This district’s blended learning program is putting struggling readers back on track

How blended intervention works

An intervention classroom at Joseph Ferderbar looks subtly different from a traditional learning setting. We’ve found that students learn better when they’re standing and are able to look up at what they’re doing, as opposed to looking down at a worksheet or iPad. We use wall-mounted whiteboards so students can hear, speak, write, and see the words—all while having fun. This model works well for small groups, keeping each student actively engaged in activities and showcasing what they’ve learned to their teachers and fellow students.

When marking and decoding words, students are urged to “stay on the road,” which simply means to begin marking under the word from left to right, then come up and around the end of the word to prove the vowel sound. To provide motivation, each student has a “driver’s license” with his or her photograph and name on it, which encourages students to “stay on the road.” The challenge is fun for students and provides incentive for doing well during sessions.

An example of the word markup

Last year, Joseph Ferderbar adopted a digital platform to prevent summer slide and complete our blended learning model. In addition to the 30 minutes a day they spend on direct instruction, intervention students spend at least one hour per week using the software, called Discovery. The digital curriculum allows students to practice and use what they’ve learned through access to lessons, vocabulary, games, and a library of decodable text.

Increasing parent involvement

We’ve found that students who practice outside of school develop their literacy skills at an increased rate, allowing them to feel more confident and fluent when reading and writing. This year, we’ve encouraged parents to use the software during the summer and at home. During the school year, we send students home with folders including reinforcement activities like skill words and sentences students are working on, and decodable “little books.” Parents also have the choice to attend workshops our district hosts where we teach them the same marking system for decoding and proving words on whiteboards that we teach their children. Parents have said after attending these workshops, they had a better understanding of how to help their children at home, and felt more prepared to support their children’s academic progress.

Today, instead of dreading it, our students are excited to engage in reading. Measuring progress frequently using informal assessments, periodic benchmark assessments, and the information in the “data dashboard” generated by the software helps us drive instruction by focusing on individual students’ growth and areas of need. Our decision to take a blended approach to intervention and increased parent support has brought our vision to fruition: Students are regularly graduating from their intervention plans, and we have seen consistent growth in students’ performance and engagement.