Mrs. Schnell

A.I.S. Reading

Contact information-

renee.schnell@northport.k12.ny.us

631-262-6820

Follow me on Twitter @Schnell_Renee


Reading With Your Child At Home

Before you begin reading, show interest in the book your child has chosen. Discuss the title and cover. Flip through the book and talk together about any pictures. Ask your child what he or she thinks may happen during the story. Comment on how interested you are in finding out what happens.

During reading, your child should be reading books on his/her independent level. When your child reads, they should read with a critical lense to understand what is happening in the story. A good way to do this is through making predictions, revising earlier predictions, asking questions, and making connections with text. When they come to a word they don't know, give the child at least five or six seconds to figure it out through the use of pictures, the context of the story, and the words that come before and after. Questions like, "Does that make sense? or Does that look right? will aid your child in figuring out words. If your child still cannot figure out the word, simply tell them the word, have them repeat it and go back to the beginning of the sentence and reread it.

After reading, talk about the book. Think back to the predictions that your child made before reading. Were they correct? Were there surprises? What did each of you like best about the characters, events in the story, or the ending? Did the book remind you of any other stories or of things that happened to you? How does this book compare to others by the same author? Rereading books is okay too. It helps to build confidence and fluency and can extend comprehension.


Just Words® is a highly explicit, multisensory decoding and spelling program for students in grades 4–12 and adults who have mild to moderate gaps in their decoding and spelling proficiency but do not require intensive intervention. The program is designed for students with below-average decoding and spelling scores and should be combined with other literature-rich programs.

Just Words® supports struggling readers – those who have not mastered the foundational skills of language structure typically learned in grades K-3 – with strategies that will allow them to independently read and spell words and build the skills necessary to access and master grade–level standards.

Emphasizing phonemic awareness, phonics, word study, and spelling, Just Words is the word study component of the Wilson Reading System® curriculum at an accelerated pace.

Just Words addresses:

Foundational and language standards that are absolutely necessary to be able to access grade-level text.

Phoneme segmentation skills for up to six sounds in a syllable, with application for decoding and spelling.

Study of the English sound system.

Syllable structure including six basic syllable types in English and syllable division patterns used for decoding.

Spelling with common Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

Processes for vocabulary study as well as the meaning of common Latin prefixes and roots.

Decoding application with phrasing for meaning.

Automatic reading and spelling of the first 300 most frequently used words from Dr. Edward Fry’s 1000 Instant Words as well as additional high frequency words.


Leveled Literacy Intervention

The Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System(LLI) is an intensive, small-group, supplementary literacy intervention for students who find reading and writing difficult. The goal of LLI is to lift the literacy achievement of students who are not achieving grade-level expectations in reading. The LLIsystems are designed to:

  • Advance the literacy learning of students not meeting grade-level expectations in reading

  • Deepen and expand comprehension with close reading

  • Elevate the expertise of teachers

  • Increase reading volume by engaging students in large amounts of successful daily reading

  • Increase student engagement with books that build knowledge

  • Intervene with small groups of struggling readers to maximize growth

  • Meet the needs of struggling readers

  • Monitor student progress.



As a recognized leader in multisensory, structured language programs, Wilson brings more than a decade of systematic and explicit instruction to the K-3 classroom. Based on the Wilson Reading System® principles, Wilson Fundations® provides research-based materials and strategies essential to a comprehensive reading, spelling, and handwriting program.

Wilson Fundations makes learning to read fun while laying the groundwork for life-long literacy. Students in grades K-3 receive a systematic program in critical foundational skills, emphasizing:

  • Phonemic awareness

  • Phonics/ word study

  • High frequency word study

  • Reading fluency

  • Vocabulary

  • Comprehension strategies

  • Handwriting

  • Spelling

The instruction aligns with states’ rigorous college- and career-ready standards.

Although Fundations includes comprehension strategies, it must be combined with a core/literature-based language arts program for an integrated and comprehensive approach to reading and spelling.

Fundations serves as a prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure. It is integral to a Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) or Response to Intervention (RTI) framework, providing research-based instruction in Tier 1 as well as early intervention (Tier 2) for students at risk for reading difficulties. To support the implementation of an MTSS or RTI framework, progress monitoring is built into Fundations. This allows students requiring a more intensive program to be identified early before undergoing years of struggle.