Abstract

As both Vice-Principal and Learning Resource Teacher, I have been able to hear the voices of the teachers at Brier Park. With dual roles has come better understanding of the needs of the staff at the school as we worked together to build EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) Improvement Plans and School Action Plans. How can I use early reading/writing intervention in the Primary grades to improve student learning and self-esteem ? To continue to better our school results in the EQAO testing, as well as better student progress in reading and writing at our school, we felt it was important to close learning gaps early in the students' education. Over the last year, early intervention in the Primary grades has become a thrust at Brier Park. Our positive results of the Early Intervention Program has caught the attention of other schools in the area who have now implemented this successful program. I strongly believe that an intensive daily intervention program in reading/writing over three months will demonstrate the following:

1. close the learning gaps of students who missed learning opportunities and
2. assist the school in identifying potential Learning Disabled students for children who made limited progress.

Working through professional dialogues with colleagues and reading professional literature, I have shifted gears to concentrate much of my time to focus on early intervention as a priority in the role of Learning Resource Teacher and Vice-Principal. As a leader in education and Learning Resource Teacher, I believe that data collection and analysis drives schools to improve student learning. As I continue to listen to the voices of teachers, I am able to build school capacity. With a team of dedicated educators, we build our school plan using data in order to close academic gaps and improve student achievements for all students in the school. To reinforce my values as a leader in education, I am including portions of the Grand Erie Special Education: Guiding Principles Policy. The document states that "our mission is to nurture and develop the potential of all students by providing meaningful learning opportunities. Educational program delivery occurs within a group of peers to facilitate the development of the whole child. [I] believe that the education of every child is the collective responsibility of every adult within a school community" (Grand Erie Special Education: Guiding Principles Policy, P. 1). The document also states "that programs are developed and implemented to meet local needs, this includes identifying and meeting individual student needs within the context of group learning" (Grand Erie Special Education: Guiding Principles Policy, P. 1).

Many do not believe in including behaviour students in this program but I wish to differ through my beliefs and concrete evidence with Jermaine who came to me with minimal skills in reading and writing. It was a tough first two months with this little boy who continually acted out through each group session in order to avoid facing his troubles with reading. With much support and continuous encouragement, Jermaine finally decided to take a risk and flawlessly read a book to the whole group. I was so excited I actually jumped out of my chair, did our so-called Superstar dance and ran to him with a Superstar Hug and said to the whole group: "I am so proud of all of you. This last week, you have all read a book we had never seen before and you all read it fluently. You have gone from level A books to now level G - in just two months. You are all reading big words and so easily! You guys are such awesome readers!" (Quote by author, 2003)

What really made my day, above and beyond observing Jermaine read so well and with such confidence, was the fact that these students all left me that day with the biggest hugs and Cassie whispering in my ear, " I love you Mrs. Magnani. Thank you for making me feel happy again." (Quote by student, 2002)

Do you realize how difficult it is to walk away from that thought, go back into your office and force yourself to hold back tears of joy ? This day has allowed me to remember a quote by Christa McAuliffe (NASA Astronaut) stating that, "teaching is not a profession but a passion because I touch the future - I teach !! You can pay teachers to teach but you can't pay them to care."

Brier Park School has been dedicated in gathering and using data to drive the school plan. As we work together to continue to improve student learning, we found data to be most effective in achieving common goals. As a staff, we completed a gap analysis using teacher observations, report card marks, exemplars and EQAO results to guide portions of our school plan. One component which became clear to all of us was that the school needed to concentrate its efforts on closing the gaps of Primary students who were struggling with reading and writing. As a school, this meant restructuring some of our programs, both in the classroom and within the role of Learning Resource Teacher. The staff at Brier Park felt that primary children who are working at a level 1 (D) in reading and writing and whose DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) results were significantly lower than the DRA grade equivalent needed some intensive early intervention.

Using this information as my vehicle, I involved many of the Grand Erie District School Board's resource personnel to catapult this program into action. The Early Literacy Teacher for our Board worked with me to demonstrate some of the strategies she uses for reading/writing in the Primary level. The many documents created by our Primary consultants assisted in framing the program to fit our Board's Balanced Literacy model of the Four Blocks™ and the Toronto Catholic District School Board's Fifth Block, as well as with Jolly Phonics and All Star Reading Strategies.

Research has shown the importance of early intervention and its effectiveness on student improvement. Plato states that, "The direction in which education starts a person will determine his future life." The Mustard report has shown significant improvement in students' academic progress and self-esteem when early intervention was implemented. In 2001, EQAO test results for reading indicated that only 49% of grade three students were achieving the provincial standard, level 3. Research also indicates that Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 is a critical window in acquiring reading skills. From this data, the Ministry of Education implemented the Early Reading Strategy document to be adopted by all Boards in order to improve student achievement. To assist teachers with this, our Board implemented the Four Blocks, a tool to enable teachers to teach a balanced literacy to meet the needs of all students. Each school has also received Cumulative Assessment Portfolios for each student. This inventory of early reading assessments follows the students from year to year and has allowed the staff at Brier Park to analyze the data to evaluate students at risk in the Primary grades. This historical data, compiled with report card information and teacher observations has allowed Brier Park to quickly pinpoint students at risk early in the school year so that these students be engaged in early intervention as early in the school year as possible.

Some background information about the structure of this program

Grand Erie Board and its schools have made balanced literacy an area of emphasis to improve student learning. To attain our goal for a balanced literacy board-wide, we adopted the program of the "Four Blocks™", which has been in-serviced to all schools through the Board's consultants. The "Four Blocks™" contain word study, shared/guided reading, self-selected reading and writing, all blocks being multi-faceted.

The four blocks should be scheduled in four half-hour sessions through the day, starting with the guided reading component. It is pertinent that the teacher assess students' reading levels to assist them in guiding the program to meet all student needs. The different reading groups are then established and the fun may now begin. During guided reading, students may read along with the teacher, with their group or with volunteers. It is important to also motivate students and keep them interested by dedicating different days to different tasks during the guided reading. Some of the activities which have worked well for me are read-aloud sessions, readers' theatre and literature circles. These activities allow students to take a risk and take charge in a smaller group environment, thus, helping student confidence. It is sometimes difficult for teachers to take a back seat to student learning but it is essential that teachers allow students to take charge during guided reading, as the block states, "guide" reading not teacher-directed. Once the group becomes comfortable with one another, the teacher may also introduce reading responses which allows students to discuss their ideas about a book.

Once students have confidence to read and decode words, the teacher can add the third block, Self-Selected Reading. Students now have opportunities to choose high interest books to apply their skills. Students may select books from the library daily or from the classroom selection which the teacher displays. It is important to include a variety of books from literature, tales, poetry as well as non-fiction materials related to other subjects. It is essential that teachers allow the students to choose their own book and not deter them from certain ones because of reading levels. From the selected reading, teacher may encourage students to read at home with their parents through a variety of programs and incentives.

The last block, but certainly not the least, is the Writing Block, the fourth block which gives schools balanced literacy. Students may write their heart out and have fun with it if the teacher spices it up to make the writing journey interesting. Children do not need to write in their journals all the time - be innovative and you'll see what kids can do! Have students create stories, write rhymes/poetry, create school posters on a specific topic, write a letter/cards, diaries and even computer-generated ideas through Hyperstudio, Publisher, Kid Pix which allows for the integration of technology within the classroom. Challenge the students and they will rise to that challenge. They will be so good about their creativity that they will want to write and read aloud to share their piece of art.

All schools in Grand Erie have adopted this program and there are a variety of ways in which to implement all four blocks to make balanced literacy part of our life.

How did I choose the students who will take part in the program?

I begin the program first term with Grade 2 and 3 students, second term with Grade 1 and 2 students and third term with Grade 1 and Kindergarten students. I begin with the Grade 3 students as they are at the higher end of the risk factor to close the learning gap whereas Kindergarten students with difficulties can be part of the group over a three year period to close this gap. I have overlapped the grades per term as this allows me to include students struggling later on in the year to take part in the intervention program with age-appropriate and grade-appropriate peers. This overlap also allows me to include students who attended the first three months of intervention and made limited progress. I limit the number of students in the group to no more than six or seven students. My hope is that the second session will close the gap or give me information about students that may potentially be learning disabled. I really understood the value of early intervention when I read a letter sent to a parent, written in Eric's journal, a grade three student:

Dear dad
I wish you cade came to shcool and help my to rade so I wadindt have a hard time ofry day is gating harder and the a fate math is esey to my. Same peple thanck it is hard bat mady naxe time.
Love Eric

(Student letter to parent)

Eric was feeling so overwhelmed with his reading and writing that he was hoping his father could come to school to assist him. If you do not feel that early intervention is valuable to your school, it is perhaps time you re-evaluate your values as an educator. Eric is a human soul and this student is more significant than the subject matter being taught. I showed his dad this letter and together, we worked together to allow Eric many opportunities to succeed with reading and writing. We discussed strategies to improve his language abilities and the family assisted Eric at home. Eric improved enough to be able to tackle the EQAO testing with few accommodations. During the testing, Eric explained to me how his improved reading skills made it so much easier for him to complete the math tasks. Eric has always had good math skills but now he is able to solve math problems.

How did I frame the early intervention program?

First and foremost, parents are involved in the progress of their children and the staff works in conjunction with the parents to communicate the need to include their child in the early intervention program. I send the parents a letter to inform them of the program as well as its layout. Open communication between home and school is essential throughout the sessions through planners, telephone calls, e-mails and visits. Parents who have a proper understanding of the program's benefits have become my best advocates to promote this program. A parent sent me a card entitled integrity and wrote:

"We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give. Mrs. Magnani, this is just a little note to say thank you for all the extra help you have given both my sons. We have noticed great improvements in both of them. We appreciate your time and commitment" (Parent correspondence, 2003).

This card not only reinforced my values but also motivated me to become even better so that what I do in a school always reflects what is best for students.

Another parent, the parent of twin boys, one of whom was in my group, e-mailed me:

"My sincere thanks for inviting Brayden to participate in the reading and writing intervention program. I'm sure there are many students who would benefit from this program and I truly appreciate you accommodating us. I can't believe the difference in Brett. He now picks up a book to try and sound out as many words as he can. Brayden is very excited about starting especially since Brett constantly talks about how much fun he has. I feel truly privileged to have our children attend Brier Park School. Again, my thanks." (Parent correspondence, 2003)

I have now had the other boy in my group and his improvements have been so tremendous that he has more confidence in class to complete written tasks and has become more attentive in the classroom.

The group has an open door policy and I invite parents to come in and observe the sessions, allowing them to learn strategies to assist their children at home. In a year, I have now had many parents, Learning Resource Teachers as well as Curriculum Committee Planners come to Brier Park to observe and discuss the program with me. Its popularity is growing drastically in our Board and due to its success, Alysa Johnson, Kindergarten Teacher at Brier Park School, and I will be running a Summer Institute to inform others of its benefits for children as well as educate them in running this program.

At the beginning of the program, the students chosen for this program are assessed in a variety of ways to ensure proper data collection at the start and at the end. Every student is given the following assessments at the beginning: Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT-R), Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation, Jerome Rosner's Thirteen Item test and DRA. The Slosson and DRA give me an idea of the student's academic level in reading. The Yopp-Singer assessed how students could break sounds within a word. The Jerome demonstrated the student's auditory analytic ability. All this data gave me the information needed to structure my program to meet the students' specific needs. At the end of the three months, I reassess the students to compare results - the improvements being great for the majority of the students. Students in the early intervention program showed three times more improvement than that of those in the regular classroom program over a three month period - wow!!!

We are now ready to put the miracles of early intervention in place using a mirror image of the balanced literacy program but now, with intensity and small groups for three months, daily for forty minutes to one hour. Research tells us that intervention programs closely connected to classroom programs are more successful. Implementing a balanced literacy intervention program allows you to see results develop before your eyes!!!

To start the program, I welcome the students to the group with new personal folders and homework portfolios. I introduce them to our success song and dance which we do at the end of each session, "We are Superstars !" and I make sure the students feel at ease in the group with many incentives (treats, stickers, etc).

I strongly believe that one cannot truly teach a student nor can a student truly learn, until the student feels safe in a risk-taking environment. Honestly, the first few weeks can be very frustrating and many of the students who are behavioural in nature do take up a lot of time and energy. As I state in one of my journal entries:

"Some days I did wonder if I made the right choice to include behaviour students in this group. I feel badly for the others who work so hard to improve their reading and writing. I seem to be interrupted throughout the lesson by the same students who I have to re-direct a thousand times - so it seems. I question my values of inclusion and at the same time developed greater understanding for the teacher who deals with them all day. Every day, I become more and more aware of how needy some of these students are emotionally and academically." (Personal journal entry, 2003)

Daily, students enter the room with a high five or some kind of brain gym activity before settling down to do guided reading. The guided reading I have chosen relates to the data from the assessments - you may start with consonant sounds, vowel sounds, vowel/consonant blends or consonant blends, depending on the students' levels. For example, my grade one students are working on basic sounds, therefore, I choose books which relate to these sounds. On the other hand, my grade two students need help with consonant blends (sh, ch), therefore, I choose books which incorporate these sounds. Students need practice decoding the sound/symbol relationships they have been taught. The decodable books provide an opportunity to read continuous text in a story and book format while confronting words that have the phonics elements they have been taught. The decodable books also expose children to high-utility words.

When I do guided reading, I choose a weekly All Star Reading Strategy to practise and I build our strategy bank to assist students in reading. Each week, I also include a strategy of the week for one of the students in the group to put on the announcements. This is a big hit and a definite confidence booster - shy, low risk-takers no more as we keep building our superstars.

Depending on the session, I may read the book to them and they follow along or I read and pause and students fill in the missing link. Other days, each students takes a turn to read a page using the strategies we have learned and assisting each other in their peer group. During read-aloud sessions, I choose books written to target a specific sound through the use of alliteration. The alliterative feature makes these books an excellent complement to any phonics lesson that corresponds to a particular book's target sound. They are also an excellent way to build critical phonemic awareness skills. Following the guided reading, we discuss the story and complete an activity related to their reading - remember to be innovative!

The session continues with our phonemic awareness instruction and word study through "Making Words". Each lesson begins with tips for introducing and teaching phonemic awareness of the sound. The symbol related to "Jolly Phonics" is introduced and connected to the sound.

A Success Story -- Surely You See!!!

The students that I have had in my group have had so much success that many of them surpassed their classroom peers with their reading and writing. Not only have we seen three times more progress over three months over a year in the regular class but the children's self-esteem has broken down many barriers.

My lowest functioning student in Grade 3, a child who scored less than at the Kindergarten level in the DRA at the beginning of the program has completed the program by reading at level 18 in the DRA. This little boy who did not seem to make progress, one day, decided to read a late Grade 1 book, understood the whole story, read using all the strategies taught and above all .....has literally blown out of the water every student in my group in our daily "Around the World" game using all new sight words. If I had decided not to include this child at the beginning, because of his behaviour, this child would never have grown to be this cheerful individual I see daily who now smiles and makes a point to give a hug and a big hello every day. We made it safe for him to take a risk in a small group where he could learn and become a confident learner.

Grand Erie is buzzing with "Early Reading and Writing Intervention" and I can be proud to say that I listened to the voices of the teachers at Brier Park to initiate this program and make it a success for all involved. Next year, I will be working at King George Public School where I hope to bring some of this success to assist students and close learning gaps as well as increase their self-esteem.

References

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