Background - Appalachian State University



Balanced Prevention and Early Intervention:

The SMILE Program & Additional Remediation at Forest City Elementary School

Lisa Randlett

Reading 5710

Appalachian State University

Background

I am the Title I Coordinator at Forest City Elementary School. Forest City Elementary is a K-2 school. We are considered a full Title I school because of the socio-economic status of most of our student population. I plan, coordinate and teach in our school’s Title I program. Our Title I program has basically two facets: the SMILE program and additional remediation for struggling readers in afternoon small group sessions. The SMILE program serves our entire student population and the afternoon remediation serves our most at-risk readers. We utilize this dual approach because as Madden, Slavin, Karweitt, Dolan and Wasik (1991) point out, successful schools are committed to the prevention of student failure. The SMILE program is preventative because all students receive this additional reading instruction. We identify and offer remediation to our struggling readers early as Madden et al. (1991) suggest. At Forest City Elementary our school utilizes a balanced approach to reading instruction. We maintain this balance by using the Four Block Model as a framework. We chose this framework because we know “children do not all learn in the same way and consequently, approaches with similar emphases are apt to result in some children learning to read, and others not.” (Cunningham, Hall and Defee, 1998, p. 652). The classroom teachers also use a very systematic phonics program, Saxon Phonics and Spelling, during the word study block. We have seen the benefits of this systematic phonics and as The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement states, “…instruction that promotes phonemic awareness engages children in hearing and blending sounds. Such instruction has demonstrated positive effects in primary grade reading achievement…” (CIERA, 1998, p.1).

For the purposes of this paper I will focus on the first and second grade SMILE program. We do have Kindergarten SMILE but it is structured differently during the first part of the school year to support the introduction of the alphabet and will not be included because it varies so much from the rest of the SMILE program. I will also highlight the first and second grade afternoon remediation. These two components exemplify our Title I reading program at Forest City Elementary. Essentially, the SMILE program is a second dose of reading instruction for all students at our school and the afternoon remediation is a third dose of reading instruction for our most at risk readers in first and second grade.

Summary of the SMILE Program

SMILE stands for Small group, Multi-sensory, Interactive, Literacy Experience. This program was founded at Emma Elementary School in Asheville, NC. The creators are Ginny Barrett a Title I Reading Teacher and Susanne Swagner a Title I director for Buncombe County Schools. The program is similar to FROG (Facilitating Reading for Optimum Growth) lessons that are often used in conjunction with Four Block reading instruction. These teachers took this idea and expanded on it by creating a lesson plan format that includes many of the Four Block components. The activities outlined in the lesson plan format offer flexibility and can be refined to highlight targeted skills and/or reading abilities. At our school we used the lesson plan format and changed it slightly to meet our needs. A sample lesson plan framework can be found in Appendix A. We adopted this framework because it is consistent and compliments the type of reading instruction that is going on in the classroom. The SMILE program uses all of the methods that researchers indicate as best practices in reading instruction.

Successful reading acquisition is consistent, well-designed, and focused…with instructional activities that promote growth in word recognition and comprehension… include repeated readings of text, guided reading and writing, strategy lessons, reading aloud with feedback, and conversations about texts children have read. (CIERA, 1998, p.1-2).

A daily lesson plan is used with a small heterogeneous group of students during a “second dose” of reading instruction each day. This second dose or double dosing of reading instruction is a way to help students become better readers. The creators and our school know that current research shows that reading instruction delivered in a small group setting via a heterogeneous group is highly effective with all types of readers. The idea behind this type of grouping is that “…children are not put in fixed ability groups, the instruction is multilevel…so that the struggling and excelling students all learn to read and write at the highest possible level.”(Cunningham, Hall and Cunningham, 2000, p.18). We have seen this program along with classroom instruction bring about school wide improvement in reading skills. These improvements can be seen through our reading assessments and those results can be found in Appendix B.

Instructional Practices Utilized in the SMILE program

The SMILE program uses a variety of instructional practices throughout the week’s plans. Using a variety of reading formats allows students to practice and apply “…word recognition, fluency and comprehension strategies…” (Kimbell-Lopez, 2003, p.2). Each week in the SMILE program the lessons focus on one piece of grade appropriate literature. Whenever possible we use a book that ties in with that grade level’s North Carolina Standard Course of Study objectives in science and social studies. Each week’s plans follow the same lesson plan format so although the books vary from week to week the lesson plan format for each weekday is very similar.

Monday Lesson Plans Include:

On Mondays the lesson introduces the book, introduces unfamiliar vocabulary words, builds on the child’s background knowledge and involves the students in previewing and prediction. The first reading of the book is done by the SMILE teacher and is a shared reading experience. Based on the predictions made by the students the teacher sets a purpose for reading. The students are expected to follow along as the book is read aloud and the SMILE teacher often thinks aloud and models strategies that good readers use. Following the first reading of the story the students discuss the story and respond to the purpose that was set initially. Some of the things that are discussed might be the story’s pattern, story elements, interesting facts learned (if the book is non-fiction), and comprehension questions are asked. Depending on the story the students then participate in a vocabulary game or a phonics activity that ties in with the language used in the story.

Research supporting Instructional Practices used on Mondays

All of the instructional practices used in a Monday lesson are supported by research. The first part of Monday’s lesson plan involves activating the children’s prior knowledge through discussion or other activities. Teachers help students use this process prior to reading through discussing similar topics, the author and previewing the text (Put Reading First, 2001). Each Monday’s SMILE plan introduces unfamiliar vocabulary words that are part of the text that is being read. These words are discussed and written by the students in the SMILE group. As is stated in Put Reading First (2001) teaching vocabulary prior to reading helps with comprehension and building vocabulary. The follow up vocabulary activity where the students work with the words actively leads to a higher level of learning (Put Reading First, 2001). Also it has been noted that “comprehension improved as a function of vocabulary instruction.” (Pressley, 2001.p. 3).

. Also on Mondays the initial reading of the story is a shared reading and research by Eldredge, Reutzel, and Hollingsworth (1996) indicates that this method is superior to the traditional round-robin reading. This research suggests that shared reading increases fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition while reducing children’s oral reading errors.

Good readers have a purpose for reading and are active thinkers as they read (Put Reading First, 2001). Setting a purpose for reading is a daily part of the SMILE lesson plan. Since students need to become active thinkers as they read, we must model this process for them by thinking aloud. Teachers are encouraged to use this process with the first reading of the SMILE book on Mondays. “Think alouds help children see what good ‘comprehenders’ do.” (Cunningham et al., 2000, p.83). Using prediction and previewing the text during Monday’s lesson prepares the students for reading and Cunningham et al. (2000) reveal that prediction helps students become more active readers and previewing helps students begin to make connections and become more strategic readers. “These are strategies that your brain uses to make sense of, enjoy and learn from whatever you’re reading…” (Cunningham et al., 2000, p. 44). Finally Put Reading First (2001) supports the use of teacher questioning to advance students’ understanding. This technique is used following the first reading of the story in Monday’s lesson plan.

Tuesday Lesson Plans Include:

On Tuesdays the story is re-read in a different way. Each day the students are involved in re-reading the story and there are a variety of ways that the story may be read. Some of those ways include chorally, independently, with a partner, echo reading, using the cloze procedure, using the impress procedure, dramatically, and other ways. On each day a new purpose is always set for reading the story. Some days students read to find a favorite illustration or part of the story. Some days they read to find certain kinds of words or parts of words. The purposes vary and are based on the books that are being read. After the purpose has been set and the students begin reading the teacher may listen to a particular student or note specific reading behaviors of the group members. Following the reading the students share what they found based on the purpose that was initially set. The next part of Tuesday’s lesson always involves a making words activity. Each student is given a set of letters and these letters when put together appropriately make a “secret word.” The “secret word” usually relates to the story for the week. Throughout the making words activity the students manipulate the letters to make words. The making words activity begins with making easy 2 and 3 letter words then gradually the students make longer more complex words until eventually everyone makes the “secret word.” The students love to discover the “secret word.” After all the words have been made the teacher helps the student to sort the words (each word that is made should be written on a small card prior to the lesson for the sort.) During the sort the students look at the parts of words and sort them by beginning sounds then later by rimes or word families. In our groups when we sort by word families the students generate new words that would fit into that word family from the sort. Finally the students participate in the transfer part of the lesson. During the transfer the teacher gives the students new words and the students must decide where they would fit in the completed sort. The making words activity on Tuesdays is very hands-on because the students are manipulating the letter cards and the word cards to make words and sort words. If there is still time on Tuesdays the group plays word wall games. Each SMILE class has a word wall. The word wall has high frequency words and sight words in alphabetical order. The teachers play many games that help the students refer to the word wall. Our intent is that students will learn to spell these words correctly when they are writing and read them automatically. We also spell the words as a group in many fun, active ways. For example, we may stomp, clap, snap, or spell using sign language.

Research Supporting Instructional Practices Used on Tuesdays:

. Put Reading First (2001) supports the practice of re-reading texts and states that this practice leads to improved reading ability for all elementary students. The re-reading of the text on a daily basis leads to increased fluency. Research indicates “fluency frees up a child’s cognitive capacity for understanding what is read…” (Pressley, 2001, p.3). The repeated readings of the SMILE books helps support the struggling readers and the students with limited English proficiency. Familiarity with the text assists in learning to read, helps develop independence in reading, comprehension, builds vocabulary and fosters a love of learning (Kimbell-Lopez, 2003). These repeated readings build fluency in all students. In addition to re-reading all of the games and word wall activities that are used on Tuesdays help the students begin to develop automatic word recognition, which leads to improved fluency. Also, good readers are dynamic and conscious of why they are reading a text as Pressley (2001) indicates. Setting a purpose on Tuesdays and throughout the week for reading the SMILE book helps students to become more dynamic readers. The purposes have them reading and re-reading for many different reasons thus practicing becoming more active and dynamic readers. Following the reading of the story, Tuesday lessons involve practicing and applying phonics through making words which helps students become better decoders. Pressley (2001) recommends that teacher should teach students to decode well, which develops fluency, which impacts comprehension. The goals of a making words lesson are

…to teach students to read and spell high frequency words, teach students to

decode and spell lots of other words using patterns from known words and have

students automatically or fluently use phonics and spelling patterns while reading

and writing. (Cunningham et al., 2000, p.21).

These active lessons are good for children

because children are active learners they should not jus sit and listen or watch

but should be actively engaged in doing something…and because children have

different styles, modalities and ways in which they learn most easily, activities

should include as much variety as possible…(Cunningham, 1991, p.5).

Wednesday Lesson Plans Include:

On Wednesdays we follow the same beginning procedure by re-reading the book in a different way and setting a new purpose for reading. Following the reading the students share what they found based on the purpose that was set. During Wednesday’s lesson we focus on a comprehension strategy and usually utilize some kind of graphic organizer. This relates to the purpose for reading the story as well. One example of a Wednesday lesson when the students were reading the folk tale Town Mouse and Country Mouse might include setting the purpose of finding out one way the two mice in the story were alike and one way they were different. Following the reading and sharing of this information the students would then engage in creating a graphic organizer (like a Venn diagram or a Double Bubble Map) that would show many ways the two mice were alike and different. The students would be encouraged to use the text and illustrations to help them complete this task.

Research Supporting Instructional Practices Used On Wednesdays

Often Wednesday lessons include the use of graphic organizers to visually represent concepts and relationships. This practice is supported and Put Reading First (2001) states that the use of graphic organizers helps students focus, understand and respond to text through writing. The bulk of comprehension strategy instruction occurs on Wednesdays. Cunningham et al. (2000) say that small group discussions coupled with teaching comprehension strategies help students learn the most difficult comprehension strategies as well as improve communication skills. Researchers have identified good comprehension strategy instruction which includes “generating questions, constructing mental images, summarizing and analyzing story grammar components…” (Pressley, 2001, p.4). All of these strategies help replicate active reading. We use and model these techniques throughout the SMILE plans (especially on Wednesdays) because we know that the ultimate goal is for our students to become active independent readers. Put Reading First (2001) states that teaching comprehension strategies helps children become focused, dynamic readers who take charge of their own reading comprehension.

Thursday Lesson Plans Include:

Finally on Thursdays the students follow the same beginning procedure and respond to the story in some way (usually in writing.) These responses may include summaries, story extensions, Reader’s Theatre, games, personal responses and special projects. Many times the students and the SMILE teachers make choices about Thursday’s response activity. The use of writing throughout the SMILE lesson plans and especially on Thursdays is a great way to meet the needs of all students and supply practice for applying what they have learned in the classroom phonics instruction.

Research that supports the Instructional Practices Used On Thursdays:

We respond in writing to the text that has been read on Thursday for many reasons.

Writing is multi-level because for some children writing is their best avenue to

becoming readers. When children who are struggling with reading write about

their own experiences and then read it back (even if no one else can read it), they

are using their own language and experiences to become readers. Often these

children who struggle with even the simplest material during guided reading can

read everything in their writing…When children are writing, some children are

working on becoming better writers; others are engaging in the same activity, but

for them, writing helps them figure out reading. (Cunningham et al., 1998

p.656).

Also having students write in response to what they have read has been proven to bring about high reading achievement (Guthrie, Schafer, and Huang, 2001). Writing also enhances literacy growth by allowing students to make connections to what has been read in a meaningful way (Kimbell-Lopez, 2003).

Other ways that we respond to the text on Thursdays help our students to become more active readers and better ‘comprehenders.’ Activities like Reader’s Theatre, plays or puppet shows make story elements like “character, setting, events, dialogue, conclusions, mood and motivation become important and the students pay more attention…” (Cunningham et al., 2000, p.109).

Language Arts and the SMILE program

In the SMILE program the students are introduced to many aspects of language arts. The lessons throughout the school year incorporate a variety of fiction and non-fiction titles. We have also planned to add poetry to the first and second grade plans in the future. One aspect of the SMILE program that really allows students to respond to what they are reading independently occurs before the actual SMILE lesson begins. The teachers begin the SMILE time by discussing the student’s home reading books for the first 5-10 minutes of the SMILE time. This is totally separate from the book and lesson being taught during the SMILE lesson (although students and teachers often make connections between the SMILE book and the take home readers that have been discussed.) This part of the SMILE program was added to encourage reading at home for all our students. Each classroom teacher has a book basket for the students to check out additional books to read at home. These are paperback books and usually Accelerated Reader books or books that help the students earn points by passing a computer-generated test. The points and accuracy score (comprehension) are used as incentives for rewards that are provided by the teachers and the school. The baskets of home-readers rotate around to each teacher so that the students have a variety of books to choose from throughout the school year. When the students come to the SMILE group they also bring their home reading book. The SMILE teacher has each student share something about the book they’ve read. The teacher guides these brief discussions by using questions that relate to a particular story element or part of the story. Often the students are encouraged to ask each other questions about what they are reading. Generating questions has been noted by Pressley ( 2001) as a good strategy that active readers use. Some of the areas that we discuss include character, setting, problem, solution, author’s purpose, plot, mood and making connections to other texts as well as our lives. In second grade the SMILE teachers use a check sheet with these questions to refer to and account for what areas have been discussed. In first grade the teachers focus on one story element each week until the students have a better understanding of each story element. Of course there are different questions that are discussed if the child has read a non-fiction piece. During these discussions the students identify their book’s genre and become more familiar with the different types of books. Because the students are accountable to the SMILE teacher for reading at home and because they enjoy telling the group about the books they are reading we have seen an increase in at home reading. Including discussions about home reading books in the SMILE program and supplying students with a variety of books in the book baskets is supported by research (CIERA, 1998). Put Reading First (2001) promotes the teaching of story structure to students through questioning and discussions. The SMILE program incorporates these kinds of questions and discussions about take home readers (and SMILE books read) so that the students become very familiar with the structure or story elements. “Students who can recognize story structure have a greater appreciation, understanding and memory for stories…” (Put Reading First, 2001, p. 53).

We believe that the SMILE lessons not only help the children to become more active, engaged readers but also motivates them to read more independently because of the push for home reading and the connection to the AR program which offers incentives for reading. Gambrell (1996) found in her research that motivation is a crucial part of learning and that social interactions are an important motivator for readers. Through the discussions children are offered these kinds of social interactions where they can share what they have read and make connections and extensions about what they have read. Gambrell (1996) also found that a motivational reading program (which is how AR is used at our school) can encourage and increase family literacy practices. All of these things are important because they encourage independent, engaged reading. Guthrie et al.(2001) found that the amount of engaged reading a child is involved in predicted reading achievement on the NAEP and further suggested that if students become very engaged readers they can prevail over other factors that seem to predict reading achievement like parental education.

Materials Utilized in the SMILE program

In the SMILE reading program we use leveled sets of books by Scholastic. These books have multiple copies, are designed to be used in guided reading groups and incorporate fiction and non-fiction. The levels help us to know what books are appropriate for each grade level and as the school year progresses we gradually move all the students up through the levels appropriate for their grade level. The SMILE program also uses many reading manipulatives throughout the lessons. Some of these materials include a variety of pointers for tracking print, letter tiles and word cards for making and sorting words, graphic organizers, retelling tools like beach balls, pizza pans, and cards with the story elements written on them to aid students in retelling or discussing a story, and a variety of writing materials. We use markers, crayons, pens, highlighters, dry erase markers, teacher and student made blank books and a variety of paper for the students to use during writing. Giving the students a choice of writing materials and “fun for kids” writing materials seems to be a big motivator when we write during the SMILE lesson. The SMILE program also uses white boards and markers along with vocabulary word cards to use when introducing the week’s vocabulary words. Each SMILE classroom uses a word wall and students use individual word walls when needed. There are a multitude of games available in the SMILE classes for the children to use if time permits or if the teacher sees a need to work on certain areas like sight words. Some of the games include sight word bingo, concentration games, and other games that help build reading, writing and spelling skills. Of course the SMILE groups have access to technology as well. Each SMILE book has an AR test to go along with it. Students test at the end of the week when all the other SMILE work has been completed. If time allows or a connection can be made we also use websites like and . Also depending on the SMILE book being used there are a variety of materials that are brought into the lesson to help explain vocabulary words or to help build the children’s background knowledge. For example in a second grade SMILE lesson one of the vocabulary words was prosthesis. The story Harry and Willy and Carrothead written by Judith Caseley was about a little boy who was born without a left hand so the SMILE teacher brought in an actual prosthesis that an area doctor let her borrow. This kind of enrichment to the original plans is common and teachers bring in a variety of materials and books that help the students to better understand the SMILE book. All of these “fun for kids” and novel experiences give students a positive view of reading and are very motivating. They also offer a great deal of variety for students “at risk children need a rich variety of reading and writing experiences.” (Cunningham et al., 2000, p. 217). The fun aspect of the games, reading manipulatives and activities planned during the SMILE lessons help the students to be more actively engaged and motivated.

Grouping

The SMILE program meets the needs of a variety of diverse levels and instructional needs. The SMILE groups are not ability grouped. The students are heterogeneously grouped and include a good mix of high, average and low level readers. The groups are organized this way for several reasons. First children learn from their peers so, the average level readers and the low level readers have a wonderful model in the higher level readers that make up part of the group. This technique of peer modeling is supported by research and these types of groupings “help ensure that students see effective applications of strategies and that they have the opportunity to apply these strategies…” (Kimbell-Lopez, 2003, p. 2). The higher-level readers are stretched and pushed by the SMILE teacher during the writing and responding parts of the SMILE lessons. Often if needed additional books that relate to the SMILE book are supplied by the SMILE teacher to supplement reading for the higher readers. Higher level readers and the SMILE teachers are used to partner read with lower and average readers during the week, too. Because the group is small the teachers can really focus in on the lower level readers and help them on a more one on one level. Most importantly, the expectation level for the lower level readers is higher than it would be in a group of all lower level readers. It has been our experience that the lower level readers meet this expectation and do very well in the SMILE group. Ability grouping does not work in SMILE because the program is preventative in nature and designed to support early readers with a “second dose” of reading instruction.

Teachers usually try to meet the needs of struggling readers by putting them in a

“bottom” group and pacing their instruction more slowly. The data on this

method doesn’t hold out much hope that it will ultimately solve the problem.

(Cunningham et al., 1998, p.652)

Other research by Allington (as cited by Cunningham et al., 1998) states that students who are placed in the low level ability group in first grade almost never reach grade level expectations in reading and writing throughout elementary school. It is also important to remember that all students are reading at their specific level during self-selected reading in the classrooms and at other times throughout the school day. We have seen very positive results from this type of grouping during the SMILE lessons and one powerful statement that sums up the philosophy for heterogeneous grouping in the SMILE program is:

The most important goal in educational programming for students at-risk is to try

to make certain that we don’t squander the greatest resource we have: the

enthusiasm and positive self-expectations of young children themselves.

(Madden,et al, 1991, p. 334).

The SMILE program helps ensure this does not happen.

Assessments

At Forest City Elementary we use a variety of assessments in reading to determine a child’s reading level and ability. We use running reading records, reports generated by our Accelerated Reader program, writing benchmark assessments, and SMILE assessments. These assessments are used for many purposes including addressing the state required K-2 assessment profile, communicating information to parents, other teachers and administrators, and for making grouping and instructional decisions. Currently we use Rigby Benchmark assessments and the North Carolina State running records for our reading assessments or running records. The state of NC has approved the Rigby assessments and has correlated them to match the state’s book levels. We prefer to use these assessments because we know that a student has never read the Rigby books. Basically the Rigby Assessments are the same thing as running records. These running reading records give teachers a wealth of information about the kinds of strategies a child uses when reading an unknown book for the first time. Teachers can make decisions about instruction and grouping based on the kind of information a running record provides. The Rigby Benchmark assessments have a retell section and comprehension questions that help the teacher to know if the child comprehended the story well. Based on the accuracy level and the comprehension component teachers can determine a child’s instructional reading level and independent reading level. These levels are also used to track the growth of students throughout the school year. Teachers make decisions about sending students to additional afternoon remediation based on the results of these assessments as well. These assessments are given four times throughout the school year. As a Title I teacher I often help teachers administer these assessments and report the findings to classroom teachers and administrators. Our school keeps up with school-wide reading growth based on running record levels throughout the school year. These reports can be found in Appendix B.

The writing benchmark assessments are given three times throughout the school year. Benchmark assessments involve students responding to a prompt independently. This writing sample gives teachers information about a child’s spelling development. Teachers can also judge students’ ability in the area of writing content and mechanics. Our county mandates these assessments. I use these writing samples to plan for afternoon remediation and SMILE.

Another source of information that our teachers use is the Accelerated Reader program. This program generates reports that teachers often use. They also use the STAR test, which is a part of the AR program. This test is administered in our computer lab three times throughout the school year. It gives an approximate reading level for each child. We have found that these levels are not always accurate but they do give teachers and idea of a starting point for finding a child’s reading level. Teachers also use other AR information. They look at the child’s reading accuracy, which show the percentage they have averaged on the AR tests. They also look at the average book level read and tested on by the students. This gives them an idea of what level the child is reading and testing at independently. The hope of the teachers is that this level is gradually moving up for each student.

One assessment component that I have just added to our SMILE program this year involves the SMILE group leader administering a short running record on each SMILE student in his/her group, then following the reading of the same book the students would answer comprehension questions and respond to the book with some type of writing. I have access to a website called Reading A-Z that has leveled reproducible books with matching running records, comprehension tests and suggested written responses. I have started using this website as a resource for these assessments. This type of assessment has been added to the first and second grade SMILE program for several reasons. First we want to give each SMILE group leader a chance to see what kind of reading strategies his/her students are utilizing independent of any assistance. SMILE group leaders can use this information to help the students in his/her group. Administering a running record gives instructional insights that other reading assessments lack. Ross (2004) suggests that the use of running records can contribute to higher levels of achievement in reading and writing. The comprehension component, which is done independently, will help indicate if students understand what is being read. The independent writing component will show spelling development and writing development in each student. All of this information will help me as I collaborate and plan with classroom teachers for the SMILE program because successful schools use “shared assessments to monitor children’s progress.” (CIERA, 1998, p.3). In addition, these kinds of assessments will help our school in making decisions about the direction of our school’s Title I program. We need to be sure that the SMILE program is the best program for our students. A sample SMILE assessment can be found in Appendix C.

Afternoon Remediation

In the afternoons our school offers additional remediation to students who need even more support. We again chose a balanced type approach to remediation because we believe “interventions beyond word recognition do, in fact, make an impact during the primary years.” (Pressley, 2001, p.6). These students however are grouped by their specific reading levels and abilities. The groups are small consisting of no more than four students. Title I teachers and assistants use leveled texts, poetry, games, word making and word sorts in this remediation program. The plans include instruction in comprehension, decoding, fluency, and writing. The plans are similar to the SMILE plans in that the lessons focus on one story throughout the week and one poem. The groups of students that attend this remediation are called “The Poetry and Book Club Kids.” Throughout the year the students will be making and adding poetry that has been read during the remediation to his/her own “Poetry Storybook.” The students are allowed a time to illustrate each poem before it is added to their collection. The poetry was added to the remediation groups as a type of motivation and to help build fluency. This poetry book will be sent home at the end of the school year. Our hope is that the students will read these poems that are in their poetry books over the summer. We have made identification cards for each student that attends, again as a motivator. Our intent is for each child to begin to see him/herself as a real reader and writer. Appendix D has a sample copy of the identification badge. Appendix E has a sample week lesson plan framework for remediation. We chose this type of remediation program because research states good reading teachers should:

• teach decoding skills

• teach vocabulary

• encourage students to build world knowledge through reading and relating what they know to what they have read

• teach students to use a repertoire of active comprehension strategies like: prediction, analyzing story grammar, questioning, image construction and summarizing

• encourage students to monitor their comprehension. (Pressley, 2001, p.5)

Unfortunately because this is an afternoon program that is done during the school day it often gets interrupted because of other things that go on throughout the school year like practices for PTO programs or other special assemblies. Also the scheduling of this kind of remediation is very difficult because of federal laws that prohibit students from being pulled out of the classroom during other instructional times. Ideally remediation would be offered after school in a one-on-one tutoring program, which seems to show the best success for the remediation of students who have fallen behind. As Morris (1999) states skilled one-on-one tutoring is one of the best ways to prevent reading failure in the early elementary grades.

Conclusions

Research suggests that “effective instruction include assessments, integration, extension of relevant background knowledge and the use of texts that recognize these diverse backgrounds.” (CIERA,1998, p.2). The SMILE program uses these effective instructional strategies to meet the needs of our diverse population of students. The classroom teachers and the SMILE program use a balanced approach that includes direct instruction in comprehension strategies, extensive reading of a variety of text including narrative and expository, writing in response to text that has been read, as well as self-selected reading that matches the students’ reading levels. Guthrie et al. (2001) note that using this type of balanced approach resulted in achievement gains for all types of students, even those who typically did not do well. They further state “the higher the emphasis on balanced instruction was also associated with higher achievement.” (Guthrie et al., 2001, p.11). Kimbell-Lopez (2003) explains that the needs of students vary so therefore reading instruction should be varied. This creates an opportunity and an increased chance that students will get what they need. It also increases the likelihood of turning more children on to reading. Our ultimate goal at Forest City Elementary is to turn children on to reading and prevent failure in reading by supporting children early with the SMILE program and our afternoon remediation program. We believe that the SMILE program in conjunction with the classroom instruction helps to meet these goals and serve our population with the best practices in reading instruction.

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Appendix A

(Sample SMILE Lesson Plan Format)

2nd Grade Title I SMILE Lesson Plan

Monday

Title___________________________________________Level______

Story Element Review ( with Take Home book)

__Author ___Plot ___Characters ___Setting

___Illustrations ___ Mood __Conflict ___Text/Personal Connections ____Point of View

Building Background Knowledge:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author/Illustrator____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduce Vocabulary

Key Words/pg.#____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Process:

1. Teacher says- Write- Say word

2. Find the word in context and reads

3. Discuss meaning

4. Say word again

5. Student writes the word 3xs ( two inches or larger with markers)

1st reading: Prediction/Preview/Set Purpose: (then the Teacher reads.)

Check Comprehension:

Questions:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary Activity/ Phonic Skill

Focus:____________________________________________________

__Flash cards __Word Structure __ Other

__ Phonemic __ Cut up sentence __ Cloze

Tuesday

Story Element Review ( with Take Home book)

__Author ___Plot ___Characters ___Setting

___Illustrations ___ Mood __Conflict ___Text/Personal Connections ____Point of View

Set Purpose:______________________________________________

Students read: ____choral ____chant ___paired

___echo ____dramatic ____individual ___impress

___cloze ____sentence strips ____other ___silent

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Making Words:

Big Word:_______

Little Words: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sort Little Words:__________________________________________

Transfer:_________________________________________________

Wednesday:

Story Element Review ( with Take Home book)

__Author ___Plot ___Characters ___Setting

___Illustrations ___ Mood __Conflict ___Text/Personal Connections ____Point of View

Set Purpose:____________________________________________

Students read: ____choral ____chant ___paired

___echo ____dramatic ____individual ___impress

___cloze ____sentence strips ____other ___silent

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comprehension Focus:

Skill:______________

Activity:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday:

Story Element Review ( with Take Home book)

__Author ___Plot ___Characters ___Setting

___Illustrations ___ Mood __Conflict ___Text/Personal Connections ____Point of View

Set Purpose:_____________________________________________

Shared Reading:

Students read: ____choral ____chant ___paired

___echo ____dramatic ____individual ___impress

___cloze ____sentence strips ____other ___silent

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Review:

Comprehension Skill/Phonic Skill

Choice of:

Extended Activities: Writing:

__game __open-ended ?

__project __Mini-Lesson

__Reader’s Theaters __Summaries

__Graphic Oraganizers __Story Extension

Other:_________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix B

(Reading Assessments results and reports)

Average Reading Levels Report for 1st and 2nd Grade 2004-2005

| |September |December |February |

|1st Grade Average Reading |6.6 |11.8 |15.8 |

|Level: | | | |

|2nd Grade Average Reading |16.6 |24.3 |27.2 |

|Level: | | | |

Reading Growth Report for 2004-2005

(We have about 100 students in each grade level.)

2nd Grade Remediation Growth and Progress Report

| | | | | | | |Remediation Students

2nd Grade

|September Reading Level: |December Reading Level: |

Growth |February

Reading

Level: |May

Reading

Level: |

Growth | |Akia |15 |22 |7 |26 | | | |Chiaka |15 |24 |9 |28 | | | |Trevon |5 |14 |9 |18 | | | |Luis |7 |16 |9 |22 | | | |Trey |7 |16 |9 |22 | | | |Kassandra |15 |26 |11 |28 | | | |Amanda |7 |16 |9 |20 | | | |Desmond |5 |16 |11 |20 | | | |Josh |17 |24 |7 |28 | | | |Ana |13 |20 |7 |24 | | | |Jessica |7 |16 |9 |20 | | | |AVERAGES: |ARL:10 |ARL:19 |Growth:9 |ARL:23 | | | |

Appendix C

(Sample SMILE assessment)

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(Sample copy of Book used for SMILE Assessment)

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(Sample of SMILE Assessment Book)

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(Sample Comprehension Quiz for SMILE Assessment)

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(Question 11 is a sample of a written response that might be used during a SMILE Assessment)

Appendix D

(Sample copy of Poetry Book Club Kids card)

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Appendix E

Sample lesson plan framework for remediation

Monday:

Title___________________________ Level________________________

Poem_______________________________________________________

Introduce Book and Poem and Build Background Knowledge

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduce unfamiliar Vocabulary Words and discuss:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read Poem having students follow along with “reading eyes” or some kind of manipulative that helps them to track the print

(After Reading Poem Have students place or glue poem into their Poetry notebooks)

Look at the cover of the book that will be read for the day and help the students preview and predict what the story will be about. Encourage them to make connections between the poem that was read initially and the book. Set a purpose for reading based on preview/ predictions and/or connections made to poem:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After reading discuss the story and use the following comprehension questions:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

End the remediation session with a sight word game.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday:

(Set a purpose for reading the story:__________________________________________)

Based on the purpose have students locate words or specific parts of the story:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Share what was found and discuss)

Re-read the week’s Poem

Help the students locate the rhyming words in the poem following the re-reading activity. Write them on index cards and work as a group sorting the rhyming words.

Allow the students time to illustrate the poem and add it to their Poetry Storybook.

Do Making Words Activity:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sort______________________________Transfer_______________________________

End the time by playing a sight word game:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday:

Re-read the week’s poem and encourage some/all of the students to try reading it independently.

Re-read the week’s book after setting a new purpose for reading:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Discuss/Teach a comprehension skill strategy:

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

End with a sight word game:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday:

Reread Poem and story

(Set a purpose:___________________________________________________________)

Following the reading of the story and/or poem have the students respond in writing in some way:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Complete Making Words Activity:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sort_________________________________Transfer______________________

End with allowing students to “perform” the weeks poem/story in some way: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If time permits play a sight word game: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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