K-5 Literacy Instruction

Tier 1: National Geographic Reach for Reading

Authentic Literature and National Geographic Exclusives

• Foundational Skills with Content-Based Decodable Texts

• Integrated ELD

• Rigor-Analyzing Texts and Higher Order Questions

• Rigor-Close Reading of Authentic Text

• Writing to Sources and Opinion, Expository and Narrative Writing

• Vocabulary Development through Content

• Meaningful Collaborative Conversations

Teach, model, and apply close reading in whole group with print and digital resources. Whole group, small group, and independent practice ensure teachers meet the demands of the Common Core.

Comprehensive, targeted teaching materials ensure that children develop the necessary decoding and encoding skills to become fluent readers and writers.

Students have multiple opportunities in Reach for Reading fluency and word study lessons to apply word knowledge to reading and writing activities. Reach into Phonics Foundations provides resources for students that allow them to gain the foundational building blocks they need to be fluent readers.

Tier 1: Heggerty Phonemic Awareness

Teachers in Preschool and Kindergarten teach foundational phonemic awareness skills using the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum in order to teach and strengthen student understanding of letter and sound recognition and language awareness.

Reach for Reading FAQs

Tier 1: mCLASS/DIBELS Instructional Resources

After completing the mCLASS/DIBELS screener, students are grouped based on skill-based needs. Teachers have access to lessons on the mCLASS platform and directly to identified areas in need of strengthening and can use these resources in small groups throughout the week during literacy instruction. Progress Monitoring tools are imbedded in this online platform to be used to check for understanding during the term.

Tier 2: Classroom Instructional Groups

Students in all grades experience Tier 2 intervention through instructional groups. Within the classroom setting, teachers spend time with students working on both grade-level content as well as individualized skills identified through assessment and observation.

Tier 2: Reading Specialist Support

DIBELS data is analyzed at the district and school level three times per year (September, January/February, and June). Through this analysis, students are identified through subtests as needing intervention support from a general education reading specialist. This intervention ranges in frequency from three to five times per week. One curricula intervention reading specialists use is UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) and progress monitoring data is collected every 4-6 weeks to ensure interventions are supporting progress.

The Milton Public School District believes that educators should have high expectations for all children and that it is our responsibility to help students achieve high academic goals in all subject areas. At all elementary schools, we are so fortunate to have the support of Reading Specialists in our 1st , 2nd, and 3rd grade English Reading Specialist.

These Reading Specialists work closely with classroom teachers to identify students who would most benefit from targeted skill instruction in reading. They also review data and conduct skills assessments as part of the regular education process to identify specific skills to target for reading.

Student instruction takes place up to five times per week within the classroom whenever possible but, if necessary, it may also be provided in another setting outside of the classroom. Research indicates that targeted skills instruction is beneficial in ensuring success in reading proficiency, and this is our goal for every student in the Milton Public School District.

You can find the names of Reading Specialists in your buildings below.