The Really Great Reading Difference
RGR’s program is ideal for upper elementary, middle and high school students, as well as adults. It offers free and accurate diagnosis of decoding skills and weaknesses. In addition, using our complimentary online Grouping Matrix ensures that students receive appropriate instruction. Unlike other programs, we have students focus on accuracy rather than speed. That’s because accuracy, not speed, is the key to fluency and comprehension—the ultimate goal of reading.
Our unique approach works because:
- Language is not babyish; skills are taught in a mature way and academic language is emphasized. Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost are designed to move at a pace appropriate for older students. Students learn to read multisyllable words early on in both programs, which motivates them to continue with the lessons. Much of the vocabulary in both programs is taken from academic content areas such as mathematics, science, and social studies, which helps students feel that the program is relevant to their other coursework.
- Students are taught to focus on vowels, not rules, when reading multisyllable words. An easy and effective way for students to read an unfamiliar multisyllable word is by breaking the word into syllables around the vowels. Many reading programs emphasize syllabication rules that students must memorize to read multisyllable words. Many students memorize these rules but still misread multisyllable words. Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost teach students to break words into syllables by looking for the vowel letters focuses their attention on the nucleus of the syllable (the vowel letters), which helps them read multisyllable words with ease and accuracy.
- Lessons are easier than most intervention programs to implement and can be taught by a wide range of educators. Because the lessons are fairly scripted, educators can feel confident in their ability to teach them, even if they do not have an extensive background in reading content. A What You Need to Know section in each lesson provides teachers with background information on the concepts they will be teaching, procedures, and routines.
- Positive Error Correction is embedded in our instruction. The lessons guide teachers to provide Positive Error Correction by telling students what they got right before focusing on what they got wrong. This strategy boosts the confidence of struggling readers and creates a positive reading environment. Teachers see tremendous gains in students’ confidence because they focus on what students do right before they help them self correct their errors.
- Learning to teach Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost is accessible and affordable: a 2-day professional development series prepares educators to identify, group, and teach students. In addition, we offer online webinars and training options to help teachers master the intricacies of our assessments and instructional programs. More information on our workshops and professional development options →
- Flexible lesson design allows lessons to be taught in 30-, 45-, or 60-minute increments. Although the lessons are designed to be delivered in 60 minutes, we recognize that not all teachers have a full hour to devote to decoding intervention each day. The lessons are structured to be flexible, allowing you to make them work with teachers’ intervention schedule.
- Lessons are geared toward those with some reading ability but struggling to keep up in class. Students often have decoding issues that are overlooked because they have not been identified with a specific learning disability in reading. Our lessons are designed to help this population of students who often manifest their decoding weaknesses through misbehavior or underachievement both in reading and in their content area classes
- Our lessons take less time than other programs, but have great outcomes. Because our approach is streamlined and students are placed in the appropriate level of instruction from day one, teachers generally see results quickly and consistently as students progress through the lessons. The students placed in Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost instruction have been identified with specific decoding weaknesses which are the exact skills that are taught in the lessons. This targeted approach leads to strong outcomes in a timely fashion.
- Students practice their decoding skills with controlled and non-controlled text. Within Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost lessons, students have the opportunity to read both decodable and non-decodable text. The decodable text embedded within the lesson itself and the student practice activities is cumulative; students are only presented with words containing phonics patterns that they have been explicitly taught in the lessons. The lessons also include an activity where students practice reading a non-decodable passage similar to text they might encounter in their content-area classes. This activity is designed for students to practice applying their developing phonics skills to their reading outside of the lesson.
