RTI Reading Strategies and Activities for First Grade
Hi Families
This page highlights reading strategies and activities used within Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTII) in our classroom and during pull-out sessions for particular students. These methods are in addition to core instruction and support our students and your children in their reading development.
Tier 1 -Provided to all students within the general education classroom. Aims to reach 100% of students through differentiated instruction, targeted small group work, and best practices.
Tier 2 - Small group instruction targeting specific skills that students have demonstrated a lack of understanding in, using research-based intervention programs. 3-4 times a week. 30-50 minutes. Progress monitoring - weekly.
Tier 3 - One-on-one tutoring focused instruction. Daily sessions of 30-60 minutes a day. Frequent progress monitoring - muiltiple times per week.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 can occur by "push-in", "pull-out" or a combination of both approaches.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Mrs. Young
Alphabetic Principles
Tier 1
1) Sounds drills:
Use cards with letters and pictures to help students associate letter sounds with images.
Students say the letter sound and name, associating each phonogram with a keyword
2) Multisensory Writing:
Have students trace letters in sand or on textured surfaces while saying the letter sounds.
This engages multiple senses and reinforces the connection between letters and sound
3) Explicit Phonics Instruction:
Teach students to connect letters to their most common sounds through systematic phonics instruction.
Use decodable texts that contain a high percentage of words following common alphabetic principle rules
Tier 2
1) Sound-symbol correspondence practice using letter tiles
2) Word-building exercises with manipulatives
Velcro Spots: Children hop on velcro spots with written sounds to build words, adding a kinesthetic element
Letter Dice: Students roll foam letter dice to create different CVC words
3) Timed letter-sound fluency drills - students quickly and accurately identify the sounds associated with letters.
Tier 3
1) Intensive one-on-one instruction - customized lessons targeting specific letter-sound correspondences the student struggles with.
2) Decodable text reading practice:
Use texts with a high percentage of words following learned letter-sound patterns
Practice blending sounds to read words in context
Gradually increase text complexity as the student progresses
3) Computer-assisted instruction:
Use specialized software programs that provide intensive practice in letter-sound correspondences
Use software that adapts to the student
Incorporate games and interactive activities to maintain engagement
Fluency
Tier 1
1) Teacher modeling: The teacher reads text aloud to students in an expressive manner, demonstrating fluent reading.
2) Echo reading: The teacher reads a sentence, then students reread the same sentence.
3) Choral reading: After teacher modeling, students read the same text together as a group or with a partner.
4) Partner reading: Pairing struggling readers with stronger readers to take turns reading and supporting each other.
5) Whisper reading: Students read text quietly to themselves.
6) Wide reading: Exposing students to a broad range of reading materials and topics to improve prosody, word recognition, and comprehension.
Tier 2
1) Teacher modeling: the teacher/parent reads text aloud to students in an expressive manner, demonstrating fluent and expressive reading.
2) Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI): A comprehensive intervention using teacher modeling, repeated reading, echo reading, and partner reading over a five-day cycle with the same story (McBride, n.d.).
3) Repeated Reading: Students read a passage or short text multiple times in lesson, and continue until they achieve an appropriate level of fluency. This improves word recognition accuracy, automaticity, prosody, and comprehension (McBride, n.d.).
4) Reader's Theatre: Students perform plays chosen specifically to target fluency skills (McBride, n.d.).
5) Sight Word Flashcards and Sight Word Bingo: These activities focus on increasing accuracy and automaticity of sight word recognition (Reading fluency…, n.d.).
Tier 3
1) Assisted Reading: This involves a teacher reading along with the student, providing support and modeling fluent reading.
2) Repeated readings - using shorter passages and increasing the number of repetitions (Reading fluency…, n.d.).
3) Highly targeted sight word practice: Focusing on a smaller set of high-frequency words with more frequent practice sessions.
4) Oral Rereading with Feedback: This combines repeated oral reading with immediate feedback from an adult, which has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to improve reading fluency.
Comprehension
Tier 1
1) Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies: Teaching students techniques like summarization, prediction, and re-reading to help them understand what they read.
2) Partner reading: Pairing struggling readers with stronger readers to take turns reading and supporting each other.
3) Choral reading: After teacher modeling, students read the same text together as a group or with a partner.
4) Providing immediate feedback: Correcting incorrect responses to comprehension questions and modeling appropriate strategies.
Tier 2
1) Graphic organizers for story elements.
2) Guided practice in summarizing main ideas.
3) Open-ended comprehension questions: Asking questions before, during, and after reading to encourage thinking and discussion. Students will have the ability to answer “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and how questions about texts.
4) Vocabulary intervention: Incorporating morphology instruction and integrating it with comprehension activities.
Tier 3
1) Intensive one-on-one instruction - customized lessons targeting specific comprehension difficulties.
2) RAP Strategy (Read-Ask-Paraphrase):
Teach the student to read a paragraph, ask themselves what the main idea is, and paraphrase the main idea along with two key details.
Use graphic organizers to help students record their thoughts and organize information from the text (Wright, 2019).
3) Guided Reading with Feedback:
Conduct guided reading sessions where the teacher provides immediate feedback on comprehension strategies.
Use questioning techniques to probe deeper understanding and encourage critical thinking.
4) Use of Technology:
Incorporate computer-assisted programs that adapt to the student's reading level and provide interactive comprehension practice.
Use digital tools that offer immediate feedback and track progress over time.
Helpful Resources:
Amazing Alphabet - Resources
https://www.dyslexiclogic.com/amazing-alphabet-resources
1st Grade Reading Fluency Educational Resources
https://www.education.com/resources/first-grade/reading-fluency/
Fluency - First Grade
Sound Picture Cards (A-Z)
https://www.twinkl.com/resource/t-l-004-phase-1-initial-sound-picture-cards-a-z
References
How can the Rosa Parks teachers effectively implement the RTI components in each tier?. IRIS Center. (n.d.-a). https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/rti04/cresource/q2/p06/
McBride, S. (n.d.). Tier 2 interventions. A Focus On Fluency. http://www.reading-fluency.com/tier2/
Reading fluency interventions for tier 1 and tier 2 instruction. Fast Bridge. (n.d.). https://fastbridge.hubspotpagebuilder.com/blog/2019/02/reading-fluency-interventions-for-tier-1-and-tier-2-instruction
13 CVC word manipulatives every kindergarten teacher needs. The Printable Princess. (2024, April 1). https://www.theprintableprincess.com/13- manipulatives-to-teach-cvc-words/