Dear Mr. Weaver,
I am currently using your Reading Intervention Online 4-12 program with my 94 7th and 8th grade at-risk, struggling, reluctant readers at Porter Middle School in Austin Texas. I have been using it at least 2-3 times a week since January 8, 2004. I am so thankful that you allowed Porter to be a demonstration site for this program and that the Austin ISD Board of Trustees agreed to make it a part of our middle school curriculum.
I really like the following things about your program:
1. Students are assessed, quickly placed at their appropriate instructional levels, receive almost immediate feedback after completing lessons, can view their progress every time they log on, and cannot “mess around” with the material (change the content, rearrange the text, etc.).
2. Students receive instruction in critical reading skills, fluency, vocabulary,
and spelling (an added bonus for their writing).
3. The comprehension passages are interesting, the font size and back- ground color can be adjusted to accommodate visual differences, the vocabulary is presented visually and aurally, and the vocabulary games provide the practice essential for retention of information. Also, the comprehension passages reinforce critical reading skills, providing increasingly difficult material as students move from level to level.
4. Students can, for the most part, work independently, and they can work at their own pace. The program provides individualized instruction.
5. The program is Internet based and can be accessed from anywhere if there is a computer with an Internet connection – no time-consuming loading and unloading of CDs. Students can practice at home, and I can check their progress from my home and adjust their lessons, if necessary.
6. If a student’s lesson plan needs to be changed, I can do it quickly. If a new student comes in, s/he can be added quickly to the program and can start using it almost immediately with little preparation.
7. IT IS EASY FOR ME AND FOR MY STUDENTS TO USE.
8. And, last, but certainly not least, my students are making progress in their reading skills. Their fluency is increasing, and their ability to recognize the subject, main idea and supporting details in what they read is improving (and these skills are critical to higher level reading/ thinking skills. If they don’t understand what they’re reading about, they won’t be able to make inferences, etc.) Their vocabulary is also improving, and this too is critical to higher level reading/ thinking skills. A side benefit is increased/improved keyboarding skills.
I very much appreciate how much time and effort you and your employees have put into developing and upgrading this reading intervention system. I look forward to a long association with Weaver Instructional Systems.
Sincerely,
Ann Teich
Reading Teacher, 7th & 8th Grades