Former special education teacher speaking here. No one program adequately addresses literacy, because most focus on one aspect or another of the three elements which make up literacy to the exclusion of the others (decoding, comprehension, and fluency). I have worked with students who have two of the three pieces but lack a third. Just because a student can decode fluently does not mean they possess comprehension.
What is needed is a.) early identification of reading strengths and weaknesses and b.) targeted programs which address specific elements of reading disability. Too many programs focus on phonetic awareness but not on meaning.
Thanks for your comment Joyce. Completely agree that no one curriculum can address the 5 pillars of reading (Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.) The training Oregon Kids Read is proposing, and that PPS is currently using to train teachers, is not a curriculum. It's called LETRS and it is equivalent to 2 college courses (Eastern OU is now giving teachers credit for it). Educators learn how to assess students, so they can be part of the identification process, as well as teach students not only foundational skills but the whole range of skills needed to read.
Former special education teacher speaking here. No one program adequately addresses literacy, because most focus on one aspect or another of the three elements which make up literacy to the exclusion of the others (decoding, comprehension, and fluency). I have worked with students who have two of the three pieces but lack a third. Just because a student can decode fluently does not mean they possess comprehension.
What is needed is a.) early identification of reading strengths and weaknesses and b.) targeted programs which address specific elements of reading disability. Too many programs focus on phonetic awareness but not on meaning.
Thanks for your comment Joyce. Completely agree that no one curriculum can address the 5 pillars of reading (Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension.) The training Oregon Kids Read is proposing, and that PPS is currently using to train teachers, is not a curriculum. It's called LETRS and it is equivalent to 2 college courses (Eastern OU is now giving teachers credit for it). Educators learn how to assess students, so they can be part of the identification process, as well as teach students not only foundational skills but the whole range of skills needed to read.
Thanks for reading and writing, Joyce! Appreciate you sharing these solutions.