Reading intervention materials kit

A reading intervention materials kit is the box, bin or cart that holds the tools for teaching and measuring a reading group. A good kit is built around a scope and sequence: each pattern has its cards, word lists, passages and probes in one place. A poor kit is a pile of worksheets sorted by grade.

Below is a fill-in kit checklist, a completed fictional example for a decoding group, and notes on what reviewers and parents look for. The kit pairs with the reading fluency data sheet, which records the weekly probes the kit supplies.

The fill-in kit checklist

Use one row per item. Fill in what you have, where it is, and the skill it covers.

Completed example: a grade 2 and 3 decoding group

This example is fictional. It belongs to a special education teacher running two intensive groups of 3 students working on short vowels through vowel teams.

Gaps found. Vowel team decodable passages and four pattern probe lists. The teacher writes them before the group reaches vowel teams in November.

Notes on each section

Assessment. Reviewers check that there is a diagnostic, not just a screener. The screener says who is behind; the diagnostic says where to start. Keep the same tools all year so fall and spring results compare.

Teaching. Sound cards and word cards should follow the scope and sequence, one folder per pattern. A paraprofessional or substitute should be able to find today's materials in under a minute.

Text. Decodable passages let students practice only taught patterns. Read-aloud books build vocabulary and listening comprehension, which decoding practice alone does not cover. The What Works Clearinghouse guide for kindergarten to grade 3 recommends both academic language instruction and daily reading of connected text.^[1]

Practice. Dictation and phrase reading take little space but add a lot of practice. Keep enough boards for every student to write at once.

Measurement. Fluency probe passages must stay unpracticed. Store them apart from teaching passages so they never become practice text. Parents and reviewers will ask how progress was measured; a probe folder and a filled data sheet answer the question.

Planning. The scope and sequence chart is the map for the whole kit. Tape it inside the lid.

How the kit connects to the data sheet

Each week, pull one unpracticed passage at the student's goal level and one 20-word pattern list. Give the 1-minute passage, count words correct and errors, and record both on the reading fluency data sheet. Score the pattern list as words correct out of 20.

These numbers are illustrations. Rotate through passages so none repeats within a few months. The oral reading fluency measurement guide explains how to pick and score passages, and how to calculate words correct per minute shows the math. For a comparison of published progress monitoring tools, see reading progress monitoring tools.

Choosing materials

Use materials that match your scope and sequence and your students' ages. For older students, use age-respectful passages and word lists with multisyllabic words. Commercial programs supply many of these items; use the framework in reading intervention programs compared to judge one. Teacher-made materials work well when they follow the same sequence.

A short list of things to avoid:

• Leveled books as the only practice text for students who cannot yet decode.
• Worksheets with mixed, untaught patterns for independent practice.
• Fluency probes reused as teaching passages, which inflates scores.
• Picture cue cards that teach students to guess a word from the picture.

Using the kit across the year

Restock after each screening window, about three times a year. Add folders as groups move through the sequence. Keep a running list of gaps on the inside of the lid.

The kit supports every part of a lesson in the small-group reading lesson plan template. For games that use the same cards and lists, see reading intervention games. The reading goal bank has goal templates that match each kit section, from phonological awareness to fluency. The overall approach is in the reading intervention guide for students with IEPs.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Reading fluency data sheet
• Oral reading fluency measurement guide
• Reading IEP goals
• Phonological awareness goals

Related guides

• Reading intervention for students with IEPs: assess, group, teach, monitor
• Reading intervention programs compared: 24 criteria and red flags
• Reading intervention games
• Small-group reading lesson plan template
• Reading progress monitoring tools
• Tier 2 vs Tier 3 reading intervention
• Grouping students for reading intervention

Sources

1. Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.