Reading remains the most important skill for success in school and life. Students who read and comprehend

well own their futures. Those who continue to struggle suffer ongoing humiliation in school and have limited

options in life.Children mature at varying rates and should not be expected to progress in reading at uniform rates.

Our reading instruction, therefore, is not a one-size-fits all program. Our experienced reading teachers recognize that students’ individual learning styles affect how they learn.

We thus individualize instruction for every student based on his or her learning style and interests. Our goal is to foster good reading comprehension using both classroom and supplemental materials. Students are encouraged to take books home for additional practice.

Each student who receives reading instruction at FOL

1. Is first evaluated by Dr. Chippendale using both standardized tests and miscue analysis to identify specific areas of strength and concern and identify approximate lexile levels.

2. Receives an individualized instructional plan that identifies the reading strategies that will be

taught to foster comprehension growth, including:

• Reading and monitoring reading for meaning (not just word calling)

• Using backgrounds (schemas) to make sense of new information

• Using contextual, grammatical, and phonetic cues in words and texts

• Reading quickly and efficiently by chunking words

• Making inferences

• Asking questions

• Reading for enjoyment

Teachers stay in regular contact with parents to report progress.

Reading difficulties do not go away on their own–timely intervention is essential. Students can improve their

reading skills at any stage in their lives. On the elementary level, third grade is a pivotal year: a student who

is still struggling at the end of third grade is in trouble and needs help.

What is a reading strategy?

A strategy is a plan the reader uses to helm make sense of what is being read. Strategies are flexible and

can, therefore, be adapted to meet the need of whatever reading task a student is facing. The difference

between a “good” and “bad” reader is that one uses multiple strategies to make sense of the text while

the other does not.

When does reading material become difficult for the student?

• When s/he has limited comprehension strategies and relies primarily on decoding words.

• When the student lacks adequate background information and thus cannot make a connection

with what s/he is reading.

• When the student does not recognize the organization patterns in texts, which makes it difficult

to follow the text and recognize what is important. It also makes it difficult to establish a

cognitive framework for organizing and storing information.

• When the student has no purpose for reading. Students who lack a purpose quickly lose interest

in what they are reading and do not construct meaning from the text. It is very difficulty to

comprehend something when one has no idea of why one is reading it.