Response to Intervention is the practice of providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student need and using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important educational decisions. Schools who implement a RtI model use a tiered system of instruction and intervention.  The 3-Tier Model introduced by the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts in 2005 has been primarily the model that we have used to help us guide our RtI practices.   In a tiered system, students are provided with research-based core instruction and intervention.  Depending upon their response to that instruction, they progressively move though the tiers.   In a tiered system, research would indicate that 80% of the students in the classroom should

Isabel Beck’s book Bringing Words to Life has been sitting on my “should read” pile for quite some time.  Well, honestly, quite some time is an understatement.  I’ve heard so many raves and reviews from co-workers, I certainly should have read this book long ago.  The title of chapter 1 is “Rationale for Robust Vocabulary Instruction.”  How cool is that word?- robust– love it!  Reading this chapter started me thinking… how exactly strong, or robust, is vocabulary instruction in our schools.  It seems as if so much of our efforts have focused on phonics and fluency, that vocabulary and comprehension have taken a back seat. In chapter 1, Isabel Beck argues three “conventional wisdoms” about vocabulary development and instruction. Conventional wisdom

One of the many perks of having a child attend college at a Big 10 university is attending sporting events.  My son, AJ, is a sophomore at Michigan State University and we’ve been fortunate to be able to attend several MSU basketball games this season.  While watching basketball, I’ve been particularly drawn to one player, Adreian Payne.  Adreian is a junior, an amazing talent and will likely be drafted into the NBA.  If you’ve ever coached or are really into team sports you know that there are players who can change the course of the game by their mere presence on the field or court.  Although talented, these players are often not the most talented player, but they possess a

Tired of downloading and printing from TpT or Teachers Notebook?  Let me do it for you.  When you order a Make, Take & Teach intervention kit you’ll receive all the materials and activities printed in color and on 90 lb cardstock ready for assembly.  Each kit is contained in a sturdy Sterilite container which is ideal for storage in your classroom.  The kits contains 15+ hands-on activities designed for small group instruction.  Many of activities are printed in triplicate for multiple student use.  A teacher’s manual contains step-by-step directions for introducing each activity. Click HERE to order your Phonemic Awareness Kit.  This kit contains 15 activities to teach sound isolation, phoneme manipulation, segmenting and blending. Click HERE to order the Alphabetic Principle Kit.  This

In the past year or so I’ve received tons of emails asking if I’d bundle the Write It Phonics Cards.  The Write It cards were one of the very first activities I created and I’ve not only wanted to bundle them, but update them as well.  I now have so many more pictures for each phonics concept.  The revised edition of the phonics cards now includes 59 pictures per set!  The cards are great for either small group instruction when introducing the concept or as an independent activity within your centers.  Simply print, laminate, cut the cards and then bind with a 2″ loose leaf ring.  Students write the correct letter(s) with a dry erase marker to correspond to the