S.T.A.R.S. Intervention Descriptions

Sound Partners (can be used for first-third grade students, meant to be a one-on-one tutorial)

Designed to serve students who lack essential early reading skills. These are children who might not be able to rhyme, do not know most of their letter sounds, are not able to blend letter sounds together to sound out works, and cannot segment words into phonemes.

Target areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency

Alphabet Arc (recommended for kindergarten classrooms in small groups)

Specifically designed to provide opportunities for young children to develop phonological awareness, letter recognition, and oral language in the acquisition of reading and spelling skills.

Target areas: phonological awareness, letter recognitions

Phonics for Reading (first two levels grades 1-2, small group format)

Delivers direct instruction in phonics and increases fluency. The three level program builds on learning. The first level focuses on short vowels, consonants, consonant blends, and digraphs. The second level continues with vowel combinations, r-controlled vowel sounds, common endings, and CVCe words. Both levels the RtI Specialists have been trained in.

Target areas: phonics and fluency

Road to the Code (recommended for kindergarten classrooms in small groups)

A program for teaching phonemic awareness and letter sound correspondence. Gives students repeated opportunities to practice and enhance their beginning reading and spelling abilities.

Responsive Reading Instruction (recommended for K-2 students in small groups)

Daily instruction and practice designed to support the development of fluent reading Direct and explicit instruction in decoding Continuous monitoring of student growth through frequent assessment Large amounts of engaged practice in reading and writing connected text

Expanding Expressions (can be used for all grade levels, whole group, small group, or one-on-one)

A multi-sensory approach for improved oral and written language. A way of teaching kids how to give informative descriptions and definitions. It can be easily adapted to classroom assignments involving oral language and written expression. Target areas: oral language, vocabulary

With all of these interventions, the RtI Specialists will also help students to connect the skills-based learning to practical applications in real classrooms settings through authentic reading and writing practice. The target area for all of the programs is to enhance students’ reading comprehension.