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Teachers
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The StudyDog lessons and assessments were scientifically developed and are evidence-based. They provide the backbone of the curriculum to assure that children are taught in a systematic way the skills and knowledge they need to be strong readers. The standards were developed from a synthesis of state reading standards and national reading content recommendations, such as the National reading Panel and the No Child left behind Act, and professional reviews The StudyDog lessons are organized into appropriate grade levels and into the following five groupings:
The StudyDog lessons follow a simple, but effective, learning model based on continuous evaluation and assessment. Explicit instruction is included at the beginning of each lesson and provided throughout each lesson, as the child needs. Effective reading instruction includes continuous progress assessment to guide instruction. Once instruction has begun, every instructional device has a built-in assessment system to monitor the progress and needs of a child. Based on the results of systematic assessments, StudyDog is able to determine what material to review and can guide the pace of instruction in direct response to the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student. Included with instruction is concrete modeling of the skill the lesson is teaching. This modeling includes how the child uses the skill and how the lesson device works. The child has the opportunity to practice the skill. Throughout the practice, StudyDog records and analyzes every response the child makes. If the child provides a wrong response, StudyDog indicates the answer was wrong and gives the child a second chance. If the child still does not get the correct response, instructional guidance is given and the child gets a third chance. If the child response with a wrong answer on the third attempt, the specific practice item becomes part of the item-review pool and is repeated at the end of the lesson. Students must achieve at least 80 percent mastery to move to the next lesson. This process of error detection and reinstruction provides each child with the time and practice they need to master each specific skill. The lessons have animated, engaging characters and an overall story-adventure. The children are drawn into the lessons by the interesting activities and settings on Lost Island. The students receive frequent encouragement and help when they need it. The children's earn rewards, Lost Island coins that they exchange for prizes they receive in the mail (optional), for their performances. The coins have encouraged children to replay many lessons and earn the coins they missed the first time they tried the lesson. This practice, as well as work on new lessons, greatly enhances the learning experience of each child. Teachers receive weekly reports of their child's progress. Along with the specific performance of their child on the reading skills, the reports include suggested reading activities and "outside" reading books that the parent and child may enjoy. While the child can earn more coins for completing these extra activities, they are not required of the child to successfully complete the StudyDog curriculum. StudyDog has built a strong, research-based curriculum and lessons for teaching basic reading skills. The lessons are framed in a fun, engaging environment for the child. The children are encouraged by praising their work, having them earn rewards, and keeping learning entertaining and engaging. Behind the lessons are reading and technology experts ready to help families have a very successful experience with StudyDog. Curriculum Organization The StudyDog curriculum is organized by five research-proven areas of reading skill development and integrates continuous assessment within each lesson. Children are given time to master and demonstrate mastery of each reading skill. The five research-proven areas of reading skill development include the following: Phonemic Awareness. Research evidence indicates that phonemic awareness and letter knowledge are the best predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first two years of instruction. Children who are able to recognize individual sounds in words are phonemically aware. Beginning readers who have difficulty differentiating sounds in words will have difficulty decoding fluently and accurately. StudyDog provides explicit and systematic instruction in phoneme manipulation, fostering the student's ability to read better and faster. Examples of phonemic awareness tasks
Alphabetic Principle. To facilitate fluent word recognition, beginning readers must understand the link between the sounds of words and the letters they represent. Numerous studies support the importance of this knowledge in accounting for differences between good and poor readers. Explicit instruction in letter-sound correspondence helps children who have not grasped the alphabetic principal or do not apply it. StudyDog explicitly teaches students letter-sound correspondence in a clear and simple way to assist struggling readers. Each letter is individually taught because research shows that explicit phonics instruction results in higher student achievement. Example of specific instruction:
Vocabulary. Research shows that vocabulary development in children with limited comprehension skills is significantly enhanced by the amount and variety of material they read. Vocabulary and word meanings are learned in relation to other known words and ideas. Words are remembered and recalled easily when students' understanding of words is deepened. Through StudyDog's shared reading format, children learn vocabulary in content-rich passages that is later integrated into their own reading. Shared reading allows for more sophisticated language, creating the opportunity for the introduction of new words and a richer content than is possible in independent text. The shared reading also provides students with the opportunity to encounter vocabulary words repeatedly in multiple contexts. Fluency. Research supports the idea that oral reading fluency functions as an overall indicator of reading comprehension and development. StudyDog students read stories composed of the sounds and words they have learned. Your child will read stories at their instructional level, giving him/her the opportunity to develop fluency through repeated readings. Your child will progress from a slow, deliberate reader to an expressive, fluent reader. The StudyDog stories are captivating. Students are exposed to rich content, which fosters motivation by providing students with many opportunities to experience success in reading. Your child will learn to systematically sound out words, recognize common word patterns, and identify high-frequency words. Skills are practiced to mastery then applied and reinforced in stories so that your child will learn that he or she CAN read. Text Comprehension. Skilled readers comprehend what they read. They differ from less skilled readers in their use of background knowledge to comprehend text and to draw valid inferences about what they read. They also differ from struggling readers in their ability to decode fluently and accurately. To comprehend text, the reader must be able to decode words and construct meaning. If word recognition is slow and difficult, the readers' attention remains focused on decoding rather than on gaining meaning. StudyDog teaches reading comprehension skills through short stories and small books. These are both independently read by the child as well as read by both child and StudyDog together. The shared readings allow for more content-rich material and developed story lines. This provides extended opportunities for comprehension skills. The StudyDog curriculum explicitly instructs the child on strategies for summarizing, predicting, and self-monitoring for understanding. StudyDog's comprehension instruction includes the development of background knowledge before reading selections by discussing key vocabulary concepts. Example of how StudyDog incorporates comprehension:
Continuous Evaluation and Assessment. Effective reading instruction includes continuous progress assessment to guide instruction. Once instruction has begun, every instructional device has a built-in assessment system to monitor the progress and needs of your child. Based on the results of systematic assessments, StudyDog is able to determine what material to review and can guide the pace of instruction in direct response to the strengths and weaknesses of each individual student. StudyDog Curriculum Standards The Specific StudyDog Standards presented by grade level sequencing include the following: Pre K and Kindergarten Alphabet (3 lessons). The child identifies the capital and small letters of the alphabet in sentences and words. The child also learns how words and sentences are read left to right. Single-Sound Consonants (3 lessons). The child matches single-sound consonants with the appropriate letters and vise-versa. The single sound consonants include Bb, Dd, Ff, Hh, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Pp, Rr, Tt, Vv, and Zz. These sounds are the foundation for using phonetic skills to sound out words. Multiple-Sound Consonants (3 lessons). The child identifies the multiple sounds of Cc, Gg, Nn, Qu, Ss, Ww, Xx, and Yy. For example, the letter C as two sounds heard in the words CITY and CUT. These letters and sounds can be difficult to master, but are critical for young readers to distinguish. Beginning Sounds (3 lessons). The child identifies and hears the beginning sounds of words such as RAT, CUT, and KIT. These lessons strengthen the child's understanding of sounds in printed text by segmenting the beginning sounds of simple words. Rhyming Words (3 lessons). The child blends sounds together to create rhyming words. This skill extends the range of words the child can sound out. These lessons introduce short-vowel sounds that are taught to mastery a little latter in the StudyDog curriculum. Oral Comprehension (3 lessons). The child listens to and reads stories. Each story has a series of literal and analytical questions. These lessons introduce concepts of printed text, how text is read left to right and return, and models fluent reading. Sight Words (2 lessons). The child recognizes high-frequency sight words needed to read text quickly and accurately. Some of these words include, for example, YOU, THEY, WITH, FROM, and, WHO. Word Families (3 lessons). The child adds, deletes, or substitutes letters in words to form new words. The words the child makes builds on the sounds learned in the previous StudyDog lessons. Oral Comprehension and Vocabulary (1 lesson). This unit provides a summary of the reading skills learned to this point. It provides a review of skills and a demonstration of each child's reading development. First and Second Grade Short-Vowel Sounds (2 lessons). The child hears and uses the short-vowel sounds in words like CAP, KIT, and MOP. Long-Vowel Sounds (2 lessons). The child hears and uses the long vowel sounds in words like BIKE, KEEP, and MULE. Contractions (3 lessons). The child identifies contractions from root words and separates contractions into the root words. Oral Comprehension (3 lesson). The child listens to a story and reads along. The story has a series of literal and analytical questions for the child to answer. A short vocabulary review is also included. Consonant Blends (3 lessons). The child learns to read words with consonant blends, including letters sounds such as SL, and TR as heard in the words SLEEP and TRUCK. Complex Words (2 lessons). The child separates complex words by identifying prefixes and suffixes and root words; separating compound words into two words; and identifying common syllables in multi-syllabic words. Oral Comprehension (1 lessons). The child listens to a story and reads along. The story has a series of literal and analytical questions for the child to answer. A short vocabulary review is also included. Vowel Blends (3 lessons). The child reads words with spelling patterns including AI and AY with the long A sound, EE and EA with the long E sound, OA and OW with the long O sound. Sight Words (6 lessons). The child identifies high-frequency sight-words. These words typically do not follow conventional sound or spelling patterns. Some of these words include CLOSE, GOES, MANY, QUICK, and COULD. Independent Reading (1 lesson). The child listens to a story and reads along. The story has a series of literal and analytical questions for the child to answer. A short vocabulary review is also included. Spelling (4 lessons). The child spells three- and four-letter, single-short vowel words, such as has, glad, stop, and put. Word Families (2 lessons). The child identifies families of words with similar spelling patterns. The child learns to recognize word endings and word patterns, as found in words such as PINK, SINK, DRINK, THINK, and WINK. Oral Comprehension and Vocabulary (1 lesson). This unit provides a summary of the reading skills learned to this point. It provides a review of skills and a demonstration of each child's reading development. | |||||||||
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