Program Overview

What Is PAth to Literacy?

PAth to Literacy is a research-based, supplemental Tier 2 intervention program designed for preschool-age children. The interactive program includes short, scripted lessons and visual materials used together to develop phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge skills. With small groups of two to three children, a teacher or aide leads children to respond to a mixture of sounds, word parts, and pictures in a series of word games. Lessons last 10 to 15 minutes each and take place over 24 to 36 instructional days.

PAth to Literacy Is Easy to Implement and Fun for Children!

The PAth to Literacy program is designed to work in the preschool classroom by fitting into a typical preschool schedule and requiring minimal advanced preparation—all materials are provided, and the instruction is completely scripted, including gestures and feedback options. The program can be easily modified for use from Tier 2 small groups to more intensive Tier 3 sessions. Children enjoy the small-group interaction, the colorful pictures, and the game-based format.

Major Program Features

➤ A strong research-based approach promotes phonological awareness.
➤ Data-driven scope and sequence of lesson skills ensures adequate progress.
➤ Consistent format and instructional language makes the program easy to use for teachers.
➤ Small group size allows each child multiple opportunities to respond.
➤ Game-like format engages children and produces successful outcomes.
➤ Colorful cards with high-quality photographs illustrate target words.
➤ Scripted curriculum includes appropriate feedback for each student response.
➤ Lesson assessments provide frequent opportunities for progress monitoring.
➤ Multimedia program implementation modules provide strong teacher support.

Research Base for PAth to Literacy

Early awareness of word sounds and structures as well as alphabet knowledge are indicators of enduring success in reading. Practicing these skills simultaneously improves reading skills among prekindergarten (pre-K) children who demonstrate basic comprehension skills but lack phonological awareness skills. Thus, the research began with identifying the need and the target population and then focused on the instructional methods most successful for at-risk pre-K children. In addition, teachers have implemented this curriculum with kindergarten children who are lacking in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge skills with good success. For more information about the research and development studies, see page 224 of this Teacher Guide.

Program Components Program Overview

PAth to Literacy Employs Best Practices to Accelerate Skills Development

Children who participate in PAth to Literacy improve their future reading skills by developing their awareness of the sounds and structures of words as they practice a series of carefully sequenced skills delivered through scripted curriculum. The script enables implementation with fidelity as teachers model correct pronunciation of individual speech sounds and sound clusters. All lessons include explicit instruction with multiple opportunities for children to respond and practice. Assessment tools allow teachers to monitor progress and make data-driven decisions.

Skills Best Practices
Blending compound words
Explicit teaching and modeling
Blending two-syllable words
Repeated practice opportunities
Segmenting compound words
Student engagement
Segmenting two-syllable words
Small-group intervention
Identifying word parts
Data-driven skill sequence
Identifying first sounds of simple words
Ongoing assessment
Identifying first sounds of complex words
Staff development

From Research to Practice

The results of numerous research studies and observations of experts lay the foundation for the PAth to Literacy approach to early acquisition of phonological awareness.

Preschool Developmental and Programmatic Needs PAth to Literacy Delivers

Multitiered system of support The program provides a scripted Tier 2 intervention curriculum that can also be modified for Tier 3 instruction.

Phonological awareness The program content develops phonological awareness, one of the greatest predictors of reading success.

Explicit teaching and modeling Teachers deliver scripted curriculum and model the breakdown of word sounds into individual speech sounds and sound clusters in isolation.

Increasing skill sets Children acquire increasingly greater skill sets as the skill load increases within each lesson and across the program.

Assessments Ongoing assessment occurs throughout each lesson; progress monitoring occurs with Lesson Assessments and Data Sheets.

Professional development Teachers have access to multimedia modules to ensure program implementation with fidelity.

Implementing PAth to Literacy

An Easy Three-Step Model!

The PAth to Literacy program makes it easy for you to implement its Tier 2 supplemental intervention curriculum in three easy steps:

➊Identify. ➋Implement. ➌Assess.

STEP 1 Identify. Identify children who will benefit from using PAth to Literacy.

The first step in implementing PAth to Literacy is to identify children in your classroom who will benefit from using the program. These will be children who demonstrate basic English comprehension skills but lack phonological awareness skills. Studies indicate that information from the DIBELS First Sound Fluency (FSF) measure, as well as from the First Sounds subtest of the Individualized Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI) measure, can be used to identify children who are good candidates for using the PAth to Literacy supplemental curriculum.

STEP 2 Implement. Implement the intervention in small groups.

The PAth to Literacy intervention is delivered in 10- to 15-minute sessions. A facilitator—a teacher, or another adult, such as an assistant teacher, aide, or paraprofessional—delivers the scripted curriculum to two to three children. The optimal setting is an area for a small group with a table and chairs and minimal distractions to conduct lessons. In the small group, the facilitator reads a lesson script, shows children pictured items, and provides positive and corrective feedback to children’s responses.

STEP 3 Assess. Administer progress-monitoring assessments.

In PAth to Literacy, learning of instructional targets is assessed using curriculum-based measures and other progress-monitoring tools. Lesson Assessments monitor children’s learning of target skills. The use of screening tools every 2 to 4 weeks provides additional information about children’s progress toward instructional goals.

Program Pacing

PAth to Literacy contains 12 units with three lessons in each unit (for example, Lessons 1a, 1b, and 1c in Unit 1) for a total of 36 lessons. Lessons take place two to three times a week. Children will always complete Lessons a and b of each unit; Lesson c may or may not be administered, based on children’s results of the Lesson c.

If a child is absent, deliver the lesson to the other two children. If two children are absent, wait to deliver the lesson until at least two children are present. There are no “make-up” lessons.

Key Program Elements

Important Components of PAth to Literacy Instruction

The PAth to Literacy program presents simple instruction in a game-like format to maximize skill acquisition. Lessons are designed to include exact scripts for instruction, explicit teaching and modeling, and multiple opportunities for interactive skills practice.

➤ Scripted Instruction Children listen to instruction based on a precise script read word-for-word by the instructor as they look at Picture and Word Cards. After an initial example, the children play word games: a series of Picture and Word Cards is shown in succession as the teacher reads the script, and children listen and respond to prompts. The script includes accompanying gestures as well as specific feedback for each response type.

➤ Explicit Teaching and Modeling In each 10- to 15-minute lesson, teachers accurately sound out words and sounds to model the skill being taught. Visual cues are shown through Picture and Word Cards that demonstrate target words and sounds. Teacher actions model the dissection of words through physical gestures to guide children in learning how to segment, blend, and identify first parts and sounds of words.

➤ Multiple Opportunities for Practice The PAth to Literacy program is designed to promote active participation in an enjoyable structure. Children take part by looking at pictures and words, repeating sounds, answering questions, and mimicking actions.