Project Snapshot
Targeted Reading Intervention
Six-week phonics and fluency intervention for 15 Grade 3–4 students at a charter school — 86% grew, with a +16 WPM average fluency gain.
Scope
Designed and delivered 6+ week intervention + data report
Audience
15 students in Grades 3–4
Timeline
November–December 2025, in person
Western Massachusetts charter school
After I helped move a 5th-grade population past 80% proficiency with 100% growth on their state assessment, a charter school asked me to design and implement targeted reading intervention for their Grade 3–4 students reading below grade level.
- Most students were placed at Kindergarten–Grade 2 instructional levels despite being enrolled in Grades 3–4.
- Foundational phonics and decoding were the primary gaps, with fluency averaging about 50 words per minute.
- Instructional levels varied widely, so whole-class instruction alone could not close the gaps.
- Built a baseline picture using i-Ready Diagnostic, the CORE Phonics Survey, and UFLI fluency checks.
- Delivered explicit, systematic phonics instruction across 1:1, small-group, and whole-group formats with flexible, data-based grouping.
- Paired decoding work with fluency routines — repeated and timed readings, choral reading, partner practice — and used Nearpod, Kahoot, and Gimkit for engagement and immediate feedback.
- Monitored progress weekly and produced an anonymized report with tiered next steps for classroom teachers.
- 86% of students with complete fluency data grew (12 of 14) and no student declined.
- Average oral reading fluency rose from about 50 WPM to 66 WPM — a +16 WPM average gain in six weeks.
- Digraphs and r-controlled vowels showed the strongest phonics gains, with all students progressing relative to their baseline.
- Teachers left with tiered grouping recommendations and a repeatable assess-analyze-regroup-reteach-monitor cycle.
Download the ELA Phonics & Fluency Intervention Report
The full anonymized report: baseline data, six-week growth trends, instructional approach, and tiered next steps for educators.
- 01
Assess the baseline
Triangulate diagnostic, phonics survey, and fluency data to see the real starting point.
- 02
Group by skill, not grade
Form flexible groups around specific decoding needs across both grade levels.
- 03
Teach explicitly
Deliver systematic phonics with decodable text and daily fluency practice.
- 04
Check weekly
Run short phonics and fluency checks to catch stalls early and regroup.
- 05
Report and hand off
Synthesize growth into an anonymized report with tiered next steps for classroom teachers.
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