RTI (Part 4): Putting It All Together

Assessment

Take some time now to answer the following questions. Please note that the IRIS Center does not collect your Assessment responses. If this is a course assignment, you should turn them in to your professor using whatever method he or she requires. If you have trouble answering any of the questions, go back and review the Perspectives & Resources pages in this module.

1. Imagine that you are a third-grade teacher who has been preparing to implement the RTI approach. You have one week to get ready for class before school begins. List and describe at least five things that you would do to prepare for the students’ arrival and to implement RTI during the upcoming year.
2. Given a 90-minute reading period, create your own daily reading schedule (do not duplicate the schedule used by Mr. Brewster).
   1. Be sure to include different grouping formats (i.e., whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, partner reading, independent practice).
   2. Describe when progress monitoring will occur during your schedule.
3. Discuss at least one benefit of the general education teacher’s communicating with each of the following groups of people in regard to the RTI approach:
   1. Other professionals
   2. Students
   3. Parents
4. Choose a grade, K–3, and develop a 20-minute small-group lesson plan that covers the core reading components (be sure to specify the ability level and number of students). You may refer to the table below to determine which of the five core reading components need to be covered. Keep in mind that the table provides a guideline for average-ability students. If you decide that a component does not need to be covered, write a “0″ for “Time Allotted” and justify your reasoning in the “Brief Activity Description” space.

Reading Component	Kindergarten	First Grade	Second Grade	Third Grade
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics and Word Study
Fluency
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension

National Reading Panel, 2000; Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

5. Sierra and Ben are second graders at Rosa Parks Elementary. Their Tier 2 provider, Ms. Washington, uses the PRF to monitor their progress. Examine the graphs below.
   1. Make a tier decision (i.e., initiate or discontinue) for each student.
   2. Justify your decision using the data in the graphs.

Remember, the criteria for the PRF are a benchmark of 35 and a slope greater to or equal to 1.

Description

Sierra’s Graph: This is a line plot graph of Sierra’s data. The x-axis is labeled “Weeks of Instruction.” Weeks 0 through 20 are shown, with every two weeks labeled on the axis. There is a dividing, black-dashed line after week 8 to divide Tier 1 from Tier 2 instruction. The y-axis is labeled “Words Correct Per Minute.” 0 to 38 correct words per minute are shown, with every two words correct per minute labeled on the axis. There are two line plot graphs over Tier 1 and 2 instruction. The red graph shows Sierra’s data and the purple graph shows Sierra’s goal line. These graph indications are shown in the key underneath the graph. Sierra’s goal line begins at eight words correct per minute and stretches to 36 words correct per minute by Week 18. Sierra’s Tier 1 data has eight plotted points at weeks 1 through 8. The points per week are as follows: 8, 9, 10, 9, 8, 9, 10, and 11 words correct per minute. Sierra’s Tier 2 data has 10 plotted points, beginning at week 9 and ending at week 18. The points per week are as follows: 13, 15, 18, 25, 26, 25, 32, 34, 35, and 36.

Description

Ben’s Graph: This is a line plot graph of Ben’s data. The x-axis is labeled “Weeks of Instruction.” Weeks 0 through 20 are shown, with every two weeks labeled on the axis. There is a dividing, black-dashed line after week 8 to divide Tier 1 from Tier 2 instruction. The y-axis is labeled “Words Correct Per Minute.” 0 to 38 correct words per minute are shown, with every two words correct per minute labeled on the axis. There are two line plot graphs over Tier 1 and 2 instruction. The red graph shows Ben’s data and the purple graph shows Ben’s goal line. These graph indications are shown in the key underneath the graph. Ben’s goal line begins at eight words correct per minute and stretches to 35 words correct per minute by Week 18. Ben’s Tier 1 data has eight plotted points at weeks 1 through 8. The points per week are as follows: 8, 8, 9, 8, 10, 9, 10, and 11 words correct per minute. Sierra’s Tier 2 data has 10 plotted points, beginning at week 9 and ending at week 18. The points per week are as follows: 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, and 31.