The STAR (Students Thinking and Reading) Program is a small-group early intervention program designed for at-risk first and/or second grade students.
WHAT IS THE STAR PROGRAM?
The STAR program was created by Title I staff who felt that their small group instruction was not advancing students to an adequate reading level in first and second grades. We had learned a great deal about how young children accelerate their learning through Reading Recovery , and we wanted some of the same benefits for those children taught in small group settings. We had a suspicion that low-progress readers in the early grades needed more structure to the lesson, as well as carefully-selected activities and books rather than haphazardly-chosen ones. With a lesson structure in place, the students know what to expect in each lesson, and are therefore freed up to learn concepts and strategies rather than concentrating on how to do the activity. The teacher is also freed up to observe and teach more, once the format of the lesson becomes automatic. STAR was specifically designed for the most at-risk readers in a first or second grade class. It was never meant for average and above average readers who do not need such a model.
HOW IS THE STAR PROGRAM ORGANIZED?
STAR is organized into four levels:
Level S (easiest)
Level T (a bit more difficult)
Level A (a bit more difficult still)
Level R (the most difficult)
HOW WERE THE BOOKS SELECTED FOR STAR?
The books were selected for STAR based on the following criteria:
Level of difficulty: each level of STAR has a certain range of text difficulty
Appeal to children
High-frequency words appearing in the book
Other features of print, such as spacing between words, lines of text on a page, placement of text on a page, etc.
Could be ordered in multiple-copy sets
Wide range of publishers to expose children to lots of different types and looks of books
Paperbacks to reduce costs
Mix of fiction and non-fiction
HOW WERE THE ACTIVITIES SELECTED?
The activities were selected based on the following criteria:
the activity must engage the students and not get boring over time
the activity must show children how to use meaning cues, language structure cues, and grapho-phonic cues (especially phonics) when problem-solving unknown words
the activity must help students acquire strategies, not isolated skills
the activity must be meaningful and be able to be applied in other situations
the activity must be short and quickly paced
HOW IS STUDENT PROGRESS MEASURED?
Periodically, the STAR teacher takes a running record of each child's reading of the book and does some individualized teaching for that particular child. In addition, at the end of each level, instruction stops for a few days to allow the teacher to individually assess the students more thoroughly. Those results are submitted to the Title I office for data collection as well as communicated to parents and other teachers.
WHAT HAPPENS TO STUDENTS WHO DO NOT MAKE ADEQUATE PROGRESS IN STAR?
We recommend that schools doing STAR also have the Reading Recovery Program and/or small group intervention as a safety net for students who need more intense intervention. There are sometimes a few children for whom STAR is not enough, and schools must be ready to provide additional instruction should it be necessary.
HOW ARE CLASSROOM TEACHERS AND/OR READING SPECIALISTS PREPARED TO TEACH STAR?
Each STAR teacher is given a handbook for STAR, which contains all of the necessary information for teaching each level. In addition, teachers new to STAR are brought together for inservice sessions 2 times each year - at the beginning of the year and mid-year. Experienced teachers of STAR are also available to assist other STAR teachers should they so desire.
CONTACT US:
Kathleen O'Hara,
Title I Staff Development Specialist,
phone 703.791.7248
or by email: oharakp@pwcs.edu
Updated 10/25/06