Reading Standard Adaptive Motion and Lesson Structure

Course-Level Grades K–2:

Based on performance, students at course-level grades K–2 are navigated through a carefully articulated sequence of steps. Movements within these steps are personalized to each student and prerequisite skill mapping improves opportunities for Scaffolding when using the default Reading course.

  • Adaptive Initial Placement: The default Reading course, and optionally for custom by settings courses, places the student at the course level that is most appropriate for the student’s ability in key skills.

  • Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice: The core of the Reading program where the student receives instruction based on the student’s instructional reading level and the appropriate strand level. The grades K–2 sequence is comprised of four lessons in the Lexile levels range 80–410. Additional Text Readers are Lexiled at a higher level to ensure students are exposed to a wider range of vocabulary and to build listening comprehension.

    • Instruction: Focused Instruction introduces the lesson objective.

    • Practice: Interactive Practice and Print Partners provide practice activities.

    • Application: Text Readers provide passages.

  • Scaffolding: Follows each Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice lesson in the default Reading course when the student is assessed at less than 65% accuracy on responses to phonics, comprehension, or vocabulary items. Scaffolding activities that are not passed are reintroduced in Reteach.

  • Fluency: Enables students to practice their fluency by recording and assessing their performance. Students can practice letters, words, phrases, or familiar texts. Recorded fluency files are stored for teachers to access. Each of the four fluency types is associated with a specific scorecard: Elapsed Time, Retelling, Speed Drill, and Fluency. SuccessMaker provides opportunities for the following two types of fluency instruction;

    • Word Fluency: The ability to read a word correctly on sight. It includes high-frequency words, phonetic words, and phrases.

    • Reading Fluency: The ability to read text with accuracy, speed, and inflection. The practice is comprised of both fiction and non-fiction text, and may include retelling.

  • Reteach: Presents any items not passed in Scaffolding. Scaffolding activities that are not passed in Reteach are delivered again in Reteach 2, which follows Contextual Application of Skills in the next Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice cycle.

  • Spiral Review: Provides a mixed presentation of Spiral Review items or those items that the student passed before moving to the next lesson set.

Course-Level Grades 3–5:

  • Adaptive Initial Placement: The default Reading course, and optionally for custom by settings courses, places the student at the course level most appropriate for the student’s ability in key skills.

  • Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice: The core of the Reading program where the student receives instruction based on the student’s instructional reading level and the appropriate strand level. The grades 3–5 Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice sequence is comprised of four lessons in the Lexile levels range 450–1010. Some Text Readers are Lexiled at a higher level to ensure students are exposed to a wide range of vocabulary and to build listening comprehension.

    • Instruction: Focused Instruction introduces the lesson objective.

    • Practice: Interactive Practice and Print Partners provide practice activities.

    • Application: Interactive Text Readers provide passages.

  • Scaffolding: Follows each Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice lesson in the default Reading course when the student is assessed at less than 65% accuracy on responses to phonics, comprehension, or vocabulary. Scaffolding activities that are not passed are reintroduced in Reteach.

  • Fluency: Enables students to practice their fluency by recording and assessing their performance. Students can practice letters, words, phrases, or familiar texts. Recorded fluency files are stored for teachers to access. Each of the four fluency types is associated with a specific scorecard: Elapsed Time, Retelling, Speed Drill, and Fluency. SuccessMaker provides opportunities for the following two types of fluency instruction;

    • Word Fluency: The ability to read a word correctly on sight. It includes high-frequency words, phonetic words, and phrases.

    • Reading Fluency: The ability to read text with accuracy, speed, and inflection. The practice is comprised of both fiction and non-fiction text, and may include retelling.

  • Contextual Application of Skills: Beginning at grade level 2.5, Contextual Application of Skills lessons provide the student with texts and assessments that can be read at an independent reading level. The student will read texts at a lower Lexile level than what is presented in Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice, the student’s instructional reading level, or the level at which motion determines the student can comprehend with 90% accuracy. There is no read-to-me audio support in Contextual Application of Skills because students are working at their independent reading level.

  • Reteach: Presents any items not passed in Scaffolding. Scaffolding activities that are not passed in Reteach are delivered again in Reteach 2, which follows Contextual Application of Skills in the next Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice cycle.

  • Spiral Review: Provides a mixed presentation of Spiral Review items or those items that the student passed before moving to the next lesson set.

Course-Level Grades 6–8:

  • Adaptive Initial Placement: The default Reading course, and optionally for custom by settings courses, places the student at the course level that is most appropriate for the student’s ability in key skills.

  • Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice: The core of the Reading program where the student receives instruction based on the student’s instructional reading level and the appropriate strand level. Strategies include the key skills in which readers at the middle grades must be proficient: summarizing, questioning, predicting, previewing, and understanding organizational patterns of text. The grades 6–8 Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice sequence is comprised of three lessons in the Lexile levels range 840–1100 (approximately the end of grade 3 to grade 9).

    • Instruction: Focused Instruction introduces the lesson objective.

    • Practice: Interactive Practice and Print Partners provide practice activities.

    • Application: Interactive Text Readers provide passages.

  • Scaffolding: Follows each Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice lesson in the default Reading course when the student is assessed at less than 65% accuracy on responses to phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, or spelling items. Scaffolding activities that are not passed are reintroduced in Reteach.

  • Contextual Application of Skills: Beginning at grade level 2.5, Contextual Application of Skills lessons provide the student with texts and assessments that can be read at an independent reading level. The student will read texts at a lower Lexile level than what is presented in Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice, or the level at which motion determines the student can comprehend with 90% accuracy. There is no audio support in Contextual Application of Skills because students are working at their independent reading level. Students who successfully complete the top level of the standard Reading course will be able to continue in adaptively-presented Contextual Application of Skills lessons of challenging Lexile levels.

    • Mini Vocabulary Passage: Text that consists of 1–2 paragraphs using five targeted vocabulary words in context.

    • Practice: An activity using the five words from the mini passage.

    • Application: A 500–750 word passage of text in the Lexile range of 200–1300 followed by five general comprehension (multiple-choice) questions.

    • Vocabulary Review: The final activity using the five words from the mini passage.

  • Reteach: Presents any items not passed in Scaffolding. Scaffolding activities that are not passed in Reteach are delivered again in Reteach 2, which follows Contextual Application of Skills in the next Explicit Instruction and Guided Practice cycle.

  • Spiral Review: Provides a mixed presentation of Spiral Review items or those items that the student passed before moving to the next lesson set.

Reading Lesson Components