Reading Intervention
What We Do:
Early reading intervention is crucial because it sets a strong foundation for a child’s academic journey and overall development. By addressing reading challenges early on, children can build essential literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension, which are vital for later academic success.
- Work with preschool and kindergarten students to strengthen early literacy skills including phonological awareness, reading, spelling and writing skills
- Use structured, sequential, multisensory, research-based teaching approaches and programs
- Work with classroom teachers and administrators to support differentiated reading instruction
- Assist in the administration and interpretation of benchmark assessments
- Consult with parents to help them support their children’s reading and create a literacy-rich environment in the home
Work That Speaks Volumes
My daughter has blossomed into a confident and skilled reader because she has been taught in a way that caters to her learning needs. We are beyond grateful for the SHEMESH Reading Support services.
Reading Intervention In Action
Shira was a quiet and reserved child. In circle time, although she loved listening to the stories the teacher read, she rarely volunteered to answer any of the questions. During reading instruction, she would stare at her paper or turn to look at her neighbor’s paper before attempting to do any of the work on her own. In the fall, Shira scored in the at-risk category on the early literacy benchmark assessment. She had difficulty rapidly naming letters and identifying beginning sounds. She couldn’t even begin to segment sounds in words. It was clear that Shira was falling behind her peers.
After conferring with her parents and teachers the JES reading specialist began working with Shira twice weekly. In addition to letter and sound naming, sessions addressed improving her phonological awareness skills: rhyming, blending and segmenting. With individualized, targeted instruction, Shira began to make progress. The reading specialist provided her grateful parents with information on how to work with her at home to reinforce skills. Shira’s confidence rose and she began participating more in the classroom.
By the time the final benchmark assessment was administered in May, Shira’s score fell within the lower limits of the average range. This note from the reading specialist says it all: “I created a reading activity around Shira’s favorite things to do. When Shira read the words in a sentence pertaining to her –“I like to swim and sing.” These words were not just words on paper; they were her words about her. Her whole body lit up with a smile.”