1

Areas of Academic Concern

CharacteristicsInterventions/Progress Monitoring

District Resources By Kimberly Patten

May 2011

Basic Reading Skills

Basic Reading Skills

Characteristics:Can the student….• Understand letters and the sounds they represent.• Notice, identify, and manipulate the individual

sounds-phonemes-in spoken words (Shaywitz, 2003, p.51).

• Example- the word “cat” has 3 sounds (c/a/t). The student should be able to identify the 3 sounds and be able to blend them into a word.

Interventions/Progress MonitoringInterventions:

• For older students, start at higher skill levels (fluency-running records) and move to more basic skills if needed.

• If a student cannot decode sentences fluently, then word level should be assessed.

• If student is unable to do this, then assess single syllable words, and then vowel sounds if necessary (SLD Guidelines, CDE, 2008, p. 87).

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Work samples should be examined as well. Do the students use less complex language in their writing vs. their oral language skills?

• What are the students spelling patterns?• Teachers need to look for patterns to

determine strengths and next steps!

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

Instruction should be brief (10-15 minutes per day) and should have 2-3 focused activities.

Progress Monitoring:• Should be at the student’s instructional level and

should be specific to the skills being taught.• Periodic benchmark assessments should continue

to compare the student’s performance to the performance of their peers.

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• General Ed and Special Ed teachers• Teacher/Coach• ELA Teacher Leader• MONDO Teacher Guides• Fountas and Pinnell Phonics and Word Study

Teacher Guides• Word STUDY Vocabulary (Secondary Special

Education Resource)• Readers/Writers Workshop Guidebook

Resources (continued)

• Stages of a Reader, Pacing/Planning guides, Challenges in Text, etc: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/reading-block/

• Secondary Literacy: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/secondary/

• RtI Guidebook pages 67-73 http://assessment.aurorak12.org/files/2009/09/Final-RtI-Guidebook-2010-11-revision-7.18.2010-2.pdf

Resources (continued)

• SLD Guidelines/Colorado Department of Education (2008), pages 86-93

• One Place Instructional Resources (\\U:dstdata\)

Reading Fluency

Reading Fluency Skill

Is the bridge that links accurate word decoding to comprehension (Rasinski, 2004)

Characteristics:Can the student…• Read accurately?• Read quickly?• Read with expression?

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• If students struggle with accuracy along with reading rate and reading with expression, you should look at basic reading skills.

• Interventions should include frequent practice.• Instructional strategies include teacher modeling,

buddy reading, explicitly teaching chunking and phrasing, oral reading, Reader’s Theater, and having student’s chart own fluency rates.

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

In the article Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension, J.J. Pikulski and D.J Chard indentify these nine steps when building fluency:

• Develop the student’s foundation of phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and phonics.

• Increase vocabulary and oral language skills.• Effectively teach high-frequency vocabulary and

provide adequate practice.

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Teach common word-parts and spelling patterns.• Effectively teach decoding skills and provide

adequate practice.• Provide students with appropriate text to assist

in building fluent readers.• Use guided, oral repeated reading strategies for

struggling readers.• Support, guide and encourage wide variety of

reading genres.

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Implement appropriate screening and progress monitoring assessments.

The key to progress monitoring fluency is to do frequent monitoring at the student’s

instructional level (the student can read accurately with 95%-100% accuracy)

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• General Ed and Special Ed Teachers• Teacher/Coach• ELA Teacher Leader• MONDO Teacher Guides• One Place Instructional Resources (\\

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Resources (continued)

• Stages of a Reader, Pacing/Planning Guides, Challenges in Text, etc: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/reading-block/

• Secondary Literacy: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/secondary/

• RtI Guidebook- pages 67-73• http://assessment.aurorak12.org/files/2009/09

/Final-RtI-Guidebook-2010-11-revision-7.18.2010-2.pdf

• SLD Guidelines/Colorado Department of Education (2008), pages 91-93

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension

CharacteristicsCan the student….• Monitor their own reading?• Make Connections?• Ask Questions?• Visualize based on the text?• Make inferences?• Determine important ideas?• Synthesize information?

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Comprehension monitoring: readers learn how to be aware of their understanding of the material.

• Cooperative learning: students learn reading comprehension strategies together.

• Use of graphic and semantic organizers (including story maps): readers make graphic representation of the material.

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• Teacher/Coach• ELA Teacher Leader• General Ed and Special Ed teachers• MONDO Teacher Guides• CSI Materials (Secondary Special Education)• Reading Miscue Inventory• SLD Guidelines/Colorado Department of

Education (2008) pages 95-97

Resources (continued)

• Stages of a Reader, Pacing/Planning Guides, Challenges in Text, etc: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/reading-block/

• Secondary Literacy: http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/secondary/

• RtI Guidebook pages 67-82 http://assessment.aurorak12.org/files/2009/09/Final-RtI-Guidebook-2010-11-revision-7.18.2010-2.pdf

Written Expression: Basic Writing Skills

Written ExpressionBasic Writing Skill

• Write legibly and letter production is “automatic”

• Spelling– Shows the student is making connections between

letters and sounds.– Uses spelling conventions.– Uses prefixes, suffixes and root word knowledge

as a support for spelling.

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Handwriting difficulties include:– Difficulty recalling how to form the letters– Slow, laborious, or illegible writing– Problems with spacing, alignment, letter size, and

errors in formation of the letters– Improper pencil grip– Fatigue, cramping or tremor in writing hand

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Assessment includes looking at work samples, as well as process of how the student created the work sample– Review original student work– Review student’s ability to copy age-appropriate text

• Instruction should focus on– Legible and automatic letter production– Building on explicit instruction of letter formation in

isolation, and then writing words and sentences– Providing practice opportunities daily

Written Expression: Composition Skills

Written ExpressionComposition

Characteristics:Can the student…• Write organized text at both the sentence and

paragraph levels?• Revise and edit for spelling, punctuation, and

grammar or to improve communication clarity?

Possible Areas of Concern Include:

• Word Omissions• Word Order Errors• Incorrect Verb and Pronoun use• Subject/Verb Agreement• Simple vs. Complex Sentence Structures• Word Ending Errors• Lack of Punctuation and Capitalization

Possible Areas of Concern Include:

• Discrepancy Between Oral and Written Language• Lack of Transition Words to Link Ideas• Poor Sentence Organization• Uses Vague or General Words ex: “things” “stuff”

(Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes 2007; Hooper et al., 1994; Wakely, Hooper, de Kruif, & Swartz, 2006)

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Based on the area of concern• Work samples should be evaluated for the above

areasProgress monitoring

• Could include timed writing using a grade-appropriate story starter

• Could measure total words read; words spelled correctly; correct writing sequences; number of different words; number of nouns; verbs; adjectives; correct capitalization; punctuation, etc.

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Explicit comprehensive instruction based on the student’s need

• May include instruction in:- mechanics- words (more complex word choices)- sentence construction- paragraph construction- multi-paragraph essays

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• APS Websitehttp://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/secondary/• RtI Guidebook pages 66-82http://assessment.aurorak12.org/files/2009/09/Final-RtI-Guidebook-2010-11-revision-7.18.2010-2.pdf

Resources (continued)

• Stages of a Writer-http://instruction.aurorak12.org/files/2010/06/Stages-of-a-Writer-6-3-10.pdf

• SLD Guidelines/Colorado Department of Education (2008) pages 81-85

• Literacy Teacher/Coach• ELA Teacher Leader• Colleagues (Both General Ed and Special Ed;

content or grade level)

Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension

Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension

Oral Expression Characteristics:Can the student…• Learn new vocabulary?• Create complete, semantically and

grammatically correct sentences (orally and in writing)?

• Explain word associations, antonyms/synonyms• Retell, make inferences and predictions?

Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension

Listening Comprehension Characteristics:Can the student…• Follow directions for seatwork and projects?• Remember homework assignments?• Understand oral narratives and text?• Answer questions about the content of the

information given?• Apply critical thinking and arrive at logical

answers?

Oral Expression and Listening Comprehension

Listening Comprehension Characteristics:Can the student…• Use word associations, antonyms/synonyms,

categorizing and classifying correctly?• Correctly use note-taking or dictation skills?

Interventions/Progress MonitoringInclude But Are Not Limited To:

• Provide structured opportunities for students to participate in social interactions

• Oral rehearsal • Explicit instruction to improve listening

comprehension• Determine success criteria and monitor for

successful attempts

Interventions/Progress Monitoring (continued)

• Answering questions by teacher• Generating questions about the text• Identifying and being able to discuss elements

of a story • Summarizing• Synthesizing information from multiple texts

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• RtI Guidebook- ELL section• SLD guidelines/Colorado Department of

Education pages 71-75• Speech/Language Pathologist• ELA Teacher Leader• MONDO Teacher Guides (Oral Language

Reading/Writing)• APS Website

Mathematical Calculation and Problem Solving

Mathematical Calculation and Problem Solving

CharacteristicsCan the student…• Perform number sense and operations?• Consistently identify written numbers?• Associate written numbers with the concrete

presentation of a quantity?• Understand calculations such as adding,

subtracting, multiplying, and dividing?

Mathematical Calculation and Problem Solving

The federal and state statutes indentify two areas of Math disability:

• Mathematical Calculation

• Mathematical Problem Solving

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

The CRA instructional strategy of progressing from concrete to representational to abstract

is cited as being effective. (Fleischner and Manheimer, 1997)

• Concrete - The teacher models each mathematical concept with concrete materials (manipulatives such as red and yellow chips, cubes, etc.).

Interventions/Progress Monitoring

• Representational- the teacher transforms the concrete model into a representational (semi concrete) level, i.e.…drawing pictures, dots and tallies, using stamps to input pictures for counting.

• Abstract- The teacher models the mathematics concept at a symbolic level, using only numbers, notation, and mathematical symbols (+,-,x,/) to indicate addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

SLD Guidelines/CDE 2008

Mathematical Problem Solving

CharacteristicsCan the student…• Identify important information?• Filter out unimportant information? • Determine necessary steps in problem

solving?• Evaluate their own work?

Intervention/Progress Monitoring

• Practice opportunities include:– Mathematical concepts the student already has an

initial understanding of– Match the students level of understanding– Match the students unique learning characteristics – A process for measuring individual performance

Resources Include But Are Not Limited To:

• Math Teacher/Coach• District Instructional Coordinators for Math • Colleagues (Both General Ed and Special Ed)• APS RtI guidebook Math Intervention Resources P-12,

p. 58-64• Math Instructional Resources• What Works Clearinghouse • The Access Center• SLD Guidelines/Colorado Department of Education

(2008) pages 99-104

References:• Works Cited• Aurora Public Schools. (2010). Instructional Resources- Secondary Literacy. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from Division of Instruction:

http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/secondary/• Aurora Public Schools. (2010). Instructional Resources- Elementary Literacy. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from Division of Instruction:

http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/reading-block• Aurora Public Schools. (2010). Instructional Resources- Elementary Literacy. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from Division of Instruction:

http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/literacy/elementary/reading-block• Aurora Public Schools. (2010). Instructional Resources- Math. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from Division of Instruction:

http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/math/elementary/• Aurora Public Schools. (2010). Instructional Resources- Secondary Math. Retrieved MAY 10, 2011, from Division of Instruction:

http://instruction.aurorak12.org/instructional-resources/math/secondary/• Aurora Public Schools. (2011, April 1). Response to Intervention Guidebook. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from Division of Accountability and Research:

http://assessment.http://aurorak12.org/files/2009/09/Final-RtI-Guidebook-2010-11-revision-7.18.2010-2.pdf• Colorado Department of Education. (2008, October 7). Guidelines for Identifying Students with Specific Learning Disabilities. Retrieved April 11,

2011, from Colorado Department of Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/SD-SLD.asp• Fletcher, J. L., & & Barnes, M. (2007). Learning disabilities: From identification to intervention. New York: Guilford Press.• Moats, L. C. (2005). Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling Module 2 The Speech Sounds of English: Phonetics, Phonology, and

Phoneme Awareness. Longmont: Sopris West.• Moats, L. C. (2005). Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling: Module 7 Teaching Phonics, Word Study and the Alphabetic

Principle. Longmont: Sopris West.• National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research on reading and its implications

for reading instruction. Bethesda: National Reading Panel, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.• Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Vintage

Books.• Shaywitz, S., Shaywitz, B. F., & Skudlarski, P. M. (2003). Neural systems for compensation and persistence: Young adult outcome of childhood

reading disability. Biological Psychiatry , 25-33.•