Our reading intervention during POLAR Time targets different areas of reading such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Each child works in one of the above areas until they reach grade level expectations.  Each area is described in more detail below.

Heggerty:  Explicit Intervention in Phonemic Awareness (152710)

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This falls under the umbrella term of phonological awareness.  This understanding improves students’ word reading and comprehension and helps them learn to spell. Progress in this intervention is checked every two (2) weeks using Acadience Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) and First Sound Fluency (FSF) probes.

Sonday:  Multi-Modal Approach to Structured Literacy (152750)

A multi-sensory, structured, explicit, systematic, sequential, cumulative, diagnostic and prescriptive instructional approach for reading and writing; which targets: phonemic awareness, sound-letter correspondence (phonics), spelling, handwriting, fluency, morphology, vocabulary and comprehension. Teaching steps are the following: synthetic and analytic presentation, opportunity for practice and teaching to mastery of a structured scope and sequence. Progress in this intervention is checked every 3 levels using Sonday Reading and Spelling Mastery Checks.

Fundations:  Explicit Intervention in Decoding (152720)

Early, explicit, and systematic instruction in phonics can help strengthen students’ decoding skills.  Phonics instruction should follow a phonics scope and sequence. Progress in this intervention is checked every two (2) weeks using Fundations Progress Monitoring Probes. 

Leveled Literacy Intervention: Small Group Scaffolding of Complex Text (152740)

The Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI) is a small-group, supplementary literacy intervention designed to help teachers provide powerful, daily, small-group instruction for the lowest achieving students at their grade level. It is important for all students, including those that are reading below grade level, to access complex, rigorous texts daily.  In order to do this, teachers can provide scaffolded instruction for students, which can include, but is not limited to:pre-teaching vocabulary, focus on language structure of complex sentences, teaching cohesive ties, teaching morphology and decoding of multisyllabic words. Progress in this intervention is checked every two (2) weeks using an oral reading assessment and a sight word mastery check.

Small Group Instruction: Explicit Instruction of Comprehension (152725)

Small group work where the teacher supports each reader’s development of effective strategies for processing new, complex texts at increasing levels of difficulty. The teacher carefully groups children according to need, selects a book to introduce, and works with individual students as each reads the book in its entirety.  Discussion, focused teaching, and optional word work complete the lesson.  Before focusing intervention efforts on multiple, complex comprehension strategies, it is critical to ascertain if students need additional instruction in phonics, fluency, vocabulary, sentence structure and text structure. Progress in this intervention is checked every two (2) weeks using an oral reading assessment and a sight word mastery check.

Reading Recovery (grade 1 only): Interventions Designed around Leveled Texts (152755)

A short-term, one-to-one, intervention for first grade students who struggle to learn to read and write. Children have daily 30-minute lessons with a trained Reading Recovery teacher for 12-20 weeks with the goal of accelerating learning to reach the class average.  One to one intervention using leveled texts whereby an instructional reading level is assigned to each student. Progress in this intervention is checked daily using an  oral reading assessment and a sight word mastery check.

Math Interventions

Our math intervention during POLAR Time targets 5 different areas of math:  forward and backward number sense, structuring, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division and place value.  Each child works in one of the above areas until they reach grade-level expectations.  These math interventions are game based and are developed by teachers that have specialized training in Math AddVantage.  Each area is described in more detail below.

Forward and Backward Number Sense

Students learn the names of numbers (number words), symbols for numbers (numerals) and the forward and backward sequence of numbers starting with single digits and moving up as grade-level expectations require.

Structuring

Students work on combining and splitting apart numbers without using counting by ones.  Students develop their understanding of doubles and the five and ten as reference points.  Example of work in structuring:  Break 2 into 1+1 and 3 into 2+1 or 1+2

Addition and Subtraction

Students build off of the understanding of the structure of numbers (see above) and develop a range of strategies in which to add and subtract.  

Multiplication and Division

Students work to conceptually understand multiplication (equal groups or repeated addition) and division (sharing or repeated subtraction).  Students develop a range of strategies in which to add and subtract. 

Place Value

Students develop a sense of the relative sizes of numbers.  They learn ways of relating multi-digit numbers to each other, as well as learn about decimals and how to organize numbers based on their grade level expectations.