Reading Together

At every level, Reading Together interventions use best teaching practices, authentic literature, interesting non-fiction sources, close reading and extensive writing to build vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and oral language skills. Rigorously scaffolded lessons lead to synthesis and understanding, develop confidence and test-taking skills, and spark intrinsic motivation.  Each program comes complete with everything needed for implementation, including teacher handbooks, student guidebooks  and permanent trade book libraries. 

For elementary students reading below grade-level, Reading Together reinforces foundational literacy skills in a one-on-one environment. For ELL/ESOL, a safe learning space is created for practicing new language skills. For students on IEPs, interventions establish confidence and motivate participation. And for students with behavioral issues, the program delineates new expectations and encourages appropriate learning interactions. 

For middle and high school students, our Secondary programs encourage at-risk students to engage with complex, content-area text.  Students explore careers and discuss and practice life skills such as empathy, goal setting, maintaining healthy relationships and making ethical and responsible decisions. The result: resilient students who feel confident in their reading and writing skills and motivated to plan their own futures. 

Grade Two

teaches basic and higher level comprehension and vocabulary using research-based best practices such as self-monitoring, use of graphic organizers, forming questions, identifying story structure and summarizing. Students predict, activate background knowledge, reread, retell, check for understanding and write in response to reading. Take-home letters offer additional writing practice and build a valuable home-school connection.

Tutees: Grades 2 and 3
Tutors:  Grades 4 - 6

Grade Three

builds on Grade Two strategies to help students comprehend more advanced content-area reading. Students learn to make text connections (text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world). It adds strong critical thinking and more extensive writing components, building the analytic skills students need for mandated end-of-grade tests. Biographies and non-fiction text expose students to science and social studies.  

Tutees: Grades 3 and 4
Tutors: Grades 5 - 6

Intermediate

intervenes at a critical point where little help is available for readers who still struggle with comprehension and fluency. It includes a library of high-interest books for upper elementary and middle school students who benefit from picture support, yet teaches advanced comprehension strategies for making sense of informational and procedural text. Students practice following and writing directions, persuasive writing and making oral presentations.

Tutees: Grades 4 - 6
Tutors: Grades 5 - 8

My tutors finished Reading Together with greatly improved reading, writing and people skills, but they also left with a valuable community service credit that will help them as they apply to college. And yes, they're all planning to!

— Reading Together/SECONDARY Teacher 

Secondary/Module One

incorporates comprehension strategies, writing to sources and research, academic vocabulary and language instruction. The emphasis is close reading of content-area text, with sophisticated text-dependent questions and tasks that lead students to read complex text independently. Lessons highlight career opportunities, current topics in science, finance and health, and world issues such as hunger and the environment. Students write persuasive pieces ranging from editorials to public service announcements, culminating in independent research projects. Unit  reviews and quizzes allow teachers to easily check for understanding.

Tutees: Grade 6 and higher
Tutors: Grade 7 and higher

Secondary/Module Two

supports secondary students who still struggle with comprehension, vocabulary, language patterns and writing, but who are ready to begin reading more closely, thinking more critically, writing more analytically and presenting their ideas orally. Lessons encourage them to think about personal goals and world problems, about what they might want to do in the future and how to achieve it, and about their relationships and responsibilities to friends, family and community.

Students study text over two lessons, working collaboratively to review and edit their work. The program ends with independent written and oral research projects. End-of-unit reviews and quizzes allow teachers to easily check for understanding.

Tutees: Grade 8 and higher
Tutors: Grade 9 and higher