• IRIS Center
COVID-19 RESOURCES
Careers at IRIS
  • Resources
    • IRIS Resource Locator
      Modules, case studies, activities, & more
    • Evidence-Based Practice Summaries
      Research annotations
    • High-Leverage Practices
      IRIS resources on HLPs
    • IRIS Alignment Tools
      HLPs, SiMRs, & CEEDAR ICs
    • Films
      Portrayals of people with disabilities
    • Children's Books
      Portrayals of people with disabilities
    • For Faculty
      Sample syllabi, curriculum matrices, & more
    • For PD Providers
      Sample PD activities, planning forms, & more
    • For Independent Learners
      Resources & tools for independent learners
    • Website Navigation Videos
      Getting around our Website & modules
    • New & Coming Soon
      Latest modules & resources
    • Glossary
      Disability related terms
  • PD Options
    • PD Certificates for Educators
      Our certificate, your PD hours
    • School & District Platform
      A powerful tool for school leaders
    • Log in to Your IRIS PD
  • Articles & Reports
    • Articles
      Articles about IRIS use & efficacy
    • Internal IRIS Reports
      Reports on IRIS use & accomplishments
    • External Evaluation Reports
      Evaluations of the IRIS Center
    • Learner Outcomes
      Summaries of module effectiveness
    • Consumer Satisfaction
      Feedback and testimonials from IRIS users
    • IRIS Stories
      Our resources, your stories
    • News & Events
      What, when, & where it's happening
  • About
    • Who We Are
      Our team, experts, & advisors
    • What We Do
      Our resources & process
    • Contact Us
      Get in touch with IRIS
  • Help
    • Help & Support
      Get the full benefit from our resources
    • Website Navigation Videos
      Getting around our Website & modules
  • Module
  • Challenge
  • Initial Thoughts
  • Perspectives & Resources
  • Wrap Up
  • Assessment
Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Perspectives & Resources

What is RTI?

  • Page 1: A Quick Overview of RTI

How can teachers increase student reading success in early grades?

  • Page 2: High-Quality Instruction: Instructional Practices
  • Page 3: High-Quality Instruction: Comprehensive Core Reading Program

What components comprise high-quality reading instruction?

  • Page 4: Phonemic Awareness
  • Page 5: Phonics and Word Study
  • Page 6: Fluency
  • Page 7: Vocabulary
  • Page 8: Reading Comprehension
  • Page 9: Considerations for English Language Learners

How is high-quality instruction integrated into the RTI approach?

  • Page 10: Effective Instruction at Tier 1
  • Page 11: Effective Instruction at Tier 2
  • Page 12: Effective Instruction at Tier 3

Resources

  • Page 13: References & Additional Resources
  • Page 14: Credits
Wrap Up
Assessment
We want to hear from you. Please complete our brief Module Feedback Form.

How is high-quality instruction integrated into the RTI approach?

Page 11: Effective Instruction at Tier 2

After eight weeks of Tier 1 instruction, Mrs. Hernandez’s progress monitoring data reveal that four students—DeJuan, Jack, Ryan, and LaToya—are not making adequate progress. Although these students will continue to receive high-quality, Tier 1 instruction from Mrs. Hernandez, she has determined that they would benefit from supplemental Tier 2 intervention and continued frequent progress monitoring.

High-Quality Instruction

four students

Tier 2 intervention offers more focused instruction than does the typical classroom reading instruction. It does so in order to:

  • Remediate skill deficits
  • Preteach and review skills for Tier 1 lessons
  • Provide multiple opportunities to practice
  • Provide immediate corrective feedback

Just as with Tier 1, Tier 2 instruction should be of high quality. The implementation of high-quality Tier 2 instruction may vary from school to school but is typically delivered in small groups ranging in size from three to five students. However, all schools should implement supplemental interventions, which are based on research-validated instruction, for at least 30 to 45 minutes three to five times a week, depending on the ages of the students. School personnel may need to be creative to identify instructional time for Tier 2 intervention. Two options to consider are:

  • Taking time from two consecutive classes (e.g., 15 minutes from social studies and 15 minutes from science)
  • Taking time from “specials” (e.g., music, library, art)

In addition to the 90 minutes of core reading instruction provided by Mrs. Hernandez in the general education classroom, DeJuan, Jack, Ryan, and LaToya will receive 30 minutes of Tier 2 intervention with Ms. Washington, the reading specialist. Because Rosa Parks Elementary chose to use the standard protocol approach, the identified struggling readers will receive a standard research-validated instructional program provided in a small-group format. Ms. Washington will provide all four students with the same, empirically validated intervention, which will address all five components of high-quality reading instruction. The schedule below depicts the amount of time she will spend on each of the components.

Sample Schedule
Phonemic Awareness 5 minutes
Phonics and Word Study 10 minutes
Fluency 5 minutes
Vocabulary 5 minutes
Reading Comprehension 5 minutes

For Your Information

In some cases, a larger percentage of general education classroom students may require Tier 2 intervention than would be expected. When this occurs, school professionals should reexamine the quality of the Tier 1 services and make changes accordingly.

Teacher in a meetingTier 2 intervention may be provided by the general education teacher or by another trained instructor, within or outside the general education classroom. If Tier 2 intervention is provided by someone other than the general education teacher, collaboration between the teachers is particularly important so that the intervention program is aligned with Tier 1 instruction. For example, Ms. Washington will identify additional, supporting instructional resources (e.g., letter/ sound cards, word cards, strategies specific to working with English Language Learners, and progress monitoring assessments) to supplement the Tier 1 comprehensive core reading program. She will also use these resources to provide extra practice opportunities for students receiving Tier 2 intervention. For instance, if students have worked on the /a/ sound during Tier 1 then the same skill should be reviewed and reinforced during the Tier 2 intervention. The sample lesson activity (below) shows how Ms. Washington’s Tier 2 lesson will reinforce one of the skills taught by Mrs. Hernandez during Tier 1 instruction.

Tier 2 Intervention

notebook and pen icon Remember, teachers who provide Tier 2 interventions should:

  • Provide instruction with modeling
  • Check that students are doing the activity correctly
  • Have students demonstrate what they are doing
  • Have students repeat instructions
  • Provide corrective feedback to individual students
  • Provide multiple examples

Phonemic Awareness: Here is an example of how Ms. Washington uses phonemic awareness.

Say the parts of a word then put them together and say the word. The parts are /m/ /a/ /n/.

Ms. Washington holds up a finger as she says each sound so that she has three fingers up when she finishes.

That word is “man.” Let’s try another word.
The parts of this word are /p/ /a/ /t/. The word is “pat.“

She gives her students further practice by asking them to say the following blended words after she says the individual sounds.

mat cat map pan
tap tack tan nap

 

Now look at the table below and compare the phonemic awareness lessons between Tier 1 and Tier 2. Although the lessons seem similar, Tier 2 provides a more intense level of instruction. This is achieved by providing additional attention, focus, and support, and by adjusting the pace of the lesson to match students’ needs. For example, where a Tier 1 lesson might have students practice on three different sounds, a Tier 2 lesson might start with one sound and gradually progress to the second and third sounds once students can demonstrate their understanding of each previous sound. Students have multiple opportunities to participate and respond, and Ms. Washington is able to provide immediate corrective feedback.

Tier 1 Lesson

Phonemic Awareness

  1. Say the sounds for the following words, and have students say what the word is ([/m/ /a/ /s/ /t/ = mast]: mast, mats, mist, mitts, past, pest, pets, pats).
  1. Using the same list from above, say the words and have students say the individual sounds (mast = [/m/ /a/ /s/ /t/]).

Tier 2 Lesson

Phonemic Awareness

  1. Review short-a words with this exercise. Only when students have mastered the /a/ words will she introduce /i/ words.
    • Use visual cues to help the students associate the sounds with letter names.
    • Provide more opportunities for students to practice.
  1. After students have mastered consonant-vowel-consonant, add words with the /st/ blend that the general education teacher has already taught (i.e., Tier 1 instruction).
  1. Preteach sounds that the general education teacher will introduce later in the week.

As indicated in the table above, small-group activities for Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction appear to have comparable content. However, Tier 1 teachers most likely will not have as much time with their struggling students during small-group instruction (5–20 minutes) as teachers will have during Tier 2 small-group instruction (30–45 minutes). Tier 1 teachers will have to prioritize what the struggling students need to learn or practice during Tier 1 small-group instruction. Therefore, the Tier 1 teacher may be able to cover only one or two core reading components during this short time. Subsequently, because Tier 2 intervention is for a more extended time, the Tier 2 teacher should be able to address most, if not all, of the five components during the intervention.

Listen to Thea Woodruff discuss Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction (time: 0:32).

Thea Woodruff, PhD
Director, Professional Development and Technical Assistance Teams,
Vaughn Gross Center’s Reading First Project
University of Texas, Austin

/wp-content/uploads/module_media/rti03_reading_media/audio/rti03_11audio_woodruff.mp3

View Transcript

Woodruff2

Transcript: Thea Woodruff, PhD

They really should look very similar and provide the students with more practice opportunities that are consistent across the two instructional times. You want some consistency across what kids are doing, so you are reinforcing the same skills and having them practice them. Especially with struggling readers, you’re wanting to be consistent in the instruction that you’re providing across these different interventions. If you’re doing different things, it’s going to be difficult—especially for struggling readers—to grasp on to the activities and learn how to do them and get as much out of them if you’re not being consistent.

Frequent Monitoring

rti03_11e_teachergraphMs. Washington is responsible for conducting the weekly progress monitoring of those students receiving Tier 2 instruction, which typically lasts 10–12 weeks. However, she and Mrs. Hernandez are responsible for collaborating and making decisions about the students’ instructional needs. At the end of the 10–12-week period, they also are responsible for determining, whether individual students should receive Tier 1 instruction only, whether they should continue to receive another round of Tier 2 intervention, or whether they need more the intensive intervention provided by Tier 3.

The table below offers a brief summary of some options for Tier 2 intervention.

Tier 2 Intervention Options
Who receives instruction Students who are not making adequate progress with Tier 1 instruction.
Amount of daily instruction

Instruction may vary, depending on the age of the student, from 30–45 minutes per day (+ Tier 1):

  • Younger students (e.g., kindergartners) have shorter attention spans and might require shorter amounts of time (e.g., 30 minutes)
  • Older students are able to attend for longer amounts of time (e.g., 30–45 minutes)
When instruction is provided

Scheduling options for Tier 2 could include:

  • Taking time from two consecutive classes (e.g., 15 minutes from social studies and 15 minutes from science)
  • Taking time from “specials” (e.g., music, library, art)

In the event that a large percentage of students requires Tier 2, the teacher might need to schedule more than one Tier 2 intervention period per day.

Duration of instruction

10 weeks–20 weeks:

  • The number of weeks may vary, but a minimum of 10–12 weeks is recommended.
  • Students may need an additional round of Tier 2 intervention.
How instruction is implemented Instruction should be implemented with teacher/ student ratios of 1:3–1:5.
Frequency of progress monitoring At least one time every 1–2 weeks
Who provides instruction

Trained personnel may include:

  • General education teacher
  • Reading specialist
  • Paraprofessionals
  • Other personnel
Where students are served Within or outside the general education classroom
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Back Next
1...7891011121314
Join Our E-Newsletter Sign Up
  • Home
  • About IRIS
  • Our Values
  • Sitemap
  • Web Accessibility
  • Glossary
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us
Join Our E-Newsletter Sign Up

The IRIS Center Peabody College Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 37203 [email protected] The IRIS Center is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Grant #H325E220001. The contents of this Website do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Sarah Allen.

Copyright 2023 Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved.

* For refund and privacy policy information visit our Help & Support page.

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

  • Vanderbilt Peabody College