Middle School Reading Intervention. Is it too late?

[@PatrickDonner-i3t]

Thank you. I am an ELA Resource teacher and don't want students to just sit behind a computer all day. Great point

[@EmilyMuccianti]

Glad it was helpful! Louisa Moats recently said, "Do not succumb to the seduction of technology." So wise!!

[@LauraVillarreal-w6w]

You are an amazing and much needed resource for me!!!

[@EmilyMuccianti]

Thank you Laura! I’m so glad I can be of help!

[@gypsysilver4815]

Thank you for creating these videos. I’m moving on to become a middle school reading teacher and need all the help I get.

[@EmilyMuccianti]

You are so welcome! I will be working on a digital course to help middle school intervention teachers soon! Stay tuned😊

[@kristioster6472]

I am looking for slides or a video that addresses the middle schooler sitting in my intervention class in the first few weeks that answers the question: WHY AM I IN THIS CLASS? Is there a kid friendly resource that addresses this question? Explains the basic skills attained by a strong reader in a middle school friendly -student directed way?

[@EmilyMuccianti]

I’m not aware of anything, but it is important to show them and be real. I always had a big conversation that explained the importance of reading, a bit about dyslexia and how it is not a lack of intelligence. I shared that we were a team and if they gave me a chance, I could help them. I found graphing fluency growth was helpful in showing them concretely that improvement could be made.

[@lynnettemcclain74]

Thanks for the great info!

[@EmilyMuccianti]

My pleasure, Lynnette!

[@lynnettemcclain74]

@@EmilyMuccianti hello, didn't you recently mention a template you made on Canva? I can't remember where to find it. TIA

[@lynnettemcclain74]

Found it!

[@EmilyMuccianti]

I would love to hear what you think? Is it easy to access? Helpful? What could be added or taken out?

[@krrevel]

Thank you so much for this video and your channel!

[@EmilyMuccianti]

You’re very welcome! Thanks for your comment!!

[@prudencelewis-bhola9435]

@@EmilyMuccianti Thank you for sharing! I’m very new to the interventionist role and would love to learn more from your rich insights…

[@mr.z9609]

I'm a middle school teacher who wants to do the best for his students, but I received NO training on literacy in teachers' college. So I have some questions: Where do I start with grade 7 students who struggle with decoding? Where do I start with grade 7 students who struggle with fluency? Where do I start with grade 7 students who struggle with comprehension? What other areas of reading should I be monitoring? How do I support my barely-literate students when I have 30 other kids to teach who work at or above grade level? How do I utilize the relatively few resource support periods I get in a week?

[@EmilyMuccianti]

Hi Mr. Z! Bravo for you to look for ways to support your students! We know for a fact that reading is tied to ALL academics and some of our students don't master those foundations skills by middle school. You've hit the major issues in middle school: decoding, fluency, comprehension, and I would add vocabulary. Other issues to contend with: scheduling, grouping, limited resources, and motivation. It's always best to start with assessment to determine who is at risk. The computer adaptive tests (CATs) do not do a good enough job targeting the underlying skills that students struggle with. Acadience 7-8 has a place to start if you visit their site. It uses a gating system to weed out kids that are on track. There are programs that target each of the skills above, but it sounds like you need strategies to support struggling kids within your content class. With that said, you should lean into improving your pedagogy. By incorporating best practices that will help all kids, you will greatly aide the kids that are struggling. These areas may be: explicit instruction and improved lesson design, improved student engagement, added opportunities for practice and/or repeated reading, word morphology within the content you teach. It is a big charge! Feel free to email me or book a zoom call so we can chat about it more. :)

[@courtneyj.4043]

My middle school originally had intervention as a part of the block schedule. It is now on a push-in/pull-out schedule. I don't know how that will work.

[@EmilyMuccianti]

That will certainly be a challenge. I would want clarity on the goal. Are you pushing in to support core instruction or are you focusing on developing literacy skills?

[@courtneyj.4043]

Hi! What were your typical class sizes for reading intervention in middle school? Also, how many different groups/classes did you have? Thanks 😊

[@EmilyMuccianti]

Hi Courtney! We purposely kept my MS classes small- 25 max. We blocked my classes so I had them for 2 periods. It was a six period day so I had a 7th grade reading/English and an 8th grade reading/English (plus one section of regular 7th grade English and a prep period).

[@courtneyj.4043]

@@EmilyMuccianti Okay, great! Thanks!

[@courtneyj.4043]

Another question. Did you keep them all year or switched every 6 or 9 weeks. I know we do it a little differently in elementary. Thanks!

[@EmilyMuccianti]

They were scheduled for the year, but those that reached the exit criteria were scheduled out at the semester.

[@courtneyj.4043]

@@EmilyMuccianti Thank you!!

[@Laura100706]

Hi! Would you please link to the curriculum you mentioned?

[@EmilyMuccianti]

Yes!! Just added. So sorry.

[@lorrainecella7985]

You never get to your point...you tell us what we already know. You never tell us what you actually do.

[@EmilyMuccianti]

So sorry you are disappointed. I come from the view point that there are many out there who may not know "what we already know".