K-3 Literacy Lab tutors work one-on-one with students for twenty minutes a day, providing targeted interventions! You might find yourself asking, what does it mean for an intervention to be “targeted?”
Different Students Need Different Interventions
When you’re working with students in kindergarten through 3rd grade, there’s a lot of variation in what support each individual student will need. You might work with a kindergartener on letter-sound correspondence in one session, and then help a third grader build fluency in your next session. From emergent readers to growing readers, our students need different kinds of support at different parts of their journey.
Understanding How Students Grow
Neurological research has shown that learning to read is a multi-step process that starts with phonological awareness. Once students learn how to match sounds with the symbols they represent, they can take the next step on their path toward reading success.
“It’s like climbing a staircase,” says Literacy Lab alum and current staff member, Ellen Sheppard. “You can’t start at the first step and expect to jump up to the top floor.”
Ellen served as K-3 tutor for two years at Banneker Elementary in Kansas City. During that time, Ellen routinely gathered data. Through tri-annual benchmark assessments and weekly progress monitoring activities, Ellen monitored her students’ response to intervention. Then, Ellen used this data to inform which interventions best fit her students’ needs. By targeting specific skills, Ellen made intentional choices to help students become even better readers.
Data Drives Decisions
Once a month, tutors and coaches have data review meetings. Together, they decide if their current intervention strategies are working, or if they need to switch to a different set of interventions. Taking into consideration student data, morale, and personality, this team builds a specific combination of interventions for each child.
Are you interested in helping students become event better readers? Apply today to serve as a Literacy Lab tutor in the 2018-19 school year!
