Science of Reading Series: Comprehension in Direct Instruction Programs, Grade K Language

A prevalent myth in education is that Direct Instruction (DI) can be effective in teaching rote learning but is ineffective in teaching reading comprehension and other types of deep cognition.  Join Dr. Kurt Engelmann, President of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI), in a free, 90-minute webinar as he dispels this myth and demonstrates the power of DI to provide children with the conceptual building blocks for reading comprehension through explicit instruction in fundamental concepts expressed in everyday language.  Mastering these fundamental concepts is critical for preschool, Kindergarten, and ESL/EAL/MLL students, as well as students in Grades 1-2 who are behind in acquiring fundamental reading skills.

In this session, Dr. Engelmann will:

1. discuss aspects of effective instructional design that promote student learning in all DI programs,
2. illustrate and analyze key skills that children master in the language track of the Grade K level of the Reading Mastery Signature Edition (RMSE) program.

Grade K RMSE language is used to illustrate the teaching of fundamental language concepts because of its consistent, clear design and the proven positive results that have been attained when it has been implemented with fidelity.

In this interactive webinar, participants will:

• analyze end-of-program instructional routines (exercises) that children master in the Grade K level, and
• identify the component skills that must be pre-taught to ensure children are successful with the end-of-program exercises.

A major focus of the webinar is sequencing skills for success in reading comprehension.  Participants will be asked to reflect on the following questions:

1. What must children know to be successful in each end-of-program exercise?
2. Which more advanced comprehension skills do the end-of-program exercises prepare the children to learn in future years?

This webinar is designed to serve as the first in a four-part series.  Future webinars will address:

• language skill development in the Grade 1 level of RMSE,
• reading skill development in the Grade K & 1 levels of RMSE, and
• teaching thinking skills to students in Grades 4 and above using the Corrective Reading Comprehension program.

This webinar is co-sponsored by the following organizations:

• Reading Science Academy
• Education Advocacy Center
• Reading League of California
• System Impact Consulting

Many thanks to our partner organizations for supporting this important webinar series!

Direct any questions to info@nifdi.org. We hope to see you at this important webinar!