In this invited Viewpoint, Sharon Walpole tracks her thinking about feasible, effective, small-group differentiated instruction. She acknowledges political pressures and the focus on science of reading. She describes the attractiveness and feasibility of guided reading. She then identifies some salient criticisms of the assessments, texts, and instructional model used in guided reading. Finally, she proposes a different use of small-group time to provide feasible differentiated instruction in foundational skills for students who need them. She invites teachers to investigate the utility of repurposed differentiated small-group time to accelerate literacy achievement.

PurposeIn this study, we investigated the effects of a schoolwide program, Bookworms K-5 Reading and Writing, on student achievement.MethodThe study included seven cohorts of students (N = 8,806) in grades 2-5 in 17 elementary schools across three school years. We used a comparative interrupted time-series design, conducting multilevel growth curve models of Measures of Academic Progress reading scores with up to 10 data points per student. By modeling each student's growth curve, including a time by treatment interaction term, we were able to estimate the change in students' achievement trajectories corresponding to the implementation of Bookworms.ResultsResults confirm a significant positive impact of Bookworms on achievement, with gains compounding over time and producing an overall standardized effect size of .26 by the end of 5th grade. Students who began third grade with relatively weaker achievement experienced more growth than those with average achievement, and those with average achievement experienced more growth than those with the highest achievement.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that a comprehensive literacy curriculum that emphasizes high-volume reading of grade-level texts and the use of evidence-based instructional practices produces positive effects on student achievement for students with a range of initial reading achievement.

Are high-quality instructional materials unnecessary in schools with literacy coaches? Or might they make literacy coaches unusually effective? Consider a theory of change that links and leverages powerful practices in curriculum and coaching.

In the original publication of the article the funding information was missed to be published.

We compared year-long gains in fluency and comprehension in grades 3–5 in 3 treatment and 4 comparison schools. Treatment schools implemented a comprehensive school reform (CSR) program called Bookworms. The program employed challenging text and emphasized high text volume, aggressive vocabulary and knowledge building, and contextualized strategy instruction. Comparison schools used a traditional guided reading approach that matched children to instructional-level texts. We established feasibility of the CSR treatment through document review. Achievement levels were initially comparable in fluency and comprehension. Repeated-measures MANOVAs revealed that for reading fluency, the treatment group grew significantly more than the control group in grades 3 and 5 but not in grade 4. For comprehension, the treatment group exhibited significantly more growth at all 3 grades. Implications of the study are discussed.

The quad text set framework can assist content teachers in building students' background knowledge, increasing their reading volume, and incorporating complex texts into instruction.

This study investigated the reliability and validity of Part 1 of the Informal Decoding Inventory (IDI), a free diagnostic assessment used to plan Tier 2 intervention for first graders with decoding deficits. Part 1 addresses single-syllable words and consists of five subtests that progress in difficulty and that contain real word and pseudoword components. The IDI was administered to a sample of 94 first graders who attended three high-poverty schools in a rural district located in a South Atlantic state. The Test of Word Recognition Efficiency–Second Edition (TOWRE-2) was given in the same session. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) exceeded .70 for the total scores and all but one subtest. Total scores for real words and pseudowords correlated highly with TOWRE-2 subtests. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated the five-factor structure of the IDI, and mean comparisons affirmed the order of the subtests in all cases but one. Overall, this preliminary study affirmed the reliability and validity of the IDI. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

In this article the authors recount the history and challenges of implementing coaching in 153 Georgia elementary schools over the 6-year period of Reading First funding. After outlining the expectations of Reading First, they describe the particular demands of coaching in a reform setting and detail the formative lessons that allowed the program to evolve responsively. Each year progressed toward a more fine-grained focus for professional development. Beginning with broadly based knowledge building in Year 1, the project turned to building the capacity of coaches and state staff as data interpreters and professional developers in Year 2. Year 3 entailed a gradual release that enabled coaches and state staff to make more choices in order to tailor professional development to the needs of their schools. Based on longitudinal data, Year 4 narrowed the focus to interactive read-alouds (conducted to build comprehension and vocabulary) and small-group differentiated instruction. Because teacher response to implementing differentiation was positive, Year 5 involved a continuation of the efforts to refine and extend the use of read-alouds. The final year of funding was devoted to sustainability, including the creation of archived materials (available to all) and online modules.

How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction: Resources for Grades K-3 Differentiated Reading Instruction in Grades 4 and 5: Strategies and Resources. Consider the appropriate use of the following resources/strategies to support the use of the may be used to support distributive practice, differentiation, and engagement groups for guided reading or skills instruction 4.Balance process and product. 5.Less is more. Don't put out too much at once. 6. 1st Grade Class.

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