PTR bridges the gap between research and the classroom helping to prevent reading difficulties before they begin in K-2 and addressing decoding needs of striving readers in grades 3 and above
Research has identified the five key components of the reading process:
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension
In PTR these components are best expressed through the lens of the
Simple View of Reading.
Phonics and Fluency are the result of a strong foundation of Phonemic Awareness (the ability to discern the individual sounds of the spoken word). These components enable the development independent decoding skills.
Accurate fluent decoding x a student’s ability to comprehend spoken language are both necessary to develop independent readers.
PTR’s continuum of instructional strategies progress from simple to complex establishing the foundational skills necessary for independent decoding and ensuring the transfer of those skills to decoding and comprehension in context. Teachers are taught to use multisensory techniques and effective questioning of student error to develop independent readers.
Decoding and Comprehension are the core skills necessary for independent reading.
Figuring out the words
PTR strategies address each component in order to develop the independent, fluent decoding necessary for reading comprehension.
Understanding the meaning
PTR is designed to interface with programs focused on comprehension such as Reader’s Workshop. PTR also offers training on how to teach context reading merging decoding with comprehension.
Pathways was created to work seamlessly in a school setting
A proven method, Pathways to Reading provides a reading curriculum for large and small group instruction. It was developed to support literacy programs that include a balance of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
Train teachers
Teachers attend our year one training and are trained to assess and teach phonemic awareness and phonics.
Apply the curriculum
Teachers then take their training and apply it in the classroom through our systematic, explicit curriculum.
Watch readers succeed
Teachers see immediate improvements and an increase in over-all student reading skills.
Pathways in action in classrooms
We develop specific skills and tasks for each of our core components that are based in structured literacy which impact a student’s ability to learn to read while being interactive and fun.
Our comprehensive and research evidenced curriculum
The following PTR teacher manuals are provided with the training fee. This assortment of manuals work together to support the teacher in providing in-depth structured literacy instruction to both large and small groups of students.
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Large Group Manual
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Assessment Booklet
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Small Group Manual
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Small Group Folder
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Flip and Assist Booklet
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Reproducible Masters for PTR Exercises
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Advanced Oral PA Development Booklet
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
First and Second Grade Spelling Manual
Included with training: Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Large Group Manuals
Provides brief, daily whole-group focused PA and phonics lessons.
Lessons progress from simple to complex syllables for Kindergarten and one syllable to multisyllable for first and second grades.
A ‘Teacher Preparation’ section provides the teacher with knowledge and background information for PTR strategies.
Research based and evidenced
The five core components of the reading process that we teach are research based as cited by the National Reading Panel, National Reading Council, and in David Kilpatrick’s summary of the research in his book The Essentials of Assessing, Preventing and Overcoming Reading Difficulties (2015). They serve as the foundation for Pathways to Reading’s instructional continuums and instructional strategies.
The following studies show significant results for both student achievement and teacher growth in understanding the reading process. For example, growth in pre and post standardized tests of reading ability for students scoring below the 30th percentile (Drs. Keine, Farnon and McBride) and increase in teacher knowledge after PTR Year 2 training (Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory).
Explore research about the Pathways to Reading program
Dr. Briedwell
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the first year of district-wide implementation of Pathways to Reading instruction in the St. Joseph School District on reading growth, as measured by the Text Reading Comprehension (TRC).
Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory
A qualitative study in which a survey (Dr. Cheeseman of the University Of Colorado) of basic knowledge and skills necessary to teach foundational reading of the common core standards was administered to 350 PTR teachers.
Dr. Karen Elder-Hurst
This study revealed how important professional development can be in successful implementation that will lead to sustained and enriched learning for student’s needs, embedded within the classroom for modeling and practice.
Dr. Donita Massengill-Shaw
A mixed design study comparing teacher’s perception of knowledge gained in PTR training and first grade student outcomes on “non-sense” word assessments in two comparable school districts in the Kansas City area.
April Byrd
A quantitative study on the impact of a phonics and phonemic awareness based program on third grade English-Language Arts MAP test scores. The study used archived data from thirteen Missouri school districts for analysis.
Dr. Keine, Farnan, McBride
The NWMSU team analyzed data from a quantitative study to find the impact of PTR for students scoring below the 30th percentile on two tests of reading ability (C-TOPP Elision subtest and TOWRE word reading efficiency tests).