Collecting Baseline Data & Progress

Monitor

• Need to target the problem, then collect relevant baseline data.

• Important to use consistent measure to collect data.

• What data are you currently using to collect baseline data and progress-monitor?

Collecting Data for Baseline and Progress-

Monitoring• Determine what data you’re going to use to measure

the specific area of concern.

• As a team you should decide how you will collect “comparable data” or otherwise known as the “Class Average” requirement when progress monitoring.

How to collect comparable data: Compare to class average (when available) Compare to selected group of students Compare to an average-performing student

Determining What Data Will be Used to Supply Baseline

and Monitor Progress

Identifying Progress Monitoring Options

• What is Progress Monitoring?– “Progress monitoring is a scientifically based practice that

is used to assess students' academic performance and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.”

– Involves repeated measures using a consistent assessment at regular intervals (usually weekly).

– As student progress is measured, instructional techniques are adjusted to meet the individual student’s learning needs.

• For Assistance Team data collection, the use of the ISS Progress Monitoring chart is not required, but a visual representation (graph or chart) of your data IS required.

Excerpt from the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring.

Resources for Baseline & Progress-Monitoring

• Intervention Central - www.interventioncentral.org

Site contains multiple curriculum-based measure probes for letter-naming fluency, word list fluency, reading fluency, writing fluency – use for baseline and/or progress-monitoring.

* CBM Warehouse- generate specific and targeted skill area probes that you can use for baseline and to progress-monitor individuals.

• EasyCBM.com – probes for reading K-8th; can generate reports for individuals and groups, including progress-monitoring capabilities.

Revised Progress-Monitoring Chart (2010-

2011)

John

Baseline Data Collection

Strategy or Intervention….• From “Best Practices in School Psychology”: an

intervention consists of specifically designed instruction and may involve even more intensive individualized instruction that may occur within the context of extended instructional time, increased opportunities to practice skills, and a one-to-one instruction format.

• From NCDPI: “Research-based interventions are strategies, teaching methodologies and supports that have been shown through one or more valid research studies to help a student improve academic, behavioral/emotional or functional skills. The interventions…must be designed to address the skill deficiency of the particular individual student.”

• The consensus in Iredell-Statesville Schools: An intervention must involve direct instruction. It CAN (and probably should) contain strategies, as well, but there must be an instructional component.

Intervention ResourcesFlorida Center for Reading Research

(http://www.fcrr.org) can be accessed for free for activities K-5. Provides information for: Fluency, Phonological Awareness, Instructional Reading with Comprehension, Word Analysis and Spelling.

The Comprehensive System of Student Support http://www.specialeducation.ilstu.edu/csss/index.html; Reading (phoneme, phonics, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary) Writing (handwriting and fluency), and Spelling Interventions.

Intervention Resources

Intervention Central - www.interventioncentral.org – Evidence-Based Interventions (EBI’s) for the following areas: reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing and multiple other areas.

• Jim Wright’s Teacher intervention manual (step-

by-step instructions and intervention activities) for Vocabulary, Reading Fluency, & Reading Comprehension.

• Writing CBM instructions

Intervention ResourcesECU’s Evidence Based Interventions Network http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/psyc/rileytillmant/EBI-

Network-Homepage.cfmBreaks down common reasons for academic and

behavioral concerns and suggests interventions accordingly. “New Interventions” are updated continuously.

Reading Rockets – www.readingrockets.orgReady to use effective evidence based reading and

writing strategies (Help the struggling reader by “Targeting the Problem”; then use “Classroom Strategies”)

Intervention ResourcesDoing What Works (Derived from the What

Works Clearing House – gov’t sponsored website of latest evidence-based strategies) http://dww.ed.gov/index.cfm

Research-based practices for the classroom

The University of Texas – Austin (Vaughn Gross Center)

http://www.meadowscenter.org/vgc/Primary and Secondary reading interventionsCheck out the “Materials” section

Intervention ResourcesStep Up To Writing: Maureen Auman http://www2.pylusd.k12.ca.us/glk/jlaurich/StepUpToWriting.htm

Specific writing intervention: Elementary and Secondary

Writing Next (4th-12th) www.all4ed.org/files/WritingNext.pdf

Specific interventions that will help 4th – 12th grade students with written language

University of Buffalo http://gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/

Specific writing interventions for grades 3-6 and 6-12

Intervention Resources

UNC-Charlotte – Behavior and Reading Improvement Center (BRIC)

http://education.uncc.edu/bric/readingresources.htm

Provides activities for (BELS) – Basic Early Literacy Skills in the following areas: initial sound fluency, letter-naming fluency, phoneme segmentation fluency, nonsense word fluency, oral reading fluency, and progress-monitoring record

Reading Sample - Intervention 1*Appropriate for emerging readers*

• See It – Sound It (Phonological Awareness) The goal is for the student to isolate initial phonemes in words.

– Materials• Cut a hole in the end of the box large enough to fit a child’s hand.• Target sound objects• Place objects inside the box.

– ActivityStudents determine and say initial sounds of objects as they are taken out

of a box.1. Teacher selects an object from the box and shows the object to the

student.2. Student names the object and says its initial sound (e.g., “domino, /d/”).

Place object aside.3. Continue until all objects and their initial sounds are identified.

Extensions and AdaptationsSay the final sound of each object.

Count the number of syllables of each object.

(Adapted from Florida Center for Reading Research – www.fcrr.org)

Reading Sample - Intervention 2

*Appropriate for 3-12th graders*

“Click or Clunk?”: A Student Comprehension Self-Check

Students periodically check their understanding of sentences, paragraphs, and pages of text as they read. When students encounter problems with vocabulary or comprehension, they use a checklist to apply simple strategies to solve those reading difficulties.

(Anderson, T. (1980). Study strategies and adjunct aids. In R. J. Spiro, B. C. Bruce, & W. F. Brewer (Eds.) Theoretical Issues in Reading Comprehension, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Babbs, P. J. (1984). Monitoring cards help improve comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 38(2), 200-204. )

“Click or Clunk?” (Example)

Writing Sample - Intervention 1*Appropriate for elementary and secondary students*

• Step Up to Writing: (To increase writing productivity)The goal is for the student to extend and expand their ideas from one

sentence to paragraph form.

Teacher will teach student the three main steps in writing a complete paragraph (Topic sentence, reason/details/facts, explain/example, and Concluding sentence) by relating them to colors – green, yellow, and red.

TitleTopic Sentence: The main topic of the composition is stated.

Reason/Detail/Fact : Give the reader a main reason, detail or fact that relates to and supports the topic sentence. Use transitions (First,...

First of all,... In addition,... Also,...) to start these sentences. Explain/Example: Give an example for the statement made in the

reason/detail/fact sentence. Concluding Sentence: The topic is restated to remind the reader what the

composition was about. (Begin this sentence with Clearly,... In conclusion,... All in all,...)

Writing Sample - Intervention 1

The following is an example of a 7-sentence paragraph composition:

Pandas

My favorite animal is the Giant Panda for two reasons. First of all, I like the panda because it looks so cute and cuddly. The panda's black and white body colors are simple, make it stand out,

and look soft. Its sad looking face makes me want to hug it and make it happy. In addition, I am fond of the giant panda because it is endangered. We all should try to preserve the animals, like the

panda, that are in danger of extinction. Clearly, the Giant Panda is the animal I like best.

(Referenced from the Step Up to Writing Program by Maureen Auman)

Writing Sample - Intervention 2

*Appropriate for 4th -12th grade*

WRITING INTERVENTION: AN EXAMPLESelf-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an approach for helping students learn specific strategies for planning, drafting, and revising text. SRSD

instruction is also characterizedby explicit teaching, individualized instruction, and criterion-based versus time-

based learning. Children are treated as active collaborators in the learning process. Instruction takes place in six stages:

Develop Background Knowledge: Students are taught any background knowledge needed to use the strategy successfully.

Describe It: The strategy as well as its purpose and benefits isdescribed and discussed.

Model It: The teacher models how to use the strategy.Memorize It: The student memorizes the steps of the strategy

and any accompanying mnemonic.Support It: The teacher supports or scaffolds student mastery of

the strategy.Independent Use: Students use the strategy with few or no

supports.

Continued…..

Writing Sample - Intervention 2

Students are also taught a number of self-regulation skills(including goal setting, self-monitoring, self-instruction, andself-reinforcement) designed to help them manage writing

strategies, the writing process, and their behavior.

Mnemonics are introduced to help students remember strategies to increase

writing performance. Two such strategies are PLAN and WRITE:PLAN (Pay attention to the prompt, List the main idea, Addsupporting ideas, Number your ideas)WRITE (Work from your plan to develop your thesis statement,Remember your goals, Include transition words for eachparagraph, Try to use different kinds of sentences, and Exciting,interesting, $10,000 words).

(Sources: De La Paz & Graham, 2002; Harris & Graham, 1996)

Identifying Intervention Options

Initial A-Team Signatures for 1st Cycle of Interventions

2nd A-Team Meeting• Review effectiveness of Cycle 1 Intervention and

record results• As a team, decide next step:

– Continue current intervention if succeeding– Stop A-Team process & document reason for decision– Develop new intervention for Cycle 2 Intervention and

record under “Intervention Cycle 2”

Team signs under “Review of Cycle 1 Interventions and Development of Cycle 2 Interventions”

Need to set date for next meeting to review effectiveness of second cycle of interventions (minimum of 3 weeks of implementation)

Documenting Results of Interventions

• At the end of each Intervention Cycle, your Assistance Team will meet, review the data, document your results and make a decision. Your options are:– If you’re seeing progress, continue the intervention! – If the intervention doesn’t seem to be working, you may

first want to verify that it has been implemented with fidelity and consistency. If so, and still no improvement is seen, you may need to modify it or select a new intervention.

• If you’re seeing an upward trend, stick with the intervention! Don’t switch just because “the three weeks are up.” Assistance Team is about the journey (the process and the progress), not the destination.

John

Documenting Results of Cycle 1 Interventions

Review of Cycle 1 Interventions and Development of Cycle 2

Interventions

Review of Cycle 1 Interventions and Development of Cycle 2 Interventions

3rd A-Team Meeting• Review results of 2nd cycle of intervention(s)

• Make team decision based on the data

John

Documenting Results of 2nd Cycle of Interventions

Summary of Intervention Outcomes and Team

Decision

• Make decisions based on the data, not opinions or beliefs.

• If you’ve gone through two intervention cycles, with no success, your Assistance Team may opt to refer for an evaluation to determine if the child needs EC services.

Summary of Intervention Outcomes and Team

Decision

John

John Doe

Progress-Monitoring Chart…what do you think?

Some phonological humor….

Deficits in phonemic awareness create problems for many children, but they can also be devastating for dogs

“Ha, ha, Biff. Guess What? After we go to the drugstore and the post office, I’m going to the vet’s to get tutored.” (Joseph Torgesen, Director, Florida Center for Reading Research

http://www.fcrr.org/)

In Conclusion…• Start by targeting the specific skill deficit in the

areas of reading & writing.• Gather data to support the skill deficit.• Gather relevant baseline data and use

consistent measure to progress-monitor.• Select appropriate research or evidence-based

intervention, that involves direct instruction, and specifically addresses the skill deficit.

• Review each intervention cycle and make data-based team decision.