Reading Mastery

What is Reading Mastery?
Reading Mastery, an SRA publication, is a dynamic, research-based program designed to enhance a student's foundational reading skills. Using this Direct Instruction program in a One to One setting, our Learning Specialists teach students phonological proficiency and the phonemic awareness skills critical to the development of personal reading mastery. The emphasis of Reading Mastery is to advance a student’s knowledge of letter sounds and word patterns in order to decode and spell words accurately. In addition, students learn to recognize and spell common irregular words, while developing a reading vocabulary of over twelve hundred words. This program also enhances a student’s ability to respond to questions, follow instructions, make predictions and draw conclusions.

Who benefits from this program?
Reading Mastery is intended for students in Kindergarten through grade two who are experiencing difficulty acquiring grade level reading skills. This program is most beneficial for students who have weak phonological awareness, dyslexia, non-verbal learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, and other learning differences. Reading Mastery is designed to bring a student’s reading skills up to grade level and beyond, showing students that success is within reach.

How is this program delivered?
Reading Mastery is a Direct Instruction program, delivered by a certified teacher in a One to One setting. Students work in private learning spaces, free from noise and distraction. RRLS teachers who implement Reading Mastery have either a B.Ed or M.Ed, are well trained in the program, and have extensive One to One and classroom experience. This highly effective instructional method involves the explicit teaching of concepts in a strategic and systematic manner. Students must show mastery of each skill before moving forward to the next step. RRLS teachers use a variety of multi-sensory teaching tools that greatly enhance student understanding.

The Reading Mastery program at RRLS includes:

Progress Tracking & Communication:

• All parents receive monthly Student Progress Reports in order to keep them informed of progress, outline achievement, and establish revised learning goals.
• With parental permission, Learning Specialists will communicate and collaborate with classroom teachers, to ensure that our work is supported in the classroom and vice versa.
• Over the course of the year, an RRLS Liaison will phone parents to discuss a student’s development, and provide an opportunity to discuss any comments or concerns.
• At regular intervals, RRLS will formally assess a student’s progress through the program’s standardized test or through other formal processes. Results are formally presented to parents.

Full-year study schedule:

• RRLS establishes a full-year study schedule for each student that builds learning momentum and encourages further solidification of skills.
• To facilitate full-year support, Skype lessons and take-home packages are provided to students who must be away for long periods of time.

How does RRLS measure results?
Reading Mastery is built on the mastery of skills and uses diagnostic teaching within the scope and sequence of the program. Before beginning the Reading Mastery program, each student completes a phonological awareness assessment in order to establish a baseline of skills. After completing each of the four books of the program, the student is given a Post-Book test to confirm consolidation of the skills taught up to that point.  Along with formal test results, both parents and students are given regular feedback as to the progress achieved.

When and where is this program offered?
The ideal setting for this program is private, One to One lessons at our office located at 720 Spadina Avenue, where each learning space has been designed to minimize noise and other distractions. However, lessons can be delivered at your child’s school or at your home for an additional charge. Lessons must be delivered 2 to 5 times a week to establish a productive learning rhythm and to reap the full benefits of the program.

How do I begin or receive more information?
You can call RRLS at 416.925.1225.

Click here for Academic Remediation FAQs
Click here to read testimonials