Everything you need to create a SHARP classroom reading programme
Quality teacher training with all the very best learning options that online delivers. We cover the options, Decoding, Constructing meaning, Criticial thinking
We are talking about leveled text for reading instruction.Texts for Students to do the work on. Fiction non fiction everyhting you need
A procedure for assessing decoding and comprehension skills. Create bench marks for performance and diagnostic assessment.
Video section
You can add more detail in this subtitle
After you add your text and video in the "Content" tab, you can customize the layout of your section in the "Design" tab. Videos can be beside, above, or below your text.
Text section
You can add more detail in this subtitle
Type or paste your text just like you normally would in any word processor, and use the / key to pull up a menu with more formatting options (like bullet points, block quotes, and embeds). After you've added your text in the "Content" tab, click on the "Design" tab to customize the layout, colors, and alignment.
Instruction MUST be evidence-based BUT in a very busy educational environment, it must provide teachers with an simple, explicit approach that provides clear direction and focus, motivates and gets students excited AND delivers great results.
That's SHARP reading.
Over the last 20 years, our understanding of how we learn to read has blossomed with the volume of cognitive research that has been undertaken ('The Science of Reading'). We now have many increasingly complex models of the learning that occurs.
Has that been helpful? Maybe...maybe not!
I now have a never ending flow of possibilities that have all been proven to improve the acquistion of reading skills. Yes, I can agree with most of them, BUT the reality is, if you are looking for a teaching approach that works for you in a busy classroom with a crowded curriculum, you can't do it all. You have to be smart. You have to be SHARP!
As our name suggests, our goal has always been to SHARPEN classroom practice so that the best possible outcomes are available for students BUT in a way that is manageable for the teacher.
You can add more detail in this subtitle
I wake up in the morning and I know exactly what I am going to be doing for reading today. I wish the rest of the day was like that!'
For you the teacher - It is that sort of simple that we are looking for!
For your students, reduce the clutter. Let them feel successful. Don't overwhelm them with SO many possibilities that the road ahead seems unattainable.
Yes, I know that in reality reading skills are not necessarily acquired in a nice neat linear sequence.
HOWEVER, a SHARP reading program should provide clear steps for readers to progress through and provide clear direction for the teacher about each of the steps, always allowing for differentiation according to needs.
Our SharpReading Developmental Progression provides a learning pathway. Students are kept in the appropriate learning zone by managing the cognitive load they can cope with. When they are ready we can confidently move them on to the next stage.
Our Scope and Sequence provides the details for instruction and a suggestion for year levels.
Who is doing all the work?
SharpReading routines are based on Explicit Teaching with the gradual release of responsibility BUT we know how hard it is to let go and let the student truly play around with the new learning and experience that 'aha' moment. We get stuck in Guided Practice - cueing and prompting all day!
Tightly structured lesson routines allow this to happen. Students know exactly what they are working on and how the lesson will unfold. They feel free to take risks and the level of challenge is just right so that they can successfully problem-solve those challenges.
'I didn't realise how much of the thinking I was doing for them' - Teacher new to SharpReading.
They feel in control of their learning - we build autonomy! Reading skills become AUTOMATIC responses.
Get your weekends back!
The routines drive your lessons not those lesson plans you sweated over. This frees you up to monitor how students are processing text and provide them with their next step towards mastery.
Our leveled text makes it easy to select the right amount of challenge for every lesson.
Our assessment procedures help you establish benchmarks and identify strengths and weaknesses as they progress through the stages.
"This training model and the supporting resources work for me. The courses are very comprehensive and easy to follow. Having the video modelling to refer back to is a game changer. The kids love the stories and the assessment quickly establishes the best instructional level. I have seen teachers quickly turn around their reading programs and get great student motivation and success."
Karen Blackall - RTLB, Auckland
Now Education Consultant at Kidz Therapy
"This training model and the supporting resources work for me. The courses are very comprehensive and easy to follow. Having the video modelling to refer back to is a game changer. The kids love the stories and the assessment quickly establishes the best instructional level. I have seen teachers quickly turn around their reading programs and get great student motivation and success."
Karen Blackall - RTLB, Auckland
Now Education Consultant at Kidz Therapy