• Multi Tiered System of Supports and Reading

    This year Locust Grove Middle will have a school wide emphasis on improving student literacy.  Students will be receiving instruction in reading strategies during Flex block, and teachers will be incorporating literacy instruction across the curriculum.  For some students, more support is needed. Students who are identified as requiring Tier 2 or Student Support Team (SST) supports may have an additional reading class. 

    This year we have students who are using Focused Reading Intervention Kits, as well as students who are using Read180 for intervention.  Whether the students are using the FRIK or Read180 intervention, the goal is to improve fluency and comprehension.  Fluency is the student’s ability to read smoothly and rapidly, using voice to convey meaning.  Students in middle school should be able to read about 125 words per minute. 

    If your son or daughter reads haltingly, has frequent loops where they repeat words or phrases, or substitutes similar looking words when reading, that is a fluency difficulty.  Comprehension is also a significant concern for many middle school students.  The expectation for reading comprehension for both fiction and non-fiction has increased in the last few years.  Reading comprehension is measured by Lexile. 

    The Lexile framework provides an estimate of the reading complexity.  Lexile expectations for each grade are:

    6th grade: 925-1070

    7th grade 970-1120

    8th grade 1010-1185

    When students take the Milestones, part of the scores we receive is a Lexile.  That allows educators to see if students are on track for reading comprehension proficiency.  MAP or Measures of Academic Progress also provides a Lexile score.  That information, as well as classroom performance and data collection, informs educators as to whether students require reading support. 

    For more information on Lexile, please review the Georgia Department of Education website.  There you will find links to parent resources including a ‘Find a Book’ site that sorts books by Lexile.  Matching your child to the right reading level- the Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD- will optimize your student’s growth.

     

    http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/Lexile-Framework.aspx