Consulting
Readsters believes that an important part of the relationship with our clients is availability. In addition to site visits we provide support through email and phone. Readsters provides the following consulting services:
- Teacher Mentoring
- Large Group Student Assessment
- Individual Student Assessment
- Evaluating Needs and Adjusting Reading Instruction
- Developing Goals for Common Core Standards and State Standards
Click on any service listed above to go directly to that section.
Teacher Mentoring
Mentoring is perhaps the most powerful way we share our expertise with teachers, reading coaches, literacy specialists, and administrators. We work one-on-one or with small groups to provide the level of support that is most beneficial. Our mentoring services include:
- Classroom observations, including explicit feedback about the content and delivery of reading instruction at individual teacher and school-wide levels
- Instructional modeling, either side-by-side with the teacher or modeling instruction as teachers observe. We model whole class instruction and small group intervention instruction
- Meeting with groups of teachers to discuss their students, focus on data analysis, and plan instruction based on data
- Assessing students with teachers and discussing how the information gained from assessment can inform instruction
An important focus of our mentoring is increasing teachers’ understanding of the process of learning to read so that they can better understand their students’ individual strengths and weaknesses and how to best remedy those weaknesses.
Click here to inquire about teacher mentoring.
Large Group Student Assessment
Having the right data is necessary for determining the instructional needs of students. We help many schools with school-wide reading assessment by administering assessments such as DIBELS, AIMSWeb, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, Readsters Pre-Reading Probes, and leveled reading assessments (Fountas & Pinnell, IRI’s, Jerry Johns, etc.). We can serve as the complete assessment team and assess all students or we can work with the school’s assessment team providing support and advice. We will analyze the assessment data and provide recommendations about intervention support for students who are performing below the school’s standards.
Click here to inquire about large group student assessment.
Individual Student Assessment
Some students do not respond to intervention as expected and deeper assessment may be necessary to diagnose a student’s specific difficulties. We use quick and informal assessments to identify specific weaknesses and provide a plan for adjusting instruction to meet the student’s needs.
Click here to inquire about assessment of individual students.
Assessing and Working With Students for Teacher Learning
Readsters also uses student assessment as a unique and invaluable learning opportunity for teachers. We assess a student in an in-school workshop setting allowing teachers to both observe the process and learn on the spot from the student’s performance. Immediately following the assessment we begin to teach the student so teachers see the connection between assessment and instruction in action. This powerful activity always generates “ah-hah moments” and teacher buy-in.
Click here to inquire about assessing students for the purpose of teacher learning.
Evaluating Needs and Adjusting Reading Instruction
Readsters works with administrators and teachers to identify and implement improvements to reading instruction. We guide schools and districts as they:
- Select the most powerful reading assessments
- Evaluate assessment data so that reading instruction can be adjusted to become more efficient and effective
- Review core and intervention curricula, including teaching methods and effectiveness
- Assist literacy coaches in adding to their skills and knowledge base
We also meet with staff members to brainstorm and develop ways to provide the support they need to increase students’ reading performance and enjoyment. We offer suggestions for customized workshops based on the evaluation of needs.
Click here to inquire about evaluating your school’s needs.
Developing Goals and Objectives for Common Core Standards and State Standards
Readsters helps schools develop literacy goals and objectives that support the Common Core Standards and state standards. The goals and objectives we develop list specific skills and knowledge that students are expected to have:
- at the end of each quarter for Grades K-2
- at the end of each semester for Grades 3-5
- at the end of each year for Grades 6-12
These goals and objectives provide a road map to guide administrators and teachers when selecting curricula and developing lesson plans. Included with the goals and objectives are lists of basic vocabulary for each grade, a core set of reading materials, and lists of other agreed upon content. This ensures all teachers know what is expected at each grade. (These lists are different for each school, based on the specific needs identified by the teachers.) Methods of assessment are also recommended for each goal or objective. Teachers at schools where we have developed this set of goals and objectives greatly appreciate that they have specific direction for meeting standards.
Click here to inquire about developing customized goals and objectives for your school.
For additional information on ways that we can help you, please call us at 703.535.7355 or email us at info@readsters.com.