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Success for All is a core reading
program aligned with President Bush’s Reading
First initiative for grades K-3. Based on the widely
used Success for All comprehensive reform model, Success
for All includes a range of innovations designed to
strengthen the program’s focus on five components
of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary,
fluency, and comprehension.
What makes Success for All unique
is its use of proven instructional strategies to make
reading come alive for every child. It uses cooperative
learning, partner reading, a rapid pace of instruction,
frequent standards-based assessments, and effective
classroom management strategies to engage every child.
Furthermore, Success for All has an intense focus on
professional development. Workshops, extensive followup,
in-class coaching, videos, and well-structured student
reading materials and assessments help every teacher
implement strategies derived from scientifically based
reading research. Success for All provides a comprehensive,
adaptive approach to ensuring reading skill and enthusiasm
for every child.
KinderRoots (K) is the early reading
component of KinderCorner. It introduces phonemic awareness
and phonics, sound blending, and decoding, using a series
of decodable texts.
BookEnds (K–1) presents vocabulary,
listening comprehension strategies, and literacy concepts.
Reading Roots (1) uses a series of
decodable texts to introduce phonics. Children read
in pairs to develop fluency, complete “Share Sheet”
activities to develop comprehension skills, and engage
in writing activities.
Fast Track Phonics (K-2) is a fun
and systematic approach to learning phonemes, and their
corresponding graphemes. In 3 volumes, lessons cover
most of the letter groups used in English, then the
conventions of spelling. The program can be used with
the comprehensive Success for All program or as a supplemental
program.
WordPower (2-3) is a phonics and word-recognition program
designed to solidify phonics skills and fluency at the
word level. It gives students the powerful boost they
need to move from basic word recognition to fluent reading.
The program can be used with the comprehensive Success
for All program or as a supplemental program.
My Turn, Your Turn (K-3) is an English-language development
program for students who speak other languages at home.
Students use new words and phrases daily and practice
using English in authentic ways. Teacher assessments
are included.
Reading Wings (2–3) builds around
existing textbooks to emphasize comprehension of narrative
and expository texts, cooperative learning, metacognitive
comprehension strategies, writing, home reading, study
skills, and other elements.
Writing from the Heart (K-2): introduces
writing using an informal writing process approach.
Writing Wings (3 and up) uses a more
formal writing process, with children writing multiple
drafts of compositions in partnership with a peer response
group.
Tutoring (K-3) provides comprehensive
tools for assessing student achievement, setting goals,
and planning effective interventions. Designed to assist
teachers and tutors in giving students immediate help
when they struggle with reading.
Assessments (1–3): Every eight
weeks, children in Success for All are assessed in decoding,
reading comprehension, and fluency. Diagnostic and screening
assessments are also used with children experiencing
difficulties.
Regrouping (1–3): Children are
regrouped across grade lines so that each teacher works
with children at one reading level. Groupings are changed
regularly based on eight-week assessments.
Success for All-Reading First has a strong program for
English language learners. This includes special training
for teachers with English language learners, concept
cards to introduce vocabulary in each story, and video/DVD
skits that act out the essential vocabulary in each
lesson. Success for All is also available in Spanish
for bilingual and dual-language programs.
Success for All offers video/DVD programs integrated
with the reading content. This includes an Animated
Alphabet (K–1), a sound blending program, programs
for English language learners, professional development
tapes for teachers, and more to come.
A facilitator (a teacher from the school’s staff)
supports all teachers to help them succeed.
- Three-day in-service in the summer
- Extensive followup in the school
throughout the year
- Leadership training for the principal
and facilitator
- Annual conferences
Rigorous experimental studies of Success
for All in grades K–3 done by many researchers
have found that, in comparison to matched control schools,
students in Success for All schools:
- Read significantly better
- Are less often referred to special
education
- Are promoted regularly from grade
to grade
- Attend school more regularly
Success for All uses an array of assessments
to keep close watch on the reading progress of every
child. These assessments are reliable, and their validity
has been established on several dimensions. In grades
K–1, curriculum-based assessments are used every
eight weeks. These include components administered individually
by the teacher as well as paper-and-pencil assessments.
These classroom-based assessments
give teachers detailed information on the overall reading
levels attained by each child as well as information
on subcomponents of reading. In grades K and above,
Success for All uses standardized, widely validated
assessments such as DIBELS. Children who are found to
be struggling on any of these measures or on specific
screening assessments are given a more extensive battery
of diagnostic assessments focused on identifying specific
reading difficulties.
These measures give teachers information
to use in accommodating the individual instructional
needs of children experiencing difficulties, and teachers
are given training and materials to help them make such
accommodations.
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