What I learned from Lightning
 Which aspects of your instruction do you feel are most
effective, most efficient?
 How do you make them so?
 Do you know the research that supports your effective
instructional practices?
 Lightning was a third-grade student. His oral reading
was choppy, halting, and boring. His low reading rate
(55 words per minute, WPM) was hampering both his
reading achievement and Lightning’s sense of himself
as a reader. He did not enjoy reading, had no favorite
books, and his progress was slow even in small-group
configurations. Lightning had begun the year on the
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA, Beaver,
1991) Level 18, approximately one year below grade
level. After six weeks of guided reading intervention,
he showed no assessed growth. His DRA level
remained the same.
18-24 in 8 Weeks
 In which instructional aspect could you or teachers
you have observed be more effective or efficient?
 What seems to hinder the effectiveness of this
instruction?
 Despite his improvement in reading speed (approx 70
WPM), it was noted that Lightning’s expression did
not consistently match the meaning of the story.
Though he was excited about his progress, he still not
enjoy reading.
 Automaticity
 Rate
 Prosody
 NIM
 Stimulates more of the brain.
Also, consider the nature of the task…
 Lightning’s progress with repeated readings was
remarkable.
 He does need to read text more prosodically.
 As a reading professional, you have to make a choice.
 CMSE (if you feel the Education World needs more
acronyms) is a NIM and RR Hybrid
 This stacked intervention using NIM and repeated
reading was used for another eight weeks. Lightening’s
DRA level increased from a 24 to a 30, only slightly
behind the third grade expectation. Lightning read the
DRA-level 30 text with very good comprehension, 99%
accuracy, at 99 WPM, and great expression—a score of 4
according to the rubric.
 After the completion of the study, 2 weeks later, he read a 34
and was excited from the program.
 10 Weeks: 24-34.
 Compare the advantages and disadvantages these two
modes of reading and the hybrid. Consider the role of
the teacher and the students. What tends to interfere
with using these modes efficiently and effectively in a
classroom?
 Video
 Lightening clutched his new Diary of a Wimpy Kid
book and said, “Now, don’t forget about your chubby
little buddy, Mr. Young!”
 Appropriate Assessments
 Analysis of Assessments
 Research-Based Instruction
 Evaluation of Instruction
 Teacher and Student
 Modification of Instruction
 Stacked Instruction
 How are effectiveness, efficiency, and engagement
related to literacy achievement?
 How can teachers increase student engagement in
addition to their own effectiveness and efficiency?
 Tell us about a time when you were very engaged in a
reading or writing task. What characterized this
experience that teachers could replicate in their
instruction?
 In small groups, make a list of things teachers do to
manage students and to teach students. Compare
these listed items and the time given to them. How
could a teacher save even 20-30 minutes a day in order
to have more time for rich instruction?