4 Reasons Why You Need to Use a Reading Intervention Log
RTI, MTSS, IRIP…..do these acronyms make your head spin. If so, I don’t blame you. In the era of tiered interventions, teachers must familiarize themselves with this language. Response to Intervention or Multi Tiered Systems of Support are programs that were implemented in order to decrease the amount of special education referrals. Response to Intervention (RTI) is identified as an inverted triangle, http://www.rtinetwork.org/images/content/articles/include_essential_components/sugai_pyramid.jpg, which consists of three or four tiers of support. Tier 1 is whole group instruction, tier 2 is small group instruction with the assistance of a reading specialist and tier 3 is one-on-one support with a specialist and in some cases a fourth tier is added which is a special education referral. RTI was primarily used to help students with reading and math deficits, however, MTSS encompasses a behavior component as well. Teachers, if all of this is giving you information overload, don’t worry I have created an MTSS Reading Intervention Log that can make your small group organization easier.
#1 Great for MTSS/RTI Protocols
If you work in a Title One school and use an intervention framework you will be mandated to maintain a log of your intervention groups. If your district is administering interventions with fidelity they SHOULD be utilizing some type of intervention data collection. If this is not provided for you, my MTSS Reading Intervention Log can be used to keep track of YOUR records. You can use this log to keep track of all the skills that were taught during each session and with each student. Also, it can be used as a data point during the MTSS meetings.
#2 Progress Monitoring Snapshot
Progress monitoring is the process in which you monitor students’ progress over a given amount of time. Once your students have been in their small groups, be sure to monitor their progress often. Depending on your school’s intervention framework, most schools usually monitor progress every 2-4 or 6-8 weeks. Do NOT skip this step because this will help to inform your data and to help you determine if the interventions are working, if you need to change your student groups or if you need to change the groups focus of instruction. My reading intervention log will help you determine which skills students are still struggling with. For example, if the small group is struggling with the phonemic awareness skill rhyming, you can note that on the log and plan accordingly for the next lesson.
#3 Manage your time in small groups so you can stress less.
Teachers, the time goes VERY quickly when you are working with small groups. There always seems to be not enough time. Depending on the grade level your small group sessions may last 15-30 minutes. So you MUST maximize the time to get the fastest results. My reading log helps you to pinpoint the EXACT reading area and skill to target so that you are not wasting precious time teaching skills that have already been mastered.
#4 Make small group lesson planning effortless.
Lastly, the log is not a lesson plan, but it can help you plan for future sessions. You can go back and see which skills were covered during the session. Also, each section allows you to monitor progress in all five areas of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. There is also a section to keep track of student attendance during each small group lesson. So that you will be better informed regarding reteaching due to attendance issues.
If you found these 4 tips helpful, you will love my free workshop, Setting Up for Intervention Success. This workshop is created to help K-5 teachers navigate the intervention process. I will give you proven methods to help set up your classroom for intervention success. Click the link to sign up
Good Luck,
Shannon
