1st Edition

RTI for Reading at the Secondary Level Recommended Literacy Practices and Remaining Questions

    Grounded in the best current knowledge, this book shows how to implement response to intervention (RTI) in middle and high school contexts. Detailed guidelines are presented for teaching reading comprehension, vocabulary, and other aspects of literacy across the content areas, and for providing effective interventions for students who require additional support. The authors describe RTI procedures that are specifically tailored to the needs of struggling adolescent learners and that take into account the challenges and logistics of secondary-level implementation. The volume features 26 reproducible tools for planning, assessment, progress monitoring, and multi-tiered instruction; the large-size format facilitates photocopying.

    Prologue: Response to Intervention with Secondary Students: Why the Issues Are Different Than with Elementary Students, Sharon Vaughn and Jack M. Fletcher
    Introduction
    1. RTI in Reading: An Overview
    2. Step 1: Implementing Effective Tier 1 Instruction
    3. Step 2: Establishing Interventions in Reading
    4. Step 3: Guidelines for Tiers 2 and 3
    5. Step 4: Refining Implementation of RTI
    Epilogue.
    Appendix A. Sample Middle School Schedules: Grades 6–8
    Appendix B. Sample Junior High Schedules: Grades 7–8
    Appendix C. Sample High School Schedule
    Appendix D. Examples of Vocabulary and Comprehension Strategies for Content-Area Instruction
    Appendix E. Examples of Reading Intervention Strategies
    Appendix F. Resources for Implementing RTI at the Secondary Level

    Biography

    Deborah K. Reed, PhD, is Director of the Iowa Reading Research Center and Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. She is a former middle and high school teacher who has developed numerous instructional materials and professional development programs on adolescent literacy. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and a past president of the organization.

    Jade Wexler, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland. Her current research focuses on designing reading interventions to support adolescents with reading difficulties and disabilities in the content-area and supplemental intensive intervention settings. She also designs and evaluates professional development and schoolwide service-delivery models to support the implementation of evidence-based literacy practices in middle schools. Dr. Wexler has published over 45 articles focusing on adolescent literacy interventions. She is a former high school special education and reading teacher.
    Sharon Vaughn, PhD, is H. E. Hartfelder/Southland Corporation Regents Chair of Human Development and Executive Director of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas at Austin. Her numerous awards include, most recently, the Jeannette E. Fleischner Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Learning Disabilities, awarded by the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

    "We all know that the knowledge base on RTI for middle and high school has been fragmented and diffuse. It no longer is. This book candidly synthesizes and weaves together relevant research and information that can inform best practices in RTI at the secondary level. Honest and pragmatic, it should be essential reading."--Russell Gersten, PhD, Director, Instructional Research Group, University of Oregon

    "There are RTI models for elementary schools, but what about older students? Reed, Wexler, and Vaughn provide a practical guide to RTI implementation in secondary schools. Finally, a resource that can help middle and high schools to be more systematically aggressive about kids’ learning."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Chicago

    "At long last, an RTI resource that addresses the unique needs and challenges of secondary educators. This practical reference for teachers and administrators could easily become the focus of a professional development program. It features illustrative scenarios and concrete recommendations that can be put to use immediately to plan and implement RTI at the school or district level."--Tina Angelo, MEd, manager of adolescent literacy, Houston (Texas) Independent School District
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