Literacy Support Program

The current reading program services special education, as well as general education students. Our Literacy Support classes are built into students’ schedules as a stand-alone class. Though there is some variation in skills and strategies stressed at a particular grade level, or in a particular class, the following list is a broad overview of skills/strategies taught:

• Understanding stated information

  • Identifying main idea/central idea and locating information.

• Drawing conclusions/making inferences.

• Using context to determine meaning of vocabulary

• Identifying author’s purpose and point of view

• Distinguishing between fact and opinion

• Interpreting characters and theme

• Using critical analysis to evaluate information

  • Identifying text structures (compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• Determining use of literary devices

• Reading unfamiliar text

• Note taking and outlining

In order to qualify for reading services, a student enrolled in regular education or special education classes must meet certain criteria. The following guidelines are utilized as entrance and exit criteria. Referral for reading services may come from a number of sources, including teacher/counselor recommendation(s) or referral by a CSE or IST committee. In addition, ongoing data analysis of reading related assessments may indicate the necessity to evaluate a student’s reading ability. Currently we are using the Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery, the NWEA, and Achieve 3000 to assess and monitor the progress of students. Students who have demonstrated significant improvement in reading comprehension indicated by teacher observation or other reading related assessments may be evaluated with additional standardized testing to determine if continued reading services are warranted.