Data-Based Instruction for Below-Level Reading Fluency

Student Profile and Learning Needs

The student in this plan is a child with a learning disability who qualifies for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). He has organizational difficulties, tends to be impulsive, and is two years behind grade level in both reading and math. He requires a structured environment and ongoing organizational support in order to succeed academically.

Tier 1: Classroom Activities, Rules, and Strategies

Whether teaching older or younger children with a learning disability, the following engaging activities can support successful lessons (McLeskey et al., 2018).

Art: Drawing, painting, gluing, and cutting can be elevated into language activities. Have students ask each other for art materials and describe what they plan to do with them. Students will complete a creative art project while simultaneously practicing language and vocabulary.

Pretend Encounters: Setting up role-play scenarios helps children practice language and listening skills before real encounters occur. For example, create a pretend restaurant and have students role-play as the chef, clients, server, and customer placing an order. With older students, practicing ordering a pizza provides opportunities to use pragmatic, syntactic, and vocabulary skills in a quieter, controlled setting. The activity becomes even more meaningful when the pretend encounter is made real (McLeskey et al., 2018).

Games: Both commercial and teacher-created games are valuable tools for practicing pragmatic and syntactic language. Activities such as asking and answering questions, vocabulary building, turn-taking, and games like Memory and Candyland all support language development. Commercial games can be adapted by replacing their cards with cards targeting specific language skills.

Experience Stories: Photograph students during science experiments, field trips, and nature walks. Use those photos to create a book and have the student dictate the language used during the experience.

Role Plays: Use role-plays to retell stories using targeted language. Choose simple books with character dialogue and add props to make the activity more engaging.

Lack of Resources: Schools often cannot provide students with learning disabilities the assistive technology needed to support their learning. Examples of such technology include ASL videos for testing materials, video remote interpreting (VRI), interactive whiteboards, closed captioning on videos, digital pen technology, and chat rooms (King-Sears, 1997).

Social Concerns: Students with learning disabilities may feel uncomfortable when their disability draws attention in the classroom. Wanting to appear like their peers, they may withdraw and avoid participating in class activities. This lack of engagement can lead to fatigue and physical symptoms such as headaches.

Collaboration Challenges: Due to the busy pace of the school year, it is often difficult to schedule collaborative meetings among the professionals who play a key role in a student's academic progress. Teachers should maintain close communication with the student and their parents and ensure that adequate support is in place (King-Sears, 1997).

1. Reinforcing Meaning: Give the student time to absorb what has been taught and rephrase information when necessary. Phrases and sentences are easier to lip-read than single words. Use gestures where relevant, but avoid exaggerated body language or facial expressions. When changing the subject, write it down for clarity.

2. Clear Speech: Speak clearly and at a natural, measured pace. Avoid shouting, as it distorts lip patterns and voice quality (King-Sears, 1997).

3. Visibility: Avoid covering your mouth with your hands or objects such as a pen. Establish agreed-upon cues with the student beforehand to ensure you have their attention before speaking.

4. Minimize Background Noise: Noisy environments make it significantly harder for the student to understand instruction. Insist on quiet while addressing the class, and seat the student away from sources of noise.

Moving Students to Tier 2 Intervention

Multiple data points give the student's problem-solving team a comprehensive view of performance from various angles, enabling more precise, data-based decisions. The following sources inform tier placement decisions:

After eight weeks of Tier 1 instruction, progress monitoring data reveals that three students — Amy, Bill, and Elizabeth — are not making sufficient progress. While these students will continue to receive high-quality Tier 1 instruction, the teacher will determine whether they would benefit from supplemental Tier 2 intervention and more frequent progress monitoring. Tier 2 intervention provides more focused instruction than typical classroom reading instruction. It delivers immediate corrective feedback, offers multiple opportunities to practice, reviews and pre-teaches skills aligned with Tier 1 lessons, and addresses skill deficits.

The teacher will provide the three students with empirically validated intervention covering the five components of high-quality reading instruction: reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, word study and phonics, and phonemic awareness. Each component will receive approximately five minutes of instructional time (Bull et al., 2013). Tier 2 intervention may be delivered by a trained instructor or the general education teacher, either inside or outside the classroom. When a specialist other than the general education teacher provides Tier 2 instruction, close collaboration between the two is especially important to ensure alignment with Tier 1 instruction.

The teacher will also identify supplementary instructional resources — including progress monitoring assessments, word cards, letter or sound cards, and strategies tailored to English Language Learners — to complement the core reading program and provide additional practice opportunities for students receiving Tier 2 intervention.