ASSESSMENT
After talking with the parent to find out what their reason for tutoring is and what they hope to gain from it, I will give the student a few informal assessments that will quickly tell me the student’s most pressing need. It will also tell me what pathway to start the student on. With Reading Simplified, there are different pathways for different reading levels ranging from prek-4th grade. I do not tell the students what grade level they are on. It is for my purposes only. Each pathway has the goal of getting students reading fluently at that grade level or beyond.
THE THREE-PART READING SIMPLIFIED LESSON
Once I determine which pathway to follow, we can start with the Reading Simplified 3-part lesson. I will determine which specific activities to do based on your child’s most pressing need.
THE FIRST PART- RE-READ FOR FLUENCY
The first part of the 3-part lesson is called Re-read for fluency. In this part of the lesson, the student will reread the passage that was introduced in the session before. The main benefits of this repeated reading routine are it improves word identification, increases reading fluency, develops decoding skills, helps students gain confidence, and improves reading comprehension
THE SECOND PART - WORD WORK
The second part of the Reading Simplified lesson is called Word Work. I will pick 2 activities ranging from Switch-it, Read-it, Write-it or Sort-it.
Switch-it is a quick game that kids love to “play”. They do not even realize that they are learning about the concept of the alphabetic principle, letter-sound knowledge, phonemic segmentation, phonemic manipulation, & early decoding & spelling skills. I personally feel like it is the heartbeat of our tutoring session. It is a very powerful time of accelerated and advance learning. Find out more about it here.
Read-it is a whiteboard activity in which I teach students how to blend. Reading Simplified uses an approach they call Blend as You Read. Some people call it continuous blending. I call it POWERFUL!
It is a simple technique of teaching students to sound out the first two sounds of a word and continue to say the sound as they add the next sound. It is easier to understand if you see it done. How to Teach Blending Sounds to Read Words | Reading Simplified
Write- it boosts the skills of spelling, reading, and writing. It uses the strategy of Write and Say. It is another simple, but powerful strategy in which students say the sounds of the word as they write it. Find out more about Write-it here.
Sort-it is for students who are ready for advanced phonics, which is sooner than you think. Once they can blend 3 and 4 sound short vowel words, they are ready for advanced phonics, which includes long vowel combinations, diphthongs, and vowel digraphs. Reading Simplified teaches by sorting by sound, not spelling. For instance, in one lesson introduce the long vowel “o” and its major spellings (i.e., “o,” “o_e,” “ow,” “oa,” “oe”). It is amazing how this approach works so well, that even kindergarteners understand it. Find out more about Sort-it here.
THE THIRD PART- GUIDED READING
The last part of the three-part lesson is called Guided Reading. I like to think of it as a new read. The student will be reading a new text that matches the level that they are at on the pathway. This is the time that they learn or practice the blend-as-you-read strategy. I will also buddy read on the harder words and gradually decrease the amount of the support I provide during future tutoring sessions. This is also a time to develop comprehension skills by having them develop a brief summary. Find out more about Reading Simplified Guided Reading here.
BONUS HANDWRITING ACTIVITY
There is also a bonus handwriting activity that I use as needed. I follow the Peterson Handwriting prompts that I learned about here. I find that these prompts decrease the cognitive load during handwriting instruction and all students that I have taught have improved their fluency and accuracy in handwriting.
BONUS PHONICS GAMES
Reading Simplified also has card games or board games that coincide with the different levels of the pathways. We will typically play a game if there is time at the end of the session and sometimes I will assign them as part of their homework.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO COMPLETE A PATHWAY?
It typically takes about 12 hours to complete a pathway and students usually increase at least a grade level. It is not uncommon for the Reading Simplified lessons to benefit students in additional areas that have to do with processing information. It seems to be more effective if the sessions are done twice a week and if students complete homework.
REVIEW FROM A PARENT
She has been absolutely wonderful to work with and my daughter absolutely loves her. She has helped catch our daughter up a whole grade level in multiple areas so quickly. Literally in the matter of 8 weeks over the summer. She built up our daughter’s confidence in reading, started playing games, and still continue to rely on Mrs. Huchingson. I am forever grateful for all the growth and confidence it’s given our daughter. I am so confident that she was the right choice, and we will continue to work with her and I would recommend her to anyone. She literally is the absolute best of the best! And has been just a blessing to not just my daughter but our family