The mission of the Chelsea School Literacy Program is accomplished through our four principles: Profile, Plan, Program, and Performance. Each student’s profile is reviewed and a specific plan for that student’s literacy development is made. Students are placed into one level of our three-tiered reading tutorial program. The three tiers focus on varying aspects of decoding, encoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension, and are highlighted further below. All teaching is research-based and guided by best practice. Performance is continuously monitored and assessed in order to guide continued instruction.
In addition to remediation, student access to assistive technology is a key element in the Chelsea School program model, particularly as it applies to students accessing age-appropriate reading material across all content areas. Students use Kurzweil 3000, WordQ/SpeakQ, Inspiration, and Soliloquy Reading Assistant as ways to accommodate their disabilities and help stimulate their learning.
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Reading Tutorials
Level 1: Reading Skills
The Reading Skills tutorial is a small group daily tutorial (1-3 students) designed for students who struggle with the process of decoding and encoding (i.e., reading and spelling). These students are within Stages 1 and 2 of Jean Chall’s Stages of Reading Development (Stage 1: Initial Reading or Decoding, Stage 2: Confirmation, Fluency, Ungluing from Print). Students receive intensive instruction in the areas of phonological awareness, decoding, and encoding. The curriculum incorporates elements from multi-sensory, systematic, structured reading programs such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Lindamood-Bell, and Reading by the Rules (WKRP), dependent on each student’s cognitive profile. Additionally, students are introduced to assistive technology devices such as Kurzweil 3000 and WordQ/SpeakQ. The goal of this tutorial is to bridge students into Stage 3: Reading to Learn. Additionally, instruction in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and written expression is incorporated into lessons in order to address global written language (i.e., reading and writing) development.
Level 2: Reading Fluency
The Reading Fluency tutorial is a small group daily tutorial (3-5 students) designed for students who have solid decoding abilities, but do not yet read fluidly or with proper expression and phrasing. Due to reduced fluency, students are not yet able to fully dedicate their attention to the meaning of the text. Classes include targeted work on reading rate, accuracy, expression and phrasing. Additionally, each student works with the Soliloquy Reading Assistant, a computer program that allows students to practice independent repeated oral reading using speech recognition and verification technology. Reinforcement of decoding and encoding principles and instruction in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and written expression is incorporated into lessons in order to address global written language (i.e., reading and writing) development.
Level 3: Reading Comprehension
The Reading Comprehension tutorial is a small group daily tutorial (4-6 students) designed for students who need more focused work on comprehension strategies. Students will be exposed to literature from a variety of genres and will work on strengthening their understanding of organizational patterns of expression (i.e., narrative, purpose, compare/contrast, opinion, enumerative, descriptive, and cause-effect), vocabulary, figurative language, and literary devices (e.g., irony, tone, etc.). Through structured lessons, students will receive reinforcement in decoding and encoding principles, oral reading fluency, and written expression.
