This special education classroom is currently using the FAST Reading program in a small group setting.FAST Reading is one of the best programs available for teaching students to read in a small group setting.It is the most direct and the easiest reading program that I have found.
We are teaching in remarkable times. To borrow a phrase from Diane McGuinness, there has been a scientific revolution in reading in the last five years.The research is currently out there to teach over 90% of our children to read. Unfortunately, this research is currently not being applied in classrooms. Teachers have not been taught the foundational principles underlying any successful reading program. FAST Reading works because it teaches phonemic awareness, the whole alphabetic code systematically, it uses decodable text, and high interest reading material flexibly applied to the academic needs of each student. That is a one sentence summary of $85 million dollars worth of reading research by the federal government.
It is tragic that these principles are not currently being applied in classrooms.The real revolution will take place when 90% of minority students in first grade are reading at grade level or above, as compared to the current numbers of 31% of African-Americans reading at grade level and 35% of Hispanic students.
This classroom is dedicated to applying current reading research in one program, spreading it through one school (which is over 90% minority student population), and from there moving to other schools in the city of Denver.
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