Reading Foundations®
A strategy of explicit instruction in phonemic development appropriate for early readers, struggling readers and ELL (english language learners). Reading Foundations® was first developed as a reading intervention tool focused on phonemic awareness. Traditionally implemented as a special education intervention around the 3rd or 4th grade, it was a last line of defense for struggling early readers. While a noble effort, unfortunately by this time students are reading years below grade level and the prospects of ever catching up are dim. The results are proof. Today, nearly 40% of Americans cannot read at a high school level. We know that without basic high school reading skills, the student has little chance of success in the adult world. In fact, literacy skills are so accurate for predicting adult success that many states use boys’ fourth-grade reading scores when forecasting the amount of prison cells needed in the future.
While it is commonly known and accepted that phonemic awareness is the foundation of reading, for many years teachers were not explicitly taught methodologies for delivering this key skill to their students. Unless your current staff of educators has fewer than 3 years of experience, they were never instructed in how to develop phonemic awareness in their students. While most students innately have the capacity to develop this skill on their own, some simply do not and will require direct intervention.
Fortunately, Reading Foundations® can easily compliment your current curriculum. It is neither a reading program nor a replacement for what you already know; rather it is a methodology to add to your existing tool belt of strategies. In a general education setting (PreK-grade 3), Reading Foundations® can serve as a preventative tool and can help students develop phonemic awareness naturally in a manner of weeks. Even in the more challenging cases, (Tiers 2 and 3), teachers often see results in as little as 12 weeks.
All educators can be trained in and benefit from Reading Foundations®, including early childhood and elementary teachers, speech language pathologists, reading specialists, and ESL instructors. Additionally, if your school district is implementing RTI, this professional development workshop is the perfect way to lay the groundwork and ensure the success of the students, teachers, and schools.
We believe in offering workshops in an engaging, interactive, and intimate environment at half the cost of competing companies. As a non-profit organization, we are dedicated to contributing to the success of early readers and even offer significant discounts to districts with limited funding.
Please contact us to learn how our current school districts are seeing dramatic results in their reading scores and having success meeting RTI goals.
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Reading Foundations® Advanced
Apply higher level phonics rules
This 6-hour workshop allows participants the opportunity to apply the phonemic awareness concepts of discrimination, sequencing and manipulation of phonemes, to decoding and encoding larger multi-syllable words. Programming moves into the application of higher level phonics rules, paired with symbol imagery, allowing teachers to gain a greater understanding of how a powerful phonemic awareness foundation leads to in-depth phonics application and successful reading skills. This methodology is appropriate for teachers 1st grade and higher.
Prerequisite: Have taken Reading Foundations® with MTI and are actively using the methodology in curriculum through discrimination, sequencing and manipulation of phonemes
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Foundations Refresher
An overview and reflection
This one day follow-up session provides a review and refresher of methodology covered in any of the Reading Foundations® classes. This is for teachers who have experience in the methodologies but wish to increase their skill level. Instructor and teachers work together to review content, address questions and develop a better grasp of the techniques and strategies in the classroom.
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