Many recent reading research studies report that children learn to read, while many fail, due to the components and methods used in reading instruction (e.g., Adams 1990; Learning First Alliance 1998; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin 1998). Through this document, we will explain how Help Me Read™ was designed with this research in mind to provide educators with a strong reading supplement to promote reading success. According to these studies, effective research-supported instruction should include the following components: screening and continuous assessment; phonemic awareness; phonics; vocabulary; fluent reading; comprehension of text; and motivation to read.

Screening and Continuous Assessment
Successful reading instruction must include a process for screening students to guide the types of instruction used, the process of grouping by abilities, and the adjustments needed for individual or whole group instruction (Learning First Alliance 1998).

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Pretests are built into the Help Me Read™ program to evaluate student progress each season. The pretests provide a quick look at an individual student's strengths and weaknesses at that particular time of the year. Teachers can then review the results and tailor the interventions needed for each individual student.

Phonemic Awareness
Before children learn to read print, they must understand that words are made up of sounds (Adams 1990). Phonemic awareness is the insight that a spoken word is made up of a series of discrete sounds. Children without phonemic awareness will have difficulty benefiting from phonics instruction (Juel 1994). Phonemic awareness not only helps children learn to read but also spell.

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Phonemic awareness instruction is woven throughout the Help Me Read™ program. Children manipulate phonemes by isolating, blending, segmenting, categorizing, deleting, adding, or substituting them. Many hands-on activities are planned for children to manipulate the phonemes using the letters of the alphabet (e.g. ABC cards, writing boards, connecting tiles, or magnetic letters).

Phonics
Phonics is the relationship between the letters of written language and the individual sounds of spoken language. Listed in Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, students should be able to “accurately decode orthographically regular words and nonsense words, using print-sound mappings to sound out unknown words” (Snow, Burns, & Griffin 1998). Children who have difficulties decoding early on tend to read less and then grow less in terms of word recognition skills and vocabulary (Juel 1988).

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Students using Help Me Read™ engage in many activities targeting phonics skills. Activities may include rhyming, blending, word building, practice of short vowel or long vowel words, identifying digraphs and consonant clusters, and decoding Silly Words (nonsense words) (Blevins 1997). The Help Me Read™ curriculum builds on the skills taught in the classroom.

Vocabulary
Vocabulary is learned directly and indirectly. Children are exposed to a greater variety of vocabulary by reading than by conversation or television. Vocabulary development is significantly enhanced by the amount and variety of material children read (Learning First Alliance 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin 1998). Vocabulary is important to reading comprehension. Children cannot understand what they have read if they do not know what most of the words mean.

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Vocabulary development occurs when students explore and read the content-rich print available to them in the stories and activities planned in the Help Me Read™ kits. Students learn to use context clues to find meaning, practice oral reading, and identify word parts and word families to build vocabulary.

Fluent Reading
Fluent readers are able to read accurately and quickly. They are able to recognize words and comprehend at the same time. Fluency develops slowly over time and with lots of practice (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2000). The top characteristic of skillful reading is the speed and automaticity with which text is reproduced into spoken language (Adams 1990). Research has shown that repeated readings of passages increases reading fluency (Samuels 1997).

Help Me Read™ Alignment. With Help Me Read™, fluency is practiced in every grade level kit. Children read word lists, phrases, sentences, and stories appropriate for their grade level. These activities are timed to provide a way to monitor each student's improvement. Oral reading, rereading passages, running records and miscue analysis are all parts of the curriculum. These activities help students build accuracy and fluency skills.

Comprehension of Text
The purpose of reading is to comprehend what has been read. Many children can read printed words, but they do not understand what they have read. According to the research reviewed by the National Reading Panel (2000), instruction in comprehension can help students understand what they read, remember what they read, and communicate with others about what they read. Comprehension strategies can and should be taught using direct approaches to help students know why and when to apply such strategies (Pearson & Fielding 1996).

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Help Me Read™ uses developmentally appropriate activities to help students construct meaning. Considering the research on comprehension, Help Me Read™ utilizes many different strategies for comprehension instruction such as summarizing, predicting, question/answer relationships, recall of story structure, and mental imagery (Learning First Alliance 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin 1998; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2000).

Motivation to Read
Children need lots of exposure to literature. Cultivating positive experiences with literacy is crucial for effective reading instruction (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin 1998). Children need to be active in their learning to read. They need to be motivated to read for purpose.

Help Me Read™ Alignment. Each Help Me Read™ kit is structured to engage students in an active reading experience. Much of its curriculum takes a hands-on approach. Activities are planned around the different learning styles present in every classroom. Students see their progress from the first pretest to the final intervention skills recorded in his/her Help Me Read™ Student Booklet. Students are motivated to learn because of the exciting activities planned for each skill. They want it to be their turn to use the Help Me Read™ kit.

Help Me Read™ is fully aligned with the current research on reading. As stated above, the curriculum focuses on the key components necessary for successful reading instruction. Help Me Read™ is an effective supplemental tool to enhance reading practices presently being used in educational settings.

Research References

Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print . Cambridge: MIT Press.

Anderson, R. C., Hiebert, E. H., Scott, J., A., and Wilkinson, I. A. G. (1985). Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading. Champaign, IL: Center fro the Study of Reading and National Academy of Education.

Beck, I., & Juel. C. (1995). “The Role of Decoding in Learning to Read.” American Educator (Summer).

Blevins, W. (1998). Phonics from A to Z: A Practical Guide. New York: Scholastic.

Blevins, W. (1997). Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success. New York: Scholastic.

Fry, E. B., Kress, J. E., & Fountoudidis, D. L. (1993). The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists. West Nyack, NY: The Center for Appied Research in Education.

Juel, C. (1988). “Learning to Read and Write: A Longitudinal Study of Fifty-Four Children from First Through Fourth Grades.” Journal of Educational Psychology 80.

Juel, C. (1994). Learning to Read and Write in One Elementary School. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Learning First Alliance. 1998. “Every Child Reading.” American Educator (spring-summer): 52-63.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-base assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Pearson, P.D. & Fielding, L. (1996). “Comprehension Instruction.” Handbook of Reading Research . Mahwaj, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Samuels, S.J. (1997). “The Method of Repeated Readings.” The Reading Teacher , 50, 376-381.

Snow, C. E., Burns, S. M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Stanovich, K.E. (1993-94). “Romance and Reality.” The Reading Teacher 47 (4).