Our school adopted a Double Dose* approach to reading in 2004. The principal set up a schedule that protected a 90 minute block of time in all classes for reading instruction. All students were to be in class during that block with no pullouts or disruptions. Then, any student who was at risk in reading was pulled out for a 40 minute lesson four times a week in either the resource room or in my room. The resource teacher took the students on IEP’s* and a few of the most severely learning-disabled ones who had not qualified for special education support according to the “aptitude-achievement discrepancy model.” That left me with 26 students who were struggling in reading.

I used a combination of the strategies I’ve spotlighted on this website.

1. I carefully assessed my class with a Slingerland screening test, so I knew what kind of problems my students were having.
2. Then I took the time to explain dyslexia to them–that it usually affected very smart people that just needed information taught in ways they could remember. (I never told any student whether they were dyslexic or not, just that it was possible.)
3. We worked on decoding with Zoophonics, even with the intermediate students. When I took the time to explain that I was using animal pictures to help their memories, they accepted it. As soon as possible, I would shift to writing the letters in cursive with large arm movements as the kinesthetic-tactile stimulus to help them remember sound-letter connections.
4. After they had a solid foundation in phonics, we moved on to “The Six Kinds of Syllables,” and “Chunking”* big words apart into manageable pieces. By the end of the year, even my second graders could read most of the words in the Children’s Dictionary we had in our room.
5. We did a lot of fluency practice using buddies with Advantage Learning System’s “Fluent Reader.”
6. During the OSAT* Reading test, we provided an adult who would listen to them read. The adult gave no aid. They were there for encouragement and to make sure the students read everything aloud.

Results on the Oregon State Assessment Test in Reading:

• Third Grade = +14 RIT points growth
• ES*=1 student, MS*=6 students, DN*=3 students

• Fourth Grade = +16 RIT points growth
• ES=1, MS=3, DN=2

• Fifth Grade = +10 RIT points growth
• ES=0, MS=2, DN=5

• Sixth Grade = +6 RIT points growth
• ES=0, MS=3, DN=2

*ES means “Exceeds Standard,” MS means “Meets Standard,” DN means “Does Not Meet Standard.”

*See Glossary