Reading

 The faculty and staff at Mohegan Elementary School are dedicated to providing students with the skills and strategies necessary to become lifelong readers.

 

All students in grades K-5 are assessed three times a year using DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). This scientifically researched based assessment focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency in grades K-2 and oral reading fluency and retelling fluency beginning in the middle of grade 1 and continuing in grades 2-5.

 

Students who need extra support in reading have additional opportunities to work on their reading skills. All grade levels have a 35 minute WIN (What I Need) workshop period built into their schedules. This is when small group, tiered interventions take place either in the classroom or in the reading lab. Literacy paraprofessionals work closely with K-5 teachers to provide intervention support for struggling readers. During WIN time, students who need more intensive interventions come to the reading lab and receive instruction in one of our intervention programs. We are excited to be able to offer the students programs that meet their specific learning needs. Early Reading Intervention by Scott Foresman is offered to students in grades K-1 and focuses on letter identification, letter sounds and phonemic awareness activities for those students who are exhibiting weakness in the area of phonemic awareness. Reading Mastery by SRA, is a mastery program focusing on phonics and accuracy in reading and is offered to students in grades 1-3. Corrective Reading, also by SRA, is offered to students in grades 3-5 and focuses on phonics and decoding skills with some emphasis on comprehension. Read Naturally, is a fluency program for those students who, according to DIBELS, need an extra boost in fluency.

 

We are continually meeting as collaborative grade level teams to discuss the progress of the students in all of these programs. The goal is to accelerate students and have them cycle out of some of the specific intervention programs or make steady progress to move into a lower tier of intervention to catch up with their grade level peers.

 

If you have any questions about our reading programs, please contact our Reading Consultant.