Literacy Development and Experiences of Third- and Fourth-grade Students Receiving Tier 2 Reading Intervention Services

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the experiences and literacy development of elementary students receiving Tier 2 reading intervention services. Specifically, this qualitative case study explored the questions of: (a) In what ways are third- and fourth-grade students who are receiving Tier 2 reading intervention experiencing their literacy development across the general education classroom and intervention classroom? (b) How are special education teachers, general education teachers, and the reading intervention teacher instructing to meet the needs of students receiving Tier 2 reading intervention? and (c) In what ways does miscue analysis inform how students who are receiving Tier 2 reading intervention are transacting with various texts? Using observations, interviews, readings with aided and unaided retellings, as well as artifacts, three themes emerged. These themes were that (a) student literacy development varies based on learning context; (b) students transact with texts differently as informed by miscue analysis; and (c) teachers navigate the curriculum using multiple approaches. Based on these findings, this study suggests teachers use multiple text types to formatively assess their students’ literacy development. This study encourages teachers to differentiate their instruction to help bridge a scripted curriculum to their students’ needs. Finally, the findings suggest that teachers provide the opportunity for students to read books that interest them whenever possible.